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Date Posted: 18:36:34 02/22/12 Wed
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-58-161-104-81.kybq1.win.bigpond.net.au / 58.161.104.81
Subject: Chapter 216
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "NEW CHAPTERS of The Rising Dragons" on 18:31:50 02/22/12 Wed

Chapter 216

George’s words resonated in their heads but the fury that coursed through Section One’s leaders was less than palatable and the tension in the air could have been cut with a knife. Beside her, Madeline noticed the white knuckled fists and the ramrod stance of her superior. Operations’ eyes were sleet grey with fury; his lips were pressed into a white slit of anger, however, Paul’s reaction was not unexpected. Folding her arms across her chest, Madeline gave Operations an abrupt glance. Her manner was markedly cool; she too was incensed by George’s surprising bombshell. It had been a long time since she had felt such a surge of pure rage, and now thanks to George he had managed to evoke those feelings within her. However, in some morbid way, Madeline was thankful to him for she had forgotten the rush that such a primal emotion could give. In past occasions such a rush of emotion had given her options that she had used for Section’s advantage … but this time she would have to weigh up her choices well. As shocked as Madeline was by George’s surprise, she had been playing this game for far too long to allow raw emotion to overpower cool logic. There was much at stake and personal vendettas at this moment may not be the best option for Section One or for Paul and her.

She watched as Operations slowly unclenched his fists and shook his head as though struggling to find the right words for what had just transpired in Committee. Calmly Madeline met Paul’s eyes, watching his reaction. Finally, he blinked and turned to stare back at her, his expression rigid, his words clipped with anger. “It seems that George has been well informed about Michael and Nikita than we had known or anticipated.”

“You don’t think that someone is passing on information to George at Oversight?"

“It’s possible.”

“Then we may have a mole in Section.”

“But who?”

“Birkoff? Walter?”

“No … I would find that unlikely. They are opportunists not traitors. Birkoff is too loyal to Section and Walter has been here too long.”

Madeline’s skeptical reply was, “George could have got to them. There is one thing that is puzzling.”

“What’s that?”

“I ran into them near a restricted area before coming to Committee.”

“Are you convinced they were acting inappropriately?”

“No … but it was a surprise to find the two of them there although they gave plausible reasons why.”

“Were they acting suspiciously?”

“I’m undecided if they were up to something or if it was just a coincidence that the two of them were in the vicinity of a restricted area without clearance.”

“Then follow it up Madeline.”

“I will.”

“But at the moment we have far greater concerns with George than to be worrying about Walter or Birkoff.”

“I agree.”

Madeline had expected this very response from Operations for she too felt that the two of them had been played for a fool by George and that his visit had not only been a reconnaissance mission but had also deeper connotations.

It was plainly obvious that Oversight, or more to the point George, had his sights set on their leadership at Section One and it was imperative that they do nothing more to antagonise him concerning the Rising Dragons’ mission and in their dealings with Michael and Nikita.

Madeline inhaled and exhaled to compose the fury that welled within and although her face was rigid with barely concealed anger at having been duped by Oversight, her calm tone belied her true feelings. “Yes … so it would seem.”

Operations shot her an expression of dark thunder. “And just what are we to do now that George has firsthand knowledge of the comings and goings at One?”

Her spine stiffened at his mocking tone and Madeline chose her words carefully. “I admit that it is an unforeseen complication…” Operations snorted disdainfully but said nothing as Madeline added, “… it's unfortunate, but not a complete disaster.”

“Unfortunate.” Paul turned to her then, his eyes hard as he repeated her words, sarcasm dripping from every word. ”Someone at Section One is feeding information to George at Oversight and that is unfortunate?” Operations folded his arms and stared at her, his voice rising in anger. “Explain to me how this is not a complete disaster, Madeline!”

To her unemotional relief, the directive provided Madeline with a perfect opening to a solution.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The mood of the two men was at polar opposites. The close incident with Davenport weighed heavily on Birkoff’s mind but Walter seemed oblivious to the churnings that centered in the pit of his friend’s stomach. With adrenalin kicking up a notch Walter had bravado in his step but beside him his ever cautious buddy was more reticent. Although the corridor was deserted, Birkoff continuously referred to his scanning device ever vigilant for any movement that would alert their superiors to their unauthorized access to Level 5.

“Relax Birkoff you’re wound up tighter than a spring. We’re in an undocumented area. There shouldn't be anyone here.”

His friend’s confidence was reassuring and Birkoff reluctantly nodded but he still kept a close eye on his scanner. They turned right continuing on deeper into the classified level until they arrived at an isolated room with secure doors that seemed to indicate that the room was heavily reinforced and shielded.

“Well what now? How are we going to get in there?” Birkoff asked looking over at his friend.

Walter’s happy demeanor suddenly dissipated. Thinking that their adventure had come to a sudden end he replied reluctantly, “Yeah.”

“Walter you promised that if there was another obstacle we would abort.”

“Okay … Just give it one try and see if you can access the code. If you’re not successful then we’ll call it quits.”

“Fine.”

Birkoff punched the code … two-two-one-seven-one … into the keypad but nothing happened.

“Look there's a port on the right.” Walter stated. “Use your pad again amigo. It might work this time.”

Finding the port Walter had pointed out, he plugged his keypad in to it.

“Try it now.”

But like before, nothing happened and just as Birkoff was about to try keying in the code once more, Walter placed his hand on his shoulder stopping him.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked more closely at the entry. “It looks like it might be a retinal scan.”

“Well that’s it then. Only Level 5 operatives have clearance for that,” Birkoff replied as he watched his friend come closer to examine the mechanism on the door.

Walter placed his eye close to the scanner which immediately lit up. The door opened to reveal a deserted room filled with computer wizardry. “Don’t ask,” he stated when Birkoff stood there gob smacked at what had just happened.

They both stepped through the opened door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Folding her arms across her chest, Madeline consciously mirrored Paul's body language, but was careful to keep any hint of defensiveness from her tone. “I’ve been studying Dr Johnson’s report on Michael and Nikita and it pains me to say that I feel we have no course of redress concerning the two of them.” Judging by Paul's cynical expression, Madeline knew he remained in a quandary as to where she was going with this. Taking a step closer to him, she proceeded to push her point home. “We will have to give them some respite together it would seem, to appease George.”

“No ... it’s out of the question! They will recover here in Medical where we can keep an eye on them.”

“Think about it Paul. “ Madeline replied warily. “George knows Michael and Nikita’s recovery is imperative to the Rising Dragons’ mission and he blatantly said they were to have some downtime together. We can’t very well go against his directive now that it has been issued. Mr. Jones will not take too kindly to our opposition if we do.”

Paul's gaze narrowed, but he finally bowed his head in reluctant acknowledgment. He sighed grudgingly. “I see your point.”

“Anyway it’s nothing that we have not already discussed. We are not conceding defeat in this matter, but merely covering all bases.”

“I never concede defeat Madeline … and you of all people should know that.”

“I think George knows that as well, but think about this rationally. We can bide our time until the time is right. It will give us time to reassess the mission profile, still keep our finger on the pulse as well as keep Oversight and more importantly Mr. Jones out of our affairs. It’s a win-win situation.”

Operations glared back at her as though giving the matter careful consideration. “Fine … do it!”

At his acceptance, the tension in Madeline’s neck suddenly eased somewhat. Her mind was already leaping forward planning her next course of action, but she needed to get back to her office in order to do so.

“Madeline?” She glanced back at Paul to find him watching her with knowing eyes.

“Yes?”

“How do you want to play this out?” His pale stare seemed to look right through her.

“I’ll finish going over Dr Johnson’s report and recommendations and when the time is right we’ll let them know of our decision. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Play on Text from … End Game

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