[IC] XCOM | To the Bitter End (Ithradine & Jangel13)

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A flight on a public plane had been arranged for Maria destined for the United States where she would land at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Both her and Saul boarded the same flight unaware that they were both there for the same reason. It was a rather uneventful trip to France where the headquarters of the Global Investigation Bureau was located and their new home. They are one of few personnel recruited by the GIB to be their agents in the field to find out the truth behind the unusual activity being reported across the world and ultimately put an end to it.

Standing by the airport's entrance was a older gentleman dressed in a black tailored suit with a blue tie along with a black chauffeur hat and white gloves. He held a white signs withe the names Mr. Saul & Ms. Silva written on it with black marker while he looked in their general direction.

[Ithradine]

Saul had spent the majority of the flight from New York to Grenoble, France reading a copy of 'Flags of Our Fathers' since he had been rather close to finishing it before he had received the 'call' from the GIB. He stepped off the plane wearing his best navy blue suit with a matching tie and a black pair of dress shoes that had a keen shine to them. The fact he had been told very little about this organization had made him curious but cautious. IF there was that large of a global threat he should have already been aware of it but then again other agencies loved to keep their secrets.

His sharp, steel blue immediately spotted the chauffeur holding a sign with his name and another on it. It appeared he was not the only one on their list. Whoever it was he doubt he would have to wait long to meet them. It would be rather annoying if he had to stand wait another hour just for one person. Without further delay, he approached the man "Bonjour, vous devez être Monsieur Saul." The gentleman replied courteously with a strong accent and Saul nodded, rolling his luggage to a stop "C'est vrai. Je suppose que tu es notre chauffeur?" French was one of the many languages Saul spoke. His photographic memory made it rather to easy which was beneficial when you work in military intelligence.

The gentleman nodded approvingly "Yes, you may call me William. Mademoiselle Silva should be here shortly." Like that most traces of his accent disappeared. Saul couldn't say he was really surprised though he was curious about this Silva "Perfect. The sooner she gets here the sooner I can get some answers." The name sounded Hispanic but what caught his attention was the fact she must be a woman. The fact that she was asked to be here the same as him always convinced him that whoever she was she must be a tough one.

[Jangel13]

Maria was given the option by her commanding officer to join this special unit. To be honest Maria joined because she was given the chance to be a part of something huge so she accepted. So long as she was able to keep doing what she did best then she would take it. Her trip from Brazil was a long one so she spent most of the time watching movies from her laptop until they finally landed. She groaned a she got up from her seat and grabbed her luggage. She didn't notice anyone else important when she was in the plane that could have easily been explained by the fact she was enjoying her movies.

She grabbed her luggage from baggage claim and turned around just in time to notice her name on a board along with two men one who she assumed was Saul. She walked over wearing her army cargo pants along with a black tank top and a green jacket. Her hair was in braids behind her back as she carries her 3 bags easily. Her eyes were like emeralds and her skin had an olive complexion thanks to get Brazilian roots. She then said "I'm going to go ahead and guess that your Mr Saul. Names Maria Silva" she said holding it her hand to shake not showing any obvious emotion with a deadpan face. She didn't seem all that interested in Saul before she did the same to the chauffer giving him a proper greeting if nothing else.

[Ithradine]

William's attention seemed to be grabbed by someone else behind Saul as he smiled politely "Ah. There she is now." Saul turned around just in time to see Maria approach them and his training in the Intelligence Department began to kick in. Her choice in much more comfortable attire led him to infer that she preferred utility over form. It also suggested to him service in the active military. The lack of expressed emotions led him to two possible deductions. She was special forces or she had suffered some kind of significant trauma. It could very well be both, he amended.

Saul kept a straight face as he took her hand and shook it firmly "You would be correct, but you can just call me Saul." He rather detested being called "Mister" outside of official business. Now that he had heard her voice, Saul was inclined to she was one who would speak the brutal truth. Time would tell if he was correct. The strength in her grip was clear, which in Saul's eyes was a good sign. Admittedly, his hands had gotten rather soft with paperwork that had been forced on him leading up to this offer. That was something he hoped to remedy. Field work was where he belonged.

The Chauffeur shook Maria's hand, still keeping that polite smile A pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle. My name is William." He straightened up and placed the sign underneath his right arm "Shall we depart then? The drive to the Alps is quite scenic, I assure you." William did not wait for a reply before he went through the airport's main exit. Parked just outside was an brand new black BMW 5-series with tinted side and rear windows. He opened right-side door with a audible click and held it for them to get in.

Saul followed close behind William and thanked him as he stepped into the back of the car, after placing his two suitcases in the spacious trunk. His eyes began to trace over every inch of the interior. While a lot of work had been done to conceal it, he found signs indicating the vehicle's chassis had been reinforced. It was a safe bet the the windows were bullet-resistant as well. Still, as he looked around he figured he wouldn't mind taking one of these out for a drive.

[Jangel13]

She nodded as he said to simply call him Saul so Maria said "then just call me Maria" she told him. Normally she went by a nickname but that was out in the field with her squad. She was also known by the call sign "saint" thanks to her actual name being the same as the saint that bore Jesus. When the chauffer called her mademoiselle her face scrunched up a bit in annoyance as she said "same to you just Maria don't try and impress me" she said trying to let him know that speaking French or calling her by a feminine title will do little in the way of impressing her.

She then took her hand back and she put her bags in the trunk besides her carry on and took that with her as she got in the back seat and waited for them to get going. No doubt the chauffer would fill them in on the way and if not then she hoped they would get there quickly. She always felt antsy when she was in a ground vehicle even an armor plated one. To her it just meant a moving Target and one that would be difficult to get out of once the shit hit the fan.

[Ithradine]

William had simply nodded in response to her request, seemingly unfazed by her words. At the car, he closed the door once she was in and got into the driver's seat. The engine came to life and purred like a cheetah as they departed from airport on their way towards the French Alps. They rode in silence for a few minutes until they got onto the highway, where William pressed a button on the dashboard of the car. A panel on the roof slide away to reveal a monitor that unfolded into view.

A video began to play as it turned on, showing the Director of the GIB standing against an black background "Allow me to avoid the pleasantries and cut to the chase. I am Director Chardin of the newly founded Global Investigation Bureau. Anything I tell or show you beyond this point is strictly confidential. I trust you understand what that means." There was a momentary pause. "There has been a sharp increase in reports of paranormal creatures and activity across the globe, along with cases of missing people. The governments of the world have done their best to keep control the situation but the truth is none of them are prepared to deal with his global crisis. Take a look at this video and see for yourself." The screen cut to what appeared to be footage from a body-cam of a person named Sakurai Yasutake with a time stamp of 18:47 November 21st, 1983.

The footage begins with Sakurai bringing up the rear of five other individuals dressed in dark-blue fatigues and black body armor. The six of them are walking through what appears to be a small village but no one else seems to be around. Sakurai approaches a car with its lights still on while the rest provide security. His flashlight shines on the mutilated corpse of the driver with several large puncture wounds through his chest and lacerations around his face. The sound of a metal can being knocked over causes him to pull away quickly and aim his weapon down the street and all of the others are clearly on edge. A few tense moments pass before a number of inhuman shrieks pierce the air and spiders the size of large dogs begin to crawl out from every direction. Flashes of gunfire illuminate the faces of the soldiers as the monstrous spiders charge at them, all while yelling unintelligible words. Three of the soldiers are swarmed as they attempt to retreat, their chilling screams overtaking the audio. The fight continues until the last of the spiders are dead, with only Sakurai and one other surviving the mission. The video ends with Sakurai and the other soldier being extracted on a helicopter while fire bombs are dropped on the village.

The screen returns to the video of Director Chardin "That remains the only credible footage of paranormal activity thus far. I believe that if we do not get to root of its cause, those large arachnids will be least of our worries. That is where you come in. It will be your duty to investigate sightings of unusual creatures or track down a member of several dangerous organizations we are also monitoring. Much to the dismay of many of the Council, we have full jurisdiction in all member countries. It is safe so say there will be little red tape to hinder your investigations. The same can not be said about our equipment." A irritated look flashed in his eyes for a moment "Any questions will have to wait until you reach our Headquarters. Until then." The monitor screen went black and folded back into the roof of the car, where it was covered once more.

Saul was still processing everything that he had just heard. It was true that they had been getting a few more odd reports than usual in the Intelligence Corps, but he never expected this. One more secret the top brass had been hiding, not that it really mattered now. He felt the signs of headache coming on so he lowered he his head and pinched his forehead between his thumb and pointer finger. After a deep breath, he was able to compose himself. He thought about one of those horrific spider creatures going after his family. That was enough to reestablish his conviction.

A quick look outside and he could see the beautiful French countryside. He faced forwards and let out a small, controlled laugh "I guess this is what they meant when they said I'd be 'serving a greater purpose'." That was something they said when they recruited him. That he would serving a greater purpose than just his country. If he hadn't seen that video, he would have been far more skeptical. Even now, he wasn't sure he entirely believed it...or maybe he just didn't want to believe.

[Jangel13]

Maria knew that the briefing would be soon but she almost didn't expect the briefing to happen in the actual seat of the car. He actually smirked a bit wondering if they got this idea from a 007 movie. When the director started talking however she went back into her serious look crossing one leg over the other as she looked at the briefing. She wasn't sure about paranormal activity since she believed that some things need to be seen to believe and when the video plated she actually started to believe it. She couldn't help but shiver a bit seeing the arachnid type creature attacking. Why is it that things with multiple legs creeped her out. She seriously hated spiders and this was the closest thing to killer spiders she ever seen.

She knew the protocol when it came to black ops like these and understood that her mouth was to be sealed. Even if she said something who would really believe her after all. She only hoped that doing this would keep her mother safe from harm. She turned to Saul when he said serving a greater purpose almost like a joke. She sighed a bit and said "it just sounds good on paper. They can pretty it up however they like the bottom line it's us or them. Killer spiders or humans make no difference." she said solemnly. She then turned to the window knowing that they shouldn't be far from their destination. No doubt Saul is going to interpret what she said as being cold but when they got right down to it they were killers with political protection.