Getting Started...

A Chapter by J. F. Charleston

Michael looked out over the Atlantic. He had been on a 787 since the day before. The hum of the jet engines replaced the snoring of the passenger next to him. The seats were full and the lights were dimmed. As the flight attendants were finishing checking to see if anybody needed anything else before they turned in for the night, Michael reached for his briefcase that was stowed away underneath his seat. He clicked open the gold locks and lifted the black, leather lid. He picked up his laptop and plugged in a set of headphones.

Once Michael placed a disk in the disk tray and pushed it back into the laptop, a video screen came on. A man in his late fifties with grey hair wearing a suit with a red tie came on.

“Michael”, the man said on screen. “Your objective is to land in Prague and rendezvous with Agent Leonov. A black SUV will be waiting for you at the terminal. You will then need to report from the safe house. A care package will be waiting for you. We will keep in-touch.”

The screen went back to the desk top and the file on the disk was deleted. Michael closed the laptop and replaced it in his briefcase, and then pulled out a stack of files from one of the pockets. He opened a file and read reports on “Kazvin Dendron.” Kazvin owns an international research company that has facilities in over fifteen countries. His research companies specialize in concept weapons. A large number of them have been sent to his head quarters in the Czech Republic.

He put away the files in his briefcase and replaced it underneath his seat. Michael laid back in his seat and just stared out of the window at the black ocean. He hadn’t slept in days and was very tired; so he closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

“Ladies and gentlemen”, the pilot said over the intercom of the plane. “We are going to be landing in a few moments. So, please fasten your seatbelts and turn off your mobile devices.” Michael awoke as they started their descend into Prague.

Michael walked out of the terminal by the baggage claim and scanned the area for the black SUV. He pulled back his sleeve and looked at his watch. A horn sounded and he looked up. A black Range Rover was parked in front of him. Two men got out of the vehicle and took his luggage to the back of the SUV.

The driver sped down a street and in about forty five minutes they were slowly driving down a muddy road with bare trees. As they continued down the path, a wooden cabin came into view. There were two large shacks on each side of the cabin.

The driver stopped in front of the front steps and turned the vehicle off. Michael and the two men got out and walked into the cabin. Michael followed them through the corridor and into a room with windows that gave a view of the back of the property. A woman was sitting in a brown, leather chair in the far corner of the room.

She had jet black hair that was only a couple of inches past her shoulders, her eyes were a medium blue, and she had light brown pants on with a pair of dark brown boots that went to her knees and a really dark brown, leather jacket on. As she stood up from the chair, the two men put Michael’s bags down. She was about 5ft 8’ tall.

She walked over to the two men and started speaking in Czech. The two men and her sounded like they were discussing something which she had to raise her voice by a hair. Michael stood there listening to them argue until he decided to speak.

“Hey, guys”, Michael interrupted. The three of them looked at him.

“Who are you guys?” Michael asked them. The woman stepped forward; “Agent Leonov”, the woman said. “These men are Dimitri and Renvan. We work for the Czech government.”

“Agent Michael Anderson, NSA.”

Agent Leonov turned back to Dimitri and Renvan and spoke to them in Czech again. They nodded and left the room. Leonov turned back around to Michael when the door closed. “Let me show you where you’ll be staying.”

She started down another hallway and stopped in front of the third door on the right. She opened the door and Michael followed her into a bedroom with a bed and nightstand. The floor was wood and the walls weren’t wooden like the outside, but had painted drywall instead. Michael put his things on the bed. Leonov walked out of the room and Michael followed her down into the basement. The walls were covered with weapon s of various sizes; from hand grenades to RPG’s.

“Your government sent this.” Leonov walked over to a wooden crate. She handed him a crowbar and he pried off the top. Inside were silver cases and package popcorn. He put the cases on a medal table near the wall.

He opened one case and a black/silver Walther P99 was tucked in foam along with a silencer, a laser attachment and two extra magazines. Michael closed the case and set it aside and opened another. A pair of sun glasses and a silver lighter sat in the case along with instruction manuals.

“That it”, Michael asked Leonov.

“That’s it. Now go get some sleep, you’re going to need it for tonight.” Leonov said to Michael.

He walked back up to his room with the silver cases and got to work setting up the room. Michael placed his laptop on the bed and signed into the secure website of the NSA. The old man came on the screen again.

“Did you rendezvous with Agent Leonov?” The old man asked.

“Yes.” Michael answered.

“You will be accompanying her to Dendron’s castle this evening. I want you to get close to him, and get into a business relation with him.”

“Wait a second; you want me to set up a deal to purchase weapons?”

“Yes. Once you do, get him to take you to where his weapons have been shipped to. Get information on what he plans to do with them and stop him.”

“Yes sir.” The screen went blank and Michael put away the laptop. He laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

next chapter

© 2013 J. F. Charleston

Author's Note

Not too sure that I got all the aspects right. If you notice something please tell me.
Reviews are welcome.
Pic found at informagiovani.it

My Review

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Featured Review

Timeless-Chan

First for a few small errors I saw, In the first paragraph second to last sentence you don't need a comma between black and leather because its an adjective. Fourth paragraph when you say “Kazvin Dendron.” the period should be outside the parentheses. In a few places the wording is a bit choppy so I'd read it aloud to yourself just to go over it.

Now for the critique:) I actually enjoyed this, it's kind of like a 007 type story with is nice to read every once in awhile. With Skyfall coming out this book is going to be really interesting to read! Michael sounds like an interesting agent though we still don't know much about him. Maybe he will even match up with the great James Bond! Anyways keep up the good work!

~Dreamer!