2017: Pagudpud, Philippines: The ground work

The wind blew lightly over the waters of Pasaleng Bay as Lance Lvov stood there looking out into the distance. His black hair moved with the wind, it wasn't to long, but it annoyed him to the point that he would push his bangs out from in front of his face. The calm waters and nice people made his day enjoyably, just spending his time near the ocean was Lances idea of getting relaxed. He walked by the market that was just next to the shore, eyeing all of the little objects they had to sell with pity in his eyes. He knew he wouldn't use or give any of the things he bought to anyone, but he eventually concluded to by something from the poor fellows there. Not everyone was poor, well, not to their standers anyway. But It made him happy to contribute. He took the little trinket and put it in his small black backpack that he was carrying.

Lance's phone vibrated, it almost made him jump as he was walking down the road. The calm ended to suddenly for a nice transition. But once his heart stopped beating so fast he smoothly reached into his pocket, trying not to attract anymore unwanted attention and pulled it out. With a few taps on the screen it quickly revealed a text from his employer. "King G. Boil's agent by the ocean: Pasaleng: 30 min: CCW." It read. "They always had a way with words..." Lance thought as he chuckled. This wasn't the first time he needed to meet up with a KGB operative. In thirty minutes too. Another chuckle was about to come on from the sheer coincidence of the situation.

The code language was a thing he had to get used to before, but now he can read it like the back of his hand. "King G. Boil's" = KGB, "CCW"= common code word. The code they used was dependent on the location you where at in the world. While in the Islands it had to do with the weather manly, but then something about someones mother. "I will remember when he says it." Lance thought.

He walked a little further and pushed his sunglasses to his face. The high sun beat down on the beach like a beast. He looked down the shore and out to the ocean, noticing the fishermen pulling in their catch, it brought back memories. His past was something he was looking forward to forgetting. This was to be his last assignment, then he was leaving to start his own little business. One that doesn't have so many holes like the CIA.

"I wonder if this guy is going to be interested...?" The thought lingered as he looked forward to meeting a fellow Russian.

Pasaleng? That isn't a real place, they're just messing with me. Natalia thought to herself as she climbed onto the airplane. The 19 year old girl was a recent addition to the KGB and was sent to rendevouz with some guy in a place she never heard of. She really had no interest in going but she didn't have any choice in the matter.

The ride there was uneventful, mainly because she slept the whole way. As the plane began to land, it announced where it had arrived. Looking out the window Natalia thought to herself, Well, what do you know? It does exist. After stepping off of the plane, she was quickly moved into a small, black car. The drive was boring as well, another 8 hours in a hot stuffy car with some guy she didn't know. This definitely wasn't her definition of fun. It wasn't too bad, as long as the guy didn't turn out to be a jerk or a killer.

She awoke to a hand shaking her awake. "Huh?" She asked before remembering where she was. Oh, right, the mission. She stepped out of the car and walked over to the man standing there, straightening out her ponytail on the way. Unsure of how to start this, "Ummm, hi?" was what came out of her.

Lance glanced over his shoulders casually. Now that he was on a mission, it made things more complicated. He had to be more careful, no unexpected calls that would make him jump, "I need to expect the unexpected..." Lance thought. He chuckled at the cliche, then scanned the area behind him. "A black car... huh... typical." He then continued to look forward till a beautiful young lady came up behind him and said Hi. He had to get over the fact that she was a woman, that the KGB would send a woman on this mission. "A pretty woman at that." The thought lingered as he looked at the ocean.

He looked over his shoulder again, trying not to stare at her beautiful face. He questioned himself for a moment. "It must be my hormones" He concluded in his head. Then proceeded on with his mission. "The sky wasn't orange last night..." he said. A smile appeared on his face as flashes of movies flickered in front of him. It reminded him of all those old spy flicks when they would use code language to make sure the other person was on the level. If she was the KGB operative she would reply.. "You should have been in china with your mom." It was silly, but to the point.

He was looking forward to getting this over with. By the looks of it the 19 year old was thinking the same thing.

The man in front of Natalia spoke some kind of code phrase. Oh, come on! You were prepped on this, how do you forget it? You should have been in the kitchen with your mom? That doesn't sound right. Was it Siberia? Scotland? England? China? Wait! That was it! China! "You should have been in china with your mom." She blurted out quickly in case she forgot it. Now what happened? She hadn't been told why she was here really. What's this guy up to?

Lance missed the puzzled look on Natalia's face as she tried to remember the code phrase. The lingering moment made him look at her with a questioning expression, but when he did she finally blurted it out. Almost too fast for Lance to realize what she had said. she beautiful, but not to bright it seems.. the thought almost made him sigh. Why would the KGB send someone so inexperienced? Maybe to just give him a hassle.

His mission was simple tho, share the info on the Prime Minister and get any ideas on what the best angle of assassination. Lance looked through his dark sunglasses and examined her. He concluded it must just be her age that made her seem so... annoying. But he seen intelligence lingering deep inside, just waiting to burst forth like a wild fire.

He reached behind him into his black backpack and pulled out a tan envelope. It had all the info on the minister that they needed. "How about lets go to restraint and discuss what needs to be done. I know the perfect place." He then started to walk toward the road and waved his hand. Quickly a small light blue car pulled up.

Natalia took what looked like a bag of golf clubs off of her back and carried it to the car that the man was leading her to. She was still a little on edge, not trusting the man she had just met. She unbuttoned the top button on her plaid shirt and said, "Hot out." She wasn't used to this weather, it was usually cold in Russia. The golf bag had everything she may need inside. A sniper rifle, black body suit, black gloves, goggles, sunglasses, smoke bombs, extra bullets, Specialized glasses for various types of vision and a knife. As she got in the car and the man was out of sight for a few seconds, she checked the contraption on her wrist. If she flicked her wrist, it would flip out a small pistol. It was her last defense against anything that may threaten her. "The envelope please." She said as the man got into the car. "What's your name? Mine's Natalia." She told him. If this was a trap, the name would do him no good without her last name. She checked her pockets, making sure the fake identity was still there. Quickly, she clarified "Your real name, not your cover identity."

As they walked to the car he watched her unbutton the first button of her shirt. He tried not to eye her too much, but she was so beautiful. He was still questioning if it was just his hormones. He was young and... like that. Then he got a hold of himself. The feelings he had, had to be surprised. As they entered the vehicle the feelings left as he willed, and he passed her the envelope.

"My name?" he questioned. He wasn't sure if he trusted her. For all he knew the KGB could have sent a beautiful young lady just to distract him and throw off the mission. She was young, and didn't seem like she had been an agent for very long. how would she know if I told her my cover name? He wondered, but decided not to lie. "My name is Lance." Also not revealing his last name. Then he quickly gave the driver a few pesos and they sped off into the dirt road, heading south. Their destination was Manila eventually, but they had a about a day till they had to be there.

There was a restraint he had in mind but it was a couple hours away, and luckily in the direction toward the airport.

"So, how long have you been working for... King Gorge?" Using code because of the driver. He hoped she would get what he was talking about, The KGB.

"Ummm, about 6 months now. This is my first time out though. How long have you worked for Carter Ian Anglos?" Natalia answered Lance's question. Is he lying? Is it his real name? There was no way to tell for sure of course. She began to read over the package in the envelope. "Hmmm... I see. Well, You may want to look at the golf clubs in case there is anything that you think we need for this." She told him before handing back the envelope. She undid her ponytail so her hair flowed down to her shoulders. Something about the driver was making her uncomfortable. The man was peering into the rear view mirror and trying to see what they were doing. Every time she would make eye contact with him, he would quickly get his eyes back on the road. Maybe I should tell him, should I? She asked herself, But, how can I without the driver hearing me. Do I have a pen on me? She checked her pockets in her skinny jeans and the chest pocket on her shirt. Nope. Well, how do I tell him. Oh, for goodness sake, just whisper it to him. She leaned towards him and whispered in his ear so the driver didn't hear "I don't trust him. He's trying to watch what we're doing."

"A while now..." Lance replied, hinting that this was not his first mission. He watched as the Natalia looked through the contents of the envelope, and shrugged at the comment about the golf clubs. "I think we have everything we need, I will clue you in on that later, just in case you wanna bring something extra to the party." He was trying to be discrete. He noticed the driver shifting his mirrors inward and trying to ease drop on their conversation. Lance didn't appreciate it, he had made sure that the driver and all of the people they where going to encounter on the way to the airport were clean. But there could have been a leak somewhere, he kept his eyes on him, wondering if Natalia picked it up.

The woman shifted and reached for her hair. Lance looked away, he couldn't use any of the thoughts that would pop into his head by watching her... for good anyways. It would only distract him. But then he started to imagine her hair falling so neatly to those beautiful shoulders, and the sunlight dance across her cheeks and amazing... Stop! He yelled at himself. He had turned his head to look out the window, trying to get his mind off her. It didn't seem to be working. Then she started to shuffle a little. Lance looked back and watched as she checked her pocket then as she leaned toward him. Her mouth so close to him was almost tempting, but he restrained himself.

The Professor was happy to hear that she realized the driver was being suspicious. It showed him that she had some talent, and was paying attention. He liked that, those where qualities a spy needed, awareness, and preparedness. I guess the KGB did send a somewhat talented lady he thought, then turned to whisper in her ear. "Just watch what you say. I checked him out already but I could have been wrong. I will let you know if anything is amiss." He was referring to if the driver was taking them somewhere they did not want to go. So far he had kept right on track, and making good time. They where almost half way to the restraint now.

Lance looked at the lady, "What part of Russia did you grow up in?" He questioned. Trying to get clues about he background.

He shifted a little as he placed his backpack next to him. Then he pulled out his wallet from the black bad and shoved it into the front pocket of his tan cargo pants.

Leaning down to the golf bag, Natalia unzipped it and pulled out a pair of glasses. While she did this, she made sure that the driver would be unable to see what was in the bag. The glasses she had on allowed her to see with Heat Vision. She watched the driver as he reached for something small, about the size of a small pistol before he pulled his hands away. "Saint Petersburg, dangerous place. Lot's of things that could kill you being hidden right under your noes." She said, trying to tip him off about the possible gun. As a precaution, she flicked her wrist. With a slight click, the gun sprung out and into her hand. It was smaller than an average pistol and could be easily concealed as she had demonstrated. She kept it out of sight though, away from the CIA agent's eyes. "How about you? Where do you come from?" She asked as she flicked the gun away. There is a much more fun approach. She thought to herself, pulling out a flash bang grenade and hiding it in her sleeve. The CIA agent could probably see it, but the driver couldn't. If he was to make another motion towards the gun she would pull the pin. As anticipated, the driver moved his hand towards the gun once more. "Так предсказуемой." (translation: So predictable) She muttered before speaking louder, "If you put someone in the back of your car, you might want to search them properly instead of just assuming." She smiled and pulled the pin, tossing the grenade into the front seat. The car violently swerved and flipped over as it hit something. It rolled and ended up on it's wheels though. It was still in good enough condition that it could be driven. "Are you okay?" Natalia asked before she climbed out of the seat and went around to the driver's door. She opened it up and pulled the man out of it and onto the road. "Do you want to drive?"

The city sounded familiar to Lance, but he hasn't been back to Russia in a few years now. The hint about the gun caused his eyes to move toward the drivers hands. But when she asked where he was from he shrugged his shoulders. "We moved around a lot... never really had," He paused as the grenade just caught the corner of his eye, "home is where the family is, right?" He said, bracing himself. Surprisingly, he had a little more time then expected but, the car swerved and flipped eventually. It would have put him in a lot of danger if he didn't have his seat belt on.

The car flipped several times before finally landing on its wheels. The excitement had Lance on edge. He was thrown around a bit, but nothing he didn't expect after seeing the flash grenade in Natalia's hands. Another movie seen passed before his eye's, its just like the movies... he swore, nodded to the woman, giving her the sign that he was fine, then practically falling out of the car he opened the door. He was still a bit dizzy, whether he wanted to be or not, its not everyday you get tossed around like that. But his training kicked in and it only lasted but a second. He loved the look on Her face as she pulled the driver out of the car. It was a face that only another agent could love. A face full of fearlessness and almost a bit of fun. He laughed in his head before replying, "absolutely" He said with a smile. Then jumped in the drivers seat.

The vehicle smelt like gunpowder almost, and the seat next to him was scorched from the flames that it was exposed to. Luckily it didn't catch fire, but then Lance thought, "It wouldn't have been anything i couldn't put out." Then waited for Natalia to jump in. He pushed his sunglasses back on his face and put his seat belt on. Praying that he wouldn't have to go through another death tumble.

Natalia stumbled round to the other side of the car. She pulled open the door which she used to support herself. a bit. Slipping into the car, Natalia asked her partner "Did you enjoy that?" with a smile on her face. She enjoyed that short thrill. As the two of them started driving along she started thinking about what it was she was doing. I'm going to have to kill someone. In training it seemed like nothing but this is real. I'll be sucking away someone's life. The other half of her was arguing with that theory, Who cares? Who knows what kind of evil this man has done. Besides, you're getting paid to do this. You've shot dummies in places that would kill a man. Why can't you do it to a real person? What's the difference anyways? The two ideas continued to argue with each other in her head. "Don't be stupid. It's completely different. You're taking away a human life.

"What's that matter? You shoot them in the same spot? It's not that bad. It's not your life anyway."

"You are insufferable!"

All these thoughts kept swirling around in her head until she just gave up and focused on stopping thinking entirely.

Lance looked at her with a smile. "I loved it." He replied, pushing on the accelerator. The car sped of on the dirt road, they where only but a few miles from their first destination, The orange man, when translated into English. It was a little hole in the wall resistant that was about a mile from the airport. "Hopefully the people there are actually clean" he thought, wondering how the driver got past the screening.

A few minutes passed before they pull up in the drive way of an old looking restraint. The windows where dark from the dirt that clung to them. Other then that the building was in alright shape. There where only a couple cars out front, Lance assumed there was not many people inside.

"We will catch a bight to eat and then head the airport, I will explain more about the mission when we get inside. Don't worry about the locals, they are just friendly." he said as he opened the door and removed his seat belt. Then went around to the back and grabbed his backpack that held all of the gear he really needed for the mission. A black suit, another hand gun, a knife, extra ammo, and his Disguise Emitter. All of the other gear was at the assassination point.

He started to walk toward the door of the building. "Coming?" he questioned the young lady.

"Yeah I am, I just need to grab the golf clubs." Natalia answered the man's question. After sliding out of the passengers seat, she turned and opened the back doors. She picked up the black golf bag and walked across the dirt to the restraint. Opening the brown door, she was met by some hot, stuffy air. She swatted away a spiders attempt to land on her shoulder and walked inside. "So, let's get to work." Natalia said to Lance. "Explain the course to me." She said as they walked in. Course was the first thing that came to mind when she searched for a word to replace mission. It was the first to come to her because of the golf clubs on her back and no one would be suspicious of someone having golf clubs and asking about a golf course. None of the locals bothered to even look at them as they walked by. Good, so it wasn't suspicious.

Lance walked in a brushed the webs out from in front of him. He made his way to the center of the room and pulled out an old wooden chair from behind an old wooden table and took a seat. He pulled the black bag he had up and sat it on the table. The zipper made a quick noise as he unzipped it and grabbed a map from the bottom. "Come have a seat..." he said just as a person from the back room walked to the table.

The building wasn't totally deserted. People still came here to eat, and the food wasn't bad. The waiter was actually pretty dressed up for being in such a dump, he wore all white clothing and had a towel on his arm witch went across his body. "I will have my usual, and she will have the same" he gestured toward Natalia. His usual consisted of wanting to be left alone and a plate of rice covered in an amazing topping that made lance drool just thinking about it. They where alone in the building, it was just Lance, Natalia, and the waiter. No cook or anyone. This made lance comfortable, he unfolded his map and started to examine it.

"Do you know why you are here?" He asked as the steward began walking toward them with their food.