Caleb Fletcher - Hiren
Masato Fujikawa - Sev
2,442
Masato Fujikawa - Sev
2,442
The bustling offices of Initiative Orpheus were always the best place to disappear into plain sight. Humans, simply put, are easily deceived. With eye-contact, a well placed smile, and a sprinkle of charm, anyone can be duped. It was this, and this reason alone, that Caleb Fletcher was able to cement himself as an asset to Orpheus.
It had been four months since his transfer into the Tokyo, under direct orders from MI5 to observe Initiative actions. His previous training and burgeoning power allowed him to climb Initiative ranks as a lucrative point-man in the Intelligence Division.
It was on this regular Monday that he walked into work. Walking up the secretary’s desk, he shot her a rather flattering smile, before picking up his mail. He flipped through the stack of envelopes as he walked down the hallway. His peripheral vision; however, tracked the movement in front of the server doors to his side. He had planned this operation for months, timed the exact change of the agents who guarded the door. There was a five minute window between guards.
He changed his path slightly, as he bumped into a guard in front of him, The envelopes fell onto the ground, as he knelt down to pick them up, mentioning passing apologies. As the operative knelt, he brushed his hand against the guards ID, pickpocketing him with a precision that would impress even the most infamous of con-men. Caleb slowed down, glancing at his watch, as the guards began to change. The agent picked up the rest of the stack of messages, before ducking into the corner.
The brown-haired man raised the card to the scanner, the door opening with a click. With a quick check to the side, he escaped inside. The enormous server racks surrounded both sides of him, as he quietly began to maneuver his way through.
Perhaps unbeknownst to the sly operative, another soul had been quietly watching, waiting and planning for this exact moment as well. The dull electronic hum of the various server racks and database nodes concealed soft footsteps, a second man quietly maneuvering between rows of equipment as Caleb entered the room.
Keen amber eyes peered outward, watching the double-agent intently as he moved towards Orpheus’ central database. Slowly, the spy reached outward, fingertips mere inches from his prize; with a few keystrokes, Fletcher would have all the classified information he, or his superiors could hope to garner from the Initiative.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a grizzled voice eked out in a bemused tone. The statement was punctuated by the sharp click of a hammer being cocked.
“...Seems you’re a little lost.”
The agent froze for a moment. His body had suppressed the shock, allowing to keep an empty expression on his face. Caleb raised his arms from the computer keyboard, turning slowly and cautiously. A smirk appeared on his face, a fake expression to cover his true emotions. He forced a chuckle, as he began to speak, “Sorry, computer’s down. Was told that you guys had some extras somewhere around here. I’m not used to this part of the branch. I work a few floors up.”
Behind the blatant lie, his mind began to weigh his options. Hidden and holstered to his waist, covered by the suit jacket he was wearing, was the standard issue Grave-keepeR. The spy knew he could quickly draw it in response, having enough faith in his technical skill with the firearm. However, what then? Fujikawa’s combat ability was a legend in Orpheus. Unless he wanted to get reduced to a mass of puncture wounds, he would leave brute force as the contingency plan.
“Never thought you were a tech aficionado General. Get lost as well?”
“Something like that,” the gunslinger grinned, the pale blue lights that filled the room playing off the polished silver barrel of his weapon. Taking a step towards the man, careful to keep his aim centered over his target’s vitals, the General heaved an exacerbated sigh.
“I’ll give you credit for getting this far,” the agent breathed, placing himself between Caleb and his prize. “...Then again, we’ve never had to worry about people like you before.”
Leaning back against the mainframe, the General lowered his weapon. Still, sharp amber orbs burned beneath the lax facade, just waiting, daring the double-agent to make a move.
“It was bound to happen eventually,” the gunslinger added in a thoughtful tone. “...I’m sure by now you’re well aware of what our branch does. An organization with our reach must seem awfully frightening to your lot...”
The agent paused momentarily, letting the implications hang in the air.
“...MI5, was it? I’d expected someone...” Masato cooed, gesturing dismissively at the double-agent. “...KGB, CIA, MSS. If anything I should congratulate you for being so on the ball. However,”
Rising to his feet, the gunslinger strode casually towards Caleb, his revolver still firmly in his grasp.
“...While you were watching us, we were watching you. London, Berlin, New York; this isn’t your first rodeo. But Orpheus hasn’t survived this long by being careless. “
“I guess, the question is, ” the gunslinger snarled, locking eyes with Caleb. “...What do we do with you now?”
“I assume that letting me go on my merry way is out of the running,” replied the spy, a quip of sarcasm in his voice. His eyes quickly surveyed the area around him, a mental picture of the room being sketched out in his mind. Other than the door that he entered, there didn’t seem to be an additional exit. If he pushed himself, he could easily outrun the General; however, it wouldn’t be a pleasant departure.
He looked back up towards Masato, reading his body language carefully. “Considering you haven’t shot me on sight, I think you want to keep talking for a bit. Why is that? You can’t fire in this room, one missed shot and you’ve single-handedly brought the mind of Orpheus down,” he lowered his hands to his pockets, before leaning back on the console behind him.
“Then again, you’re the ones holding the cards in this situation. What’s it going to be Fujikawa?” he looked up with an almost flirtatious look on his face, “How messy is it going to get?”
“Well that depends on you, doesn’t it?”
With a deft flick of the hand, the agent deposited his revolver into the concealed holster at his hip. The ruse, it seemed, had gone on long enough. It was time to get down to business.
“I’m sure you realize how scarce your options are, Fletcher.” the gunslinger breathed, his eyes glancing past the double-agent and falling on the hefty security door behind. “...By now the guards would’ve changed over. Whether you get your information on not, you won’t be leaving this room as...gracefully as you entered.”
Pausing, the General’s gaze drifted back to the saboteur.
“...I’m also sure you’re wondering why I came here myself. If we knew you were coming; if we knew exactly when and where you’d be, why not just send a team to apprehend you? Why should I get my hands dirty?”
The statement was punctuated with a dry chuckle. Masato never was one to delegate, and the responsibility of being a General scarcely suited him. Truthfully, he would have been more inclined to deal with Fletcher in-person regardless. Fortunately for the double-agent, Masato had other reasons for being here.
“The bottom line is, you’ve got something I want.” the gunslinger finally divulged, a sly grin tracing its way across his pallid features. “...A particular set of skills, to be exact.”
Reaching into his duster, the agent retrieved a small flash drive.
“...This should be just enough to satisfy your superiors, or at the very least, stop them from asking too many questions.” the agent breathed, holding the trinket in his open palm. “...And you can take it, on one condition. I want you to keep doing what you’ve been doing; lie, cheat, blackmail, I don’t give a damn. Just do whatever it is you did to get you this far...”
Tossing the thumb drive to Fletcher, the General strode past the double-agent towards the exit.
“...But I want you to report to me whatever dirty little secrets you manage to dig up, particularly ones involving Hideo Ueda. Do that, and I’ll see to it that your responsibilities to MI5 are met.”
“Or your operation could end right here, and you could leave this building in a body bag.” the gunslinger amended, tapping the handle of his revolver.
“...The choice is yours.”
“Wait a minute,” the spy replied, as Masato passed him. Every move he had planned out in his mind was instantly rendered useless. He cocked his head to the side in confusion. The idea of a bargain hadn’t even occurred in his mind. From what he had learned about Orpheus in his infiltration, they prefered the brute force route to solving their problems. Pausing his thoughts for a moment Caleb began to ask, “Before I even consider any of this... Hideo Udea? As in the Commander-in-Chief?
“Aren’t you the one closest to him, what do you need me for? And why?”
The moment he asked the previous question, hundreds more appeared. “Also, how do I know that this drive isn’t empty and that I’m not going to get shot up the moment I decided to leave this room?”
“Nothin’ but my word, kid. If you’ve been paying any attention at all during your time here, you’ll know that I’m not one to go back on it. “
Glancing back towards Caleb, one hand still on the door handle, the agent cocked an inquisitive eyebrow.
“I’m sure you understand what I mean when I say my superior and I don't have the best of working relationships.” the gunslinger frowned. “...Keep your friends close, and enemies closer.”
Letting go of the knob, the agent turned fully to face the now triple-agent, letting out a long sigh.
“Ask yourself this, Fletcher. I’m sure you’ve done your homework on our organization and our history. Aragon Tenbato and I dragged the Initiative back from the brink of oblivion. All the odds were against us. And then Hideo Ueda, comes out of nowhere and promises he can make it all better.” the General seethed, bitterness evident in his voice. “The timing , the odds, it was all too good to be true. He’s got a history, Fletcher. Hideo wouldn’t be doing any of this without some kind of a motive.”
The gunslinger let out a small laugh, watching the dots connect in the spy’s expression as he formulated a response.
“...I know what you’re thinking, and taking over Orpheus is far from the top of that man’s list. If he had this kind of influence, creating a new organization with himself at the head would have been child’s play. Why go through all the trouble of trying to reclaim the Initiative? It’d have been less trouble without us in the picture. “
Turning back towards the door, Masato continued in a voice full of venom.
“The short of it is that we had something he wanted. What do you think that could be?” the gunslinger quipped, taking a moment to appreciate the ironic parallel to their current quandary. “Now I’ve got my hunches, but what I need is proof. And that’s something that you can provide me. Hideo knows I’m a threat. He keeps me at arms reach. You, on the other hand...You know the right buttons to push, the right cards to play. You can get me what I need.”
“So,” the agent finally added, reaching for the door handle once more. “...Do we have a deal?”
Caleb’s thumb pressed into the depression of the flash drive. He opened and closed it rhythmically as he weighed the deal further. It no longer was the deal that drove his curiosity, instead the apparent infighting in the group piqued his interest. He thought back for a moment on the mission he was given. He was technically ordered to infiltrate the organization as far as he could. Inserting himself as a trusted confidant in the Commander-in-Chief’s inner-circle would go far in granting him the access he needed.
However, another part of him remained cautious. It seemed too amicable for his tastes. If accepted the deal, he knew that from that very moment on his survival in the organization would be in Masato’s hands. Though, what choice did he have? If he said no, he would be finished as soon as he left the room.
“On one condition,” he replied in a surprisingly stoic tone of voice, dropping his created persona for a moment, “As far as you’re concerned, in public, I am simply Caleb Fletcher an average, but surprisingly resilient novice agent. However, behind closed doors, know that if I tell you to jump you better damn well because chances are you’re life will depend on it then.”
A coy smirk appeared on his face, as he slipped back into the mask he constructed. “But, other than that you’ve got yourself a deal General,” he replied, before placing the flashdrive into his pocket, “It’s probably best that you leave first. I’ll make my way out of here without raising any suspicions. I’m pretty damn good at that if I do say so myself. I’ll be in contact soon.”
Giving the spy a curt nod, the General slipped out of the room. After a few moments, the returned, waving for Caleb to move.
“The guards’ll be back soon. Get a move on.”
Watching as the double-agent slinked out of the server room, the gunslinger waited until the spy’s reiatsu signature faded from the edges of his perception before letting his guard down. Heaving a long, deep sigh, the General turned back towards the main database, his gaze following the outlines of the embossed metal letters stamped there.
Eurydice.
Striding towards the access panel, the agent tapped in his credentials. Checking the access logs to insure Fletcher hadn’t snuck away with any information he wasn’t supposed to have, Masato couldn’t help but frown at the situation. The information held on the databank, while sensitive, wasn’t the reason why he had tried to keep the double-agent from accessing it. The machine itself was the real golden ticket Fletcher had hoped to find; sometng that could give an organization like his power over the Initiative should the nature of the device come to light.
“You’ve put us in one hell of a position, Takeshi.” the gunslinger mused inwardly, running a hand along the sunken name plate bolted to the top of the machine. “We’re all sons of bitches now.”