Urgent Meeting
Detective Story : Urgent Meeting
Short Story, By Prabir Rai Chaudhuri . All Copyright Reserved 2020
Inside a shack, messy but dignified. A man is lying on the bed. He is not sleeping. He is there calmly. There is a knock at the door.
His thoughts went up in smoke. Who the hell could it be? No one knew his address, except… the name flashed through his mind. He rushed to open the door. Mallhoy was there in front of him, a large wound, still open, on his forehead and by the look of it more than a couple of bruised bones.
“Let me in and pour me something strong.” She said to him, and he nodded and stepped aside.
“What brings you here?” he asked as Mallhoy looked around, occasionally raising an eyebrow. He certainly didn’t expect anything like this from the head of ET627. They sat down at the wooden table that took up most of the room.
“I didn’t know where else to go, Sharley.” The other man gave a half-smile.
"Because of your partner?"
“And little girls.” Mallhoy replied laconically, holding back a grimace.
“Swallow this.” She handed him a glass. “You did a good job. Who did this?”
“Ah, I don’t know, but he knew who I was.” He replied calmly.
«The Z720y.» Sharley said grimly.
“It did more damage than expected, but we have to react now.” He grimaced. “What the hell is that?”
“A recipe of mine.” Sharley remained vague.
“What doesn’t kill you…” He gulped down his drink. “Alert all controls.”
Sharley nodded.
“And don’t forget Le Cartier.” A mischievous shadow appeared in Mallhoy’s eyes.
"That dandy? Who could forget him?" He barked.
The house would explode with all those people. Sharley thought, looking around. Fortunately, that meeting was taking place in section ET627, of the gamma command, one of the few locations that had not burned down yet. Of course, it could have taken place elsewhere, even in his section, but that place was better protected from prying eyes and easier to reach. He ran a hand over his chin, that meeting gave him the shivers. He tried to locate his doubles, Belonghi, the owner of the house, was easy to locate, a pale and thin man, with round, thick glasses and short, gray hair. His gaze wandered further.
“Good evening.” The greeting from behind distracted him. That damned accent, he would have recognized it among a thousand. He turned, looked at his French double, Le Cartier, answered with a grunt and, without trying to make excuses, walked away to join Mallhoy.
He was talking to Velloi and Delisi. In spite of himself he found himself smiling, that was a woman.
A few minutes later they were all sitting around a table. Dark faces and heated discussion.
Hours later, nothing had been achieved. Mallhoy had not yet lost his proverbial control, but he was destroyed. Sharley was hot, his eyes angry, he almost smiled at the thought that reminded him of a grumpy old bear, on the contrary Le Cartier and Döeken were very sure of their theory, sure also the beta and delta command, they had their problems, but in the eye of the storm, there they were. Mallhoy shook his head. Bakery and all the other officials had been adamant, only Rosejo of the Spanish command had opened a crack. He stood up suddenly, glancing at Velloi. He had to put some distance between himself and all that confusion, if he wanted to get to the bottom of the matter. And not only did he want to, he had to.
He had been back for a few minutes and Sahrley's face was even more gloomy and thoughtful. He exchanged another glance with Velloi, who was also worried.
“What do you propose to stop all this?” asked Newitt, of OS 910 of Zeta Command, with his strong American accent.
“Rush out the GIS,” Mallohy replied, resuming his seat.
“We can’t be sure it still exists,” Newitt retorted.
“We can’t rule it out.” Velloi intervened.
"It's true, strange events are taking place." Interjected the head of the German OS 910 section, Michter.
The meeting continued with setbacks and some progress, until an agreement was reached, thanks also to the intervention of some government officials, Bakery, Alemi of the gamma command and Rosejo of the omega command. The agreement was to locate the GIS, or at least anyone who had had contact with the organization, with the use of only one agent per command in reconnaissance missions.
It wasn't much, but as things stood it was the best that could be achieved.
“Here we go again,” Sharley said as he entered his hovel, followed by Mallhoy.
“I was thinking of calling D420 back and joining him on the mission,” Mallhoy said, stubbornly ignoring the pain in his bones. Sharley glared at him.
“You can stay here.” She told him.
“Thanks, how do we get going?”Sharley touched his chin before answering.
“I’ll talk to my doubles in Athens and Moscow, and I’ll look at Le Cartier and Döeken’s schedule, maybe there’s a way to restore the gray area.” Mallhoy nodded.
“We need to coordinate this time, but it might not be enough.”
“Yes.” Sharley replied, laconically considering the complexity of such an operation between all the locations.
Mallohoy looked around. Disorder was everywhere and there was no sign of technology, the only accessory to that sparse and disorganized life was the sound of the surf.
“I wasn’t expecting a place like this,” Mallhoy said.
Sharley shrugged, after all this was a great shelter and a perfect hiding place. They were silent for a while, then Mallhoy continued.
"Did the Headquarters burn down?"
“Not exactly.” Sharley looked sly.
"What do you mean?"
"That I haven't gone senile, as that dandy thinks." He almost found the conversation amusing.
“Explain yourself.” Mallhoy’s tone was conversational, but betrayed a certain impatience.
“It’s true that I plugged the Z720y into our computers, but the main operation was not performed from our headquarters.” Mallhoy looked at him questioningly, then smiled.
“THE old warehouse.” He said, relaxing in his chair. Sharley nodded.
“Exactly.” He was silent for a while. “It’s not a great advantage, but it’s something.”
“Is the warehouse still active?” Sharley nodded.
“I was thinking of using him as bait.” Mallhoy clasped his hands together as he considered Sahrley’s words.
"Can you blow it up?"
"Why?"
“I have a plan and this time it has to work!”
"Yes. I can."
"Perfect. Is there a way to send a message to my doubles, in this wasteland?"
“My cell phone.” Sharley answered briskly.
His watch creaked. Damn! Always at the most inopportune moments. He got out of bed and began to dress. Francesca reached for it.
He opened his eyes with a snap.
"Where are you going?"
“Work problems.” At that word her heart leapt into her throat. The fairy tale was over.
“Ignore them.” She pleaded. He was already dressed.
“I can’t. I’ll get in touch.” He grabbed Penny and Becky and ran out the door. His instincts told him there was trouble ahead. Very big trouble.
“Good morning.” He said as he entered Mallhoy’s study. Sharley was there too, which was not a good sign.
“Good morning, D420.” Mallhoy said, while Sharley merely grunted.
“What’s the mission?” Nick asked, unnerved by the tense atmosphere in the room.
“We have major problems, which we suspect GIS is behind.” Nick swallowed it. He didn’t like going over old cases.
“What should I do?” Mallhoy didn’t answer.
"This time it's different. He'll be working with me," Nick looked away.
"With her?"
“Yes.” Sahrley confirmed.
What the hell was happening? A thousand doubts came to his mind.
“How do we move?” he simply asked.
"We need a diversion. Tonight I will implement the first part of Mallhoy's plan, then you and I will work together coordinating our roles, including with the other agencies. We will move on two levels."
Nick looked at the man in front of him and then at Mallhoy. He felt like he hated them both at that moment, yet they couldn't be more different. Mallhoy's affable manner and good looks were a complete contrast to Sharley's hard, brusque manner and rugged, massive appearance. Nick looked back at Mallhoy.
"Is there anything else, sir?"
“Yes. Be careful and do your best.” Mallhoy’s voice was controlled but lower than usual.
Throughout the week, each of the ICGA divisions had suspended all operations, recalling the agents involved in them, until further notice.
It had been strange to work in unified sections, maintaining a dense network of communications between the various offices.
For the first time Sharley had found himself working closely with D420 and his doubles, all operatives, and it had not been easy for him or the other leaders of the ET627 section.
From the very beginning he had judged Mallhoy's plan bizarre, and yet it was working. The hunt for the GIS was over, and now it was time to act. He lingered a few more moments, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he had to warn D420 to prepare for action, time was running out, but that was the last part of the plan, the most delicate: Neutralize the GIS, it would take very little and everything would go to pieces. Phua! The close proximity to Le Cartier and Mallhoy must have infected him! It was not like him to dwell on trifles. He went to the intercom and called D420.
Nick arrived within minutes. He listened to Sharley's short barked instructions and went out. It was time for action.
“I can’t go any lower,” he said, the noise of the propeller half drowning out his voice.
“You’re a skilled pilot, Jaquline.” Nick told her. K11, her French double, smiled.
"Jump, we don't have much time." The three men who were with her parachuted down. The plan of action was very simple, once they had gotten rid of their parachutes and landed, they would swim the distance that separated them from the small island that was the GIS headquarters. He and his doubles, L270, from the gamma command, and S304 from the omega command, would rely on the surprise effect. It was an unusual mission, where the agency's personal interests played an important role, but he didn't mind working with two excellent elements like L720 and S304. The first, an Italian, had received several notes of merit, while the second, a Spaniard, was a resolute and efficient guy. They had gotten along well right away, which is why they had been chosen for that part of the plan. All three looked at their watches: it was time to Act.
The island was not very big, but for the plan to succeed, a diversion was needed, so that they could move freely and go unnoticed. K11 would take care of that, from above with the helicopter and two agents, his Greek double and his American double, on the other side of the coast. A clean mission, if everything went according to plan.
When they reached the ground, there was no one there and they managed to reach the main building undisturbed. But after a few steps inside, they were joined by the welcoming committee. Too good to last, he thought as he dodged a blow, followed by his colleagues. Apparently it was time to start the dance. He threw a kick, knocking down one of the men in front of him. A second man reached him from the left, ducked to dodge the blow and moved quickly, until he was behind his attacker. One mistake, one wrong move and he found himself with his back to the ground. His attacker came closer. He pushed on his back, and hit him in the abdomen, stretching out both legs. L 720 stepped next to him, blocking the action of a third man, giving him the chance to get up.
Back on his feet, Nick continued to strike at anyone who came near him, trying to find his rhythm, but in his head all he could do was wonder what had gone wrong. Another blow, he answered with a kick. His colleagues were also immersed in the fight. Damn! So they were just wasting time! He stepped back and dodged another blow.
S304 was beside him now.
“Go ahead.” She whispered to him. “We’ll take care of this.”
Nick looked around for L720, who was standing nearby, and saw him nod.
While the others covered his back, he managed, after knocking down another of his opponents, to open a path and reach a corridor. The echo of his kicks and punches could still be heard from afar. He quickened his pace, he had to find the head of the GIS, the man who called himself Owl, and he had wasted far too much time.
When she finally found him, he was running away. Damn. She gave chase, until she caught up with him on the cliff. They were both out of breath from running.
One in front of the other, seconds before the fight began. His opponent was old, but cunning, Nick's body was worn out from fighting and running, but his determination did not allow him to lower his guard or retreat, this was the real showdown, the final clash.
One wrong move. He was back on the ground, on the edge of the cliff. Owl was approaching, armed and he had injured his shoulder, falling. What was he to do? With the strength he had left he stood up, took a few steps back to safety, pulled out Penny, and fired a shot. It hit Owl, who in the meantime had approached until he was in front of him, in the arm or perhaps in the shoulder, but he lost his balance and fell backwards, over the cliff.
At that moment the reinforcements arrived.
With his usual confident stride, Nick entered Mallhoy's study. Sharley was there too.
“Good work D420.” Mallhoy said, Sherley nodded.
“Thank you, sir.” Mallhoy smiled.
“There were problems during the coordination, but in the end the plan worked.” Nick nodded.
“Is there anything else, sir?” he asked.
“Yes, his new mission.” Nick took his file.
"Are we back on track then?"
“Full steam, D420.” A final wave and Nick was off.
Sharley opened the door. Home sweet home. He hadn't been back for days, maybe home was a bit of a pretentious name for that place, but it was enough for him. He hadn't slept for days and now all he wanted was to unplug from his chaotic work routine, and enjoy his heavenly solitude, now that everything was back to normal. He let himself fall heavily on the bed, letting his thoughts run wild, enjoying some well-deserved peace, with the sound of the surf in the background.