Description: Fresh from his rather unusual encounter in Bangkok, Soma decides he can't wait and use more traditional channels to get the very important intel he's gathered into the field. When he hears about an in-progress prison break, the undercover agent arrives on the scene and has a fortuitous meeting with a noted resistance fighter...
Things are finally starting to calm down in the aftermath of the battle for the prison camp, members of the Vigilantes have set up positions all around the perimeter for the moment, on guard in case Shadaloo manages to launch a quick counter attack. Out in the yard the freed prisoners are milling around for the moment, looking quite content to be out and about after having been locked up, and some of them forming small groups just to talk. Guile seems to have put himself off to the side of everything, leaning up against a guard tower as he watches the scene with a faint smile.
It took some time to get into central Thailand. For starters, when Soma came to his meeting in Bangkok, he expected to show up, meet with the mystery informant, and then leave as soon as possible. But what he heard and saw in the Stock Exchange that night was proof enough that he couldn't just turn around and head back to Singapore. He had, to use the cliche, seen too much.
Thus the undercover agent had set out from the capital even deeper into Shadaloo-held territory, moving by night as stealthily as possible. Confronting Shadaloo troops was not an option; while he is confident in his ability to take on normal goons, Soma is only too aware that Shadaloo special forces are all over the map, and trying to take on too many at once would be suicide.
It was his stupid luck that let him overhear a conversation between two Shadaloo foot soliders scrambling to defend a local prison camp from a sudden bout of insurgency. Taking that as his cue, the Interpol agent leapt from the shadows, made quick work of the soliders, and took off with their humvee toward the camp.
Fast forward to now, as Guile's suborindates march the black-clad young man toward Guile with his hands in the air, the dark skin and dark clothing making him look ninja-like and suspicious. Of course, Soma himself looks confident, even amused... and is coming along quietly. One of the soliders is holding what is presumably the man's gun: a Beretta M92F in a brown leather shoulder holster. "Sir! We've apprehended a suspicious individual..." one solider begins.
Soma, for his part, simply smiles. "'Apprehended' hardly applies if I've surrendered, Sergeant."
As the 'suspicious individual' is brought forth, Guile straightens up from his position and lets his serious, stony face take back over, standing straight as a rail and bringing himself up into a stance that most people would consider a little intimidating given the soldier's frame. He gives the individual a quick looking over before he reaches out with one hand, the gun is quickly handed over and Guile slips it out of the holster, looking it over before eventually sliding it back in the holster and slipping it into a large pocket.
"You have to admit, dressed like that and wandering around a war zone is hardly behavior for someone not up to something. It's especially unusual given that we've just managed to take this camp." He lets his arms fold across his chest, in the process presenting both of his flag tattoos for clear view by the captive. "Do you have anything to say for yourself that could help bring you out of suspicion?"
Guile's comment actually causes the 'prisoner' to laugh a little bit, though he keeps his hands up. "No, you're absolutely right. I'm pretty damned suspicious. But I can establish my bona fides, if you'll permit me...?" He glances at Guile, then at the soliders flanking him, before slowly reaching a hand into his jacket and producing a black, wallet-sized ID holder from it and flipping it open in front of Guile. Inside are two things: an Interpol ID card, and his official ICPO badge. The agent holds the ID case open until it seems as if Guile's had time to read it... and the documents are, indeed, legitimate.
Soma himself talks while Guile presumably inspects his credentials, allowing the Air Force commander to take the object if he so desires. "My name is Soma Travedi... I'm a deep undercover agent with the ICPO's Special Crimes Directorate. I've been working with MI6 in Singapore as an intelligence analyst and in the course of that duty came upon some critical intel I wanted to deliver into the field in person." He pauses, then glances Guile over. "You are, unmistakably, Lieutenant Guile, correct?"
The definitively flattopped soldier takes the badge as it's offered, holding it up and letting his eyes look over pretty much every detail, when Shadaloo's involved he's learned it's better to be safe than sorry, because sorry tends to get people killed or captured. But it does look official, at least as far as he knows about those organizations. He holds the ID back as soon as he's satisfied with them, "They look good to me, but you'll have to forgive me if I'm still not too positive about whether or not I can trust you, considering what I've heard about Vega brainwashing people."
One hand reaches down into his pocket to produce a comb, bringing it up and pulling it through his hair a few times to get it back into position, all the heat and humidity was managing to make even his normally unstoppable hairstyle sink a little bit, "You're correct in your presumption, I'm Guile. I don't know if the Lieutenant really stands anymore considering the fact that my current operations really aren't sanctioned by the US military, but if they want to keep me on record it's fine with me." He slips the comb back down into his pocket as he looks over the captive again, "But... Soma Travedi... Don't you write fighter novels for housewives? I'm pretty sure I've seen that name on some books my wife read."
For a second, Soma looks mildly impressed. Taking his badge back, he puts down his arms and crosses them over his chest, provided the guards don't freak out, and then favors Guile with a slow smile. "I don't write for housewives. My publisher would be fairly happy to hear that they're reading them, however." He glances around, then back at Guile. Hopefully the vigilnate's men won't break his story to the New York Times or Scooter Libby. "The novelist gig is part of my cover... my general assignment is to monitor the street fighting circuit for potential crime, particularly those involving big organizations like Shadaloo or the NESTS cartel."
Pausing for a moment, the agent then reaches -- slowly, throwing an eye to the guards again to be sure -- into his jacket and, the second time, produces a flash drive, roughly the size of a keychain. "And if the USAF isn't backing you anymore, so much the better. This is critical intelligence but I'm loathe to get international forces involved at present. I think politics are only going to complicate the matter." He holds out the thumb drive to Guile, then continues talking. "Do you know who General Sonthi Boonyaratglin is, Lieutenant?"
Guile keeps his eyes on Soma's hands as he pulls out the drive, taking it as it's offered and flipping it over a few times and giving it a once over before closing his hand around it and turning his attentiong back up toward Soma, "I'll bet being a novelist pays better than working undercover, unless you're working for some organization that realizes the value of good eyes and ears in the right place more than the publishing industy." With that he shakes his head slowly, "But I guess that's still politics, which is the main reason I left the military, politicians are the ones actually in charge, and it's far too easy for people like Vega to slip them money enough that they keep their men on a leash."
The soldier lets his head cock to the side at the name, his heavy brown furrowing slightly as he tries to place it, "Even without the general bit I'd know it was someone important..." His eyes seem to brighten a bit, even if his expression doesn't, "Wasn't he one of the big guys in the country before all this mess started? I've heard the name going around a bit, but it honestly seems like people I've dealt with don't want talk much about him recently... at least with me."
If nothing else, the Interpol agent certainly seems to find Guile engaging, smiling as he is this entire time. "Interpol pays better than the novels... hazard pay and all that. But let's just say having an income that's not dependent on the ICPO's generosity doesn't bother me much either." And it appears as if Guile recognizes the name. Good... that'll make this particular task a little easier. "But thank you for the compliment all the same."
With a nod of the head, Soma indicates the flash drive. "That disk contains GPS and satellite photo data from central Thailand. In particular, it shows the locations of a number of Shadaloo's other prison camps." There's a pause. On the one hand, it sounds like he's allowing this to sink in on Guile's part... but in truth, he's got to think up a way to spin how he got this intel too. 'A ninja gave it to me' isn't going to carry a lot of weight, after all. Of course, language is one of the agent's many useful skills. "The intel was passed on to me through an underworld contact set up by MI6... so far as I can tell, the data is reliable. One of those camps houses General Boonyaratglin." And now he DOES pause to let that sink in.
Guile, for the most part, keeps his face stoney and overall his expression seems somewhat dour, regardless of what he's saying. Those familiar with the man wouldn't find it exceptionally surprising for the serious man, especially given the current circumstances. "Yeah, but you don't have to risk getting your brains blown out or pummeled to death by some psycho when you're a writer. Except when you're at a public signing, I suppose." If that's a joke, he doesn't let it show.
The Vigilante is quick to bring things back to the more important topic at hand, opening his hand once more and taking the flash drive between his thumb and index finger, eyeing it over once more, "I suppose it's probably as accurate as most intel you can get your hands on, and I certainly appreciate and valuable information I can get my hands on." He lowers the drive again, slipping it down into one of his pockets, "As soon as we can find a computer that's in working condition, I'll make sure we go over this. I'll also try to get the information to a few key allies, because a guy this big isn't going to be guarded by some random thugs Shadaloo picked up off the streets of Bangkok."
"You're welcome," Soma says with amusement, crossing his arms over his chest again. "The source is pretty reliable, according to MI6, and actually I backed it up with my own intelligence work for the ICPO. I'm sure you can imagine what a boon freeing General Boonyaratglin would be, strategically." They don't have a laptop here... damn. He'd hoped they could get this moving quickly, but it can't be helped.
Glancing at the guards for a moment, Soma then turns back to Guile. "If you don't mind, Lieutenant, I'd like to stay here and offer my help. I want to see firsthand if that intel is reliable." He doesn't mention his deal with Riko; he doesn't have to. If the ninja's leading them into a trap, he wants to be there firsthand to see how it's going to go. "I've already got a good grasp on the tactical situation, and I can handle myself in a fight, I promise."
There's a quick shrug of Guile's broad shoulders, "It shouldn't be too hard to get something in pretty quickly now that we're managing to push back the line. I have some aerial forces stationed nearby and I'm pretty sure they'll have something, but you can't really expect anyone to bring that sort of thing straight into battle. It would either be extra weight or a security risk depending on what sort of information you kept on it."
That all said, he takes a moment to focus on Soma, staring him dead in the eye as he offers to stick around. One hand reaches down to his pocket to pull the holstered gun back out and hold it out toward the operative, his fingers gripping it rather tightly at first, "I suppose I could use all the help I can get... and I should be able to trust you not to stab me in the back, because if you know as much about me as you appear to-" He lets his expression darken a bit, "-you know it would take a hell of a lot to bring me down, and failure would end quite badly for you." The dark look fades and he just leaves the gun in a loose grip now.
It's a fair statement to make. Soma takes his gun back and unbuttons the front of his black jacket, slipping the holster back on and drawing, priming, and then replacing the M9. If nothing else, he appears to be pretty comfortable with firearms. "Well, whatever good we can do in the meanwhile is worth it, I suppose. I just want to emphasize that we cannot let the extranational peacekeepers here get a hold of this... I don't want this to turn political, just like you said."
Rebuttoning his jacket, the ICPO agent shakes Guile's hand, and then smiles. "I do indeed know you're not a man to be crossed, Lieutenant. And besides... if this intel turns out to be false..." And here, it's Soma's turn to let his expression turn a little bit dark. "...well. Let's just say I know where to direct my anger if that happens."
There's a firm handshake before Guile turns around, looking back over the main yard of the prison camp, "Alright, we'll keep our position here for a day or two, bring in some new supplies and then once we can figure out the best route to this prison. Once we're there we can get a better look at their security measures and figure out the best way to bust in there and get the general out. From there maybe I'll get another shot at Vega..."
Log created on 23:06:38 06/28/2007 by Soma, and last modified on 10:59:03 06/29/2007.