Ensemble [Book 1: SEKTOR V Trilogy]

Chapter 3: The Underground Movement

Chapter 3: The Underground Movement

Jerry Reynolds, a logistics operative working out of the Philadelphia development hub, sat lost in thought in the debriefing room, trying to make sense of what had happened. Yesterday, his good friend Billy was alive and well, pulling pranks like he always did on any unsuspecting poor soul he could find. And today, he was dead, lost to another timeline. None of it made sense.It was supposed to have been a safe and simple recon and recovery mission. Somehow, it didn't turn out that way...

"Reynolds... Reynolds?"

Jerry snapped out of it. "Yes ma'am!"

"Well... can you answer the question?" An attractive woman in her mid- to late thirties, Madeleine Wilheim was the Underground Movement's Director of North East Operations.

"I'm sorry, ma'am... Would you mind repeating the question?"

Jerry's reply led to a few subdued chuckles. Clearly, he wasn't the only one depressed.

"Jerry, please inform the operatives, as well as myself, what we know and what we don't know about yesterday's activities at the Alt Tropicana."

"Sure, Madam Director, no problem. Well, as of right now, we don't know much. What we do know...that is, what we are sure about...is that Billy is..."

The Director mercifully stepped in. "Yes, Agent Herrera will be sorely missed by all of us. However, he did not die in vain. That much I can assure you. We will not let history forget him. My apologies, Jerry, please continue."

"I'm sorry, Director, yes, of course... According to transmissions we received from Agent Herrara, we're certain that TJC (Target Jump Candidate) Dial's final wager was unsuccessful and that his identity was compromised. Soon after, an Interior Ministry scramble was initiated within the immediate vicinity at 3:20 p.m. According to Agent Herrera's final transmission logged at 3:24 p.m. yesterday, we learned that the Ministry was planning to initiate a WOS (Wall of Silence) around the entire property. We can safely assume that under these particular circumstances, Termination Protocol was enacted soon thereafter."

Jerry hated using that euphemism which he thought should be called what it truly was...operative-forced suicide. Yes, 'forced suicide' was an oxymoron of the worst kind. He looked around the room but everyone remained silent until the Director spoke.

"Is that all, Mr. Reynolds?"

"No, ma'am, it isn't." Jerry continued, "Our operational contacts at the Tropicana have confirmed that Dial was returned to our timeline using Ministry resources at roughly 5:45 p.m., yesterday. Finally, with Dial currently in Ministry custody, there's good reason to believe they'll attempt to leverage the situation and backtrace the event to our ICP (Intermediary Cooperative Partner)."

"Thank you for getting everyone up to speed, Jerry." Madeleine rose from her seat. "Going forward, I must remind each of you to proceed with extreme caution until the situation has been completely neutralized. Right now, our exact path forward has yet to be set in motion. Soon, I will be meeting with senior leaders at other regional and international locations to determine our best path forward. In the interim, you are all on continuous alert, so please don't make us come looking for you. As individual needs arise, we will contact you. For now, that is all."

~

After talking with a few of her senior operatives, Director Madeleine Wilheim left the room. Once alone, she let out a deep sigh. Maddy realized her job was to absorb it all. But on days like today, that fact didn't make it any easier on her, or anyone else for that matter. The position was high-stress but Maddy knew she possessed the necessary mental and technical competencies to get the job done. No one else in the Organization was better suited to handle the challenges that came with it. And she was okay with that.