| Subject: Chapter 31 |
Author:
Rita
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: Friday, November 05, 08:51:53pm
In reply to:
Rita
's message, "TMTC" on Friday, September 10, 11:18:42pm
Chapter Thirty One
********
While Nikita met with an old friend, Michael prepared to meet an old foe.
Unlike Nikita, Michael had decided the best approach was one of stealth. He wanted to catch his prey unawares. Surprise was often the best weapon, and Michael was a very good strategist.
Insisting this time that his three earnest sentinels remain behind, Michael left them just outside the modest apartment building that was now his former adversary’s home. To placate them he donned a com unit and told them to guard the perimeter. That would be the only point of trouble if it arose, as he did not except trouble from his quarry.
The man in question had fallen on hard times since last seen by anyone in Section. Of course, most believed the man dead – treason against Section carried a punishment of death.
But he hadn’t been canceled. The irony of one Section ghost finding another didn’t escape Michael and he remembered the brief wry smile he’d allowed after the discovery that yet another canceled Section operative was very much alive.
Michael would have been content to let the man go. He had deserved a quiet retirement for the almost two decades of admirable service he had provided for the Agency.
In the man’s last moments in Section Madeline had taunted him. She had been confident in her belief that even his numerous influential friends would not be able to help him out of the mess he’d left himself in.
Little did Madeline, or any of them for that matter, know at the time that the man’s actions hadn’t been motivated by a thirst for power or greed. On the contrary, he’d been following orders. Jones had dictated his actions directly.
In exchange for this one last undercover assignment, he’d been promised leadership of Section One. However, as loyal as he was to his master, he would not kill his own in cold blood. Because of that and the fact that the various Section personnel that were being tested failed to act according to Jones’ specifications, Jones had remained in the shadows, unwilling to reveal himself as the orchestrator of the seeming coup.
Even though he’d served the Agency well for decades, as punishment for failure to reach end game, Jones set him free with mediocre funds, believing the man would soon be dead – a victim of his many enemies. But the man surprised Jones, succeeding in not only derailing Jones’ plan for Section but staying alive even long after Jones’ death.
The man had lived in anonymity for the last five years, but now Michael needed something from him. And refusal was not an option.
So complacent and sure of his anonymity was he that the man no longer bothered with security. No need to go to all that trouble when the only man who had reason to, and could you find you was dead himself, or so he thought. Besides, the meager stipend he received from the fund that he’d set up upon his release was barely enough to live on. And he couldn’t exactly advertise his skills and expertise.
When the door to his fifth floor apartment flew open as he was enjoying a cup of tea in his kitchen, he was too stunned by the identity of his visitor to do much other than stand up in alarm.
Striding in with his gun extended, Michael quickly and efficiently inspected the small studio apartment. Satisfied that they were alone, he calmly walked towards the kitchen area, gun still trained on his opponent.
“Michael,” The apartment’s owner identified his intruder immediately. “How did you find me?”
“Perhaps I’m not as incompetent as you always thought.” Michael paused before deliberately addressing the other man by his first name to signify he was no longer the older man’s subordinate. “Egran.”
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 