Lantern Conspiracies (part 3)
Mr Zoat
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November 3rd, 1999
8:00 MDT
Right on the dot.
I hear the keys before General Rinaker actually makes it onto the stage for the briefing. It's kinda funny seeing displacement activity in a guy like that; it's the only thing about him that deviates from the perfect g-man image he-.
My eyes widen as Ling walks in behind him. On crutches. His left leg is in plaster and there's a sterile dressing on the left side of his face. And from the way he's moving, I think he's got other injuries under his uniform.
"Yesterday morning, oh one hundred hours local time, a team under the command of Agent Ling was dispatched to intercept a vampire arms shipment."
An image appears on the screen, docks-. Signage is in English, the way the cars are parked suggests they drive on the left. People are opening and unloading a shipping container. No signs of vampire poison, but plenty of people work for vampires without knowing that the boss is literally a snake. Security seems… Light, for something important.
The image splits in four, showing feeds from the body cameras of the agents taking part in the raid. We see them move, hear Ling shout at everyone to surrender, see them dive for cover as the agents open fire-.
The cameras cut out.
"All cameras in the area were destroyed. We only have this much footage due to it being automatically backed up to the command vehicle, which has EMP shielding."
"Um." Fitz raises his hand. "Do the agents have EMP shielding? Because it doesn't look like Ling does."
"We were attacked." Huh. Usually Ling only sounds that angry when he's talking about me. He steps forwards and winds the images back. "The dock workers tried to flee, but we had all of the exits covered."
He brings up a new image, showing their positions… Yeah, I gotta agree with Ling. I can't see any way for them to get out of there without shooting their way through a squad plus their support vehicle, and that isn't easy.
"Some went for their concealed weapons, as we threw stun grenades and then moved in to mop up. I underestimated them."
Sh'lainn nods. "Did the vampires get the drop on you?"
"No. The Green Knight did."
Sh'lainn starts in surprise. "The Green Knight?"
Ah… Arthurian legend. And not one I've read up on. I think he got Sir Gawain to cut his head off, survived, then gave him a year to live. But I might just be remembering a movie. There's nothing about a Green Knight in any Alliance files I've read.
Ling's eyes focus on her. "A glowing green man in 16th century figure plate armor, riding a glowing green horse. He rode out of the sea and attacked us. Our grenades didn't affect him and our guns couldn't pierce his armour."
"You sure it wasn't a hologram-?"
"No, Agent Logan, it wasn't a hologram." He looks down at his leg and bangs his plaster-covered heel against the floor. "He broke my leg with a mace, defeated my men and assisted all of the targets to escape."
Perrera frowns. "What's the exposure risk?"
Rinaker catches his keys. "This may be beyond our ability to fully conceal."
Fitz actually looks offended. "Hey, now, I don't mean to toot my own horn here-"
"An entire squad of Alliance soldiers are in the custody of the London Metropolitan Police, and most of their equipment was delivered to the British Ministry of Defence."
"-but okay that's a tricky one."
I frown. "The Ministry of Defense?"
"An unusual move for the vampires, but not entirely unprecedented. While we have contacts in most governments, the Alliance is a secret organisation. Very few officials have knowledge of our existence or activities. If only a small number of individuals had access to Alliance equipment, all that would happen is that they would be given a choice between signing the Official Secrets Act or spending the rest of their lives in prison. But things have moved beyond that. Dozens of people have seen examples of our vehicles switching between disguise and combat modes, and while I don't doubt the integrity of our agents, things will become difficult if the British police are able to successfully identify any of them."
Perrera nods. "There's no way that they won't realise what they are, even if they don't know who they are. And if they think that a foreign country is carrying out anti-terrorist activities on their soil, they're going to start calling in ambassadors."
I nod. So wandering into the station with fake documents claiming they all have diplomatic immunity might work, but it'll cause a diplomatic incident. And make the US government start looking at things on their end. I haven't gone peeking into everyone's files, but I hear a lot of American accents around the base, and most of them probably have a service history. All the British police need to do is send the US embassy mug shots and they will get IDed.
Sh'lainn's frowning. "And the Green Knight did all that? Without being spotted?"
"Possibly." Another key-flip. "Or possibly he left the area immediately and that was done by his associates. Since we have no information on his motives or affiliation, it would be premature to say. But we need our agents released, and we need our equipment either recovered or destroyed."
Wait.
"What happened to the vampire weapon shipment?"
"Long gone, along with the people we IDed. Agent Trueblood will be leading a separate team to follow up on that."
"But if the Green Knight's working with them, won't he be where they are?"
"It's certainly possible. Which is why his team will be carrying heavier weapons and won't be taking prisoners, but that isn't your concern."
Perrera frowns. "How… Aware, is the British government? If the police just think that a gang shot up the docks, then they probably won't call the Home Office until they get an ID. If we set up fake IDs and tell the agents what they are, we can get them released on bail and then have them disappear."
Fitz looks amused. "Hey, I liked Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as much as the next guy, but the British police get real serious when guns are involved. Private gun ownership isn't really a thing there, and… They're not gunna be all that eager to let them out at all."
Rinaker flips his keys again. "Work on your plan on the way to London. This needs to be done quickly. Dismissed. Agent Ling, get back to medical."
We file out, Trueblood heading towards the barracks while the rest of us heading for the hanger. This won't be the first time I've planted data for the Alliance, or the first time I've broken into a government facility. Not sure who we can finger without making things worse. Dissident Irish Republicans?
And Agent Ling… Something tells me that it might be a good idea to take a look a the docks. Plasma bolts don't leave the same marks as bullets, and unless there's a good explanation their scene-of-crime officers will notice the difference. And vampire weapon transfers are almost always overseen by an actual vampire. There not being one there… Doesn't fit.
"Nick…" Sh'lainn looks pensive. "There's something about the Green Knight. I've… Heard of him."
"Yeah?" Fitz grins. "Is he a guy-banshee? Do we finally get to find out what banhees look like?"
"… No. I don't know what he is, but… The stories I heard didn't have anything bad to say about him. And most banshees aren't all that fond of outsiders."
I frown. "Would Queen Mab have a way to get in contact with him?"
"If we ever had a way to send messages to him, it hasn't been used for a long time. And I don't think she'll be too keen on me showen my face around there."
I raise my right eyebrow. "How long is a long time?"
She pointedly looks away. "Quite a while."
"Any idea why he's working with the vampires?"
She shakes her head. "No. That doesn't match the stories at all."
Perrera glances at me. "Figuring out that isn't our job, Logan."
"No. But that doesn't mean it's not a good idea."
8:00 MDT
Right on the dot.
I hear the keys before General Rinaker actually makes it onto the stage for the briefing. It's kinda funny seeing displacement activity in a guy like that; it's the only thing about him that deviates from the perfect g-man image he-.
My eyes widen as Ling walks in behind him. On crutches. His left leg is in plaster and there's a sterile dressing on the left side of his face. And from the way he's moving, I think he's got other injuries under his uniform.
"Yesterday morning, oh one hundred hours local time, a team under the command of Agent Ling was dispatched to intercept a vampire arms shipment."
An image appears on the screen, docks-. Signage is in English, the way the cars are parked suggests they drive on the left. People are opening and unloading a shipping container. No signs of vampire poison, but plenty of people work for vampires without knowing that the boss is literally a snake. Security seems… Light, for something important.
The image splits in four, showing feeds from the body cameras of the agents taking part in the raid. We see them move, hear Ling shout at everyone to surrender, see them dive for cover as the agents open fire-.
The cameras cut out.
"All cameras in the area were destroyed. We only have this much footage due to it being automatically backed up to the command vehicle, which has EMP shielding."
"Um." Fitz raises his hand. "Do the agents have EMP shielding? Because it doesn't look like Ling does."
"We were attacked." Huh. Usually Ling only sounds that angry when he's talking about me. He steps forwards and winds the images back. "The dock workers tried to flee, but we had all of the exits covered."
He brings up a new image, showing their positions… Yeah, I gotta agree with Ling. I can't see any way for them to get out of there without shooting their way through a squad plus their support vehicle, and that isn't easy.
"Some went for their concealed weapons, as we threw stun grenades and then moved in to mop up. I underestimated them."
Sh'lainn nods. "Did the vampires get the drop on you?"
"No. The Green Knight did."
Sh'lainn starts in surprise. "The Green Knight?"
Ah… Arthurian legend. And not one I've read up on. I think he got Sir Gawain to cut his head off, survived, then gave him a year to live. But I might just be remembering a movie. There's nothing about a Green Knight in any Alliance files I've read.
Ling's eyes focus on her. "A glowing green man in 16th century figure plate armor, riding a glowing green horse. He rode out of the sea and attacked us. Our grenades didn't affect him and our guns couldn't pierce his armour."
"You sure it wasn't a hologram-?"
"No, Agent Logan, it wasn't a hologram." He looks down at his leg and bangs his plaster-covered heel against the floor. "He broke my leg with a mace, defeated my men and assisted all of the targets to escape."
Perrera frowns. "What's the exposure risk?"
Rinaker catches his keys. "This may be beyond our ability to fully conceal."
Fitz actually looks offended. "Hey, now, I don't mean to toot my own horn here-"
"An entire squad of Alliance soldiers are in the custody of the London Metropolitan Police, and most of their equipment was delivered to the British Ministry of Defence."
"-but okay that's a tricky one."
I frown. "The Ministry of Defense?"
"An unusual move for the vampires, but not entirely unprecedented. While we have contacts in most governments, the Alliance is a secret organisation. Very few officials have knowledge of our existence or activities. If only a small number of individuals had access to Alliance equipment, all that would happen is that they would be given a choice between signing the Official Secrets Act or spending the rest of their lives in prison. But things have moved beyond that. Dozens of people have seen examples of our vehicles switching between disguise and combat modes, and while I don't doubt the integrity of our agents, things will become difficult if the British police are able to successfully identify any of them."
Perrera nods. "There's no way that they won't realise what they are, even if they don't know who they are. And if they think that a foreign country is carrying out anti-terrorist activities on their soil, they're going to start calling in ambassadors."
I nod. So wandering into the station with fake documents claiming they all have diplomatic immunity might work, but it'll cause a diplomatic incident. And make the US government start looking at things on their end. I haven't gone peeking into everyone's files, but I hear a lot of American accents around the base, and most of them probably have a service history. All the British police need to do is send the US embassy mug shots and they will get IDed.
Sh'lainn's frowning. "And the Green Knight did all that? Without being spotted?"
"Possibly." Another key-flip. "Or possibly he left the area immediately and that was done by his associates. Since we have no information on his motives or affiliation, it would be premature to say. But we need our agents released, and we need our equipment either recovered or destroyed."
Wait.
"What happened to the vampire weapon shipment?"
"Long gone, along with the people we IDed. Agent Trueblood will be leading a separate team to follow up on that."
"But if the Green Knight's working with them, won't he be where they are?"
"It's certainly possible. Which is why his team will be carrying heavier weapons and won't be taking prisoners, but that isn't your concern."
Perrera frowns. "How… Aware, is the British government? If the police just think that a gang shot up the docks, then they probably won't call the Home Office until they get an ID. If we set up fake IDs and tell the agents what they are, we can get them released on bail and then have them disappear."
Fitz looks amused. "Hey, I liked Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as much as the next guy, but the British police get real serious when guns are involved. Private gun ownership isn't really a thing there, and… They're not gunna be all that eager to let them out at all."
Rinaker flips his keys again. "Work on your plan on the way to London. This needs to be done quickly. Dismissed. Agent Ling, get back to medical."
We file out, Trueblood heading towards the barracks while the rest of us heading for the hanger. This won't be the first time I've planted data for the Alliance, or the first time I've broken into a government facility. Not sure who we can finger without making things worse. Dissident Irish Republicans?
And Agent Ling… Something tells me that it might be a good idea to take a look a the docks. Plasma bolts don't leave the same marks as bullets, and unless there's a good explanation their scene-of-crime officers will notice the difference. And vampire weapon transfers are almost always overseen by an actual vampire. There not being one there… Doesn't fit.
"Nick…" Sh'lainn looks pensive. "There's something about the Green Knight. I've… Heard of him."
"Yeah?" Fitz grins. "Is he a guy-banshee? Do we finally get to find out what banhees look like?"
"… No. I don't know what he is, but… The stories I heard didn't have anything bad to say about him. And most banshees aren't all that fond of outsiders."
I frown. "Would Queen Mab have a way to get in contact with him?"
"If we ever had a way to send messages to him, it hasn't been used for a long time. And I don't think she'll be too keen on me showen my face around there."
I raise my right eyebrow. "How long is a long time?"
She pointedly looks away. "Quite a while."
"Any idea why he's working with the vampires?"
She shakes her head. "No. That doesn't match the stories at all."
Perrera glances at me. "Figuring out that isn't our job, Logan."
"No. But that doesn't mean it's not a good idea."
Last edited:
No, that may be a fun pun but it's kinda painful on the eyes. And reading ahead, it turns out that this is not the local SI. Interesting idea to shift away from him this early in the alternate. But getting a look at a Lantern in full glory from an ignorant outsider's view could be fascinating.
