Chapter 174(V) -- LFN Storyboard 2

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Date Posted: 08:18:47 07/26/08 Sat
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-124-188-4-192.nsw.bigpond.net.au / 124.188.4.192
Subject: Chapter 174(V)
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "The Rising Dragons ... continued" on 06:16:31 07/06/08 Sun

Chapter 174(V)

Wearing his night vision goggles and dressed in mission black from head to toe, Michael made his way towards the building. Less than 50 metres from the perimeter he parted the tree branches and stopped to get his bearings. From this position in the woods he could see the monastery clearly through the bushes. Taking out his special night binoculars he surveyed the large construction in the distance and assessed what obstacles lay in the path of his objective.

Considering that Birkoff had said that surveillance at the monastery was sophisticated, Michael was thorough in his sweep of the grounds and surveyed all corners of the perimeter. What he saw confirmed Birkoff�s evaluation. The triad was certainly prepared for any contingency.

Surrounded with wire fencing, probably high voltage judging by the simplicity of the design, Michael made out twelve men who were outside the monastery keeping watch. There were two guards in the courtyard, four patrolling inside the premises, another two at the door of the monastery and a four guard rotation outside the complex. Without a thermal body count Michael had no idea how many were on the inside, so until he found Nikita he would be exposed. However, he was confident that eliminating the guards on the outside would be just a formality.

Having seen enough he lowered the binoculars and glanced down at his watch timing when the guards on the fence line changed. Michael then did another complete sweep of the area. This time he made out two high-resolution digital security cameras to the east and west. He timed the rotation of the cameras and found that a full revolution occurred every five minutes in sync with the guard change. It was a short window of opportunity but nevertheless it was enough time for him to slip past undetected. Preparing for his assault, Michael opened his backpack and took extra guns out of the bag. He slid a Walther P57k with bottleneck silencer into the back waist band of his mission pants, he placed another under the leg of his pants and the other weapon he put in a pocket on his mission suit. Michael also took out a scanner and a destructive detonator timer. He placed them in his pockets as well.

Just as he was about to advance further towards the monastery ... a guard passed by. Dropping to the ground he rolled over training one of his weapons on the guard. Michael thought it strange when the man reached up to check something protruding from a large tree in the grounds. Zooming in on him, he watched what he did next and saw the guard adjust some type of mechanism on the tree before walking away. The guard�s movements set Michael to thinking, but he was not happy with his thoughts.

Had the triad strategically placed sensors in the grounds? It certainly appeared so. Were they also on the outside of the perimeter? If so ... how could he have missed them? How had he failed to see the sensors? As a consequence did the triad already know that he was here.

Michael tapped the comm. link on his earpiece hoping that communication had been restored and that Birkoff would answer. �Birkoff ...�

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

Since they had lost communication with Michael, Birkoff had anxiously waited for any message from Section�s Level 5 operative. When he heard his faint voice say his name he answered almost immediately. �Michael ... I can just hear you ... wait ... I�m changing to C Band ... Michael?�

�Birkoff ... I need to get in here.�

Suddenly Michael heard a shot ring out. It sounded like it came from inside the monastery. He closed his eyes.

�Birkoff ... hurry ... I heard a shot.�

Having heard the dismay in Michael�s voice, Birkoff knew that every minute was crucial. �What can you see? ...�

Michael barely heard his questions. He brushed his fingers over his upper lip. Was he too late to rescue her? Had they already eliminated Nikita?

�Michael? ... What security does the monastery have?�

When the sound of Birkoff�s voice cut into his thoughts, Michael methodically relayed all the security devices he had observed without delay. �An electrified fence, twelve hostiles outside, hidden sensors and two digital cameras with a full sweep of the grounds every five minutes.�

Quickly typing the Intel Michael had given him into his computer as he spoke; Birkoff collated this information with what Section One knew already. However, there were some discrepancies as the Rising Dragons had increased their security surveillance from his original data. The hidden sensors must have been added recently, he thought.

Birkoff made some adjustments then spoke to Michael once more. �Okay ... Got it ... I�ve tuned into the cameras� wavelengths and linked their rotation directly to the mainframe. I�ve been able to construct a picture that will replay the same images repeatedly.� He then hit another key on his computer keyboard. �Okay, we're rolling.�

�Covered?�

�Yeah, they're watching our feed now; they�ll think the perimeter is clear.�

�What about the sensors?�

Having anticipated Michael�s next question Birkoff was prepared. He�d immobilized the sensor triggers by looping into the same frequency as the cameras and was able to re-jig their capabilities as well. He watched his monitor with a broad smile on his face. �Disabled.�

�How long have I got?�

�The tape runs another five hours ...You can take care of the rest ... No?�

�Yes.�

�Michael ... Operations has sent a back up team. Perhaps you should wait.�

�Thank you ... but I can�t wait for them. I need to rescue Nikita now,�was Michael�s succinct reply.

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

Quickly making his way in the direction of the sound, Michael knew he would have to keep to the shadows to avoid detection by the patrolling guards, but first he needed to find a way through the fence. Cutting a way through the wire was out of the question. It was far too dangerous and not time effective. Michael was faced with a dilemma but not an impossible conundrum. He would need to disable the electricity current somehow before he had any chance of approaching the monastery. If he could short circuit the power just long enough for him to scale the fence it would be enough. This short window would be sufficient not to raise suspicion by the guards, who when and if they checked, would think that some kind of animal had run into it.

Rummaging in Walter�s bag of tricks, Michael found some fibre-optic cable, wire snipers and a metal spike. Cutting the wire, he fringed the strands, wound it around the spike and carefully laid the loose ends against the electrified fence. He heard the sizzling sound crackle first, then Michael jumped back as a shower of white sparks suddenly exploded around him. It had worked. The power was temporarily rendered dead so he quickly scampered over the fence. Making it over with seconds to spare, he dropped heavily to the ground on the other side before rolling into the shadowy corner as the fence bounced back to life. That was too close for comfort, he thought.

�Michael, you okay?�

Michael could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise with static electricity. One more second and he would have been electrocuted. �I'm fine. I'm in.�

�I'm picking up a signal ... Michael, do you have visual?�

Composing himself Michael took a moment and watched from the shadows to see the reaction of the guards. He looked around and saw two men look over towards where he was. One of them signalled to his buddy that he would patrol over to the fence and check what had caused the sparks to fly.

�I've got them.�

Steely eyes watched as the guard advanced towards where he was hiding. Little did the triad member know, but ... his time was numbered. Michael Samuelle was waiting for him.

The guard looked like a body builder. He was stocky and broad shouldered and carried a lethal automatic weapon. The guard looked along the fence then bent down when he saw something that caught his eye. As he did so Michael closed in behind him and thumped him with his gun. However, before he could shoot him, the guard regained momentum. He twisted around and knocked the silencer out of Michael�s hand. He lunged at him and threw a punch. Retaliating Michael caught the guard off balance by throwing a punch of his own. He fell to his knees but in so doing brought Michael down with him. Regaining their balance the two exchanged more blows.

Similarly accomplished and just as dangerous, they engaged in hand-to-hand combat for a short while until the guard gained the upper hand. One precise blow to the head caused Michael to loll backwards. The guard then lunged at him in an effort to finish off his opponent, but Michael was able to leverage his legs around his neck. Rolling him to the ground, he twisted his legs snapping the guard�s neck with a resounding crack. He lay on the ground lifeless. Michael dragged the man�s body into the bushes and covered him with foliage.

�One down.�

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

Taking another look around for any of the other guards, Michael noticed that two were patrolling the far side of the fence, while the third was now making his way over to where he was hidden in the shadows. Coming to look for his colleague the unsuspecting guard was not prepared for what awaited him near the perimeter of the fence. Hearing the sound of a twig snap in the bushes behind him, the guard looked around to the source of the noise. That�s when Michael struck him to the throat with a blow that saw the heavy set guard crumble and fall. Like his partner, he dragged the body out of sight.

Picking up his dropped weapon, Michael watched as the other two guards began to make their way over to change with the two guards he�d disposed of. When they came closer and were unable to see their colleagues, the two men became a little agitated. Just as they were about to make radio contact, Michael raised his silencer and with two quick, rapid shots watched as the two men fell to the ground one after the other. One of the men fell towards the electric fence. His body rested heavily against the deadly wire as a riot of luminous sparks filled the air. The guard�s frizzled corpse twitched uncontrollably as the high voltage current coursed through his lifeless body.

�Four down.�

Sprinting towards the monastery Michael�s objective was as clear as crystal.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Play on text from ... Third Person and Psychic Pilgrim

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