Operation: Pointed Spear

The Interview

Alik's POV
I walked into the room and saw my commander sitting at a table with an Indian man about my height, I gave him a look with my eyebrow raised "Sir? Did I get the wrong room?" He shook his head no and spoke "Six wants to have a chat with you, I told him I'd set it up" I nodded as the man now dubbed Six motioned to the chair across from him. I walked forward and gripped the backrest before pulling the chair back and sitting down before I asked "what can I do for you sir?" He responded "I just want a couple questions answered, Mike talked highly of you" I grew a faint smirk as I replied "I'm glad, tough man to impress" Six nodded before asking "that he is, So what happened on your last mission?" I looked down before replying "my team was on over watch while the Summer Olympics happened. We were too slow in reacting and my team was spread too thin for us to effectively deal with so much going on and the masks got two explosives off before they launched a gas attack"
Six asked "how do you know it was the White Mask?" I replied simply "I saw the mask before I shot one" he asked "what did you mean your team was spread too thin?" I answered "a CTSFO team consists of 1 sergeant and 11 constables. My team had 12 people to effectively protect the public. We didn't have the firepower or the man power to deal with an attack like that" he spoke "you did well to keep the attack from getting worse until my team arrived" I replied "sir, we're just lads doin our job. We're not looking for recognition" he prompted with "how would you describe the operation?" I looked at my commander before asking "permission to speak freely?" He nodded as my commander shifted uncomfortably and I started "well sir, it went tits up. We were sent in to do the impossible with substandard firepower for the job they wanted us to do. I lost 8 men in that assault because everyone wants to believe we're at peace. Its a bloody shame, those Officers didn't need to die." Six leaned forward and asked "How would you like the chance to take the fight to the masks? To get off the back line?"
I looked at him and replied "I'd be chuffed to bits sir" he stood and looked at the Commander "I'll be requisitioning him." My commander frowned at this before speaking "he's your problem now sir, Alik, you're dismissed go home and pack" I heard Six "Well pick you up at your apartment" I looked back and asked "Excuse me sir? How the bloody 'ell do you know where I live?" He replied simply "I asked your CO" I nodded before walking out and seeing Jeremy getting ready for his shift as I called "Oi mate, looks like I'm leaving" he asked "Oh? 'Ell you do now?" I shrugged before replying "A lad called Six wants me for his team, the Boss said I'd go. I'm actually going home to pack now" Jeremy asked "What about ye cat?" My eyes widened as I swore "Fuck! I forgot about the bastard. Well I guess Six'll have to deal, I'm not leaving my fur ball" Jeremy chuckled before giving me a fist bump "Stay safe lad" I chuckled and replied "I'll come back for a proper pint sometime" he laughed and replied "I'll hold you to that, just remember" I laughed as I turned and started walking again.
     It wasn't that long of a drive before I reached my apartment building and made my way up the stairs until I noticed my door was slightly ajar, that caught my attention I always locked up when I left for work. I pulled my glock from my holster and started into my apartment calling out "I've got 17 rounds in this pistol, come out or I'll put them in you!" I saw my cat run towards me at my voice as the large frame of a man appeared infront of me "Ah, You must be new recruit" I noted the Russian accent before I asked "what are you doing in my house?" He replied calmly almost like I didn't have a pistol aimed at him "Six sent us to help you pack, cute kitty" I relaxed ever so slightly as I asked "who's us?" Just for a woman just shorter than me walked out "Hallo" I asked "what's your names? I have no doubt you know mine" as I holstered my pistol and crouched petting my Maine Coon, Shadow. The blonde woman replied "Monika, this is Alexsandr" I nodded as I stood and walked into my bedroom grabbing my uniform and gear packing that away.
I pulled out my suitcase and started packing my clothes before I heard Alexsandr behind me "So what unit do you belong to?" I answered "CTSFO" monika asked "What's that?" I replied falling into cadence "Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officer. What units do you belong to?" Alexsandr answered "Alpha Group, Monika is from the GsG-9" I smiled "lovely folks over there always fun to work with" I saw Monika looking at the book on my nightstand, she looked at me before asking in her thick German accent "what's this?" I replied "A Brief History of Time, my mom got me into astrophysics when I was young. Now I'm just pushing the limits" she looked caught on the book before I offered "do you want to borrow it?" She looked at me surprised "you'd let me?" I nodded before shrugging "Feel free to mark it up, do whatever you want with it. Just be kind it's an old thing" she smiled before replying "Danke" I waved her off as I packed away more books before Shadow jumped on the bed. Alexsandr asked "Are you bringing the kitty?" I nodded.
     I heard Alexsandr speak "You have many awards, what for?" I replied distractedly "Oh, I helped create a more resistant Riot Shield. I also have one from a particularly long night where I found a way to triangulate your position using a leaf and complex mathematics" Monika listened with interest while I finished packing before Alexsandr spoke "You must be very smart, why be an Officer?" I replied simply "I love my country, I didn't want to join the military and be sent off to some country when I could be doing my part here at home." He nodded and replied "admirable" as I walked into the kitchen and grabbed Shadow's food and bowl before packing them and turning "I'm good to go" Monika had her nose stuck in the book while Alexsandr looked around at the pictures on the wall before speaking "Let's go then" I look over at Monika and offered "let me know if you want any other book recommendations, I've got a lot of them" she smiled a faint thank you as I picked up Shadow and put him in his Carrier before following Alexsandr into the stairwell down to the ground floor where we waited for a ride and tried to stay out of the rain.
     Eventually a black SUV pulled up and Alexsandr walked forward opening the door while I climbed in and moved to the backseat before Six turned around "I see you brought your cat" I looked forward and asked "that's okay right? If not I'll have to decline the invitation" he laughed and shook his head "no it's fine, I was prepared Alex called me fawning over your cat before our talk" I looked at the large Russian man as he chuckled nervously "what? It's cute cat" I chuckled as Six asked "Monika, what are you reading? You look interested" she replied quickly "A Brief History Of Time. Alik's let me borrow it" he nodded and spoke "I'm not surprised you have books like that Alik, you do have a history with inventing high performance equipment. Makes sense you'd have a high performance mind" I asked dumbly "Sir, how'd you know about that?" He replied "I do some digging on potential operators, it helps me get a better feel for them. Also the results of the many competitions are all public, I just had to read them"
     I nodded as he asked "Your commander told me you don't like to lose" I replied with a small nervous chuckle "No sir, I don't. I'll keep coming back until I win or drop" Monika was listening in as he replied "you must learn when and where to let go in order to bring the most to Rainbow" I nodded before he asked "tell me about your parents, how you grew up, who you are" I leaned back and replied "My mother is a renowned Astrophysicist, she was always busy. My father was an inventor. Both of them were extremely successful so once they had me I got their determination and wits. As to how I grew up? It was intense, my parents always wanted my to be the best, I always wanted to be the best so it lead to me being an insomniac perfectionist. My parents kept me extremely sheltered until I started doing rugby, even then my mother was less than comfortable while my father tried making me the best rugby player I could be. I played in uni for a bit before I got my PHD in Chemistry and Engineering. As to who I am, I'm just a lad trying to do my job to the best of my ability."
     Alexsandr spoke "Sounds like you had a lot of pressure on you" I nodded before replying "My parents did put a lot of pressure on me, maybe they did it too young but they were good at easing up when I got close to breaking" Harry spoke with a chuckle "It looks like they did a good job raising you" I smiled as I thought of my aging parents "I haven't been to visit them lately, I've been so busy with work. It's eating into my free time" Alexsandr asked "why?" I looked over "I haven't solved the problem yet" Monika looked over before I noted "you've been awfully quiet" she replied simply "I find it's easier to learn about someone by listening than talking" I nodded as I leaned back "Wise words" Harry asked "Would you describe yourself as Extroverted or introverted?" I replied easily "Introverted, I love staying in reading while listening to music. I force myself into talking to people at work so they feel like they can trust me, it's just easier" Monika nodded as Harry spoke "Well youre in luck, you're sharing a dorm with Monika. From what I've found you too are the most compatible, it'll help keep my stress down"
      I looked at Monika who looked alarmed at the revelation before I spoke "don't worry, I don't snore." She sighed before returning to the book as Alexsandr spoke "don't worry, she's always been closed off. It's not personal" she looked up before speaking "I just haven't found someone who can keep up mentally" Harry replied simply "maybe you've finally found them" I leaned my head back and closed my eyes as I felt eyes on me. Monika asked "You were at the Gas Attack yesterday right?" I opened one eye and nodded "yeah, it was a bloody disaster" she asked "how would you stop that from happening in the first place?" I asked in return "are we talking at the moment of the attack or just in general?" She replied "the moment of the attack" I thought it over before replying "I'd probably use my background in chemistry to separate the elements and create a counter agent that neutralizes the chemicals in the gas making it just a colored dust cloud. Why?" She nodded before speaking "you should talk to Thermite about that, he has a chemical engineering degree. Maybe you guys could make it" I nodded and replied "I'll keep that in mind, maybe you could help us. It takes a village to raise a baby" she sounded confused "why are you talking about a baby?" I replied with a small laugh "it's just an old saying, you know like there's no I in team. It just means it take a team to get a task done" she nodded before replying "I'll think about assisting you" I smiled my thanks before I leaned my head back and closed my eyes again.