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When Steele’s plane finally landed in Yemen, the wreckage of the Disco Volante had already been lifted of the seafloor and towed away to the port of Aden. It was there that 006 made his first inspection of the freighter.
”Well, I don’t think this ship is going anywhere for a while. It’d sink” Steele said, blatantly stating the obvious to the embassy man, Nigel Al-Bareghini. Nigel was the son of a local Yemenite and a woman from the old British embassy. He had lived in Yemen all his life and had been recruited by MI-6 to join the Yemen field office of Universal Exports. As just about everyone knew, UE was MI-6’s cover name for its secret agency. Al-Bareghini was now the Chief of Station for the British embassy in Yemen and he ran various contacts within the Yemenite government. It was via one of his contacts, an informant in the Yemen Ministry of Defence that he had found out where the Disco Volante had been towed to. Upon entering Dock 3b of the Aden port, John Steele had been surprised to see a number of people present. Al-Bareghini had explained to him that it was the remainder of the crew, who were paying tribute to those who didn’t survive the attack.

006 made an up close inspection of the massive hole in the stern of the freighter, but all he could find out was that the ship wasn’t sea-worthy anymore. There was no telling what had made the hole, although torpedoes or low-altitude anti-ship rockets seemed the most likely. It couldn’t have been a mine, because it would have struck on the side or the front of the ship and not from behind. But other than that, he couldn’t tell who sunk the ship or how it had been done.
”Nigel, I need a list of countries in the area that have access to submarines. Diesel most likely, but possibly nuclear. Also, check for any sales of submarines recently, I’m sure the answer is in there somewhere.” Steele told Al-Bareghini.
”So what will you do in the meantime? Nigel asked.
”I’ll have a chat with those sailors Steele said before walking off.

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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Snakexe:
For someone who lives in Holland you speak better English than most of the kids in my street. Great story <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks mate, i guess having an English father helps though

No updates for a bit i'm afraid, i'm very busy at uni atm, plus I have to go to physiotherapy for my torn ankle ligaments

retired_hern1001

Nigel returned after a couple of hours with a few sheets of paper.
”The countries in the area that have Diesel submarines are: Egypt, India, Iran, Israel and Pakistan. But none of those countries have nuclear submarines to our knowledge.” he told Steele
”What about the sales?” 006 asked.
”I was just coming to that. China recently bought three Alfa nuclear submarines from Russia, but they aren’t due to be delivered for another two months according to our Russian sources” Nigel said.
”That’s of no use to us either then” Steele concluded. ”Besides, Russian Alfa’s are as noisy as hell and the sonar guy I spoke to said he hadn’t heard a thing until the torpedo launch. I know he didn’t have much training, but anyone could’ve heard an Alfa if it were there” he went on.
”So we’re basically not getting anywhere with this?” Nigel asked.
”I’m afraid that’s the case. Who’s your contact at the US embassy here?”
”A guy named Walker. He’s CIA and he’s not officially on the Embassy staff, but the Yemeni’s don’t care. He’s not here to spy on them anyway. But he’s a real pain in the ass to track down around here. I’ll see if I can find him, but don’t expect me to find him before the week is over” Nigel explained.
”That’s not much of a problem, I’ll go out and enjoy the countryside” Steele said with a sly grin.

While 006 was enjoying the Yemeni countryside, Max was back in Indonesia, watching his PSIS side get two points in two games, both dull 0-0 draws. But with June drawing to an end, PSIS suddenly got into gear, driven by the return of Irfan Junaidi. He guided PSIS past Persijatim with a stunning goal and an assist. Khusnul Yakin and Eko Purdjianto scored the other goals, which guided PSIS up the table into a fifth place. And it didn’t end there, in the next game, PSIS gained three more points to reach fourth. Budi and Venegaz scored the goals for PSIS as they breezed past PSS with 10 men. Junaidi was the hero turned to villain when he was sent off early on, but PSIS didn’t seem to be hampered by his sending off and finished their opponents off with ease. Content with his team’s performances, Max returned to the evil hideout. Here, he was pleasantly surprised when a six-foot blonde was waiting for him in his Inner Sanctum. She presented herself as a female bodyguard and she certainly looked the part. She was dressed down to the bare necessities and the little clothing she had on was in Army Green. Her only problem was her intellect or better, her lack thereof. Blondes aren’t known for their intelligence, but Miss Bauer, as her name was, was definitely last in line when brains had been handed out. As Max said behind his great impressive desk, hatching a plot, she sat in the corner of the room, hatching an egg…

retired_hern1001

Meanwhile, down in Yemen, Nigel Al-Bareghini had finally located Jeff Walker after weeks of trying to find the man. He had arranged a meeting between Steele and the CIA man, in a local coffeehouse. Jeffrey Walker looked more like an Arab than an American Steele noted when Al-Bareghini introduced him to the man. Walker was short, about five-seven, and had a stocky figure. His heavy beard made him look even more like an Arab and his olive-coloured face finished the picture that made him look like a local.
“I know I don’t look like much of an American” he said with a Texan accent. “But I can do my work a lot easier when I look like this” he went on.
“Well, you certainly look the part” Steele agreed. “Steele, John Steele” 006 introduced himself.
“Jeff Walker. So you’re from –6 then eh?”
“Yes, I am. Anyway, let’s get down to business. Do you know of anyone in the area who could have access to a nuclear powered submarine? And a reason to sink a British freighter?” Steele asked.
“Woah, slow down Mr. Steele. That’s a lot of questions at one time. A nuclear sub you say? The only ones who could afford it around here are the Saudi’s and the Iranians. And the former is definitely not interested in having one. Not sure about Iran though. But why would they want to sink a British freighter?” Walker asked.
“If only I knew. What about private individuals?” 006 went on.
“A terrorist you mean? Well, I suppose, if you have enough cash, you could always buy a Russian one. But they’d probably think twice before selling their submarines to dodgy individuals. And besides, they couldn’t keep something like that a secret. Word would get out sooner or later and there’d be hell to pay if anyone ever found out” the American concluded. Steele knew the man was right. Even if a submarine had sunk the Disco Volante it would be untraceable, at least until it struck again. If it ever would. Too many questions there, Johnny old boy he thought. The men finished their strong local brew coffee and parted ways again. 006 was still none the wiser.
“So now what, Mr. Steele?” Nigel asked.
“Well, not much I can do. There aren’t too many leads. There’s only one place left to look and that is the port of Bombay. Send a telegram to M to inform him I’m over there. See ya around Nigel” Steele said before flagging a cab and heading back to his hotel to pack…

retired_hern1001

Max paced around in front of the impressive desk in his Inner Sanctum. His team had a drop in form again, losing shamefully against Persita by one goal to nil. They were outplayed the entire game and never looked like getting points of their opponents. To add to Max’ worries, his best striker, Julio Lopez Venegaz tore his knee ligaments, ruling him out for three months. It meant that the Chilean would not see anymore action this season. There was still one game left before the brief summer interval. That game would decide whether assistant manager Yogyanto would live past said interval. Max never liked the smelly little bugger anyway, but he needed a proper reason to kill him. Otherwise, the morale of the team might be affected…

Yogyanto didn’t know how close he came to his death. With fifteen minutes left in the game and the score still at 0-0, Max had told Jubei to prepare his samurai sword. Moments before, Indriyanto Nugroho, the second best striker had been stretchered off and Max saw that his team were struggling. But just as he was about to send Jubei down to the touchline, Yuniarto Budi pulled of a little piece of magic. Irfan Junaidi’s free kick was headed out of the area, but it fell straight to Budi. He didn’t hesitate and fired the ball into the top corner. The crowd erupted in one massive cheer and Max hastily told Jubei to return to his seat. Following the goal, PSIS played out the match calmly, claiming three more points to their total…

retired_hern1001

Steele travelled to India, but he found little of note in Bombay. At least, nothing of note to MI-6. He did meet an attractive lady in the local casino and spend a few pleasant nights with her, before returning to London. When he reported his failure to find anything useable, M was of course less than pleased.
”You useless fool. How did you ever get recruited by my predecessor, I don’t know. You’re on two weeks leave, WITHOUT pay! Now get out of my office and ask Miss Moneypenny to find 007 for me. At least he knows how to deal with a situation like this” M fumed. M sent his ashtray flying through the room towards Steele, who ducked just in time and hurried out of the office.
”Well, that was interesting” he told himself as he walked passed Moneypenny’s desk. ”Oh, he wants…” 006 was cut off.
”to see 007. I know, he shouted loud enough to hear it on the other side of the Thames” Moneypenny smiled, but Steele had already gathered his coat and hat and left the secretary’s office…

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The night came quickly and without warning, darkness falling over the island like a blanket. The only light still visible was that of the moon and the stars. Max glared up, watching the moonlight. He felt his evilness diminishing in this sort of place. The beautiful tropics, seen under a moonlit sky. But he refused to give in to his feelings and continued his evil plotting. His plan for world domination was slow he realised. PSIS had an okay team, but they weren’t anything special and Indonesia wasn’t exactly the focal point of world football, he told himself. But then again, Indonesia, the kingdom of a thousand islands made the perfect place for his evil lair. Plus with the submarine in his possession, he could travel anywhere in the world virtually unseen. But what he still lacked was a weapon that could strike fear in the hearts of every citizen of the earth. A weapon that would make everyone shiver before him in fear. A nuclear arsenal, a giant laser from outer space or something similar. For now, however, he’d stick to the football. Tomorrow, the league season would continue in Indonesia, with PSIS taking on Persik in Semerang. He’d be there, watching his team, reminding them what would happen if they failed…

The next day, over nineteen thousand people had flocked to the Jatidiri Stadium in Semerang to watch PSIS play Persik. It was a good turnout, Max noted, most of the fans enjoying the last weekend of their holiday break. Although it wasn’t a capacity crowd, there were no seats unoccupied. Well, Max told himself, with only 15000 seats, that wasn’t much of a surprise. To the right, he noted the hard core fans, who were as always in their standing spots behind one of the goals. The match kicked off at 15:00 local time exactly. Less than a minute later, the loyal PSIS fans were already jumping for joy after Indriyanto Nugruho had put them 1-0 up. Persik never really recovered from that and they only managed one shot in the entire game. It was all PSIS as the game progressed, with Luluk Apriyanto making it 2-0 from a Nugroho cross. And it didn’t end there either. Dwi Adi Nugroho, the midfielder, made it 3-0 on the verge of halftime after a great move down the right. Setyabudi crossed it in, Budi headed it down and Nugroho blasted it past the goalkeeper for his first for PSIS. The second half was more of the same. Otto Weah set up Indriyanto Nugroho for his second and Budi finished off the visitors with a fifth goal, coming from another Weah pass. A Persik defender was sent off late in the game, but it didn’t matter anymore by then. With the win, PSIS raced up to the third spot in the league, and Max was very pleased. There might just be hope for his plans yet…

retired_hern1001

A week later, things were looking even better for Max when PSIS cruised past Arema thanks to a Indriyanto Nugroho hattrick. And on top of that, he’d come up with a new devious plot to further disrupt the world. His spies in South Africa had found out that the biggest crime lord on the African continent, Jantu Moffi, was hiding near Cape Town. He was apparently hiding in a barbershop, but the police and secret service were closing in on him. Max had little time, but he ordered Jubei to take five of his most trusted guards and make sure that the South African branch of S.A.B.R.E. would not capture the crime lord. Not only would it seriously disrupt stability on the continent, it would also make S.A.B.R.E. look like even bigger fools then after the now infamous “Floating Tea-leaves incident”. Jubei and his people had ten days to complete their mission…

retired_hern1001

A week later, PSIS gained a point, or better, lost two against Pupuk Kaltim in a very dull game. In South Africa however, it was everything but dull. The SA Secret Service had found Moffi just as Jubei and his people were about to help him get away to Nigeria. In a matter of seconds, the barbershop had turned into a war zone, riddled with bullet holes. The police and secret service had sealed off the perimeter, making sure nobody would get out. Occasionally, the chatter of automatic weapons sounded from the barbershop as one of the guards fired a salvo of bullets at an overly interested policeman of secret agent. Sometimes, the police would return fire, but they weren’t aiming at anything and it was more a matter of hoping to get lucky. With neither side willing to surrender the stand down lasted until late into the night. More and more police turned up at the scene and it looked to the E.I.T.O.S. people camped out in the barbershop that they would force their way in before too long.

”This isn’t getting us anywhere” Jubei muttered to Moffi. ”They’ll move in soon and then, it’s sayonara for us. We have to find a way out of here and fast”
”There might be one, the sewer system runs through the tunnels below the backyard, there’s a secret entrance out there. But the police have snipers posted, we can’t get out that way” Moffi replied.
”These snipers, where are they? How far away from each other are they?” Jubei asked with interest. If he could employ his mystical wind-walking technique to get to them and kill them before they’d even knew what hit them, they could escape through the sewers.
”Let’s have a look” Moffi said. Together, they walked to the window and crouched near it. The shades were dropped, but you could see out from the inside if you looked at the right angle. Jubei saw two snipers, only a few meters apart on a rooftop across the street. That was all. He judged the distance to the roof. It was about forty-five yards. He could windwalk that no problem.
”Okay, Jantu, here’s the plan. You and the guards fire a few salvo’s out the front while I windwalk to the rooftop there and take out the snipers. Thirty seconds after firing your last salvo, say the fifth or sixth, you take the guns and lead the guards to the tunnels and away through the sewersystem” Jubei said forcefully.
”But what of the snipers?” Moffi enquired.
”Don’t worry about them, I’ll take care of that. Now, let’s do it” Jubei said, before disappearing from the African’s gaze as if he disintegrated. Standing there, stunned for a few seconds, he realised that he had a job to do if he was going to get out of here alive. He ordered the guards to help him in firing a few salvos out the front window.

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The windwalk technique is an ancient Japanese stealth running technique. It enables the samurai to walk virtually unseen and unheard. It takes years of practice to attain the skill, but once you have it, it’s invaluable as Jubei learned. He could move anywhere, without being noticed if he wanted to. Running across the backyard and into the street he looked up at the snipers. They hadn’t noticed him. Good. It wouldn’t do for him to get shot on this mission. His orders were clear. Get Moffi out and return home safely. It was his intention to do just that. He entered the building the snipers were on. Once inside, he drew his samurai sword from its sheath. Raising the blade, he proceeded up the stairs and onto the roof…

They heard the gunfire coming from across the street. The snipers looked at each other. It lasted longer then before.
”Command, this is sniper-team 2, what’s going on over there?” the senior of the two snipers, Will Yatsee spoke into his microphone
”Sniper-team 2, this is command, we have some activity here at the front. Just un-aimed gunfire it seems, stay alert” they both heard in their earpieces.
”Roger that, Command. Standing by”
Just as he said that, Will felt a sharp pain in his neck. A moment later, everything went black as his spinal cord was severed by Jubei’s samurai blade. His younger colleague saw it happen, but by the time he realised what was actually going on, throat was slashed open from ear to ear. With the job done, Jubei looked across the street to see his friends escape out of the building and into the tunnels. He ran after them, leaving only the two dead bodies behind as evidence of his presence.

It took the police commander almost fifteen minutes to find out that his snipers weren’t responding on their radios. He sent out someone to check on them, only to be informed that they were both murdered. He ordered his men to storm the barbershop immediately, but as he feared, the building was deserted. The terrorists and the crime lord had managed to escape. They could be anywhere by now. It was not worth the effort to chase after them. He knew that one could disappear in Cape Town in just a few minutes. The people from S.A.B.R.E. would not be pleased with him. He’d probably be checking tourists on Robben Island in the future if he didn’t find out what had happened here tonight. But to be fair, he didn’t have the slightest clue what had been going on the past day…