Report: Operation SPECTRUM - Part Two

16FEB2001

Agents wake up early on the 16th and get to work. They have a long day ahead of them. IMOGEN and IRENA requests for a morning meeting with their contact, Yi Yuhan, while INDIGO tries to compromise the Opal Palace Casino's security systems to get access to their CCTV. Yi agrees, and they meet at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. 

At the Cathedral, IMOGEN and IRENA meet Yi, and they talk briefly. The conversation is brief and they speak in code, with Yi adamantly claiming he is not in contact with Taiwanese intelligence, adding "but if I were, what would you be asking me to do?". I-Cell is curious about Hurricane Group in Taiwan, and specifically they want to know about the mysterious third party being kept as their guest in Formosa, whom the Circle has codenamed "BLUEBEARD". Yi "agrees" that he "would" make some inquiries. Meanwhile, at the hotel, INDIGO is only able to get limited access to the CCTV, meaning they have coverage of certain key areas (the lobby, the car park, the elevators), but little else. 

Near 11:00 AM, once IMOGEN and IRENA have returned from the Cathedral. They go about the task of breaking into the rooms of the Watchmen to plant bugs. The job is largely a success, the cell's experience in remote surveillance allows them to set up well-hidden bugs that offer extensive coverage. It's only when they enter the room of the last watchman, Edmund Quincy, that they encounter something bad: It's already been bugged. They withdraw and notify A-Cell through Yi. 

It suddenly occurs to I-Cell the immense risk of bugging the rooms: Anderson Cetina-Ross's contacts in the Hurricane Group will likely sweep for listening devices, and so in order to try to stop this, I-Cell travels to Hong Kong to contact "Chum" and notify him. They reason that "Chum", who they've been told has some background in intelligence, would be able to convince the others to let him to a sweep ahead of time, and if need be, collect the bugs before Cetina-Ross's men perform a sweep. They travel to Hong Kong and meet "Chum" at the jazz bar IAGO introduced them at the first time. He arrives with his cadre of Watchmen in toe. IMOGEN and IRENA arrive disguised as Russian call-girls, and IMOGEN is able to get "Chum" away from his cohort with an offer of a slow-dance. 

During the meeting, IMOGEN informs "Chum" of their intentions to monitor Exalted Circle meetings through hidden microphones and cameras. Chum agrees to "volunteer" to sweep the rooms for bugs and cameras ahead of time. He also agrees to wearing a wire during the informal pre-summit meetings, though he refuses to wear a microphone or any listening device on him when he attends the summit proper, as there will be checks done by Cetina-Ross's private security onsite before the meeting begins. As they dance, Louis Sigurdsson, one of the Watchmen, approaches IRENA at the bar and tries to chat her up. He lets slip that after he attends to some "business" in China, he intends to stay at a friend's "island" off the coast for a few days, and he invites IRENA. Sigurdsson is eventually called back to the table by his cohort, who drunkenly sing a sea shanty. IMOGEN believes the shanty is likely connected to the American Exalted Circle's likeness to ivy-league secret fraternities. 

After their meeting, IRENA and IMOGEN take a night ferry across the water back to Macau and rest. 

17FEB2001 

With surprising speed, I-Cell receives their reply from A-Cell by way of Yi Yuhan, who asks them to meet at the cathedral again. Yi's report on Hurricane Group is meagre. Taiwanese intelligence passively monitor the comings and goings of the staff at Hurricane Group's facility in Formosa for security purposes, and noted the appearance eight months ago of an unlisted, unidentified person that was brought to the facility aboard a Hurricane Group helicopter and housed at the facility. Taiwanese intelligence allegedly made a discrete inquiry with CIA about the individual, though the agency claimed no knowledge of who this person was or their role with Hurricane Group; Taiwanese Intelligence assume this is either a lie, or the person is some variety of European intelligence, likely French. Some blurry photographs of the person they believe to be "BLUEBEARD" are shared, but they are bad quality and reveal little.

On the topic of the bugs, Yi tells I-Cell what A-Cell told him, which was they were "cousins", and that a peaceful meeting has been arranged for them to set ground rules: the meeting would be in the cathedral, right now. Yi points to a trio of Americans sitting near the front of the cathedral before excusing himself. I-Cell exchange nervous looks, but decide the meeting is worth having.

The meeting is tense. I-Cell's agents are less than enthused to be forced to play polite with NRO DELTA enforcers, but things remain cordial. The agent leading the band of agents, a red-headed woman I-Cell has encountered briefly in other operation, shares that Majestic-12 are interested in the "group", whom they dub "The Yacht Club", and that Edmund Quincy is their "inside source" in the group. They warn I-Cell from interfering before I-Cell shares what they know, including the identity of "Behemoth", one of Exalted Circle's leaders: ONI Deputy Commander Rear Admiral David Janeway. The NRO DELTA leader blanches at the revelation, but makes no comment. They disperse and the agents return to their hotel room to continue surveillance. 

That night, Chum and his cohorts leave for dinner where they are expecting a "guest". Eventually, a bald white man in a leather jacket, his head adorned with tattoos, arrives. Sigurdsson introduces him as "Mr. Rohrbach", a friend from Chile. Rohrbach sits and discusses with the Watchmen. It appears that "Mr. Rohrbach's" group and the "Clique" have come to an arrangement that pertains to the summit. Rohrbach's "people" are willing to provide a "safe staging area" for the clique in the Chilean andes, and most importantly, armed professionals capable of the "sort of technique required for this operation". The nature of this "technique" is never revealed. In exchange, aside from huge sums of money, the watchmen "pay" Rohrbach with the contents of a metal cylinder which Rohrbach inspects. The contents appear to be fist-sized chunks of unpolished cinnabar. Discussion later indicates that the "cinnabar" is actually an alchemical product, and that they are, in essence, alchemically dessicated human remains. The meeting concludes and the Watchmen go home. 

THE SUMMIT

Days later, I-Cell are in America, explaining what happened to IAGO. They made a hasty retreat from China and came home on the next available flight. 

It wasn't possible for them to get consistent vidoe or sound in the room during the summit. Cetina-Ross's ex-French intelligence agents would be patting down guests for listening devices, and the room would be swept for bugs ahead of time. The one exception to this would be hotel staff. The summit was catered, and a buzzer would summon a waiter that would take orders, go to the bar to collect the orders, then return and distribute whatever refreshments the guests requested. This would be inconsistent, and would likely capture no conversation (if the summit was to go the way the mob meetings IMOGEN has spied on normally do, everyone buttons up as soon as the catering arrive).  But a hidden camera could get faces and the scraps of conversations, and that'd be good. The compromised CCTV would get spotty coverage outside the room, but that would be sufficient. 

The guests arrived and the summit began. After around and hour and 45 minutes, the bar was buzzed and a bar came to collect orders. The american watchmen were drinking rum and coke, Gino Bova, the Italian Sentinel, drank wine. The Chinese Sentinel Cai Zhizhao and the Guardian "Yaoguai" drank water. The mood in the room was one of some disappointment and frustration. Notably, although it seemed the Watchmen expected three Guardians to be present, only "Yaoguai" was. Before him was a gold-plated globe, a dragon looped around it. 

Twenty minutes later. Anderson Cetina-Ross left and went to the car park. A vehicle pulled up in the car park right on time and a man the agents recognized from photos as "BLUEBEARD" exited the vehicle. Cetina-Ross escorted him up the elevator to the summit. The man was tall and stocky with a bald head in a leather jacket. He spoken hoarsely and, most jarring to I-Cell, made lewd and often insulting remarks to Cetina-Ross, his supposed employer. Cetina-Ross had no reaction. The man was escorted to the meeting and the summit continued for another hour before the waiter was called in again. The order was the same as before, only with a pitcher of beer added. 

"BLUEBEARD" in the flesh.

When the waiter returned, BLUEBEARD had the floor. He took his beer from the waiter and continued talking even after being asked not to while the catering were around. He ignored this and continued. 

"- quite frankly, gentlemen, this whole operation leaks so bad we'd have to bilge just to stay afloat"

"Mr. Murphy, this can wait until-"

"The catering? You fairies don't realize, do you?"

The room was quiet for a heartbeat. 

"Come here" through the hidden camera on the waiter's vest, I-Cell could see BLUEBEARD beckon the waiter over. As the waiter approached, BLUEBEARD shot a hand out and ripped the camera off the waiter's vest and held it in his hands. Still recording, somehow. 

"Exhibit A, gentlemen."

BLUEBEARD crossed the room with heavy strides and placed the camera on the dais that Yaoguai sat at. 

"The enemy, Mr. Yaoguai, is already taking moves against you. They're spying on your people, eavesdropping on your meetings." BLUEBEARD had by now taken Gino Bova's wineglass and drained it. He was now crossing back towards the Watchmen. 

"They even have some of your people compromised. Watch this." I-Cell was sure, at this point, they were about to watch their insider be murdered before their very eyes. BLUEBEARD broke the glass against the table and thrust it into one of the Watchmen's throats. There was commotion and shock. Nervous glances were exchanged, out of frame of the spy-camera, the security agents could be heard cocking their weapons. BLUEBEARD grunted, stuffing his meaty fingers in the man's mouth and wrenching out a molar. I-Cell watched in confusion. 

"Edmund Quincy, your man. The enemy twisted him into an informant years ago, after he went and tried to talk sweet to Bobby Ray Inman. They have a lab in Puerto Rico they do their work. It's nasty stuff. See here? Look."

BLUEBEARD turned the molar over in his hands, at its base, it was black. But not like a cavity, more like gunmetal. A transponder. Impossibly small, advanced like somethnig from science fiction. I-Cell had never heard of a device so intrusive, so subtle. 

"Now you see our point. Mr. Yaoguai, sir."

After a brief pause, the Guardian spoke. 

"I suppose I do. You have your approval, gentlemen"

A hand came down and crushed the camera, and the feed went black. By then, INDIGO was already closing the laptop screen and I-Cell were stuffing their equipment into bags. Within minutes they were checked out and headed to Hong Kong for the next flight out. They kept their drop-pieces handy in case Exalted Circle agents were on the prowl, but after a restless, frightful evening, none ever presented themselves. 

In the meeting room at LAX. I-Cell concluded the briefing and were leaving to begin the drives to other airports for their flights home when they were confronted by the trio of Majestic agents from Macau, who were quite insistent they have a word. 

I-Cell denied having tipped off the Circle that Quincy was Majestic's inside man, and only after they showed the trio of Majestic agents their spy camera footage were they convinced. The woman that led them, however, blanched at the sight of BLUEBEARD and cursed under her breath. "You stupid bastard". Before I-Cell could ask for an explanation they were gone, left alone with their cell leader who had an especially sour expression. It was clear to them he knew why she looked like she did. 

"You don't recognize him?" he asked his agents. They said no. 

"You spied on him for Stephen Alzis last year. He was skinnier then. That there is Tom Murphy, but he used to be called Agent MONTY. He was the Cell Leader of M-Cell. We thought he was dead."

Tom Murphy, Formerly Agent MONTY of M-Cell, now an occult mercenary of the Exalted Circle.