Chapter 2 - rated R for language and violence -- LFN Storyboard 2

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Date Posted: 03:56:57 04/25/11 Mon
Author: asiacheetah
Author Host/IP: ppp-71-128-204-48.dsl.sndg02.pacbell.net / 71.128.204.48
Subject: Chapter 2 - rated R for language and violence
In reply to: asiacheetah 's message, "The Recruit (working title) - Michael pre-LFN story" on 03:47:50 04/25/11 Mon

Elsbeth was not having a good day. There was a situation brewing in Tunisia, recruitment numbers were down, operatives attrition rate was up, and now there were 3 recruits in the infirmary and another in containment. She pulled up med lab reports on the 3 recruits.

Griess, David: field op recruit, 19 months, 3 broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, broken collar bone, broken nose, concussion, and broken arm. Estimated recovery time 4-10 weeks.

Cochran, Moses: field op recruit, 13 months, broken leg, sprained ankle, broken nose, and concussion. Estimated recovery time 10-24 weeks.

Stevens, Ian: field op recruit, 14 months, broken wrist, internal bleeding, 4 broken ribs. Estimated recovery time 4-12 weeks.

Elsbeth sighed when she saw one of the recruit was nearing his evaluation. She sent a message to Griess� trainer asking for a status to see if the recruit will be recommended for the final test or if cancellation was recommended.

Next, she pulled up the record for the recruit waiting in containment.

Sammuelle, Michael: born 1965 in Marseilles, France. Valentine op recruit, 2 months. Convicted of a terrorist bombing killing 32 civilians. Known associates: L�heur Sanguine. Remaining relative: Melanie Sammuelle, sister. Fluent in French, German, English, Spanish, and Italian. Majored in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Paris, 4 months shy of completion. Recruited from prison in 1988. Primary trainer Caroline, Valentine op, Level 4.
Elsbeth remembered the recruiter who recommended acquiring Michael.

****

�Simon, report.�

�I have a potential recruit for Section. He�s currently serving a life sentence in prison near Paris, France for a terrorist bombing. He�s educated, cultured, and should be a good fit for the Valentine ops Division.�

�I�m well aware of your report, Simon. What I�m not convinced is the compatibility of Michael with Section. According to your report he was a student activist and set off the bombing in support of his beliefs. He�s an idealist and they don�t usually bend to meet Section�s standards.�

�Yes I understand those concerns, Elsbeth, but I still believe he would make an excellent Valentine operative.�

�It says here you believe the recruit could be used to attract male and female targets?�

�Yes, I believe based on his looks he could be used for both types of missions.�

�You are asking me to commit valuable resources to recruit and train an operative. You must be certain that the recruit will be able to adapt to Section�s training program. Are you willing to make that kind of judgment?�

�Yes, Elsbeth.�

�Very well. Set it up.�

****

She remembered the first time she saw Michael in the white room. He had still been under sedation and was confined to the gurney. Pictures of Michael had shown an extremely handsome man in his early 20s with shoulder length curly hair and greenish-gray eyes framed by long lashes. In person, Michael was even better looking than the picture, almost beautiful. There was an almost cherubic softness to his face making him look younger than his age. He looked innocent and unthreatening. Yes, I could see why Simon had insisted on Michael�s recruitment.

Michael was slowly waking up, his long lashes fluttering. He opened his eyes, looked up at the ceiling, and slowly looked around the room until his eyes met hers�. She remembered the impact of those eyes. Michael had not looked afraid; instead he looked at her with a calmness that was surprising. While he had looked innocent in his sleep, awake he had a magnetic quality to him that was mesmerizing. Instead of giving her prepared speech that she had given to so many recruits, she found herself staring speechlessly at this compelling man.

�Where am I?�

She silently cursed at herself for losing the edge in this initial meeting.

�This is Section 8. You�re not in prison anymore. The world thinks you�re dead. Suicide. This is your funeral.�

She showed Michael a picture of a cemetery showing a small group of people surrounding a headstone.

�Row 8, plot 30. We�ve decided to give you another chance. This is where you�ll train. This is where you�ll learn. After two years if everything goes well, you�ll work for us. Any questions?�

�Why me?�

�We believe a man with your looks, who can kill in cold blood, would be useful in our organization.�

�What does your organization do?�

She gave Michael a fixed look at his question and answered �We prevent people like you from killing innocents. You are here to atone for what you�ve done. I�m going to give you a choice now. You can either conform to Section standards or you die. What will it be?�

He looked at her for a long time before closing his eyes, and turned his gaze back toward the ceiling. �I want to live.�

�Good.�

*****

Having had disastrous experiences in the past of attempting to recruit ideological terrorists, Elsbeth had been expecting the first few months of Michael�s stay in Section to be trying. She had factored in acts of violence, suicide attempts, and frequent outbursts in his predicted behavioral profile. Instead, Michael had seemingly adjusted well to his confinement in Section.
His trainer Caroline had reported he obeyed the training regiment without complaint. Other than his reticence in engaging in conversations, he seemed to be adjusting to life inside Section. No violent outbursts have occurred, and Caroline reported he was already ahead of anticipated progress in many areas. That was of course until this morning.

Elsbeth cued up the surveillance feed from the exercise room. In the tape Michael was running on a treadmill in the exercise room by himself, when Griess, Cochran, and Stevens walked in. She turned up the volume on the feed.
Griess: �Well look what we got here? A brand new Section whor*e fresh from prison. Has anyone shown you around here yet?�

Michael continues running ignoring the three trainees flanked around the treadmill.

Griess: �There�s no need for you to be rude. I�m just trying to give you the standard Section welcome. You�ve heard of the standard welcome right?�

Griess nudges Stevens and gave him a knowing wink. �See there�s a hierarchy in Section. The field ops are on the top of the food chain and the Valentine ops are on the bottom. Get it bottom?�

Cochran: �Yeah that�s a good one Griess.�

Griess continues �We usually get to test out the female Valentine ops, but lately there�s been a shortage of those. It�s a good thing you look so pretty, especially with that long hair. If the light is dim enough you can pass for the night.�

Michael stopped the treadmill, picked up a towel, and started to leave the room.

�Hey where do you think you�re going?�

Michael calmly said: �Excuse me� and attempted to leave the room.

Griess grabbed Michael�s arm: �Not so fast. I�m just being friendly here. No need for you to be unsociable.�

Michael stared at Griess� hand and up to meet his eyes: �let go of me, please.�

Griess� predatory smile had turned ugly. �That�s no way to treat a friend. Looks like I�m going to have to teach you some manners. Boys, hold him down.�

Cochran and Stevens each grabbed Michael�s arms and forced him down to his knees.

Griess sneered down at Michael, took hold of his chin, and forced his head up to meet his eyes. �I heard you�re French. Why don�t you demonstrate that French kissing techniques.�

At that Griess jerked Michael�s head up and kissed him hard on the mouth. A few seconds later Griess let go of Michael and started screaming. Blood was pouring out of his mouth. �He bit me! That bast*rd bit me! I�m going to get you for this!�

Griess pulled up a leg to kick Michael. Before he could make contact, Michael jerked his arms loose and somersaulted backward. He stood up in one fluid movement and grabbed the nearest person and flipped him over his shoulder so that he landed hard on the floor. Next, he jabbed the heel of his hand hard into the nose of the next opponent and broke his nose. Then he dived toward Griess, taking him down on the floor and started punching him.

*****

Elsbeth sat back from the monitor in disbelief as Michael proceed to demolish the 3 trainees, systematically breaking bones and incapacitating them. It took 4 full-fledged operatives to pull Michael off of Griess who he was pummeling with rage.

She realized that what most likely set Michael off was the forced sexual overture Griess made. This was extremely troubling since he was specifically recruited in order to seduce male and female targets. If he couldn�t handle being intimate with a man, this would lower his mission frequency significantly since the vast majority of terrorists are men. She would need more time to determine the next course of action. She instructed Michael be moved back to his quarters and confined there pending her decision.

She needed another pair of eyes to make the best recommendation for this problem. She picked up the phone and dialed.

�Madeline. This is Elsbeth at Eight. Do you have a minute?�

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