FourtyTwo

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Mark gave a low chuckle, looking back over to Athena over his shoulder, turning as he took the took the drive into hand, chuckling.
"Glad to hear you're enjoying this taste. Anyway, she'll co-operate with us. We always seem to find a way....in the end, it's usually quite inevitable with our operations. Aye, let's pack it all up. We just need to hold here till the local PD take these into their possession. What happens from there, I don't really give a shit- we have our copies and all we need." Mark added, putting the drive away as he shut the laptop down, sending the drive's data to his cloud-based backup now it had been swept and secured, isolated of any shut-downs or lock-outs it could have. They had no idea what they could be running- and chances were, if the Syndicate knew they were comprimised even further, their networks would already be scrambled. It left them little time to act, but Mark knew they'd get straight onto it.

Taking the laptops aside, he begun moving all the equipment into a secure set of steel hardcases, putting them inside, thinking back to Athena's earlier comments.
"So yeah, this shit runs deep. Don't get me wrong. Not every gang is in on it. Those Panamanians in Mexico? Yeah, nah, they weren't. There's a few factions and groups who aren't. But all it takes is enough people on board for them, and they'll have their monopoly pretty much. It's like McDonalds, but McMafia, if you get me. Sure, there's a Burger King or some greasy spoon on the side of the road in competition....but it ain't the big Maccies, is it?" Mark added rather poetically, knowing the allegory was poor, but it would somewhat put the point across, as he got back to her earlier point.

"As for Morocco...it's a beautiful place. They say it's the furthest east you can go while staying close to Europe. Marrakesh is a mess of bazaars, souqs and all sorts of other madness. Fits a drug dealer's boss really as a place to stay. Also fits us too, because we'll have a little more anarchy we can use up."

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Part Three: Atlas't

Somewhere on Mount Toukbal, High Atlas, Morocco

While coincidence was a fine thing, in that same early morning, the unlikely pair had made their way up Mount Toukbal, coming down off the summit after taking in the impressive views of Morocco's highest peak. The late winter had given them a good opportunity to get an awful lot of powder, this high up the mountain, and the snowline was fairly low all things considered- it was almost compeletely devoid of snow in the early autumn, so to get this was rather a boon. An African mountain wasn't exactly as wild as Alaska, or the Alps, Japan or even New Zealand or Norway, but it was a line that Zoe had wanted to do for a while, and the Francophone gal had something in mind for this little adventure, someone she just had to bring Valentina along for. The morning was pretty perfect too- a few smiges of cloud, but it was nearly completely clear, if not freezing cold. The petite girl, the Wanderlust Queen herself was wrapped up in predominantly yellow and purple, from the purple North Face beanie she had on, the warm yellow Picture Object jacket she wore, to her purple-coloured ski-pants, a look that she tried to keep the same, of course, for YouTube purposes. She shut off the MP3 in her ear, exhaling a cloudy breath of mist, taking in for a moment the splendid view as they stopped a little off the peak.

They were going to get down fast, but like all things, Zoe didn't just want to take the slow line down. The line was jagged, but nowhere near steep enough for a wingsuit jump, given how the terrain oscillated and shifted, a mass of sandstone sticking out on a spine yet falling away every so often, making it nigh impossible to ski or snowboard down....in a normal manner. For that, came speed-riding- effectively, using skis and a speedwing, or a minature paraglider wing, to effectively fly down a ski-route, and well, quite literally fly out of danger any time a drop or a jump seemed too huge. It was pretty much the quickest way down, and well, while the French Alps were a more epically scaled place to do it, it just hadn't been done here. Plus, the line looked like it had a lot of big gullies that could be cleared, which was of course, cool as hell. Fodder for the GoPros, and their YouTube galore. Perhaps that was what Zoe did think of more than anything- perhaps it was the wrong way to do things, but she didn't care. It helped her remember, and while they were trying to build something up together, it had to be said, living the moment had something to it.

Zoe looked out, the playgirl extraordinare glad to be back with Valentina, someone she had a love-hate relationship, often in the very literal sense as she sat down in the snow, adjusting her Oakley goggles, looking to the Columbian as she unfurled her own bright yellow speedwing out across the fresh powder. No sponsors...yet, she chuckled to herself, as she adjusted the Gopro on her chest, aware that for vlogging purposes, filming was almost mandatory at most given times. One forward, one at face, covered the whole self-filming shenanigans. Who needed a film crew these days?
"So, how we feeling? Val-en-tina, top of North Africa, you gonna shred it, gal?" Zoe exitedly asked, her voice bubbly and almost child-like, hoping even in this cold, she'd get something out of Zoe's stoked comment.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Yup definitely! Lots of crazy action to come- got a reply up now.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Max chuckled, nodding to Silver as he agreed with what he had to say. She may have been cold, calculated and ruthless in her execution of work, always obsessed with it, but deep down inside her there was someone he cared about, and vice-versa. While some friends would let him die in some hellhole, somehow Max would always guess that someone like Anna would crawl through hell to get him out, just so she could keep ripping him a new one.

That was a good friendship to have, between the both of them.
"Oh yeah....she will happily kill in cold blood, but honestly, when you figure out that all it takes to make her super exited is when she nerds out over kit like that? Yeah, it gets easier, I supppose."

Anna's wingpack disappeared into the horizon, heading back inland as Max nodded to Cat and Silver, agreeing that food sounded like a great idea right about now. Cat's teasing of Silver had gotten that out of him- he did care, on a deeper level, and it was a warm feeling to have knowing full well that there was that almost family-like aspect to them already. It was the way it was in special forces, and Max was glad it was the same here- as aloof as he could be at times, it was good to have that level of trust.

"Aye, me too, I could seriously do with some sea-food here, I bet it's delish....I mean I see food, I eat it, if you get what I mean"? Max added with a chortle, knowing full well that on this op to come going back to MREs and crappy rations was gonna be a rarity, compared to this. Heading off the beach and back up the bluffs, they were quickly able to get back to the military jeep, sitting there on the afternoon sun and awaiting their taking. Walking up, the lion looked back across to Silverwind and Catriona, the lion stretching out as he yawned a little, covering his gob as he did so before he spoke.
"There was a local village near here, can't remember the name, but they do a lot of good food. Silver, as our CO, want to take the pick?"

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Mark got them all plugged in, making sure they weren't connected to any external network, plugging in a USB and another drive to get the hard-disks backed up on each laptop, aware it was crucial they got it before anything kicked in. Remarkably, security on both was poor, given that a standard door-kicking programme had gotten through and gotten them into both. Hearing what Athena had to say about the locations, his ears perked up, as he came over, having a look through.
"Those Serbs are probably the friends of Sobotka you uhh....dealt with. I mean, it's not just them. Serbs are just one part of that organisation. Those triads, the mafia....all of them will have friends at this table. Like the EU, the UN, big organisations like that, criminal gangs at this level realised there's no point killing each other over business like this, when it can be run reliably. It's lucrative, and better for everyone when there's one monopoly and people can predict they won't get arrested. Drug networks are like that too. Everyone wins when the supply is constant, the money is constant and regulated, and everyone does their fucking job. Which is why when we throw a spanner in the works, the whole thing gives us plenty of opportunities. Like this one." Mark commented, chuckling as he scrolled through, seeing where the network had gone.

It was almost like a full-on distribution line, with drugs being delivered into Rotterdam from Karachi, Uzbekistan and Jakarta to name a few on containers with other goods, being brought into Holland that way and then pushed out. It was like they had hitched a ride on international shipping- this wasn't some dude in a submarine trying to get drugs to Miami, this was them being involved in global trade, on a very illicit level. And to think this was only one section of their work...Mark kept looking over with Athena, aware that while they hadn't trawled everything, there was a lot of interesting stuff coming up that would get them higher up the criminal organogram.

"This is a fucking goldmine. Shit, nice work, Athena. There's a few leads, but the main one we'll want is this guy's boss. She's not someone I recognise....Ektarina Kolhakova, looks like she's in Marrakesh, she's the regional lead. Shit, this is like a fucking company. Google, eat your heart out." Mark added, chuckling as he took his drive out, aware he'd gotten the copies he neded, aware now they had a location, even vaguely, to start searching.
"I'll make some calls. This is now getting high up the foodchain, Ath. We're gonna need to try and bring her in if we want to get some real intel, and be very careful how we play it out. No doubt she won't want to go down fighting. Get this wrong, and we're back to square one. You with me on this one?"

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Shit- hope it all works out- I get your drift. All the best mate- I'm here whenever you're ready or need anything, take whatever time you need.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

@Silverwind Blade

No worries man- do what you gotta do, hope it's nothing too serious!

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Anna chuckled, looking across to the Colonel as she turned, looking at her wing before back to the vulpine in command, clearly a little more opened up by the whole thing.
"Maybe not too soon....this thing's an absolute nightmare to pilot. I might make it look easy but what can I say, if I wasn't a jaguar I'd be a falcon, maybe. But hey, I'm sure they'll sort you all out soon enough." Anna commented, chuckling as Max in turn chuckled, shaking his head.
"And I'd be a jellyfish but here we are. Not a bad way of making an entrance. Now this is a bit of kit I need to procure. Not for operations, but just...you know, because." Max commented, Anna pffing in response, shrugging as she chuckled to herself, looking on.

"So how about the three of you then? Were you having a calm time before I came and interrupted?" Anna asked, Max nodding, Anna sighing a little as Max laughed in response, patting her shoulder as she looked up, sighing.
"Absolutely. We were doing absolutely nothing....then you flew by. Literally." Max added, chuckling, Anna shrugging as she looked back to Silverwind and Cat, sighing a little about Max. She was a little too serious sometimes, even if right now she was a little euphoric about how this thing worked.

"Yeah, I have that effect. Anyway, the system all works. Allows me to carry the usual, Colonel. So consider me good to go." She said, nonchalantly taking the topic back to their operations, an effect perhaps Max didn't really appreciate as he himself walked around her, then back at the cliffs, sighing.
"Shit, you really never stop, do you? Silver, as I said, there's your person who can infiltrate anything, but R&R is way too difficult for her..." Max mused, Anna shrugging as she widened her stance, flicking her wings out again. Ah, so she was going just as fast as she arrived, Max realised. Scooping her helmet back over her head, she chuckled back to Max, giving a menacing grin.

"Yep...and on that note...I will leave you to what do you do best then, Max!" She called out, the jets starting up with a gentle whine again as the sand kicked up, Anna running down the beach as she slowly cranked up the volume, before turning it up to pull her away, the wingpack acting effectively as a jetpack, and pulling her over the waves, before she cranked up the volume literally and metaphorically. Max's mouth was ajaw, watching as she casually went from a slow hover into a fast flight, climbing in speed and acceleration at a rate that must have been simply searing to watch from the shore. Max had to admit, as much as Anna pissed him off, she had a talent for these things. Turning to the Colonel, Max shrugged, sighing. With Cat and Silver, he felt more at home enjoying the rest of R&R, and while he understood her intentions, and just how phenominal she could be, especially now, making easy what probably no Arvaran had done, it was dealing with her quirk that could easily irk some.

"She's bloody difficult, Silver. But you know what they say. Best assets are the ones that are your most difficult, or in Anna's case...well, she has her way."

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Mark gave a nod, knowing while she didn't see it, he fully agreed.
"High risk, high reward. We got more than we bargained for. But this should be something. Few more miles, and we're there." Mark replied, looking in the back for a split second, whistling at the stash. Shit, why bother moving a flat out when you could have Serbians do it for you. Damn, now that wasn't bad. The transnational syndicate wasn't exactly a homogenous whole, the Serbs were just one part of it- a part that handled their operations here, but like anything, there was always a chain. Just like a company, gangs had hierarchy, people pulling strings. Mark had done a lot of good work in the last few years- killing the various heads. But like a hydra, it always seemed to have another one. It was only a matter of time before they found something that went up the chain, and gave

Pulling into the airport, they headed for the cargo route in, pulling up to the security gate that was there for lorries and various airside vehicles- a more direct route than going any other way. An airport was not a place for a gang to enter, given how tight these days airport security was. That worked nicely for lockups, given it gave any pursuer a hell of a lot more to think about. They were going through once Mark waved his pass, and back on the throttle on the airside, going around the back of the large international airport, aircraft taking off seemingly from all directions on the various runways at Schipol.

Driving into the unmarked hangar, a fair drive from the gate, Mark took in the complete absence of anything here, nothing really to observe. It wasn't exactly enormous, enough for maybe a smaller private jet, but there was nothing to indicate anyone had been here recently. Perfect for them, then. Driving into a small garage in the corner of the hangar after driving inside, Mark could finally take a breather as he hopped out, looking across to Athena pulling in.
"Well, that wasn't a piece of piss. We just probably made some headlines in the news. But we're not dead, so that is a positive." Mark added, looking across the barren garage, a few bags scattered around from when they'd set up spare weapons, as well as a few other bits and pieces they needed. Getting to the back of his car, he carefully opened the boot, as best as he could given the back was smashed in, and started pulling out a couple of laptops, carefully carrying them across to a desk.
"Let's see what we can get then, hey?"

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Mark watched as she took the vehicle out, either by lethally or non-lethally making that driver think twice, the windscreen shattering with a shot from her 9mm as Mark kept focussed on the road ahead, weaving through more morning traffic as the car's roll felt like it was throwing itself around when weaving in traffic, the weight of the Range Rover certainly something the Scot felt when driving this thing at high speed. Hands gripped tight, he made sure to keep control, aware he didn't want to cause a RTC, or a road traffic collision. Keep it straight and narrow, and get the hell out- Athena had helped them to do that, which had put room between them and their pursuers. Pulling off the main road, a junction for the motorway was coming up as Mark turned onto it, dropping his pace back a little to let Athena catch up properly, but not slow enough to lose any pursuers. Sooner they got to Schipol, the better.

Out onto the wide-open motorway, Mark was now chuckling that they'd actually not ended up dead right there.
"Looks like we got out of that one, Ath! How you holding up?" Mark asked, putting it straight into the furhest lane left and keeping foot to floor, hovering at a nice 90 with a bit of wind noise now coming in from the shattered rear window. Letting Athena speak her peace, he watched for the signage, following the route back to Amsterdam's airport, aware they had a hangar to get back to where they could unload the materials.

GEARS: Silent Line - The Silver Bullet (Silverwind Blade & KingKonrad)

Max chuckled, watching as Silverwind came back up the beach, sitting down as he lay out himself too.
"Yeah, nothing like the sea! Let's enjoy it while we can...I hope we get another, but if things go well, I have a funny feeling we might not..." The lion commented, yawning as like Silver and Cat, he was just enjoying this peace and calm that compared to going out there and operating. The calm of the waves coming in, and the occasional call of birds while lying on the soft sand was good enough for him.

It would only last a couple more hours Max mused to himself, time to get away and get some proper rest in. Just as Max put his head back, shutting his eyes, he heard something ambient on the horizon, something that instantly caught his ear.
"Hang on...the fuck is that noise?" Max commented, the sound of a quiet whine getting nosier and nosier- the lion already half wondering what the hell it was. It was high in pitch, but still quiet, enough to catch his particularly sensitive hearing, as he turned and saw just what it was. Almost as if on cue, Max sat up, his jaw open, watching on as the black silouette darted past the sun, dropping altitude over the sea and travelling at a rapid rate. That was what she had meant by a quiet afternoon in....of course.

Anna had to admit, finding them hadn't been that hard but hell, it'd been the journey, not the destination that had mattered for her. After all, when you're using a jet-powered wingpack and you're about to do some infiltration using a piece of experimental equipment, nothing like a dry run to calm your nerves, right? She thought to herself it was probably better this way she didn't tell them- well, apart from dropping in just now. Her natural flair and control let her almost get on level with the sea with the wingpack, barely on the throttle before hitting the brakes, not even needing her parachute here to stop herself. The amount of thrust she had at her disposal made it easy by being able to flare out the wingpack, almost like how a VTOL would pull in to land, a clean and gentle flare to stop and land with the jets helping to basically slow her decent down.

Landing on the beach with a gentle stomp, the jaguar pulled her tinted helmet off her head and cut the jets, the wings folding back in as she laughed like a schoolgirl, almost running around in front and definitely on a high that Max could only tell was rare for the team's infiltrator. Anna may have been loaded up with an operational loadout, but there was no doubt for Max that she was having fun while doing so.
"Oh my.....this thing is just crazy!" Anna yelped, Max standing up as he could only admire it, chuckling equally in response. She certainly had an experience with that thing- given the fact she'd basically landed precisely in front of them, no parachute needed to Max's eyes was insane- and he had no idea how much that might have messed with Cat and Silver.

"Bloody hell...okay, that was cool. But you know you could have just come with us to the beach in the jeep if you really wanted to come, right?" Max cooly replied, winking to Silver and Cat as he did, Anna sighing as she still was catching her breath, almost consumed by what this thing could do. Vertical take-off and landing, plus covering ground like a minature jet fighter was just lucid to her, and Max couldn't say he wasn't pulling her strings a bit as the jaguar sighed, uncertain just how to reply.
"Yeah, but this is way, way cooler."
"If you say so..."