May 24 ,1981
St.Petersburg
11:32 PM
"The attack was attributed to a group funded by the CIA."
Typical, Max thought as he lay on the couch, watching the late night Soviet news. Well, the only channel that was broadcasting at this time. He listened to the male host ramble on as he downed his drink. This was his idea of a vacation. Sitting in his flat in St.Petersburg, drinking his nights away.
"The casualties were high, but the morale and perseverance of the military is higher than before. Despite our heavy losses, our forces were able to inflict much larger losses on the terrorist forces."
Something isn't adding up, Max frowned. First, a base annihilated in Helmand and now a massive insurgent attack on another military base? Why didn't HQ notify me of an impending attack of this caliber?
Too tired and wasted to even question why all of this did not click, the young agent turned his gaze out the window toward the lights of St.Petersburg which were lighting up the dark sky. The Raketa Clock tower simmered a bright gold in the distance, its clock glowing like a bright blue moon. The sight enthralled him, but just as he was about to drift off, the next segment of the news caught his attention.
"We have been informed that reports of missing children have been filed in nearly a dozen countries, including our own land,"the news reporter explained. "Reports are surfacing in France, South Africa, Germany, England,the United States, Italy, Brazil, Japan, Australia, and even a few locations inside the Motherland including Moscow, Ryazan,Kiev, and Odessa. While it is not clear what is behind this sudden disappearance of these children, police all over the world are attributing the cause to child traffickers. "
"What in the name of Lenin?"Maxim muttered in disbelief. "All those children from different countries, huh? This is surreal!"
Something was definitely up and he had planned to get to the bottom of it if it was the last thing he did.
---
Caspian Military Base
Dagestan, USSR
Same Time
" Smirno!"
All the occupants inside the garage of the base turned to see Major Dragunov , flanked by two black-clad and masked GRU security agents and his aide Svetlana, standing at the entrance. Major Dragunov and his entourage faced the military men as the GRU leader started his speech.
"Priviet , soldiers of the Motherland," the GRU leader began. "With permission of General Soldatenko, I decided to embed some GRU personnel within your unit. I have learned that you are supposed to be on alert for possible insurgent gatherings within the area which I know you are quite capable of handling, but it wouldn't help to have some of my men provide extra eyes and ears within your infantry, tank, scout, air, and even Spetsnaz units.Are there any objections to this plan?"
As expected,no one spoke up. No sane person would ever object to the demands of the GRU or even the KGB. Those who did suffered a not so delightful fate. In other words, you couldn't say no.
"Khorosho, now without further adieu, continue doing a good job serving the Motherland,. Dragunov saluted. The soldiers and officers of various ranks returned the salute as the GRU Major , along with his escorts, left the base. As soon as they entered the chilly night on their way to the helicopter that would escort them back home, Svetlana grabbed the Major's hand.
"Sir, do you really think that rebel groups might actually congregate here of all places?" she asked, the wind flipping her wavy blonde hair around as she glanced at her superior with her icy blue eyes.
"Of course not." Dragunov chuckled, returning her gaze with his own eyes, as black as the night."There is something else going on that is in my best interest. I would die before I let Zaitsev and his KGB goons beat me to it."
Svetlana's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I see.''
The GRU leader and his aide entered the awaiting chopper as small drops of rain littered the area. Soon, they were off.
---
Three figures lay crouched down at the base of the mountain as they observed the chopper fly away. These figures were known as Venator, Pain, and Rayne. They had been observing this base for months. They only needed the master's signal for them to act. The rain started to come down harder as Venator glanced on, his eyes burning a bright yellow, He was tapped on the shoulder by Pain, the rain sliding down his dark mask. Only his glowing red eyes were visible in the darkness.Pain pointed a dark,gloved finger to the edge of the dark trees. Venator and Rayne trained their eyes where their comrade had indicated. A bright flash of lightning illuminated a tall silhouette situated among the trees.
The time is now.
It didn't need to talk to spread its message.
---
The Artillery Unit soldier sat at the edge of the hill, chomping on his cigar as he enjoyed the rain. The horizon seemed to take on a purplish tinge as the dark clouds congregated. He had never seen such a majestic sight since his family trip to the Black Sea. At least this made being caged in this hellhole of a region more bearable.
I would rather be taking part in the action down south, he bitterly thought.
Subconsciously, the trooper hummed the Katyusha song to himself as he felt the rain drops pelt him. Unlike the previous months, the rain was not chilling, but rather it felt lukewarm. The soldier closed his eyes and relished the calm when a snapping twig caught his attention. He opened his eyes and drew his rifle, aiming it at the darkness.
"Who's there?"he shouted.
Only the torrential rain provided any sound. The trooper's eyes darted around the perimeter of the base, scanning for the source of the sound.
Might have been my imagination, he thought. My new resolution should be to cut the vodka. It's really-
Footsteps caused him to whirl around. In the blurry darkness, two glowing yellow lights levitated in the air right before the alarmed artillery operator's eyes. As soon as the set of lights appeared right in front of the man, a dark robed shape materialized much to the shock and awe of the soldier. Cracking twigs behind and to the left of him confirmed that he wasn't alone.
" Stalin's pants!" he exclaimed as he came face to face with the two newcomers. One of them was robed like the one in front of him, except that it wore a darker colored mask. The other newcomer, planted right behind him donned a white mask with purple markings on its cheeks. Unlike its companions, this one had a feminine physique.
" Who the hell are you?"
He dropped his cigarette as he aimed his weapon at the newcomers warily. He could feel his heartbeat accelerate as a moment of awkward silence passed. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the three individuals in a white light. The booming sound of the ensuing thunder was not the only reason why his underpants were wet. Was it his imagination or did the cloudy sky take on a red tinge?
"Woah!" the soldier staggered backward and tripped over an uprooted root, landing on his behind. The air was suddenly lit a bright yellowish color as the black-masked newcomer held out what looked like a glowing sword.
"What are you going to do with that?"
As if to answer the drunken soldier's question, the newcomer made his way over to him. The artillery operator felt the chill in his bones bump up a notch which he was sure had nothing to do with the weather. He could only watch in petrified shock as the robed person stood over him and raised its glowing sword.
---
Gunfire and screaming tore through the stormy night as he made his way deeper into the base, stepping over broken glass, twisted metal, and bloody corpses. The booming thunder, which shook the vicinity, could not even drown out the commotion. He craned his head to his left and his right to note that his companions Pain and Rayne were alongside him. A trooper popped out from behind the twisted wreckage of a Yak-38 Forger plane and pointed the muzzle of his PKM machine gun at them. He could only hear incoherent shouting as the bullets streaked past him.
I'll take care of this.
He did not have to say anything as they were able to communicate via telepathy. Drawing his sword, which was brimming with intense electricity, he advanced onto the hysterical man. The look in the soldier's eyes reminded him of a frightened animal about to become prey to the hunter as he impaled the trooper in the chest. He hoisted the dying man up and glanced into his grey eyes, watching the life slowly ebb from them. Once the man's body became a dead-weight rag doll, he shook it off his weapon. Wiping the blood off his electrifying sword, he turned to rejoin his comrades.
As they set off through the fires and mayhem of the ruined base, he caught a reflection of himself from a broken piece of glass. From behind his brown cloak and copper mask, glaring yellow eyes stared back. He was Venator, one of the lieutenants of the Pale Operator. The circular mark with an X marked through it was the telltale proof of his loyalty. Cold rain pelted his cloak as they exited the base. Their objection was complete.
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---
Max woke up on the couch with a start. Sunlight filtered inside, giving the dimly lit room a faint glow. Breathing heavily, he glanced around the room,realizing that he was sleeping among empty alcohol bottles.
"Stalin's ball! I really need to cut back on those."
He groaned as he started to clear up the couch. Once he finished his chore, he left to wash his face in order to clear his head. Upon returning, he had realized that he forgotten to turn off the television. As the KGB agent walked over to the button, the breaking news headline caught his attention.
" We have received word this morning that the Caspian Base in Dagestan Province was attacked last night," the reporter, a woman with Central Asian features , reported. " There are no claims of responsibility as of yet, but there have been reports of Western-backed insurgents operating in the area. The death toll and damage to the hardware inside Caspian Base is quite high. This is a developing story so we don't know all the details yet, but stay tuned to learn more."
Max stood there, blinking his eyes in disbelief. This was the third base destroyed in recent months. Something wasn't adding up.
How do incidents like this happen under the Kremlin's nose?
Before he could ponder more on the subject, the phone rang.
"Hello there," he answered the phone.
"Agent Fyodorov, it has been a while."
"Oh, hello there Director Zaitsev," he replied in a mocking tone.
Zaitsev chuckled. " I'd appreciate it if you refer to me as Colonel. Anyhow, onto more important matters. You saw the news this morning, yes?"
Max burst out laughing. "You just answered my question. Ok, on a more serious note, I did and I want to know this: what is really happening?I mean this can't keep happening without the intelligence agencies not having an inkling of knowledge about an impending attack."
"It is as you say, nothing is as it seems," Zaitsev responded. After a bit of pause on the other end of the line, the KGB Director spoke up. "I want to meet with you this Monday to discuss what you have seen and the details of your mission."
"That would be great,"Max replied. He had plenty of questions to ask his superior. "I hope to see you then."
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What will happen on Monday?
Oh, and linked below are Pain, Rayne, and Venator respectively.
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