12-06-2019, 08:59 AM
(Written jointly with the [nation]Shen Empire[/nation])
Oak St, Litudinem
December 4th, 2019 - 8:21 PM
David Hopkins found himself walking down a lonely street. The bleak shadows only broken by the dim glow of lamp lights offering the analyst tiny glimmer to guide him back home for the DIS headquarters. The light pollution drowned out the stars in the new moon robbed him of any other source of light in the sky.
As he was walking down the street a man stepped out of an alleyway.
He was tall. Dressed in a brown raincoat and a matching hat. Although the raincoat obscured his features it was clear that he was a skinny man. The dim flicker of light as he illuminated a cigarette with his right hand revealed his asian features
In his left hand he held a briefcase.
"Mr. Hopkins, I have been expecting you."
His accent was distinctive. Coming from right across the sea
Hopkins, just as he had been trained, wearily took stock of the man. David analyzed his every feature, from the dimly illuminated lines of the man's face to the sleek, steel briefcase in his left hand. He clearly wasn't armed but that didn't mean he couldn't be a dangerous individual. Hopkins decided that he would precede with extreme caution. Something about the man with the cigarette unnerved him. David hesitantly approached the man and responded.
"Good evening sir, how may I help you?"
The dim tip of thr cigarette lit up as the man sucked in a deep breath. Showing his face twisty into a smirk before exhaling the toxic fumes through his nose.
"Oh this isn't a question about how you can help me. It's a matter of how I can help you. I have something rather important that I need to discuss with you Mr. Hopkins."
The sound of a car slowly moving down the street came from behind the man.
"... but this is such a poor place to have that conversation"
The man reached up and took out the cigarette motioning towards the car as it pulled up next to him.
"... how about you and me take a little ride"(edited)
Following the strange man's request was, of course, against all training David had received from the Department of Internal Security. Yet, something seemed so incredibly abnormal about the man that Hopkins felt he couldn't possibly not heed the man's request. He had trained for this type of thing and could handle himself if a fight was to ensue.
"Fine. Where are you taking me?"
Hopkins straitened his body, revealing his full 6 foot, 2 inch frame. Hopkins cracked his knuckles, preparing for the worst, as he. awaited the smoker's response.
"Oh, just around the corner" he said flicking is cigarettes into the street. One of the doors of the van opened up by itself. There were two people sitting in the front seat and another to directly behind the two open seats in the middle.
"Don't worry Mr. Hopkins, I just want to discuss an issue of mutual importance."
Weighing his options, David Hopkins decided enough was enough. A one versus one was one thing, this was now a one versus five and David didn't like his odds.
"Please, Sir, you'll have to elaborate before I enter this vehicle with you and your compatriots. What is your purpose?"
An unamused grimace passed on the face of the smoker, as he began to reach for his rain jacket. Undoing the buttons.
"... We have a mutual enemy. Kerille... that's all I'll say for now. I really must insist that you get in the car."
The man reached into his right pocket, pulling back the jacket enough to reveal a straps of a holster but not the gun itself.
David saw this coming a mile away. He knew he should have been horrified. He was outmanned and outgunned, after all, but this didn't keep him from suddenly becoming very interested in the man's proposition. Kerlile wasn't a word tossed about lightly within the intelligence community. If you said Kerlile was your enemy, they were your mutual enemy.
Letting curiosity get the better of him, David said nothing but stepped up into the back of the van, now committed to his fate, whatever it might be.
As soon as he had sat himself down and been reminded to put his seatbelt on by the man driving a black bag was placed over his head. He heard the man what's the suitcase get in the car and sit next to him.
the sound of metal as he rested a suitcase in between
"There... that wasn't too hard" he said as the car began to drive down the street and take numerous turns, many more than would be necessary than traveling in this part of town.
"... just remain calm. We will be there soon enough"
David was actually shocked by how calm he had managed to remain. He should have been in a full on panic, yet, David felt no fear, only apprehension.
"Good sir, would you mind introducing yourself.
"I don't have a name but for this purpose of this interaction. You can call me Lu." he responded.
Eventually the car came to a stop. The doors opened up and the sent of fish rushed into David's nose.
He was lead through doors and up a pair of stairs.
When the bag was finally taken off his head he was in a small room. In front of him was a table with a manila envelope and a half filled ashtray.
The man known as lu sat across from him
"You smoke?" He said as he began to take off the plastic from another pack of cigarettes
David's apprehension was rapidly turning to confusion. Why on earth was this man exchanging all of the pleasantries? Nothing made sense about his Hopkins' predicament.
"It's rude to smoke without offering a cigarette someone else. At least... where I come from."
He placed the cigarette in his mouth and held it between his lips as he ignited it. Pushing the file across the table.
"Here, take a look at that."
David instantly jumped on the one clue of the origin of his abductors. The man was from a culture where it was exceedingly rude to smoke without offering someone else a cigarette. That eliminated at least two dozen nations and moved a couple to the top of Hopkins' mental list of potential captors. Taking one look at the folder presented to him, David pushed the evidence he had just been given to the back of his mind. This folder he was handed was the real deal.
Hopkins opened the folder and was immediately presented with a whirlwind of names, photographs, places and dates. It took him at least a minute to piece things together but when he did grasp the full repercussions of his "present" he realized the implications of this meeting.
He had acquired the Aurora holy grail. With a million thoughts rushing through his head, David desperately attempted to piece things together. This folder and the information it contained could be the single most important item he ever held.
"I... this.... everything on them? Since 2007? How?"
While David was reading the file, the smoking man continued to suck down his cigarette smoke, adding another butt to the ashtray by the time David spoke again.
"Let's just say that we've come into a wealth of new knowledge. And I've been instructed by my superiors to share it. We don't know who we can trust the moment so we've been selective on how we passed the information on."
David blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't drugged and hallucinating the entire event. Nothing had ever seemed more surreal to Hopkins. There had to be some kind of a caveat, a catch, something.
"So, what's the catch? What do you want in return for these documents?"
He only heard a small chuckle from the man across from him, who stood up and picked up the ashtray.
"There's no catch. Consider it a gift from the empress...to our old friends"
On of the other men set David's cell phone down on the table. It had somehow been picked from his pocket while he was still in the van.
"I suspect you'll be needing to make a call after we leave."
David Hopkins took the phone from the man's hand silently and placed it on the table next to his folder. He looked at the smoking man and nodded, conveying his thanks for the plethora of information that had suddenly been dropped into his lap.
"I suppose I am free to leave with the files?"
"I suppose you are. But you're a rather long way from your house. And it'll be awhile before a rideshare can make it out here. Why don't you just sit down and keep reading those files?"
The smoking man then buttoned his jacket back up and motioned for the rest of his group to leave.
"Happy hunting, Mr. Hopkins."
Hopkins watched in silence as the smoking man's men left the room. David glanced over his folder once more before picking up his encrypted phone and dialing #257. This might prove to be one of the most significant calls of his life.
"Listen, you gotta put me on the line with Director Maguire. I have just acquired the information that may lead to the eradication of all Auroras. I have also made contact with the intelligence service of Shen. Yes, it's urgent!"
Oak St, Litudinem
December 4th, 2019 - 8:21 PM
David Hopkins found himself walking down a lonely street. The bleak shadows only broken by the dim glow of lamp lights offering the analyst tiny glimmer to guide him back home for the DIS headquarters. The light pollution drowned out the stars in the new moon robbed him of any other source of light in the sky.
As he was walking down the street a man stepped out of an alleyway.
He was tall. Dressed in a brown raincoat and a matching hat. Although the raincoat obscured his features it was clear that he was a skinny man. The dim flicker of light as he illuminated a cigarette with his right hand revealed his asian features
In his left hand he held a briefcase.
"Mr. Hopkins, I have been expecting you."
His accent was distinctive. Coming from right across the sea
Hopkins, just as he had been trained, wearily took stock of the man. David analyzed his every feature, from the dimly illuminated lines of the man's face to the sleek, steel briefcase in his left hand. He clearly wasn't armed but that didn't mean he couldn't be a dangerous individual. Hopkins decided that he would precede with extreme caution. Something about the man with the cigarette unnerved him. David hesitantly approached the man and responded.
"Good evening sir, how may I help you?"
The dim tip of thr cigarette lit up as the man sucked in a deep breath. Showing his face twisty into a smirk before exhaling the toxic fumes through his nose.
"Oh this isn't a question about how you can help me. It's a matter of how I can help you. I have something rather important that I need to discuss with you Mr. Hopkins."
The sound of a car slowly moving down the street came from behind the man.
"... but this is such a poor place to have that conversation"
The man reached up and took out the cigarette motioning towards the car as it pulled up next to him.
"... how about you and me take a little ride"(edited)
Following the strange man's request was, of course, against all training David had received from the Department of Internal Security. Yet, something seemed so incredibly abnormal about the man that Hopkins felt he couldn't possibly not heed the man's request. He had trained for this type of thing and could handle himself if a fight was to ensue.
"Fine. Where are you taking me?"
Hopkins straitened his body, revealing his full 6 foot, 2 inch frame. Hopkins cracked his knuckles, preparing for the worst, as he. awaited the smoker's response.
"Oh, just around the corner" he said flicking is cigarettes into the street. One of the doors of the van opened up by itself. There were two people sitting in the front seat and another to directly behind the two open seats in the middle.
"Don't worry Mr. Hopkins, I just want to discuss an issue of mutual importance."
Weighing his options, David Hopkins decided enough was enough. A one versus one was one thing, this was now a one versus five and David didn't like his odds.
"Please, Sir, you'll have to elaborate before I enter this vehicle with you and your compatriots. What is your purpose?"
An unamused grimace passed on the face of the smoker, as he began to reach for his rain jacket. Undoing the buttons.
"... We have a mutual enemy. Kerille... that's all I'll say for now. I really must insist that you get in the car."
The man reached into his right pocket, pulling back the jacket enough to reveal a straps of a holster but not the gun itself.
David saw this coming a mile away. He knew he should have been horrified. He was outmanned and outgunned, after all, but this didn't keep him from suddenly becoming very interested in the man's proposition. Kerlile wasn't a word tossed about lightly within the intelligence community. If you said Kerlile was your enemy, they were your mutual enemy.
Letting curiosity get the better of him, David said nothing but stepped up into the back of the van, now committed to his fate, whatever it might be.
As soon as he had sat himself down and been reminded to put his seatbelt on by the man driving a black bag was placed over his head. He heard the man what's the suitcase get in the car and sit next to him.
the sound of metal as he rested a suitcase in between
"There... that wasn't too hard" he said as the car began to drive down the street and take numerous turns, many more than would be necessary than traveling in this part of town.
"... just remain calm. We will be there soon enough"
David was actually shocked by how calm he had managed to remain. He should have been in a full on panic, yet, David felt no fear, only apprehension.
"Good sir, would you mind introducing yourself.
"I don't have a name but for this purpose of this interaction. You can call me Lu." he responded.
Eventually the car came to a stop. The doors opened up and the sent of fish rushed into David's nose.
He was lead through doors and up a pair of stairs.
When the bag was finally taken off his head he was in a small room. In front of him was a table with a manila envelope and a half filled ashtray.
The man known as lu sat across from him
"You smoke?" He said as he began to take off the plastic from another pack of cigarettes
David's apprehension was rapidly turning to confusion. Why on earth was this man exchanging all of the pleasantries? Nothing made sense about his Hopkins' predicament.
"It's rude to smoke without offering a cigarette someone else. At least... where I come from."
He placed the cigarette in his mouth and held it between his lips as he ignited it. Pushing the file across the table.
"Here, take a look at that."
David instantly jumped on the one clue of the origin of his abductors. The man was from a culture where it was exceedingly rude to smoke without offering someone else a cigarette. That eliminated at least two dozen nations and moved a couple to the top of Hopkins' mental list of potential captors. Taking one look at the folder presented to him, David pushed the evidence he had just been given to the back of his mind. This folder he was handed was the real deal.
Hopkins opened the folder and was immediately presented with a whirlwind of names, photographs, places and dates. It took him at least a minute to piece things together but when he did grasp the full repercussions of his "present" he realized the implications of this meeting.
He had acquired the Aurora holy grail. With a million thoughts rushing through his head, David desperately attempted to piece things together. This folder and the information it contained could be the single most important item he ever held.
"I... this.... everything on them? Since 2007? How?"
While David was reading the file, the smoking man continued to suck down his cigarette smoke, adding another butt to the ashtray by the time David spoke again.
"Let's just say that we've come into a wealth of new knowledge. And I've been instructed by my superiors to share it. We don't know who we can trust the moment so we've been selective on how we passed the information on."
David blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't drugged and hallucinating the entire event. Nothing had ever seemed more surreal to Hopkins. There had to be some kind of a caveat, a catch, something.
"So, what's the catch? What do you want in return for these documents?"
He only heard a small chuckle from the man across from him, who stood up and picked up the ashtray.
"There's no catch. Consider it a gift from the empress...to our old friends"
On of the other men set David's cell phone down on the table. It had somehow been picked from his pocket while he was still in the van.
"I suspect you'll be needing to make a call after we leave."
David Hopkins took the phone from the man's hand silently and placed it on the table next to his folder. He looked at the smoking man and nodded, conveying his thanks for the plethora of information that had suddenly been dropped into his lap.
"I suppose I am free to leave with the files?"
"I suppose you are. But you're a rather long way from your house. And it'll be awhile before a rideshare can make it out here. Why don't you just sit down and keep reading those files?"
The smoking man then buttoned his jacket back up and motioned for the rest of his group to leave.
"Happy hunting, Mr. Hopkins."
Hopkins watched in silence as the smoking man's men left the room. David glanced over his folder once more before picking up his encrypted phone and dialing #257. This might prove to be one of the most significant calls of his life.
"Listen, you gotta put me on the line with Director Maguire. I have just acquired the information that may lead to the eradication of all Auroras. I have also made contact with the intelligence service of Shen. Yes, it's urgent!"