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A special aircraft was landing at Norfolk Base. Aboard the plane were Prime Minister Griffen and British Special Forces: Jake Fulton (retired commander), Shawn Mitchell (retired sergeant snipper), Sarah Mckinzle (retired lieutenant, expert in explosives and undercover intelligence), and Thomas Granger (retired captain and pilot, expert in hand-to-hand-combat). Prime Minister Griffen informed them that they had arrived at their new headquarters.
They were shown to a black SUV with blacked out windows—the driver was most likely secret service. The driver spoke not one word as he opened the doors of the vehicle for the agents. Even though traffic in DC was always bad, it seemed just a little bit worse today. Perhaps it was just because they British Special Forces agents were jetlagged and not used to such traffic. An hour later, they pulled up in front of an abandoned warehouse. Sarah took note of the surveillance system. Impressive, she thought to herself. What appeared to be an abandoned building was anything but. They took a lift down what felt like twenty or so floors. When the gate opened to release them, it was as if they were walking onto a state-of-the-art Twilight Zone set. There were fifteen to twenty young techs working feverishly in front of large screens. What they were actually doing was anyone’s guess. They stood, admittedly a little taken aback, as two men approached them.
“Welcome. I am Aaron Woods, Vice President of the United States, and this is Ryan Connors. We are very pleased to have you here.” The group was led over to a large conference table and introductions were made between both teams. “You’ve all been briefed on the specifics, I assume. Now, we will dig into the real facts and logistics of this mission. The people we are bringing in are now being considered amongst the most dangerous in the world. They are extremely well organized and have consultants in almost every country. They have a firm finger on the pulse of the shipping and trade industry. Their latest spree has resulted in them taking hostage of private yachts and cruise liners—the most recent being off the coast of Galveston, Texas. A multi-millionaire, his wife, two security officers, and their small ship crew have been taken. The yacht was boarded by at least six armed men. The crew and guards were killed. Both Mr. and Mrs. Carter were badly beaten, and it has been reported that his wife was raped right in front of him. They took the wife with them and are asking for ten million dollars’ ransom. Jessica Carter is a British citizen with royal ties. I am working on getting Mr. Carter in here so that you can question him. All of his calls and mail are being sent here, then will be forwarded to your new headquarters in New Orleans.
“These men are pirates, and they are armed with heavy duty fire power; we’re talking automatic weapons, mortars, rocket powered grenades, and dangerously high-tech gadgets. They have spies all over the place feeding them information constantly on cargo and routes. The most dangerous attacks are currently happening in the south seas of China and Somalia; however, the waters around the Gulf Coast and Hawaii are rapidly catching up. Annual loss to date—worldwide—is approximately thirteen to sixteen billion dollars. Previously, they would only hit anchored ships, but now, the occurrence of kidnapping on the high seas and asking for higher ransoms is becoming too common.
“Previous practice has been to release these individuals after they have been captured and questioned. This is no longer acceptable. Once captured, they are to be sent to Guantanamo Bay for special holding procedures. The London world headquarters of shipping and insurance is a hub for intelligence being fed to these pirates. Several of these groups have informants in London. This leaves the pirates with plenty of time and ample resources to plan their attacks. There average haul from their victims is two million, but it can add up to hundreds of millions once the ransoms are factored in.
“You all realize that this is as Black Ops as it gets. I will need all of your IDs and credit cards, cell phones, all of it. We’ve created new identities for each of you. Now that you know the full story, if any of you has a problem with what is happening here, now is the time to say so. Once you leave this room, only myself, Ryan, and the Prime Minister will know the truth about your mission.” Aaron paused to allow them a moment to process the gravity of what they were signing themselves up for. It really came as no surprise to him when they all agreed with a proud salute.
“Good luck to you all. Our countries owe you so much already. Now, the rest of the world will join us in that debt of gratitude. I have no doubt that you will be successful. God speed.”