Arkangel || A Winter / Karina / WinRina Adventure

Mission III: Hush

One month later. A month in which Winter spent every day healing with Karina, in each other's arms, doing the little things that couples do: watching movies, going for walks, holding hands, cooking dinner, making out... The bullet hole on Winter's butt had healed to a little star-shaped scar, which Karina couldn't stop tracing with her finger.

"It's not an accident that it looks like something from heaven, Win. That's where you're from. You are something divine, an angel, that lived on the streets of Seoul. Our apartment is your temple, and I'm your high priestess." She winked.

Winter looked at the floor, smiling shyly. Without knowing it, Karina was teaching her how to be a person.

. . . . .

FAMILIES OF MISSING RUSSIAN SOLDIERS DEMAND INFORMATION.

Government claims nuclear accident to blame.

"That headline tells us everything we need to know. Except for one thing: when the rescue plane arrived and the base was aired out, they found 22 more dead soldiers locked in the mechanical room. Locked from the outside, that is. It appears that the Russian soldiers had something of a civil war."

"Are you saying that I killed unarmed prisoners?"

"We don't know for sure, but the answer could be yes. Is that a problem?"

Winter yawned. "No. If they didn't want to die, then they shouldn't have tried to take something that didn't belong to them."

"Agreed." He paused. "Ok, your next mission. The Japanese underworld used to make money through drugs and extortion. Now they've finally made it into the 21st century. They've developed the ability to make and sell counterfeit computer chips, and normally that would be something for law enforcement. But the chips have a built-in surveillance capacity, and they're being bought more and more around the world because of the low cost. But god knows what information is getting skimmed."

"Why aren't the Japanese handling this?"

"First, the Yakuza are a huge presence throughout Japan, which makes moving against them difficult because the Japanese believe they have moles throughout their criminal justice system. Second, the members won't be in Japan when we turn you loose on them. They'll be in Mexico, in Cancun, as a matter of fact. The Japanese government can't attempt to eliminate them in a foreign country. But we have a close relationship with the Mexican government, so if things go sideways we should be able to contain it."

He continued. "We know about all of this because we are intercepting Japanese communications on a massive scale. That's what countries do, even to their allies. The leader of the gang is named Tanaka. He's about 70 and is missing a pinky finger because he made someone mad when he was a foot soldier. But he's very smart. The chips are starting to appear here, and it needs to stop, now. Your mission is... well, your mission is to send a message. You have total and complete discretion over how you want to achieve this. No questions asked. But of course, we don't want any US fingerprints on this."

"Isn't Cancun famous?"

"Famous?"

Winter stammered, trying to do everyday small talk. "Yes, like, don't people talk about it?"

Parker laughed. "Yes, people talk about it because it has some of the best weather and beaches  on Earth. Everyone in our department, even the secretaries, volunteered for this mission. Unfortunately, you won't have much time for the beach."

"I just got back from Antarctica! Don't I deserve a little beach time?" Winter smiled.

"Yes you deserve it, but no, you're not getting it," he smiled. "You'll be meeting an operator called Slipknot, who will have all of your gear, as well as your ride out of Mexico."