NationStates Jolt Archive

Leon van Dijk despised the fact that his nation had the gall to declare itself independent; that it had flushed away 342 years of glorious history in the name of being a little bit more “free”. He despised how the military in Vaarshire received so little funding that his father had actually been laid off from the Navy and died in poverty. He despised how the government allowed potheads to walk amongst the cities, obviously higher than kites, and allow disgusting, heathen sodomites to actually marry. And he especially despised “the Soul of the Nation”, Princess Anne de Vaar, who was in his view, the orchestrator of the downfall of Vaarshire.

And so, Leon was standing at an open window over the main street of the city of Ten Eyck. The Princess regularly walked from her home to work, about a mile. How can she possibly be that stupid? Escorted by only three members of Her Majesty’s Guard, she walked as if she was completely safe and nothing could hurt her. The sniper rifle in Leon’s hands begged to differ. Sure, firearms were illegal in Vaarshire, but it wasn’t at all hard to purchase one off the black market. Perhaps this little event would help increase security. All the more reason to blow her brains out, thought Leon. “For Vaarshire,” he said, and then lifted the weapon, held his breath, and fired.

Princess Anne de Vaar had been looking the other way, waving at a group of passing school children on the other side of the street. She heard the gun fire and didn’t even have enough time to think Oh, no before the bullet came in contact with her skull. She was blown two yards to the side by the blast, the right side of her head completely pulverized by the bullet. Her lifeless, bloody body fell to the ground, the blood on the sidewalk nearly just as crimson as the red on Vaarshire’s flag.

The guards and the passerby screamed. Leon van Dijk gave a little cheer and then ran off, completely unnoticed. The guards were busy securing the area on the ground as everyone ran up to the scene. Several people were sobbing, including the guards. Princess Anne de Vaar, 17th Elected Monarch of Vaarshire, Light of the People and Soul of the Nation, was dead.

Within an hour, the story on nearly every channel was that of the Princess’s assassination. Without being officially ordered, virtually every flag in the country was at half staff. All businesses and schools were ordered closed and thousands of people flocked to the Residence of the Princess, holding lit candles and singing the National Anthem. Though Vaarshire was not a particularly religious nation, every place of worship had thrown open its doors, with people flooding in to pray for the dearly departed Princess.

Behind the scenes, the government was in a state of rapid reorganization. As per the Constitution, the person who takes charge in an interregnum is the Chancellor of Parliament, the leader of Parliament. That office was held by Jeffrey Roosa, who was now Acting Head of State. His jobs at the moment were to supervise the selection process for candidates for Prince/Princess and to direct the military effort to track down the murderer of the Princess.

“Sir,” said the Grand Marshall of the Royal Vaar Armed Forces, “We simply don’t have the budget or the manpower to conduct a search like you are mandating.”

“Well then,” said Roosa, “We’ll have to get help. I’ll call every nation I know and every one that I don’t. We need help tracking down this bastard. I’m not going to let this man or woman escape. Have your forces lock down the nation. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Roosa composed a message and sent it to all the nations of the world.

To the nations of the world,

Today, the Principality of Vaarshire has suffered an incredible tragedy. Princess Anne de Vaar, 17th Elected Monarch of Vaarshire, Light of the Nation and Soul of the People, has been assassinated by an unknown person or people. We are attempting to conduct a national- perhaps international, if need be- search for the murderer(s), and our military and government cannot conduct it alone. I beseech the international community to assist Vaarshire in its time of greatest need. Whether you can provide a single person or an army of highly trained specialists, all help in tracking down and bringing to justice the horrible soul or souls responsible for this tragedy would be appreciated by not only me but by the entire nation of Vaarshire for all eternity.

Long live the Princess.

Most sincerely,
Jeffrey Alan Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire

OOC: Currently, I have a thread going with Neo-Ixania in which the Princess is meeting with the Ixanian foreign minister. In case anyone should wonder, Her Majesty was not in two places at once, but the aforementioned thread is a few days old and is presumably still at that date in the timeline.

Colony of Lynx, Hutson Harbour Military Base

"Has the troops being trained?" asked Vamperial Assassin Master Ryan as he was given a telegram from a world leader.

"Those boys was given an extra hour of training upon request because most of them are bored. What are we going to do?" replied Vamperial Assassin Knight Eliza as she sat on the desk behind her. "What's on the telegram?"

"I think I found something for the boys to do," smiled Ryan. "There's being an assassination in the nation of Vaarshire. How about we dispatch one company to Vaarshire to help with the search?"

"Send Two Companies in case they need the extra hands to help with restoring order," replied Eliza as Ryan started writing the telegram back to Vaarshire.


TO: The Government of Vaarshire
FROM: Lynx, Colony of the Vamperial Kingdom of Lynion

We are sadden to hear for the loss of your belovered princess. We know how it feels to have beloved leaders assassinated before us. In response, we would like to dispatch two Lynion Assassin Companies to aid you with the search and if required, restore order should the worse become realised. Please send this reply back to the Lynx Colony as the Vamperial Kingdom hasn't being informed about this telegram.

Vamperial Assassin Master Ryan

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq27/Rammsteinburg/Headings/ForeignAffairs.jpg

Dear Chancellor Roosa,

Prime Minister Bach and I are both saddened to learn of this tragedy that has fallen upon Vaashire. While neither of us had ever had the pleasure of meeting the princess, she was a beautiful woman who we both admired. Rammsteinburg is willing to help in any way necessary. Some of our best men from the Rammsteinburg Bureau of Investigations and other agencies are on their way to Vaashrire to lend their aide. If there is anything else that you want, please contact me through our ambassador.


Sincerely,
http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq27/Rammsteinburg/Signatures/Kohlberg.jpg

Acting on behalf of the Right Honorable
http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq27/Rammsteinburg/Signatures/EBach.jpg

From The Office of President Witt:

Greetings,
We would like to inform you that all citizens from your fine nation that are moving across Talentay's borders shall be searched and questioned. We would like to know however if you require the criminals should they be caught or would you like them to be tried for International Crimes Against Humanity in Talentay. The highest sentence for this if found guilty is The death penalty.

Sincerely,
President Witt

A Leer jet escorted by three F-18s from the Rammsteinburg Air Force had just departed from New Ramm International Airport. It carried ten men and women, each of them highly trained and experienced investigators from various law enforcement agencies, including the RBI and the Ministry of War Criminal Investigations Unit, both of which had handled cases of assassination years earlier during the Second Rammsteinburg Civil War. In charge was Gregor Voltaire, current Assistant Director of the Rammsteinburg Counter Terrorist Unit and formerly the top agent in the RBI.

"Hope you're all comfy," the pilot said over the intercom. "We've got five hours to go."

To the Colony of Lynx,

The people of Vaarshire thank you from the bottom of their hearts for your assistance. The troops you have provided will most certainly be of great help.

Long live the Princess.

Warmest regards,
Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire
---
To the Great Warlord Republic of Rammsteinburg,

I know that the Princess honored and respected your leaders. The people of Vaarshire and I thank you whole-heartedly for the assistance you have sent us.

Long live the Princess.

Warmest regards,
Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire
---
To President Witt of Talentay,

I thank you for your assistance in the search effort. However, we ask that you not detain any Vaar citizens, but instead inform our government of any suspicious persons and we will have them taken to Vaarshire. A government liaison is being sent to Talentay now to assist your government in this process.

Long live the Princess.

Warmest regards,
Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire

By Rammsteinburg policy, every embassy is assigned at least one detective from the Foreign Affairs Ministry Police Corps. Special Agent Frederik Zucker was the one assigned to the embassy in Vaashire. By the order of Gregor Voltaire, he traveled to the site of the assassination to gather information before the arrival of the team of specialists.

Agent Zucker walked up to a police guard restricting access to the crime scene. He flashed his badge and identified himself.

Sergeant Hans Danforth of Her Majesty's Guard turned and examined the badge. "Agent Zucker," said Sgt. Danforth "Thank you for coming. At this time, we don't know much." He gestured at the scene behind him. Her Majesty's body had been moved, but the rest of the crime scene remained intact. There was a chalk outline of where the body had been.

"All we know is that someone shot her from that window." He pointed at a window above the street. According to a passing student, there was a tall, bearded man standing in the window, holding something. The bullet was apparently from a sniper rifle not used by the Vaar military, and it must have been purchased on the black market, so we can't track that."

Inbound to Vaarshire

The flight was going to be an easy one but there was two companies of 200 men were about to take part in what they do best. Counter-assassinations. Their commander was Vamperial Assassin Master Hawk who was part of the counter-assassinations on King Lanakan and Queen Esther, King Ranakin and King Xiahou who were assassinated. Their mission was going to be a simple one: Find the site, examine the site, find the assassination spot, find suspects, find the assassin, arrest/kill the assassin.

"This is Assassin Creed Flight Calling Vaarshire Control Tower, requesting permission to land," came the voice of the pilot over the intercom.

"This is Ten Eyck International Airport control," said the air traffic controller. "I've been told to direct you to the airstrip at Fort Henri. It's to the east, just outside of the city. Welcome to Vaarshire."

Corporal Gregory Keller waited at Fort Henri for the incoming team of counter-assassins. Though the term "counter-assassin" made him a little nervous, he knew that his country needed all the help it could get.

"Hmm," Agent Zucker said as he stared at the window. "Well, tall and bearded doesn't help us much..." Agent Zucker, a tall and bearded man himself, grinned. He paced about, alternating his attention between the window and the chalk outline on the street. He experienced a case of deja vous. The scene reminded him of when he investigated the death of an admiral during his days at the War Ministry's Criminal Investigation Unit during Rammsteinburg's civil war five years ago.

"The fact that the weapon was purchased on the black market doesn't help much either," he told the sergeant, "but if you provide us any intelligence you have on black market operations in the country, we might be able to find something. We have some insiders in the international arms black market community, and we can attempt to infiltrate the local scene. You never know what might turn up; you'd be surprised at what you find sometime, sarge. It's a long shot, but it's something. Also, Mr. Voltaire wishes to have all information gathered on known anti-government groups in Vaashire, so if you could talk to your superiors, I'd appreciate it; or I can talk to them myself. Anyway..."

Zucker approached the entrance to the building from which the sniper had operated. He scanned the area first, and after he was satisfied that there was nothing useful in sight, he turned to Sergeant Danforth and said, "I'd like to see the room where the sniper was."

"Thanks," replied the pilot as they dirverted course to the small fort.

The Assassins buckled in as the C-370's started to land on the runway and the men had to quickly get out so that the other two C-370's could land. They didn't bring any humvee's or combat jeeps, but they came with plently of rounds, weapons and supplies. The C-370's were going to head back to Lynx Colony as the Assassin's gathered around with space between them.

"I'm Vamperial assassin Master Hawk," started a tall man in trousers, shirt and a trenchcoat as he checked his assault rifle. "Where's your commanding officer?"

"Right this way," said Sergeant Danforth, pointing towards a door, then leading the way. "The black market here is very secret. Firearms are banned, and thus there is a bustling black market arms market here. We know the local black market hive is literally underground, we just don't know where. I'm just part of the guard, I don't know much. But in the room is a member of the Ministry of Intelligence Operations, he'll know more than I do. As for anti-government groups... ask the Intelligence guy about the AAF."

Agent Sanderson of the MIO was examining the room when a member of Her Majesty's Guard and someone unfamiliar walked up. "Sir," said the guard "This is Agent Zucker from the Rammsteinburg Embassy, he's here to help and needs some information."

"That's what I'm here for," said Sanderson, walking over and holding out his hand. "Agent Sanderson, Ministry of Intelligence Operations. What do you need to know?"
---
At Fort Henri, Corporal Keller looked at the soldiers. "That's me, I'm the highest ranking officer here. Corporal Greg Keller," he said. "Welcome to Vaarshire, uh... Master Hawk. Thanks for your help."

"I perfer if people call me Hawk rather than Master Hawk," started Vamperial Assassin Master Hawk. "Can you take us to the site of the assassination or does the government have other things they need us to do?"

Our deepest sympathies are with you at this time. Peace be with your country in it's darkest hour.

Kaori Oda

Agent Zucker shook Agent Sanderson's hands and said, "I was wondering if you could provide me with information on the local black market and on anti-government groups, in particular..." He paused for a second to recall the name the sergeant had given. "The AAF."

Zucker's eyes began sweeping the room.

Corporal Keller nodded. "Okay, Hawk. According to my orders, we need about ten people to guard the Residence of the Princess," he said, gesturing to a person in a jeep. "He'll lead you there. There are some demonstrations going on and we just don't want people rushing into the Residence to try and... see the Princess. And please, don't have them armed, at least visibly. The rest of you, follow me to the crime scene," he said, walking to his own jeep.
---
To Kaori Oda of Motokata

I thank you for the sympathies of you and your nation. The fact that the international community is with us in these dark times shows the true goodness in humanity.

Long live the Princess.

Warmest regards,
Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire
---
Agent Sanderson nodded. "The AAF. They claim to be a political party- the Anglophone Alliance of Farshire. They support more rights for English speakers here and the abolition of Dutch as a language. In reality, they're a quasi-militant organization of racists. They are vocally against the Princess and the government in general and I wouldn't put it past them to try and... well, anyway, they're our number one suspects right now. As for the black market, it's pretty active when it comes to arms. Though there isn't a huge demand for guns here, people like to buy them for, say, poaching. We know they've got some kind of complex somewhere, allegedly funded by the head of Vaarshire Steel. They've got a warehouse outside of town that the government hasn't been able to get a warrant for. However, in a time like this, anyone who denied a government search would practically be shunned. I can get some of your people there if you want me to."

Ivan Rucinsky looked at the television reports with a sense of shock as his eyes looked over the television screen to see the words stating that the Princess of Vaarshire, Anne de Vaar, had been assassinated. He had just finished his breakfast with his wife and children when they all heard about the horrible tragedy that had taken place. Ivan immediately freshened up and rushed to the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry where everyone was abuzz with conversation about the assassination. Her Majesty's Government already had heard about the incident and declared their condolences to the people of Vaarshire over the loss of their beloved leader whilst Ivan decided to be more personal. In a letter he composed, Ivan wrote directly to Vaarshire's Foreign Minister in the hopes of offering his condolences and to inquire into how the assassination occured. Was it possible that the Princess wasn't as good as she was made out to be? After he sent his message, he went to work as usual whilst he wondered about what could happen next.

Minister Van der Pohl,

It saddens me to hear that the Princess of Vaarshire, Anne de Vaar, has been assassinated during a procession in the streets of your lovely capital. Please know that myself and my entire family along with the entirety of the Ixanian Empire offer our condolences in solemn unison and hope that your nation is able to maintain its composure in the face of this horrible tragedy which has befallen you. Her Majesty's Government hopes that Vaarshire will remain stable and that the successor of Anne lead the nation into prosperity and peace. We wish you all the best and I, a fellow minister, desire nothing more but the restoration of stability in your nation.

Sincerely,
Ivan Rucinsky.

"Michael, take nine others and follow the jeep to the Princess, cover the rifles under your cloaks," ordered Hawk. "Rest of you, fan out and hide your rifles but be prepare if things go wrong,"

Michael shouted nine names as nine Assassin's put their weapons on saftey catches as they hid them in their oversize cloaks. Hawk and the others started to head to crime scene as left a small detachment with orders to check out the city. They were to hand their rifles over to other Assassin's as they were only armed with their pistols.

"Has there being any other attempts on the government?" Hawk asked as Michael and the others started for the resisdental place.

Zucker responded: "Thanks for the information, Agent Sanderson. I expect Mr. Voltaire, my superior, will be wanting access to files when he arrives here, which should be soon. And I'm sure he'd be more than happy to search that warehouse. In the meantime, I'd like to look around in here."

---

The RAF escorts departed as the Leer jet entered Vaashire's air space. The pilot of the transport plane got on his radio and requested permission to land.

Foreign Ministry of the Free Republic of Lamoni

To: Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire

Having heard of the assassination of the Princess, the Free Republic would be willing to send in our Task Force 100. Comprised of 300 trained special operations troops, and LIA paramilitary agents, Task Force 100 would be willing and able to assist in the investigation into the cowardly assassination of the Princess, or assisting with the maintenance of public order.

Should you accept our offer, we can have Task Force 100 on their way to Vaarshire by jet within the hour.

Minister Rucinsky,

Thank you very much for your sympathies and those of your people and government. I personally know that the Princess was fond of you and had the utmost respect for you and your nation. Our nation, though taken aback, shall remain steadfast in this tragedy, especially with the outpouring of international support. Princess Anne was brave enough to walk to work each day, strong enough to ignore the minority of those who disagreed with her, and wise enough to have made sure our nation's constitution, which she helped draft when we gained independence, provided for horrible situations like these. She was a wonderful woman, and almost all of the nation agrees. We are proud to be celebrating her life alongside the people of all the world. Again, thank you. And long live the Princess.

Most sincerely,
Henrietta van der Pohl
Minister of Diplomacy
---
"Please, feel free," said Agent Sanderson. "The assassin was at that window when he-" He was interrupted by his cell phone. "Sanderson. They said what? Yes! Yes, get a team in there now! Scour every surface you can find for anything," he said, then hung up and turned to Zucker. "Well, I just got a call that the AAF released a statement denouncing the attack and offering to open all their property to a MIO search. They've even got their flag at half-staff... which they never do. They even stopped flying it upside down... well, anyway, it looks like we just might have no suspect."

"Actually, sir, we just might. I found something," said someone. "There's a hidden door behind a bookshelf here which leads to a room with a cot. There's also some books- mainly books on sharp-shooting and a copy of the Annotated Laws of Vaarshire, with pages on murder law bookmarked. Fingerprints everywhere."

"I bet he... or she... has been staying here and watching Her Majesty's routes to and from the Hall of Legislature," said Sanderson, who muttered something not-to-pretty sounding in Dutch. "This is a good step, though. We've got an identity, maybe.... too bad it won't tell us where the killer is."
--
"This is Vaarshire International Airport control," said the same air traffic controller. "I have been directed to send you to the airstrip at Fort Henri, east of here. Welcome to Vaarshire."
---
To the Foreign Ministry of the Free Republic of Lamoni,

I thank you for and welcome the assistance of your country. Vaarshire needs all the help it can get in these dark times, and yours is certainly appreciated.

Long live the Princess.

Warmest regards,
Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire

OOC: Do I presume I'm at the crime scene?

OOC: Oh, that's right, you're following me. Sorry about that. Yes, let's just say that you're at the crime scene. My bad.

Corporal Hawk stepped out of the jeep at the crime scene, waited for everyone to get out of their respective vehicles, then said "Here we are. The Princess was there," he said, pointing at the chalk outline, and then pointed to the window above. "The assassin was up there with a sniper rifle, there's a team up there checking things out."

To: The Interregnum Government of Vaarshire
From: The International Defense Exchange, Christstan HQ

We understand your government has recently suffered greatly at the hands of a treacherous assailant. We also understand you are in need of aid in finding him. The IDE can provide troops, investigators, equipment and anything else your people could need to aid your nation in their quest. To fund this aid however, would naturally, lie partially on your shoulders. To not upset our investors, we would only ask that our partner companies be given permission to operate freely in your country.

We offer our condolences to your people.

To The International Defense Exchange, Christstan HQ,

We thank you and your people for your condolences. Vaarshire will, if necessary, help fund your efforts and will allow for your agents to do whatever they find necessary to assist us. However, we must ask that you not apprehend any suspicious persons without the permission of the Vaar government.

Long live the Princess.

Warmest Regards,
Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire

"Lieutenant, have the men check the buildings nearby and see if there's any other traces," started Hawk. "Jaxson, take two men and go up into the area where the assassin fired the shot. Rest of you fan out, have a look around the city and find any possible escape routes and make mental notes," finished Hawk.

Jaxson and two others wondered through the building carefully as they came into the room where the assassin presumed to have fired the shot.

"Is this the room where the assassin fired the shot?" Jaxson asked to the man that was standing nearby.

Agent Sanderson turned. "Yes, it is, through that window right there. I presume you are the ones sent from Lynion?" He held out his hand. "Agent Sanderson, Ministry of Intelligence Operations. What would you like to know?"

To: The Interregnum Government of Vaarshire
From: The International Defense Exchange, Christstan HQ

We thank you for allowing us to help in this endeavor and for your generous freedom of operation. We will uphold the parameters set by your government. Our methods are generally effective if given the proper freedom.

We are sending Inspector Mattais Klaus, our leading field officer, to conduct our movements in your nation.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Mattais walked quickly towards his jet, flanked by several company troops. He wore a black suit and tie for the occasion, despite his preference for fatigues, however his bodyguards wore black body armor over woodland fatigues. He was a man in his forties, hardened by years of war and conflict, his men were in their mid-twenties to early thirties, all veterans of conflicts and hand picked by the company. Many of the operatives who join the IDE are ex special forces and government agents, and their past experience is what gives them their efficiency. Mattais carried a large metal briefcase with him, whose contents was known only to a select few.

The group entered the Jet and sat as it taxied on the run way, Mattais sitting in a office-like set up in the re-fitted craft. He had a desk, computer, and all the fittings of a conventional office, with the exception that most things were either bolted to the floor or restrained in some way. His men sat in the various chairs scattered about the luxuriously designed plane that offered them many choices to relax. They expected little trouble in getting to Vaarshire but remained on guard.

Mattais reviewed a report the company gave him on Vaarshire and their situation plus the guidelines under which he would be operating. He cursed as he read the stipulation "Do not apprehend suspicious persons without the clearance of the Vaar government." He knew the company ways, but he did not like much interference while he was undertaking a mission. He preferred to operate by whatever means he felt he had to and to give a final report of his findings at the conclusion of his search. He seemed though to have licenses to operate freely other than that so he was partially content. He had a great deal of resources to operate with, the company seemed very interested in opening operations in Vaarshire. He still begrudged the job due to the fact that he was much more comfortable in a war zone rather than a man hunt. Back in his lone wolf days he often tracked men for his clients but since he was acting alone and without national or company regulations, he could operate in the style he preferred.

He knew he would coordinate the effort in Vaarshire but for now all he was told was that he would be sent to "evaluate the situation and give a report on the necessities for the completion of this mission." Basically they wanted to know, how much is this going to cost us?

As he finished reading the last few pages of his report the pilot announced that they would be landing soon near the Vaarshire capital to begin their investigation. When the plane landed he used his cell phone to call the number he had been given to contact the Vaarshire government. When his call was answered he said, "I am Mattais Klaus on behalf of the International Defense Exchange, I understand you have a situation here and I have been sent to assist. Where shall I meet with someone who can brief me on the current situation so that I might begin?"

"What was the size of the round, did you find the rifle, did anyone own this apartment or building, if not is there a landlord that owns this building or apartment, how many escape routes have being found so far and did anyone see the assassin leave the building also, how sure are you that the shot was fired from this building?" asked Jaxson as he looked out the window. "Yes, I'm part of the detachment sent from Lynx Colony to check this out. One last thing, have you shut down the airport and cut off any escape routes from the country?"

"This is Edward Janssen," said the appointed liaison to the IDE. "You will be landing at Fort Henri, where I am waiting. I'll give you information there," he said.
---
Agent Sanderson tried to remember all the questions, then replied. "The size of the round was a .308 caliber bullet. We haven't found the rifle though we don't see how he ran around hiding it so we're scouring the area for it. The building is vacant, and scheduled to be demolished next week. There are three doors out of the building, two leading to major, busy streets and one leading to a small, fenced in yard which was examined and found to show no traces of someone escaping through it. We're sure it was fired from this location, several eye witnesses clearly saw a tall, bearded man in the window. The main airport has been shut down, all air traffic in Vaarshire has ceased with the exception of emergency flights which are going through military airstrips if necessary. We have guards at every airport, harbor, and dock though there aren't any guarantees that he didn't get in some fishing boat somewhere and leave. Our navy is searching our coastal waters."

".308 you say? That's a very accurate round they used. The rifle itself would be a Tactical Elite Rifle," started Jaxson. "That narrows it doen greatly. The man your after is using a rifle that F-Class shooters used and hunters. Hmm...I'm thinking that the assassin either got the rifle off the Black Market, Police Force, Counter-Terrorism, maybe the military or the assassin could be a hunter or farmer. Tell me, did anyone see the same man running along the main street? Because it'll be ideal to run along the main street due to the confusion and that makes their escape easier. What about the land border, is it secured?" finished Jaxson.

Mattais closed his cell phone as the pilot landed at the designated area. He straightened his suit and felt his hair to make sure he made a good first impression - key in business. His men adjusted their uniforms and proceeded to the plane's exit. The first guard opened the door and he was followed immidieately by two others before Mattais finally stepped down from the plane. The whine from the engines was starting to die down and Mattais scanned the area, holding his hand to his forehead to block out the sun in his eyes. The rest of the men disembarked and the pilot began to taxi along the runway to wherever the ground control would direct him.

The operator took out his phone and made a quick call to his boss, "Yeah i'm here. I will be meeting with a representative soon... yeah, I'll keep you informed... I'd like that, wire the extra money to my wife. Heh, I'm sure she will find something to spend it on... Klaus out." Mattais never was one with great respect for authority and usually acted and spoke in a very blunt, to the point fashion, and the way he spoke to his superiors were no exception, however they trust him to complete the job efficiently.

He spotted the man waiting for him and put out his hand to shake the hand of his host. "Mattais Klaus, the International Defense Exchange. Jenssen right?"

Edward Janssen, the senior undersecretary to the Minister of Commerce, had wondered why he was being sent as a diplomat to meet with someone from this International Defense Exchange. He had done some research and learned that the IDE meant business, and the phone conversation he had just had seemed to reinforce that fact. Edward might not know a whole lot about affairs of diplomacy, but he was good with business.

The people disembarked from the plane and one walked up. Edward shook his hand. "Edward Janssen, Vaar liaison to the IDE. Welcome to Vaarshire."
---
"Our police and military don't use weapons like these... as far as I am aware. We're sure it came from the black market, I think some folks from Rammsteinburg are going to be on that. As for people seeing him, none that we know. People were mainly, you know... focusing on the... princess. We've got the land around the city secured as good as we can, and even if he leaves the city he'll have to hit water eventually. So if there aren't any flights or boats leaving the island, we know we've got him trapped here," said Agent Sanderson.

After landing at Fort Henri, the Leer jet's door was opened by a uniformed Rammsteinburg marine who then stepped out and stood at attention and saluted as each member of the team of specialists exited. Gregor Voltaire was the last to leave. He had a stack of papers in his hand that he had been reviewing on the flight -- files from other assassination attempts. Once everybody was out, the marine went back inside the jet and closed the door.

Voltaire gathered everybody up and gave a brief pep talk. An SUV from the Rammsteinburg embassy pulled up in front of them and transported the team to the crime scene.

- - -

Agent Zucker received a phone call as he was searching the room where the assassin had done his dirty work. "Hello?" he said.

"Agent Zucker," a deep and intimidating voice said, "it's Gregor Voltaire. My team and I have just arrived and are on their way to the crime scene. Have you managed to gather any information for me?"

"Yes, sir, but it's not a whole lot. We know that the assassin used a sniper rifle purchased off the black market, which will make tracking it a bit difficult, unless we can somehow infiltrate the local scene. As for the assassin himself, we've only got a very vague description, but we did manage to find some fingerprints. Oh, and about anti-government groups in Vaashire... There is one that I've been told about, but they're now denouncing the attacks and offering full access to their facilities."

Voltaire rubbed his chin. "Sounds suspicious if you ask me. It hardly rules them out. It could just be an attempt to deceive us, to make us look the other way."

"Exactly what I was thinking, sir."

"Okay, well, I should be there shortly. See if you can find anything else in the meantime."

"Yes, sir." Voltaire hung up, and Agent Zucker returned to work.

The Rammsteinburgian team arrived at the crime scene twenty minutes after the call was made. The SUV parked amongst a group of similar vehicles, and its passengers got out and proceeded to the barrier set up by the police, Gregor Voltaire in the lead.

Voltaire showed the officer his credentials and said, "Gregor Voltaire, Assistant Director, Rammsteinburg Counterterrorist Unit. I am here to assist in the investigation of the terrible crime that was committed here today."

The others were asked to identify themselves, and they did: Beatrice Queeg, Rammsteinburg Bureau of Investigations; Franz Holt, RBI; Stephen Dach, Ministry of War Criminal Investigations Unit; Hanna Berger, CTU; Viktor Rabb, RBI; Kat Werner, RBI; Igor Johnson, MoW CIU; Christoph Munchen, CTU; Theo Kohl, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Police Corps.

Voltaire asked to see the senior investigator.

"Idiots. Bloody idiots," said Leon van Dijk. Because of their blind devotion to the Princess they hadn't managed to see a 6' 6" man in a trench coat, obviously carrying something, run down the street. Now, Leon was near the edge of the city, at the headquarters of the AAF. Leon knew they would be first to be checked out. There were no guards outside, everyone was preoccupied with the search going on inside.

He found his way to the back of the building, where there was a small shed with a thick, heavily locked steel door. Shrugging, and thinking it would be a good place to hide his rifle, he pulled out his military-grade lock-pick- a gift from his father- and eventually opened the door. What he saw astounded him.

Assault rifles. Shotguns. Grenades. Sniper rifles. Military grade battle armor. There was a whole arsenal in a shed behind the building. Leon was absolutey astounded, by both the fact that the AAF actually had a store of weapons and that a stansard-issue military lock-pick could open the door to it. "Jesus Christ, does this country even know the meaning of the word security? They barely locked their freaking arsenal!"

He walked over to the sniper rifles and realized that they all matched his. Perhaps this was the source of his black market contact's weapons. He placed his own rifle behind all the others and ran off. He knew the government was searching the area, and the instant they found this they would know the AAF did it. They wouldn't bother to fingerprint all the guns, because in Leon's opinion, the government was just that stupid.

Leon walked out and started back on his way into the city. He had no gun and in ten minutes everyone would think the AAF did it. He was completely innocent. This day had worked entirely in his favor, from the utter distraction of the people to finding an arsenal at the AAF- he was just going to plant the rifle behind a bush somewhere.

He had only one thing left to do. There was no Statute of Limitations on murder in Vaarshire, but there was one humongous loophole in Vaar law regarding murder, or any other crime. No court of law in Vaarshire could charge a non-citizen, only send that person back to their country of origin. If he renounced his citizenship and didn't gain any other citizenship, he would be stateless, and have no state to be sent back to. He would be in legal limbo for the rest of his life, but he would be completely immune from any punishment.

All he had to do was find a way to leave the country, go to a Vaar embassy somewhere and hand in his passport card. Killing the Princess, that's easy. Getting out of the country after killing her... that was the hard part. Not knowing where to go, he just started running along the road out of the city.
---
The officer nodded. "Right up there," he said, pointing at the window. "You want Agent Sanderson."

Gregor Voltaire went in the building alone, leaving the other investigators to searching the area outside, something which had been done by many others already and they all knew was unlikely to yield any results. The assistant director of Rammsteinburg's CTU entered the upstairs room he had been directed to and saw several men inside. One of them was a familiar face (from photographs, that is; the two had never met face-to-face): Special Agent Zucker of the Foreign Affairs Police Corps. He went up to him and introduced himself.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, sir," Zucker said. "You're a bit of a celebrity in the Rammsteinburg law enforcement community, especially after you apprehended the man responsible for the assassination of Prime Minister Waters."

Voltaire showed no emotion. "Yes, I'm aware of my status. Now, Agent Zucker, where can I find Agent Sanderson?" Zucker pointed him out.

"Thank you." Voltaire walked over to Sanderson and identified himself. "Gregor Voltaire, at your service," he said. Cutting straight to business, he continued before the agent had the chance to respond. "Now what's this about this AAF group?"

Agent Sanderson turned. "The AAF- the Anglophone Alliance of Farshire. They claim to be just a political party advocating for increased rights for English speakers and the abolition of Dutch as an official language. But in reality they're a bunch of anti-government racists. We've been trying to shut them down for years but we haven't been able to prove that they're actually planning anything. They're high on the list of suspects but they seem to be pretty eager to cooperate." Just then, his cell phone rang. "Excuse me."

He answered the phone. "Sanderson, MIO." Sanderson began speaking in Dutch. "What? You... you're kidding me. In a shed? How many? Damn right you'd better arrest them! All of them! And take the weapons and have them analyzed. I want every single one searched for fingerprints and DNA. To hell with the budget! Every. Single. One. I know that there isn't protocol for that... but we're not going to sit here and not bother to look for evidence- the assassin would expect that. Right, bye." Sanderson turned to Voltaire and spoke again in English.

"Speaking of the AAF... we just found a shed full of weapons, including several sniper rifles that match the one we assume was used to... kill the Princess. We're having them scoured for evidence as we speak. What else do you need to know?"

Voltaire raised his right eyebrow. "An interesting development," he said. "Oh, and by the way, Rammsteinburgians such as myself, as you probably know, are very multilingual people. Most of us speak German and English at least, and I just happen to know Dutch, as well. I figure you should know this for future reference... Anyway, I might know of a faster way to identify the sniper rifle used by the assassin. It's a long shot, but it's worth a try. It's something I did in a case early in my career. Do you think you could have those rifles brought here for me to look at before they're sent for full analysis?"

Sanderson nodded. He picked up his phone and pressed redial. "This is Sanderson. Those rifles you found, before you take them back to MIO headquarters, I need you to stop at the crime scene. We've got someone here who says he can identify the one used by the assassin. Thanks."

About five minutes later, an armored truck emblazoned with "MINISTRY OF INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS" pulled up. "They're down there in the truck, there's too many to bring up here," said Sanderson.

"Right," Voltaire said. "If you two gentlemen would follow me down there, we'll put my theory to test." He looked at Agents Sanderson and Zucker.

Once outside, Voltaire put on rubber gloves and grabbed two sniper rifles of the type known to have been used by the assassin, keeping one and handing the other to Zucker. He said, "Look and tell me if there is any ammunition already loaded into the weapon." The Foreign Affairs Police Corps agent complied and responded, "Nothing, sir."

"I see," Voltaire said. He then checked the rifle in his hands. "No ammunition here either. Let's check another." The experienced detective grabbed another and checked it, and once again he found it unloaded. "Now," he said, "what would it mean if we were to find all of these sniper rifles unloaded except for one, hmm?" He grinned.

Zucker answered: "It would mean it's possible that the one loaded one is the one the assassin used. But... what if the sniper put only one bullet in the rifle? What if he took out the remaining ammunition?"

"It's a possibility, especially the former; the latter not so much, as I doubt it would've occurred to him in his rush to get rid of the murder weapon. This plan is certainly one worth giving a shot, though, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir," Agent Zucker responded. "And if we do find just one rifle loaded, we can save time by looking for fingerprints on that one first. And we can then compare any we find to the ones found in the room."

Voltaire smiled. "Exactly. Now, let's get started..."

An announcement was released by the Rammsteinburg embassy in Vaarshire: "All citizens of Rammsteinburg wishing to leave the country, with the exception of essential embassy personnel, may report to Fort Henri for a government funded flight to New Ramm City at 1900."

Due to certain events in Rammsteinburg's history, Rammsteinburgians equated assassination with the beginning of civil war, and thus many were desperate to flee Vaarshire before things got of control. Less than half an hour after the announcement was made, citizens of The Great Warlord Republic lined up outside Fort Henri and the embassy.

Leon van Dijk tried to look as calm as possible. There was absolutely no reason why anyone should suspect him of anything. Sure, he was six and half feet tall and wearing a trench coat, but looking weird didn't mean he was the assassin of the beloved Princess.

He was walking near the military base, Ft. Henri, when he noticed a line of people, many of them with passports out as guards of the Royal Vaar Army checked them. He could read one of them- "The Great Warlord Republic of Rammsteinburg". After the guards checked them, they walked onto a plane.

Leon had his way out, he just had to find a way to get on the plane. Could this be any easier? He thought. Though he might have the looks to charm people, he had always been good with persuasive speech. He walked over to a guard who was standing away from all the people. "I'm with the MIO."

"I didn't receive anything about the MIO being on the flight," said the guard.

"Exactly," said Leon, placing a large hand on the guard's shoulder. He looked directly into the eyes of the guard and glared. "Are you going to let me onto this plane or am I going to have get in contact with your superiors?"

"B-but I've b-been directed by the government to only let on people with valid Rammsteinburg p-passports. I-I'm sorry, sir, but..." The guard trailed off under Leon's intimidating glare.

"Kid, listen to me. You look like you've got a future ahead of you, and you don't want to ruin it by obstructing the operations of the government. The MIO has power to change your life in... many ways," said Leon.

The guard had heard the rumors of what the MIO could do. Sure, it was mainly the loony conspiracy nuts that said that they had working death rays and the constitution had a clause in invisible ink that said the MIO could kill any person defined as "enemy of the state", as defined by them. He didn't want to take his chances, especially with this guy. He even looked like a murderer. "G-go right ahead, sir."

Luckily, no one had heard the conversation between Leon and the guard. Leon did not board the actual plane- too many people who might ask to see the MIO identification he didn't have. Instead, he walked to the back of the plane, where there was a cargo hold. He saw crates with pets inside, so it must have been habitable. He made sure no one was looking and got in, hiding behind a large crate with a German Shepard in it. "And now, I wait," said Leon.
---
Agent Sanderson followed Voltaire and Zucker down to the van. After Voltaire had explained his theory, Sanderson picked up a rifle. He had never held a weapon- let alone a sniper rifle- and it made him feel a little nervous. He checked it for ammunition, and there was none. He picked up another and did the same thing- there was one bullet in it. "There's a bullet in this one, " he announced.

Corporal Raeder of the Rammsteinburg Marine Corps, one of several marine guards assigned to the embassy in Vaarshire, guarded the entrance to the plane. He regretted the fact that Vaarshire guards were given the duty of checking for passports and not Rammsteinburgians. Do they not fully trust us, or something? Do they think we're going to smuggle the prick who shot the princess out of the country, or what? He grunted, and thought, Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it.

He observed one of the guards checking for passports tremble a little as he spoke to a tall and very intimidating looking man. Geez, these Vaarshirians sure are cowards. Hell, I'm a little guy myself, but I'd face that big dude like he were just a midget. He thought nothing else of it and resumed watching people as they boarded the plane.


Meanwhile, pilot Commander Bruno Worten and co-pilot Chief Warrant Officer Josef Zimmermann were beginning routine pre-flight tests. They were scheduled to depart for New Ramm City in 45 minutes.

---

Voltaire's eyes grew wide when he heard Agent Sanderson's announcement. He quickly ran over to the man from the MIO and looked at the rifle he held in his hand. He was pleased to see that it really did have a bullet in it. "Gentlemen," he said, "we might just have found the murder weapon. Let's get this thing checked for fingerprints immediately!"

"Okay, let's get the cargo bay checked out," a man announced. He was a Petty Officer Second Class in the Rammsteinburg Navy, part of the flight crew.

Three men, including a Master-at-Arms carrying an M9 Pistol, entered the cargo bay and began examining it.

Edward Janssen, the senior undersecretary to the Minister of Commerce, had wondered why he was being sent as a diplomat to meet with someone from this International Defense Exchange. He had done some research and learned that the IDE meant business, and the phone conversation he had just had seemed to reinforce that fact. Edward might not know a whole lot about affairs of diplomacy, but he was good with business.

The people disembarked from the plane and one walked up. Edward shook his hand. "Edward Janssen, Vaar liaison to the IDE. Welcome to Vaarshire."

Mattais nodded and put on his sun glasses, took out a cigar and lit it. "I just want to make it clear, we will do this our way, but we will not apprehend anyone without your government's consent. We do not want our presence known here... From what I understand, firearms, especially one capable of the damage done to the princess as we saw from pictures, is extremely hard to come by in this nation. We will want to start from there, and tell you what we find. Anything we should know before we begin our investigation?"

Mattais had an idea of how to investigate this. He intended on finding exactly how and from who the weapon was purchased. He waited for further instruction.

Sanderson gestured for one of the people to bring fingerprinting equipment. After getting it checked, he examined the print with the others found at the scene. "It's a match. We've got prints and we're still looking for a name from the books we found in that room..."

One of the agents piped in. "As far as we can tell, those books weren't checked out from the Ten Eyck public library. They're from the Royal Vaar Navy Library, in Kingsburgh. They were checked out by one Lt. Ryan van Dijk three years ago and were never returned. And Lt. van Dijk can't be our assassin because he was laid off from the Navy in a budget cut and died last year, with a 150,000 guilder-sterling debt. The last payment of that debt was made by his son, Leon. That's all we've got."

Sanderson nodded. "I want all the information the government has on Leon van Dijk, and I want it five minutes ago."
---
Leon froze. There were people in the cargo bay. He would have sworn, but he knew he couldn't make a noise. He had no weapon to shoot them with nor did he have any unarmed combat training aside from being on his high school wrestling team nineteen years previously. The cargo bay was large enough that it would take them a few moments to reach the end. Thinking fast, he noticed a large crate with just air holes. He couldn't read the German it was labeled in, but he was pretty sure the first word was "tranquilized".

Being as sneaky as possible, his trench coat blending with the shadows, he walked over to the large crate and praised God that the door was on the side facing away from the incoming people. He opened it just enough to squeeze in and almost screamed. There was some kind of beast- perhaps a wolf- knocked out in the corner. Leon hated wolves. But he got in and shut the door and prayed to whoever might have been listening at the time to keep the wolf asleep and the soldiers away.
---
Edward nodded. "Yes, sir. All firearms are banned, though there is a strong black market for them. We have reason to believe that the Vaarshire Steel corporation is letting black market traders use a warehouse of theirs on the outside of the city. The Vaar government has been unable to acquire a warrant to search the area, but in a time like this... we can take certain liberties. That's where you come in." Edward handed Mattais a map, with the warehouse marked. "That's where it is. If anything is there, call me."

"All clear!" one of the men inspecting the cargo bay yelled as he finished with his section. Not long later, somebody else made the same announcement, and less than a minute later the entire inspection was complete.

"Okay," the petty officer in charge said as the four men met near the door, "we're all done here, then. I'll call it in. Let's get boarded."

The navy transport plane's engines turned on a few minutes later, spinning it's massive rotor blades. The pilot let the engines get warmed up for a while and then began moving down the runway, quickly gathering speed, and eventually lifting off the ground. After a brief stop on the carrier RNS Adler, it would fly straight to New Ramm City. The trip would be six hours total.

Mattais puffed out smoke and considered the situation. He shook his head at the thought of just going into the warehouse. "No, we cannot just show up there. I will have to find a way to be... invited. Do you have any potential leads on black market fencers who might have a connection to the weapons trade?"

He walked along with Edward casually while smoking his cigar, as if this was just another routine operation. His men followed close behind, each openly armed with heavy weapons. They seemed alert, constantly scanning the area. Mattais just wanted to finish the job and get paid, he really wasn't looking for a prolonged investigation for he would not get fully paid till the job was complete.

"Contacts?" Edward thought. "Well... I personally don't have any contacts with the black market. However, as I understand, the Ministry of Intelligence Operations has ears everywhere, and I do have a few contacts there." He pulled out his phone and dialed a number- the Minister of Intelligence Operations.

"Hey, Jim. This is a weird question, but do you, or does anyone else in your department, have any contacts in the black market arms trade? What do you mean I don't have clearance for that information? What about Jeff Roosa? I've got orders from... Are you serious? How do you have higher classification than him? He's the frigging Head of State! You answer only to the... The Princess is dead, Jim! I have someone from the International Defense Exchange who needs to get into that warehouse and I know you know people. Are you going to sit there and blather about classification when it's the assassin of the Princess of Vaarshire we're talking about?!"

After a pause, Edward hung up. "I've got a number for you." He wrote it down and handed it to Mattais. "Call him and say that you want to make a deal."

OOC: Don't forget that Rammsteinburg has insiders in the international illegal arms trade industry who can help out.

Mattais took the number and put it in a pocket inside his jacket and then blew out another puff of smoke. He looked at Edward, "I only now need the caliber of the bullet fired and the potential weapons he could have used to fire it. After that you likely will not see me or my men. I will use what connections I have from the company to try to strike some deals."

Mattais presented his brief case to Edward, typed in a code and the locks on the case opened. Inside was an assortment of gear, a laptop, and 1 Million in Christstany dollars. "I have a few guns and dollars for my investigation, perhaps we can bring down more than just your killer."

"Captain what was the suspect describtion?" asked Corporal as he hid in the shadows as they trailed a guy.

"He has a beard, maybe a trenchcoast was used in the assassination and he would be between 6 and 7 foot tall," replied Captain Jaxson. "What's wrong?"

"We found someone that fits the description but he appears....to have gone into a military base of some kind," replied the corporal.

==============

"We found someone that fits the description but he appears....to have gone into a military base of some kind," replied the voice of the corporal as Jaxson looked around.

"4th Platoon re-group with Corporal Taz under no orders are you to enter the base," started Jaxson. "See if you..."

"Skipper, we lost sight of the suspect," replied the voice of the corporal as Jaxson took a calm breath.

"Calm down corporal," replied Jaxson as he stroked his shaven beard as he thought about it for a moment. "See if you can find any escape routes and report back," replied Jaxson as he looked at the agents. "We might have a possible suspect on our hands. Is there any military bases around here?"

The flight that delivered the fleeing Rammsteinburgians, as well as the assassin hidden in the cargo bay, landed safely at New Ramm City International Airport a little before midnight. Passengers were rechecked for their passports as they exited the plane.

The Barracks, Catul, Rukmenistan

"Sir?"

Wilson, the impeccably-dressed butler standing in the doorway, huffed in impatience. As far as jobs went, serving as the manservant to Samson Cowell, the Rukmenistani Commander, was the best he could have hoped for, having dropped out of high school at seventeen to help support his aging parents; sure, the Commander was the target of frequent assassination attempts, but most of them were planned poorly and executed worse. Neither he nor Wilson were in any particular danger. No, the job was good...it just involved some rather galling duties. Checking his watch for the second time in a minute, Wilson tried again. "Sir?" he called into the darkened bedroom.

It was nearly eleven and the lazy man was still asleep. Quite how he'd ever managed to stay in the military was a subject of much debate, let alone being able to orchestrate a coup and establish the junta that formed the Rukmenistani government. Only after three increasingly loud shouts of "Sir," did the Commander stir, sitting up in his bed and looking around blearily.

"Wilson, is that you?" he shouted into the blur as he fumbled for his spectacles. Wilson, stepping into the room for the first time, passed the case into his boss' hands and moving to open the curtains. "What do you want?"

"I have a letter for you, sir," replied the butler, making to hand over the envelope. "It contains a telegram wired from a Vaarshire."

Scowling up at him, Cowell took the flimsy piece of paper and read it over. Assassinations...national searches...requests for aid...it was more of the same alright. "Aid?" snorted the Commander as he screwed up the message. "They want aid? A killing's probably good for them, if they're stupid enough to keep a monarchy around they probably deserve it, the idiots."

Swiftly disposing of the communique, Wilson rolled his eyes at the traditionally unpolished response. "Quite, sir," he began, thinking Cowell had finished.

"Did I say interrupt, Wilson? Of course not. Where is the bloody hell is Vaarshire anyway?"

"Unless I'm mistaken, sir, near the North Sea." Opening the bay windows, Wilson straightened his tie as he took the opportunity to breathe some fresh air - the air in the Commander's bedroom was...musty at best. "Should I order the Foreign Ministry to send a reply?"

Pausing for the briefest of moments, Cowell snorted again. "Screw them. I don't know or care about Vaarshire and they probably don't even know we exist. Now...I think breakfast."

OOC: Very well put, Rukmenistan. Congratulations, you have won the thread!

Edward Janssen frowned. "No. You are only to find the assassin," he said quite simply. "The caliber was... .308, as I recall. Shot from a 'Tactical Elite Rifle', or something along those lines," he explained.
---
"There are two military bases here," Sanderson replied. "Fort Henri to the north, the nation's largest and most important base. There is also the smaller Fort Ten Eyck, which is used by the Royal Vaar Air Force. Chances are you are referring to the previous." Sanderson paled. "And... a plane... left from there... Oh, Christ." Sanderson pulled out his phone and dialed the Ministry of Diplomacy. "I need the Embassy of Rammsteinburg. Now."
---
Leon took a deep breath of fresh air- the plane had landed and the cargo bay door was open. He swore mentally as he saw people being checked for passports. There were no poorly trained Vaar military guards to intimidate here; he would have to actually think. "All I have to do is reach the embassy," said Leon quietly to himself. "And even if they figure out I did it, I'm immune."

Leon could either wait for everyone to leave, but who knows how long that could take. He could hide in the crate, but he could end up in a zoo surrounded by very confused zookeepers. It would be unwise to turn himself in and ask to be taken to the embassy, the guards knew of the situation in Vaarshire.

And then, another option showed up. A person who worked for the airline walked into the cargo bay. He was young and unarmed- but tall. Tall enough for his uniform to fit Leon. Leon crept up on the young man and prayed he remembered how to throw a proper punch. He hit the young man in the side of the head and knocked him out. Hiding behind a crate, he changed into the uniform and hid the unconscious body in the crate he had hid in- what happened to it wasn't his problem now. He looked at the name tag to see what his new name was- "T. Lindemann" and walked out of the cargo bay, heading towards the airport.

"Jaxson what's the matter?" demanded Hawk.

"We have the suspect inbound to Rammsteinburg. Requesting permission to presure him," replied Jaxson.

"Damn you Jaxson," replied Hawk. "You'll be taking all charges if your pressuring the wrong man. Take a hunting mountain wolf and head to Rammsteinburg ASAP,"

"Sanderson, I'm taking a platoon of men to Rammsteinburg to kind the suspect. We got our own transport landing near the fort," started Jaxson. "Hawk is going to remain here with the bulk of the men while we go after the suspect,"

"We got a C-370 ready to take off at the Fort," came a pilots voice over the intercom.

OOC: T. Lindemann? Nice. xD

Fritz Freders, the Rammsteinburgian ambassador to Vaarshire, was on his way out of his office when the call came through on the red priority phone. He ran to it and answered. "Ambassador Freders. What's the problem?

- - -

An armed guard circled the plane that had just arrived from Vaarshire in a jeep. He eyed the crowd of people for anybody who aroused his suspicion, though he doubted anybody would; but to look for potential threats was his job, and he refused to ever slack off.

He noticed one of the airline workers enter the cargo bay. He wasn't sure, but he suspected it was his friend, Till Lindemann. He made a note to himself to ask him how his pregnant wife was doing later.

"We're going to Rammsteinburg and we'll bring the assassin back," replied Jaxson as his platoon followed him down to the streets as they started to run towards the C-370 awaiting for them at the fort airfield.

They ran to their limit as they came across the airfield as Jaxson turned to his trusty intercom. The hull door was still up and there was a squad with a mountain wolf waiting for them.

"Jaxson to pilot, start the engines so we can get to Rammsteinburg ASAP," ordered Jaxson.

"Copy that captain," replied the pilots voice as the hull door started to raise behind them while the engines started to come alive. They were waiting for the hull doors to close before they could leave Vaarshire and start for Rammsteinburg.

OOC: Do you really expect you'll be let into Rammsteinburg without requesting permission first?

OOC: The plane hasn't taken off yet. They ran to the airfield, bordered the Lynion C-370, the engines were starting up, the hull door was closing and...that's basically it. I haven't left Vaarshire yet.

OOC: T. Lindemann? Nice. xD
OOC: I figured that would be appropriate. :P

"This is Agent Francis Sanderson, I'm with the Vaarshire Ministry of Intelligence Operations. I have reason to believe that the man responsible for the recent assassination of our Princess has escaped to your country. I need you to inform your nation to keep an eye out. He is described as a Caucasian male, tall, between six and seven feet tall- that's about two to two and half meters. He has dark brown hair with a beard. That's about all we know. This man is responsible for the death of the most important person in our country. If your people get him, he is to be returned alive to Vaarshire," said Agent Sanderson. "And thank you."
---
Leon van Dijk- or rather T. Lindemann- calmly walked to the airport. He bumped into someone wearing the same uniform, who nodded in greeting. "Hey," said Leon. "You know where the embassies are?"

"Embassies? Uh... no clue, really. Why?" He asked.

"My... uh... wife wanted me to... meet her there. She's, uh... into... diplomacy," said Leon lamely.

The man raised a brow. "Well, I bet a taxi driver would know. But shouldn't you change out of your uniform?"

"Nah, I like it," said Leon. "Thanks." He headed outside and hailed a cab. "Embassy of Vaarshire," he said.

"Embassy of... where?" The cabbie asked.

"Vaarshire. You know... it's in the North Sea... next to... Oh, nevermind. Just get me to where the embassies are. Fast," said Leon.

"Right-o," said the cabbie, who sped off. Directly into slow traffic. The cabbie chuckled. "I love traffic jams," he said to himself in German. "Mainly because the meter still runs."
---
John van Nijke was the CEO of Vaarshire Steel, the most profitable corporation in the country. Vaarshire didn't actually produce a lot of steel, but the corporation owned companies in nations that did- and in a country like Vaarshire with high-reaching urban areas, steel was in high demand.

The problem was that Vaarshire was not what you would call a "corporate haven", it was more like corporate Hell. Vaarshire was home to some of the strictest business regulations in the world, and also some of the highest taxes on big businesses. The company would have left long ago if it weren't for the high steel demand- and the fact that the government of Vaarshire owned 20% of the company and was therefore the largest stockholder.

And so John was trapped. He couldn't leave but it was killing him to stay. The government had him in a choke hold. So what did John do? John happened to know quite a few arms dealers, mainly because they used a warehouse of his to do their deals. One of those arms dealers knew a near-crazy son of an ex-Navy officer who had a beef with the Princess and was mentally unstable enough to do something about it. So that man was sold a gun at a very low price. And wouldn't you know, the man actually went and did it.

There was no more Princess to stand in his way. John had contacts everywhere- even in the government. The Minister of Intelligence Operations was basically in his back pocket. So he would be giving false information for people snooping around Vaarshire Steel... and as the highest ranking Minister, he was almost guaranteed to be appointed as a candidate for the next election of the Monarch. And with some monetary donations from Vaarshire Steel, he could be the next Prince of Vaarshire- and get rid of those pesky regulations.

The only thing that bothered him was those foreigners snooping around. He would have to do something about that.

Ambassador Freders swore under his breath. "This is indeed very bad news," he told Agent Sanderson. "I'll make some calls right now. Hopefully we'll be able to find that little piece of crap... excuse my language. Before I go, are there any places in particular where he might go in Rammsteinburg?" He whispered a swear again.

- - -

Joachim Ropp, the security guard who had been circling the plane from Vaarshire, had just finished his shift. He was in the employee locker room changing out of his uniform when he remembered that he wanted to call his pal, Till. He thought the Lindemanns might enjoy having dinner with him and his wife tomorrow night. After putting on a pair of jeans, he pulled out his cell phone and gave his friend a call.

Inbound to Rammsteinburg

"Why do we need Devil?" Jaxson asked as the mountain wolf was keeping his nose to the hull trying to sniff something out.

"If the guy uses his brains," started Ewin as he called Devil over to him. "He would've changed his clothing thus, he'll be hard to find,"

"Good point," replied Jaxson as he listened to the intercom through his ear piece.

"This is Lynion Flight Calling Rammsteinburg Control Tower," started the pilots voice. "We're requesting permission to land near a Vaarshire plane that has being suspected of transporting a suspect that was part of the assassination of the Princess of Vaarshire," explained the pilot.

OOC: Sorry for it taking me this long to reply!

C-10 Minotaur Strategic Aerial Transport: http://z4.invisionfree.com/NSDraftroom/index.php?showtopic=3887

---

To the Foreign Ministry of the Free Republic of Lamoni,

I thank you for and welcome the assistance of your country. Vaarshire needs all the help it can get in these dark times, and yours is certainly appreciated.

Long live the Princess.

Warmest regards,
Jeffrey Roosa
Acting Head of State of Vaarshire

Within an hour from receiving the go ahead, the members of Task Force 100 had loaded onto a single Minotaur transport aircraft with all of the gear that they deemed to be needed for their mission, and took off. On the way, they were briefed with what Lamoni already knew about the assassination, which mostly amounted to what had been seen on TV, and the fact that they were heading to Vaarshire in order to assist that nation in whatever way that they saw fit to employ the unit. They would have to be ready for anything; but these elite troops took it all in stride.

Those who weren't actively in the military had already served at least ten years in the military, so they were all seasoned veterans. A majority of them had served in other Lamonian Special Forces units, and they were more than ready for what would come their way.

The air traffic controller had gotten word of the incoming plane several minutes earlier and said, "Permission granted. Runway 5 is clear."

Two members of the Rammsteinburg Special Commando Unit--the nation's most elite special ops. group--waited to meet the assassins from Lynion.

The C-370 landed quickly as it came to a sudden stop. Jaxson got up before it stopped as the hull door started to lower itself. The Lynion Assassin's piled out of the C-370 as Devil, their mountain wolf, sat quietly at the heel of its master.

"We need to find that plane ASAP," started Jaxson to his lieutenant before the lieutenant pointed to someone behind Jaxson.

"Must be part of their Spec Ops by the looks of their uniform," stated the lieutenant.

"I'm Captain Jaxson of the 4th Platoon of Delta Company," introduced Jaxson. "We're after a transport plane that came from Vaarshire to here. Got any idea where it could be?"

The senior of the two spec. ops. soldiers stepped forward and addressed Captain Jaxson. "I'm Sub-Commander Quigley, this is Staff Sergeant Stuhl. I can lead you to the plane that arrived from Vaarshire, but I should tell you that all of the passengers have left already."

Meanwhile, a car accident on 29th Street, the location of the Vaarshire embassy, blocked all traffic from coming onto the road.

"I doubt the person was a passenger," replied Jaxson as he looked around. "If we can't find him here, we'll need to cut off all routes to the Vaarshire Embassy, that's if you have one here. If Devil," started Jaxson as a mountain wolf came to his side and sat at his side. "Can get the scent of a piece of clothing the suspect was wearing, we might be able to get him,"

OOC: For the record, it takes about five hours to get to Rammsteinburg from Vaarshire. So, let's just say that you got word of the assassin's escape to my country before the navy transport plane landed. Otherwise, the assassin would have had plenty of time to get to Vaarshire embassy by now.

"Well, it's just your lucky day, Captain, as a nasty accident has been blocking entrance to the street that the Vaarshire embassy for a about an hour now. If the guy you're looking for escaped the airport, hopefully he didn't reach the embassy before the crash occurred." The Sub-Commander grinned. "With traffic the way it is in New Ramm, he probably didn't."

The two members of the SCU led Captain Jaxson and the lieutenant to the hangar where the navy transport plane was being held before heading back to RNS Adler. About halfway there, an ambulance and police car, sirens blairing, sped towards the building. "What the hell?" Quigley asked. He looked at SSGT. Stuhl. "Sergeant, get on the radio and find out what's up."

"Yes, sir." Stuhl pulled out his portable radio and asked. A voice responded: "A body was just found in the cargo bay.... in a wolf's cage, for god's sake. It isn't a pretty sight."

The group of men stopped. Sub-Commander Quigley looked back at the assassins. "I'm guessing your guy has already escaped," he said.

OOC: I think I jumped that part a little. Sorry for that.

IC:

"Tell your men to stay back until Devil can pick up a scent," started Jaxson as he turned to Ewin to go in there with Devil. "Though, I somehow doubt we can pick up anything if there's too much blood in there," Finished Jaxson as Ewin went past him with Devil at his heel. "You say there's being an accident? It could make things easier for him. Remember, there's more than one way to skin a tiger. Ricko, take four men and locate the Vaarshire Embassy," ordered Jaxson.

"Yes sir," shouted back Ricko as he pick four men from the platoon of 16 and started for Vaarshire Embassy.

"Jack," started the lieutenant. "Ricko won't know where the Embassy is," as Jaxson suddenly turned to him.

"Sub-Commander Quigley just stated there's being a car accident near the embassy," started Jaxson. "If the enterance is blocked and there's cars keen to get into the embassy sector, there's going to be a jam from the embassy to who-knows-where. Ricko will track the nearest point of where the hold up starts, trail it and then, he'll find the embassy. That's using common sense and no technology,"

"Ohh, sorry sir," replied the lieutenant as he felt embassed by what Jaxson said.

"Don't be sorry, we all need somewhere to learn," replied Jaxson.

"If you want," Sub-Commander Quigley added, "I could always call the police and tell them to have some 'unforeseen circumstances' hold things up a bit. I can also get the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Police Corps to start a search for the assassin. Anything you want, just tell me; I'm here to help."

Ewin and Devil went into the cargo plane hull as Devil growled at something. Jaxson watched as Ewin came out with a shirt of some kind that looked to be badly beaten but obviously, the host was of some importance while Devil sniffed the shirt.

"Devil has picked up the scent," started Ewin as he held up the shirt.

"Looks like the one that 56th Squad reported in," started Jaxson. "Ok, Quigley, get the police to hold things up and have the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Police Corps start a search for the assassin. He's somewhere between 6 to 7 foot tall, dark brown hair, caucasian and has a beard. He won't be armed but don't take any chances. Hobart," briefed Jaxson as Lieutenant Hobart came to his side. "Have three men flank the embassy and help out with the search. Lieutenant Taz, take two men and go along the roof tops and give us extra eyes. Rest of the platoon will head into the city and find the assassin," ordered Jaxson.

"Yes sir," replied Hobart as he took three men and started to flank towards the embassy.

"Shadow's are ours sir," replied Taz as he took two men and headed towards the roof tops to give the ground men extra eyes.

"Jaxson to all troops," started Jaxson into his earpiece as he gave one last orders. "You got orders to wound the assassin so we can bring him in to the Vaarshire Authorities,"

"Alright," Quigley told Cpt. Jaxson, "but make sure your men don't arouse the attention of civilians. We do not want to start a panic. Believe me, people around here freak out when they see a bunch of armed men wandering about, looking all suspicious like." The Sub-Commander then turned to Staff Sergeant Stuhl. "Sarge, call Director Matrosen at the Foreign Affairs Police Corps. Tell him to initiate a Code 4 Search around the embassy sector on 29th Street. Give him the description Captain Jaxson gave. And then tell him to call the Vaarshire embassy and have them initiate a lock-down of the building -- nobody gets in or out. And then get on the line with whoever is in charge at the scene of the accident and make sure they stall things there. And remember to tell them it's by order of Quigley, AZ04-0968."

Within minutes, the sergeant had made all necessary calls and Commander Quigley's orders were being followed. The police at the scene of the accident stayed in place, as angry drivers honked their horns, urging them to hurry up. The Foreign Affairs Police Corps began searching the area for a man matching the assassin's description, looking outside and peaking into cars from a distance, but not getting so close as to alert anybody. And the Vaarshire embassy initiated lock-down procedures.

At the airport

"Jaxson to all units, cover your weapons to avoid a riot amongest the civilians," ordered Jaxson as he turned to the remaining Assassin's. "Hold the airport and stop the assassin from reaching an escape plane if he comes back here," Jaxson then turned to Quigley. "Are you sure that all other routes are covered? We can't afford the assassin to slip from us again,"

"Yes sir," replied the corporal as his men setup a defensive line but with their weapons hidden.

Meanwhile

The men were ordered to cover their weapons as they keep their weapons in their trenchcoats. The men under Hobart command looked like simple men as they scanned the area. They removed their slouch hats for a moment as they removed the Lynion ensigma carefully to avoid any attention drawn to themselves. The other assassin's did the same thing as they carried on with their business.

Taz squad was being secertive and quiet as they stealthy started to climb up the buildings using ladders that can be find around the buildings. Once they were up on the roof tops, they tried to keep their heads down as Taz pulled out a scope off the sniper rifle he was carrying. The idea was, Taz would spot the suspect, radio the ground crews and then the men on the ground would capture the assassin. It was easier side than down.

"Talk about chaos," whispered Taz as the other two started to spy on the people below them.

"It helps with the capture sir," whispered another as they went back to their jobs.

"Twenty-ninth street and the surrounding area is totally covered. That includes streets leading into the embassy sector, as well. If our guy is in that area, there's no way out for him. But we're only assuming he's already in that area. He could be anywhere between here and the embassy, and that's a whole lot of ground to cover."

"The assassin is where?" Jeffrey Roosa asked.

"He's escaped to Rammsteinburg, sir," replied the Grand Marshall of the Royal Vaar Armed Forces.

"Well then follow him!" Roosa shouted. "I want troops in Rammsteinburg on his tail and I want them there now!"

"Sir, I don't think that is a good idea," said the Minister of Intelligence Operations, also in the room. "I'm sure our allies can handle the situation without us sending our military to clog their nation."

"What are we supposed to do, just idly sit back and have them all take care of our problem?" The Grand Marshall asked.

"Is there enough money in your alloted budget to even afford the fuel to get there?" The Minister of Intelligence Operations asked.

The Grand Marshall looked like he was about to blow a gasket when the Acting Head of State shouted "Gentlemen! We have a situation on our hands! And I currently outrank all of you, so I get the last say. And I say that I want one squadron of the Royal Vaar Army in Rammsteinburg- assuming they allow it- to assist in the search."

"But, sir, our military has never been used for anything but defense, and surely agents of the MIO are more properly trained for such a-" said the Minister of Intelligence Operations.

"I've had enough of you," said Roosa. "I am in charge of this nation, you are not. You are excused." Roosa then turned his back to the Minister and directed the operator to contact the government of Rammsteinburg.
---
Leon felt a phone in his pocket vibrate. He grabbed it, looked at it and didn't think to just let it to go to voice mail. He answered it, saying "This is Le... uh... Lindemann."

Meanwhile, he heard the taxi cab's radio say "There is a massive traffic jam on 29th street, starting on the outside of the Embassy of Vaarshire. Also involving the embassy is the fact that it is completely shut down, with unarmed soldiers barricading the door. It is unknown why at this time. In other news..."

Leon couldn't help himself and swore quite loudly. Not waiting for the person on the phone to say anything, he hung it up and threw it out of the window, still making somewhat of a commotion with all his swearing. "Hey, buddy," said the cabbie. "Keep the swearing down, huh? I might have to charge extra."

It dawned on Leon that he had no money and he swore again. Leon opened the door. "To hell with this," he said. "Do you, uh, take debit?"

"Sure," said the cabbie.

Leon handed the man his card, labeled "BANK OF VAARSHIRE", branded with the name "LEON VAN DIJK".

"Uh... it's not working. It says your assets have been frozen," said the cabbie.

Leon swore yet again and simply ran out of the cab, ignoring the shouts of the driver.

OOC: I don't know if cabs can actually take credit/debt cards, nor do I know if they tell if when you scan it specifically that your assets have been frozen, but let's just say that here, both can happen.

"Jaxson," started a corporal as he raised his mirror as it should the reflection of someone running away from a cabbie. "Suspect has being spotted,"

"Copy that. Can you get a fix of his location?" replied Jaxson.

"He's running down towards 29th Street, do we engage suspect?" requested the corporal as he removed his mirror.

"Negative," replied Jaxson.

Meanwhile

"Negative," came Jaxson's voice as Taz noticed the position of the corporal. "Taz, get a sight on the suspect. Hobart, shadow your men and keep them out of sight,"

"I can see the suspect through my scope," started Taz as Sargent Kidd pulled out his sniper rifle but kept it hidden for the time being. "Request permission to injure him,"

"Hold your fire for the time being Taz,"

Jaxson position

Jaxson turned to Quigley as he listened to the radio report on his intercom.

"There's being a tip off," started Jaxson. "Taz has a clear shot and can wound him with one round. Do you want the shot to be taken?"

"If he can take him down without any risk of civilian casualties, go for it!"

Jaxson's position

"Taz," started Jaxson. "Wound suspect if you avoid civilian casualties," ordered Jaxson as he turned back to Quigley. "One round, one wound Taz. All units, prepare to arrest the assassin,"

Roof tops

"Target insight," replied Taz as he attached a silencer and the scope to his sniper rifle. "One shot one wound,"

"Hobart in position," stated Hobart over the radio.

Taz put rags over his rifle and scope as he set it up on the ledge. He attached the scope to his rifle as he scanned the streets below him for a moment. The sight was accurate as he found the corporal and eventually the man running away from the cabbie.

"He's running towards the embassy," started a voice as Taz turned off his intercom.

Taz found the target again as he went behind some cars. He waited paitently before he suddenly placed his finger on the trigger. Then it happened. The shot was clear, the leg was insight as he lined up his scope. He waited for a second before he fired the shot. The shot didn't echoed but it was deafened by the traffic demanding to get through. There was no chance the shot missed as he watched the suspect go down.

"Taz to Teams on the ground," started Taz. "Suspect down. One shot into his knee would've broken it and slowed him down. Hobart, bring him in,"

Jaxson Position

"We got a confirm shot by Taz," started Jaxson. "The round blasted the knee apart which has either broken the leg entirely, he'll be in massive pain or the part below his knee has being taken off with the round,"

Hobart's position

They noticed the man go down as the men started to close onto the suspect. Hobart kept his hand ready at his side in case he had to pull a quick draw with his pistol. The corporal started to come up behind the suspect as they kept their eyes on the suspect that had fallen by the shot. Hobart looked up as Taz lowered his rifle and took a breather.

Members of Foreign Affairs Police Corps witnessed the assassin go down and also rushed towards him. Miles von Pfeifferbaum, an ex-RBI agent who had transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the relatively less intense work, was the closest man on scene -- he had been only twenty feet away from the Leon van Dijk when the sniper's bullet penetrated his knee. As he ran towards him with his M9 Pistol out, he thought, God, I never expected to see this much action in the Police Corps. He stopped a few feet behind the assassin and yelled, "Hands up where I can see them!"

- - -

Sub-Commander Quigley turned to Jaxson. "Your men did a hell of a good job there, Captain. I imagine you'll want me to call for an ambulance. I can get him taken to the maximum security ward at the hospital at the naval base -- it's only a few miles from the embassy sector." A sadistic smile then appeared on his face as he added, "And if you want, I'll be sure to instruct the medics not to give anything for the pain."

It was really not Leon van Dijk's day. He had no money and no way out of a nation five hours away by plane and now he was on the ground in horrible, literally crippling pain, his knee completely destroyed. All his brain could focus on was screaming horrible things.

"SODOMITES! HEATHEN SODOMITES WALKING IN THE STREETS! POTHEADS! FILTHY HIPPIE DRUGGIES! THEY'RE CORRPUTING THE CHILDREN! IT'S A COUNTRY FULL OF IDIOTS! IDOITS, I TELL YOU! OUR AIR FORCE HAS SIX PLANES! SIX! MY FATHER WAS LAID OFF FROM THE NAVY! THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR TREATING SOLDIERS LIKE THAT! I COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I SAVED VAARSHIRE! I MADE THAT WITCH'S HEAD EXPLODE AND I AM PROUD OF IT! PROUD! BURN IN HELL, ANNE! BURN IN HELLLLLLLLLL!"

He heard someone tell him to put his hands up. Leon realized that it was all over. All over. He was going to get caught and he was going to rot in prison for the rest of his life. So what did he do? He did raise his hands, but he also tried to place some blame on someone else. "Vaarshire Steel!" He said. "They sold me the gun! One of their people overheard one of my anti-government rants and told their superiors. They offered me the gun for cheap and slid hints at me about the loopholes in Vaar law, especially in murder! They used me! They took advantage of some politcally-inclined person with a mental condition and used me as a tool to pass their agenda! I was a pawn! A pawn!"

Agent von Pfeifferbaum handcuffed the assassin while repeating what the man said in his head, to make sure he didn't forget it. He knew that he could not move van Dijk until medical assistance arrived, so he waited for the Lynonians to arrive. Once they did, he repeated the statement about Vaarshire Steel.

There was suddenly an eerie silence on 29th Street. Frustrated drivers had stopped honking their horns and simply stared in shock at the man who had just been shot. Agent von Pfeifferbaum eyed the man he had apprehended with disgust. Murderer, he thought. Worthless stinkin' murderer! His mind wandered back in time to his days in the Rammsteinburg Bureau of Investigation, where he had dealt with killers on a regular basis, including a few assassins, and he recognized the hate brewing inside him -- it was the same hate that had drove him out of the RBI, away from the nasty world of murder.

An approaching ambulance could be heard in the distance.

Soldiers who had been guarding the embassy of Vaarshire walked over to the scene, flashing badges that bore the National Seal of Vaarshire. "We'll take custody of him from here," one said. They all had looks of digust and hatred on their faces, and some of them were shaking with rage and struggling to not say anything.

"You..." said one through clenched teeth. "You are... disgusting. I pray that they lift the execution ban, just for you, you... demon. I want to see you shot in the streets." The soldier was gradually losing control. "I want you to be destroyed. I don't care how. Hanged. Shot. Injected. Decapitated. You are a repulsive and repugnant and VILE beast that doesn't even deserve to be taken to a hospital!" The soldier began to scream in incomprehensible Dutch until one of his colleagues calmed him down and walked him back to the embassy.

Near the area

The Lynion Assassin's walked over to the Assassin. Hobart saw the rage inside Taz as he started for the assassin before he stopped him in his tracks.

"We can't kill the bugger no matter how much you hate him Taz," started Hobart as Ewin came over to them.

"I'm still willing to kill the bugger," started Taz.

"Everyone back away," started Ewin as he gave Devil to Hobart as he pulled out his medical kit. "I'm a medic. I need..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Taz came over and held the assassin down while Hobart watched him with care. Ewin looked at Taz as he started to put something on the wound. He looked around as he quickly removed the bullet with ease as he handed it to Hobart.

"What kind of round did you use Taz?" asked Hobart as he examined the remains of the bulle while Ewin started to put pressure on the wound.

"Anti-armour round," replied Taz as he the others came over to him. "I only had anti-armour rounds when I came here. I thought the assassin would have some kind of armour on him,"

"Bloody hell," started Ewin as he wipped the blood from around the wound and then from his hands. "The bloke might have to have his leg removed because of the round. Taz, that was a bloody fine shot,"

Hobart and the others turned around as they noticed everyone was starring at them and the traffic wasn't moving. Hobart watched the men as he called the police to re-open the street.

"Hey police officers, re-open the road so we can get the ambulance in," shouted Hobart in a commanding voice.

"I don't give a damn about how weak you were when they offered you the rifle," started Taz in his deep voice. "You have something called will power. You also have something call brains and a life which you just ruined. Don't play the blame game with anyone. However, it seems we got another job to do," started Taz as he listened to the embassy guard for a moment as he was taken away back to the embassy.

"Taz, help me get him into the ambulance," asked Ewin as they lifted the assassin and started for the ambulance. "Hold on man, we're going to get that knee fixed," Finished Ewin as they headed towards the ambulance in order to get him away from the over zealous guards.

"What do we do about Vaarshire Steel?" started Hobart to one of the people around him.


Jaxson Position

"The assassin is still Human no matter what he's done," started Jaxson as he remembered what they used to do with their assassin's. "However, I can't be a judge and judge this man. The assassin committed a crime in Vaarshire and should be dealt in Vaarshire," finished Jaxson as he got onto the intercom back to Hawk. "Sir, assassin taken down with a wound. By the report I've got, the bulllet smashed the knee apart,"

"Very good Jaxson," replied the voice. "Tell the boys they did their bit for the world,"

"Right sir," finished Jaxson as he turned back to Quigley. "Get the man to a hospital ASAP and give him something for the pain. Allow Vaarshire deal with their assassin. However, it seems we found the source of the weapon. Does Vaarshire Steel ring a bell?"

The ambulance drove past the backed-up road by using the emergency lane found on all major streets in Rammsteinburg. The driver noticed two men carrying a man their way and yelled to the medics in back, "Hey guys, get ready. This one looks pretty bad. Somebody really messed up his leg..." Two navy hospital corpsman prepared themselves, and when the ambulance came to a stop, they opened the doors and removed a gurney. Also in the ambulance was an armed Master-at-Arms who was there to insure the patient made it safely to the maximum security ward at the hospital.

- - -

"Alright," Quigley replied. "I'll tell the men to treat him as humanely as possible." The sub-Commander then stopped to ponder the name 'Vaarshire Steel'. "It rings a tiny bell," he said, "but I'm not totally sure. I've only been to Vaarshire once. However, I'll get on the phone with Mr. Voltaire and have him pass the information on to that Vaarshire agent he's been working with." He turned to SSGT Stuhl and nodded.

- - -

"Voltaire."

"Sir, this is Sergeant Stuhl. Commander Quigley wants to inform you that the assassin has been taken down by the Lynonians -- repeat, he has been taken down. Also, sir, the assassin appears to have mentioned something about Vaarshire Steel and being hired by them..."

Voltaire turned to Agent Sanderson and said, "Good news, Mr. Sanderson -- the assassin has been apprehended. But it appears things aren't quite over yet. Vaarshire Steel has been implicated in the assassination."

- - -

Back at the New Ramm Airport, Sub-Commander Quigley asked Captain Jaxon if he wanted to go to the hospital where von Dijk was being taken.

"That was an anti-armour piecing round that hit the leg," started Taz as he checked his rifle for a moment. "We already taken out the bullet and out a bandage around the wound,"

=====

"It seems like our job hasn't finished," started Jaxson as he listened to Quigley for a moment. "We need the assassin alive in order to bring Vaarshire Steel down," finished Jaxson as he went onto his intercom. "Jaxson to all units. Bloody well done and head back to the airport, our job just became wider,"

"Bloody hell," replied Hobart over the intercom. "I'll get the boys and head back to the airport,"

"Hmm," started Jaxson. "Do you think he'll confess to the chargers and to Vaarshire Steel for being the source of the hated that fueled him?"

One of the hospital corpsmen nodded in acknowledgment of Taz's statement as he helped lift van Dijk onto the gurney. The assassin was place in the ambulance and immediately hooked up to monitoring devices and given medication for the pain. As the ambulance sped off towards the naval base one of the medics administered an antibiotic.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" the junior medic, a mere Hospitalman, asked. He had only been assigned to the emergency response unit for a week, and this was his first major case.

The senior man, a Hospital Corpsman Second Class with almost ten years of experience in the navy and several years in the civilian world before that looked at the junior medic with a blank expression. He responded in an equally apathetic tone: "He'll make it, don't worry. That leg of his is totally useless, might have to come off even. He won't be running track again, that's for sure."

The junior medic was disturbed by his senior's apparent lack of emotion. "How can you act so calm he asked?"

"Clinical detachment is essential if you want to survive, bud. There's no time for feeling bad when there's work to be done."

The Master-at-Arms stared at the injured assassin with pure hatred, his hand rubbing his M9 Pistol. God, if only I could put a bullet in his brain...

The ambulance would reach the naval base in another five minutes. Surgeons at the hospital were already being prepped.

- - -

"He hasn't really got much of a choice," Quigley responded. "The evidence against him is pretty good. Not exactly solid, but I don't doubt that he'll be convicted. And cooperating is the only way he has any chance of getting a less harsh sentence -- of course, I'm not sure how the Vaarshire legal system works. They might not want to cut any deal -- he did kill the princess after all. All we can do is hope that the Vaarshirians can handle it. But anyway, Captain, I think we ought to get to the hospital so we can interrogate him as soon as possible."

Jeffrey Roosa picked up his cell phone. "Hello?"

"This is Agent Francis Sanderson, MIO. I'm in charge of the crime scene investigation for the assassination." said the person on the other line. "I've just heard the most wonderful news, sir."

"What's that?" Roosa asked.

"The assassin, Leon van Dijk, has been found. He was shot in Rammsteinburg and is on his way to a naval base hospital. There are Embassy guards from the Royal Vaar Army with him," said Sanderson.

The Acting Head of State could barely contain a whoop of joy. "Then we've got him! It's all over."

"Actually, sir... not just yet. Apparently, he's claiming that he was 'used' by Vaarshire Steel. And we checked his medical record- he's got a history of some mental condition that I can't pronounce. This could be a very, very long legal battle," said Sanderson.

"We'll cross those bridges when we come to them- starting with Vaarshire Steel. But still, at least we have the man in custody. Vaarshire can breathe easier. I'll be sure to alert the press, we don't want to leave the people out of the loop.
---
Within ten minutes, the news channels all over Vaarshire announced the identity of the assassin and the news of his capture. John van Nijke, CEO of Vaarshire Steel, frowned, but wasn't totally worried. "He'll just rot in jail. They'll never be able to prove my company's link. There barely is one, anyway."

Just then, he got a call. "John, this is the Minister of Intelligence Operations. And I have some bad news."

"What, about the guy being shot and caught? I don't have to worry," replied John.

"Yes, you do. The government is launching an investigation of your company. Not yet, officially, it won't be announced until it's public knowledge that the guy is claiming he was used by Vaarshire Steel. But it's going to happen."

"So?" John asked. "That's your Ministry's job. And I don't pay you to do actually thorough investigations of my company."

"I've found myself on Roosa's bad side. He's having someone else take care of the investigation. Some guy named Sanderson. I outrank him, but I can't have any say in the investigation. I recommend that you start cleaning up," said the Minister. "We're in trouble."

Five hours after being shot, Leon van Dijk was stable after having most of his left leg removed. The doctors had just granted permission for him to be interrogated.

- - -

Gregor Voltaire looked at Agent Sanderson. "If you want," he said, "my people an I will stay here to help with the investigation. My gut tells me you really want to have foreigners on your side. Also, I recommend that you act fast. If this Vaarshire Steel company is involved, there's no doubt they'll be working on erasing any evidence that could be used against them."

"I'll have the men return to Vaarshire with orders to take down Vaarshire Steel ASAP Quigley," started Jaxson as the men gathered around him. "We'll get what information we can out of the assassin and send it to others in Vaarshire," finished Jaxson as he turned to his men. "Mount up on the plane, and head back to Vaarshire. Link up with Hawk and inform him about the situation," ordered Jaxson as the men started to board the plane before it took off with the Lynion's inside. "Now Quigley, how do we get to the naval hospital?"

"I have a jeep that will get us there in a few minutes."

OOC: let's skip ahead five hours to when van Dijk is ready to be interrogated.

Five Hours Later

"You think he'll talk?" started Jaxson as they watched the room from where the assassin was being held. "Or do you think he'll be ignorant?"

"I don't know. But I've dealt with scumbags like him before plenty of times. I'll get him to talk." He grinned.

The doctor, Captain Kohl, was unnerved by the presence of Quigley and Jaxson. He was not exactly sure who they worked for, but they both had special ops. written all over them. He scanned their tall, muscular bodies and observed the controlled intensity in their eyes. The captain tried his best to hide his uneasiness, but he couldn't stop shaking.

Sub-Commander Quigley caught this and smiled at the good doctor. "First time around our lot, eh, sir?"

Captain Kohl slowly shook his head in confirmation.

"Don't be so scared, sir," the commander said in a friendly tone. "We're not hear to interrogate you, you know."

"Right, right..." The doctor managed to keep his body still. "Uh, anyway, do you... uh, want me to wake him?"

"It would be appreciated."

"Right." Captain Kohl removed a syringe from his lab coat and injected in van Dijk's right arm. Within seconds the assassin's eyes began to open.

"I think it is time for you to leave now, sir," Quigley told Kohl. The doctor did not bother with goodbye. He walked--almost ran--out of the room. He was relieved to be away from those two intimidating men.

"Alright, Captain," Commander Quigley said to Jaxson. "Now the fun begins."

Leon van Dijk was completely conscious now.

"Poor bloke hasn't seen terror in its true form," started Jaxson as he watched the doctor leave them to be with the assassin. "What's the news on the leg? Did they have to take it off?" asked Jaxson as he pulled out the remains of the anti-armour round that smashed Leon van Dijk leg apart. It was still intact and the end was pushed back but most of it was still in good condition.

Quigley peaked under van Dijk's sheets. "Yep, they had to remove a good deal of it." He brought his attention to the now conscious assassin and said, "Without a knee, it's most likely you'll never walk again." He made himself seem pleased by this fact, so as to horrify the assassin. "Not much one can do with one leg. Sure, they're making things more accessible to the handicapped these days, but there's still so much that they can never make available to you. A lot of the good stuff, too. Of course, you're going to spending the rest of your life rotting in jail--that's if you're not executed, of course--so it doesn't really matter. Face the facts, buddy: your life is OVER. There's no point in hiding anything now. The best thing you can do for yourself now is to be open with us. You don't want us to have to make things worse off for you than they already are."

The Sub-Commander turned his head back to Jaxson.

Five Hours Ago
Sanderson turned to Voltaire. "Actually, I've been appointed as director of the investigation of Vaarshire Steel. Apparently Chancellor Roosa doesn't trust the Minister of Intelligence Operations. I'll be working with some of the MIO and the Ministry of Commerce, but I'd be honored to be working with your people on this as well."

The Present
The Senior Assistant to the Acting Head of State, a Public Defender, an agent from the MIO and several soldiers from the Royal Vaar Armed Forces walk into a hospital room.

Inside the room was Leon van Dijk, the assassin of the Princess of Vaarshire. His eyes were locked on the stub that was once his left leg. "Mr. Van Dijk, I'm Johann Thompson, your appointed lawyer," said the Public Defender. "Remember that you have the right to remain silent, but I highly recommend you cooperate with the interrogators." Thompson gazed at Quigley, who had been speaking with him.

"Lawyer, eh? Why don't you sue whoever blew my leg off," he said, his eyes still focused on the remnants of his leg. "And, as for you," he said, looking at Quigley, "Are you trying to be intimidating or scary or something? You're no good at it."

"Thats, uh... That's an issue for later, Mr. Van Dijk. Right now, there are some people from the Vaar government, and others, who want to ask you a few things," said Thompson.

Leon scoffed. "Whatever," he said.

"Mr. Van Dijk, I'm Fred van Nuys, Senior Assisstant to-" began Fred, but he was interrupted.

"I don't need your life story. Just ask me the bloody questions and leave me be," Leon snapped.

"Very well. I'll ask the obvious one first. Why did you do it?"

"Why? Because I wanted to save Vaarshire. You government types live in some fantasy world where everything is perfect and nothing is wrong. Well, here's the facts. While sodomites and potheads walk the streets and scare the children, Vaarshire has essentially no National Security and we've got a military that could be taken down by a pack of starving dogs. I was literally able to get past a soldier by glaring at him and telling him I was with the MIO. Taxes are insane and the debt is still rising. We flushed away 342 years of glorious history all in the name of being a little bit more 'free'. We were never ready to be an independent government! But Princess Anne, the idealist dreaming retard she was, went right on and signed the Act of Vaar Independence and orchestrated our downfall. So I orchestrated hers," he said.

"Where did you get the idea that just killing Her Majesty would change everything?" Mr. Van Nuys asked.

"The man who sold me the gun told me. See, I've got this... condition. And once, I was working at a fast-food joint and this guy comes in and orders a burger. When he pays me, I see the Princess's face on the 5 guilder-sterling bill and freak- I was out of pills, see. So I start ranting about how I thought the Princess needed to die. And as it turns out, that guy was an assistant or something to the head of Vaarshire Steel. They don't like her either, the government is too anti-business but they can't leave the country. So I get this call from him and he says he'll sell me a gun for cheap and if I do the deed he can make sure someone who can do the job right gets elected. That's all I know about that."

"You should be thankful 367 missed on purpose," started Jaxson as he threw the remains of the round that smashed van Dijk's leg apart. "He's the one that decided your fate the moment he fired that round. Your life isn't over until deaths comes and finds you, that's why I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse," started Jaxson as he looked at van Dijk. "Your life isn't going to be much on the street if you were set free. Vaarshire Steel will hunt you down in order to remove all the evidence they need to make them become innocent. If you can give us the name of the people that you talked to, where it was, the offer they made, how many were there, the place where you were given the rifle and the rounds and finally, testify against them and the judge might lower your sentence," briefed Jaxson. "What do you say to that?"

Leon thought. "Remember that I'm just some nobody, the bottom rung of the ladder. But I do know that it's the CEO of Vaarshire Steel... John Nike or something was his name, I think... who made the deal with me to sell the rifle and two bullets for cheap. I actually bought the gun from some guy in the Vaarshire Steel warehouse outside of the capital- that's where all the illegal trading goes on. I have no clue who the guy was who actually handed me the gun and took my money, probably some nameless weapons dealer who worked for Vaarshire Steel. They offered me the rifle and two .308 caliber rounds for a total of 3000 guilder-sterlings. (OOC: That's about $315) It was just me and him in the warehouse. Does that answer all of your questions?" Leon said.

After lying in state in the Hall of Legislature for a week, Princess Anne de Vaar's official funeral was to be today. Every business and all government building was closed, every flag flew at half staff. There were no cars on the streets. There was a crowd of who knew how many gathered outside the Hall, all holding candles or pictures of the Princess.

Inside, in the large room usually reserved for such functions as balls was filled with comfortable-looking chairs, and each one was filled, with many people standing in the back. At the front of the room was a coffin, draped with the flag of Vaarshire. In front of that was a podium, with the seal of Vaarshire on it. Standing there was Acting Head of State Jeffrey Roosa, who cleared his throat and then spoke to the room.

"Her birth certificate said Annemarie Rebecca Bridges. She was born on July 19th, 1941 in the city of Kingsburgh. She attended Kingsburgh High School and graduated at the top of her class. She graduated from Western Vaarshire University with a double major of Law and International Politics. She started her career as a lawyer, and worked in thousands of court cases. Eventually she was appointed to the Supreme Judiciary, becoming the youngest ever High Judge in 1984 at the age of 43. She served for 10 years before being elected as the 17th Monarch of the Principality of Vaarshire.

"She served her country with honor and dignity; she was the woman who lead us to our independence, and she was one of the two authors of the Constitution of Vaarshire. But we are here to celebrate her life as not just the Princess but as a person. Anne loved to play basketball- I can't tell you how many times she beat me in one on one- and play the guitar. She watched soap operas on TV, she went to the gym, she played fetch with her dogs. She was a normal person, just like you and me and everyone else in this room.

Her courage, intelligence and headstrong attitude were much beloved by the nation. She was a friendly woman, easy to make friends with if you weren't intimidated by her height- she was about 6' 3" for most of her life. Anne was one of the nicest women- one of the nicest people- I have ever met. We are all honored to have known her. And no one- not any person anywhere in the world- will ever be able to fully take her away from us. Annemarie Bridges will live on, forever, in all of us.

Long live the Princess."

Roosa sat down and after the Princess's family walked up and paid their last respects, six soldiers of Her Majesty's Guard picked up the casket and walked it outside.

The crowd outside the door had been split to form an aisle, lined with soldiers from every branch of the Royal Vaar Armed Forces. They all saluted as the casket passed, the crowd perfectly silent. The casket was loaded into a hearse which was flanked by Royal Vaar Armed Forces motorcycles. The street was already lined with people, holding signs or pictures. As the hearse drove slowly to its' destination, the Mausoleum of the Monarchs, the people began to chant "Long live the Princess!"

And all of this was televised, so it could be seen by any citizen of Vaarshire, wherever they happened to be in the world. Even if they were in a naval base in Rammsteinburg.
---
"Long live the Princess," quietly said every Vaar in the room, excluding Leon van Dijk. Fred van Nuys, the senior secretary to Jeffery Roosa, turned off the TV that had been brought into the room. "There you have it, Mr. van Dijk," he said. "You have managed to do... absolutely nothing. Yes, it's true- le Reine est Mort- the Princess is dead. But she shall live on forever. The government shall live on forever. Vaarshire shall live on forever. You, Mr. van Dijk, and Vaarshire Steel, are nothing. If you have done anything, you have only strengthened support for the government. It's all over for you, Leon." He turned to the others in the room. "Any more questions for this one or can we get this interrogation over with?"

Sub-Commander Quigley felt his heart sink as the casket of the Princess was carried away on the TV. It was a shame, he thought. The woman didn't deserve to die. And he agreed with van Nuys: the assassin had accomplished nothing but bringing the people of Vaarshire together in support of their government. Tragedy, such as the death of a leader, is great way to unify people. That fool van Dijk failed to realize this. The Princess will be remembered lovingly now. Even if she had done anything wrong, that's all overshadowed now. Nobody will be thinking about that anymore. Nobody will think of it again, not wanting to insult the dead.

Quigley turned to Mr. van Nuys and responded to his question. "I don't know about my comrade from Lynion, but I have nothing to ask. The necessary paperwork has been filed -- he's in your custody now. I'm no longer obligated to be present. And the doctor said you can take him out of here now. Just contact the Chief of Security for this ward first." The commander shook hands with Captain Jaxson and Fred van Nuys and then left the room.

- - -

Back in Vaarshire, Gregor Voltaire and two of the men from the initial group of investigators remained. They stayed in guest quarters in the residence hall of the Rammsteinburg Embassy. Agent Sanderson had a direct number to contact them if he needed any assistance.

"I need to get back to Vaarshire," started Jaxson.

"Hey skipper, we'll be landing close to your current position so we can take you to Vaarshire," came a voice over the intercom.

"Hawk must've ordered the flight. Good luck and I'll see you all when this is over," finished Jaxson as he shaked hands with everyone and left for the Blackhawk that was waiting outside for him.

'He wanted to divide the nation but he unified them once again,' thought Jaxson to himself as he climbed into the chopper. 'Assassinations can bring a nation together while the killer demanded division in the nation,'

Back in Vaarshire

"Jaxson is on his way," started Taz as he went over to Hawk and the others who were waiting for them. "Vaarshire Steel deserves a knock on the door, what do you think sir?"

"I think its time we got the arrest warrent given before we can do any knocking," replied Hawk as he went towards the main gates with the others.

He wasn't going to bother with a warrent when the Assassin's never being required with one. Then again, the one from last year might do the trick in fooling them. The men went into the shadows quietly as they walked through the streets of the city with their weapons covered as Jaxson joined them later.

"Well, Leon," said one of the soldiers. "Time to leave." He placed handcuffs on the assassin and placed him in a wheelchair. The Vaar delegation left the room and started on their way to an awaiting plane, which would take them home. Leon was on his way to the National Maximum Security Prison where he would perhaps spend the rest of his days.

However, back in Vaarshire at the Hall of Legislature, a bill was being voted on in Parliament. "This Act, the Capital Punishment Act of 2008, will, if passed, lift the ban on the death penalty for certain individuals who have been deemed by the government to have committed extreme and unforgivable crimes against the state or humanity. This will be determined by the Head of State, usually the monarch, whose decision will then need to be approved by a two-thirds majority of Parliament. The method of execution will be determined by the Head of State. The accused must still be proven guilty in a court of law," read Acting Head of State Jeffrey Roosa, who was also Chancellor of Parliament. "Voting begins now."

Within five minutes, all of Parliament had voted. By a vote of 147-3, it was passed.
---
John van Nijke would have very much liked to get as far away from his office as possible. A one-way ticket to even Stoklomolvi would have been a godsend. But no, he was trapped within his own building. Several agents of the Ministry of Intelligence Operations were throughout the building, and the Ministry of Commerce had sent a representative who was probably nothing more than something to prevent him from going and making sure all the records were wiped.

Down in the lobby, Agent Francis Sanderson was at the receptionist's computer, searching through files. An encrypted file with the name "VanNijke" caught his attention, and he was one of the most skilled hackers in northern Europe. He managed to crack open the file, and it was empty, for the most part.

However, there was a file with a few phone numbers listed- apparently Mr. van Nijke was a little forgetful. He looked at the first name and practically fell out of the chair- it was the Minister of Intelligence Operations. "Oh, my god," said Sanderson. "Roosa needs to know this." He ordered one of his subordinates to look through the files while he dialed the Acting Head of State.

"Mr. Chancellor, this is Agent Sanderson. I was looking through Van Nijke's files and I found the number of the Minister of Intelligence Operations. Well... it seems you were right to be suspicious about him. Sir, as acting Head of State, you do have the authority to... dismiss him. Well, we could function without him for a few days, but... wait, you want me to do what? I... yes, sir. Yes, I'll keep the investigation going. Bye."

The interim Minister of Intelligence Operations hung up his phone and called someone else. "Mr. Voltaire? Hello, this is Francis Sanderson, from the MIO. This investigation revealing things we never thought we'd have to look into, and I think the government wants this whole thing over with as soon as possible, so would you mind lending us a hand? I'd really appreciate it." He hoped he didn't sound as tired as he was.

Voltaire was in the shower when Agent Sanderson called. He got out five minutes later, and he immediately noticed the flashing red light of the answering machine as he walked out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel. He poured himself a cup of coffee first and then went to check the message.

"Mr. Voltaire? Hello," a familiar voice began. "This is Francis Sanderson, from the MIO. This investigation revealing things we never thought we'd have to look into, and I think the government wants this whole thing over with as soon as possible, so would you mind lending us a hand? I'd really appreciate it."

He detected a bit of nervousness--desperation, even--as well as fatigue in the agent's voice. He knew that whatever his Vaarshirian comrade had stumbled upon was huge, and he figured it best to call back right away.

After three rings Sanderson picked up. "Hello, this is Gregor Voltaire. I just got your message. I'd be more than happy to lend a hand, of course. What's up?"

OOC: For future reference, the adjective describing something or someone from Vaarshire is "Vaar".

"Well, I was looking through the files of Vaarshire Steel's CEO, and I found that he has the number of the Minister of Intelligence Operations. Not only that, but we've managed to look through calling records and he's dialed the number several times this week alone. This means that the leader of my department has been working with him for... quite a while, it seems. He's since been removed from his office pending further investigation, but this thing... it goes a lot higher up than we thought. All we need to do is find concrete evidence linking Van Nijke to Van Dijke and we can take care of all of them, but we're stretched so thin," said Sanderson.

OOC: Oh, okay, sorry. I'll remember that from now on.

Gregor Voltaire was hurriedly getting dressed as he listened to his Vaar comrade on speaker phone. He was halfway in the process of tying a Windsor knot when Sanderson finished talking. "Wow," he said. "You really have got your hands on something big. Your own boss is involved? Man, I certainly don't envy your position right now... Hopefully we can find some solid evidence linking van Nijke and the assassin, or else you're liable to suffer severely for this." Voltaire had finished tying his tie and was now putting on his jacket. "I'm going to go gather the two men I have with me, alright? Where can we meet to discuss this matter more thoroughly?"

Voltaire took a final sip of his coffee and searched for the cars to his rental car. He thought: Well, things are finally getting interesting at least.

"Somewhere with coffee," Sanderson replied. "There happens to be a Starbucks right across from Vaarshire Steel's headquarters. If we need it to be cleared of prying ears, I can have that arranged. But I could just really go for some coffee right about now. Oh, and he's not my boss anymore. In fact... I'm the boss now- interim Minister of Intelligence Operations. Normally I'm thrilled with promotions but this one... not so much. Oh, and thank you. For all the help."

OOC: Could I still participate or is it quite full? And how much have you uncovered? I apologize, but 8 pages is a lot of reading.

OOC: The more the merrier is (apparently) the motto of the Vaarshire intelligence community. Currently, the characters know that the (now former) head of the Vaarshire Ministry of Intelligence Operations is linked to the CEO of the Vaarshire Steel corporation, and they're pretty sure but have no proof that said CEO is linked with the assassin of the Princess. They're searching for proof that will be able to, once and for all, link all the pieces together and finally close the case. As far as I can tell, it's slowly coming to a close.

"No problem," Voltaire said just as he realized he left the rental car keys in the pockets of the pants he wore yesterday. He ran over to the pile of dirty clothes by the bathroom door and retrieved them. "And the Starbucks sounds fine," he continued. "I've already had my morning coffee, but I could certainly go for more. And go ahead and have it cleared. My men and I are on our way."

Half an hour later, Gregor Voltaire parked his black sedan with the seal of the Rammsteinburg Ministry of Foreign Affairs on it in front of the Starbucks across from Vaarshire Steel. He got out first and was followed by Viktor Rabb of the Rammsteinburg Bureau of Investigations and Agent Zucker of the Foreign Affairs Police Corps. They went inside and found Agent Sanderson already at a table in the empty coffee house.

Voltaire looked at the teenaged boy working behind the counter and said "Two Pike Place Roasts and one Iced Caffè Mocha for the pretty little lady here." He turned to look at Agent Rabb as he stated the last order. "And once you get those, scramble on out of here, okay?" Intimidated by the unconcealed weapons the Rammsteinburgians had on them, the clerk quickly got to work.

Voltaire and his men took a seat at Sanderson's table.

Sanderson raised an eyebrow. "You know, most people here haven't seen a gun in their entire lives," he said. "No big deal, though. They sure get people moving quickly." He took a long drink of his coffee- no cream but loaded with sugar- and smiled, in spite of the situation. "The most wonderful beverage ever created," he said. "But I'm getting distracted. What do you need to know?" He asked, using his catch-phrase.

OOC: Perhaps a meeting in a foreign country? My country? The Natonal Initelijenes Buro od Uiri (NIBU) monitors foreign business carefully. Perhaps Vaarshire steel supplies my Conogolomerats (manufacturing retail companies who sell their own wares domestically and surplus abroad to suppliers)? Just trying to insert myself and if what I've suggested doesn't fly, ignore the IC.
IC:

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k155/Uiri/seal.gif

TO: Vaar MIO

I have personally been monitoring the case. You may not know it but NIBU has operatives everywhere and pays hansomely for a second job. You'd be surprised how much I know. I also know from NIBU that the CEO of Vaar Steel was recently in the country to meet with another Vaar man. We can retrieve the Hotel's security tapes if necessary, we are glad to help - I hear that my automobile is made from your steel.

David Aposon
President of Uiri

OOC: Good idea.

Agent- or rather Interim Minister Sanderson's phone rang. "Sanderson. A message from who? Ah. Tell them that those tapes would be absolutely wonderful. And we would appreciate any and all help they can offer."
---
Dear President Aposon,

The Ministry of Intelligence Operations would be honored to have your assistance, and eternally thankful. The security tapes you mentioned would be an incredible help to our operation, as would any other assistance you are capable of offering.

Warm regards,
Henry de Vries
Secretary to the Interim Minister of Intelligence Operations

OOC: what do you think of this leading to a black operation led by some of my spec. ops guys?

"Anything and everything," Voltaire said. He took the first sip of his coffee and let out a long 'aaahhh.' "What information have you managed to get out of the assassin, van Dijk? Did he mention anything about how he was contacted? D-" Just then Sanderson's phone rang. Voltaire gestured for the Interim Minister to go ahead and answer it. When the call was done, he asked, "Who was that? What tapes?"

OOC: IC post soon.

OOC: Sorry about not posting. Also, black ops sounds fun.

"That was one of my secretaries," said Sanderson. "Informing me of a letter from the President of Uiri. Apparently, they have tapes of the CEO of Vaarshire Steel meeting with someone at a hotel. As for Mr. van Dijk, he hasn't revealed how he was contacted, and he has absolutely refused to speak about anything."

"Well, let's see the tape."

The tape showed the two men go into a conference room. They didn't have audio but it was easy to see that one was ecstatic and the other was clearly doing business. The other Vaar man took out multiple weapons. Surprisingly they were mostly assault rifles and sniper rifles. Not uncommon, Uir gun laws were very relaxed, it disturbed the President that a foreigner could retrieve a sniper rifle however. What surprised the President even more was what happened next. An Uir man walked in. Said something, in English, and then the Vaar Steel man fell. It was apparent that he had fainted. The Uir man ducked behind the door and hotel staff came to treat the Vaar Steel man.

The other Vaar man was soon identified as a black market arms dealer. The Uir man - he was the head of the Rod Otomobil. The connection between the Vaar Steel man and the Uir man was clear. Vaar Steel provided the steel for Rod's automobiles, the Uir man provided guns to the black marketer and the black marketed used the Vaar Steel man's wharehouse. Vaar Steel sales were better, plus comission on 'lending' the wharehouse. The black marketer sold the guns easily. The Uir man had cheap steel. And it was legitimately disguised as Vaar Steel's sales to Rod Conogolomerat were recorded. The price was unusually low, economy of scale was thought to cause that but it was clearly something else.

OOC: This good with you, Vaarshire?

OOC: Just fine. And, out of curiosity, what language is that you're using, with "Otomobil" or "Parliametari"? Is that an actual language or something you constructed? Also, am I to assume that someone from Vaarshire is watching the tape as well? If not, ignore the following post.

"I'll be..." said Henry de Vries. As a secretary of the Minister of the MIO, he had never expected to be in on something this... important. "We have Vaarshire Steel's connection to the black market, we know where the weapon is from, and we know who got the weapon. We just need to connect this dealer with Leon van Dijk. We just need surveillance tapes from the warehouse, which I am told are hidden somewhere in Vaarshire Steel headquarters and we've got all the links in the chain. That and bring this dealer in," he said. He pulled out his phone. "Excuse me, I need to make a call."

Meanwhile, at the Starbucks, the phone of Interim Minister of Intelligence Operations' phone rang. "Excuse me," he said, and picked up the phone. "Sanderson. Ah, Henry. Any news? What... what happened? A Uir company is involved? They can take care of their own nation... but we have the link with the CEO and the Black Market? Yes, I can get their warehouse surveillance tapes. It's almost over, Henry, I can see the end. Oh... right... the dealer. We'll have to bring him in... and fast. Right, goodbye."

He turned to Voltaire. "Good news. I assume you heard my half of the conversation?"

OOC: He would have seen the tape after with a NIBU agent so that post is fine. As for the language, it is Uir, my own constructed language. Heavy influences from French and English, but, with some exceptions, a vowel and a consanant can't be beside each other meaning a total lack of dipthongs. The 'th' sound doesn't exist, neither does the 'x' or 'q' sounds. c represents the 'ch' sound and x represents the 'sh' sound. There are some accents too.
IC:

The NIBU operative turned to Henry, "Rod Conogolomerat is a big company. It has a market share of 25% in all manufacturing and also in the super-store sector. They are untouchable. Chances are that gun regulations are going to be tighter - a registry of some sort. It will be a nightmare to implement but it will help ensure that stuff like this never happens again. We can only charge the man for illegal sale of firearms as only licensed firearm dealers are allowed to sell such weapons, but the penalty is a fine of about 1000à00, or US$2000. He'll be able to pay it easy. We're sorry."

"What do we do now Hawk?" asked Jaxson to Hawk as Hawk was reading something.

"We wait," replied Hawk as he looked up from his book as he handed the book to Jaxson for a moment as he started to read it for a moment.

"The bloke is really that old?" started Jaxson as he read the chapter quickly.

"He used to train me alongside several other Headmasters," answered Hawk as he looked around for a moment. "Nobody knows why he won't accept the rank as Headmaster. Hell, there was four Headmasters that offered him the rank and a position on the Council. Hell, nobody knows why he keeps saying no. Some reckon he was part of a Rebellion during the Union Civil war. Others say he has a thing for killing," explained Hawk.

"I heard there's something else behind the reason why he said no," started a new private as the platoon walked along the streets.

"Alright private," started Hawk as Jaxson checked his MP5. "Let's hear your point of view,"

"Well sir, they say he's fought alongside Vamp twice, rose with a Rebellion and then it was said he betray's Vamp," started the private only to bet with a chorus of laughter.

"Nobody knows why he left the military and joined the Rebellion, private," started Hawk as he defended his old master. "He only fights for he believes in and sets a better example to the others," explained Hawk. "Now, first squad, take up position and 45th squad, move up the left flank,"

From Darkombye
At your command eight companies of our Royal Taktical Troops will be helicoptered in to help with the search
DARKOMBYE

OOC: Darkombye, we have captured the assassin and the peices are all coming together. In a word, it is over.