OPERATOR25

Size Matters

**Disclaimer: some themes include violence and suicidal thoughts**

Chapter 3

If it wasn't for the single stream of directed light coming through the center of the room, there would be no way to tell if it was night or day. That would be something Royce had to get used to. The sounds of moving around were what woke him up this morning, but from his years of being a team lead he should always be the first one up. He glanced over at Freya's cot next to him. Spotless. He bet if he took a ruler to it, the folded blanket would be the same distance from each side of the cot. The shoes all lined up alternating to save space and not a single wrinkle to be seen. Royce wondered what would happen if he moved something. He got up to start getting his life in order.

"Do you want to do your physical after your brief," he looked to his side and saw Freya coming back with her toothbrush still in her mouth. Hair slicked back in a perfect tight bun that he assumed came from years of practice. How females in the military didn't lose all their hair was beyond him.

"Would that be more convenient for you?" he asked her. She chuckled and sat down on her bed and started putting on her boots.

"Nothing you lot do is convenient for me, but yes that would be best." He exhaled. She was so snappy, but who was he to judge. A loud clanging and steam hissing broke his chain of though.

"Brief is here," Nguyen called out. He grabbed a canister from a tube system on the side of the wall and handed it to Royce. It was like those tube systems that they used to have at the bank drive throughs. Everyone came to the center of the room where the big light stream was, he began to speak.

"It looks like there's been reported electrical activity in Vienna, Austria. Courtesy of Baccarat and Hermes, they got news on a Platinum Market auction where there will be the sale of 'vintage' tech. But the main thing we are going to be targeting is an unknown item that has been exciting the underground. We have the description of the box, but other than that not much is known. Elf will be recreating the box and at the auction which will be happening during Vienna's "Ode to Mozart" Celebration towards the end of the month? People still listen to Mozart?" he scoffed.

Baccarat sighed, "The painfully rich still hold to classical music as a status symbol since there isn't radio anymore." Royce shook his head.

"Whatever, the objective is a two-parter. First part, obviously obtain the box. That will require Soft Touch, Jerico, and Brimstone. Second part is to infiltrate the Gala to neutralize the heads of the Platinum Market. This will be Baccarat, Doc, and myself. Vin will be with the WDA but will be relatively uninvolved. We got word that they will be at this event to unveil the item to the heads of the world leaders who will be in attendance. They fear that they are trying to sabotage the energy initiative. Big Shoots and Hermes will be scoping from some unknown place, Magi and Elf will be at base camp, and then Indy will be waiting with nearby for extraction. We will be moving base camp to Austria in a few days. The gala is in a month and a half." He finished his brief, and everyone went to their respective areas to start packing up their stuff.

Freya motioned for him to follow her. She grabbed her backpack, and they walked through the tunnel to the outside world. They wandered the streets a bit and ended up at a small apartment. She unlocked the door and ushered him in. The room had a small bed, a side table, and a desk with a chair. There was a lot of natural light, and it looked like someone took care of the room regularly.

"Where are we," he asked. Freya set down her backpack and began taking out a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.

"I like to give my patients a little privacy when we do things like physicals. I need to get a baseline for a few things, and I like to assume y'all don't want the others in on your business." He nodded and let her do her thing. Royce observed her calm as she worked. He saw this a lot back in the day. The medic would be absolutely unhinged but the minute you got them in their zone, it was almost a surgical calm. Even if the world around them was exploding, dead chill. While her back was turned, he noticed an extremely faint but very large scar that stretched from one shoulder to the other. You would almost miss it if you weren't looking closely.