Undercover Ops Ch. 11

Undercover Ops: Ch. 11

Cassidy stood outside the door and listened. By the end of the visitor's hallway, a door had been open. She had been prepared to simply walk by when Matthew's voice caused brief paralysis. Pavel's voice followed on top of his and broke her trance. She was about to move on but something about the frustration in the Patriarch's voice gave her pause. She quietly crossed the door and pressed herself against the wall waiting for the reply, listening.

"Uncle. How could I know they were going to do something like that? It's unthinkable! The risk and cost alone would seem prohibitive."

"It's not unthinkable it's a stroke of genius! And they beat us too it. Now I ask you, how are we going to counter their influence?"

There was no sound for a moment. Finally the Patriarch's unknown nephew spoke up. "I don't know. It's in their compound so we can't shut it down, or even threaten it. Maybe we could discredit it? Claim they aren't all the Altani claim them to be?"

"Very good Christoph. That last I hadn't thought of. However you are incorrect about your first assessment. We could shut it down, at least temporarily. All it would require was a single loyal retainer, or family member," there was a pause to let the ominous words sink in, "to slip into the compound with explosives. Unfortunately as the women are potentially dangerous in their own right the place would be too heavily guarded to insure their death. In that case it would simply reopen as soon as they found another structure."

There was a pause and the sound of footsteps. Cassidy prepared to bolt as they neared the door and didn't relax even as they began to recede. Someone paced. Her heart raced as she listened. It was almost too much to hope that they were casually discussing the object of her entire mission. She kept herself sharp, listened for any movement from every direction. She did not want to find out the consequences for eavesdropping, when she was potentially so close to finding her friend. The pacing stopped and Pavel spoke again.

"No, we won't even try. To be honest it would only be petty if we could not destroy everything. However we will attempt to discredit them. In the meantime I have already announced we will be opening our own brothel soon. Now, you need to go back there and keep an eye on them. You cannot let something like this slip by again. For the love of God man they've been in business for weeks now, they had their first women a month ago in order to train them properly and who knows how long they were planning it before they sent out to the gangs! And don't let anyone see you on the way out! In those colors, if they don't shoot you on sight, it will alert every spy here to who and where you are!"

Cassidy made for the door. A moment more and she was safely through and onto the stairs. She kept herself collected as she walked down the curving path to the ground floor. It was even more difficult to keep the jubilation from her face. She never expected a lead as solid as this. Of course the whole scene could have been staged for her benefit, but she doubted it. Only if they knew who she was, and what she was looking for, would it have worked. Now she had virtual confirmation of near enough to the exact location but also a viable excuse that provided her the time to investigate it. The Patriarch's sister had told her to take all the time she needed, in her name.

She reached the door to her hallway and stopped. She realized how little she wanted to be stopped before she reached her room. As she thought of possibilities, the pain slowly found its way back through her excitement. She started to take a step forward and winced at the effect of the damage Matthew had done. In no mood to prolong the agony, she threw open the door and hurried through. Halfway down the hall one of the men, Zachary, was leaving his room. She lowered her head and walked with a purpose towards her room, discreetly keeping her eyes on him.

He began to leer as she moved closer. Suddenly his eyes flew wide briefly before being supplanted by a look of horrified disgust.

"That damned bitch'll ruin her for the rest of us!"

It was only whispered but timed just as Cassidy passed. She nodded slightly, neither knowing or caring if he saw the confirmation. Not much farther and she reached the door to her room, opening it quickly, and slamming it shut behind her.

With no lock on her room door she needed to prepare in the bathroom. She grabbed an outfit from the collection Dimitri bought her, without noticing the selections. In moments she was in the bathroom. After she tossed the clothes in the driest corner, she locked the door and turned to look at herself. She gasped in shock. Her skin was drawn slightly, from lack of decent meals, and her eyes sagged from lack of sleep. Likely the only reason she wasn't incredibly pale was due to her days spent walking the rest of the district in the futile search for the building. Through the mesh of the fishnet she noticed a few new bruises she didn't remember in the morning, before her shower. Finally she looked down to witness a slight trickle of blood and a much larger path of Matthew's cum run down her legs.

She turned on the shower.

I'm going nowhere looking like this! She looked down at her legs again as she peeled of the hopelessly corrupted clothing. I'll make sure to check that and treat it after the shower. Best to clean everything out first though.

The clothes went straight into the trash as she stepped into the shower. She luxuriated in the almost-boiling water, letting it roll down her body and feeling it seemingly draw out some of the tension that assailed her. She paid extra attention to cleaning her legs and depths, feeling accountably abused and sullied there. As she cleaned, she could already feel some of the damage done through forced entry and, especially in the most recent encounter, violent chafing.

After the shower she flinched often as she toweled herself off. She moved to the toilet, sat on the edge and carefully held down the hand mirror to inspect herself. The blood had come from a small break in the muscles of her ass, likely healed in a few days with the right ointment. Most of the area was pink and raw from overuse, again a cream salve would help with the situation but it would take slightly longer before she would be able to comfortably do anything intimate with Mer.

She laughed, surprised by how little psychological damage seemed to have occurred. Perhaps this was a factor of how easily she had lost herself in the undercover role. Upon entering the Barrens, she hoped Shade allowed herself to acquiesce easily to survive the process, now she discovered she followed her own advice.

Among everything, it was the mass of bruising that had her most concerned. A single bruise, or even a few bruises, were a relatively minor concern. Too many of them meant internal bleeding on a much grander scale. Cassidy had never before pondered having kids, but the sight of the damage made her fearful for her ability. It was possible her very first time, far worse than anything she suffered at the hands of the Zuntri, had destroyed that possibility but now she wanted to know. Seeing the potential damage brought many things into clearer focus.

Cassidy set the mirror, and her concerns, aside. There were things to be done now. She quickly donned the lace bra and panties, only noticing the firm comfortable fit in comparison to the uncomfortable styles selected by Marisa. The pants were a glorious loose khaki. Although very tight in the crotch, they quickly flared out allowing her legs complete freedom of motion. The white shirt was unusual, it hugged her skin yet refused to show even the suggestion of the bra she wore beneath. Additionally, it was meticulously designed to conform to the contours of each individual breast. From an operations standpoint, there was no possible benefit, aside from as a possible distraction to opponents, however Cassidy realized she genuinely enjoyed the comfort of clothed-nudity.

Besides, it looks good on me. She made a mental note to suggest her armored bodysuits be designed with the feature.

She unlocked the door and snuck back in to her bedroom, careful for anyone looking for her. Certain that the coast was clear, she rushed over to the night stand to rummage in her duffel and pulled out the remaining money she never had the opportunity to hand over to Luna. She slipped the money in a hidden pants pocket and moved back to the bathroom. She once again locked the door behind her. Quickly, she turned on the shower to a light drizzle.

She knew she could leave through the window in the bedroom even more easily than that in the bathroom, but figured the locked door and running water would stall anyone searching for her. Anyone determined to find her would discover her absence but there remained a chance she could sneak back in before they broke down the door. Her course set, she opened the window and dropped the few feet to the ground. She crouched until she was sure the coast was clear.

She slunk from tree to tree, her head swiveled as she sought out the guards. Within a minute she reached the outer wall. She hugged the wall as she began to pace its length in search of a viable access point. After two of the three viable walls, she finally found a shed low enough to climb yet tall enough to get her over the ten foot wall. She jumped and grabbed the roof of the tiny building. It occurred to her how much she missed the added strength of her arms as she struggled to pull herself up.

She calmed her breath as she lay on the relatively flat, corrugated, surface, before she jumped for the edge of the wall. After another struggle, she found herself very exposed on top of the three foot wide, reinforced missile-proof wall. Cassidy dropped down the other side, and reflected what a pointless waste of resources the wall was. She glanced up at the overwhelming skyline and all of the potential locations to circumvent the wall with sniper or guided missile fire.

She quickly walked a few blocks away from the Heights before she slowed and flagged every cab she saw. When one finally stopped, she requested Pecster Ave. Pecster was known throughout the city as the best place to find anything. Cassidy had been there once, and marveled at both the legitimate stores that sold everything legal the corporations made, while the independents on the street and in the alleys had virtually everything illegal. Cassidy knew what she needed, nothing illegal, and knew a single store where she could get it. She had the cab drop her off at the first intersection rather than bring her to the store. She preferred the anonymity of walking to the store.

After a very brief stop, she picked up a fairly basic holocam and a slightly higher-end zoom attachment. She walked a couple of blocks before she found a cab from a different company and directing him to a few blocks shy of the Altani estate. After a glance in the envelope, she realized she would only have enough money for a single trip straight to the Zuntri compound.

Unless everything fell apart rapidly, no one should have time to warn either family that someone was traveled between the ferociously rival houses. Even if the cab company she chose, at random, immediately contacted the Altani, the worst they could do would be to concentrate security on the gate. Any delayed reinforcements might be jeopardized but she would be in and out even more easily.

As with the Zuntri compound virtually each building immediately across every street from the Altani estate was little more than a burned out husk. The largest of the families couldn't afford to allow potential saboteurs a staging point. Of course they expected street thugs or, at best, hired muscle to plan any assault or hit. Any structure would suffice for a moderately competent IO. She found a building at random and climbed to the third story. She needed to keep as low to the top of the wall as possible to avoid any reflection issues and decrease the chances of being spotted. She found a window along the wall, across from the fortifications and lay along the wall with her head resting just underneath the sill. She felt the damaged floor groan and shift but remained confident it would survive unless she engaged in a heavy firefight.

The holocam came up, facing out the window. The model she bought lacked the integrated adjustable display but she preferred the detachable eyepiece that came with the inexpensive kits. She slid the device in front of her eye and plugged the cord in. A two dimensional image sprang to life in an attempt to reenact the three dimensional recording. With the primitive display no ambient light would betray her presence.

The display panned over the entire walled estate, slowly recording as it showed Cassidy the layout. As expected, a majority of the place was of cultured wilderness, trees, grass and a pond. The largest building would be the family's residence, and offices, in much the same manner as the Zuntri used. Given the size of the structure, she discounted it as a possible location for the brothel, unless the family itself was only a quarter of the size of the second most powerful house.

She continued to pan across, taking special note of the guard emplacements and security features. The recording would be sent to both the Silent Skills and The Gutter. The later would likely only use it for historical reference since she expected drastic changes in the layout after the two IO teams were finished with the mission. Cassidy, not normally one for revenge, expected a far higher casualty rate and collateral damage than was the average for such simple defenses.

There it is!

She completed her scan of the peripheral streets before she returned to the unassuming shack. Cassidy would have discounted the relatively small building as a supply store. The ramshackle state should have been her first clue, given the delicate care with which every other building was maintained. The deception typically disguised a protective bunker, or would have under corporate regime. It was the number of men, who relaxed seemingly at random, that alerted her. While there were other possible reasons for the men of their compound to find the location suitable to leisure, a closer inspection proved all were well armed. Most displayed telltale signs of tension as they expected and awaited trouble to come.

There would not be a direct confirmation, no woman who ran screaming for help from the building, despite the fervent imaginations of holo writers. She had only instinct to rely on that this was the building. Given that, she noted a few other smaller buildings carefully, recording every detail for the coming assault.

She pulled the holocam back, held it to her breast carefully as she slid a second mini-disk into the recorder. Carefully she returned it to the window scanning once more over the compound and the selected buildings, again taking note of the battered building. With the second reconnaissance she noticed more about the men. They were professional guards rather than standard hired muscle. Likely, most had previous employ with various corporations in either security or military branches to judge by the lack of comfort. Professionals typically found it difficult to maintain vigilance while they affecting a casual air. Amongs the men were a few truly at ease, they were likely the family overseers, brought in to ensure the loyalty of the hired support.

She pulled the camera down. Cassidy rolled to her side before she sat up. She leaned against the wall next to the window while she again switched to a fresh disk. She slid one disk into her bra and the other into the special purse, purchased along with the holocam. She quickly removed the eyepiece, checked to make sure the camera would continue to record without display, and tossed the attachment in after the disk. Finally she set the device into the purse carefully. The was a small opening nestled near the bottom, carefully hidden, that would permit discrete recording. She stood before she double checked the system, letting everything settle into final positions. She set it to record and worked her way back down and out of the building.

On the street she began a slow circuit of the wall. Cassidy estimated the height at over twelve feet, far too tall to scale, at the moment, unless she found a place where debris or a small building could get her more than halfway first. Given the professionals hired to protect the building, there was little chance of finding access. She shrugged it off, while internal reconnaissance would prove useful, she recorded as much as possible within the limitations of security.

Without the proper weapons or equipment, entering the compound would mean capture at best, suicide at worst. As expected the entire perimeter remained clear of obstruction or fault. When the time came her arms would easily vault the reinforced wall.

Casually she wandered away from the Altani estate and reached into her bag to deactivate the recording. The Heights faded behind her as she distanced herself enough to comfortably hail a cab. She had more than enough data for the five to plan their strategies, although she would have preferred more detailed interior layouts for the main building and all outlying ones that she had flagged as possible locations. Her hand flashed out and the passing cab veered to a stop feet from her. Looking down at her outfit she smirked.

I like this outfit!

She climbed in, instructing the driver to the Zuntri compound. As the cab sped through the streets, running parallel to the heights, Cassidy once again wondered about the timing.

Could this be nothing more than a trap? If they somehow saw through my, admittedly feeble, disguise and guessed my reasons for being here it would be a simple matter to maneuver us into a devastating attack on their greatest rival.

It was possible. Without firm evidence from the building, she suspected they would not know until well into the final assault. By that time the damage would be irreversible. She brushed the thought aside as she placed a fresh disk into the recorder. There was no room for the doubt, instinct honed over many years told her Pavel Zuntri remained in the dark. She marked each disk carefully, before she put them back into their respective locations. Further, instinct practically screamed that the little building not only contained far more than it seemed, but held the very women she sought.

The cab finally slowed. Cassidy vaguely recognized the layout from her two brief sojourns; coming and going from the Zuntri house. Finally the driver stopped, a block away, and she paid him the remainder of the money she saved. While there was far more than enough to cover the ride she couldn't know for sure if the large tip would retain the man's silence.

She was on the clock the moment she stepped from the car and it roared away. It would take time to contact the Silent Skills and further time for them to gather the needed supplies and reach her for the assault. If the driver contacted the Altani and if the family realized the threat, or even assumed the target, every minute she delayed was one more minute for them to pack up and move locations. That, too, would take time. Adrenalin rushed as she contemplated the potential race.

The wall stood before her, an imposing barrier without her enhanced strength. She failed, in her haste to escape, to double check for some structure on this side of the wall that would allow her to scale it. She wasn't overly worried, it would be a simple enough matter to move a vehicle or other object next to the obstruction to aid her climb. At best they would simply remove it again on their next inspection, at worst they would assume there was an intruder and scour the compound. Even in the worst case scenario her resident status should keep her from suspicion. It would only make a second escape more difficult. By then, however, she would be free to engage her full strength and vault the wall at any location without fear of detection. She began a circuit of the wall, away from the main gates.

This close to the endgame it wouldn't do to get caught.

She rounded the corner to the 'rear' wall. She could already see there was nothing along the stretch to climb, but she had one more wall to check. As she crossed the distance to the other side she noted a handful of vehicles perfect for use as a makeshift ramp. Hot-wiring them would be a simple matter. From there, she would simply drive them discreetly and quickly before she climbed up and over.

She rounded the final corner and noted that the third wall, like the first, was uneven where it pushed outward to encompass an extra block, acquired at some time after the compound was originally built. She followed the odd wall until it turned. As she came upon the bend she laughed. Halfway down the addition a small lean-to rested directly against the wall. She jogged over to the pathetic residence. From the state it had been there for some time.

And this is why the Zuntri are second and the Altani are first.

She backed up a few steps as she judged the distance and height. It would be a slight challenge, one she was confident she could overcome quickly. It appeared sturdy enough to hold her weight, for at least for the few seconds she needed, and the lack of recent rain meant enough traction for the job at hand. Four long strides and she reached the base, three more quick bounds to the top of the impromptu ramp. Both legs coiled, pushing off in an instant to use Cassidy's built momentum. Elbows caught the edge and held her weight easily as she adjusted her dangling legs. With s brief struggle she brought first one leg then her entire body up to the plateau. She lay for a moment, to collect her strength before she rolled over and off the far side of the wall.

Within a couple of minutes she sprinted across the grounds, keeping low and in the shade of the sparse trees, to her wing of the main building. She found the bathroom window blessedly open and heard the water running as she left it. After another brief, fuss she managed to pull herself in. Immediately she turned off the water before turning to lean against the counter. A look in the mirror brought a smile to her face. There, staring back was the confident, comfortable Cassidy, a slight sheen of sweat from exercise and tension.

She turned to the still-locked door and opened it casually. The first thing she noticed was the damnable message light flashing. "Someone's going to be disappointed."

"I'm afraid you may be."

Cassidy spun. Sitting in the comfortable chair, was the assistant security chief. He watched, head cocked to one side, as she quickly reviewed her options. She could easily overpower him and make her escape but that would certainly raise an alarm. If he was sitting there, something was amiss and until she knew what it was better to stall for time and information.

"Have you been out for a jog? I can understand needing some form of exercise beyond the type they have been putting to you." He stood and motioned for the door. "I have been sent to collect you."

She eyed him suspiciously, still leaving the option open of eliminating the threat. "Where are we going?"

"The Patriarch has decided to take an interest in you. He wishes to see you in his office for his personal edification." Dead eyes slid up and down her body appraisingly. "Miss Zuntri informed me she gave you leave to spend some time relaxing so I chose to wait here for your return." Out of habit her gaze flickered over to the blinking light. "You will of course ignore that until the master of the house has had his time with you as you have with his son."

Cassidy blushed, wondering who else knew of the nights she spent with the heir. She steeled herself.

It doesn't matter who knows what. In a few minutes I'm out of here.

She tensed, finally deciding the fight worth the risk. His hand came up quickly, holding a small remote.

"If my thumb leaves this button the entire compound is on alert searching for you with orders to kill." His hand dropped to his side once more. "Now if you will come with me." She sighed and nodded, hoping the delay would be slight.

For the sake of the women still trapped at the Altani's estate.

Copyright 2006, By Deathlynx