The Snow Arena

[Pack Rat]

New Earth; Prague; the Red Star.

 

2 PM. Three hours later Alexei and his men were telling old story's of the days they still served in the Red Army. They laughed and enjoyed those days... At least the days before the capitalism returned. Alexei enjoyed being in the compagny of his true friends. He knew not a single one of them would ever betray him. They would prefer to die than to betray their colonel!.

He was proud that his men followed him in exile and did not turn their backs to him and bowed for the new Russia!

 

He still remembers how they had to flee Wolgograd, where they were stationned. Thanks to Alexei's many friends they were warned in time. They took whatever they could and fled. To their new home... Sarajevo.

The music in the club was clearly ment for the youth who spended most of their nights in clubs like these. They knew they were safe here, thanks to the russian maffia. Alexei looked around and noticed that two men entered the club. The club guards looked up but recognised the men fast and let them pass. One of the men talked to Boris. Boris smiled and made a gesture to the man he should wait. After that Boris left the bar and come over to Alexei and his man.

 

"Alexei, Dimitri is here to see you..."

"Send him over, and send some wodka along too!"

Boris walked over to Dimitri and told them they could go. Dimitri smiled and knoded to Alexei. Alexei couldnt suppres a smile.

Dimitri was one of the top-men of the Russian maffia. He could get anything done and was also mainly the man where Alexei could get rid of his weapons. They had known each other for years. Dimitri served just like Alexei and his people in the Red Army but in another detachment. They huged each other like friends when Dimitri entered the backroom. They laughed and made some jokes about eachother.

"It's good to see you, old friend!"

Alexei smiled and knoded.

"Too long..."

"Allright, listen up. I talked to Ivanovitch, he is interested in your merchandise and is willing to give you more than you usually ask."

"What for?"

"Ivanovitch rewards good people, Alexei. A good man like you... You know he likes you."

Alexei smiled, he remembers the maffiaboss. A hard man but if you were one of his friends he would do anything for you.

"Tell him I'm very gratefull. Send him my regards. He knows where to pick them up, where we always store our merchandise."

Dimitri knoded as he drank from his wodka. They kept talking for hours, even after closinghours. Boris didnt care when Alexei left, as long as he stayed as long as possible.

[Nailo]

ooc>Thanks Pack Rat.

 

New Earth; South of St. Petersburg; Valkov Manor.

 

The dark silouette stands in his window and watches the American, sports car speed off. He quietly ponders his next move. He then sits down in a chair near the large fieplace and waits . . .

 

A well-muscled, burly figure enters the room. "Sir, Beckam is about 150 miles north of Prague and going toward Berlin.

 

"Thank you." The man gets out of his chair as the other leaves. He walks over to his desk where he picks up a cell phone. He presses redial and the phone begins to ring. the voice on the other line is too faint to hear.

 

"Listen. This is your employer. . . . Very well, then you can call me Valkov. Now you are going the wrong way. . . . Dam$#%, you're entering the east border of Germany! Don't you read signs! . . . . Never matter, I want you to turn south toward Prague. When you get there change clothes and find yourself a nice accessory to where from the trunk. I then want you to go to a small place called the 'Red Star'. This is the only place that Alexie has been seen to my knowledge. . . . . . Well I want you to find out more about him. If you can where he resides. . . . . I understand. . . . Goodbye." The figure turns the phone off and places it back onto the desk.

 

New Earth; Germany Border.

Beckam places the phone back into this glove compartment. He then pulls off the side of the road and gets out of his car. It very cold and very gloomy. He opens the trunk which has been transformed into a gun safe. There are many firearms inside the trunk, each with its own special place to lie in the foam. He grabs a small pistol. He looks at in and recognizes the Beretta 'D' Model handgun. He also retrieves a silencer and screws in onto the gun. Then closing the trunk he gets back inside the car. He turns around and goes back to turn south at a road he passed a few miles back.

Edited January 22, 2004 by Nailo

[Mojlnir]

>occ: welcome nailo, I second what Pack Rat said...it will be nice to add some new perspectives to this never ending tale!

 

 

Watching the multi-screen display set into the wall behind his desk, Mojlnir watches in amusement as it breaks that Parke has become the President of the REpulic of America.

 

"Republic my ass. This place is three steps away from anarchy." grumbles Mojlnir.

 

Hitting his intercom he pages Rothgar and asks him to come to his office. About thirty seconds later, the big man shoulders his way through the mahogany door.

 

"Yes, Mojlnir?" asks Rothgar, sitting down in a leather chair across from Mojlnir's desk.

 

"What do we know about Parke?" asks Mojlnir "The Eastern Seaboard is a write off for now, and Slaiv wasn't able to locate anything, though he's got someone working on it now."

 

"Parke is problem, though at the moment he seems most concerned with internal issues. He's got quite a putsch going on inside the government." answered Rothgar.

 

"Right. Well, we'll let him do the dirty work of eliminating those cretins in D.C., he and I are much alike in our desire to see the upper offices "cleaned" of annoyance. Anyway, have you spoken to Loki?" quered Mojlnir.

 

"Yes, and the issue with the New Zealand mines had been resolved. Apparently, the Prime Minister decided that she no longer had the stomach for our business venture," Rothgar grinned slightly as he spoke.

 

"And this was addressed?" asked Mojlnir.

 

"Her daughter had a relatively "minor" accident," said Rothgar "it proved sufficient to convince the P.M. that we really were offering a very good deal."

 

"Children," sighed Mojlnir, "they really do tend to get themselves hurt a lot don't they?"

 

"They certainly do," chuckled Rothgar, "I spoke with the govenor as well as our Senators, and they agree that we should proceed as planned, regardless of what Parke and his crowd are up to."

 

"Excellent."

 

"Loki also reports that all of the yards are ahead of schedule, and the first battle group will be completed in approximately 13 days. We need to get ahold of Alexei and let him know that we have some heavy merchandise that we would be willing to part with for very reasonable sums," with that Rothgar closed his portfolio.

 

"Thank you Rothgar, that was just what I needed to hear," replied Mojlnir with a very satisfied look on his face, "I will handle the contact with Alexei. Please make sure that G.K. is keeping everything under wraps. We'll talk later."

 

Rothgar nodded, and without another word, rose and left the office.

 

Reaching for his phone, Mojlnir dials Alexei's cell number.

 

"I can never remember the time difference in Prague anyway," mutters Mojlnir to himself, "oh well, the man never sleeps anyway. He should be very interested in this deal."

[Nailo]

New Earth; Outside of Prague.

 

Beckam stops the car on the side of the road. he sits atop a precipice that overlooks the city. "Beautiful. Just in time for the sunset." The sun is low in the sky over Prague. Beckam puts the car in gear and starts his desent down to the city.

 

Four Hours Later

 

Beckam hides the car in some brush behind an old shed. He decides he would draw too much attention cruising around the streets of Prague in a Viper. He reaches into the glove compartment and; retrieves some money and the cell phone. He then goes into the city which in this section of Prague it is quite abandoned. He spots a clothing store accross the street and checks his watch. "A quarter after eleven. Surely their closed." He appraoches the door of the store, looks for any witnesses, and then forces the door open. Once inside he finds himself a well-fitting, black suit. And after finding the perfect green tie he departs. After a few blocks of walking he sees the 'Red Star'. Beckam figures it wouldn't be to smart to go in there asking questions while the establishment still has customers. So he goes and sits on a park bench that is hidden in the shadow of a nearby building. He sits here and watches . . .

 

After about two hours, Beckam starts to really get cold. A few people have left the bar, but Beckam figures there is still many in there. He checks his watch . . . 1:50 am. He decides to take his chances and get warm.

 

He enters the 'Red Star' to find no occupants. The floor has been mopped, the chairs are on the tables, and the bar is spotless. Suddenly from behind a man enters the room.

 

"Can I help you?" Boris stands suspiciously watching Beckam.

 

'Yes, I need to know a few things about a man that is a frequent here. His name is Alexei." Beckam takes a seat at the bar as Boris walks around to the other side. When Boris takes his eyes off of Beckam he removes the Beretta and places it in his lap.

 

From the other side of the bar Boris, pours Beckam a shot of whiskey and sets it on the bar. "I'm very sorry, but I don't anyone named Alexie." He places his hands on the bar and has a very serious look in his face. Then Beckam's cell phone rings.

 

"One moment. Hello . . ." The voice on the other line tells Beckam to ask him again and if he still declines knowing Alexie. Then kill him. "Very well." He places the phone back into his pocket and his hand on the weapon in his lap. "Could I have a small bit of Vodka added to that drink. I like it better that way. And are you sure you know no Alexie?" Boris turns around and Beckam raises the gun to his head.

 

"Yes, I'm sure. No Alexie ever been here."

 

"Wrong answer, chap." Beckam closes his eyes as he pulls the trigger and releases a small piece of metal into the back of Boris's head. The body falls to the ground behind the bar and there is blood sprayed all over the back wall. Beckam reaches into his pocket and write this message on the bar's counter after checking the number of his cell phone:

 

FOR ALEXIE > 435-8104

 

Then Beckam drinks the shot and wipes his fingerprints off the glass after setting back on the counter. He then leaves the bar and enters the cold weather outside.

[Pack Rat]

New Earth; Prague; The Red Star.

 

No one else but Ivanotvitch himself stood by the body of Boris Selenikov. Whoever had done this, had just opened a war with the russian maffia. Not to speak how the "Sovjets" would respond to this. Ivanotvitch held the number in his hand.

"Find out who... Kill them all!"

 

Whoever had killed Boris Selenikov had just started a war with the russian maffia. Problably every underground man in russia would look for the murderer and get him "iced".

Ivanovitch would keep this quiete for the "Sovjets". They would kill everyone who even was in 500m radius.

"Only fools do this..."

 

If Alexei got word of this, he would find out who and someone would have wished he never pulled that trigger.

[Peregrine]

Presidential Mansion, New Washington:

 

Jonathan Parke was not a happy man as he listened to his intelligence agent's report. The man had his phone pulled in close, and was almost yelling to make himself heard over the snowy winds.

 

"Yes, shot in the head. In their own bar. Only had my pistol with me and he was out of range before I could go after him."

 

Damn, Parke thought. If the situation in Europe got out of control now...... He checked a few files, then sent them to his agent.

 

"Give these to Ivanotvitch. But don't get caught... it'll be the end of us if this gets out in the open. Call it a gift from a friend."

 

Prague, Two Hours Later:

 

Ivanotvitch began to read the files that had just arrived for him.

Beckam, full name unknown

Status: independent mercenary

Current employer: unknown

Threat: high - well armed and with significant support from employer

Current locatoin: Prague, exact address unknown

 

He glanced through the list of intelligence data. Identifying features, habits, past history and jobs, prefered weapons, the list went on and on. And a stack of photos backing up most of the report's conclusions. The signiature at the end caught his attention:

 

From a fellow bird lover.

[Pack Rat]

New Earth: Prague; The Ivanovitch-residence

 

Aleksandr Ivanovitch, godfather of the russian maffia, smiled as he read the message.

"From a fellow bird-lover eh? Seems like Alexei made some powerfull friends. I'll make sure he knows of this but first we need to do something else..."

 

New Earth: Prague

 

Beckham stared trough the window. He wasnt sure of he did a wise thing. He knew the entire russian maffia would be after him now and not to speak what the "Sovjets" would do to him if they caught him. He looked at his phone, no word from Alexei yet. The only ones who had contacted him yet was a russian sales-copmpagny. He cursed himself, killing the only man who could bring him to Alexei Nickolai wasnt a smart move. He mucked himself for not acting more professionaly.

 

He looked outside one last time. All of a sudden several bullets shot the glass to pieces. Beckam dropped himself and pulled out his beretta. He saw at least 20 men moving towards his appartment.

"Goddamn, these russians are good!"

He tried to shoot some of them but they stayed out of fire range. When he looked trough the window he saw a strange projectile flying towards him. A tin can dropped on the floor in the middle of his appartment and started to fill the room with gas. He was trapped. He couldnt go to the front door cause they would be waiting for him.

"The backdoor!"

He got up and ran downstairs. He opened the door slightly and saw none.

"Not so good after all..."

 

He threw the door open and ran out but all of a sudden he saw the back of a AK-47 coming towards him and hitted him right in the face.

Beckam fell on the ground and the last thing he saw before passing out was Ivanovitch.

 

New Earth: Prague; The Ivanovitch residence.

 

Beckam woke up in the middle of Aleksandr's office. He looked around him and spotted at least 7-9 men. Aleksandr Ivanovitch sat behind his desk. Another guy sat in the couch to his left. And another one stood with his back towards him and stared trough the window...

As he tried to get up he found out they had bounded him. He tried to get loose but found out it was hopeless. He was hoping someone would try to get him out of here.

 

Ivanovitch spoke.

"Dont even try... My house is better protected than the Kremlin itself. Tell me mister Beckam. Who do you work for and where did you get the nerve to kill one of my best friends!"

Beckam looked around and felt the pain in his cheek, cearly broken. Ivanotvitch looked towards the man who was staring trough the window and then spoke again.

"And what do you want from Alexei?"

[Mojlnir]

"My god...no wonder Alexei hasn't called me back yet" said Mojlnir as he set the phone back in its cradle.

 

"In their own bar! Well, Europe has always been...complicated. The Russians keep a clean house though, I seriously doubt this will get out of control." Mojlnir said with sigh to Rothgar.

 

"I agree. Word is they already have the guy...I'm glad its not me," answered Rothgar.

 

"They already got him? The Russians are efficient, well their mafia is at least, but how did they nail...one guy?...how did they get him so fast?" asked Mojlnir, slightly surprised.

 

"G.K. called just before I came in, it seems that we got word of a covert intelligence transfer from Parke to Ivanovitch...several hours later they had the guy cold." responded Rothgar.

 

"We're certain?" asked Mojlnir, "There can be no mistake here old friend. This is very dangerous ground we're talking about here now. Parke in some sort of alliance with the Russian mob, not to mention those nutter Sovjets, is not a good thing."

 

"I underdstand your concern Mojlnir," replied Rothgar calmly, "G.K. is looking into it, and don't worry, if Alexei won't move our merchandise, there are many others who will."

 

"Moving the merchandise is not my primary concern at the moment." turning to face the window, Mojlnir spoke, "Thank you Roth, I need to think about this for a little while. We'll speak later."

 

With that, Rothgar nodded and left Mojlnir to contemplate this newest set of puzzles.

[Pack Rat]

New Earth: Prague; The Ivanovitch residence.

 

Beckam refused to talk. The man in the couch stood up and walked towards Beckam. He stopped in front of him. He looked towards Aleksandr who at his turn knoded. The man planted his fist right in Beckam's stumach. Beckam chocked out of pain. He desperatly tries to breath as he gaps for air. What strentgh did this guy have. The man looked at Aleksandr again. Aleksandr didnt move a mussle. The man turned himself around and gave Beckham another hit with his fist. Right on Beckams broken jaw. Beckam and the chair were thrown to the ground as Beckam himself cried out of pain. Two men putted the chair back up and then returned to their original positions.

 

Beckam's shirt now as soaked with blood. The man prepared to hit Beckam again when all of a sudden a voice filled the room.

"Enough!"

The man looked up to the man who was staring trough the window.

"Thank you, Sergei... that will do."

The man who stared trough the window was dressed in black clothes. Finally he turned himself around.

"So you wanted to meet Alexei... Well here I am."

Beckam started to panic, if these were "Sovjets" his life was forfeit. They would kill him for sure.

"How did you find me..."

Beckam mumpled.

Alexei squated aside Beckham. He holded a paper between his fingers.

"Your phone number... We traced your signal."

"But how?"

"Remember the sales-compagny?"

Beckam couldnt believe this. How could he have made such a mistake. No wonder they found him that fast.

Alexei looked around.

"Let's keep it simple. I know you are a mercenary and there for I might let you live. On a few conditions off-course. You will tell me who ordered you to kill Boris, you will tell me where to find them and you will tell me why... Answer these questions correctly and you might have a chance on survival."

 

Beckam started to think. If he told who, where and why, he'd walk out of the door. But then again, a "Sovjet" may shoot him from the second he walks out. He looks at Alexei and decides this is a man who's word may be trusted.

 

Mojlnir's office

 

The phone rang in the office. Moljnir answered the phone.

"What?"

"You wanted to see me? Meet me in the "Red Star" friday night. Dont bother bringing any weapons along you will be searched at the entrance anyhow. Talk to the bartender, he will lead you."

Alexei threw down the phone and looked towards Sergei.

 

"Maybe this guy knows more about Boris death..."

[Nailo]

New Earth; Prague; The Ivanovitch Estate.

 

Beckam spit blood into Alexei's face. "You can burn in hell before I tell you anything!" Alexei slowy wiped his face with a small, silk hankerchief. He then got a pecan cracker, which is a small, metal type plier used for breaking pecan nuts, and placed in around Beckam's left ring finger.

 

"Who, where, why?" He smashed the finger and the crunching of bone is heard. Beckam's screams out in agony. And just as he did Sergei grabbed his mouth from behind to quieten him.

 

After a couple of minutes Beckam began to talk."Ok, please . . . no more. If you checked my file . . . you'll of course . . . find nothing. Thats because . . . it is hidden deep in . . . the CIA archives. I used to . . . be a high ranking marine. But after an . . . incident. I was discharged and left in Siberia to rot. Check the name . . . Evan Mitchell. Thats my real name." Beckam looks at Alexei and sees that he is waiting for some real answers. "Well, I guess that my employer who I only know as Valkov found out about my incident. He then . . . kidnapped me and told me to find out about you . . . or he'd kill me. So I did. Then at the bar . . . he called me and told me to kill Boris. He said that you would call me and that they would trace the call. Oh, and he said something about the phone had a tracking bug in it." Alexei nods at Segei. "Oh, poo. You don't still have the phone do you?"

 

"It's in the car, still." Ivanovitch says aloud.

 

"IDIOIT!" Alexei screams.

 

Outside the manor the car explodes and a gunfight erupts. Several trucks carrying men with green miitary uniforms file into the estate. The men begin to engage the Russian mafia. Explosions, screams, and gunshots can be heard from within the manor.

 

"Kill him! Lets go." Alexie and all but one of his henchmen erupt through the door and are gone. The last man remaining pulls out a .45 caliber revolver and places it to Beckam's head. Just before the man pulls the trigger he is blasted across the room as a grenade goes off near the window. Two of Valkov's men enter the room and shoot the henchman twice in the chest. They then unbond Beckam and lead him outside and into a waiting truck. The truck speeds off into the night leaving the battle behind.