₦airaland Forum

adontcare:
Well done for this update

You're welcome bae

URANTAALLWELL:
I'm following ardently. This is a very classy masterpiece.

Thanks bro

ProfClassic:
Ardently following...more please

More you shall get

adebyt:
[color=#000099][/color]Thanks for the update

You're welcome

Through the grey smoke, Somto spotted the figure of Talia from his position as she dashed towards the private lounge (where Günther lay in pains) and he gave her a cover fire by shooting sporadically at the guards and thugs, hitting one of the guards in the chest as the other guard fled in panic; while Somto aimed at the back of his head and fired at him as he fell face down, dead.

The power was now back on due to the Back Up generator; and the large room was now brightly lit as the ground was stained with blood and littered with the dead bodies of some of the junkies and their women who had ran amock amidst the gun battle within the faint light in the room. Some of the screaming ladies and junkies who had survived the shoot out, were now running out of the room following the return of the lights which they needed to find their way out as the gun fire ceased brifely, with each man checking his ammo in that tensed moment. Then Talia pressed onto her earpiece "I'm almost running out of ammo", she communicated with Somto, before searching the dead body of the guard who had tried to sneak Günther out, and found a Smith & Wesson pistol which she cocked. Meanwhile downstairs at the casino ground, everyone had scampered away the moment the lights came back. And all these while, Herr Günther had been wincing and writhing in pains, muttering curses at Talia who was now ducked beside him.

"You devious bitch", he spat. "You can't leave this place alive. My men are gonna kill you".

"We'll see about that", replied Talia. And the fire fight resumed once more.

Somto told Talia (through his communication device) to cover him and he crawled forward to grab an Uzi submachine gun belonging to one of the dead thugs and fired expertly at the thugs taking them one after the other. And to the last one, he gave a chance of trying to escape before gunning him down at the doorway. Then he walked to meet Talia where she held Günther down to the ground, and squated before the injured man. And Talia peeled off the latex mask to reveal her true identity. Günther gasped the moment he saw her face.

"Oh damn! It's you", he panted.

"Good to know you know her", said Somto. "Now tell me....why did you set your men on her?"

"I don't know what you're talking about", Günther rasped.

"Who told you to kill her?" Somto demanded.

But the man wouldn't answer. Instead he panted, "I need a doctor....please". And in a feat of anger, Somto shot his other leg, in the knee, and he cried out in livid pain. "It's Yuri....it's Yuri", he cried. "The order was from Yuri!"

"Who's Yuri?" asked Talia

"I don't know him", Günther panted.

"You're lying again!" Somto snapped, squeezing the injured knee and Günther spasmed in uncontrollable pain. "Please stop!", he begged. "Please...please, i'll talk. Oh yes, I'll talk".

"Then talk!" Somto snapped.

"Yuri is like a ghost", Günther began."No one....no one ever sees him. We only....we only receive his orders from Parter Noster....through whom he pays us"

"Pater what?"asked Talia in surprise. "Isn't that supposed to be the latin form forthe Lords Prayer?"

"That's what we know him as", Günther cried. "He brings us orders....orders from Yuri".

"Where can we find this Parter Noster?" Somto demanded knowing fully well that this was their only chance at getting to the root of their mission once and for all. And the man wheezed frantically.

"It's....it's....."


Just then they heard stomping movements coming from downstairs and Somto got up in alert. Quickly, he ran to the door, closing and barricading it with a steel pole. And Günther laughed wryly.

"I told you", he sputtered with blood in his mouth"you won't make it out of this place alive....all my men are now here".

Noticing there was no time on their side, with the impending danger, Somto's mind began to work at hyper speed and he grabbed the curtains of the private lounge, ripping it into two halves before hastening to the nearest window which faced the back of the building. He smashed the window and was joined by Talia who helped him tie the halves of the curtain in a strong end-to-end knot to each other, and also tied it to the window frame as they could hear the great number of men struggling to open the door to save Günther's life. Then Somto and Talia lowered the elongated length of the curtain down the alley at the back of the casino.

"You have to go first", Somto stated

"What about Günther?" Talia asked. "He still has more to say"

"He won't talk anymore. Not when his men are already at the door", said Somto quite tensed. "Waiting a minute longer is suicidal". And Talia nodded in agreement, before she hurriedly climbed throughthe window, grabbing the curtain firmly as she slid downwards.

Somto knew they had lost the chance of obtaining more information fromGünther as they were on the verge of escape. But he was not going to spare his life for fear of him coming back for them. So he pointed his gun at Günther who gaped at him with wide eyes.

"Too bad you won't see me leave", Somto muttered. And before Herr Günther could utter a word, Somto took two precise shots, hitting him in the chest and he sprawled lifeless on the floor in a sudden pool of blood. By then Talia had reached the end of the curtain when she heard the shots. She jumped carefully to reach the ground and looked upwards to see Somto climbing down the wall as Günther's men finally made it into the room. As fast as possible, Somto hopped down to the grimy cobblestones of the dark alley to join Talia. And Günther's men (on discovering Günther dead) fired downwards at them as they ran ahead, but the men missed their marks owing to the darkness beclouding the alleyway.

The beeping of the alarm on Talia's watch startled them awake the next morning, and they both scrambled under the sheets simultaneously as Talia noticed she was bare under the sheets. The events of the previous night began to play back in her head. She gasped in shock, clutching her head as Somto got into his pants.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "How did we end up together, in bed, undressed?"

"Er...er...", Somto stuttered nervously, scratching his head "you allowed it. It happened so fast". Talia wrapped the sheets around her body and slithered into her clothes.

"You shouldn't have taken advantage of my emotions!" she snapped before storming out of the room and banging the door behind her. Then she opened the door once more, poking her head in, "Get set, we're leaving Vienna...Now!". And she banged the door once again. All the while, Somto stood speechless watching the lady fume till she left the room. He only shook his head at the complexity of his female partner.

It was by noon they made it back to Vienna and headed straight to the Safe House to join Saul once more. They really needed to change location now their position had been given away by Somto's transmitter. Quickly Talia contacted her superiors in the Mossad inquiring for another Mossad Safe House, and she was directed to a new location in a more remote part of the city, not too far from the slums. Without wasting time, Talia led the three man team as they evacuated the building, heading to the new Safe House. Once again, they assisted Saul to set up all the high tech equipments needed for the control room. It wasn't long after they were done with the arrangements and Saul took his place before the large flat screen monitor. He had been keeping track of all Duncan's calls through the cloned phone but nothing of relevance had been uncovered in any of Duncan's discussions with his callers. Moreover Saul had come to the conclusion that Duncan rarely used the phone owing to the fact he hardly received calls on it. But that didn't deter him as he always kept a close tab on any call that came in or went out.

Upon their arrival in the new Safe House, new security measures were put in place to make the Safe House safer than the previous one. Somto had Saul install heat sensors and CCTV around the building were the Safe House was located. So the next plan was how to get into the casino, find the mob and start asking questions which would lead them to recovering the Krypto Capsules.

A day after they had returned from Imst, Somto noticed Talia had been withdrawn towards him. She hardly came to sit with him and Saul before the control monitors as they used to. And was always keeping to herself. They needed every amount of psychological balance and cooperation if they would succeed with the mission, and Talia was proving otherwise. So Somto decided to talk to her while she sat alone on the dusty stairs of the Safe House.

"Care to talk to someone?"he asked, taking his seat beside her.

"And watch you take advantage of my emotions once again, huh?"she replied without looking at him.

"Listen Talia", Somto rasped. "I'm sorry for what happened back there at Imst. I shouldn't have let go off my restraint".

"It's okay, I'm good", Talia smiled. "That's not my problem for now".

"And so what's your problem?"asked Somto. But Talia only smiled and squeezed his arm.

"I wanna kill Sasha....and I must", she said. And her face creased suddenly, looking serious. "Let's get ready to storm the casino", she stated getting back on her feet, "We have little time on our hands". And she walked back up the stairs as Somto stared at her all the way.



Günthers Casino was a top class spot for the city's rich and influential. It was also the base of the city's mob and was located close to a red light district on Gürtel road, which made it a necessary debauchery. The two agents arrived Gürtel road by evening in different cars and Somto parked some paces across the casino, watching the movements around the vicinity as Talia was parked close to the entrance of the casino in the opposite direction.For the sake of the mission, she was disguised as a certain Clare Sommer; a licentious, rich beautiful business woman in a red evening gown. And her facial identity was altered with a realistic latex mask. While Somto had a black panama hat on his head and wore a gray trench coat over a white shirt with false beards around his jaw, to alter his looks. The plan was to use Talia as bait to trap the owner of the Casino, Herr Gûnther who was also a henchman in the city's mob. Staring at Talia's cadillac in the distance, Somto pressed on his micro ear piece and spoke into his communication device.

"Smoke, I think you're good to go", he said. Instantly he heard Talia's voice reply him overhis earpiece.

"Smoke screen being initiated, come in right after me",she purred.

And Somto watched her alight from her vehicle, walking haughtily into the magnificent Casino. Minutes later Somto walked in casually, and was greeted by the sounds of spinning roulettes and slot machines which was accompanied by the raucous laughter of gambling men who were surrounded by beautiful ladies cheering them on. Walking to the lounge area, he took a seat as he watched Talia walk up to one of the huge guards on suit standing by a stairway.

"I'm here to see Herr Günther", Talia said to the huge guard

"Any appointment?" he asked in a growl.

"None....but I came with a proposal he wouldn't want to miss", replied Talia. "And i guess you wouldn't like to be responsible for that".

The man seemed to take a survey of Talia, studying her from head to toe as he tried to assure himself that she was really worth breaking the necessary protocol. Then he said, "What's your name?"

"Clare Sommer", replied Talia. And the guard looked her over once more before he excused himself and climbed upstairs, while Talia hovered her eyes around,watching the gambling men seated behind the baracat and poker tables as some of them stared back at her winking lewdly. Minutes later, the huge guard came down half way the staircase and beckoned on Talia to come forth as Talia took to the stairs following behind him.

"About making contact with target", she muttered into hercommunication device, to the discretion of the guard in front of her. "You'll hear from me in 20 minutes tops. Anything beyond that, come to my aid". And the guard led her upstairs, to the corner of a corridor. "This way please", he indicated down a carpeted passage, and Talia now walked in front trying to maintain her domineering poise and they came before another mammoth man,standing infront of a door, who indicated for her to stop. He was the definition of a man mountain, standing about six foot four, with broad shloulders as that of a grizzly bear. He thoroughly searched Talia,rummaging through the contents of her purse and spotted a blue cylinderical spray can within.

"What's this?"he asked holding the can.

"That's my pepper spray", replied Talia. "Don't tell me a group of hefty men like you are afraid of a can of pepper spray? Moreover every lady carries one"

The mammoth man looked at the other huge guard who shrugged indifferently before the mammoth man handed back the pepper spray to Talia. And she put it back in place.

"You're such a gentleman", she said. The mammoth man nodded as he opened the door for her to walk in, followed by the huge guard.


She was ushered into a spacious room full of junkies and tattooed thugs who were surrounded by ladies of easy virtue as they smoked like chimneys. They all turned to look in her direction the moment she walked in as a pop music blasted from the surround system. The huge man overtook her and walked towards a stoutman seated in a private lounge which was seperated from the room by a blue curtrain. The man had three ladies around him and he raised his head to observe Talia the momentthe huge guard whispered something into his ear. The stout man nodded affirmatively, before the guard walked back to where Talia stood and said to her: "Herr Günther will see you now", he growled and walked away. And Talia discreetly whispered into her comm device oncemore: "Approaching target", she muttered and Somto replied: "Copy that".

Talia walked to the curtained lounge, passing by two bodyguards on suitand stepped in; and the stout man clapped his hands as the skimpily dressed ladies around him stood up one after the otherand left the space. The stout man who was now ogling Talia offered her aseat beside himself and she sat down crossing her legs and facing him, as a part of her tanned thighwas exposed through the slit of her red dress. The man licked his lips lustfully.

"May Iintroduce myself formally", he said. "I am Herr Günther Jurgen, owner of this prestigious money spinning facility", he concluded with pride.

"And I'm Clare Sommer", purred Talia seductively, offering him her hand.

Herr Günther seemed to be taken by her charms and he kissed the back of Talia's hand with a smile on his face. "American I guess?"Herr Günther inquired.

"No, Canadian", Talia lied and Günther nodded studiously

"I've only been to Canada but twice", he said. "But it's a beautiful country"

"You can say that again", replied Talia while Günther kept smiling sheepishly.

"So, what do I offer you?"he asked. "Whisky...Scotch...Tequila....."

"Nothing for now", replied Talia.And Herr Günther adjusted in his seat now beginning to study her.

"So what brings such beauty like you to my casino?" he demanded. And Talia began to tell him about a business proposal which caught his unwavering interest, or probably he was simply enchanted by the beauty of the auburn haired woman beside him.

It was almost twenty minutes when Talia discreetly checked her wrist watch and she stirred uneasily in her seat, heaving frantically to the notice of Herr Günther. He was not a man who usually cared about the affairs of a woman or cared about their feelings. But in his bid to win the heart of the beautifulrich lady beside him, he was forced to show care.

"Hope you're okay?"he asked.

Talia shook her head slowly, "I need to use the bathroom", she sighed. "Where is the ladies, please". Herr Güntherclapped his hands and one of the body guards came in through the curtain.

"Show her to the ladies", Herr Günther said and the bodyguard beckoned on Talia to follow him. They got to a door which had the sign 'Damen' (which means Ladies in German) and Talia opened itand stepped in. From her experience onfield operations, she knew toilets in such a place as Günthers Casino was prone to having hiddencameras;so she maintained her composure incase she was being watched on CCTV, and pretended to be talking to herself as she signalled Somto over the micro ear piece.

"It's time to roll", she mumbled, facing the mirror as she re-did the make over on her face.


Somto was already worried about Talia's safety before he heard her voice over his communication device. Gently, he stood upand located the bathroom and went in. Closing the door behind him, he brought out a small high tech adapter (which Saul had given to him)from his coat and plugged it into a socket on the wall. Instantly, the light bulbs twitched, and the power within the casino went out immediately as the whole place was thrown into totalblackout. He had just a short time to accomplish his mission before the back up generator powered on. Swiflty he brought out his pistol, silenced it with a 9mm silencer and dahsed out of the toilet, onto the casino floor as everyone panicked in the blackout.Taking advantage of the darkness, he slipped passed the huge guard by the stairway and climbed up the stairs to notice the passageway already lit with emergency gas lamps as one of the guards spotted him coming and fired a shot which missed him by inches to ricochet on the wall. Somto ducked instinctively.

Talia had been inside the bathroom all along waiting for Somto's move. And the moment she heard the shots from the corridor, she pickedthe pepper-spray can from her purse, also pulling out a .32 calibre pistol which was strapped to her inner thigh by a thigh holster,and slipped out of the bathroom, back into the large room which was now faintly lit by a single gas lamp. Then she held out the pepper spray can, pulled off its muzzleand rolled it towards the centre of the large room as the can hissed sharply, sending a thick cloud of grey smoke which diffused round the room and hampered everyone's vision as she ducked behind a pillar and pointed her gun awaiting the slightest movement. The pepper spray can was actually a Smoke cannister in disguise. Alerted by the gunshots and the sudden smoke within the room, one of the guards began to trot out of the loungewhere Herr Güther was and Talia took a clean shotat himwithin the cloud of smoke, sending the ladies and junkies into a frenzyand one of the body guards pushed Herr Günther down to the ground as Talia beganfiring towards the other twoguards. Some of the thugs had now pulled out their guns (though they could hardlysee through the smoke) and began to fire back at Talia who skillfully rolled on the floor and crouched behind a metal safe. The bullets being fired at her were now ricocheting with loud pings on the metal safe as she got up momentarily to fire back at the men, taking full advantage of the smokescreen. From a corner of her hiding position, she could see the guard with Herr Günther trying to sneakhim out of the private lounge and she shot at them severally, killing the guard and hitting Günther by the leg to prevent him from escaping. Just in that moment, Somto smashed the door open and came into the room, gripping an injured guard as a human shield. And the thugs and the two guardsopened fire instantly, killing the human shield and Somto heaved the body away and dived to the smooth floor, rolling along as he took out one of the thugs who died on the spot.

cyber5:
Ride on doc


I ain't going nowhere

Lol

adontcare:
goodheart02, i think Robert Ludlum, Sydney Sheldon will be duffing their hats at u. What a thriller! The suspense, the scenes portrayed a well articulated art of story telling. I just found myself involved in this mind boggling art work. Thank you for giving me joy. I love good and interesting work of fiction.

Thanks a lot for following the story. It gives me joy the way you commend my work. I promise to give you more joy by writing more.

ProfClassic:
Wow Agents finally made love...
Pls continue

Yes oo....they made love. Body na firewood?

DrizzleMikkie:
More updates Pls! D suspense is too much

I promise to quell the suspense

Update comes up 2mao night. Had a very busy day which will extend till evening.

"Hurry up Somto", Talia panicked, hovering her eyes from the burning curtains to the leaking gas, then to the fire place and back to the curtains.

Firmly grasping the knife, Somto held the knife in place and began to cut through the binds on his wrist, slowly and steadily till he felt the bind loosen. Then with a pull, he freed his hands from their bondage and moved to cut the binds around his legs, unfastening the ropes strapping his ankles to the legs of the chair as he inhaled a voluminous amount of the propane gas within the atmosphere. The ropes came off easily and he scrambled to his feet, feeling the great heat from the burning curtains as he rushed to set Talia free. They were already running out of time. And in a twinkle of an eye, Talia was up on her feet. Quickly, they smashed the windows with the metal chairs and dived out as the whole place instantly went off in a massive gas explosion which sent the two agents rolling on the mossy ground continuously till they came to collide with each other at the base of a wooden fence.

The whole vicinity was now illuminated by the cackling flames from the burning cabin as people far away from the neighbourhood screamed at the blazing sight which blinded Somto and Talia temporarily. They managed to get back on their feet, quite bruised and disheveled, and dashed off into the woods before the cops or the villagers would draw near.

Somto and Talia got back to the motel by midnight, passing by the young receptionist who didn't fail to notice the disheveled looks of the two agents and they smiled at him "It was an accident", Talia shrugged, and the teenage boy smiled back at them as they took to the corridor. They had rented their rooms seperately and had installed secret cameras in each of them incase of trespassers. On getting to Somto's door, Talia said: "We have to take out that transmitter in you", she suggested. "But i have to inform the Mossad that we're alive. They'll be thinking we're dead by now", she said. "I'll be with you in a short while", and she walked away heading to her room. Somto unlocked the door to his own room and walked in caustiously incase the room had been opened (in his absence) and booby trapped. Carefully he carried out the routine security checks for explosive devices, bugging and wiretapping, before checking on the secret camera to see if it had captured any illegal movement in his room. Having been satisfied that all was clear, he lay back on the bed and sighed deeply as his mind drifted away. What a wasted effort by loosing the Krypto Capsules to Cristo, he thought. For all he knew, a buyer could be waiting at the moment to purchase the weapon for selfish interests. Buyers like Filip Ludvig who was an extremist and a global terrorist. Somto believed he had failed mankind once again just as Sasha had accused Talia, because the Krypto capsules would be synonymous to armageddon in the hands of the wrong person. Somto was startled back to reality when he noticed Talia walk into his room holding a scalpel, a gauze and a bottle of antiseptic which she placed on the reading table.

"It's time to get that bug out", she announced and Somto sat up as she came to squat before him. "Where in your arm is it?" she asked, and Somto brought forth his left arm, indicating the spot. Taking the blinking scalpel, Talia brought it close to the spot on Somto's left arm and looked up at him. "This ain't gonna be funny", she said before stuffing some of the gauze into Somto's mouth and slowly, she sliced through his flesh.
Somto winced in pain and writhed his arm as the Mossad agent incised him deeply. Meticulously, she dug her index finger into the incision and brought out a tiny silvery device with tentacles. It looked more of an organism as it's tentacles twitched desperately.

"That's it", muttered Talia dropping the device to the floor and crushing it under her boot. "I believe that'll convince Cristo and Sasha that you're dead...when they don't get to receive transmissions anymore".

"I'm sorry about what happened during the Black November bombing", mumbled Somto as he watched Talia disinfect the incision with the guaze and antiseptic (Talia looked up at him before continuing with what she was doing), and Somto said, "You know....I heard about it, when I arrived Tel Aviv for my training. I can now remember vividly".

"Your memory seems to be fully restored, I can see", said Talia, tossing the bloody gauze aside. "Well, let's just say that was in the past. I couldn't just let the baby die....though i still lost it and couldn't stop Sasha. I must admit Sasha beat me to the game". And she stood up to take a seat on the bed beside Somto, with her palms over her face. "I feel so responsible for the death of those hundreds of people on Red Square that day".

"Dont beat yourself too hard Talia", said Somto. "You're a good agent, and you did the best you could at that moment". And Talia turned to look at him with a faint smile on her face.

"And you're a good agent too", she replied. "I guess your country Nigeria, would be proud of you".

"Yeah....that's if they know I'm still alive", said Somto sadly. And Talia nodded in agreement.

"Coming to that", Talia digressed. "do you have any contact...like someone you can trust in the espionage world of your country?"

"Yes I do", Somto cleared his throat. "His name is Col. Ademuyiwa of the Defence Intelligence Agency. But I don't think it's time to inform him".

Taila sighed and held onto Somto's bleeding arm. She took another set of gauze and applied pressure to the incision as she looked into Somto's eyes while he stared back into hers.

"So what did your guys in the Mossad say?"asked Somto.

"They were glad i was still alive after hearing Cristo's message to them over the receiver", she replied. "But they threatened to extract me back to Israel if i fail to succeed with the mission. They just can't stand another 'Black November error' ".

"And what about me? What happens when they extract you?" demanded Somto. And Talia replied: "I guess they'll take you along with me to Israel before informing your country that you're alive. Then they can come pick you from there".

"Look Talia, we have to get as close as we can to Cristo before he sells those Capsules", Somto rasped. "And i think we have to start from the mob at the casino who had ambushed you. I believe this whole thing is connected some how, and extracting information from those mobsters will give us a leverage in this mission".

"I don't think I can pull this mission successfully Agent Somto", sobbed Talia. Though she was trained to be unbreakable, not to cry or flinch, she couldn't help letting the tears fall off her eyes at least for once. She wasn't sobbing because she was weak, no. But because she wouldn't forgive herself if she failed once again. Then Somto moved closer to hold her by the shoulder.

"Hey...remember what you once told me?", he said. "We were trained to survive. And you will surely pull through, trust me".


Talia was now looking into the eyes of the Nigerian agent before her. He was such a gifted spy with every bit of smartness and guts needed in a man with his kind of job, yet he was gentle. A rare combination of toughness and gentility. She always admired that African accent he had imbibed from his Igbo folks in Nigeria after his early years in the US. Then she smiled thoughtfully at him as his fingers grazed her shoulders, sending tingling shivers down her body. She could see his eyes unflinching and fixed, and she lightly caressed his injured arm, sliding her fingers upwards to feel his biceps which constricted under her touch. With her eyes already dilated with emotions, she watched his broad chest heave continuously. The atmosphere seemed to be suddenly warm and there was a sudden surge of chemistry between them. More by reflex, she slowly brought her parted lips forward causing their lips to meet in a deep kiss as they gently fell to the bed and consumated their passion.

adebayo201:
#following from front page
nice one doc!

Thanks a lot

ProfClassic:
Thumbs up man Pls coman finish it

Update loading

aprokomania:
I feel guilty reading this for free. I know how much I would pay for a paperback like this. Stretch out your narrative a bit more and work on the general mechanical flow and you will give Sidney Sheldon a run for his money. I doff my hat.

Thanks a lot sir. Respect

cyber5:
Doc Goodheart!

I am definitely following this

Then let's roll

adontcare:
this is da bomb. The perfect tintilative, sacharinous sugary. Oh my sweetness. What a story!

Thanks for the compliments dearie.

0b100100111:
Do people actually read long epistles like this.


Would have graduated with a 3rd class honors from the university if I could read half of that story!

Bro, reading is not for people with dull brains. It's for those with the mental capacity to assimilate written works.

obamartins:
Why give out literally work out for free when u can make money on amazon for both ebook and paperback version on createspace. PM me if u need more info and I will add u to a whatsapp group for authors making real money from amazon. Some have crossed the $3000 per month mark.

Okay, no p

topromiseland:
na wetin be this??

Na that thing be this

topromiseland:
na wetin be this??

Na that thing be this

kelvinhilton:
More updates!! Now am sounding like oliver twist.

No bro, its only normal

Chapter Five - Pater Noster
------- -------- -------- -------- ----


Talia finally came out of her unconsciousness and gradually opened her eyes to notice she was tied up in a sitting position, with her hands bound behind the back rest of a chair; and legs strapped to the chair's legs. The first thing she noticed was the cackling wood in the fire place which was the only source of light in the room. She wheezed frantically still feeling her stomach churning from Sasha's kick as she spat out more blood from her mouth. Then she turned to her left to see the dim figure of Somto also bound in the same way she was, as he stared at her steadily.

"You're awake", he said.

Talia cast him an ominous look before roaming her eyes around. That was when she noticed they were back in Gerald's cottage. Just in that moment, the door flew open and two armed men brought in a lifeless body which they dumped in a thud beside the fireplace and left almost immediately. Instantly, Somto's eyes noticed the familiar bloodied shirt on the body, coupled with the greasy gray hair and he gasped, "Gerald!... Oh my God" trying to jerk free from his seat.

"Just shut up, you swine", yelled Talia, overwhelmed by the sight of Gerald's lifeless body. "You caused your friend's death. You betrayed us".

And Somto shot her an angry look, "What would I be doing here, bound just like you if I was on their side?" he yelled.

"Maybe to perfect the theatrics", replied Talia sarcastically.

"Oh stop it, Talia!" Somto snapped. Then their eyes fell back on the limp body of Gerald lying cold on the floor. The old war veteran had given his life to protect them. He was a true patriot to his nation and the Allaince as a whole.


They remained silent for a while not looking at or talking to eachother, and listening to the footsteps of their captors stomping around the cottage. Somto wondered what they were up to. Probably they had also held the whole neighborhood under a seige, so no one could call the cops. He was far in thought whenTalia broke the silence.

"So what next, now?" she asked Somto who raised his head to stare at her. "Are we at the end of the road already?".

"Guess you now realize we're in this together", said Somto, and Talia scoffed.

"Come to think of it, how did they find us?" Talia queried.

"I think i was tagged", replied Somto as Talia stared at him with wide eyes. "Yeah, with a tracker".

"But how?.....when?....", Talia sounded confused.

"Must have been during my amnesia back at the hospital", Somto revealed. "That bloody Doctor Darmien", he spat. And he narrated to Talia how a certain Doctor Darmien, who wasn't his regular doctor had come to his ward to inject something into his arm. And how Sasha (who was then Roxanne) was always seen talking with the same doctor by the corner.

"I feel that was the day I was tagged", muttered Somto. "I felt something had been lodge into me after then".

"So they've been watching us all these while, waiting for us to lead them to the capsules", Talia mumbled. "No wonder they never breached the Safe House in Vienna because they wanted us alive. This means the Safe House is compromised and Saul's life is in grave danger".

Just then, the door creaked open and Sasha walked in holding a silenced pistol in her left hand. She smiled the moment she stepped into the room, walking towards the fireplace to poke the flames up to a bright crimson red as the whole place became fully illuminated. Then she came to stand before Somto with a distinct poise.

"Hey hubby, so good to see you", she said mockingly, bending to kiss Somto on the lips. "How much I love kissing my victims before i kill them....the kiss of death", she chuckled before standing erect once more. "I had been following your tracker right from Imst", she announced. "I'm sure you never knew you had a transmitter on you", she laughed. "That was a brilliant stunt you pulled back there within the festive crowd in Imst". Somto stared at her in disbelief as she continued. "Ofcourse i saw everything. I was there. I even saw you get into that taxi". Then she turned to face Talia who was staring at her with sheer loathing.

"Once again my dear Agent Talia, you fail..... You fail to stop me", Sasha purred. "And this time you're not coming out of this mess". Then she walked to Talia's position, rubbing the muzzle of her silenced pistol over Talia's face. "You failed again just as you failed those innocent people on Red Square, six years ago".

Sasha knew Talia still harboured guilt concerning the Black November bombing, for not being able to stop her on that eventful day. Talia would never forget what had transpired on that fateful afternoon in the autumn of November, 2014 when she had received a tip off from her allies in the GRU, that there was a bomber amongst the crowd that had gathered on Red Square, Moscow, to listen to the President make his maiden speech after winning the elections. She was part of the Joint Task Force created by the United Nations (before it became the Alliance of Nations) which was responsible for counter intelligence; and had been planted within Red Square that day to ensure that the final proceedings of the election was hitch free.

The picture of the bomber being Sasha, had been sent to Talia on her cell phone seconds after she got the tip off on Red Square. From the intel she was given she had been told Sasha was ex-GRU. So with quick strides, Talia meandered through the crowd, desperately in search of the female rogue GRU agent who was armed with a bomb trigger. Upon sighting Sasha Romanov within the crowd, Talia fought her way through the multitude to get to her, and the rogue agent who had already spotted her on time was already pushing her way through the enthusiastic crowd and finally dashed away through the narrow alley beside St. Basil's cathedral. Talia pursued relentlessly, almost catching up with Sasha, but something happened. And that was the part Talia wished shouldn't have come in. A woman carrying a baby was walking in the opposite direction to Sasha as Talia pursued behind her. And the rogue agent, on getting to the woman, snatched her baby from her grasp and continued running ahead as the woman cried out for help. The pursuit ended up on the roof top of a high building and Sasha held the helpess baby upside down, aiming to let the crying infant fall off her grasp (from the great height of the roof top) to the ground at the foot of the building. She was actually using the child as an insurance and holding the bomb trigger in the other hand, while she awaited the right time to detonate the bomb.

"Let the baby go", Talia had pleaded with her.

"Only if you let me go", replied Sasha, as Talia pulled out her gun while Sasha attempted to drop the baby. The sudden attempt to drop the child startled Talia who gently raised her hands up in surrender before dropping her gun on the floor and kicked it far away to prove to Sasha that she was ready to comply with her terms.

"You're gonna have to catch the baby then", Sasha had told her. And before Talia could blink, the rogue agent hurled the baby up, into the air (dashing away instantly) as Talia ran forward to catch the infant. But on sighting Sasha escaping, Talia lost focus, her attention divided and she missed a footing and tripped as her hands missed the soaring child by inches and the baby fell from the great height, crashing downwards to the distant grounds at the foot of the tall building. It happened so fast and Talia couldn't believe her eyes. She had missed the child and failed to catch Sasha. She crawled right there on the roof and came to the edge to look down the distance below to see people gathering round the mangled body of the baby as some of the people pointed upwards, towards the roof top of the high building were she lay watching. She was still looking at the gory scene below, in disbelief, when the bomb suddenly went off, shaking the whole place. And she watched hopelessly as apart of the St. Basil's cathedral collapsed before her eyes (in the distance) as most parts of the Red Square became consumed by the high magnitude explosion as people scampered frantically in panic. Talia wept bitterly. If only she had stopped Sasha when she had the chance to. If only she hadn't missed her footing, the innocent baby would still be alive. After that terrible incident, Talia was taken off field duty for a while as she never found a chance to forgive herself, before undergoing her special training in Tel Aviv, where she had first met Somto. Sasha had been off grid since then for a period of six years. And here she was now, holding Talia captive alongside her Nigerian Agent partner, Somto.

It pained Talia so much to know she had lost once more to Sasha; and Somto could feel her pains where he sat bound to the metal chair. Then Sasha came to sit on Somto's lap. She could see the reflection of the flames in his dark eyes.

"How much I hated the life of an agent, the life of a spy", muttered Sasha. "We worked for corrupt governments who see us as expendable assets, just as your countries are going to forget about you after you die here". And Talia turned to stare at Somto, her eyes betraying fear. Sasha continued: "Permit me to let you know that your exfil has abandoned you both. Your governments will never send an extraction. You're now on your own", she laughed. "Like I said before....you're both expendable".

"We already knew all that before we took the job!", snapped Somto. "Moreover l've been pressumed dead by my country". And Sasha got off his lap to slap him hard, then cocked her silenced pistol, pointing it at him.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance, you fool", sneered Sasha. "Hope you enjoyed our brief marriage game?"

Her finger was now curled around the trigger and she was about squeezing it when she stopped abruptly as one of the men walked into the house.

"Cristo says you should take care of them", the man said. "We're about leaving", and he left.

Sasha still had her gun pointed at Somto. Then she suddenly brought her hands down and said: "I won't make it an easy death for you both", she sneered at the two agents. Then she walked over to the gas cylinder, turning it on; and it made a hissing sound as its inflammable contents began to leak into the air and she stared at the bare flame in the fire place.

"What a way to die", she laughed, walking towards Somto once more to kiss him deeply on the lips. "I wish our marriage was real", she giggled. "But too bad I'm heartless." And she turned to wink at Talia, "It's nothing personal sweety. See you in hell", she said before opening the door and stepped out, locking it behind her.

Barely minutes Sasha left, the pungent smell of propane could be perceived in the air, while the fire place burnt with gusto at the end of the room. It was only a matter of time for the diffusion to be completed and the whole place would be wrapped up in flames. Somto and Talia knew Cristo and his men were gone as they sat motionless, preparing their minds for the worst before Somto's eyes fell on something that was strapped to Gerald's ankle where his trousers were slightly raised. The object blinked in the light from the fire place.

"I guess this is the end then", Talia wheezed.

"No Misss Abendana", said Somto smiling. "We're just getting started". And he turned to gaze at Talia who was staring back at him, surprised at his reason for smiling. Then Talia's eyes followed Somto's gaze and fell on the blinking knife strapped to the dead Gerald's ankle. Probably Cristo's men hadn't seen the knife where Gerald had hidden it. Somto struggled to free his legs from their bondage, but to no avail. So with a deep heave, he jerked his seat forward and continuously, not wanting to let the fact he was bound deter him, till he came within the reach of Gerlad's corpse and toppled the chair over, falling alongside it on the old man's legs. Wriggling and maneuvering himself, he succeeded in getting the back of the chair to face Gerald's legs while he stared in the opposite direction at Talia as his hands struggled behind to free the knife on Gerald's leg from its scabbard.

Talia was now getting tensed and impatient as she watched the Nigerian agent struggling to get the knife within his grasp , and the smell of the gas was now so strong that there was a whooshing sound as a part of the flames from the fire place was drawn to the curtains by the diffusing smell. In seconds the curtains were ablaze in flames and time was ticking for a massive explosion.

They crawled across the floor in the darkness amidst the splinters of glasses and woods from the richocheting bullets, till they approched the back door (which was directly facing the woods). And they opened the door running outside, while Gerald led them to a wooden shed, not far from the house. Once they had reached the wooden shed, Gerald opened the latch to a bunker, raising the lid, and Somto and Talia quickly stepped in as they could now hear the shots fire in their direction. Quickly, Gerald made to close the lid to the bunker but Talia held it back.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me, I'll hold them off", rasped Gerald. "You'll see the capsules in a wall cabinet down there. The cabinet is also a false door. Just move it aside and follow the tunnel. It'll lead you straight to the centre of the woods". And he jammed the lid close. Instantly, the sound of his winchester could be heard as he began to return the shots of the attackers.

Following Gerald's directive, Somto and Talia located the cabinet and they carefully took out the glassy emerald weapons which they placed in Talia's monostrap bag. Hurriedly, they moved the cabinet aside and came face to face with a dark winding tunnel. Without wasting time, they stepped forward into the tunnel with the beams from their torch lights illuminating their way as they scurried ahead, coming in contact with thick cobwebs which they slashed through with their sharp blades.

"We have to get to the extraction point as soon as possible", Somto rasped. "Contact our exfil".

And Talia brought out her radio receiver and spoke into it: "Alpha...Alpha, this is Bravo team. Requesting immediate evac. I repeat this is Bravo team, requesting immediate evac". There was a few seconds delay before the receiver crackled, and a deep voice came on it.

"Bravo team this is Alpha. Be advised to make it to the exfil point....evac already on ground. ETA is 30 minutes".

"Copy that!" Talia replied, stashing back the receiver and clutching her Tar 21 rifle. Then she said to Somto, "We have just 30 minutes to get to Tarrenz". And she hurriedly followed behind him as they trotted inside the stuffy tunnel with their footsteps echoing within.

"Who were those guys, and how did they locate us?" Talia asked while they worked their way through the curtains of cobweb in their path.

"I believe they're Cristo's men", replied Somto, slapping the spiders of his body. He hated the arachnid creatures a lot, since childhood. "Bloody vermins!", he spat. "But one thing that baffles me is how they knew we were here".


They were now at the end of the tunnel and were now standing before a stair leading upwards to what they presumed was an exit. Climbing upwards, Somto unlocked the latch to the lid and lifted it over their heads as the windy forest air filled his lungs. Quietly he stepped out unto the middle of the semi darkwoods, followed by Talia who closed the lid after she had climbed out. All of a sudden, they noticed some weird movements from behind the trees. In that moment, armed men disguised in costumes of tree branches and artificial grass, paced towards them as the lanky figure of Frank Cristo emereged from the shadows. He walked towards Somto and Talia, clapping his hands slowly, while more armed men came forth. The agents were greatly outnumbered.

"Well done lad", Cristo said to Somto as Sasha also emerged from the shadows to stand behind him. "I knew you would lead us to the capsules, you never disappoint".

Immediately Talia turned to stare at Somto in amazement and her mind flashed back on a phone call Somto had gone out to make the moment they arrived at the motel. Then her face contorted in disgust. "You conniving bastard!", she slapped Somto hard.

"That's not true Talia", Somto pleaded. "I can never betray the Alliance... I'm not a mole". And Talia spat at him.

"Drop your weapon, Talia", Sasha said coldly. And Somto gently let his pistols fall off his grip. But the Mossad agent stood reluctant pointing her gun steadily. Yet on a second thought, she knew getting into a gun fight at such close range with highly armed mercenaries could mean an end to her life. So seeing no way out for her in that situation, she scoffed before hesitantly throwing her gun to the ground.

Sasha clicked her fingers and the armed men trotted forward and came to push Somto and Talia down to their knees as they reluctantly complied. Talia tried to fight back and Somto tried to stop her.

"Don't resist, Talia", Somto said as two of the men held him down. "We're out numbered, and have to live to fight another day"

"Don't tell me what to do you snitch", Talia cried. "You want me to give up the weapons easily so you'll get paid for betraying all of humanity huh?".

One of the men was now holding onto the bag containing the capsules, but Talia wasn't ready to let go off it; so Sasha came over to kick her in the stomach, sending her reeling on the ground in pain as she spat out blood still clutching the bag to her chest. She was ready to give her life for the mission, while Somto watched her with so much grief in his heart.

The bag was finally taken away from her and handed over to Cristo who opened it to bring out the sparkling-greenish transparent tubes as his eyes admired the biochemical weapons with lustrous greed.

"So good to finally have these beauties in my grasp", he sneered at Talia who was now struggling weakly to get on her feet. "All thanks to your smart agent partner".

Cristo's words sparked a rabid anger within Talia. And with a desperate flush of adrenalin, she pulled out her knife from its scabbard and took a deadly swipe at Sasha, who expertly dodged to swing a punch at her temple, sending her motionless on the mossy ground. Then her radio receiver began to crackle aloud.

"Bravo! Bravo!! do you read?" a radio voice said through the receiver. But the owner of the voice got no response from Talia. "Bravo team do you read....", the voice came again.

To utter amazement, the owner of the voice at the other end of the receiver was shocked when he heard a hoarse voice reply, "This is Frank Cristo speaking from hostile point. Your agents are down and will be gone for long!".

xaviercasmir:
My guy Hollywood should buy this story oooo. Keep it up

Thanks bro. I wish they would.

About four hours and fifty three mintutes later, they approached the Tirol province; and they could now see a part of the Via Claudia, far beyond the Alpine crags as the train sped for Imst. Moments later they made a final stop at the Imst-Pitztal station before alighting from the train. Based on the complexity of the mission, they decided to go for the Capsules by dusk, inorder to use the slight darkness as a cover, for fear of leaving a trail. So they made it to Imst and stayed at a low profile motel for a while as they waited for sunset.

The streets of Imst were filled with people and tourists when they finally stepped out that evening. It was the annual Fasching festival usually celebrated by the vivacious town of Imst to mark the coming of the early springs, just after the winter's cold. The duo kept pushing through the crowded streets which was packed with masked and costumed enthusiastic residents who meandered through the town's winding alleys as they participated with gusto in the exciting ceremony. Within the clamoring crowd, Somto and Talia pressed their way through as they fought to beat the strength of the enthusiastic crowd marching towards them in the opposite direction while they sang and chanted. Wearing a bomber jacket, Somto had his two Barreta pistols tucked in a gun belt around his torso, while Talia did the same, also wearing a jacket and carrying a monostrap containing a Tar 21 assault rifle (typical Israeli made) on her shoulder. On getting to a square, they did all they could to avoid the local Police that was stationed within the crowd for the purpose of security. But an onlooking policeman noticed the strange black bag on Talia's shoulder from afar and began to advance behind them with his unwavering gaze fixed on them suspiciously. Based on security measures relating to bomb alerts, the cop hoped to have a look at what was in the bag so he began to follow them. Instinctively, Talia looked over her shoulders to see the cop closing on them with his unwavering eys fixed in their direction. Then she muttered to Somto, "There's a cop behind us", and Somto turned back to notice the policeman advancing through the teeming crowd as their eyes met. Instantly, Somto hurried frantically through the crowd followed by Talia, and the cop now becoming suspicious, began to speak into his receiver. The two agents couldn't risk being caught armed with guns because that would blow their mission and alert any impending stalker concerning their presence in Imst. So they focused on eluding the cop at that moment.
Seconds after the cop spoke into his receiver, Somto noticed more policemen coming from the flanks and in the opposite direction, heading towards them. They were strategically trying to close in the two agents in a trap as they (Somto and Talia) looked around for escape routes, noticing that the cop behind was still pushing through, and planning to cut off their escape incase they decided to retreat. An escape at that moment was dire; and there was only one way out. As a means of saving their heads, Somto pulled out his pistol and fired two shots in the air, sending everyone within the crowd scampering for safety as screams rented the air. Taking advantage of the sudden pandemonium, Somto and Talia tried to evade the policemen who were now hastening towards them as the beserk crowd ran amock, colliding with the cops and hampering their movement. In that instant, Somto pulled Talia towards the west wing of the square and they slipped through the crowd, dashing into a dark alley which was absent of human presence and ran for long till they could barely hear the screams of the frenzied crowd behind. Then Talia checked her luminescent watch. Itwas 6:30pm. Making it out of the dark alley, they flagged down a taxi and hurriedly got in.

"Klausenburg road", Somto told the driver and the cab screeched away into the humid evening. Never did they notice a figure in the shadows watching them drive away.




Klausenburg road was a short route to the cottage village close to the foot of the mountains. They arrived there in no time, paid off the cab driver, and Somto led the way as they headed to the old man's cottage where he had left the emerald colored biochemical weapons. They passed through a less dense part of the woods, walking passed the skeleton of a bear and Somto instantly recollected how he had killed the wild beast when it had attacked him. Soon they were now unto a clearing and could vivdly see the lights from the small windows of the cottages as they parsely stoodby each other. Then Somto pointed to a brown cabin on the plains not to far from where they stood.

"That's Gerald's cabin", he said. "The old man in whose care i had left the capsules".

"Do you think he still has it?" asked Talia. And Somto turned to look at her, and she shrugged. "I mean if you can really trust this man".

"Gerald is American....a patroit as well and a typical hillbilly. I stayed with his daughter and her husband after my training at Fort Bragg", replied Somto. "I've known him for a long time for him to be a back stabber". And Talia nodded in hesitated comprehension. They then walked into the village setting, looking over their shoulders momentarily for fear of being followed, till they came before the old man's door. They knocked on the mahoghany door severally before they heard a croaky voice speak from inside.

"Who's that at my door?" the old man said in a husky southern U.S accent. "For your information I'm armed (and there was the c0ck of a rifle) incase you're up to any mischief".

"Gerald it's me", replied Somto. "It's Mr. Thomas".

There were shuffling of footsteps from inside the house, before the door locked clicked; and they heard the old man say, "You can come in". And the two agents cautiously opened the door, stepping through the doorway to see the grumpy old man pointing a sliver Winchester at them. They walked in with their hands behind their heads.

"Easy now oldie", mumbled Somto. And the old man looked over Somto's shoulder to see the auburn haired woman with him.

"Who's she?" asked Gerald.

"A friendly", replied Somto, smiling as Talia came out from behind him (still with their hands behind their heads) to the the full view of the old man.

"We're alone, Gerald", said Somto. "And we're not under duress. No guns to our heads".

Then Gerald slowly brought down his rifle and stepped forward to give Somto a bear hug. "You bad son of a bîtch", he croaked. "What happened? Never heard from you after then".

"Yeah...it's a long strory", replied Somto.

"Then you better start spilling it out", suggested Gerald, beckoning them to a seat beside the dusty fire place as he leaned his gun on the wall.

"Meet my Mossad partner", Somto introduced Talia to the old man. "And Talia, meet old Gerald".

The old man stepped forward to shake hands with Talia, looking into her eyes studiously as he gave her a faint smile which revealed not much of a set of teeth."You're welcome dear", he said. Then Somto asked: "What was all that drama with the gun?" Gerald laughed shaking his head, and replied: "Eversince you left those greeny-greenish things in my care, i have been very careful", he then took a seat opposite them. "Don't want them marauders barging in on me", he concluded.

"Marauders?" asked Somto suspiciously

"Yes...." the old Gerald replied, pouring out a glass of rum which he offered to them but they declined. Then he continued: "Two days after you left those greeny-greenish things with me, some strange looking men who claimed to be CIA, combed the neighbourhood asking suspicious questions about some emerald objects. I knew they weren't the Feds from their style. So i decided to stash those greenish things into oblivion", he coughed. "Though they never came to my cabin, I've been on the look out ever since".

Talia turned to look at Somto who nodded in cognizance. "Those weren't the Feds", said Somto. "They were Cristo's men....Cristo the international arms dealer".

And Gerlad's face creased in deep thoughts. "I think i know a certain Frank Cristo", he said. "But that was during the second world war. I served with him in the same regiment of the Allied Forces aginst Hitler. I was just 18 then. Couldn't be him.....that was so many years ago".

"You're right Gerald", Talia cut in. "That was his father, Frank Janvier Cristo of the Belgian Army. Died years ago after series of deliria".

"Hmmm....I see", Gerald scoffed. Then Somto started recounting to him all that had transpired after he had left the Krypto Capsules in his cabin on that fateful evening the facility was breached. And how he had lost his memory and lived with a Most Wanted assasin who had pretended to be his wife. After recounting his story, Gerald was astounded.

"Blimey! They almost had your head, son", he said.

"Yeah.....", Somto heaved. Then all of a sudden, they heard the approaching sounds of scurring footsteps outside the cabin. The footsteps sounded like boots crushing on tree branches and dead leaves; and Gerald sat erect instantly, clutching his rifle. He too had heard the sound.

"I thought you said you're alone", he growled at Somto.

"Ofcourse we are", replied Somto, moving towards the window and bringing out his two pistols as he noticed a pin point red light on his chest.

In that instant, Talia swiftly dived at him. "Duck!" she yelled pushing him down to the floor as a bullet from a sniper gun shattered the window glass and more shots followed suit. In a surge of adrenalin, Somto rolled on the floor and shot the light bulbs, taking out the light and throwing the room into darkness, before crawling to where Gerald was ducked. The darkness was now a leverage for their escape.

"Where are the capsules?" Somto demanded

"Follow me!", whispered Gerald, and Somto signalled Talia to come along as the rain of gun shots were now piercing the whole house.

Cyberrex:
I thought Natasha Romanov aka Black widow is an ex-S.H.I E.L.D agent and a pioneer member of Avenger, how come she's a villain here?.

Bro, u just painted one of my best spy a bad color and I won't forgive you for that, and mind you don't include Tony Stark in your villain squad, coz iron man is a hero

Good one op

No bro, This one here is Sasha and not Natasha. And the black widow stuff is not a super hero name for Sasha. It's a name she earned from her method of executing missions during her days in the GRU

Epluribusunom:
I can't just stop marveling at this piece, you're a stunner op.

Thanks a lot. Enjoy while you read.

Following the incident that had happened that night, Somto and Talia decided they would follow the trail of the mob to the casino, in a bid to find out who was behind the attack. They were very certain the men had acted under instructions to kill Talia. And what bothered them most was the safety of the Safe House. There was the possibility that the men had discovered its location, which made killing them all the only option to retain its discretion....the more reason they needed to know who had sent them. Desperate times call for swift measures. But at that moment, the journey to Imst was more important than chasing after any mafia group.

Morning had came on a sudden note and the two agents prepped themselves for the risky journey to Imst as Talia put a call through to the Mossad headquarters informing them to provide a proper exfil incase they were tailed and things went messy. And the extraction point in such a situation was to be Tarrenz. But in the absence of any hostilities, Somto and Talia were to meet up with some Mossad and CIA agents who were to arrive the Israeli consulate, where they would take off with the capsules back to the Alliance of Nation's H.Q, while the two agents will return to the field to find the killer or killers of the Swede president. It was necessary they did the latter because the Swede Parliament had already declared interest for Sweden to join China and Russia in aiding the North Koreans override the south. Sweden was a strong economic force in the Trident Power, and its financial capabilities was a necessary asset to the Chinese and Russians who won't stop at anything to exploit them to the fullest. Pulling Sweden out of the Trident alliance was the only way of crippling the Trident Power. And there was no other way of pulling Sweden out other than by proving America's innocence (if they were truly innocent) as that would make Sweden restrore her diplomatic relations with the U.S, and return to the Alliance of Nations.

It was by 7:30am when Somto and Talia arrived Wien Westbahnhof train station. They walked through the entrance of the busy station, fighting their way through the teeming crowd of travellers as they purchased their tickets to one of the speed trains. Within Talia's grasp was a bag containing all effect partaining to the mission. Travelling by rail was considered safer for them to cut the chances of being followed. They were now walking towards the platform when Somto caught a glimpse of a familiar person in the midst of the crowd opposite them, right across where they stood. But before he could take a proper look at the individual, a train came whooshing passed in between him and the crowd, hampering his vision for some seconds, before chortling away as the crowd came into view once more. And Somto searched the crowd frantically with his eyes, for the familiar figure, but the person was gone. Talia noticed his sudden apprehension and asked: "Are you okay?". Somto nodded slowly, still roaming his eyes around.

"I think I just saw Sasha", he finally said. "Sasha Romanov".

"Did you?" inquired Talia, looking around.

"I'm not so sure", mumbled Somto. "One minute she was there (he pointed to the crowd) and the next she was gone".

Talia roamed her eyes around in sudden alert. If Somto said he had seen Sasha, then there was the possibility of it being true. The female assassin was good in tailing anyone unnoticed. A skill she had imbibed from her days in the G.R.U before going rogue; and that was why Cristo made use of her services. Strutting quickly, the two agents stepped into a train and took their sits next to each other, with Talia seating next to the window, and bringing out a minicomputer which she placed on her laps. Then Somto excused himself and left with the intention of searching every compartment of the train. Having been satisfied that Sasha hadn't boarded the train, he came back minutes later to seat beside Talia.

"What's the situation?"asked Talia.

"Negative...she's not aboard", replied Somto, quelling their fears.

The train jerked and slowly began to accelerate. It was bound to be a 5 hours journey to the alpine region of Imst in the province of Tirol. They were barely some distance away from Wien Westbahnhof train station when Talia's cellphone rang, and she answered.

"Miss Abendana", Saul said from the other end of the call.

"Hey Saul", she replied."All good?"

"Yeah...i just sent you some fresh Intel on the computer", Saul said. "Check it out".

"Thanks Saul...always keep us posted", and Talia ended the call.

Just as the call ended, there was a beeping sound from the laptop resting on Talia's thighs; and Somto turned to watch her open it as some info appeared sequencially on the screen, alongside an attached file. Talia clicked on the attached file and a picture graced the screen with a chirping sound. There were two men in the picture shaking hands in an airport, surrounded by bodyguards. One of the men was Frank Cristo.

"Who's the other guy on a dark shades shaking hands with Cristo?" asked Somto.

"That's Filip Ludvig", replied Talia. "Leader of the New Norse Movement. I believe Saul had to hack into the FBI archives to get this picture. The FBI has been on Ludvig's case for a long time. He's a terrorist. And has been behind the NNM's hostilities towards the citizens of member countries of the Alliance of Nations".

"This can only mean one thing", suggested Somto "judging from Ludvig's last threat video to the U.S government".

"He aims at buying the Krypto Capsules from Cristo to carry out his threat", Talia added. "And from what is contained in this intel, he was last seen in Germany in the company of Cristo a week ago".

Then Somto's eyes fell on another man with a scar on his face in the picture, standing next to Ludvig, and he asked. "Who's the other guy?"

"That's Kazim Abdela, Ludvig's second in command", stated Tallia. "A Swedish born convert of Islam", and Somto heaved deeply.

"We have to make sure those capsules never get into the wrong hands", Talia said. "Even if we have to die trying"

At that instant another intel appeared on the screen and Talia smiled. "Saul is really at it", she muttered. Then her face creased on reading the information.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "The Swede's have joined the Russians and Chinese to aid North Korea take the DMZ", reported Talia.

"I think the Swedes are doing all these to spite the West and Uncle Sam", fumed Somto. "With North Korea's campaign towards the DMZ, I believe they would soon strike the South, despite American military presence around the area".

"And the United States isn't gonna sit and watch South Korea burn", added Talia. "They'll surely retaliate"

"Thereby leading to a full scale war", said Somto. "A third world war, once the U.S strike back at the Trident Power for assisting the North Koreans".

Then Talia closed the minicomputer, putting it away. They kept mute for a while before she said. "We only have one way to prevent this impending war (and Somto stared at her intently). We have to prove America's innocence and make Sweden friends with them again. Once Sweden leaves the Russians and Chinese, the Trident Power will crumble and become powerless to wage North Korea's dirty war". Somto adjusted in his seat uneasily, "I just hope the U.S is innocent of the accusations", he mumbled, looking away from Talia.