Chương 56: THE FALLEN ANGEL
Sean checked his oxygen levels as he sat in the open top infiltration craft, cruising through the dark waves. Small bubbles are puffed out of his mouth piece.
Swimming next to and in front of the crafts are the Lita operators of the 4 operation units, mission to clear the pathway of obstacles. Their crimson red eyes glowed in the dark waters, like little lanterns.
Nanami took the lead, swimming forward. Instead of wearing deep diving Exo-suits, the Litas are all just wearing assault dry suits that kept their combat uniforms inside dry, as well as a mechanized harness that housed the guns and gear they will need on land.
Swimming behind her are Louis and Ethan, while Frederica and 3 other Lita operators from the other teams swam next to the 4 assault crafts.
Their target, is a set of sewers at the edge of a water park closed for renovation at the edge of Dover port.
"Approaching target area, stay low," radioed Nanami.
Just then, they heard the sound of revving, and everyone immediately stopped their movements, looking up alertly.
A motorboat passed over their heads, disappearing soon.
"Guess we did have to come to the UK after all, boss," commented the person manning the boat.
"Spectre" nodded, taking a sip of coffee to keep himself awake in the 1am night of the UK.
"Clear," reported Nanami once she is sure that the boat had left.
They continued on their way, swimming upwards slowly to be at the same depth as their target.
Soon, they arrived at the sewers. The exit hole is huge, wide enough to accommodate 3 people walking through side by side.
Nanami stretched out her palms, Louis and Ethan did the same. Frederica and the other Litas also swam up to the hole.
Channeling their magic, they froze the metal bars separating themselves and the pathway. A few minutes later, the iron had because as brittle as glass, which Louis then shattered with ease with a deployable battering ram, opening up the path.
They entered the sewer, taking off their Exo-suits and harnesses, putting them into the crafts which are designed to automatically head back to USS Trump.
Unlike their normal gear, they are all dressed in civilian clothes, and instead of using plate carrier body armour, they chose the more retro style of bulletproof vests plus load bearing vests or chest rigs. By wearing their bulletproof vests within their jackets, they can quickly hide their gear in the event of a stop and check, and ensuring that they have the basic protection against basic shots if it is needed.
Though for Nanami that has no difference, as she had preferred this retro style of gear, even for normal missions, which her other operators found eccentric.
After walking and crawling through the sewers, they arrived on the edge of the water park. Walter and Xu Qing disabled the security systems, allowing them to enter the outside.
A convoy of lightly armoured business SUVs awaited them. Shirley Miller is gesturing at them in the driver seat. Sitting next to her is Nguyen Khai.
"Glad to see you again, Louis," smiled Shirley. "How was the ride provided by my brother?" she asked, referring to Michael.
Louis smiled awkwardly, climbing into the SUV, sitting behind his former colleagues in Spades International.
Once everyone is on board, they started the engines, driving forward.
"Do I get a discount then? Friend benefits?" asked Xiao Tian jokingly.
Khai snickered. "If instructor says yes, then sure."
"That Bethorian old lady is not going to give me one cent off, even if she has enough money to waste through her 210 years long life span..." complained Xiao Tian, referring to Charlotte.
"I would watch my tongue, if I were you," said Shirley nervously.
Louis shuddered. It is a well known fact that one of Charlotte's red lines is to be called an old lady. While 76 years old is a lass by Bethorian standards, for humans that is indeed old.
"She is scary..." muttered Khai. "Lil Louis here had too much, and decided to quit and run away. Oh yeah, how was the cake?"
"It was fine..." smiled Louis awkwardly.
Little did his ex-colleagues and new comrades know that Charlotte's brutal standards and training regimen is not what he ran away from.
Instead, it is something a lot more worse.
"I will brief you all through the operation plan again," said Xiao Tian, radioing all the operators and contractors.
"UNSSD had identified 3 possible sites, 2 are owned by the British Armed Forces, 1 is owned by the Archangel Corp."
"Team Ion and Raptor will go to the 2 sites controlled by the Armed Forces, there is a routine inspection planned. UNSSD electronic warfare aircraft tiptoeing around the British airspace have hacked into the British army communications and cancelled the original inspection teams, allowing us to stand in as them."
The operators of Team Raptor and Ion are changing into British army uniforms in the meantime.
"How do you feel, about coming in to fool your ex-colleagues, Major?" joked Maia.
The team leader of Team Ion, former SAS operator Major Richard William, laughed. "These buggers are just unlucky," he said in a Scottish accent. "Watch over yourself."
"Same goes for you Richie," smiled Maia, speaking in a fake British accent now.
"Very good impression," commended Jonathan.
"Team Zero and Team Phantom are heading to the Archangel's Colossus research facility. Due to the sheer scale of the entire facility, 2 teams are required to survey and investigate."
Sean nodded slowly. Archangel Corp is a major business conglomerate based in Europe, with products ranging from private hospitals to bio medicine to private security and to retail.
The facility is named appropriately, for it is the size of the entire Oxford University campus, housing 150,000 researchers, auxiliary personnel, and their family members.
"All of our IDs have been planted into their security systems, we will be able to have access to all of their rooms. Nonetheless, be careful and remain vigilant," reminded Xiao Tian.
"Spades contractors remain with the vehicles. You are our exfil and perimeter overwatch, keep a low profile," finished Xiao Tian.
"Copy," replied Shirley.
"Time now is 3am, begin operation," said Xiao Tian.
The SUVs diverted on the highway, speeding towards their respective destinations.
(3.40am)
"Good thing we have a real Doctor with us," joked Xiao Tian as they drove to the security checkpoint. The operators of Team Zero and Team Phantom have all changed to the clothes of the staff, from researchers to security personnel to other auxiliary personnel.
Phineas has a medical license, a prove of his 5 years studying in NUS medicine. It is indeed an odd thing that a Hong Kong police officer is trained as a medical professional before joining the force.
This peculiar arrangement is best explained by Phineas' parents. While his parents are loving parents, they are very vain and arrogant, being middle-class intellectuals.
Consequently, they hoped that their 2 sons, Hamlet and Phineas can progress to the next step of intellectuals: becoming elites. Phineas' older brother, Hamlet, loyally followed their orders and became a lawyer.
However, due to his interaction with Ariel, Phineas decided that working with military or law enforcement is the job for him, leading to heated debates with the rest of his family.
Finally, his parents compromised, on the condition that Phineas is to get a doctor's license before he can apply to join the Hong Kong Police. They are betting that by the time Phineas finished his course, he would no longer be fit for service.
Little did they expect that Phineas will prove them wrong, he managed to pass the Inspector exam, and even became a tactical operator under the CTRU.
"Are you mocking us for not having an university education? Why are only ex-Squad Artemis members dressed as security personnel?" asked Sean.
"I know right?" pouted Aya.
Xiao Tian rubbed the back of his head apologetically. "I am saving our strongest firepower for the best roles!" he said.
They stepped out of the cars, entering the building undetected.
Once they are inside, they immediately split into pairs, heading to the labs and data records, trying to confirm their suspicions of a leak.
Phineas and Ariel headed into a lab. The 2 immediately put on protective equipment, walking past rows of deadly viruses and bacteria, heading to a vault at the end of the room, where the phages are supposed to be stored in.
Phineas swiped his fake ID card, the door opened. The 2 walked inside, the door shutting off behind him.
Ariel pulled out a microbe concentration scanner from her bag, Phineas doing the same. The 2 carefully scanned the containers, carefully checking against the catalogue from WHO, as well as the internal records of Archangel.
"Report," radioed Phineas. "The numbers don't add up at all. There are missing phages here."
"Same on my side," reported Albert and Vera in another lab.
"Me too," reported Xu Qing.
"Just got word from the other groups," radioed Aya. "The British military bases are clear. Archangel is the source of the leak."
"That does not sound good..." muttered Sean. He and Frederica had blended themselves into the security patrols, then finding a chance to sneak away into the central server room.
Ensuring they are alone, Frederica hard-wired the server to her monitor, giving them full access to the company's data.
The 2 scrolled through the records.
"Look," said Sean. "There is a record to Netherlands, time is a match and the cargo is not labelled."
Frederica frowned, tugging Sean's arm, pointing to a column made in the last 2 days . Sean's eyes widened in surprise.
"To Dr Edward Sterling's residence in London?" asked Sean, remembering the name of the scientist that had unfortunately died before they were able to rescue him from captivity in Spain.
"Isn't he dead?" he muttered.
After hearing Sean's report, Xiao Tian ordered them to withdraw in light of this new development.
"London, huh..." muttered Aya as they drove back to the safe house.
"Even if he is alive, this does not make any sense," said Santos. "Dr Sterling works for Rhode Life, which is a subsidiary of NOIR Industries, UNSSD's main supplier. NOIR and Archangel are fierce competitors, why will he work for both full time? Sean's search proves that his association with Archangel spans years."
"Two-timing, I see~" joked Nanami seductively.
"I am not sure if you all noticed one more thing," added Sean, showing them the copied records and data. "This may seem coincidental, but it appears that Archangel's records in the past year tend to be erratic whenever Vanguard has an major operation." He then showed them the dates of Vanguard's activity to cross refer.
Xiao Tian bowed his head, forming a ball with both hands and pressing it against his lips, thinking. A while later, he looked back up.
"This is a lead worth investigating," said Xiao Tian.
"But, since we are going to London, we need to keep an even lower profile. My suggestion is that Team Ion and Team Raptor return back to UNSSD to report first, while Team Zero and Team Phantom head over to London with Shirley and Khai's team."
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