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𝟷𝟼:𝟻9
𝙾𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝙲𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛, 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚍𝚎
𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝙵𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝙷𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕, 𝚂𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗 𝚃𝚇
𝟷0/𝟽/𝟸0𝟸𝟷

[color=SteelBlue]"Do we have everybody? Excellent. Let's begin the briefing."[/color]

Nadia Sokolova was at the head of the conference table in Promenade's Operations Center. The room was abuzz with life. The screens that encircled the room were displaying all kinds of footage from around the world, with agents coming to-and-fro, scribbling on clipboards and carrying binders filled to the brim with papers of all sorts. In the center of the room was a large conference table, and seated at the table was the agents of Promenade, joined by their director, as well as Agent Tom Bates and an unfamiliar face. The mystery man looked even less like a secret agent than the teenagers gathered at the table. He was Asian, middle-aged, and extremely anxious-looking, with beady eyes and trembling hands. He had hastily-combed thin black hair and a pair of large, thick glasses perched on his nose. He sat trembling at the conference table as Agent Stanley walked around the conference table, distributing manila files full of information. 

[color=SteelBlue]"Your mission today brings you to Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China. Located on an island just south of the province of Guangdong, it is called the Las Vegas of the Oriental world. It is a gambling city, through and through,"[/color] Nadia explained. [color=SteelBlue]"You will be heading to one of the largest casinos in the city- the Red Dragon Macau."[/color] A 3D image of a massive casino of gold and red projected onto the center of the table. [color=SteelBlue]"A massive casino located right in the center of Macau, the gambling center is run by a group called the Hyut Seng Lung. They are a dangerous criminal enterprise that has grown incredibly wealthy over the course of the last few decades,"[/color] Nadia said nonchalantly. [color=SteelBlue]"They started in the business of drugs and used the money obtained in this business to purchase the Red Dragon Macau, which they have been using to launder their drug money, though admittedly, the casino itself turns a significant profit on its own. Regardless, the Hyut Seng Lung was not of significant concern to the United States government until this past week."[/color] 

Nadia removed from her file an image of a burning ship and pushed it to the center of the table. [color=SteelBlue]"Friday, 10/4. A United States cruiser is ambushed by a large number of masked men while docked in Hong Kong. The ship was transporting a hard drive with important codes for the American naval base at Kanluranin, off the Western coast of the Philippines. Obviously, something of unparalleled value to the US,"[/color] Nadia explained. [color=SteelBlue]"Kanluranin is a key location for the defense of Taiwan and the continued security in the South China Sea, and if the drive were to fall into the hands of an enemy of the US, it would be disastrous. The drive is still in the hands of the Hyut Seng Lung, but thankfully for us, our mole on the inside, Mr. Joseph Lim, has some information for us. Mr. Lim?"[/color]

The nervous-looking Asian man looked around tentatively. "Hello, hello," he said quietly, looking at the number of children that was now looking at him. "The, err, the [i]lung[/i] are looking to...make money off this. They are holding a private tournament of baccarat for the drive. The CCP is attending, along with other regional warlords. Very dangerous situation. Very risky. But possibly very lucrative. The bid-ins are massive," the man explained, tapping the table nervously, his foot drumming on the ground like a jackhammer. The nerves were clear to see in action. "Scary. Very scary. They are scary men..."

Mr. Lim stared into the distance, and so Tom spoke up, looking at the group as he spoke. [color=silver]"Sending a US diplomat to represent the US would not only be costly and very risky, but it would also be incredibly wounding to national pride and image. Cow-towing to a Chinese triad is not exactly a good look. The United States government has recognized the situation is highly precarious, though, and that it will require an expert, unseen hand to resolve. And that's where you come in. Your mission is to infiltrate the Red Dragon Macau, terminate Frankie Kwan, the head of the syndicate, and recover the hard drive."[/color]

Nadia spoke up again, her tone as serious as ever. [color=SteelBlue]"This mission will not be as simple as some of your past engagements. The Hyut Seng Lung are heavily armed and heavily prepared, especially with the arrival of a Chinese diplomat in Macau. Security is going to be very tight, and the triad is very protective of their private information, much more so than the average criminal enterprise. Even Promenade does not have access to their floor plans for their VIP levels, where we believe the tournament will be held, and where we believe the drive is being stored. There are cameras everywhere, and the main gambling floors are all insulated in high-tech refracting shards to disrupt cell signals transmitting from those areas."[/color] Nadia pulled another file from inside her dossier. [color=SteelBlue]"For this mission, we are giving you all cover identities. You are all going to be teenage socialites in Macao, there to celebrate a massive 'birthday bash' for the 18th birthday of one of your friends. We have prepared fake IDs to help preserve your cover identities, along with a pre-prepared field kit for your needs, and HIRAM is doing the finishing touches on an extensive dossier on the Hyut Seng Lung and the information we have available."[/color] Nadia looked them over once again, before taking a long and reserved deep breath. [color=SteelBlue]"The tournament begins tomorrow, so you have tonight to prepare yourselves and ready the operation."[/color] 

After saying this, Nadia glanced tentatively over to Tom Bates, who grinned and nodded. Nadia gave a resigned sigh. [color=SteelBlue]"Agent Bates has advised me to tell you to keep your workload minimal tonight, and only to passively gain intel as you utilize the hotel's amenities."[/color] She pursed her lips. [color=SteelBlue]"I would suggest to you not to make a fool out of yourselves or to blow your cover on this first night, though. Fate is resting itself on your shoulders, agents. Do not let it down."[/color]

Bates spoke again, a grin on his face. [color=silver]"This way, please. We have some equipment to share with you,"[/color] he said as he stood from the table. Ben, who had been listening intently to the speech the entire time, hopped up from his chair, snatching the manila folder from the table as he followed the handler out of the room. Bates opened the door to the RND room, a high-tech workstation full of wiring, mechanics, and all sorts of gadgets hanging from the walls and cluttering up on the workstations. In the center of the room was a sleek silver table, and on the table was about a dozen briefcases, each with one of the agents' codenames etched into the side. At one of the workstations was Professor MacMahon, hard at work, with a small orb-like hovering droid floating nearby. The professor quickly turned over as he heard the doors to the room open, smiling giddily as he bounced over to the table with childlike energy. What made the man such a genius with gadgetry was that endless childlike enthusiasm. He was in his 70s, but had the energy of a preteen at Disney World. He laid both his palms on the silver table as HIRAM floated over, hovering behind him.

The professor smiled wickedly. [color=PaleGoldenrod]"Howdy, howdy...oh, boy, do I have a lot of stuff for you!"[/color] He rubbed his hands together eagerly. [color=PaleGoldenrod]"New gadgets that will knock your socks off! First and foremost, the outer layers! I've modified your suits with a carbon fiber mesh. Not quite bulletproof, but bullet resistant for sure. You'll still be hit with quite the impact from the blunt force, which I haven't quite figured out how to mitigate yet, but the suit should be able to prevent the bullet from piercing. At least, the first few rounds. After that, the fibers break pretty easily...the bullets will tear through you like termites through wood. Still working on a fix for that,"[/color] the professor said. [color=MintCream]"Also in the mix are multi-purpose decks of cards! I have some razor-sharp throwing cards with identical characteristics to shurikens, as well as listening cards that have microscopic bugs in their core! Oh, and Binx'll like this one..."[/color] He removed what appeared to be a deck of cards that was inside a fiberglass case. [color=PaleGoldenrod]"Lithium-coated cards. Once removed from the vacuum seal, the outer layer quickly begins to evaporate, exposing the tiny lithium core to oxygen. I would suggest you get out of the way once that one that happens, because you'll see a nice healthy kaboom after that."[/color] He chuckled. [color=PaleGoldenrod]"And of course, your usual array of gizmos and thingamabobs galore! Take your choice of gadgetry. We have plenty of 'em, after all!"[/color]

As MacMahon returned to his tinkering, Ben grabbed his briefcase and laid it down on his worktable. He reached up, grabbing a number of weapons off the wall and stuffing them into the case. Two Nighthawk Customs, equipped with silencers, a modified bullpup rifle, and Ben's custom disassemble-able sniper rifle, which he had affectionately named "Ducky." Ben smirked. [color=SeaGreen]"Alright,"[/color] he said, loading a few more discreet gadgets into the case, closing it, before stepping into one of the several opaque stalls located inside the room. A moment later, Ben stepped out, dressed sharply in a clean black suit. He was no longer Ben McBride- he was now Kingfisher. Well, technically, he was oil heir Johnny Ellison Fuller, but deep down, the Kingfisher was in the building. 

Meanwhile, Tom clapped his hands together a few times. [color=silver]"Don't want to rush you guys [i]too[/i] much, but the Worm is ready, and we have a limited timeframe to get you into the casino. Also, Foxtrot and Tango wanted to say good luck and goodbye,"[/color] Tom said with a smirk as the two red foxes entered the room. Ben smiled warmly as he knelt down, scratching Tango under the chin. The foxes were the best little guys ever. Well, they weren't really little, to be fair. In fact, the foxes were quite vicious. Still, they were quite fun to be around, even if just for moral support. Ben gave the fox a boop on the nose before standing up, straightening his tie as he followed Tom out of the room, into another hallway in the massive Operations Center. There, at the end of the hallway, was a massive machine that looked like a gate, covered in thick coils of wires and several large lights. It sparked for a few moments before a bright blue swirl of energy materialized in the center of the gate, swirling mystically like something straight out of Star Trek. Tom grabbed a large backpack that was covered in wires and had a long antenna sticking out the back, tossing it to Ben. [color=silver]"You know what that's for. The portal will send you straight to one of your rooms in the casino. Good luck, stay safe, and have a shred of fun, won'tcha?"[/color] Tom laughed, handing Ben two room keys. [color=silver]"Remember, we'll be on the other end at all hours, so don't hesitate to reach out. Good luck again."[/color]

Ben nodded, taking a deep breath, before stepping through the portal. It was a strange sensation, using the worm. As he entered the swirling mass of energy, he felt light, impossibly light, like he could float in the clouds. That feather-weight sensation was there for a few seconds, and then all of a sudden Ben was deposited roughly onto a thick red carpet. [color=SeaGreen]"Ow,"[/color] he grunted, struggling to his feet and tossing the Worm backpack to the side of the room, rotating his shoulders as he watched the rest of his teammates be casually deposited in the room. Ben put his suitcase on the carpet, dusting off his suit, as he looked around the suite. It was gorgeous. A large common space, complete with a comfy red sofa, a massive flat-screen TV, and a small aquarium, with two separate bedrooms- two queen-sized beds in each- and a luxury bathroom attached. Promenade had, at the very least, secured for them some vestige of comfort. Ben nodded to himself as he reached into his breast pocket, pulling out the two keys. He tossed one to Binx. [color=SeaGreen]"For the ladies,"[/color] he said, before picking the briefcase back up. [color=SeaGreen]"We should meet up and look around, like Nadia said. Get familiar with the atmosphere. Y'know."[/color]

Ben plopped down on the couch, lowering his suitcase next to it. [color=SeaGreen]"I'll take the couch,"[/color] Ben said resignedly, loosening his tie as he made himself comfortable. He ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair as he thought of a quick plan. Ben was not a very solitary person, and he had no intentions of walking through the casino alone. He thought for a few moments more before rolling up his sleeve, pressing two fingers to the lens of his AP-Watch. He then opened up his messaging app on the watch, looking through his contacts, and then, very hesitantly, tapped out a quick question:

[color=SeaGreen]𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚕 𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎? 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚠/ 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚕 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙[/color]

This text would then be quickly followed by:

[color=SeaGreen]𝙲𝙰𝚁𝙼𝙴𝙽 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚇𝙳𝙳𝙳𝙳[/color]

And then, finally:

[color=SeaGreen]𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠?[/color][hr][hr][/center]