Post by HeroUp on Sept 23, 2019 13:28:28 GMT -7
Inspired by the prompt, but since it was too long to go on the WP thread, I gave it it's own thread.
Be sure to check out the WP page as well.
dan-vs.freeforums.net/thread/114/writing-prompt-double-agent
EDIT: Changed the title from "50 Shades of Elise" to "Where Your Loyalties Lie", since people nowadays sadly associate the phrase with that awful book, and it was giving people the wrong idea.
The TV droned on as the couple slept cuddled on the couch. She had found the perfect position and couldn't think of anywhere else she would rather be.
"Dancing Shadow, come in."
Elise shot awake at the vibrating of her watch. Hearing the voice of her boss, she quickly and silently untangled herself from her sleeping husband's embrace. She snuck into their bedroom making sure to be out of earshot, just in case.
"What's the problem Eagle's Nest?"
"Russia's finally done it. Their intelligence grabber is online, and they plan to make a demonstration tonight."
Elise stood shocked. How had they finished so quickly? "I thought they were still missing components."
"They found everything they needed from a tiny fellow who robbed our local black market dealer threatening to blow up a Hungarian studio if they didn't revive the show 'Population Control Johnny' with a proper ending."
"Dan," she mumbled under her breath.
"This weapon is too dangerous to be left in their hands. I need you to go and stop them. This ends tonight."
"Understood. I'm going to need backup."
"Affirmative. Your transport's ETA is 2 minutes. Stop them Dancing Shadow. By whatever means necessary. Take no prisoners."
Elise nodded ending the call. This was it. The culmination of a career in espionage. She would not fail.
Chris sleepily stumbled into the bedroom.
"Elise, where you heading?"
"Uhhh. To the...store? I have to get… bacon... for breakfast. Right. And it's only on sale right now."
She kissed his cheek and helped him into bed.
"Are you gonna get waffles too?"
"Yes. Just go to sleep. There'll be a big breakfast waiting for you when you get up."
"Mmmm," he muttered as he drifted back to sleep.
She kissed his forehead as she headed out.
The stealth jet had Elise and her team in New Mexico speedily. The facility stood imposingly about 400 meters off.
As they touched down, she reviewed the instructions in her briefcase one final time. "Alright boys," she said to herself, "Showtime."
She stood and addressed the agents. "You all know what is at stake. We cannot fail. Surround the perimeter and train your weapons on their leader. Agent Bro-Face will signal me when you are all in place. I will approach for an official confrontation. Shoot on my signal. Everyone clear?"
They shared a consensus mumble. She took it as a 'Yes'. "Then move out."
The troops cleared out and soon Dancing Shadow stood alone in the plane. It was all she could do. She had one shot at this. If anything went off kilter, it could blow her whole mission. She waited on pins and needles for her watch to buzz with the signal.
BOOM!
Her gaze was ripped from watch as the ground shook. She held onto the wall for stability. The sound of gunfire, followed closely by screams rang throughout the air.
She couldn't wait any longer. Elise strapped herself with her favorite gun and ran in. The screams didn't die down until she got closer to the facility. She prepared herself for the sight as she charged in.
The mental preparation provided no comfort. Bodies laid across the ground. Blood was everywhere. It was a massacre. She couldn't stop though. She steeled herself from the sight. She had a mission to complete.
The hallways were dimly lit. But she could see a small room off to the side as she traversed the grounds. The closer she got, the more voices she heard. The smell of vodka permeated the air. Steranko had to be in there.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Footsteps. She searched, eyes wide, for somewhere to sneak off. Everything was either closed off or locked. It would take too long and make too much noise for her to try and escape to those places. There was no place to hide.
The footsteps sounded heavier the closer they got. Soon, they were on top of her. She held her breath.
And as quickly as they had come, they passed. It was taking every bit of self control she had to keep herself from hurling. She laid among the corpses; the dark hallway making it hard to distinguish she wasn't actually dead. Hiding in plain sight.
When the Russian had moved around the corner out of earshot, she moved to the vents. At first, she just sat there. It was a lot to internalize. All of those men were dead. They had families, kids, and they were all just… gone.
But she was still in the midst of a mission that she could not fail. She pulled up the blueprints of the building, putting her feelings behind her. She was only a few meters from a broom closet.
Following the visual, she landed swiftly in the closet.
"Eagle's Nest, please come in." Her voice was devoid of confidence. Desperation filled the gap.
"Dancing Shadow, wha-"
"They got them all. Every single one. Dead."
There was silence on the other end. Never had the head of the Intelligence Agency encountered something like this. The Russians were cunning, but how? How did they know they were coming? How had they managed to kill all of his operatives? And if they had, there was no way one lone agent could take all the Reds herself, no matter how deadly she was.
"I can hold them off, but I don't stand a ch-" There was a large rustling all of a sudden. A loud bang followed with several clangs and loud thuds. Then muffled yells.
"Dancing Shadow!"
Silence.
"Come and get her," a deep Russian voice said through the channel before it went dead.
He stood from his desk. He had to move out. This mission could not fail. They were baiting him, but what choice did he have. His top operative was sure to be a victim of their intelligence stealing device; a risk he could not take. She was too valuable and even more so the information she had.
He strapped up. Making a quick stop by weapons, he grabbed one of the devices still in beta. A disintegration tool. He was going to blow them all to kingdom come.
Eagle's Nest dropped onto the facility's roof. He quickly made his way to the air duct and shimmied down. Soon, he was inside. Using his watch's GPS, he followed carefully to Dancing Shadow's position.
As he made his way through, he saw the countless bodies of his agents. No, they were counted. Two hundred thirty-seven. That's how many operatives he had lost. And he was not about to lose another.
The watch led him to a small room in the building's basement. It was dim, but he could see Elise's body hanging from chains across the room. Careful to avoid any traps he made his way to her. With one shot of his weapon, the restraints were obliterated. She fell limply in his arms.
He knew immediately something was off. She was cold. He went to check her pulse.
Nonexistent.
He turned her head to face him.
A dummy.
Eagle's Nest dropped the prop. He backed up quietly, drawing his weapon. He never got to use it. The prick of the syringe indicated forced entry inside his neck. The cold liquid ran through his body. He could feel his muscles relax without his permission.
He crashed to the floor. As his consciousness struggled to keep him alert, he saw a female figure step in his line of sight.
"Good night Eagle's Nest." The voice didn't match the face. The heavy Russian accent. It just didn't go. Yet it was her.
Elise crouched in front of her boss as the last of his consciousness slipped from his grasp.
The bag was ripped off his face. The bright light juxtaposed the room he had first encountered. As his eyes adjusted, he saw before him two large men, one he immediately recognized to be the leader of the Russian IC, Ivan Steranko. The other must have been a high up in the community.
Third was his top operative. A scowl crossed his face as she crossed the room to stand with her compatriots.
"You looked surprised Boss," she taunted, her American accent returned.
"Dancing Shadow how could you do this? Betray your country. All those dead men out there are on your head."
"What's the American expression? 'You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.' They died for a worthy cause," she shrugged.
"They were eradicated for a foolhardy contrivance."
Her accent returned. "Americans. You all think if it is not your cause it is unworthy. No matter. It is no longer in American control."
The leader spoke. "And you have played right into our hands."
He brought out the disintegration weapon the American leader had brought with him. Ripping it in two with his bare hands, the pieces clattered to the ground. Steranko bent down and picked up the gun's power cell.
"The object of affection. We were hoping you would bring your strongest weapon. Now we will truly be able to complete our intelligence device."
Eagle's Nest sat thoroughly confused. He was sure his intel was on the mark. "I thought you already had it completed?"
"A rouse to let your Dancing Shadow know now was the time to move. Thus plan was set in motion.
"She was kind enough to let us know she was here, setting the explosive that killed your men through briefcase we gave her. We faked her capture, knowing that you would come for her."
"Yes," she frowned. "Was chloroform really necessary? We could have just made it sound good. American would not know difference."
"Had to make sure he would come. Thanks to Gyrating Silhouette, we knew of the power within this weapon. Just enough to power our device."
He handed the power cell to Gyrating Silhouette, who placed it in the silver, beeping machine. The beeping changed to a hum as the machine began to vibrate.
"Petrov."
The large man that had been silently eyeing Eagle's Nest turned his attention to his boss.
"Bring in subject for us to demonstrate for our guest."
The man nodded and rushed out.
"Don't look so glum Eagle's Nest. We are making the world safer. Isn't that what you wanted?" Elise taunted.
"Shut up, Temptress. You are perverting a perfect vision. You're leaving a perfect life, a husband, friends ...for them." He gestured to her new boss with his head.
She turned to look at her boss before turning back to the prisoner. "They gave me a chance when no one else would. All you did was exploit my talent." She leaned in close. "I owe you nothing."
Perhaps he was imagining it, but Eagle's Nest was certain he saw a hint of hurt, of sorrow in her eyes. Sure she acted cold and uncaring, but deep down was Elise still in there?
Petrov returned with an agent over his shoulder and a chair in his other hand. He threw the man in and strapped him up.
After applying a stimulant, the man, who Eagle's Nest could now tell was Agent Bro-Face, woke with a sharp gasp.
"Where… what's going…" His eyes landed on Elise. "Dancing Shadow?"
"That's not Dancing Shadow anymore." Eagle's Nest cynically responded.
"Enough small talk," Steranko interjected. "Petrov bring device."
The large man brought the device next to the young man. He yanked Bro-Face's hand on the machine and trapped him in.
He tried to break his hand free. "No, no, no. Let me-"
His pleas were abruptly cut by the sounds of his screams. The lights flickered as the power seemed to be sucked out of the room into the device. Elise watched, eyes unphased by the torture being presented before her. Eagle's Nest turned his head unable to watch the suffering.
Bro-Face sat limp as Petrov removed a disc from the device. The body remained limp.
"What did you do to him?" Eagle's Nest pleaded.
Steranko held up the disc. "He might be dead. But what I hold in hand is everything he knew about you, your organization, his phone number, date of birth, etc. Everything he knew, I now know."
Eagle's Nest eyes went wide.
They removed the device and the seemingly dead agent.
"Now, if you will excuse me. I have device and secrets to sell to highest bidder. Gyrating Silhouette, tend to our guest."
The two men left. It was just Eagle's Nest and the agent formerly known as Dancing Shadow.
While rummaging through the different compartments in her uniform, Elise began moving toward her former boss.
"So, you're gonna use that on me now?" he asked resignedly.
"No. We don't need your knowledge."
"What are you talking about?" It seemed odd to him that they would take the intelligence of a low level agent, but leave all that the highest ranking officer knew to the wind.
She put on her American accent again. "'Eagle's Nest died in the line of duty saving me. I know this is what he would have wanted, what he was grooming me for.'" She responded with fake sincerity. Her Russian accent returned as quickly as she had shut it off. "The powers that be will only pick the next logical choice. Myself.
"Everything you know will be willingly shared with me. No need to use the device. Besides, we save power this way."
She reached in her back pocket finally finding what she had been looking for: a silver 6 revolver, the one he had given her when she was recruited.
"Know that this is not personal. But you told me take no prisoners. And I am nothing if I don't follow orders." She aimed the barrel at his head. "For what it's worth, you were a good boss. Just too bad you were on the wrong side."
BANG!
Chris yawned as he stretched out the remaining drowsiness from his body. The smell of bacon and waffles immediately captured his attention.
He hurriedly made his way to the kitchen to find Elise cooking all his favorites. He could hear his stomach growl happily as she cracked an egg on the side of the skillet.
"Morning honey. Omlette?" A knowing smile formed on her face.
Be sure to check out the WP page as well.
dan-vs.freeforums.net/thread/114/writing-prompt-double-agent
EDIT: Changed the title from "50 Shades of Elise" to "Where Your Loyalties Lie", since people nowadays sadly associate the phrase with that awful book, and it was giving people the wrong idea.
The TV droned on as the couple slept cuddled on the couch. She had found the perfect position and couldn't think of anywhere else she would rather be.
"Dancing Shadow, come in."
Elise shot awake at the vibrating of her watch. Hearing the voice of her boss, she quickly and silently untangled herself from her sleeping husband's embrace. She snuck into their bedroom making sure to be out of earshot, just in case.
"What's the problem Eagle's Nest?"
"Russia's finally done it. Their intelligence grabber is online, and they plan to make a demonstration tonight."
Elise stood shocked. How had they finished so quickly? "I thought they were still missing components."
"They found everything they needed from a tiny fellow who robbed our local black market dealer threatening to blow up a Hungarian studio if they didn't revive the show 'Population Control Johnny' with a proper ending."
"Dan," she mumbled under her breath.
"This weapon is too dangerous to be left in their hands. I need you to go and stop them. This ends tonight."
"Understood. I'm going to need backup."
"Affirmative. Your transport's ETA is 2 minutes. Stop them Dancing Shadow. By whatever means necessary. Take no prisoners."
Elise nodded ending the call. This was it. The culmination of a career in espionage. She would not fail.
Chris sleepily stumbled into the bedroom.
"Elise, where you heading?"
"Uhhh. To the...store? I have to get… bacon... for breakfast. Right. And it's only on sale right now."
She kissed his cheek and helped him into bed.
"Are you gonna get waffles too?"
"Yes. Just go to sleep. There'll be a big breakfast waiting for you when you get up."
"Mmmm," he muttered as he drifted back to sleep.
She kissed his forehead as she headed out.
The stealth jet had Elise and her team in New Mexico speedily. The facility stood imposingly about 400 meters off.
As they touched down, she reviewed the instructions in her briefcase one final time. "Alright boys," she said to herself, "Showtime."
She stood and addressed the agents. "You all know what is at stake. We cannot fail. Surround the perimeter and train your weapons on their leader. Agent Bro-Face will signal me when you are all in place. I will approach for an official confrontation. Shoot on my signal. Everyone clear?"
They shared a consensus mumble. She took it as a 'Yes'. "Then move out."
The troops cleared out and soon Dancing Shadow stood alone in the plane. It was all she could do. She had one shot at this. If anything went off kilter, it could blow her whole mission. She waited on pins and needles for her watch to buzz with the signal.
BOOM!
Her gaze was ripped from watch as the ground shook. She held onto the wall for stability. The sound of gunfire, followed closely by screams rang throughout the air.
She couldn't wait any longer. Elise strapped herself with her favorite gun and ran in. The screams didn't die down until she got closer to the facility. She prepared herself for the sight as she charged in.
The mental preparation provided no comfort. Bodies laid across the ground. Blood was everywhere. It was a massacre. She couldn't stop though. She steeled herself from the sight. She had a mission to complete.
The hallways were dimly lit. But she could see a small room off to the side as she traversed the grounds. The closer she got, the more voices she heard. The smell of vodka permeated the air. Steranko had to be in there.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Footsteps. She searched, eyes wide, for somewhere to sneak off. Everything was either closed off or locked. It would take too long and make too much noise for her to try and escape to those places. There was no place to hide.
The footsteps sounded heavier the closer they got. Soon, they were on top of her. She held her breath.
And as quickly as they had come, they passed. It was taking every bit of self control she had to keep herself from hurling. She laid among the corpses; the dark hallway making it hard to distinguish she wasn't actually dead. Hiding in plain sight.
When the Russian had moved around the corner out of earshot, she moved to the vents. At first, she just sat there. It was a lot to internalize. All of those men were dead. They had families, kids, and they were all just… gone.
But she was still in the midst of a mission that she could not fail. She pulled up the blueprints of the building, putting her feelings behind her. She was only a few meters from a broom closet.
Following the visual, she landed swiftly in the closet.
"Eagle's Nest, please come in." Her voice was devoid of confidence. Desperation filled the gap.
"Dancing Shadow, wha-"
"They got them all. Every single one. Dead."
There was silence on the other end. Never had the head of the Intelligence Agency encountered something like this. The Russians were cunning, but how? How did they know they were coming? How had they managed to kill all of his operatives? And if they had, there was no way one lone agent could take all the Reds herself, no matter how deadly she was.
"I can hold them off, but I don't stand a ch-" There was a large rustling all of a sudden. A loud bang followed with several clangs and loud thuds. Then muffled yells.
"Dancing Shadow!"
Silence.
"Come and get her," a deep Russian voice said through the channel before it went dead.
He stood from his desk. He had to move out. This mission could not fail. They were baiting him, but what choice did he have. His top operative was sure to be a victim of their intelligence stealing device; a risk he could not take. She was too valuable and even more so the information she had.
He strapped up. Making a quick stop by weapons, he grabbed one of the devices still in beta. A disintegration tool. He was going to blow them all to kingdom come.
Eagle's Nest dropped onto the facility's roof. He quickly made his way to the air duct and shimmied down. Soon, he was inside. Using his watch's GPS, he followed carefully to Dancing Shadow's position.
As he made his way through, he saw the countless bodies of his agents. No, they were counted. Two hundred thirty-seven. That's how many operatives he had lost. And he was not about to lose another.
The watch led him to a small room in the building's basement. It was dim, but he could see Elise's body hanging from chains across the room. Careful to avoid any traps he made his way to her. With one shot of his weapon, the restraints were obliterated. She fell limply in his arms.
He knew immediately something was off. She was cold. He went to check her pulse.
Nonexistent.
He turned her head to face him.
A dummy.
Eagle's Nest dropped the prop. He backed up quietly, drawing his weapon. He never got to use it. The prick of the syringe indicated forced entry inside his neck. The cold liquid ran through his body. He could feel his muscles relax without his permission.
He crashed to the floor. As his consciousness struggled to keep him alert, he saw a female figure step in his line of sight.
"Good night Eagle's Nest." The voice didn't match the face. The heavy Russian accent. It just didn't go. Yet it was her.
Elise crouched in front of her boss as the last of his consciousness slipped from his grasp.
The bag was ripped off his face. The bright light juxtaposed the room he had first encountered. As his eyes adjusted, he saw before him two large men, one he immediately recognized to be the leader of the Russian IC, Ivan Steranko. The other must have been a high up in the community.
Third was his top operative. A scowl crossed his face as she crossed the room to stand with her compatriots.
"You looked surprised Boss," she taunted, her American accent returned.
"Dancing Shadow how could you do this? Betray your country. All those dead men out there are on your head."
"What's the American expression? 'You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette.' They died for a worthy cause," she shrugged.
"They were eradicated for a foolhardy contrivance."
Her accent returned. "Americans. You all think if it is not your cause it is unworthy. No matter. It is no longer in American control."
The leader spoke. "And you have played right into our hands."
He brought out the disintegration weapon the American leader had brought with him. Ripping it in two with his bare hands, the pieces clattered to the ground. Steranko bent down and picked up the gun's power cell.
"The object of affection. We were hoping you would bring your strongest weapon. Now we will truly be able to complete our intelligence device."
Eagle's Nest sat thoroughly confused. He was sure his intel was on the mark. "I thought you already had it completed?"
"A rouse to let your Dancing Shadow know now was the time to move. Thus plan was set in motion.
"She was kind enough to let us know she was here, setting the explosive that killed your men through briefcase we gave her. We faked her capture, knowing that you would come for her."
"Yes," she frowned. "Was chloroform really necessary? We could have just made it sound good. American would not know difference."
"Had to make sure he would come. Thanks to Gyrating Silhouette, we knew of the power within this weapon. Just enough to power our device."
He handed the power cell to Gyrating Silhouette, who placed it in the silver, beeping machine. The beeping changed to a hum as the machine began to vibrate.
"Petrov."
The large man that had been silently eyeing Eagle's Nest turned his attention to his boss.
"Bring in subject for us to demonstrate for our guest."
The man nodded and rushed out.
"Don't look so glum Eagle's Nest. We are making the world safer. Isn't that what you wanted?" Elise taunted.
"Shut up, Temptress. You are perverting a perfect vision. You're leaving a perfect life, a husband, friends ...for them." He gestured to her new boss with his head.
She turned to look at her boss before turning back to the prisoner. "They gave me a chance when no one else would. All you did was exploit my talent." She leaned in close. "I owe you nothing."
Perhaps he was imagining it, but Eagle's Nest was certain he saw a hint of hurt, of sorrow in her eyes. Sure she acted cold and uncaring, but deep down was Elise still in there?
Petrov returned with an agent over his shoulder and a chair in his other hand. He threw the man in and strapped him up.
After applying a stimulant, the man, who Eagle's Nest could now tell was Agent Bro-Face, woke with a sharp gasp.
"Where… what's going…" His eyes landed on Elise. "Dancing Shadow?"
"That's not Dancing Shadow anymore." Eagle's Nest cynically responded.
"Enough small talk," Steranko interjected. "Petrov bring device."
The large man brought the device next to the young man. He yanked Bro-Face's hand on the machine and trapped him in.
He tried to break his hand free. "No, no, no. Let me-"
His pleas were abruptly cut by the sounds of his screams. The lights flickered as the power seemed to be sucked out of the room into the device. Elise watched, eyes unphased by the torture being presented before her. Eagle's Nest turned his head unable to watch the suffering.
Bro-Face sat limp as Petrov removed a disc from the device. The body remained limp.
"What did you do to him?" Eagle's Nest pleaded.
Steranko held up the disc. "He might be dead. But what I hold in hand is everything he knew about you, your organization, his phone number, date of birth, etc. Everything he knew, I now know."
Eagle's Nest eyes went wide.
They removed the device and the seemingly dead agent.
"Now, if you will excuse me. I have device and secrets to sell to highest bidder. Gyrating Silhouette, tend to our guest."
The two men left. It was just Eagle's Nest and the agent formerly known as Dancing Shadow.
While rummaging through the different compartments in her uniform, Elise began moving toward her former boss.
"So, you're gonna use that on me now?" he asked resignedly.
"No. We don't need your knowledge."
"What are you talking about?" It seemed odd to him that they would take the intelligence of a low level agent, but leave all that the highest ranking officer knew to the wind.
She put on her American accent again. "'Eagle's Nest died in the line of duty saving me. I know this is what he would have wanted, what he was grooming me for.'" She responded with fake sincerity. Her Russian accent returned as quickly as she had shut it off. "The powers that be will only pick the next logical choice. Myself.
"Everything you know will be willingly shared with me. No need to use the device. Besides, we save power this way."
She reached in her back pocket finally finding what she had been looking for: a silver 6 revolver, the one he had given her when she was recruited.
"Know that this is not personal. But you told me take no prisoners. And I am nothing if I don't follow orders." She aimed the barrel at his head. "For what it's worth, you were a good boss. Just too bad you were on the wrong side."
BANG!
Chris yawned as he stretched out the remaining drowsiness from his body. The smell of bacon and waffles immediately captured his attention.
He hurriedly made his way to the kitchen to find Elise cooking all his favorites. He could hear his stomach growl happily as she cracked an egg on the side of the skillet.
"Morning honey. Omlette?" A knowing smile formed on her face.