The Lives of Tao

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

PREPARATION



When the Genjix first struck with the Inquisition, the Prophus were unprepared for their brutal onslaught. It was swift and deadly. Many of our hosts were imprisoned and put to the question and then murdered. Those Prophus survived in rodents for years until they could make their way to other human hosts. The Genjix, who controlled the papacy and Spanish crown, waged a cleansing across all of Europe. It was a dark time. One that would set the stage for the next five hundred years.



“A beverage, sir? Coffee? Wine?”

Roen looked up at the flight attendant and smiled. He could really get used to this sort of luxury. They were in a jet that was just large enough to seat fifteen, yet an attendant was present to serve drinks. “Scotch with a touch of water, please,” he responded. The flight attendant smiled and returned with a glass.

He took a small sip and looked over at the other passengers. Sonya sat next to him, and two other men took the seats across from them. Earlier that afternoon, the small group had met at O’Hare and, without a word, boarded a private Swiss chartered jet specializing in confidential travel.

Roen could hardly contain his excitement. He was playing a major role in the mission, and this flight on a private jet was what he had in mind when he first signed on as an agent. This was a far cry from the boring reconnaissance and security details he had been doing for the past year. Even his compatriots looked like they were personalities out of the movies. He half expected secret compartments to pop out any second with the nuclear launch codes at his disposal.

After drinks were served, Sonya motioned for them to gather around. As the tactical lead, she was second in command to Stephen, a senior officer from Command. The lowest man on the totem pole, Roen found it peculiar that they operated with a cross matrix hierarchy. This was Sonya’s first time in this role, and he could tell she was a little nervous as well.

“Now that we’re in the air and the pleasantries are over,” she said, and then introduced everyone formally.

The highest-ranking Prophus here, Stephen was a dangerous looking man. With a suave, self-assured demeanor that oozed dangerous and cool, he reminded Roen of a sixty year-old Texan James Bond. He wore a sharp black suit, complete with tie, and looked more like a CEO than an agent.

Stephen patted Roen on the shoulder. “You have big shoes to fill, son.”

“So I’ve heard,” he replied dryly.

Dylan, a giant ugly mass of a man with half his face burned, chuckled. “I don’t remember your mother being so serious all the time, Sonya. Now that I think about it, with you and Tao’s new boy here, I suddenly feel like I’m too old for this. Maybe it’s time for a desk job.” The man was dressed in a pair of jeans and a brown bomber jacket. He slouched in his seat with a highball of liquor in his hand, which he had refilled liberally.

“It was time for a desk job the moment you finished your training.” Stephen grinned. “But we must be too old if we’re taking orders from someone we both used to baby-sit. I remember having to spank her once when she tried to lasso her dog.” The two men laughed uproariously.

Sonya blushed, looking chagrined. “Stephen, Dylan, you’re both my uncles and I love you, but I’m leading a team here.” She gave them both a look Roen was very familiar with. She was all business right now.

Dylan held up his hands. “I’m sorry, Sonya. It’s been years since we last saw you, and you’ve grown so much. Dania would be proud.”

“You’re right, though,” Stephen added. “Back to business. You’re in charge of this soirée. What’s the plan?”

Sonya quickly took control of the meeting, speaking in a more formal manner than usual. “The mission is threefold. First, we locate Gregory and bring him to a safe house. We know he’s in a hospital in Dublin, just not which one. Roen should be able to sign him out with the forged next-of-kin documents without any problems. We’ll evaluate the situation from there. An agent, Paula Kim, is assigned to assist Roen with the extraction. Since he’s never been out of the United States, she’ll help deal with the natives.”

“We’re going to Ireland, not Egypt.” Roen frowned. “It’s not like they’re speaking a foreign language. I hardly need a babysitter.”

Stephen grinned. “You’ve obviously never tried to talk to someone with a thick Irish accent. It might as well be Egyptian. Besides, have you ever driven a car with the steering wheel on the right side? We’ll be down one agent by car accident.”

“It’s just a precaution,” Sonya assured him. “Besides, nothing personal, but no one here trusts you to navigate Dublin by yourself. We’d rather not lose you to bad map reading. Just think of her as your tour guide.”

“Why do we have to bring him back to the safe house just to kill him?” Roen asked. “Why don’t we just do it at the hospital?”

Stephen shook his head. “We don’t do that to our own. As important as this mission is, our man’s getting full honors from us. None of us would expect anything less when it’s our time.”

Dylan and Sonya both agreed. They saw Gregory as a comrade first and a Prophus second. He felt ashamed of his words. He didn’t know the history that these people shared with the man that they were about to kill. This was as deeply personal for them as it was for Tao. As far as they were concerned, Roen was the stranger to their tightly knit family.

Roen was a little disappointed by the straightforwardness of the plan. He had imagined having to infiltrate the hospital under the cover of darkness, and then fight his way with the team up to Gregory’s room to whisk him away. Walking through the front door and signing him out was decidedly unglamorous. He might as well be visiting his grandmother at the retirement home. They weren’t even going to give him a gun. He had to insist on one before they relented.

Better than having to stake out a mailbox for sixteen hours. Even I wanted to poke out my eyes when we did that.

“You have eyes?”

Fine then. Poke your eyes out.

The flight attendant served dinner as they ran through the logistics of the mission and pored over the map of Dublin. One of the primary rules of engagement for both the Prophus and the Genjix, second to self-preservation, was remaining undetected in human society. It was one of the few agreements both factions strictly enforced. “Tell us about Yol’s new host?” Dylan asked.

Sonya pulled a file from an envelope and laid it over the map. She pointed at the picture of a young woman. “Lieutenant Paula Kim: background in electronic counter-espionage, risk assessment specialty, and decorated field agent for Her Majesty’s Secret Service. She’s been an operative of ours for years. European Command feels she’ll be ideal.”

“Are we expecting resistance of any sort?” Stephen asked.

Sonya shook her head. “There should be no Genjix whatsoever – a stroll in the park.”

Dylan picked up the files and browsed through them. “So Paula and Roen sign Gregory out, and the rest of us will just hang out at the pool until they get back? Sounds straightforward enough; best mission I’ve been on in years.”

“Well, you insisted on volunteering,” Sonya replied. “Command thought this should only be a three-person operation. You two are just support.”

Dylan’s jolly face became serious. “Look, Gregory and I go way back. I think a forcible transfer stinks as much as the next guy, but I owe it to him.” He brightened. “Besides, it’s an all-expense-paid vacation. With our budgets as tight as they are these days, I’ll take every perk I can get.”

“So I guess the only piece of the puzzle left is which hospital Gregory is in?” Stephen said. All three looked at Roen.

Roen blinked and shrugged. “I don’t know. Tao never told me.”

Sonya rolled her eyes. “Would you please coax that very important piece of information out of him? It is a rather crucial bit.”

“Well, Tao? You heard her.”

Premeditated murder on a loyal injured agent is unforgivable. There will be words with the Keeper when this is all done. Tell them these are my conditions. If Yol has to be released, it will be only by my hand. And if he is responsive at all, then the mission is off.

Roen gave Tao’s terms.

Sonya bristled. “No conditions for Gregory, Tao – this isn’t debatable. If there was any hope for him, he’d have come to years ago.”

“His call or the mission’s off,” Roen snapped. “Listen, I know how important this mission is to the Prophus, but think about what you’re asking. You want Tao to kill Edward’s brother. And the rest of you fought alongside him. If any part of him is still in there, we abort.”

Sonya began to give an angry response and stopped short. She glanced over at Dylan and Stephen. Both nodded slowly and looked away. “It’ll be Tao’s hand and his choice,” she relented.

Thanks for supporting me.

“Bah, Tao. What are hosts for? You get my back, I get yours, right?”

You are a good man, Roen.

“Besides, if you didn’t get your way, I’m sure I’ll be hearing about it until the day I die, which these days, could be at any moment.”

Quiet, you. The only way you can die on this mission is if you trip on the sidewalk and bang your head. Gregory is at Blackmoore War Hospital.

“Tao thanks you,” Roen said sincerely. “The mark is at the Blackmoore War Hospital.”

“Send a query to Intel to see if they can pull up a layout for us.” Sonya looked at Dylan.

“Tao knows the layout of the facility. He’s been there many times,” Roen added.

“I’ll pull it up anyway,” said Dylan, “every little bit helps.”

“Pass the information along to Paula as well,” Stephen added. “Now that we have that information, when are we going in?”

Sonya looked at her watch. “We land at 0400 local time. Paula and Roen will head out first thing in the morning after visitor hours start. I suggest you all get some sleep.”