Operation: SHADOW-STRIKE, Be careful of the shadows...

[Cade]

0100 Hours, December 9, 2007 /
Paris, France / American-French
Military Embassy

The American Sikorsky UH-70 Black Hawk slowly approached the ground, its crew anxious to begin their mission.
At last, after an hour long flight, the transportation helicopter stopped, and leveled above the ground. A long, night black rope extended from the now open hatch of the helicopter.
"You ready for this?" came the gruff voice of Cade. He was the leader of this operation, and was equipped with an armament of various weapons and gadgets.
"Ya," the other agent, Skye, started. "But not nearly enough." She had just been released from Third Echelon's (year long) training program, and this was to be her first mission.
Cade eyed her, and gave a nod of approval. "You'll do fine." He gave a playful salute, grabbed onto the rope, and leaped from the helicopter. The blackness of the early morning quickly surrounded him, and soon he was invisible.

Cade landed onto the soft, dirt ground; twigs underneath his boots snapped with an unsatisfying click. Any trace of sound created was unwanted for a Splinter Cell agent.
He kneeled down into a crouching position. Reaching up, Cade pulled the goggles over his face, and activated his night vision. The darkness that used to surround him was now as clear as spring water. That is, spring water covered with granules of dirt.
The Third Echelon operative stared up at the Black Hawk helicopter, and watched as his fellow Splinter Cell agent rappelled down to him...

Aldéric Revelle quickly descended the stairs of the American Embassy. In the tight grip of his hand he held a Jericho 941 F, 9mm pistol, and in the other hand a small flash drive.
"I hope all is going well?" came a Middle-Eastern voice through Aldéric's communications headset.
"As planned," he replied.
The voice on the other end of the phone-line was replaced with a sudden, long beeping noise.

Fahjad Bin Hudan, the leader of the Redeemers (a not so-well-know terrorist network), set his cell phone on the table in front of him, made a 360 degree turn, and faced a man sitting in a chair. The man's hands were tied behind his back, and a long scarf covered his mouth. On his bloody and wrinkled shirt hung a pin, with the name 'Frederic Bon 'Valée' etched in silver letters.
Fahjad pulled a large, black pistol from his belt, and set the barrel on the man's forehead.
"Tell me," the terrorist leader started as he pulled the scarf off. "Where are the files?"
Frederic's lips quivered, and a bead of sweat ran down his left cheek.
Fahjad pushed the barrel of the gun further into Frederic's forehead.
"Wait!" he screamed. "Please...no...I'll tell you." The French man took a deep breath. "The files...I believe they're on the main server's computer on the basement floor."
"We have already searched there. Now tell me the truth you bastard, before my finger slips."
"That's all I know! Please, don't kill me!"
Fahjad raised his eyebrows. "If you have told me everything, then you deserve not to die."
"I...I thank you."
Suddenly, there was a loud popping noise, and the life that once was a part of Frederic Bon Valée was now nothing more than a bloody bullet hole.
"I said you didn't deserve die. I didn't say that I wouldn't kill you, however." Fahjad laughed, and left the room.

[Ookami Swizz]

Skye had only killed once in her life, during her time as a trainee. It had been a terrorist, a big, bearded man set on catching her and killing the rest of the crew. But after she pulled the trigger, the rifle had instantly felt like lead in her arms, and as the blood splattered, she felt like she was going to throw up.

The man before her had been a terrorist. But, just like her dead comerades, it was just another dead man.

Just like them.

Of course, in order to protect her country, she did what she was trained to do. And no doubt, she would be called upon to kill again. Being one who kept up on statistics, she knew for a fact that ninety-eight of the American population couldn't stand the thought of killing. And it was the two percent that was left that made up the special operations. The two percent who could kill without suffering post-traumatic stress-disorder.

She was in that two percent. So was Cade. And they both had a mission.

Skye swallowed, quelling her nervousness as she took a deep breath and rappelled down to the ground beside her fellow agent, landing silently like a cat. She would make up what she lacked in raw power in speed and stealth. Like the others did.

It didn't stop her heart from pounding. And that annoyed her. She wondered if all first-timers felt like this on their first missions.

Mimicking Cade, she pulled on her own goggles and activated the night-vision. The motion made her feel a little better.

"Just to be clear, I override the security systems, let you in and then we proceed onwards with the mission, right?" she asked him, glad that her voice wasn't trembling. But it carried a note of nervousness that she cursed mentally. She forced her hands, which were itching to fiddle with her goggles back down to her sides before glancing at Cade for his answer. "I'll be sure to take out any bastards before they raise alarms. I can do it." the last was more of an attempt to reassure herself on her own skills. Dammit, surely all first-timers weren't this jittery?

ooc: Wow! First roleplay post from me in YEARS. Correct me if I screw up, okay, Alec?

[Cade]

0105 Hours, December 9, 2007 /
Paris, France / American-French
Military Embassy

Cade didn't bother turning his head to reply.
"The security system for the cameras is probably inside the embassy." He paused, thinking over the situation. "But you should be able to 'freeze' the cameras from the outside." Cade pointed at the west side of the building. "Somewhere along that side should be an electricity power box. From there, you should be able to mess with the cameras."
Skye nodded.
"Once the cameras are frozen, you should make your way around to the east side of the building, where I'll be waiting." Cade grabbed his OPSAT, turned it on and sifted through a number of pictures. "According to these satellite images of the embassy, taken not twenty minutes ago, there should be an open window on the east side of the building. Once you finish disabling the cameras and you meet me on that side, I can give you boost into the window."
The helicopter above them silently flew away, leaving no evidence to the fact that it was there. Cade and Skye watched as it disappeared behind a dense section of forest.
"Sound good?" Cade asked.

Aldéric Revelle, the French/American traitor, made his way to a nearby a computer desk. This used to be his desk. That is, before he sold out the rest of the embassy to the terrorists. Now it was nothing more than a chunk of wood housing a piece of machinery.
Aldéric sat down in the leather chair, eyeing the computer warily. Pulling his pistol from his belt, he aimed at it and discharged three rounds. The computer stopped thrumming as smoke rose from the case.
Standing up, Aldéric exited the same way he had entered, and made his way back upstairs to greet his leader, Fahjad Bin Hudan.

[Ookami Swizz]

Skye listened attentively, mulling over the job in her mind. She had heard stories that Murphy’s Law applied to everything, even top-secret, Splinter-Cell agent missions. She hoped fervently that nothing would. Allowing herself to be nostalgic for one more minute, she felt thankful and strangely responsible, that she, out of so many graduates from the training program had been chosen for this assignment.
She didn’t want to disappoint those who chose. Or anyone else.
Well. The terrorists, maybe. She’d love to disappoint them, with the muzzle of her ring airfoil projector right in their ugly faces. The thought brought a small smirk to her face.
“Roger that,” she replied as lightly as she dared, following after her senior, before stiffening her manner, inwardly and outwardly.
Thinking back on the mission in general she frowned slightly. “Did they ever find out how those bastards managed to infiltrate the embassy?” she asked. “We were deployed quickly, and I wonder if they managed to find out in the time frame between.” She paused. “You don’t think we’ve got *moles, do you?”

Ooc: *I don’t know if you know this term, but a mole is a traitor, or someone leaking information—anything of that sort. :3 Ugh! The posts seem so short! I'm sorry!

[Cade]

Cade eyed her for a moment, thinking the same thing. However likely the possibility that the infiltration of the embassy was an inside job, their objective was firm, and Cade thought it best to keep the mind on the current task.
"It's possible," he finally replied. "But we should get in the embassy and rescue the hostages, before more are killed. But," he started, reaching for his OPSAT, "I'll notify Lambert of your suspicion. He might have some additional objectives, and I wouldn't mind getting in all the action I can tonight." He smiled.
Skye nodded, and followed Cade as he slowly made his way towards the front gate. The gate itself was smashed open, as if a truck or car had rammed straight through it. And going through the open gate would have been the better choice, except for the fact that large floodlights were trained right on the gate.
"We'd better go up and over," suggested Skye. Cade nodded, and pointed to the brick wall, not five feet away from the open gate and the floodlights, and gave her the 'wait' signal.
Cade opened the email section on his OPSAT, typed in a short message explaining Splinter Cell Agent Skye's suspicions about the inside job, and sent it to their commanding officer, Colonel Lambert.
"Ready?" Skye asked.
"You bet," he answered, crouching down underneath the wall and cuffing his hands together.
Skye moved in front of the kneeling Cade, and placed her foot on his cuffed hands. Simultaneously, it seemed, the two counted to three. As Cade propelled Skye into the air, so did she push off of Cade's cuffed hands. Skye was now grasping onto the brick wall, hanging by her hands. Underneath her stood Cade, ready to climb.
"You sure you can support my weight?" Cade joked.
"Get the hell up here," he replied, quietly laughing to herself.
Cade leaped into the air, grabbing Skye's hips. He was now hanging onto her, dangling only a few feet in the air. Slowly but surely, he made his way up the human ladder. After only ten seconds, Cade had climbed the wall using Skye, and was now on the other side of the wall. He was now only waiting for Skye to pull herself up and over, too.

The embassy, supposedly representing a freedom of sorts, was now under control of a terrorist organization, and had been for several hours. With the help of a French traitor who sold his co-workers out, Fahjad Bin Hudan was slowly becoming a respected man in the terror organization.
He had made a 'deal', so to speak, with the Americans. The deal was that he would hand over the hostages he possessed in exchange for 50 million U.S dollars. But Fahjad did not want petty cash. He was after something more brilliant and spectacular; something that would make the Redeemers the most feared terrorist network ever. It was only a matter of hours now, before he obtained the schematics of the Babylon Supergun, originally created by Gerrald Bull, and re-created by a mad Islamic man by the name of Tarighian. The schematics were supposedly being held inside this embassy for safekeeping, and the fact that it was here was supposed to be a secret. But thanks to the traitor, Mr. Revelle, it wasn't any longer.
The Babylon Supergun was capable of firing satellites into space, or firing enormous, 1000 pound projectiles thousands of miles into enemy territory. The weapon was never finished until Tarighian re-created it, but even then the weapon never had the chance to test it's power.
There was one person remaining to interrogate, and that was a woman by the name of Carly Patrick. She was the head of this embassy; American born. And if she chose to lie about the location of the Supergun schematics, then he would beat the shit out of her until she did. And sooner or later, the words would squeeze through her stubborn teeth, or else she would die.
Fahjad approached the door leading into Carly's office. The door was being guarded by two men, both wearing jaballas and turbans, and holding AK-47's; the standard weapon of the terrorist.
"How is she," Fahjad asked.
"Fine. She's tied up on the floor just inside."
"Good. Guard this door; let no one in without first my consent."
The large, maple doors swung open. Directly ahead was an ornate desk; papers were scattered across its surface as well as the floor.
"My, what a lovely office you have here," commented Fahjad, grinning at the women tied to her chair, which lie tipped on its side.
"Damn you!" she screamed. "Damn every one last of you fucking terrorists!"
Fahajd's smile disappeared as he pulled his Glock pistol from his belt at aimed it at her face.
"You'd do well if you kept your mouth shut until I ask you questions. After all , you don't want to end up like your friends in the other rooms."
Carly stared down the middle of the barrel of the gun. Beads of sweat started dripping down her face, and she swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
"Good," Fahjad said. "Then let us begin..."

[Ookami Swizz]

Before the climb over the wall, Skye wasn't sure why she had asked Cade if he was ready. Perhaps, hearing the confirmation from her supremely confident and capable superior made this mission seem like it was finally getting off the runway and into the air. The glaring floodlights certainly added to the feeling--bright white demon's eyes in the surround that would have been blackness, had it not all appeared lit up by a green sun via the night vision goggles.

She was glad of his move to notify the good Colonel. It made her feel a little better about her suspicion. If there were moles, she hoped she'd find them herself.

She hated traitors. She really, really hated them.

Skye would show no kindness to their type. She barely resisted the temptation to run her fingers over the barrel of her pistol.

After Cade, she scrambled up and over the wall, landing catlike and nimble on the ground next to him. She would have liked to say 'that this was the part where the Mission: Impossible' would start playing, but she dared not say anything. Not this close. Not so close. And really, she had expected her heart to beat like a hummingbird's. To her surprise, a strange, professional calm had enveloped her.

The cameras, she thought, narrowing her eyes at the building up ahead, and cast her eyes around the area. By the looks of it, the electrical box should be nearby. She swallowed, but not out of nervousness. She would do this. She glanced to Cade, and as she waited for his 'go', she suddenly realized how much trust this mission required. She was really quite dependent on her teammate, and he on her--trusting her to freeze the cameras, and do it without getting caught, and go over to him while he waited. And she was equally, if not more trusting in him to do his part flawlessly.

But of course…they were Splinter Cell agents. They were called upon to do so. Surprising herself, she offered a tiny grin while she waited.

[Cade]

0110 Hours, December 9, 2007 /
Paris, France / American-French
Military Embassy

Cade crouched in silence, eyeing the mass of land surrounding the embassy. He knew Skye was anxious to start her task, but Cade had to be absolutely sure nothing would hinder her, and his, progress.
The cameras, positioned on either side of the front door of the embassy itself, sat trained at the open gate.
Damn, he thought to himself as he spotted another camera. The camera lay glued to the west side of the building, barely visible, but visible nonetheless. This would be a problem for Skye.
"Camera, on the far west side," he said, pointing to he location.
"I see it," she replied, sightly grinning. "Any ideas?"
"I'm thinkin'."
Suddenly, he remembered the attachment both agents had equipped onto their Five-SeveN pistols.
"The OCP," he finally answered. "I can disable the camera for you using the OCP on my Five-SeveN. That should give you enough time to sneak around and disable them manually."
"Aren't their any guards out here? Seems like there should be."
"Ya, really. But no, I can't spot any evidence that somebody's out here, save for the dead cigarette bud near the front door." He pointed it out.
"So with the camera on the west side temporarily disabled using your OCP, I can sneak by?"
"Ya." He unholstered his Five-SeveN and carefully aimed the OCP on the top of the barrel at the camera. He then proceeded to flip the small switch on the right side of the pistol, so that by pulling the trigger, he wouldn't discharge a bullet. "On my mark."
Skye prepared herself.
"Now..."

Carly Patrick, even at the age of 47, had never experienced pain such as that brought upon her now. Her transgressor, the bastard who was doing this to her, was a ruthless, sadistic tyrant who cared for nothing more than money and world domination. He had even said so himself while torturing her.
"Talk, damn you! Where are the schematics!" Fahjad raised the Glock pistol and struck her across her already bloody face. More blood poured out from her open gashes. But she remained silent.
"You're digging your own grave, bitch." He hit her again.
Carly whispered something; it was inaudible through the flood of blood flowing from her nose and dripping into her mouth.
"Come again?" Fahjad sarcastically asked, raising the Glock's barrel to her forehead.
"Go to hell," she proudly proclaimed.
Fahjad's finger wrapped around the trigger, and pulled it. The resounding boom from the recoil sent a rattling noise throughout the room. And then the lifeless and bloody corpse of Carly Patrick, American, age 47, flopped to the ground.