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Date Posted: 02:11:50 10/03/11 Mon
Author: asiacheetah
Author Host/IP: NoHost / 64.149.121.89
Subject: Chapter 47 - Michael
In reply to: asiacheetah 's message, "The Recruit - Story continues" on 03:19:50 08/04/11 Thu

[AUTHOR’S NOTE: Sorry for the LONG delay. I have no excuse other than real life interfered, then I was too lazy, then I got caught up reading tons of fanfictions. Yes excuses, excuses. Please forgive me.

I want to take a moment to thank all my loyal readers:
Heikel for being my number 1 fan and not in a creepy Kathy Bates kind of way :)

Dela, Sammuellesnikita, Onesweetmemory, and Enjbee for being patient with me and encouraging me to go on. The massive ego stroking does a writer’s body good!

Taliesin for all your great suggestions. I will be incorporating some of them during the revision process.

Adri, Del, and Hanna for all your kind reviews.

As well to Elle-mai and Mateos.

I also like to thank all you lovely readers who have stayed with me through this long story.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

*****

Chapter 47 – Michael

Michael made his way toward Munitions where Smitty and Dusty were waiting for him. He had kept to himself over the last few years, yet somehow a few had reached out with a friendly hand toward him. Although he would never voice it, Smitty and Dusty had become close to breaking down the barriers he had erected around himself.

The duo watched him approach with friendly yet regretful smiles. Smitty, always the more vocal of the two stepped forward to the weapons assembly table with a small black bag. “Hey Michael, I heard you’ll be playing with the big boys over at Section One. We couldn’t let you go without a going away present.”

Michael wordlessly accepted the bag, and with a small nod from Smitty opened the bag. He took out a small white object, no bigger than a thumb that resembled strangely of a clicker.

Smitty: “It’s a scrambling device. It disables all surveillance monitors: visual and audio for 2 minutes.” At a questioning look from Michael, Smitty continued: “They’re paranoid over there and there’s surveillance everywhere from inside as well as your outside quarter.”

Michael: “How’s that different from here?”

Smitty: “Oh you just wait. You think they’re paranoid here, they’re ten times worse. Think Big Brother times 1,000 with machine gun and cleaning crew.”

Michael drew another item from the bag: a small square piece of clear plastic with buttons on top. Smitty enthusiastically explained: “That’s my newest gadget, Section doesn’t even know about it yet. It scrambles all calls so that only you and the recipient will be able to listen in. It also makes the call untraceable.”

Michael: “Thank you.”

Not to be outdone, Dusty piped in next: “The rest are mine.”

Michael pulled out a small gray panel, different from those used inside Section.

Dusty: “It’s tapped into an untraceable outside channel. Nothing can be traced going to and from this panel.”

Michael: “Wouldn’t the outside message be traceable from the other end?”

Dusty: “Not if there’s a back channel set up already.”

Dusty proudly waved a card with a few numbers scribbled on it to Michael. “On it is a back channel that will stay open until you decide to close it. It’s completely untraceable.”

Michael drew the last remaining item from the bag. It was a small mini-disc in a protective case.

Dusty: “Keep that well hidden. It’s a search program and it is set up to search much higher than the access level you currently have. Actually it searches higher level than even I have access to right now. You can only search by code names though.”

Thank you seemed to be an inadequate response to being given items that if discovered could lead to punishments and even death. It was also the only appropriate response to their enthusiasm, so Michael replied softly: “Thank you.”

Smitty: “Oh and if you get caught with those…”

Michael: “I know, your name will never come up.”

Smitty good naturedly thumped him in the back. Michael ignored the gestures as well as Dusty’s nervous giggle when a few operatives paused in their stride after witnessing the friendly gesture.

Smitty: “I talked to my buddy Walter over at Section One to keep an eye out for you. He’s head of Munitions there. He and I worked on the same team together and he’s a decent guy. If you ever find yourself in a tight jam, just go to Walter and he’ll do his best to help you out.”

Michael: “Why would he help?”

Smitty: “Like I said, he’s a decent guy. Plus he owes me a few favors so I’m calling them in for you.”

Michael was speechless at the gesture, not knowing what he had ever done to deserve it. Before he could respond, Dusty jumped in: “I talked to Keith as well. He won’t be able to help as much as Walter can since he is scared of the people in charge there, but he might be persuaded to look the other way from time to time. He won’t be there that much longer though. The one you need to keep an eye out is this kid Birkoff. He’s a tech genius and will most likely replace Keith. If you can guide him away from what the people in charge want him to be, you might be able to gain an ally.”

Michael: “I’ll do that, thank you.”

Smitty: “When do you leave?”

Michael: “Tonight.”

Smitty: “Too bad. We wanted to take you out and get you good and drunk. You need to loosen up kid.”

Michael smiled wryly: “Another time maybe.”

Smitty cracked up laughing: “As soon as you come back we’ll take you up on that.”

None of them said what they truly thought, that this would be the last time they would ever see each other.

Michael: “I have to go.”

Dusty: “Good luck, Michael.”

Smitty: “Yeah, have fun playing with the big dogs.”

He turned with their gifts tucked firmly inside his bag and made his way to Kendo’s office. He carefully smoothed all emotions from his face before knocking on the door of his erstwhile mentor.

Kendo: “Come in.”

Kendo, as always, was seated behind his computer, fingers clicking away on the keyboard. He didn’t acknowledge him for a moment as he finished doing whatever task that required his attention at that moment. It gave Michael a chance to study his trainer without the other’s observant eyes directed back at him.

He hadn’t been alone with Kendo since the other had taken him to his off-site quarter. While he had worked on a few missions since the disastrous mission to flush out a mole inside Section, they haven’t physically been in the same room together as he was leading the missions and Kendo directing him from Section command. He had the distinct impression that Kendo had been avoiding him. His thoughts brought him back to their last conversation.

***

Michael: “How long did you know Adam was betraying Section?”

Kendo’s lips pressed together into a thin line before responding: “Not long, a few weeks.”

“Why didn’t you bring him in for questioning?”

Kendo: “We didn’t have proof and needed something concrete.”

Michael wasn’t going to let such a bold face lie go unchallenged. “Not having proof has never stopped Section before.”

Kendo shifted his gaze cagily as he fidgeted slightly.

Michael pressed on with his suspicion: “Did Section decide that using him is the best way to test my loyalty?”

Kendo swallowed dryly before replying: “Not Section, me.”

Michael had felt numb since the moment he pulled the trigger and killed his friend. Now, he felt the first stirring of anger. He suppressed the emotion from his voice as he asked in a flat tone: “Why?”

“There were questions whether you would remain loyal to Section.”

“Why not cancel me if there were concerns?”

“You are too promising of a recruit to dispose of outright.” After an uncomfortable beat, Kendo continued: “Your test was more extreme than normal because we have to make sure you would not betray Section.”

He frowned at the news before repeating the same inquiry: “Why?”

Kendo smiled mirthlessly: “You’ve proven yourself to be a dangerous adversary.”

“I’m not the enemy.”

“For now you are on our side.”

***

Not for the first time, Michael wondered how he had misjudged Kendo so badly. He had admired his trainer and what he perceived as Kendo’s personal moral code. There was an air of honor about him, almost like a Samurai’s code where he would rather die than to disgrace himself by betraying Section. While Michael didn’t have that same blind obedience to Section, he also would never betray Section for personal gain, not when the results could be paid in blood. He had thought Kendo understood that about him, but apparently not as evidence by Section’s extreme way to test his loyalty.

Jurgen’s words rang once more through his head ‘You can’t trust anyone.’ Michael had made the mistake of trusting Kendo to a certain extent, a trust that was obviously misplaced.

While Michael waited for Kendo to finish his task, Kendo was buying time, girding himself for the conversation to come. He knew he had betrayed Michael when he set up the profile to smoke out Adam as the mole. A less gifted man than Michael should have died that night. The only reason why he was sitting in front of him still was because Michael had a will of iron. His thoughts took him back to when he first set up the suicide mission.

***

Elsbeth: “I want to know if Michael will turn on Section.”

Jurgen: “There’s always that possibility with any operative.”

Elsbeth: “True, but not all operative could cause as much damage as Michael if he decided to.”

Kendo: “I don’t believe Michael would turn against us without a good cause.”

Elsbeth raised her eyebrow at Kendo’s blind trust: “What good cause would that be?”

Kendo: “Perhaps if he believes Section has turned away from its intended purpose of stopping terrorists and maintaining peace.”

Elsbeth: “You think Michael is obeying because he believes in what we do here?”

Kendo: “I can’t pretend to know his motivation.”

Elsbeth: “That’s precisely the problem gentlemen. There’s too much uncertainty as to his motivation and whether he would remain loyal.”

Jurgen: “Why don’t you test his loyalty?”

Elsbeth: “How?”

Kendo: “I might know a way.”

Both Elsbeth and Jurgen looked toward Kendo with questioning looks. Kendo elaborated: “I can’t tell you much right now, but I’m following some intelligence from my sources. As soon as I have more confirmation I’ll draft up a profile for you to review.”

Elsbeth: “Fine. If Michael passes the test, we will promote him to full operative status.”

***

During a routine sweep of open communication channel, Comm. had picked up a transmission from inside Section to a known courier of Crimson Storm. By back checking all previous communication to the courier, the list of suspects was narrowed down to three. One was immediately dismissed since the operative was no longer alive. The remaining suspect pointed surprisingly at Adam.

It was still a 50/50 chance between the two. Normally, standard Section operation would be to put both in the abeyance pool. However, due to Adam’s friendship with Michael, the only one the recruit had gotten close to, offered them the chance to test Michael in the most extreme and decisive way. They knew that if Michael would choose Section over someone he perceived as a friend, Michael would decisively prove his loyalty.

Kendo knew when he planned out the mission that it would destroy the tentative trust the two had built through the grueling months of training. He knew, and yet he still proposed it. He knew, as did Elsbeth, that Section One was interested in acquiring Michael. He also knew that One was a much harsher place; somewhere that the slightest misplace in trust would end in death. While there are still those at Section 8 that follow the ideals established by the founder of Sections, Section One had long since turned its back on that ideal in the quest to be as ruthless as any terrorist organization out there.

It was to Michael’s benefit that he will be on his guard always. It didn’t make the knot of guilt any easier to bear. Kendo couldn’t delay this conversation anymore. His restless fingers ceased their typing and he raised his eyes to the calm blank eyes of his protégé.

Without any preamble, Michael spoke: “I came to say goodbye.”

“I heard you were being loaned out to Section One.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not going to pretend that you’ll be coming back here.”

“I know.”

“I think you’re as prepared as you possibly could for life over there. Just remember to stay calm, be ruthless or at least pretend to be ruthless, and lead by example. Your actions will speak for you.”

Michael stared at Kendo after the other’s advice, a little surprised at the other’s words. Something he said had caught his attention. Since this was most likely the last time he would speak to Kendo, he ignored his taught reticence and asked: “Were you pretending to be ruthless?”

Kendo smiled reluctantly and replied: “No. I don’t have to pretend.” He studied Michael for a beat before adding: “Neither do you.”

The two of them stared wordlessly at each other for a long moment before Michael stood up and offered his hand. Kendo stood and clasped the proffered hand firmly before stating quietly: “It’s been an honor.”

Michael stared back for a moment before releasing the other’s hand. “Thank you.” He turned and without another glance left Kendo’s office and Section 8 forever.

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