CHAPTER2: THE BLACKOUT ORDER
284 Words
CHAPTER 2: THE BLACKOUT ORDER
Deep within an unmarked corporate office building in Northern Virginia,
Teriq stared at a high-resolution terminal. The facial recognition
software had completed its cross-reference loop. The match percentage was
99.8%. The face belonged to Matthew Vance, designated 'Krueger' during
his ten-year tenure with the specialized black-ops unit known as the
Vanguard Group. A unit that officially never existed.
An aide stepped into the dim, glass-walled office, holding a secure
encrypted tablet. The mood in the room was cold, sterile, and heavy with
unspoken panic. The leak had already triggered automated tripwires inside
Langley and the Pentagon. If the Iranian government pulled the data from
the backup satellite relay, they would have undeniable proof of a state
sanctioned execution of a top government official within forty-eight
hours.
TERIQ
"Where is his extraction point?"
AIDE
"He's currently in transit on a private
cargo charter. Refueling and logistical
switch over at Murtala Muhammed
International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. He
lands in four hours."
Teriq picked up a secure satellite phone, dialing an unlisted
international country code. His expression remained smooth, unbothered by
the gravity of the sentence he was about to deliver. The financial
allocation promised to Krueger for this mission—three million dollars—
would now be re-routed to fund the cleanup operational logistics.
TERIQ
"Activate the local assets in West Africa.
Inform the contractor teams that Krueger has
gone rogue and is selling state secrets. I
want the Blackout Protocol executed the
second his boots touch the tarmac in Lagos.
No traces. No body. No record."
The phone went dead. On the screen, Krueger's tracking beacon shifted
across the Atlantic airspace, flying directly into a carefully prepared
meat grinder.
- Writer
