Re: Life - Business & Technology

Chapter 87 - Retaliation

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An inferior version of a mil-spec Stingray landed in an open field surrounded by dense tropic vegetation.

Hades and his strike team rendezvoused with Anarchy's Russian contact on a remote island amongst the Caribbean.

Their contact brought twenty unmarked operatives to support Anarchy's thirty-man strike team.

All the men's identities were kept safe using balaclavas and thick helmets featuring night-vision goggles.

"Greetings. You can call me Hades. Let's get straight to the point. What crucial intel are you providing us? I believe the value was pegged relatively high." Hades stated in fluent Russian.

The large man decked out in heavy assault armor, and helmet nodded in agreement.

"I go by Kadrovik. Our government found a CIA black site a few months ago on a nearby island, meant for prisoners that the Americans deemed to deserve a darker cell than available at Guantanamo Bay." Kadrovik explained.

"I see where this is going. Do you have proof that Ashkan is being held in this particular black site?" Hades inquired.

"When the SVR RF located the site, they had no reason to raid it immediately and instead conducted surveillance around the island. As a result, a security drone captured your mark's face in the vicinity a week ago." Kadrovik replied while showing Hades the footage on his tablet.

"I'm glad the new toys we've sold you have been helpful. I can finally fulfill this long-standing contract. My strike team will take point on the extraction. We go in slow and steady while your military AV unit covers us from the sky." Hades stated as a matter of fact.

"You're the boss. We're only here to provide assistance and support." Kadrovik replied before ordering his men to prepare for the assault.

They waited until midnight before taking boats across the narrow sea channels towards their target.

The CIA black site was off the books. It, therefore, was not included in the security upgrade contract between the Department of Defense and Future Tech, leaving the area vulnerable to security threats and no Future Cybersecurity remote assistance.

After landing at the beach, Hades' pair of top-tier hackers got to work and took control of the local wireless communication channels.

"Boss, we found a communication hub two clicks north. I suggest we take control of the area and find more specific information about the black site." one of the veteran hackers stated.

"Alright. One of you will join a detachment to secure the hub while the rest of us make our way towards the black site." Hades commanded.

The island was remote and therefore had few guards. Most of them relied on early warning systems scattered around the island, but those were outdated and easily disabled by the Anarchy hackers.

The three guards stood no chance against the well-trained and heavily armed detachment. Moreover, all of their weapons were equipped with suppressors, which helped them avoid attention.

The Anarchist approached the communication hub console and plugged his laptop to perform a breach protocol.

After a few minutes of disabling layers of cyber security, he succeeded in intruding into the black site's computer systems.

"We're in, boss." the Anarchist stated over the comlink channel.

A disheveled Syrian-Arab man wearing plain prison attire sat silently in his small dark cell.

CIA operatives routinely dragged him out of his box for daily interrogation, leaving him weak physically but still strong-willed enough to withstand the torture.

[Give me one chance, a chance to avenge my defeat at the hands of the infidels. Then, I will shed the shame away with glorious feats.] Ashkan prayed.

Suddenly, the cell guards were alerted about the security breach via their earpieces and left the area to investigate their surroundings.

Hades and his team entered the compound unimpeded by the security systems and dispatched any guard they came across on the way to Ashkan's cell.

The Anarchy hacker who wore their version of an AR visor guided the team through the black site and towards their target.

"Hades, the package should be behind that locked steel door. I'll have our demolition team make us an entrance," he stated.

"Good. Detachment one, can you read me? Vacate the area and rendevous with our exfil one-click south of the compound." Hades instructed.

Thanks to the Anarchists running interference within the communication channels, no reinforcements would arrive anytime soon.

Though highly trained, the minimal amount of guards could not regain control of the building through force.

A controlled explosion blasted through the thick doors and allowed the team to enter the prison block.

They found a surprised and confused Ashkan standing in one of the cells.

The demo team opened the locked door almost immediately, and Ashkan instantly understood he was being saved from the wretched place.

Ashkan said no words and followed the instructions Hades gave him in Arabic.

The strike team made their way out of the compound and towards the exfil landing area.

They met Kadrovik waiting by two transport AVs and the rest of Hades' strike team, which destroyed the communication hub.

"Packaged acquired. Let's take to the sky, boys." Hades commanded as he boarded one of the AVs.

It would take at least a day before Langley HQ realized what had happened at the remote island.

Halfway around the world, Eleven was performing maintenance on his kit, including his suppressed pistol and fiber wire.

After scouting the area for a day, Eleven found the base of operations Future Security was using to support their peacekeeping contract with the Somalian government.

They used a state-owned mansion provided by the local authorities outside the city powered by solar arrays installed by Future Tech.

[Gaps within their security routine are few. For example, car explosives are out of the question because they store all the CAVs indoors with armed operators. Poison won't do with how tight I assume the kitchen security will be.] Eleven pondered while cleaning his beloved custom Cheytac M200 sniper rifle.

Eleven scouted the area within two kilometers of the mansion the day before and noticed a hill around 1800 meters north of his targets.

He decided to camp out on the hill and observe the mansion using high-magnification scopes for the rest of the day.

[Finally, they make an appearance.] So Eleven thought as he peered through his binoculars.

Two South Korean men walked out into the balcony and enjoyed a few cigarettes before heading back to work after a ten-minute smoke break.

He recorded how often his two targets went out to the balcony and noted the windage and distance.

Eleven chose the most accurate ammunition on hand and dialed his sniper scope at 1,855 meters.

He went prone and took position on top of the hill covered by a beige cloth to conceal his presence, though it didn't matter too much considering he was almost two kilometers away.

[I get one shot. That's it. Giving chase to fulfill this contract after a failed attempt will be a massive headache for The Guild and me. I cannot miss.] Eleven pondered.

A few hours later, the air was still and unmoving, and the two targets showed themselves at the mansion's balcony.

Eleven stayed calm for nine minutes until the two decided to walk back inside their makeshift fortress.

He exhaled and waited at the precise moment when the two lined up perfectly with each other. The trigger pull was smooth as silk, practiced during Eleven's undercover tenure, training with the US Olympic shooting team.

The projectile flew through the air for a few seconds, affected by mostly gravity. Thankfully, the wind calmed at the perfect moment.

Both Anarchy defectors died almost simultaneously, by the same .408 round through their skulls.

Eleven decided to vacate the area after alarms started roaring from the mansion as soon as possible.

He chose not to open any communication channels until leaving Somalia in case Future Cybersecurity was sniffing around.

Back in Austin, at the Future Tech Headquarters, a Filipino-American man was alerted by his phone of an ongoing attack against his team in Mogadishu.

Anthony rushed towards the NetServ control room and found Edward Snowden leading his team on a digital network sweep centered around Somalia's capital.

"Anthony, the two recruits you recently cleared from probation were assassinated. We're looking for any signs of them digitally while the operators onsite secure the surrounding area." Edward explained in detail.

"Thanks for taking the lead while I was on break, Edward. I can take it from here." Anthony replied.

[Those two showed promise and repentance. What a waste of good men.] Anthony pondered while coordinating his staff.

Stats last time checked: 

Future Tech current valuation - $300 billion 

15 million BTC (currently trades at $25,000) 

$16 Billion cash in Future Tech 

105,000+ employees (FT AI, Future Studios, Hive Mind Manufacturing, FT Micro Devices, BitCash, FT VR, Future Tech F1, FT Investments, Future Arms, Future Med, Future Tech Robotics, Future Education, Epic Games, 60% of SpaceX, 10% of Tesla, 10% of Koenigsegg) 

20,000+ operators under Future Security 

Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R, Agera SFV, Boeing Luxury 787 Dreamliner, The Longhorn 

Five company collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E) 

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings (i..e., Instagram, Twitch)