Coming Soon!!

This work is pure fiction and written out of the authour's love for Espionage stories. Any resemblance to real life event or persons is purely coincidenatal.

WARNING!!: THIS WORK IS NOT TO BE DUPLICATED OR COPIED WITHOUT THE AUTHOUR'S PERMISSION. GOING CONTRARY TO THIS WARNING WILL ATTRACT SEVERE PENALTY BY THE LAW



Erebus - The Evil At Heart

©Copyright Goodheart
All Rights Reserved.


Prologue

The Year 2020



The Third World war has been successfully averted after the assasination of the Swedish President, Glenn Holdorsson, on US soil as the Swede's accuse the U.S who deny the allegations and the two nations almost took to arms. Within the United Nations, the issue was resolved by the other powers, and the UN was reformed to the Alliance of Nations in order to prevent future wars or disagreement. However, the Swede's were no longer interested in any further alliance with the west due to the new lack of trust, and so pulled out of the Alliance, and cutting all diplomatic ties, thereby making the third world war impending. Nigeria as an African leader did all they could to keep the other African nations within the Alliance amidst the developing trust issues.

As events unfold, owing to several sanctions, the communist powers of China and Russia seized the opportunity to retaliate against the West by forming the Trident Power with Sweden. Seeing this as a move to finally instigate the anticipated third world war (which had been previously averted), the West and Nigeria began working on a deadly and highly classified Bio-Chemical Weapons project called Project Erebus...Only specially trained agents were allowed to supervise the Project in which Somto, a CIA and Mossad trained Nigerian Agent was one of them. But things finally got messy.

Meanwhile amongst the enraged Swedish populace, a terrorist group called the New Norse Movement had arisen, to fight the Western Incursion. And they would fight to the last drop of their blood.

Chapter One - Obscurity
----------------

WINTER OF JANUARY, 2020 - Somewhere around the Alps, Austria.

Beethoven's sympohony was playing aloud in the ears of one of the Special agents who sat within the corridors of the Classified Research and Development Facility located hundreds of feets underground, inside a snowy mountain. The facility was a development site for the Krypto virus, a bio-chemical based weapon, under the Alliance of Nations' Project Erebus. On the agent's chest was a name plate inscribed 'Stan Hornbill'. The chubby agent still sat in his chair, engrossed in the melodious tune blaring from his earpiece, as two other agents walked passed him, and he didn't hear one of them say "Hi Stan" as they shook their heads at his indulgence and stepped into the elevator. The two agents who had walked passed were heading above, to the snowy earth surface for the normal routine reconnaissance. They had now reached the surface and stepped onto the snowy ground as the snow flakes floated down, hitting them with an unfriendly cold air; and one of the agents pressed on his earpiece, "Eagle eye can you read me?" he said, looking towards the mountains where the snipers were stationed. There was a static sound before one of the snipers voice came up through the earpiece:

"Yeah Agent Wood, I can read you. Perimeter secure...All clear".

Having been sure all was clear and good, Agent Wood brought out a pack of cigarette and turned back to offer one to his colleague but couldn't find him anymore.

"Tobias!", Agent Wood called out to his colleague in perplexity, looking around frantically as his breath puffed out the frosty air. Then he tried to contact the snipers, but there was no response. Suddenly, there was a shuffling movement behind him and he spun backwards (and gasped) as a blow hit him in the face and he blacked out. Then more movements came from the nearby woods and a lanky man wearing a chinchilla, accompanied by some tough looking men, stepped forward. The men were mercenaries.

"Well done Agent Tobias", The lanky man said to the rogue agent who had brought down his colleague. Agent Tobias smiled in accomplishment, looking at Agent Wood who lay motionless on the ground with blood oozing out from his head. Then the lanky man held up his radio receiver, "The snipers are down. All units at the ready, on my command". And with that, the rogue agent led the men down the elevator, into the facility, and soon the sounds of muffled gun shots rent the air.



The chubby agent Stan was the first to be gunned down immediately the mercenaries infiltrated the facility. And a code red was instantly sounded as the red light began to beam, with the alarm blaring an alert of unauthorized entry.

"Find the Krypto Capsules!" the lanky man who was the leader yelled, as his tough looking men scurried in sperate ways into the varioius labs of the facility. And the lanky man picked up his radio reciever once more. "It's time to unleash hell", he spoke into the receiver and immediately, there were loud sounds of shelling amidst the whirring of helicopters, which shook the whole mountains, cutting the sattelite communication gadgets of the facility. Expertly, the mecenaries took out all the agents and lab technicians one after the other. And after what seemed like a fifteen minute onslaught and combing of the entire Facility, a stocky and fierce looking lad walked out of the biggest and most secure lab and came to stand before the lanky man.

"Sir, the capsules are gone!", the stocky lad reported. "It's no where within the facility".

"Find it!" the lanky leader snapped. "Comb the surface, the mountains, and the woods. Whoever has it has not gone far".

Then the lanky leader walked away, followed by his men and the rogue agent, Tobias, as they soon came up to the earth surface, heading towards the waiting helicopters and passed by the unconscious Agent Wood. Suddenly, they heard a gunshot from behind as Agent Tobias fell to his knees and face down to the ground, lifeless. The men turned back to see the injured Agent Wood crawling weakly on the icy ground with a smoking pistol in his grasp, and face covered in blood, as he gasped into his comm device: "This is to Command and Control...Erebus has been breached! I repeat Erebus has been breached!!". Then Agent Wood weakly raised his gun to shoot again, but the lanky mecenary leader swiftly took a shot at him, hitting him in his right hand as his weapon fell off his grasp. He cried out in agony where he lay writhing on the ground. Then the lanky man walked up to him pointing down his pistol to his head. With a dispairing look, the injured Agent Wood looked up into the face of the man who was about to take his life and he gasped, "It's you, Frank Cristo...." Those were the last words he muttered before the shot rang out and he fell into an everalsting darkness.



*** 3 Weeks later ***

The beeping sound from the EKG machine continued as the nurses perambulated the ward, and slowly the dark skin guy on the bed blinked his eyes, moving his left index finger faintly as he regained a hint of his consciousness. He had been slipping in and out of coma for the past 3 weeks. He was almost left for dead when he was rushed into the Emergency Room on that fateful evening and could barely remember anything when he came out of his first coma, before slipping into another phase of unconsciuosness, owing to the shock he had. He tried to move his head but his neck hurt deeply as a tender hand held him down by his right.

"Hey, easy babe", a soft female voice said to him while the nurse came to adjust the pillow under his head. And the owner of the soft voice brought her face to his view. She was a pale skinned beautiful brunette, probably in her early 30s. And she cast him a sweet smile as he stared into her face from below. "You can't move your neck for now", she said. "Its still bad". Then the guy looked quizically into her face

"Who're you?" he asked in a slightly thick African accent. "And where am I?"

"Relax baby", the brunette woman replied. "My name is Roxanne and i'm your wife. Your name is Ted...Ted Jordan, and you're in Vienna. We live here actually".

The young man looked from the nurses' face to the soft spoken lady and couldn't make any sense out of what she was saying and he shook his head in confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about and I can't seem to remember you or anything"

"It's okay Ted. That's because you have an amnesia. You managed to survive the auto crash".

"What crash?" Ted asked

The nurse exchanged pitiful glances with Roxanne as Roxanne came closer to cuddle Ted. "You were involved in an auto crash, and that's why you're here", said Roxanne with teary eyes. "Actually we had a little argument concerning your excessive smoking and you left the house in anger. I never should have let you drive off in that state", she sobbed. The nurse came close to tap Roxanne on the shoulder before walking out of the ward.

"We had an argument?" Ted asked

And Roxanne replied, "Yes baby". Ted blinked vaguely not knowing what to say without or how to begin, since he couldn't remember any part of the incident. But the distraught state of the woman beside him melted his heart.

"Was I a bad husband?" he asked her.

"No honey", replied Roxanne, trying to conceal her sadness. "You're the best thing that can ever happen to a woman. I just wasn't happy with your smoking habit, that's all".

Ted sniffed repeatedly, "I can't remember anything", Ted sobbed. "I just feel so blank....so damn empty!"

"Hey, don't beat yourself baby", said Roxanne. "The doctor says you'll come around soon; it's only temporary. But for the meantime I'll be your guide in whatever you do". And she bent over and kissed him as he felt the unfamiliar feeling of her lips.

Ted spent the next one week in the private ward of the Antionne Specilaist Hospital, and was visited regularly by his beautiful wife who never left his side. He began to wonder what his life looked like before the unfortunate incident which robbed him of his memeory. And he concluded he must have had a splendid marriage, judging from the down to earth nature of his brunette wife and must be very rich, since his wife could afford such an expensive hospital for his treatment. But despite all this, he still felt enstranged around Roxanne as he yearned for more answers concerning his life. Earlier, the doctor had come in to advice him on his smoking habit, (which confirmed what Roxanne had said earlier) and had adviced him to loosen his frigidity towards his caring wife, because most times love was a very big medicine to solving the issue of amnesia. Though that sounded quite difficult based on the fact he had no memory of who she was, he decided to give it a try and focus on living a normal life, absent the anxiety of getting back his memory.

For the past one week after he regained full consciousness, Roxanne had been a true source of support to him and he was grateful he had someone like her in his life. Sometimes he would wake up to notice she had slept off beside him and he would smile lousily. Of a truth he was beginning to get used to her and that did a lot to ease the tension within him. He no longer asked incessant questions concerning his identity and was more co-operative with Roxanne and that seemed to elate her as she would cuddle and kiss him tenderly. "Don't you worry Teddy", Roxanne would always say to him. "You'll get every answer about yourself once you get back home". Just as the doctor had previously told him, his home would rekindle the connection between his past and present; and he couldn't just wait to leave the confines of the white room where he lay. Most times when he was alone in the ward, he wondered in the emptiness of his mind, what his home would look like and if it would rekindle any form of memory from his past. He had this paranoia that everything in his past life might not come back to hIm again. What if he had a permanent amnesia, and the doctors were wrong when they said it was only temporary. Well, only time would tell, he thought.

Ted was already fast asleep when he felt a hand graze his left wrist and he flicked his eyes open to see a strange doctor beside him, who cast him a defiant smile as he held something which looked like a syringe; but it was more mechanical and complex than the former.

"Goodevening Mr. Ted", the doctor said with a hint of German accent as Ted's eyes fell on the object in the doctor's hand.

"What about my regular doctor?" Ted asked.

Immediately the now familiar voice of his wife came from the doorway, "He's not available for now sweety", Roxanne said walking in and coming to sit beside him. "Doctor Darmien is here to cover for him".

Ted turned to see the doctor smiling at him, and the doctor spoke up, "Sorry i had to startle you awake", he said as he brought the mechanical syringe close to Ted's left wrist and Ted withdrew his arm (the doctor stared intently at him)

"Hey Ted, just relax", Roxanne purred.

"What's that you got in your hands?" Ted indicated at the pistol-shaped syringe.

"Its a sedative", the doctor replied.

"And why would i be needing it? The other doctor never used it on me".

"Oh c'mon Teddy", Roxanne chided. "You're at it again with the arguments. Just allow the doctor do his job. Moreover your regular doctor was the one who recommended the shot".

"Yeah, it's going to help your amnesia a lot", the doctor added.

Ted didn't want to look defiant, most especially not as his wife had brought up the issue of his stubbornness which he had learnt was what had landed him in his present condition. So he reluctantly gave out his arm to the waitng doctor who held his wrist frimly and inserted the needle of the device into him as he felt something lodge into his bloodstream and gradually he drifted into a swirling slumber.



***************

Meanwhile, miles away in far away Washignton, D.C , the silhouette of a huge man sat facing the fire place in a dimly lit room. It was night time and his face could hardly be seen owing to the partial darkness as the flames from the fireplace crimsoned with a reflecting light on the bottle of whiskey he held on his lap. The huge man took a gulp of the spirited drink and continued rasping into the phone in Russian.

"Listen Dmitri, i want the balance of my money as soon as possible and tell the Kremlin i said so", he spoke coldly.

"Mr Yuri you just have to be patient with us please", the other Russian spoke from the other end. "Moscow at the moment is unstable and things have to be put in order first. Moreover North Korea seeks our aid in taking over the DMZ. They intend on invading South Korea. So you see we got a lot on our hands".

"So for how long do i wait?" the huge man asked

"Maybe for a week", the other replied. "I'll do what i can to make sure your money is wired into your safe account".

"Then you better be fast"

"Yes i will", was the reply before the line went dead. And the huge man smiled sinsiterly clutching the glistening bottle in his grasp.

This work is WOW! Keep it flooding!!!

Nice one doc. *takes a sit at the forefront*

Epluribusunom:
This work is WOW! Keep it flooding!!!

Thanks bro! You're welcome to the world of thrills

Shekstatari:
Nice one doc. *takes a sit at the forefront*

Welcome bro. Thanks a lot

****************

Ted Jordan opened his eyes after what seemed like ages of deep sleep. A sound had awoken him and he stirred groggily as the sound from the TV blared in the air. The sound from the TV had actually woken him. He looked around the ward and no one was around; but all he could see from the ward's window were nurses perambulating the corridor as a woman's voice instantly came on the TV in his room, drawing his attention to the Breaking News:

"FRESH NEWS REACHING US SAYS RUSSIA HAS DECLARED HER INTEREST IN AIDING THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH KOREA TAKE THE DMZ. THIS MOVE WHICH IS JUST COMING IN, AMID THE STRAINED DIPLOMATIC TIES BETWEEN THE WEST AND SWEDEN, WAS HOWEVER MADE POSSIBLE BY THE THE ASIAN TIGER, CHINA WHO IS ALSO A KEY MEMBER IN THE TRIDENT ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA. IT HAS BEEN SPECULATED THAT......" and Ted took his attention away from the TV as he sighted his regular doctor walk through the doorway with a pretty nurse behind him, bearing a silver tray.

"Hi Mr. Jordan", the doctor said and Ted smiled. "Your wife was here earlier today, but she's gone home"

"To be back when?", Ted asked

"Well, i don't know" the doctor replied picking from the silver tray a syringe similar to the one Doctor Darmien had used, and Ted spoke up instantly.

"I think i just had that recently", Ted said and the doctor looked at him quizzically. "Yeah, a so called Doctor Darmien administered it".

"When was that?" the doctor asked

"I can't really remember because i slept off afterwards".

Then the doctor explained to him that sleeping off was actually an effect of the drug. It was supposed to calm his nerves and mind and thereby sending him into a relaxed state of slumber.

"But how come Doctor Darmien didn't let me know about it?" the doctor asked turning to look at the nurse who shrugged indifferently as he put back the mechanized syringe back in the tray. "I think i have to see him at once" he said walking away.



**************

The agitation by the New Norse Movement (NNM) in Sweden was beginning to get to a maximum security level. The radical group had demanded for the deportation of all Americans and citizens of member countries of the Alliance of Nations. And a wide spread campaign of an impending third world war was at the brink in as much as the defunct United Nations had tried to avert it from the start. Sweden's membership in the Trident Power was a catalyst to the agitations for a war. And despite how much the Americans have tried to exonerate themselves from the murder of the Swedish President, the Swedes and the NNM have turned a deaf ear to their plea owing majorly to the fact that the Swedish president was assassinated on American soil on his last visit to Washington, to strengthen the two country's ailing diplomatic ties.

The whole crisis began when the US had first accused the Swedes of espionage and this had led to an uprising within the corridors of the White House and Political Caucus of Stockholm. And then came the murder of the Swede president a few months later. To the New Norse Movement, the murder of the Swedish president was more than an incursion and was seen as a challenge to war. Based on that effect, the radical group had all western Embassies burnt down as the affected western states extracted their ambassadors before the situation claimed their lives. With the Swedes calling America's bluff by pulling out of the Alliance, and the communist powers' undaunted withdrawal from the same Alliance, the fear and respect for 'Uncle Sam' had waned drastically as smaller nations in Africa began to agitate for their seperation while the Nigerian government did its best to preserve the African unity within the Alliance of Nations. And as all these incidents unfolded gradually, Russia and China waited patiently for the due time to strike the West where it mattered most.

Down at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the tension was getting to its peak as the South Koreans faced an imminent attack by North Korea's one million man standing army and the combined forces of the Russian and Chinese military. Already the North Korean army was at the border awaiting orders from Pyongyang to unleash hell, while the United States Naval Feet on the Pacific sea alongside the U.S 82nd Air Assault at the east coast, bade their time to engage the North Koreans if they happend to breach the DMZ.



****************


The skies were grey and heavy with snow when Roxanne arrived the hospital that particular evening. She had a cheerful look on her face when she walked into Ted's ward and sat beside him.

"So what did the doctor say?" Ted querried.

"He says you're gonna be discharged tomorrow", Roxanne replied with glee in her voice. "I just can't wait for you to come back home baby".

"Yeah..." Ted heaved

"What's it Teddy? You don't sound happy you're going home".

"I wish i knew what home was or even looked like", he said bitterly. "You don't know how it feels to be so void and empty".

"I thought we had settled this earlier honey. I'm here for you and I'll help you with the recuperating process. The doctor has told me how to go about it".

And Ted turned to look into the face of the beautiful brunette he now knew as a wife. Only if he could remember how they met and how they both started their relationship. Such memories needed to be cherished throughout ones entire life. And here he was with the possibility that he may never recover those cherished moments he might have had with her.

"Tell me how we met", he said to Roxanne. The questioin seemed to have taken Roxanne by sudden and she cleared her throat and chuckled nervously.

"Okay....that was four years ago in Baltimore, Maryland". she began. "We met in a park on New Year's eve 2017....and you accidentally stepped on my left foot", She giggled. "I was harsh at first but you were so gentle and apologetic"

"Was I?" Ted asked. And Roxanne smiled caressing his face

"Yes you were, my love. And i fell in love with you instantly".

So Roxanne recounted all that transpired during their relationship and how they finally got married in the presence of her parents. Her last statement made Ted ask her about his own parents; and she told him he was an orphan who grew in an orphanage. Ted found it hard to digest the fact he was an orphan. But since he had been able to live with that fact in his past life, he didn't let the issue bother him that much as he listened to all his wife had to say. By the time she was done with her story, Ted was already feeling sleepy and worn out, and Roxanne stroked him tenderly. "Sleep Ted...sleep my love", she mumbled.

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goodheart02:
chinedu54 ugsams miremoses diaryOfpersius collinshush eboigbedavid1 aventine50 patwilly Davidbanky Despirado121 Andykruiz shapman EssieGirl OlayinkaFawaz dangote7510 Jackter101 Large32 thrix VanjoshIII Mathias260 KOMOBOBO franconero1989 mjameel Blessinzy celeboe zizzyanene1989 Lilibeth914 eROCK247 sben2308 Babprosper20 Segse omortoyosi01 adexmuhyi desmondDessi LEGITLAYO ikescope Joelfinest Doncharis eniigmar caxxy Moborhlar kayce19 dachaste rahman25 EmmyChizkid motemi111 Hibiscuss johnpaschal Edipee awesomegenius Ibukunholuwa longnose Hunry chinex91 Abisafree vanvick247 Chrisx1x Tintinnoty ponpin234 obinoral1179

Thanks boss,oya drop am as e dey hot

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Chapter Two - The Stalker
-------- -------- ------ -----


Ted was finally ready to leave the hopsital that evening after being discharged. He was now seated on his bed while Doctor Demien tallked with Roxanne (by a corner) who stood with her back to him as she would turn back from time to time to stare at him while the doctor kept talking. For some reasons Doctor Demien avoided his eyes anytime their gaze came in contact, and he wondered what it was he was telling his wife. When they were through with their discussion, Roxanne shook hands with the doctor and walked back to were Ted sat as the doctor waved at Ted before taking his leave.

"What was that all about?" asked Ted as his wife packed his wares into a sports bag.

"You mean what?" she replied

"You were discussing with the doctor and staring at me".

"Oh....that", Roxanne smiled. "He was just telling me how best to go about your amnesia".

"Thought my attending doctor had done that earlier?" Ted queried

"Ofcourse baby...there's no harm in getting more advice from the experts themselves".

Shrugging indifferently, Ted watched his wife zip the bag and haul it behind her and he offered to help her with it.

"That's just how i fell in love with you Ted", Roxanne purred, handing the bag to him. "Always a gentleman". And they walked out of the hospital lobby, saying good-byes to the doctors and nurses on duty. Soon they were outside the Hospital Complex onto the premises and Ted felt the cold air fill his lungs as he marveld at the scanty snow drifting from the sky.

They walked through the car parking lot and more by instinct Ted's eyes fell on a strange looking lady in the distance, with the hood of her brown jacket drawn over her auburn hair and a sunglasses which did a lot to conceal a definite portion of her face while she leaned with her back to the trunk of a car. She wore a black tight leather pants with black boots to match. And she seemed to take a look at him, before turning her attention to the scene of an old man being wheeled in a wheel chair into the hospital. Strutting behind, Ted followed Roxanne's lead as she led the way. Turning back once more, he was surprised to notice the strange lady was gone and his eyes hovered instinctively before he felt Roxanne hold his arms tenderly.

Ted and Roxanne had now come to a Metro Station amidst the vibrating sounds of the speed trains. And Roxanne turned to face her man, "Sorry i couldn't come with the car", she said apologetically. And Ted fondled her shoulder reassuringly. "That's okay....I'm not complaining", he said. Just then a train stopped before them and the automated doors flew open as they and other passengers got in. Roxanne led Ted to a spot close to the window where they took a seat and she cuddled up to him as he habitually stroke her hair. Suddenly his eyes caught the sight of the strange hooded lady he had seen back at the hospital premises a while ago. She was seated at the end of their compartment. He instantly felt uncomfortable as he watched her read through a newspaper in her hands and he wondered, who would be reading a news paper with a sunglasses on her face at night? Soon the train got to their stop and Ted and Roxanne both alighted as the doors closed behind them. Watching the train screech away, Ted noticed the strange woman who still sat inside raise her head to look at him steadily through the window before the train sped into the Tube.

It didn't take them long before they arrived the brightly lit Von Lussac Avenue where they live. The avenue was more of a boulevard with fir trees and brick mansions lining the path in opposite side, with posh cars which graced the parking lots of the various owners. They walked some few distance before they came to stop before a red brick mansion with a spacious lawn on which the building stood. Ted's eyes didn't fail to notice the black Audi A3 model parked in the lot beside them.

"Welcome home baby ", said Roxane before pressing the doorbell.

Within seconds, swift footsteps were heard inside the house as the sound advanced towards the door which swung open to reveal an Asian maid standing at the doorway.

"Welcome Madam", the maid said in typical obeisance, collecting the sports bag from Roxanne who showed Ted the way in and he gently stepped into what he felt was an adjoining corridor closing the sitting room.
"Meet Sensei, our maid", Roxanne indicated at the Asian woman who bowed before Ted in the typical Japanese way.

"Welcome back Mr.Ted", she said before turning and heading up the stairs as Ted watched her climb further. Then he brought his eyes down to the pictures on the basement wall. They were his pictures; and some with Roxanne in them, and he stared at them closely trying to see if he could make out a memory or even a fragment out of it, but his mind went blank as he tried to recollect. It was as if his memories had been blocked with a firewall. Roxanne noticed the sudden sadness in his face and came to stroke his arm lovingly. And hs gaze moved to a picture which had him adorned in a ceremonial military garb. He moved his hands to the frame, "What's this?" he asked in astonishment.

"That's you on your arrival from your post in Belarus", Roxanne said. "You served with the US army. A brilliant officer"

"Served?" Ted inquired

"Yeah. You served for ten years before resigning inorder for us to start a family", replied Roxanne. "You didn't want your kids to miss your fatherly love".

"Wow!.....can i ask you a question Roxanne?"

"Go ahead Ted...I'm all ears".

"Why did we choose to live in Vienna? All the way from America?"


Roxanne told him how he had been the one to suggest a change of city far away from Baltimore, before they could start having kids. According to her, she had objected at first but inorder not to fight with him over the issue, she reluctantly agreed to follow him and then he bought the mansion where they lived presently, out of his pension from the US Army.

"Anyway, I've come to love the city", she added as Ted stared at her speechless and with so much thoughts in his eyes. Then Roxanne pulled him closer to her, "Come let's go have dinner. You must be very hungry", she said leading him towards the dining table and passing by the stone walled fireplace.



******************

He was now running through the woods panting and breathing out the frosty air which stung his nostrils. In his grasp were two strange cylindrical objects (looking like large test tubes containing greenish, translucent gelatinous substance) which Ted clutched firmly like his life depended on it. He could hear the raucous voices of the men chasing behind him while he ran for his life, climbing the rocky terrains which was a tiring task as the task sapped his energy gradually. But the undefilable zeal and passion burning in him kept him going. All of a sudden, a bear appeared from nowhere, charging towards him and....... Ted jerked awake from his nightmare as the beams from the morning sun, leaking into the room, hit his eyes directly and blurring his vision of his wife who was leaning on the balcony of their bedroom's porch which faced the street. Her hair billowed in the wind, owing to the height of the porch from the ground. It was morning already and he stretched lazily heaving at the dream he just had, and his wife turned back to see him seated erect. She wore a large cotton shirt which was apparently his, and the shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a white bra and lacy panties underneath.

"Hey sleepy head", she cooed. "You're awake" and she walked back into the bedroom, towards him, while he admired the sexual appeal she exuded. Her pale skin glowed in the early morning sun as she came to sit by him on the bed. "Goodmorning darling", she said pecking Ted on the cheek and he reciprocated by kissing her fully on the lips.

"You're so beautiful Roxanne", he grinned

"You always say that at mornings", she replied. "And I love the way you say it".

Then Ted's mind fell back to the dream he just had and his expression changed instantly to Roxanne's notice, and she peered into his face. She asked him what was wrong but he felt this sudden intuition to keep the dream away from her so he cheered up and smiled. "It's nothing baby", he replied. But deep within him, he felt torn between two worlds and couldn't really explain why he felt that way. Turning away from her, he kicked away the duvet and headed to the bathroom, now standing before the wall mirror as he leaned on the washbowl. He could still feel the sting of the cold air from his dream, inside his nostrils; so he turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face to jolt himself back to reality, just incase he was still dreaming. The creaking of the bathroom door distracted him from his thoughts and he looked through the mirror to see his wife now standing behind him and she wrapped her tender but fragile arms around his trunk from behind as she rested her right cheek comfortably on his broad back.

"Are you sure you're okay baby?" she inquired

"Yeah....yeah I'm fine", he answered grabbing the towel on the wall hanger to wipe his damp face.

"Guess it's a nightmare", Roxanne interjected suddenly.

Ted stopped wiping his face and turned to face her with a quizzical look in his eyes. "How did you know?" he demanded, and Roxanne looked up at him with a faint smile playing on her lips. "Remember i once told you i majored in psychology", she stated. "Moreover i'm your wife and i know that expression in your eyes whenever i see it". Ted heaved.

"It's your Peace Keeping experience back in Belarus". she added."It's haunting you".

"No, this is quite different", Ted muttered. "It was more than a combat experience....felt so real".

"Then tell me about it". demanded Roxanne in a sweet voice. Ted opened his mouth to speak but could only stutter as he lacked the right words to express himself. And he swallowed hard, blinking in sheer hysteria. Thinking about the nightmare seemed to make him hyperventilate, with his heart thumping at an alarming rate and he suddenly felt dizzy as the whole place swirled around him, causing him to gasp for air. He could now feel his legs giving away till he could hardly stand anymore, while Roxanne's voice echoed distantly in his head, "Teddy!....Teddy!!..." and then he passed out.

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The ticking of the clock was the first sound he heard minutes later when he woke up on the couch, with Roxanne seated beside him, and Sensei the maid kneeling close by, bearing a cup of tea in her hands. It was a Japanese herbal tea precisely used to quell cases of severe Hysteria. The maid brought the cup forward to Roxanne who collected it and helped Ted sit up as she handed the cup to him.

"Drink up....it's going to help you"

"I made it specially for you sir", Sensei said. "The art of herbs run in my family".

Ted sipped on his drink gradually while Sensei excused herself as Roxanne stroke his shoulder reassuringly. "What happened? she asked. "You were muttering in your unconsciousness". At that instant, Ted looked at her with an unwavering attention. "And what did i say?" he asked.

Roxanne shrugged with a sombre look on her face. "Nothing specific. You were muttering gibberish....incoherently". She watched him take in the last gulp of the herbal tea, afterwhich, she took the cup from him and stood on her feet about to walk away, and Ted held her back by the hand.

"I'll be fine Roxxy", he assured her as she gave a weak smile.

"Of course you will", she nodded before turning and walked away.

As the days passed into weeks, the bond between Ted and Roxanne grew rapidly, and he was now bonded with his home despite he was yet to establish the connection between his past life and the present. He had already given up all hopes on recovering his memory and decided to forge a new life as he never for a second try to remember anything from his past life. According to Roxanne, he was giving up so fast on himself; but that was the highest he could do to maintain his sanity since the more he tried to recollect his past, the more his mind broke down on his way to self discovery. From what he discovered about himself, he was a fun loving person and a very focused man with a broad mind. In essence he was smart and brilliant in all ramifications. But there was one more thing he discovered about himself....he had a sharp reflex and this he came to notice on a fateful day.

It was on a sunday morning while Roxanne was still in bed. He had got up from bed very hungry and had come heading to the fridge to pick up a jar of milk after he had already collected a steak, when he accidentally knocked a jar of Jam over. In a swift motion (with the steak still in his right hand), his left hand moved involuntarily and he caught the jar a few distance from the ground. He was astounded by what he had done and he slowly placed the Jam back in the refrigerator and left the kitchen puzzled. On his way upstairs, he met Sensei, the maid. She started the moment she saw him and he looked quizzically at her. Though the Asian woman looked meek, yet there was something strange about her as he always noticed an unusual demeanor in her whenever he was was around. Probably she was the timid type or only being nervous because of his presence. Could it be she fancied him? he wondered. Whatever the answer was, no way was he going to have an illicit affair with a maid if that was what Sensei had in mind. He wouldn't want to do anything that would hurt his wife whom had discovered had been there for him through thick and thin.

Ted was not yet over his smoking habit. As he lay sat in bed that same Sunday's afternoon, he felt the strong urge for nicotine and black coffee. So he decided to drive down town a little bit, without Roxanne who had gone off to the next street to get groceries. He drove through the now familiar road, into the freeway and decided to make a stop at Vienna's Garden district. As usual, the place was busy owing to the coffee houses that lined the streets; and to him, it was the best place to have a cup of black coffee before going for a smoke. He took a seat under the shade, outside one of the coffee houses and glanced through a newspaper while he waited for his coffee to arrive. It was only in a matter of minutes before a freckle faced girl brought him his drink. Lowering the newspaper, he took a sip of the hot black drink when his eyes made out a woman sitting two shades away, staring at him. He choked on his coffee when he identified her as the same strange lady from the hospital and the train. But this time, she had no hood over her head. Was she stalking him? the thoughts ran through his mind. How come he saw her almost everywhere. Pretending not to notice her, Ted watched her from the corner of his eyes as he continued sipping the coffee. And when he was done, he hastily left the place, looking over his shoulders to see the lady still seated in the cafe, before he drove away.

If he could recollect properly, a couple of nights ago, he had noticed a black Mercedes Benz tailing him on his way home. The car had pulled over in the shadows of the avenue, some meters away from his house. And before he could alight, he noticed someone step out of the car and walk into the shadows in the adjoining street. Something told him the whoever it was, was watching him from the shadows, so he put his Audi car on maximum security before going into his house. Presently, he was now convinced, the person he had seen that night was the same woman all along. But what he couldn't explain was why she was following him. He had the option of informing the police, which he had decided to do, but not without telling his wife about it first. Atleast that would put Roxanne on the alert, whenever she was outside, incase the lady meant any harm.

Ted made another stop at a smoking booth close to an underground parking lot (where he had parked his car) and puffed away some sticks of cigarette much to his pleasure. It had been a long while he had a smoke, due to the fact he was trying to please Roxanne who wasn't comfortable with his indulgence. While he savored the aroma of nicotine in his head, he wondered what his wife would say at that moment if she caught him in the act. He shrugged indifferently and smiled to himself as he blew puffs of smoke balls into the cold air. Atleast it was meant to keep him warm from the frosty winter he mentally comforted himself with the excuse. By the time he was done it was way passed 5:30 pm (he knew Roxanne would be worried), and he stubbed the last stick of cigarette in the ash tray and headed to the parking lot.

On getting to the lonely lot which was sparsely occupied by vehicles, he walked to where he had parked his car while his footsteps echoed. But as he tried to unlock the driver's door, he heard another footstep sneak up behind him as his eyes caught a faint glimpse of someone (from the reflection on the car window) standing at his back. He startled.

"Hello Mr. Thomas", a female voice said. And in a reflex, Ted spun sharply, grabbing the lady's throat as she tactically slipped off his grasp; and he swiftly hurled several punches which the lady quickly evaded with a great fighting skill before throwing a punch at Ted who ducked in time to spin a scissors kick at her, sending her backwards and sprawling on the floor. He immediately recognized the woman as the strange lady. Instantly, Ted was marvelled at the combat skills he had just exhibited. In a fit of shock, he rushed to open the car door, but the lady (now sitting erect on the floor) stopped him.

"Wait!" she exclaimed, wiping her bleeding nose with the back of her hand. "You have to listen to me" and Ted turned to look at her. She continued: "The woman you live with isn't your wife", she said to Ted's amazement. "She's an assassin and would kill you when it's time".

Ted couldn't comprehend what the auburn haired woman before him was saying. She wasn't making any sense as far as he was concerned and he watched her get back on her feet.

"You're definitely crazy!" Ted snapped.

"I know I sound crazy", she stated. "But I also know you're surprised at the fighting skill you just displayed moments ago". And Ted stared blankly at her.

Of a truth, he was stunned on how he had managed to fight his way out with the lady who seemed to be well trained in the art of physical combat. But who was she? What business did such a dangerous woman have with him? he reasoned. Moreover she had called him Mr.Thomas. That was no where near his name.

"There are so many things you don't know about yourself Mr. Thomas", she explained. "That bîtch you call your wife is taking advantage of your memory loss" (Ted was bewildered). And the lady spoke on: "You have to hear the truth. Everything was staged....the marriage, the house, the loving home....."

Ted couldn't bear hearing more of her disheartening words, so he rushed towards her, grasping her by the throat once again. But this time she didn't resist as she raised her hands above her head. Then she rasped, "I know you feel like killing me right now. But do me a favour", she choked owing to Ted's grip. "Ask your so called wife about Black November. Ask her about Talia Abendana. Thats my name....Talia".


Ted looked into the caramel coloured eyes of the lady and saw sincerity in them. But he just couldn't let a total stranger brainwash him and rob him of the happiness he had in his life. So he pushed her backwards. "Just stop following me, you psycho", he said before dashing to his car and starting the engine. With a quick swerve, he screeched the car dangerously passed the lady who stood watching him drive away.

As he drove back home, Ted's mind couldn't cease reflecting on all the strange woman had told him. She sounded so sure and determined. What if she was planted by an enemy from his past to wreck his home. Perhaps there was someone from his past life who was trying to get back at him. But for what reasons? he thought. Running his fingers through his kinky hair in frustration, he couldn't help himself from hating his condition. If only he still had his memory with him. But on the other hand, what was Black November and the 'Talia' bullshit the lady had talked about? Her words were very strong allegations against his wife, but he wasn't ready to jeopardize his marriage because of one psycho he had met. She could be lying for all he cared, he scoffed. Ted arrived home in time to join his wife for dinner. All the while they ate, he hardly spoke a word as he kept looking at his wife and trying to match her persona with all that the stalker lady had told him that evening. It was so unreconcilable. Looking steadily at his wife, he smiled at her and she smiled back mouthing the words "I LOVE YOU".



*****************

Few days after the North Koreans began their campaign of taking the DMZ, the leader of the New Norse Movement (NNM) had released a threat video which went viral on YouTube, urging the West especially America, to let the African nations who declared interest in leaving the Alliance go free. The leader of the NNM declared his interest in working with some of the corrupt African presidents and rebel groups, thereby creating an army of terrorists. He also promised to wreak havoc on Nigeria if they continued acting as the police of Africa. He warned Nigeria to refrain from coaxing other African nations to remain members of the Alliance of Nations. Gradually, America was beginning to loose her face and prestige in the international scene as they struggled to improve their diplomatic ties with various nations inorder to maintain global peace. And Israel promising to stand by them, sent one of their best secret agent (under the auspices of the Alliance of Nations) into the field to join the other Western agents in solving the puzzle behind the missing Krypto Capsules and murder of the Swede president.

That singular but yet treacherous act of assassinating the Swede president was the originator of the ongoing global strife as the trust within the Alliance was depreciating rapidly. It was only a matter of time and the Alliance of Nations was expected to collapse in a much anticipated world war.

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****************

Days passed with no glimmer of hope of Ted regaining his memory. At one time he had gone for a therapy without telling Roxanne, but to no avail as he blew tantrums on his way back home that day. As fate would have it, he stumbled upon an article in an old news paper he had found in a pub, but it was all written in Russian. And while he glanced at the inconspicuous writing, a drunk old man staggered up to him and snatched the paper from his hands.

"That's mine, you shit head", the drunken old man belched. And he looked at the page which Ted had been staring and hiccupped. "Reading about the Black November huh?"

Ted's attention was instantly drawn to what the man had just said. His mind rolled back to his brief meeting with the strange lady in the parking lot some days back. He held back the drunken bum as he was about staggering away.

"What do you know about the Black November, sir?" Ted asked. The drunk man looked at him intently and burst into an alcohol induced laughter.

"And what do you want to know about Black November, son?" the man replied.

"Everything....."

Suddenly the man's countenance changed and he wrenched his arm free from Ted's grip. "Sorry i can't talk about it", he rasped in sudden grief. "I lost my son Wulfgar on that day". And he squeezed the old paper, stashed it into his jacket and stumbled out of sight. Ted watched him open the door to the pub and leave. If not for one thing, he was now sure that the term 'Black November' actually existed and was something in-depth. But what could his wife Roxanne have to do with it? And how was he supposed to reconcile the fact that the strange lady had spoken a truth about the Black November. Did that mean she was also correct about all she had said about his marriage? What was the Black November? he asked himself as he sat behind the steering wheel of his car on his way home.

Ted arrived home quite late and tipsy that night, staggering into the kitchen where he met his wife preparing dinner. Roxanne smiled the moment she saw him.

"Hey Ted, where have you been? I was dead worried about you". she said. Then she looked at him closely. "Blimey! You're drunk!". And she left the kitchen knife which clattered on the cabinet and rushed towards her husband at the doorway. "Come here let's get you seated. You're back at it again, baby. I thought you promised not to drink anymore?"

"Did I promise?" Ted inquired slurpily

"Oh come off it", replied Roxanne sharply as she guided Ted to a seat beside the cabinet. And she squatted before him, looking into his face and cupping his chin with her palms. "I'll tell Sensei to prepare you some of her herbal tea to clear the alcohol in your system". And he nodded drowsily as Roxanne got up and turned to leave. Then he called her name, "Roxanne?" and she turned back expectantly.

"Who's Talia Abendana?...and what's Black November?", he asked.

Roxanne looked transfixed right where she stood staring back at her husband. She shook her head and smiled faintly before squatting once again before Ted. "And what's that all about?" she questioned back.

"I met this strange lady who told me things. And from the look of it, she knows you. She was so particular about the words Black November".

In a matter of seconds, Roxanne's pale face crimsoned and came back to normalcy as her expressionless eyes stared deeply into Ted's face. She bit her lower lip in deep thoughts.

"Who have you been talking to Teddy? Don't let anyone take advantage of your memory loss. She could be an enemy from your past whom you can't even remember, so you ought to be careful". With that she leaned forward and kissed him tenderly on the lips and got up once more. "I'll tell Sensei to make you that tea now", she smiled before walking away from sight.




Hours later, Ted suddenly woke up from his deep slumber in the dimly lit bedroom with a strong pang of headache in his head as he stretched groggily. He must have slept so deeply because of the alcohol. But the herbal tea must have quelled the expected hangover. Then he picked up the digital clock by the bed lamp to discover it was 3:45am in the early hours of the morning. That was when he turned to notice Roxanne's space on the bed was empty, and he called out her name, but there was no answer. Probably she was in the bathroom, he thought. Getting out of bed he strolled to the bathroom and peered inside but she wasn't there. Could she have gone down to the kitchen? he wondered. Closing the bathroom door, he turned and took two steps forward, before he heard a whirring sound from a distance.

The sound seemed to grow closer with each ticking second as he now came to stand before the vast bedroom window. Then the sound became a loud whirring; and suddenly a strong beam of light hit him directly in the face through the glass window as the deafening sound of a helicopter rented the air. Instantly there were rapid bursts of machine guns, shattering the glass and sending its splinters flying in the air as he instinctively dived for cover. In that moment, all he could think of was his wife and her safety as he was certain the mansion was under attack. Just then armed masked men on black combat garbs swung into the room (from the helicopter) through the shattered window and Ted swiftly scrambled to his feet, dashing out of the bedroom as the masked men opened fire at him.

He was now running through the corridor and calling "Roxanne!" before he bumped into Sensei (who looked scared) by the stairway.

"What's happening sir?" she whimpered frightfully

"Just run!" Ted cried out and meant to pull her along, but she held him back and he turned back in surprise. That was when Sensei threw him a deadly punch which dazed him. And before he could recover from the surprise hit, she gave him a spinning kick to the face, sending him staggering backwards and crashing down the stairs, crumpling in a heap. He couldn't believe what had just happened as his head swirled in the aftermath of the kick, and the men on combat garbs came down the stairs to bind his hands behind and pull him along, up the staircase.

They were now in his bedroom amidst the helicopter sound as the men hauled him into a settee and Sensei came to stand akimbo in front of him with a smile.

"What is this Sensei?" Ted asked. "What are you doing?"

"My job", she replied

"Where is my wife?" he demanded.

More of a shock than surprise, he was stunned to see his wife walk into the room, wearing a black leather catsuit and matching black boots.

"Hi Ted", she smirked

"What.....what the hell is this Roxanne?" Ted gasped. Just then a lanky man wearing a camo jacket stepped forward. The man seemed to be in his 50s. The man drew Roxanne closer and kissed her fully on the lips, "Well done Sasha", the man said to her smiling, while Ted blinked in confusion.

"Sasha?" Ted muttered. Then the lanky man came closer, offering Ted his hand.

"Forgive my manners mister", he said in mock politeness. "My name is Frank Cristo". But Ted's hands were bound and it wasn't as if the man wasn't aware of it. And the man withdrew his wrinkled hand and began to speak: "I know you're surprised", he scoffed. "Sasha here works for me", he indicated at Roxanne. "And so does Sensei too". Instantly Ted recollected all the strange lady had told him about Roxanne and he sighed deeply.

"Tell me I'm not married", he rasped. Cristo chuckled.

"You were never married my dear", said Cristo. "Infact the whole thing was a ploy after we discovered you had an amnesia. So i placed Sasha on you to recover what you owe me. She was a good actress wasn't she?", he winked. "Never knew she could perfectly play the role of a good wife despite being a Black Widow. Too bad her cover almost got blown up when you started talking to that strange woman", he gritted. "And that brings us to the matter at hand. Where are they?"

"Where is what?" Ted growled. "I don't know what you're talking about". And Roxanne (who was now Sasha) struck his face with a blow, causing blood to trickle down his nose. He stared at Sasha with livid hatred and gritted teeth, and she sneered while Sensei giggled.

"I wont ask again after this, mister", Cristo said bringing out his jagged knife from its scabbard and brought it to Ted's nostrils. "Tell me....where are the Krypto Capsules?....think!....remember!".

Ted had no idea of what he was talking about. So he panted desperately in fear, looking up at Cristo and expecting him to slice off his nostrils at any moment, when suddenly there was a deafening bang within the room and a stunning bright light blinded him and everyone for some seconds as his ears wheezed from the loud effect of the stun grenade. And in a flash, he saw someone in the room take rapid and precise shots at the armed men and Sensei (who fell down dead) as Ted made out the figure of Sasha and Cristo diving for cover (with Cristo stil under the stun effect), and Ted took a good look at the shooter to discover it was the strange stalker lady.

The wheezing sound in his ear had now ceased. And he could now hear the helicopter open rapid bursts of fire towards where he sat on the settee and the strange lady dived at him pushing him down to the floor and toppling the settee over as a shield. Everything seemed to be happening so fast as Ted watched the lady change the magazine of her automatic pistol and handed him a blade which he used in slicing through the rubber cuffs around his wrists and she said, "Don't move!" before getting up to take sporadic shots as the empty shells from her pistol dropped down beside Ted.

The lady was a good marksman. She took one precise shot which pierced the helicopter glass, hittng the pilot dead as the copter swereved uncontrollably and came crashing head long into the room; and the lady pulled Ted along as they sprinted out of the room and the Copter exploded behind them, emitting an explosive force which hurled them into the air as they fell below the last flight of stairs. Undaunted, they giddily got to their feet and smashed through the front door, dashing into the front lawn of the mansion as two more shots were fired at them from the distant shadows the mansion's grounds..

Oh geez! Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer and Tom Clancy will be freaking jealous! This is magnificent man! Awesome!! Brilliant!!! Welcome back doc.

Andykruiz:
Oh geez! Sidney Sheldon, Jeffrey Archer and Tom Clancy will be freaking jealous! This is magnificent man! Awesome!! Brilliant!!! Welcome back doc.

Thanks a lot bro. Those guys you mentioned are my inspiration

Giv us more doc, its deliciously and poisonous exciting!!!!!!

Chapter Three - The Mole
---- ------- ------- -------- --------


Ted's eyes moved to the Audi car parked on the lawn and he held the lady by the arm. "The car!" he pointed, and the lady led the way as they headed to the vehicle. With her right elbow, the lady smashed the drivers window to the get the car open before letting Ted in.
Due to unauthorized entry, the vehicle's automatic system switched from button to key mode. And the lady turned to Ted.

"The keys!" she jerked.

More by reflex, Ted's hand went under the steering wheel and he smashed the key port with just a strike, before jamming the ignition wires together (he was surprised where he had learnt that from) causing the engine to start. More sporadic shots were now being fired at them and the lady pulled the gearstick, swerving the car sharply as they sped off into the chilly wind.

They drove down the road passing by the lit stores. And seconds later, Ted noticed the set of headlamps behind them, in the wing mirror beside him; and he turned to the lady driver.

"We're being followed", he rasped frantically. The lady looked up into the rearview mirror (to see the car behind) and cursed aloud, "Shit!" as the speedometer increased sharply with a rev. Ted was beginning to panic as he watched the car behind them closing in while the lady kept speeding ahead and swerving dangerously.

"Can you tell me what this is all about?" Ted yelled in exasperation, looking back repeatedly. Then their pursuers fired a shot which hit the wing mirror by his side (he jumped in his seat) as the lady swerved the car sharply, noticing a second car behind, making it two pursuers.

"Just stay down and listen to me", the lady ordered (still driving). "My name is Talia Abendana and I am....". She had hardly completed her statement when there was another shot which shattered the rear window (Ted grabbed his head), and the lady continued. "I'm a Mossad agent from Israel, sent by the Alliance of Nations to find you". Instantly Ted looked shocked.

"Mo-what?"

"MOSSAD!" the lady yelled taking a screeching left turn beside the maginificient State Opera House, and dodging oncoming vehicles which honked frantically as they swerved off her lane sharply, while some collided with other stationary vehicles beside the road.

"Take the wheel!" Talia ordered

"What?"

"Just do it!" she yelled. And Ted grabbed the steering wheel instantly as Talia stood on the seat and touched the sun roof, winding its knob. She slid the space open for her head to come out through the roof as she sat on the driver's head rest (with her buttocks to Ted's occiput) while the wind billowed her hair. Immediately, she opened fire at their assailants.

Talia took several shots at their pursuers, not ceasing to yell the word "FASTER!" at Ted who was now reaching the speed limit of the speedometer. She rendered more shots which took out one of the drivers, causing the car to go out of control as it crashed into a cloth mall, leaving one more car on their tail.

"Faster Goddamn it!" she snapped at Ted who yelled back at her, "How much faster psycho!?" he fumed while speeding at full throttle.

Talia soon ran out of ammo and she slid back into the driver's seat as Fred moved away for her to take over the wheels. With the last vehicle still in pursuit, Talia had just one final hope of ending the chase. So she turned to Ted.

"We have to jump out", she suggested.

"What? No...you psycho, No!" Ted tried to stop her

But she was defiant. "On the count of three....1...2...3...." and she stepped on the brakes sharply as they simultaneously dived out off the car (from both sides). Owing to the dive, Ted's head collided with an electric pole while the pursuing car slammed headlong into the rear of their Audi, causing a loud explosion which boomeranged. Ted and Talia staggered back to their feet to notice the whole street illuminated by the combustion from the explosion as people screamed in shock, running in different directions. In no time, there were distant wails of police siren which was now approaching from the inner city block. Talia stood across the road and beckoned on Ted who came limping down to where she stood. Hand in hand, the duo scampered away from the accident scene before the police could arrive, as they headed into the clumsy streets adjacent to the scene of the explosion. .

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The street was now getting narrow and darker as they walked ahead, passing by homeless people who sat beside barrels with flames in them as they tried to keep themselves warm from the cold. It was now 4:55am when Talia checked her luminous wrist-watch while Ted continued limping and wincing along. He had suffered an injury to his left knee and his head was now bleeding profusely as Talia wiped the bruise on her right cheek constantly with her upper arm. When they had walked to an extent, on getting close to a drugstore, Ted staggered backwards and leaned on the wall of the store.

"I need medication, please", he panted. "I can't go any further". So Talia came closer to hold him

"Listen my friend", she said. "I know you're weak. And I also know you're hurt. But we have to keep going because of the cops".

"This is a drugstore for Christ's sake!" Ted snapped. "Go in and get me something"

"Sorry we can't. The police will definitely question the store attendant for our description. Let's keep going".

Ted had wanted to argue further with her. But on seeing the truth in what she had said, he heaved in pains as he managed to get himself back on track and Talia supported him by crossing his hand over her shoulder with her hand around his waist. Then he asked, "Where are we going?"

"To my place", Talia replied. "A safe house actually....And I've got medication there"

They walked for a few minutes before they came to a path where the road became steeper in a downward gradient as they approached a settlement which reeked of primordial desolation to Ted's disgust.

From the look of it, they were now in the slums and Ted didn't fail to notice the gawky state of the whole place. The streets were lit with faint bulbs which twitched momentarily on the rusty poles. It was now twilight, and they walked passed a small wooden shed and an empty field, with dusty roads and stiff winds as the inhabitants of the place cast them suspicious looks while speaking in their native language as they walked passed them. The language was clearly different from the local German. The older women wore heavy scarves on their hair and long, shapeless dresses. They all seem to be pushing, pulling or carrying things like bags and mattresses. These things which were of some great weight, the kind only known to people permanently displaced, rested on their weary shoulders, while some pushed their babies in worn out strollers. The shops also looked worn out and less cared for, but hardly the kind of dangerous looking places one saw in any big city. And the grocery stores had a lot of sorry beggars sleeping on their frontage.

As Ted and Talia reached the heart of the slums, the buildings became similar with old walls which were compacted. While rats scurried around the whole place. Soon they arrived before a one storey building and Talia spoke to Ted: "This is the place", she said. And Ted couldn't believe his eyes.

"Don't tell me you live here" he said.

"Well, i don't...like i said...it's a safe house", she explained. "I'm just here temporarily because of you". And she helped Ted up the stairs as rats scurried beneath their feet.

"You could have at least found a better place for your safe house bullshit", Ted whined

"Don't be an ungrateful swine", snapped Talia. "Such places are the best for safe houses".

Talia led him to the door of her apartment and a nosy old woman poked her head through the next apartment door close to Talia's. She said something to Talia in Hungarian while Talia replied fluently in the same language. And Ted looked at Talia quizzically while he leaned on the wall, watching her unlock the old blue door.

"I was trained to speak Hungarian too", she smirked pushing the door open as the nosy old woman cast Ted a disdainful look before going back inside her apartment. Then the duo walked into the safe house.

Talia's safe house had just two rooms inside. In which she used one for a sitting room and the other a bedroom. It was quite old fashioned with worn out wallpapers gracing the walls, a cracked ceiling, old dusty settees and a small television which stood on an antique shelve at the corner. A weird looking gas lamp lit the whole room. Talia took off her jacket and hung it on a hanger before walking into the inner chamber.

"What did you say to that old woman?" asked Ted locating a cane chair beside the old gas lamp.

"I told her you were a jerk", replied Talia from inside the bedroom, and Ted scoffed.

Minutes later, she appeared with a white first aid box in her hands and came to sit beside Ted who was already sweating in the stuffy room.

"You're bleeding profusely", she said studying Ted's bleeding head. "That was a nice jump. I was thinking you would be rusty by now".

"How do you mean rusty?" Ted asked, watching Talia open the white box.

"You're an agent who work for the Alliance of Nations", revealed Talia as she began to clean Ted's cut with a gauze. "I was thinking being away from active field service would have left you weak".

Ted held off her hand firmly and peered into her face in bewildement. "What are you trying to say?" he demanded. And Talia wrenched her arm free from his strong grasp, sighing deeply. "Guess you wanna hear the truth", she said dropping the bloody gauze. But Ted didn't reply rather kept looking at her expectantly.

"Well, your names are Special Agent Somto Chuka Thomas", she began. "A Nigerian-American, born in the US as an only child to Nigerian parents. But on reaching age 12, your parents returned back to Nigeria with so you could learn the culture of your people. Unfortunately your parents died in an auto crash before you turned 24. You also worked for the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, before you were chosen by the Alliance, for your rare qualities, to undergo a special training by the CIA and Mossad for the purpose of Project Erebus". She looked at Ted who stared back wide-eyed at her; and she continued: "Project Erebus was a Bio-Chemical Weapons research programme in which the Krypto Virus was to be created for the sake of defending the nations under the Alliance from the Trident Powers in the case of an eventual world war."

Talia told him about the assassination of President Glenn Larsson, the Swedish president, and how the shooter was still at large and the murder weapon missing. She also told him all that had transpired before the Israeli government had sent her to look for him. All the while she spoke, Ted sat speechless and motionless as he couldn't comprehend all that was being said.

"You were the only African Agent to have been chosen by the Alliance of Nations to supervise Project Erebus alongside the other Western agents. And you were trained in Camp Peary, Fort Bragg and Tel Aviv. I know you so well because we once trained together in Tel Aviv", she said . "Here is your file", she handed him a blue folder containing some documents, which Ted collected from her and slowly opened it. Talia watched the expression on Ted's face as he glanced through the contents of the folder in bewilderment.

"From what you can see there", Talia updated. "You were such an outstanding agent, top class. Also trained to speak fluent Russian, German and Arabic. That's why the Alliance placed you in charge of all other agents during the project. You were head of security details. Too bad you can't remember any of these".

Then Ted opened his mouth to speak but rather stuttered, "But Rox...or rather Sasha told me I was also in the army", said Ted. And Talia laughed.

"I guess that was a hoax incase you inquired or discoverd about your hand to hand combat skills", Talia explained. "Sasha is Cristo's assassin, a highly trained killer. Her full name is Lieutenant Sasha Romanov, ex-GRU, an ace sniper and a Russian. One of the best shots the Russians has ever produced in the last ten years. She went rogue six years ago after carrying out the Black November bombing on Red Square, Moscow, which took out part of the St. Basil's Cathedral and left over a hundred people dead on November 5, 2014. Ever since she had gone off radar only to appear now in the event of the missing Krypto Capsules. If you must know", Talia explained further "she was supposed to kill you right after extracting information concerning the whereabouts of the capsules from you. And I had also guessed she would become hostile once you asked her about 'Black November'...so I had to place a watch on your house, hence appearing when Cristo almost had your head".

"But...but why me?" Ted stuttered

"That's because you're the only surviving agent who escaped from that secret facility when Cristo attacked", said Talia. "So it's assumed you, Agent Somto, have the missing capsules since Cristo himself doesn't".

Talia also told him that Frank Cristo was a Belgian arms dealer; and would probably sell the Bio-Chemical Weapons, once he found them, to the highest bidder, probably a terrorist. "We don't want those weapons in the hands of the wrong persons because it's a neurotoxin that works on the nervous system", she stated. "It's capable of wiping an entire nation the size of New York city in a week with the newly developed Krypto virus. So you see, it all points down at you Agent Somto. Where are the capsules?"

Somto (as he was now called) could not understand why everyone was adamant to the fact he had no idea what the Krypto capsules were all about. From all he had seen in the file, this was surely his real past but he felt no connection with it. He could now feel the strong pang of headache as blood oozed out once more from the cut on his head.

"I'm sorry Talia.....I can't remember", he rasped "I...I really can't help you...I don't even know what to believe anymore".

Then Talia leaned forward and peered into his face. "At least believe you're gonna survive....that's what you were trained to do....to survive", she muttered.



**************

The huge Russian man sat in the confines of his dimly lit study in his magnificent mansion. He was seated on a rotating chair behind a desk with his back to the the door, and looking outside the rear window of the room while he smoked his Cuban cigar. The door opened and a young man walked in.

"Mr. Yuri there's an urgent call for you", the young man said.

The Russian puffed a ball of smoke before he growled, "Patch it through the secure line", he said. The young man bowed and left the room. Seconds later the phone on the Russian's desk rang and he stretched his right hand and picked it.

"Mr. Yuri on the line", he croaked.

"Hey bro. How has it been?" the hoarse voice at the other end asked.

"It's all a matter of time and we'll be as rich as the gods on Olympus".

"But all these can't happen without the Krypto Capsules", the hoarse voice said. "It's taking too long to find them!"

"I know, William. And I believe Cristo is getting close".

"Not so close anymore, Yuri. I had called yesterday to tell you Cristo lost the Nigerian agent. But was told you weren't on sit. Seems you didn't get my message".

The Russian man paused in a sinister silence before he spoke again: "That must be an error on the part of my men", he said. "I'll speak to Cristo once you get off the phone".

"Alright then", said the hoarse voice. "I'll be waiting to hear from you". And the line went dead.

The huge Russian dropped the phone and pressed a bell which rang and moments later the young man rushed in. "You called sir", he said.

"Come this way", his master ordered. And the young man scuttled round the desk to stand before his master. Then the Russian said: "You never told me William Garret called yesterday".

"So sorry sir", the young man shivered noticing an object in his boss' left hand.

"You know I hate nonchalance, Mikhail", the boss said, brandishing the object in his hand which the young Mikhail could hardly see in the semi darkness, but could guess what it was. Instantly, Mikhail went on his knees.

"Forgive me boss", he pleaded. "I promise never.... " and there were three flashes accompanied by three shots as the young servant fell down dead in a pool of his own blood.

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Thanks for the invite. I've waited forever for ur next story and as usual, your story's got me hooked. Ride on boss

***************

Somto had fallen asleep right after Talia had injected him with some doses of intramuscular morphine and a sedative after she had cleaned his wound. He was now muttering in his sleep and tossing his head from side to side with his torso drenched in sweat when he suddenly screamed, jerking awake from his sleep. Instantly, Talia came rushing into the sitting room (where he lay) with a pistol in her hand, thinking he was under attack. She met him alone seated upright and sweating profusely as she turned on the gas lamp beside him and peered into his face. Somto sat petrified and heaving frantically with shock registered all over him his as he stared into thin air. Gradually the scenes from the dream began to unfold in his head. From all he could remember concerning his dream, he was running in the woods on a rocky terrain, clutching two transparent emerald capsules in his grasp and panting in the cold air as a helicopter hovered far above the trees. He could also hear some men chasing behind him in the distance and clamoring in German while he ran through the woods. Suddenly a bear appeared and charged at him as he fell back to the ground, dropping the cylinderical capsules, before pulling out a knife around his waist which he expertly sunk into the neck of the bear as it roared in agony and collapsed lifeless ontop him. Then he picked up the capsules and brought out his pistol to shoot down two of the pursuers closing on him. Soon he outran them, coming to a cottage close to the foot of the mountains and knocked on the door. Immediately the door creaked open and a very old man appeared at the doorway. Somto desperately muttered something to him in German and the old man nodded in total comprehension before collecting the capsules from him. Leaving the capsules with his old friend was his best shot at that moment at keeping the bio-chemical weapons away from his desperate pursuers. Then he began to run once more down the cliff. Suddenly he missed a footing and came tumbling down the rocks, smashing his temple against a rock and instantly went limp.

Talia's voice calling Somto startled him back to reality, and he gasped looking into her worried face. "It's Imst...the capsules are in the town of Imst", he rasped. Instantly he felt strong reverberatioins in his head as more memories came flooding back to him. Then his eyes then went down to the pistol in Talia's grasp and he said: "That's a Baretta M9 pistol you're holding" as he felt his memory trickling back gradually like a jigsaw puzzle. Talia being surprised, stared at him in awe. She was certain the recent collision between his head and the electric pole, coupled with the anxiety he had experienced while being chased by Cristo's men had triggered impulses within his brain.

Moments after he noticed his memory gradually returning, he began to narrate to Talia how he had taken the Krypto Capsules from the secure labs of the facility (when Cristo stormed the place), and how he had entrusted it in the care of a trust worthy old man he knew, who lived in the Alpine Crags of Imst in Tirol. When he was done talking, for a few seconds, Talia was dumbfounded at all he had said. She found it hard to believe he had suddenly recovered his memory. Speechless, she watched him take the pistol from her hand (as he stared at the gun with nostalgic enthusiasm), removed the magazine and fixed it back; before slowly handing the gun back to her. Talia smiled in disbelief.

"Welcome back Agent", she said softly.

Within the next week, Somto's memory improved a great deal and Talia thought it wise for him to commence series of physical fitness exercises and tests which was supervised by her, including gun range tests, in which Somto passed with a 70 against a 100 in all. A fine score for an agent who has been off field service for a long while. He was beginning to assimilate his past back into his persona and Talia knew he was ready once more for the rigorous tasks of a field agent. So she took the first step by alerting the director of the C.I.A, Hans Stubber, who requested for a discreet meeting with Somto. According to Talia's agreement with Somto, the meeting was to be held before they would retrieve the Krypto Capsules from where he had stashed them. Talia had decided to alert only the C.I.A concerning Somto's recovery (of which the Mossad was already aware) because she wanted the African agent to work under strict undercover with her. To the whole world of espionage, Agent Somto was done for, missing or even dead and out of the shelve. Only the Mossad and a fraction of the C.I.A knew that Somto was hale and hearty. Some thought he was probably dead, and Talia wanted the assumption to remain that way for the fear of moles blowing their cover. Somto needed the all the guise he could get at that moment to pull through any mission.

The director of the C.I.A arrived Vienna in no time in the company of Agent Duncan, a C.I.A field agent on counter intelligence, who was also on the case of the missing Krypto Capsules. Talia drove them down to a cafe where she introduced them to Agent Somto, who was eager to meet them. The meeting was essential based on the fact that Tel Aviv had also pledged to assist the US in clearing her name as the murderer of the Swede President, but during the course of the meeting, the brilliant Agent Somto discovered that Agent Duncan of the CIA was not a man one could team up with. He was such an obscurantist who was not eager to work with anyone nor share intel, and that got Somto worried and suspicious. As a result, Somto decided never to share intel with him too.

After carefully analyzing the events surrounding the murder of the Swede president, Somto arrived at the conclusion that either the United States knew something about the Swede president's death and was denying it; or someone within the U.S had assisted whoever might have carried out the assassination, thereby framing the Americans. If the murder of the Swede president could be successfuly executed on American soil, without the knowledge of the various American security agencies, it meant there was a mole involved. For all Somto cared, Agent Duncan could be that mole. Moreover the murder weapon was never found except for the bullet which revealed that the murder weapon was a Sniper gun, military grade. So Somto decided to make his assumptions known to Talia. He walked into her room an hour later, after they had returned from the meeting with Hans Stubber and Agent Duncan; and she was startled when she turned to see him standing at the doorway.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Talia.

"Long enough", replied Somto. And Talia's face creased in suspicion.

"Were you watching me ündress?", she asked. Somto chuckled mischievously.

"No Talia...relax...", he said and Talia heaved a sigh of relief.

"So what brings you to my room Agent Somto?" she asked. "You look worried".

Somto told her all about his assumptions and lack of interest in working with Agent Duncan, and Talia stood staring at him with her eyes betraying a lot of thoughts. She shook her head in dismay and sat on the bed, while Somto came to sit beside her.

"I've also thought the same thing too", she said. "We could be heading for a wild goose chase if the US is responsible for the assassination. They'll do all they can to keep us running round in circles", she heaved. "But i never really suspected Duncan"

"You may not be able to pick out a mole", Somto stated. "But i was good at it. One of the reasons i was brought into the facility".

"But you missed the mole in the facility!", Talia snapped (Somto glared at her). "Look, sorry i sounded that way. But i want you to know the facility was breached because of a mole".

"I know", growled Somto. "And that same mole could be Agent Duncan. Though he wasn't in the facility, he knew about its location. This means both the attack on the facility and the murder of the the Swede president is connected".

The two agents sat in silence for a while, each filled with different thoughts as they pondered on the ambiguity of the situation at hand. If Duncan was a mole, that meant he had people in high places aiding him. Being a senior agent in counter intelligence of the CIA, Duncan was certain to know politicians, terrorists and international criminals like Frank Cristo, who could pull stunts. Probably he had established contact with Cristo before the facility was breached. Does that mean Cristo was also connected with the Swede president's death? What if the US really had a hand in the assassination? Somto thought. Ofcourse he knew such an allegation against an Agent of the CIA was preposterous without tangible evidence. And pinning him down with substantial evidence wasn't going to be easy either. Talkless of getting the evidences needed. It was going to be a gruesome task with intrigues.At first he had thought of involving the CIA director. But he wasn't sure Directror Hans was going to buy his baseless assumptions. At least he, Somto had been smart enough not to reveal he had any idea about the Krypto Capsules. When Duncan had asked him about it, he denied every claim linking him with the highly sought capsules, thereby shifting the attention from himself. Then Somto broke silence.

"We have to track Duncan", he said coldly.

"And how do we do that?" asked Talia.

Somto told Talia of his plan to clone the American agent's phone which sounded like a good idea, and that would help them listen to Duncan's phone conversations whenever he had a call. All they would be needing was another phone which would become the clone. But the hitch was going to be how to get Duncan's phone and cloning it, as the need for a computer expert suddenly arose. Only a good computer genius was needed to do the job without leaving traces. Somto knew a good computer expert in Houston, Texas, who worked for the Nigerian Intelligence Agency and MI6, but making contact with anyone at the moment could blow his cover, since just a few people knew he was no longer amnesic and was alive. He didn't want to go alerting the whole world for fear of betrayal. Not even informing his friend Col. Ademuyiwa, in the Defence Intelligence Agency in Nigeria. Whoever that must have sold out the facility and assassinated the Swede president would surely have versatile friends around the world. Not that he had any doubt concerning his friend in the Nigerian D.I.A (ofcourse the colonel was a man of honour). But it was better being on the safer side. So Talia decided to contact a reliable Computer technician she had once worked with during one of her 'off the records' job for her country, whose name was Saul Natayoun. A Computer Information Technician, forensic analyst and hacker of Israeli nationality with a credible biography.

The CIA boss, Hans Stubber and Agent Duncan were supposed to leave Austria by morning the following day, and Saul was bound to arrive Vienna on the evening of that same day, making Somto and Talia behind schedule in cloning the required phone. So Talia decided to delay the Americans' movement by contacting Mossad to fix a decoy meeting with Hans Stubber, under the pretext of a fresh intel coming in from Tel Aviv. Though the CIA boss wasn't too elated about the improptu delay, he had to inform Langley about his delayed arrival inorder to get whatever info the Israelis had to offer. That meant Somto and Talia were still on track.

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Update don show

thanks for the invite. ride on bro.

Wow!!!!!!!! Time for intrigues!!!!!!!! Nice update doct,
and happy splendid weekend to you

Saul Natayoun arrived Vienna by 18:20 GMT with the assistance of Mossad and was driven to the Safe House by Talia while Somto waited behind. In no time all necessary High Tech gears and equipments for satellite communication and espionage was set up in Talia's room which was to be the Operations and Control room. And then came the next step of how to gain entrance into Duncan's hotel room. Finally a plan was mapped out and the two agents alongside Saul, left for Hotel Rosseau by 11:00 GMT at that ungodly hour of the night.

Somto was the first to walk into the hotel lobby in the guise of an Arabian from north Africa, while Saul followed behind as a business partner carrying a briefcase. They got to the reception, paid for a room and were given a keycard to room 205 which they took and walked into the elevator, heading to the tenth floor. Once they stood before the door to their room, Somto tampered with his keycard by scratching it's sensor stripes before they called room service, feigning the need for assisstance. In no time the room service guy arrived, and they told him they would be needing the master keycard of the hotel housekeeper. All these while Talia was down at the hotel lobby, waiting for the right time to act.

The housekeeper was a chubby lady with rosey cheeks. Minutes after the room service guy had left, the housekeeper came walking down the carpeted corridor on her way to room 205 when she saw the Arab man and his partner standing before their door. In the spirit of hospitality, she walked to meet them.

"Excuse me gentlemen", she said politely. "How may I be of help?".

Then Somto began to speak in Arabic, feigning exasperation and rubbing his keycard which wasn't responding on the electronic door lock while Saul kept muttering angrily in his language as the confused housekeeper stared from one man to the other with her face creased in perplexity. She could hardly make out a word of their rantings. Suddenly she smiled.

"I think I know what you mean", she chuckled, bringing out her master keycard which she rubbed on the lock and the door clicked open. She smiled in self satisfaction, as the two men thanked her. But as she turned to leave, Somto grabbed her from behind, placing a handkerchief filled with chloroform over her nose (while she struggled) as he dragged her into the hotel room. Within seconds the chubby housekeeper went limp, lying on the floor as Saul stared at Somto in anxiety. At least she would be out for a long time. Somto then picked the master keycard from the housekeeper's pocket and pressed his ear, speaking into his comm device.

"We're good to go now, smoke", he communicated with Talia.

"Alright, smoke screen coming up at my signal", repied Talia from the other end. As Somto and Saul waited for her signal.

Talia then put a call through to Duncan, telling him to come down the lobby with his boss Hans Stubber, but without their phones or any elctronic device, claiming she didn't want their conversation being recorded in any form. Soon, the blonde haired American agent walked out of the elevator and Talia sighted him.

"Smoke screen initiated", she muttered into her comm device, barely moving her lips as Agent Duncan smiled, walking down to her. "Where's your boss?" Talia asked Duncan

"He'll be here soon", he replied shaking hands with Talia.

Immediately Somto and Saul got Talia's signal, they headed up the 11th floor where Duncan's room was and located his room. Rubbing the master keycard on the lock, they gained access into the room which scented like peppermint. They closed the door behind them and Saul spotted the cellphone lying next to the bedside lamp. Quickly he went to sit on the bed, opening his briefcase to reveal a high tech computer; and brought out a similar phone to that of Duncan's which he connected to his computer with a cord, and also connected Duncan's phone to the computer with another cord. Then he initiated the cloning protocols.

Down at the lobby, Director Hans Stubber had joined the other two as they talked in hushed tones seated in a lounge area. Suddenly Duncan jumped in his seat, clutching his breast pocket.

"What's wrong?" Hans asked. Duncan brought out a little handset from his breast pocket.

"I think my room has been intruded", he gasped.

"But i said no phones or gadgets", Talia sparked.

"Sorry this is a transmitter meant to transmit signals of unauthorized access to my room", Duncan explained. "And i'm getting a signal now".

Instantly Duncan excused himself and hastened away, followed behind by Hans who was eager to know what was going on. In that instant, Talia knew there was bound to be trouble if Duncan caught Somto and Saul in the act. So she spoke into her device. The cloning process was now at 80% completion when Somto got Talia's alert on his comm device.

"Ghost, you've been compromised", she sounded desperate. "Target heading your way....evacuate immediately".

"Process almost complete, Smoke", Somto rasped "We have to go through".

"Abort mission!" snapped Talia. "Target heading your way. Abort!" and the line instantly went dead as Somto disconnected his communication device. He was almost close to getting what he wanted and he wouldn't let anyone distract him. He knew he was taking a risk, but his doggedness would see him through. This was espionage and anything was possible. Duncan had now approached the 11th floor and was now heading down the corridors to his room, and Talia kept speaking into her device but got only a static sound from the other end. At this point she was hopeless and the boys were now on their own as she sat back in the lounge bracing herself for the worst.