Lightning Cloud

The Prey becomes the Predator

Thiago said, "Not a bad idea for someone like yourself. I hear you've become quite the whistle-blower."

Graham replied, "Well, after Siberia, I made a point of revealing secrets wherever I found them. Help to keep the world in check by making people hesitate to do stupid things."

Thiago studied him. He had put on weight since the last time he saw him, but he looked to have aged considerably as well; a few wrinkles around his face, grey hair streaking his brown mane of hair, but otherwise looking well for someone carrying around enough secrets to topple the world, if he so wished. 

He said sharply, "I'll get to the point; I don't have much time. I've just been attacked twice in the space of a few hours, both by people from my past. I know you may not know much about me, but-"

Graham raised a hand to silence him. Beckoning to him, he said, "Follow me."

He led a confused Thiago to a door, and opened it. He opened the lights, and spoke, "That, is where you are incorrect. I know everything there is to know about you."

Thiago, wide eyed, looked at a room with pictures of him plastered to every available space.

Photos of him on previous assignments, in different countries, using different aliases, in different disguises... File upon file clattered on a desk in the middle. He went over and looked at one of them. Details of a joint covert ops which had averted a nuclear disaster... He opened another one. Possibly his entire career was in here. 

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Thiago rose slowly.

"Graham, in the next minute, which you will use to explain all this, choose your words very carefully. My patience has already been worn thin tonight."

Graham put up a hand and explained, "Ever since I came back, I wanted to know more about the man who saved me. I asked around-rather, I threatened some very powerful people to keep me in the loop regarding your assignments. In fact, I even hired your organization for a task, asking for you specifically. If you remember, the mission in Delhi five years ago."

Thiago let his attention wander momentarily. Oh yes, he remembered that mission...

He had been tasked with killing a businessman living in Delhi. However, it was a little more complex than his usual missions. It was not that he was a very powerful man within the country with many connections, but that he had hired a rival organization to protect him at all times. The men they sent were some of the very best, men even Thiago wanted to avoid going head on against. However, upon further inspection, he found out something that would work in his favor. Despite all of his security measures, he had a few fixed habits, ones that he could exploit: he was a heavy smoker and he went every morning to have breakfast at a particular shop that was owned by some loyal former employees. He hired an expert to change his appearance to mimic one of the waiters at that shop, murdered the concerned employee and took his place one morning. When the businessman came in, he slipped in a few chemicals into his food that would react with any nicotine he absorbed into his system, and give him a heart attack. As he placed his food on his table, as expected, one of the guards took a bite to see if it was poisoned. With most of that organization's assassins known to not smoke, it did nothing to him, however, ten minutes after the businessman finished his meal, the chemicals kicked in. As the bewildered guards looked around frantically, Thiago was already long gone. 

Shaking himself out of his repertoire, he looked at him and said, "I will sit with you one of these days and we will have a long chat about all this, but right now, the people trying to kill me, do you know anything about it?"

Graham replied, "I've been hearing rumors of some organization that had plans to do something in the US. Perhaps they are the ones linked to the attacks?"