Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Infiltrating the facility (Bodysuit Caption)
"Good morning, Agent, welcome back. I've called you in today because we have a new assignment for you. First of all, take this."
As she sat down to face her boss, Agent Farrell took the ID card that was presented to her.
"I've always wanted to be a Natasha," she said, with a wry grin. "What does Ms. Forte do that I should know about?"
"I'm glad you asked that. She's a new researcher at Swift Industries, with medium level clearance. This is important because we believe the company is dabbling in bioweapons. Of course to the public they're the quote-unquote 'noble champions of health', but we've received intel to prove otherwise."
"Understood. Where do I come in?"
"Your mission is to infiltrate and find information that proves their intention to either develop or sell their side-products. Do what you must, but maintaining your cover is of the utmost importance."
Farrell nodded.
"Is there anything else you can tell me about this facility? If we know they're producing bioweapons, I'd imagine they've got some extra security."
With a grim smile, her boss responded. "The Siren Agency has been hired to provide their muscle."
"Christ, those guys? All our encounters with them have proven they're...unscrupulous. Why would such a reputable pharmaceutical company hire a security firm that's known for their 'shoot first, ask questions later' approach?"
"That, Farrell, is why your mission is so vital. We're counting on you to shed some light onto that partnership. Now, if you're ready, your documents and tools are waiting for you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Months later, at the Swift Industries headquarters.
In bright, spacious labs, workers were buzzing around their stations, helping to ensure that one of the world's largest pharma companies would maintain that status. However, outside the main laboratory, only one of these researchers went against the flow. Falling in line with a few of her colleagues, she blended in with them until they rounded the corner to the break room, where she split off. Looking around to make sure nobody noticed her, she power walked towards the basement, which was not where she had clearance for.
Once the coast was clear, the lab worker swiped her card to the Biochemicals Research Department. The moment she stepped inside and saw that nobody was there, she locked the door then disabled the cameras inside, before hurrying to carry out her task. Cursing under her breath, she searched on the computers until finally, she found what she was looking for. Despite the shocking implication of the data tucked away on the secure server, she wasn't surprised by what she saw.
"Well, well, well. Looks like the rumors were true."
She plugged in a USB stick.
"Thankfully I can do something about that. Time to.."
Before she could complete that thought, the doors opened. In rushed a very angry security guard, gun pointed at her.
"Step away from the computer!"
To his surprise, she smiled.
"I repeat," came the bellow, "Step. Away. From. The. Computer!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't comply. Plus, you're in my way out of this place."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As she strolled out of the facility for the last time, Agent Farrell chucked aside her company badge into a nearby hedge. She didn't think she was being followed, but her training automatically kicked in; it would have been a shame to have taken down an entire squad of hired goons in order to escape only to be taken out on the way out due to negligence. Fortunately for her, she was in the clear as she walked over to the awaiting car. While she threw her white lab coat into the back of the Audi, Agent Locke's familiar voice greeted her.
"Did you clear out your desk?"
"You know me, Locke. I'm always thorough," came her reply.
"Oh, I know--I trust you. Just had to ask, you know, in case." Farrell waved her hands in acknowledgement as Locke continued on. "Speaking, now that you don't work for Swift Industries anymore, you can take off the mask."
"Thought you'd never ask! Think our tech division will be happy to see my face again?"
Monday, April 25, 2022
In place of the ambassador (Bodysuit Caption)
In the comfort of her safehouse, Agent Bennett was getting ready. Compared to her previous missions, this was even more urgent: the protection of an ambassador from a radical group. Apparently, Ambassador Louisa Hughes had angered a fringe group of radicals through her negotiations with the government, and intelligence revealed that as soon as she was going to be leaving her residence, they'd ambush the convoy. Thankfully, the ambassador was cooperating from the safety of an undisclosed location, and that's where Bennett came in.
Making sure his bodysuit was in order, Bennett took it out of the secret space in the closet; it was a rush job, but Ambassador Hughes gave it her blessing once she saw it. As she put it on, she thought that, at the risk of jinxing things, this assignment was something she craved. Going undercover was what she was good at and thoroughly enjoyed, but thwarting an assassination attempt? This was exactly the change of pace that was needed. Once the suit was zipped up, she reached back into the closet for the mask. A brief sense of elation struck her before quickly subsiding, and with the ever-satisfying sound of the mask being put on, she now was the ambassador; she did feel powerful in this guise, and that was a confidence boost that would truly go a long way. She scrutinized herself in the mirror, making sure the potential assassins wouldn't suspect something was amiss, before giving the fellow agents the all-clear signal. Via a secret tunnel, they took him to the waiting caravan.
"Madam Ambassador, are you ready?" asked one of the security guards.
Looking around, Bennett answered, "Absolutely. Let them come--we can handle them. For now, though, I have a job to do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once safely ensconced in a safe room in the embassy, Bennett was extremely satisfied with what had happened. Thanks to previously-acquired intel, all the agents knew that the group would likely be blasting the caravan with gunfire, as they wanted to "send a message to the American pigs that they should not try to help the country's government". Other embedded agents were consequently able to discern what routes and weaponry that would be used to carry out the attack, and as such, the security detail had zero issues mitigating things. Before she could relive the recent events in all their glory, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Good job there, Agent Bennett, we can't thank you enough."
She turned around and lo and behold, the real ambassador was standing in front of her.
"Madam Ambassador, the pleasure was all mine. I'm glad we can keep you safe and sound."
"You and your fellow agents were absolute professionals. I do believe that we'll be in touch in the future. But, before we can discuss that, I think it's time for you to get changed. We wouldn't want to cause too much confusion out there, would we?"
Smiling to herself as she watched Ambassador Hughes walk away, Bennett reflected on the job well done.