Wraith Squad: Out of the Shadows

Chapter 2: Earn the Mask

March 15th 2022
10:00
Brussels, Belgium

Thomas Harris checked his watch once more as he waited. He sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. He was on a tight schedule, and couldn't afford to wait much longer. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

"Sir, the ambassador will see you now." a man told him, stepping out of the nearby room.

Thomas nodded, following the man back inside. It was a pretty standard office room, equipped with some bookshelves, a coffee machine in the corner, some decorations and a desk with a computer, files spread across it and a phone on one end. And sitting behind the desk was none other than the US NATO ambassador Kate Donnelly.

"Director Harris. It's been a while." she greeted.

Thomas smiled.

"Indeed it has."

He then took the folder he had in hand and placed it on her desk. The ambassador frowned at this.

"What's this?"

"The file on Operation Black Viking."

"You don't usually hand these to me in person."

"I know." Thomas acknowledged.
"But I thought you would like to have the first look at this one personally."

Kate nodded, taking the folder and beginning to read through it. As she did, her frown began to deepen even more and more.

"This is... this is military grade weaponry."

"That 's not all. Check the next page."

Confused, Kate did as he asked. Her eyebrows immediately shot up in shock.

"White phosphorus. They were in possession of chemical weapons."

"Indeed." Thomas confirmed.

"How did these guys get their hands on this?"

"We're not sure yet. What we do know is where they got them from." Thomas said, flipping to a page showing a picture of the crates displaying the US flag.
"I suggest you get CIA working on figuring out how exactly they did it. I bet your husband will be interested in taking a look. And be on the lookout for any threats to international security. Nowak sells to the big spenders. There's bound to be more shipments."

The ambassador nodded. With his job done, Thomas turned to leave.

"Leaving already, Director?"

Thomas briefly turned back to her and gave her a small smile.

"I've got a plane to catch. If all goes well, I'll be meeting my two new Wraiths tonight."

Kate returned the smile.

"That's good to hear. Until next time then."

*

March 15th 2022
13:00
Wraith Squad Safehouse, Libya

Ronnie looked up from his gear as he heard the door opening. Standing in the entrance to the safe house's armory was a tan skinned woman with dark brown curly hair and hazel eyes. Maryam Saidi, one of the two people who had been overseeing Ronnie's training as a Wraith for the last few years.

"Alright, you two. The operation received green light and we'll be going into the field shortly, so gather around for a quick debrief to go over the details again." she said, walking over to a nearby table.

Ronnie joined her at the table, followed by a tall blonde woman: his fellow recruit, Alma Norgaard, who Ronnie had learned to trust as a remarkable sniper. Even if she didn't seem to appreciate his sense of humor most of the time.