Jess and Ayumi arrive at the predetermined time and place, asking for "Sergei" at the front gate. The guard calls on his radio and a few moments later, a rather decrepit man arrives on a golf cart.

"Get on back of cart. We go now."

A brief cart ride brings them to a small private jet. Standing outside the plane's entrance are the ubiquitous goons flanking either side. The old stops the cart and gets off, gesturing for Jess and Ayumi to follow.

"Give these men your weapons and any phones, pagers, hand grenades you may have. And I only say give because these two (insert Russian epithet) couldn't get laid in morgue. They tend to be bit grabby when it come to searches ladies. Now, if you will..."

The remainder of the team is put up at the Atlantis Hotel in the downtown area of Santorini. Inside, the team monitors the mobile trackers in Jess and Ayumi's phones. They indicate a northwesterly course heading out of Mediterranean, bearing towards the Adriatic Sea.

Halfway up the Adriatic Sea, the plane starts its descent. A projected heading is for somewhere around the Venice, Italy area.

Jess empties her pockets, naturally coming off with nothing noteworthy.

"I hope you didn't actually think we would be stupid enough to carry firearms to an airport."

Mentally, Jess makes a note that this guy's death shall be painful, if reasonably possible.

Ayumi wordlessly hands over her cell phone, then holds up her hands as if to say that's all I've got.

The plane lands and taxis down the runway, the turbines throttling back after a few minutes travel on the tarmac. Sergei opens the exit door revealing a small hangar.

"Please, get out. You have much to do and we are already behind schedule."

Walking outside the hangar with the aged guard dog Sergei toting a submachinegun (probably more for show than anything else) Ayumi and Jess see a limousine and two SUVs with a small band of Russian mobster types hovering about smoking like chimneys. As they approach the car, one of them knocks on the limo's window.

Two men step out of the vehicle followed by an immaculently dressed woman. They flank her as if (literally) there lives depended upon it. The woman steps forward, glancing at her men:

(in Russian)

"Boys, give us ladies some space. We have business to discuss."

The men move off a bit, but still within maybe 20ft of the woman's position. She looks chidingly towards the hired muscle then back at Ayumi and Jess.

(in English, with a slight Northern European accent)

"Hello, I trust your trip was pleasant? I know that Sergei can be quite the surly host."


(Edited by Dieter at 1:56 pm on Jan. 26, 2004)

Back in Santorini

The LCD screen on the agents' PDAs flashes as the trace signal is triangulated.

[color=blue:691015d18a]
TRACE CONFIRMED....
+/- 100m
Location: 45:25:00N 12:18:00E
-VENICE, ITALY-[/color]

Venice, Italy: 21:42 local time

The woman pulls out some sort of Star Trek tricorder looking device, firing a thin beam over both agents then at their personal items (currently in a bag, slung over Sergei's shoulder). The scans on Ayumi and Jess appear to yield nothing of note to the woman, but a pass on the bag peaks her attention. She looks at Sergei with a very unsympathetic glare.

"Sergei, you fucking idiot. You brought their phones with you??? (shaking her head). I swear, if you weren't the boss' uncle, I'd have you shot dead on the spot. Open the bag and dump it out on the ground."

(looking over to one of her goons)

"Shotgun, NOW!"

One of the heavies walks over and unslings a Mossberg, handing it to the woman.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Tossing the handcannon back to goon, the woman walks back and in front of Ayumi and Jess.

"Now that we've taken care of that, I suppose it's only fair that we have proper introductions. You've met Sergei, you can call me Liz. I don't believe I caught your names?"

Jess does a cold read of her would-be captor.

Something about her....the way she carries herself. Hmmm.

[color=red:1ae40d3b18]TRACE LOST...21:43[/color]

In Satorini, the agents' sat-comms receive the ominous message.

Quote:

Quote: from Dieter on 9:28 am on Jan. 23, 2004

"Now that we've taken care of that, I suppose it's only fair that we have proper introductions. You've met Sergei, you can call me Liz. I don't believe I caught your names?"

Liz rolls her eyes at their silence.

"Have it your way, I was just trying to be sociable. Our business may be cut-throat, but I didn't think we'd have to start off on such bad terms. Afterall, I'm not the one holding your brother hostage. Off we go then."

Liz nods to one of her bodyguards who then gives the "move out" gesture with his hand.

Inside the limousine, Liz offers Ayumi and Jess some refreshments then opens up a briefcase, handing a folder to them.

"Inside you'll find your task. I trust it is within your scope of expertise. Quite simple really, lure a man into the plaza, the other (or both of you) kills him. You do that for us and you're that much closer to saving dear Kenji-San."

Jess picks up on Liz' linguistics ability.

Russian, Japanese...maybe a faceman.

Jess answers in her best try at a flat, emotionless voice in accentless English.

"Now, 'Liz', what exactly tells us that you are going to keep your word? I believe in honor among thieves, but I fear I am in the minority."

"You have no idea, that is how we keep our edge. Kenji is always just a phone call away from death...or at least a bit closer to being permanently called stubby. My counterparts who are keeping him alive have a passion for that sort of thing..."

Meanwhile...

Artis and Co. scramble to the airport where an Agency jet stands idle. The crewman greets them, sparing only enough time for short pleasantries before securing the exit door.

"Then, 'Liz', you must be aware of the fact that this does not provide ample motivation for me or my partner here. You see, if we are given every indication that this will be a game that we can not win or even tie, it will force us to alter the rules - level the playing field."

She tilts her head to the side.

"We are willing to do as you ask. You should just be aware that while our failure would bring about Kenji's death, failure on your side of the contract will lead to widespread death and destruction amongst your organisation. I do not mean to threaten you - I just want to make sure that we all know certain facts. Surely you are conscious of the fact that the balance of terror may yet tip to either side. Thus, I advise you to keep your counterparts in check for now."

Liz smiles,

"You must be American. Your cowboy attitude tells me that. That is no doubt the product of a bourgeous upbringing, somewhere in New England perhaps? If I were so bold as you I'd say educated at Vassar or Brown? You do effectively drive your point home, so let's talk business. What sort of assurance do you require?"

Jess smiles.

"It is really rather simple. I will carry out the assignment, while my partner will stay with Kenji and ensure that he survives the length of our contract. We will buy a new set of cellphones, and I will call her from time to time. If she doesn't take my call, I will assume that the contract has been broken. On the other hand, I will report when I am ready to execute the hit. At this point, you will take her and Kenji in a rented car with some of your guards and have them park it close to the target location. One of them will go into the plaza independant of me and monitor the situation. He will radio the others as soon as I get the target, which will be their clue to get out of the vehicle. I get in, drive off with my partner and Kenji, and your men withdraw. Further extraction will be the problem of the respective party."

Liz seems rather non-compliant with Jess' outlandish request, grinding her teeth with every successive word that the agent says to her. Her response is also prompted by an unsavory smile.

"The foundation of my employer's business is based on trust. Rest assured, you partner's brother is worth far more alive than dead. You can't possibly think I'd let your partner be near her brother, let alone in the same car. I personally don't know where dear Kenji is being kept, but I can say without a shadow of doubt it is nowhere nearby."

Think, Jess, think...

"Trust only insofar as to not letting us address the issue of mutual distrust, hm? The reason I suggested this course of action was that we want to evacuate this area with Kenji as soon as possible after the action. A plan that enables us to be reasonably quick about this part after we have fulfilled our side of the agreement will not be rejected. I think it's time for you to make a suggestion, 'Liz'."

"Alright."

Liz pulls out her phone, hitting the speed-dial and turning on its speaker function. As it begins to ring outloud, Liz looks directly at Jess and Ayumi.

"Question for you both? What has seven fingers and a careless sister?"

Hello?, the voice says on the other end of Liz's call.

"Minus-one."

A cleaver-like chop is heard followed by an all-too familiar scream of agony. Liz holds the phone closer to Jess and Ayumi, mostly for effect.

"Your partner's brother is rapidly becoming a sideshow freak. Do as you're told and he might just live the rest of his life is relative normalcy. That, my dear agents is the only thing you may trust or rely upon."

Liz checks her watch as she turns off her phone, Kenji still moaning in the background.

"The clock is ticking, agents. Anymore heroics for today, or shall we get back to your assignment?"

Jess feigns defeat - though how much of it is still a front is debateable.

"Fine. I'll shut up and we'll do as you say."

Ayumi nods docilely, rubbing her own fingers. A tear creeps out of one eye.

As she turns on the tear ducts a crack, she gives her head a toss to activate her X-ray lenses, and then surveys Liz and the goons to see what they're carrying.

"Tell me," she whispers, letting the real pain and desperation that she's feeling slip through for effect, "Who is the target? Who's life are we trading for Kenji-kun's?"

The x-rays probe where Ayumi's eyes cannot. Scanning Liz and her two flanking heavies, she spots
a double-gun rig on the lady with her cohorts packing sidearms of their own. The henchman to the left of Liz also has an SMG (probably an MP-5K) slung under his opposite shoulder.

Trying hard to hold back the fury and grief of her brother's torture, a deeper scan behind the bad guys identifies a veritable arsenal of weaponry hidden under the limo's trunk. A cursory estimation would indicate that there probably is enough firepower to hold off just about anything or anyone.

Liz seems to deriving much pleasure from Ayumi's suffering.

"There, there. Your brother isn't dead yet. It is entirely possible that he could still come out of this alive. Of course, he'll never play the piano again..."

She and her men begin to laugh, Liz stifling their humor in mid-jeer.

"Stop it. That's not funny. Oh who am I kidding, IT IS! But in all seriousness. Inside the folder you'll find your target, his mannerisms and where we expect him to be for the job. All you two have to do is follow him to the location then put a few bullets in his head."

Jess opens the folder, revealing said glossy of the target.

"His name is Tommy Vercetti...an American running one of the many drug cartels in the Miami, Florida area. His organization has been a plague to my client for the past 20 years. We found out he's in Venice laying low until after a certain incident involving the DEA and a Coast Guard boat full of plastic explosives. My client wants him removed from the scene, entirely."

"Just who is your client, busu?"