[color=9B9B9B]William had simply nodded in response to her request, seemingly unfazed by her words. At the car, he closed the door once she was in and got into the driver's seat. The engine came to life and purred like a cheetah as they departed from airport on their way towards the French Alps. They rode in silence for a few minutes until they got onto the highway, where William pressed a button on the dashboard of the car. A panel on the roof slide away to reveal a monitor that unfolded into view.

A video began to play as it turned on, showing the Director of the GIB standing against an black background [color=A0651A][b]"Allow me to avoid the pleasantries and cut to the chase. I am Director Chardin of the newly founded Global Investigation Bureau. Anything I tell or show you beyond this point is strictly confidential. I trust you understand what that means."[/b][/color] There was a momentary pause. [color=A0651A][b]"There has been a sharp increase in reports of paranormal creatures and activity across the globe, along with cases of missing people. The governments of the world have done their best to keep control the situation but the truth is none of them are prepared to deal with his global crisis. Take a look at this video and see for yourself."[/b][/color] The screen cut to what appeared to be footage from a body-cam of a person named [color=lightgray][i][b]Sakurai Yasutake[/b][/i][/color] with a time stamp of 18:47 November 21st, 1983.

[quote]
[color=lightgray][i]The footage begins with Sakurai bringing up the rear of five other individuals dressed in dark-blue fatigues and black body armor. The six of them are walking through what appears to be a small village but no one else seems to be around. Sakurai approaches a car with its lights still on while the rest provide security. His flashlight shines on the mutilated corpse of the driver with several large puncture wounds through his chest and lacerations around his face. The sound of a metal can being knocked over causes him to pull away quickly and aim his weapon down the street and all of the others are clearly on edge. A few tense moments pass before a number of inhuman shrieks pierce the air and spiders the size of large dogs begin to crawl out from every direction. Flashes of gunfire illuminate the faces of the soldiers as the monstrous spiders charge at them, all while yelling unintelligible words. Three of the soldiers are swarmed as they attempt to retreat, their chilling screams overtaking the audio. The fight continues until the last of the spiders are dead, with only Sakurai and one other surviving the mission. The video ends with Sakurai and the other soldier being extracted on a helicopter while fire bombs are dropped on the village.[/i][/color]
[/quote]

The screen returns to the video of Director Chardin [color=A0651A][b]"That remains the only credible footage of paranormal activity thus far. I believe that if we do not get to root of its cause, those large arachnids will be least of our worries. That is where you come in. It will be your duty to investigate sightings of unusual creatures or track down a member of several dangerous organizations we are also monitoring. Much to the dismay of many of the Council, we have full jurisdiction in all member countries. It is safe so say there will be little red tape to hinder your investigations. The same can not be said about our equipment."[/b][/color] A irritated look flashed in his eyes for a moment [color=A0651A][b]"Any questions will have to wait until you reach our Headquarters. Until then."[/b][/color] The monitor screen went black and folded back into the roof of the car, where it was covered once more.

Saul was still processing everything that he had just heard. It was true that they had been getting a few more odd reports than usual in the Intelligence Corps, but he never expected this. One more secret the top brass had been hiding, not that it really mattered now. He felt the signs of headache coming on so he lowered he his head and pinched his forehead between his thumb and pointer finger. After a deep breath, he was able to compose himself. He thought about one of those horrific spider creatures going after his family. That was enough to reestablish his conviction.

A quick look outside and he could see the beautiful French countryside. He faced forwards and let out a small, controlled laugh [color=4354D0][b]"I guess this is what they meant when they said I'd be 'serving a greater purpose'."[/b][/color] That was something they said when they recruited him. That he would serving a greater purpose than just his country. If he hadn't seen that video, he would have been far more skeptical. Even now, he wasn't sure he entirely believed it...or maybe he just didn't want to believe.
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