This is a work of fiction, all characters and situations are so obviously made up that it’s ridiculous that anyone might feel that a disclaimer like this is actually necessary.
Thank you to Jo for proofreading and editing.
Anna’s Report
“So this is the report folder on the Colorado mess, Anna?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Alright, boil it down for me.”
“Two months ago SMIRK sent one of their S-level assassins to kill…”
“What does SMIRK stand for again?”
“Nobody knows.”
“Seriously?”
“Does it actually matter?”
“I suppose not. But really, do you mean to tell me that no one knows what their name stands for?”
“No one we’ve been able to talk to knows, Sir. It seems to be a secret even within their own organization.”
“Well, who’s running it?”
“We don’t know that, either.”
“Do we know anything about this bunch of yahoos?!”
“We know they possess mind control technology of at least level 3.”
“LEVEL 3?! Why the hell haven’t I been hearing about these guys before now?”
“Perhaps because they possess level 3 mind control technology?”
[sigh] “Continue, please.”
“Anyway, they sent one of their S-level…”
“S-level?”
“Their top-level agents, and I don’t know why they use “S” as a designation for their top-level agents either. ”
“Great… go on.”
“… to kill the Second Assistant to the Undersecretary of Community Education.”
“S-level assassins are their best, you said?”
“Yes, almost equal to our John-level agents.”
“And they sent one after the Assistant…”
“Second assistant.”
“…after the single least important official in the U.S. government?”
“Yes.”
“Why, for the love of Reagan?”
“We suspect it was to put pressure on his father, the Secretary to the Chief of Staff of the Ambassador to New Zealand.”
“….”
“We’re working on it.”
“Where have you hidden the aspirin this time?”
“It’s where it always is, second drawer under the... blue light thingie.”
“Ah right, got it. Continue.”
“Where was I?”
“S-level sent to kill somebody-or-other.”
“Right, so she attacks him while he’s shopping for a new tuxedo at Wal-Mart.”
“A tuxedo…at Wal-Mart?”
“Government pay, Sir.”
“And you said ‘she’?”
“Yes, Sir. All their S-assassins are female.”
“OK, but she successfully completed her mission?”
“Yes, but there was a witness.”
“And?”
“Their S-level assassins are programmed not to leave any witnesses.”
“Programmed? What do you mean “programmed”?”
“SMIRK’s S-level assassins are young women recruited, or simply kidnapped, then reconditioned through genetic manipulation, light cyber enhancement, accelerated combat training, and heavy behavior modification to make them completely obedient to the organization.”
“And looking at this photo of her I’m guessing that ‘assassin’ isn’t the only job she does for her bosses?” “Yes, Sir.”
“Poor girl.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Was there something else, Anna?”
“No sir, but before I forget, I’m happy to report that Liana, Susan, and myself were all able to get down to medical and renew our birth control shots, so we’re all set for the next two months.”
“Thank you, Anna.”
“Obedience is pleasure, Sir. Also, we received the new uniforms for all of our female personnel.”
“Getting back to the… ”
“Just as requested, Sir, they greatly resemble maid’s outfits, while still retaining…”
“Getting back to the report, there was a witness?”
“I love serving my Masters… ahem…yes, Sir... a Matthew Renkin, he’s apparently an A-level Paragon.”
“A-level? And why the heck haven’t I heard of this guy before?”
“He apparently has little interest in “showing off”, Sir. That, combined with the nature of his abilities, has allowed him to fly under the radar.”
“Until SMIRK started trying to kill him.”
“Yes.”
“And his abilities are?”
“It looks like he’s an odd combination of precognitive and telekinetic.”
“Huh?”
“He has what amounts to a serious “danger sense” combined with powerful telekinesis. Basically, his danger sense allows him to simply avoid dangerous situations, and when he can’t avoid them, his telekinesis causes them to simply miss. By and large, both abilities operate subconsciously, but his conscious control is said to be very impressive.”
“How impressive?”
“The surveillance teams nicknamed him “Akira” after a SMIRK attack involving a rail gun shot fired from what they apparently hoped was beyond the range of his precognitive sense.”
“That was the June 8th incident?”
“Yes.”
“So it was fired from beyond the range of his ‘danger sense’?”
“Psych doesn’t think so. They believe he stuck around because it was going to land in a public place.”
“Insane.”
“The simple fact is that because of his abilities, the guy has proven almost impossible to kill.”
“Why the public attacks? Why not just send more assassins after him?”
“That’s the crazy thing about all this, their assassins are joining him.”
“What? How?”
“Psych says it’s a flaw in their programming. It started with the first assassin…”
“The one whose kill he witnessed?”
“Yes. Apparently S-level assassins are programmed to not return to base until their mission is finished, and their mission isn’t finished until all witnesses are eliminated.”
“And she can’t kill him.”
“Right.”
“Surely they’ve simply ordered her to return?”
“’Kidnapped and brainwashed’, remember? The theory is that this is a way of fighting back by obeying orders to the letter.”
“That’s one heck of a flaw. I’m surprised that worked for her.”
Certainly never has for me.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing, Sir.”
“So one of their top-level assassins refuses to return, and their response was…?”
“To send more S-level assassins.”
[sigh]... “Who, I assume, also refused to return until their mission to kill an unkillable man was completed?”
“Only about half of them, the rest were defeated and turned over to the authorities. Of course, we had jurisdiction.”
“Indeed, in a perfect world, but in this one…?”
“We got one. The other three were split between the FBI, CIA, ATF, NCIS, Secret Service, and Fish & Wildlife.”
“How’d the math on that one go?”
“FBI, ATF, and NCIS have a joint task force working on this.”
“Oh, how’s that one working out?”
“The same way any joint task force between any two efficient, dedicated organizations usually works, only with the added joy of dealing with the FBI.
“Heh.”
“Anyway, they and Fish & Wildlife both showed up at the same time we did. The CIA and the Secret Service were late to the party and had to go halves on the only dead one.”
“Tell me those pictures aren’t in here.”
“They aren’t, and I’d actually appreciate you ordering me to forget I saw them.”
“Done, remind me tonight. What’s the word on the one we got?”
“She’s crazy, according to Dr. Philips, a real sociopath. They really didn’t have to do any brainwashing to turn her into a killer, the hardest part would have been brainwashing her to stop when ordered. She’s the one who caused the fatality.”
“Killed her own comrade, huh? And the agents who’ve “joined” Mr. Renkin?”
“Technically, they’re still trying to kill him.”
“Technically?”
“Since they can’t kill him by just sticking a knife in him, they’ve apparently decided to nightingale him.”
“What?!”
“They’re attempting to seduce him to get him to let down his guard.”
“But according to you, by the nature of his abilities his guard is never down!”
“Yes, Sir. Again, it’s pure rationalization on their part, as they don’t really want to kill him, they’re trying to escape. It seems to be working, too, as Psych thinks that without daily reinforcement their programming is starting to break down.”
“Break down how?”
“Their individuality is returning, and their loyalty is shifting to Mr. Renkin.”
“Their loyalty? Why?”
“SMIRK seems to be based on a philosophy of might makes right, whoever controls SMIRK is the mightiest, and so everyone must obey them. According to Psych, Renkin, by virtue of his continued survival, is appearing “mightier” in their eyes, thus he is now able to command their loyalty. Again, this is pure rationalization on their part. The part of them that is still brainwashed is programmed to obey a strong man, and the part that is resisting recognizes Renkin as their best chance at getting away from SMIRK.”
“How many women are we talking about here?!”
“Eight. Counting the one’s who’ve been injured, killed, or arrested in this mess, we estimate SMIRK has lost two thirds of their S-level agents, five G-level agents, fifty or so lower-level agents, blown the cover on twenty-four sleeper and other deep cover agents, and lost close to nine billion dollars in assets, as well as the base they were using to monitor Cheyenne Mountain.”
“How’d that happen?!”
“Mr. Renkin was a bit irritated by the June 8th attack and decided to get a bit proactive, plus he’d run out of room at his house and needed a bigger place anyway.”
“And he just moved into a SMIRK base? What did the neighbors think about that?”
“Once the screaming stopped they seemed to be fine with it. I understand SMIRK’s agent in place was running a drug operation on the side that wasn’t popular with the local homeowner’s association.”
“No kidding. But what I meant was…well, he’s just squatting there, in that neighborhood?”
“Apparently, for tax purposes many of SMIRK’s assets are legally owned by their S-level agents.”
“Oh crap…”
“We estimate the women now living with him control a quarter of SMIRK’s total assets.”
“OK, wait, wait. Surely SMIRK has male S-levels?”
“They have male equivalents of their S-levels called G-level…”
“Why...”
“I don’t know what the G stands for either.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“And why are our top level agents called Johns?”
“Because…Look, just continue, please.”
“Yes, sir... as you might expect, their G-level assassins are recruited the same way as the S-level ones, and since they’ve failed to kill Renkin directly as well, many have decided the best plan to get to him is by seducing his sister.”
“Renkin’s sister…don’t tell me….”
“She has the same abilities he does, yes.”
“Oh god... How many?”
“Five, Sir... all told, we estimate they control a further quarter of SMIRK’s assets.”
[Groan]
“Antacids are on the other side, Sir.”
“Thank you, so what is Mr. Renkin doing now?”
“Well, nothing really.”
“Huh?”
“Psych eval on him is here, Sir.”
“Boiled down?”
“He’s having a blast doing nothing, Sir. Psych believes that he has a huge aversion to getting involved in the Capes and Masks crap, and a bigger one with getting involved with the government. But at the same time he’s always felt guilty that he has all this power, with which he could do a great deal of good, but isn’t using it to its full potential.”
“Makes sense.”
“But now, he’s stolen half of the assets of a particularly vile criminal organization, saved over a dozen people from it’s clutches, and likely crippled them to the point that they’ll likely be destroyed within a year, and all he’s had to do is literally just stand there.”
“From what I’m hearing, he’s probably getting a lot of sex out of the deal.”
“True, but at least he didn’t have to shine a blue light in their....”
“Yes Anna, I get the picture. Now have we contacted him yet?”
“Not yet. Because this matter involves level 3 mind control, we have to have your go-ahead to initiate contact.”
“Right, who are we sending?”
“I have a list of volunteers here, Sir.”
“Anna...?”
“Yes, Sir?”
“I can’t help noticing that this list seems to be composed completely of women.”
“Sir?”
“In fact, your name is on this list.”
“I have always wanted some time out in the field, Sir.”
“And away from the office?”
“No reflection on you, Sir.”
“Right. Anna?”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Why don’t you sit down and look at this blue light for a while.”
[sigh]... “Yes, Sir.”