Report: Operation SPECTRUM - Part One

 

On the evening of Valentine's day, 2001, Agents IRENA and IMOGEN return from evenings out with their husband to messages, notifying a "Mrs. Greene" of a summons to the Post Office, their husbands complain that they've told the Post Office numerous times that no Mrs. Greene lives at their address, which their wives pass off as incompetence of the Postal Service. When they have a moment alone, they make a brief call on their burner phones notifying A-Cell that they are now ready to receive the message. 

A-Cell calls them later that night, a robotic voice recites the activation phrase, informing them they've been assigned to "Operation SPECTRUM", then dictates their instructions to meet for their briefing. They are told to prepare for a long stay overseas, bring their passports, and that arrangements have already been made with their employers. The next morning they pack their bags and are onboard flights heading West to LAX. 

INDIGO receives the call immediately, she wasn't out for Valentine's day. Her February 14th was spent in her slummy Baltimore apartment rewatching The Matrix for the sixth time. She receives the call imemdiately and has time to prepare.

15FEB2001

A-Cell's Moneyman and I-Cell's leader, IAGO.

At a bar at LAX, they encounter Mr. Charisma himself, IAGO, putting a Guinness out of its misery. He guides them to an isolated booth to convey to them their briefing materials. 

Passive intelligence gathering done by various members of Delta Green, chief among them I-Cell's very own Agent IMOGEN, has dug up a promising lead on a group that has had A-Cell's attention for years, and has become something of a white whale to IMOGEN. The group is the occult fraternity known as the "Exalted Circle". 

The Exalted Circle were first encountered by Delta Green in 1995. D-Cell and I-Cell were investigating disappearances, deaths, and strange lights near a privately owned "wildlife sanctuary" in coastal Virginia that kept encountering roadblocks. Investigating the high-tech security measures that guarded the sanctuary, and the private detectives that attempted to tail D-Cell resulted in them finding the names of a few affluent New York stockbrokers, but more interestingly, that the IRS were already investigating them for embezzlement among other crimes. The IRS agent assigned to this case was none other than Sylvia Pontecorvo, whose vindictive drive to get strong evidence against these rich fucks, resulted in her nearly getting mauled to death by an aquatic humanoid...and three months later, her induction to the conspiracy. 

The Circle were cunning little shits, and the mess surrounding the Virginia wildlife sanctuary was enough for the responsible parties to distance themselves, legally and literally, from the ordeal. Later investigations connected to the Circle (including a serial killer that struck across Mississippi and Alabama who was later found to be a deranged half-human half-"aquatic humanoid" hybrid, and a later encounter with the remnants of a hybrid colony in Corpus Christi, Texas) pointed Pontecorvo to one primary suspect, the Italian investment banker Gino Bova. Since '95, IMOGEN has been monitoring Bova and his associates closely, which, cross-referenced with recent Delta Green operations in Boston and Panama City, resulted in some high-profile names being added to the roster of known or suspected Exalted Circle members and affiliates, including a variety of persons from across the banking and shipping industries, and the military-industrial complex. 

IAGO explains that recent intelligence indicates that there will be an upcoming "summit" in Macau, with an estimated 13 members of the Circle slated to be in attendance, among them are five American members, three Chinese members, and one Italian member: Gino Bova. The others are, at this time, unidentified. The Circle's communications are thought to be conveyed either by secure satellite connection, or in-person through couriers or at meetings at various geopolitical and industrial summits. This is the largest summit that Delta Green has learned of so far, and A-Cell wants to know why the summit has been called, who's involved, and what is being discussed. For this, it is deploying I-Cell to Macau to conduct a surveillance operation. A-Cell has made some arrangements to help them in their operation, I-Cell will meet them once they've arrived in Hong Kong. 

The flight is long, with a connection in Honolulu before they arrive in Hong Kong. IAGO accompanies them, and in Hong Kong he takes them to Lapis Lazuli, an upper-class jazz bar where the team is introduced to their first asset, who they'll know by the codename "CHUM". IAGO introduces him as such. "Chum" is an informant for Delta Green, he's a Watchman in the Exalted Circle. 

"Chum"

"Now, you ladies know the drill. This man is known to you by his codename and his codename only, and you will be known to him by your codenames, and your codenames only. Are we clear?". All nod in unison. 
"We have some time", he says. "My friends are upstairs, occupied with...women.". 

"Good." IAGO says, "To brass tacks, then."

"Yes." Chum replies, "My friends in the Circle, the Watchman. They let me in on this meeting only a few weeks ago, though as I understand it, this has been in the works for a few months. There are five of us Americans: Anderson Cetina-Ross, Louis Sigurdsson, Peter Weaver, and Edmund Quincy. We are part of, as I understand it, a clique within the larger organization. This clique includes the Italian Sentinel, Bova, and an American Guardian they call "Behemoth", though I understand him to be-"
"David Janeway". IMOGEN finished.
"Yes. Rear Admiral Janeway, you've done your research" he observed, "We are coming to meet with a delegation of Chinese members"
"What for?"
"Their support".
"In..?"
"I'm not sure."

"...alright, well what do you know?"

By the end of the debriefing, much had been shared. The American Watchmen and Bova were in Macau to represent the interests of their leader, Behemoth, who was unable to attend the meeting in person. They were petitioning Chinese membership for support in some sort of project being undertaken, of which Chum didn't know what. One of the Watchmen, Anderson Cetina-Ross, would be taking a brief trip to Taiwan to retrieve a "person of interest" the Clique want to present to their Chinese counterparts to "strengthen" their bargain. Chum didn't know who this person was, only that they were a person, they were being "held" in Taiwan, and that in communications, they were known as "Bluebeard". They also got a rough itinerary of the Summit. 

1. February 15th: Today. Watchmen travel from America and arrive in Hong Kong.
2. February 16th: The last of the Watchman arrive in Hong Kong in the evening. They party. 
3. February 17th: The Watchmen travel to Macau except for Cetina-Ross, who travels to Taiwan to retrieve BLUEBEARD.
4. February 18th: Cetina-Ross arrives in Macau with BLUEBEARD. They set him up at the mansion of a Circle member. 
5. February 19th: Pre-Summit meeting for the Watchmen. Gino Bova arrives in Macau. 
6. February 20th: The Summit convenes. 

At the conclusion of the meeting, INDIGO and IRENA were lost in some of the jargon used by Chum and IMOGEN concerning the group and its structure. Privately, she clued them in. 

"The Exalted Circle's membership are divided into three ranks. The higher ranks manage and control the lower ranks obviously. At the bottom are Watchmen. These are stockbrokers, lawyer, yuppies, people with a lot of money and political power. There's no telling how many of them there are. The Watchmen are at the lowest rung, most don't even know about the unnatural, they're the Circle's hatchetmen. Above them are Sentinels, above the Sentinels are Guardians."

An addition piece of information revealed by Chum was that according to his friends, there would be three Guardians in attendance. IMOGEN later emphasized the significance of this to her cohort. It was unclear how many Guardians there are in the Exalted Circle, but they're the absolute highest leadership in the group, and the fact that three were going to be attendance was proof enough that I-Cell absolutely needed to know what the meeting was for. The identities for these Guardians were, at the moment, unknown; Chum has only heard them referred to by their codenames: "Yaoguai", "Ananteshesha", and "Jormungandr". 

After Chum leaves to return to his cohort, the Agents discuss the situation with IAGO, who lets the agents in on a secret: He no longer has leverage over "Chum". "Chum" is none the wiser, but he emphasizes that if I-Cell needs to be careful with how hard they push him, as IAGO "no longer" has the power to follow through on what he "initially threatened" him with. IAGO at this point departs, and explains their protocol for getting in contact with him before excusing himself. 

The helicopter ride from Macau to Hong Kong was brief, the helicopter itself adorned with logos and labels of a tourism company from Macau. Soon they had touched down and were greeted by their contact, who identified himself as "Yi Yuhan". Yuhan, a Chinese man in his eighties, helped their agents with their baggage before driving them to the Opal Palace Casino, where they (and their marks) would be staying. On the way, he spoke to the agents about Macau's political climate, his history with "The Group" (including his personal correspondence and connection to "your Uncle Alphonse"), and the help he'd be providing, which was waiting for them in their hotel rooms. 

Provided by Yuhan was a small box of Smith & Wesson revolvers for personal protection, and a small suite of state-of-the-art spy equipment. INDIGO couldn't help but note a label from inside the sack they came in, which seemed to imply the spy gear was property of the Taiwanese "National Security Bureau". 

Exhausted from their trip, the agents were largely content to turn in for the evening and sleep, though IMOGEN took a quick trip downstairs to the Blackjack table to case the casino floor. After winning a few modest hands, she retired to her room. The next day would be long and tiring as I-Cell set up spy gear against their enemies. 

Appendix

/ DELTA GREEN

// A-Cell: Delta Green's shadowy leaders. ADAM, ALPHONSE, and ANDREA.

// I-Cell:

// IAGO: Edward Donoghue, Department of the Treasury. I-Cell's cell leader, a cunning blackmailer, capable cell leader, and a churlish alcoholic.
// IMOGEN: Sylvia Pontecorvo, IRS CID. Vindictive IRS investigator. The longest serving I-Cell agent second to IAGO. 
// IRENA: Mary Bryant, FBI. Behavioural Analyst, recently moved across the country out of paranoia. 
// INDIGO: Sabina Vassatou, Cybercriminal. Antisocial computer wizard.  

 // Friendlies:

// Yi Yuhan: Elderly Friendly in Macau. Theorized by I-Cell to work for (or at least have connections in) Taiwanese intelligence. Likewise theorized to have worked for Delta Green during the Sino-Japanese War / potentially met "ALPHONSE" personally. 

/ EXALTED CIRCLE

// Watchmen

// "Chum": A Watchman in the Exalted Circle. Being blackmailed by IAGO into acting as an informant.
// Anderson Cetina-Ross: Co-Founder and Commander of "Hurricane Group", a French-American private military contractor.
// Louis Sigurdsson: Investor, shareholder in Maersk.
// Peter Weaver: Corporate lawyer. 

// Edmund Quincy: A retired former director of Lockheed-Martin

// Sentinels

// Cai Zhizhao: sits on the Board of Directors for the Hong-Kongese land development firm Hopewell Holdings. 

// Gino Bova: Italian investment banker.

// Guardians

// "Behemoth": Rear Admiral David Janeway, Deputy Commander of the ONI.
// "Yaoguai": An unidentified Guardian of the Exalted Circle.
// "Ananteshesha": An unidentified Guardian of the Exalted Circle.

// "Jormungandr": An unidentified Guardian of the Exalted Circle.