Karma drove to the far side of town. Far away from anyone that might be looking for them. After 15 minutes or so, Jynx returned to normal. Not a normal happy Jynx. She was normal... normal Jynx. Seeing her in this unsettled state made Karma feel bad. Karma looked at her and said, "Talk to me."
"About what?"
"Anything. Remembering stories or memories you like will trigger your brain to return to regular activity. So just talk about something. Anything."
Jynx nodded and said, "Oh, how about we talk about the new gun you are going to get? Did you know that the new Glocks on the market are getting really advanced?"
Karma was still focused on driving, but he responded, "No kidding. Tell me about that."
Jynx's face lit up as she talked, "The Glock 18 that just came out has a fully automatic setting. It can fire an insane number of bullets. Like over a thousand rounds per minute."
"I find that very hard to believe." Karma said sarcastically. "Where are you going to get a thousand round mag for a handgun?"
Jynx rolled her eyes and smiled, "You can't. They don't make them. I am just saying it has the capacity for a thousand rounds per minute. It's a machine gun... handgun. I think you would really like the Glock if you gave them a chance. They are lightweight and durable."
Karma pulled over to the side of the road near a shopping center and said, "Maybe, and by maybe, I mean probably not. The idea of plastic guns... sounds like a toy."
"It's a polymer plastic. It's just as hard as metal. I know you love your Model 59." Jynx smiled as she continued, "I am just saying that there are some better gun options out there. Maybe I could show you some. You would thank me later."
"There's my girl." Karma leaned over and gave her a kiss and said, "I am glad to see that smile. You, okay?"
"Yeah, I think so." Jynx looked at herself in the mirror then she asked, "I look terrible."
"No, you look perfect, as always." Karma pulled out his wallet and said, "I have a mission for you. A mission you will actually enjoy." He fished out the 200 euros he kept from the safe house. He handed the money to her and said, "This is all the money we have. We need food, not candy bars this time. I need a new personal bag and at least one change of clothes."
Jynx gasped, "Oh that's right! We lost your personal bag. It had all your clothes, the money, the files, it had everything in it!"
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't anything that can't be replaced." Karma pointed to the payphone and said, "You go take care of the shopping part. I am going to call Freeman." Karma opened the car door and got out.
Jynx got out of the car and walked around to give Karma a long hug. He held her for as long as she needed. Then she whispered, "Thank you for throwing me out of the building."
"I didn't want to."
"I know." Jynx tried not to show Karma the tear she wiped from her eye. She pulled away and said, "Okay, bag, food, clothes. I got it."
Karma agreed, "Yes, and for the love of God, don't get me any nice clothes. Plain normal looking clothes are fine."
"I know your style. I will keep it simple for you." Jynx walked off blowing him a kiss. Karma could tell she was still a little upset, but she wore a strong face. Not to impress him, but because she didn't want to worry him. Karma watched as she left, then he heard the strangest sound.
Karma turned around to hear the ringing sound. It was coming from the Land Cruiser. He opened the room and searched to find the source of the noise. Under the passenger seat was Freeman's bag phone! Karma picked it up and pressed the SEND button. He shut the door so the conversation would remain private, then he said, "Umm, bravo kilo one niner?"
"Karma!" Freeman shouted from the other end, "You finally answered the damn phone. Stop what you are doing! Don't go back to Charlie 9 there are Exstrusis Agents headed there as we speak."
Karma rolled his eyes and said, "No shit man! That info would have been helpful 15 minutes ago! They already raided the safe house and we lost everything. And I mean everything."
Freeman responded, "Oh sorry. I just got the message myself. I called the safe house, and no one answered. Then I called the bag phone because I knew it was in the vehicle. So, it all worked out. Did you two get out unscarred?"
Karma exhaled sharply. "No, I mean, yes we are unharmed. I am fine. But Jynx… I can tell she is in a bad emotional state. She is pretty upset."
"Upset?" Freeman sounded dumbstruck. "Karma, she is a recruit! This business isn't a daycare! We don't have time to cater to her emotional baggage. Tell her to…" That was the last thing Karma heard as he hung up the phone. The conversation was over.
Karma sat there in the car silently holding the bag phone. Karma thought to himself, why did he do this? How could Karma be mad at Freeman? He had known him for years. Almost an entire decade. Freeman wasn't the enemy. He just didn't understand. Karma really couldn't explain it either. Soon enough the bag phone started to ring again.
Karma picked up the phone and pressed SEND again, and said, "Bravo kilo one niner."
Freeman asked, "Karma, what happened?"
"Random disconnect. You know they haven't worked all the bugs out of these phones yet." Karma lied with a completely straight face. Then he said, "So, what is our next step? Currently we are working to replace some of the items we lost."
"Yes, the document you sent us. Holy shit. The amount of dirt in these. It could take us a long time to go through it all. But I will tell you about the most important one." Freeman was temporarily distracted then he said, "Here it is. We found the Financial Company, the building you were in with all the files, is hemorrhaging funds into a business account called, "West Wing Expansion". I am not talking about 5 dollars here and there. They are putting a quarter of a million dollars in this account every other month. Big money… and surprise, there is no west wing being built at the Financial Company."
Karma agreed, "So the building was just a scam. They were pretending to fund a company that didn't exist?"
"Not quite," Freeman explained further, "We followed the money. We called the construction company that got paid $220,000 from this account back in 1986. We called and this guy spilled the beans over the phone. He told us everything. He said they were hired to go into Ukraine and move a military facility south out of the contamination zone. Him and 40 other workers loaded up in windowless busses to be shipped out to the middle of nowhere to move the facility to another location to the south."
Karma was impressed, "That is some good information. Very good."
Freeman continued, "It gets better than that. One of the workers recognized the area. He said they were close enough to Chernivtsi to fly home. Of course, they didn't get to fly home. They went home on the bus. But if I were a betting man, I would say the Exstrusis Facility is there."
"Well, if the intel is right, that gives us a damn good starting point. Too bad he didn't remember the address."
Freeman replied, "There was no address. He said it was out in the middle of nowhere. As of the moment, so are you. Where exactly are you?"
"We are still in Prague."
Freeman replied, "Good, Indigo and Leo were released from custody this morning. They didn't have anywhere to go so they are at the November 37 safe house. You know the place? The basement safe house. Swing by there and pick them up. After that all four of you RTB. Got it?"
Karma finished his conversation with Freeman and hung up. The bag phone was rather convenient. He waited for another 15 minutes for Jynx to return. Karma got out of the Land Cruiser and opened the back door so she could put the bags down. Jynx put the bags down and said, "I got you something special."
Karma asked, "I sure hope not. We are limited on funds."
Jynx unbagged his items and handed them over, "New personal bag, just like your old one. New clothes. Jeans, gray t-shirt, socks, boxers… just like the ones you wear. I could not find a jacket like yours though. Oh, and…" She rooted around until she found the item she was looking for and said, "A new watch."
Karma took the watch and said, "I can definitely approve of this. I have been in a sorry state since I lost mine. Good call."
Jynx wasn't done yet and she held something behind her back. "One more, I said I got you something special, but you have to close your eyes first."
Karma closed his eyes and said, "I know it is highly unlikely, but if you got me a new weapon, this is NOT how I would recommend you give it to someone." Jynx giggled and lifted up Karma's shirt. Then she sprayed him with something cold. Karma flinched, then opened his eyes to see what she was doing. "What?!... You bought me cologne?" Karma smelled the bottle and handed it back to her. Then he said, "Why do I get the feeling you bought this for me? But in a way, you bought this for you."
Jynx laughed then she said, "Maybe… but it smells really good. Don't you think so?"
Karma thought it was not exactly a priority purchase, but he didn't want to say anything. If it cheered her up, then it was probably necessary. Karma looked around to make sure no one was watching them, then said, "It's fine, but if you enjoy the smell you need to take it in while you can. I talked to Freeman, we have new orders to go and pick up Indigo and her recruit before we head back to HQ." He pulled her in close to him and said, "Then once we are at HQ there is no privacy there, so this is our last chance for some alone time."
"That's too bad," Jynx said as she gave him a kiss, "I like our alone time." They kissed for a while. As it happened Karma realized something. He had been trying to wrap his brain around it for a while now. Jynx was upset. He provided her with money to go shopping, because she loves shopping. But then she returned feeling better after buying him things that he needed. She didn't buy anything for herself. She didn't buy candy or flowers to cheer herself up. It was a selfless act, and she was happy doing it. When interacting with a friend or co-worker, you always take care of yourself and help them when they need it. Because a friend helps out a friend… but this was different. Karma didn't care if he was happy as long as she was happy. And apparently, she felt the same about him. What was this?
Karma stopped kissing Jynx for a second, "I have to ask you something…" Jynx's face turned to a puzzled look as there was a long pause. Karma tried to find the words, then he took a deep breath, and said, "What is this… cologne?"
Jynx's face turned back to a smile as she said, "You like it? It's good, isn't it? It's a comforting smell. It really softens out all your hard edges."
Karma backed out of the question at the last second. Maybe he didn't want to know the answer. Maybe you should not ask a question you don't already know the answer to. Either way, it would have to wait. Indigo and Leo were waiting on them.
On the way over to the safe house Karma looked at his new watch. 9:35 a.m. July 15th. Jynx saw him looking at it and asked, "You like it? I know it doesn't have a hidden compartment so it's not an upgrade from your old one but…"
"I like it." Karma cut her off. "Thank you."
Jynx questioned him, "Really? Do you really like it?"
"I do." Karma smiled, and said, "I don't get a lot of gifts from anyone. Nobody really buys me anything. I mean, Freeman orders equipment and stuff for everyone but... No one at HQ exchanges gifts for Christmas or birthdays." Karma paused for a moment, then finished by saying, "I can't remember the last time someone gave me something as a gift. When someone gives me something it's special."
Jynx gave a fake smile, but she had something she really wanted to ask, "Karma? Remember when you said we don't have any secrets anymore?"
"Yeah."
"I have been wanting to ask you something but there isn't a nice way to ask it."
"Just ask it."
Jynx bit her lip knowing this could be a bad topic, but she asked anyways, "Remember when we were in the hotel, and you said you didn't have a home or anywhere to go? Well, I have been wondering… What happened to your family? Are they dead? If they are dead just say so, I will never ever bring it up again."
"Yeah, I have a family. Not one that I would actually want to talk to." Karma said as he thought about it. Then he said, "My mom died back when I was a kid. My dad's cure for the pain was alcohol. My dad was a World War 2 vet so he never heard of a fight that you couldn't win. When we came back from the war. He didn't understand. Later on, when he was drunk, he shouted a handful of... terrible things. He said, the only reason we lost Vietnam was that we didn't try hard enough. He said if you don't come back victorious then you should come home in a box... He said… enough. I tolerated it, but from my dad. It hurt."
Karma started to choke up a little bit, but he quickly changed the subject, "It's hard to find work when the only thing on your resume is four years in a shitty war. I tried to join the Secret Service, and then the FBI, then this guy approached me. Believe it or not, the CIA was looking for Vietnam vets to join a special civilian operation. He said it was just like the Army. Good pay. I would fit right in. However, in this job you can't go home for holidays or be honest with your family about the shit you're doing. It was a hard job to find people for… But I was the perfect man for the job."
Seeing Karma upset made Jynx a little upset. She wiped the tear out of her eye. Then she reached over to hold Karma's hand. Then she said, "Sorry."
Karma waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it. It's all in the past. Someone once told me, "You can't see the future if you are always crying about the past." They held hands for a few minutes as they drove. Then Karma said, "Let's talk about something more important. Your favorite thing. Training. We need to teach you how to rappel down buildings."
Jynx gave him a funny look and said, "All things considered, I thought I did pretty well. Don't forget, I am the trainer now. I'm making the training schedule now. I think we should teach you how to fire a new kind of pistol. Maybe we can break your Model 59 habits."
Karma threw a serious look at Jynx and released her hand. Then he jokingly said, "How dare you insult the 59. The 59 is my baby!"
Jynx saw through his serious face, she fired back, "Your baby is old. And by old, I mean 20 ish years old. Depending on the country, your baby is old enough to drink."
Karma shook his head, "The 59 is perfectly designed for this field of operation. It's heavy. A solid 2 pounds heavier than most conventional firearms. And it is made that way intentionally. The weight combined with the baffles from the suppressor reduces recoil. You fired it. The recoil is almost non-existent. It is literally designed for accuracy."
Jynx seemed flabbergasted for a second then she said, "Why do I find it so sexy when you talk about guns to me? Do it again."
"I would," Karma stopped the Land Cruiser outside of a barber shop and said, "But we are here." Karma looked over to the safe house. "This safe house is a basement under a barber shop." Karma honked the horn and turned the engine off. Without looking at Jynx he said, "They should be out here in a minute. We will just wait."
Within a few seconds, Leo and Indigo came walking up the basement stairs with their luggage from the flight. They loaded the bags in the back. Indigo spoke first, "Don't bother helping us with our luggage, Karma. We got it."
"Sorry, you ordered the wrong kind of taxi service. Hop in." Indigo and Leo climbed into the back seats as Karma drove off. Krama said, "I hope you guys enjoyed your stay in Prague, Jynx and I got to go on a nice tour of the downtown district. It's a really nice area. Tons of excellent restaurants. How was your stay?"
Indigo snapped back at him, "Fuck you Karma, you know perfectly well that we were in jail. I don't want to hear about the nice safe house you were staying at."
Karma looked at her in the rearview mirror and said, "We didn't stay at the safe house. We could have if we wanted to. Jynx wanted to stay at a 5-star hotel. So, we went downtown and rented a presidential suite at the Plaza. Huge California king sized bed, huge bar, walk in showers… It was really nice, right Jynx?" Jynx didn't say a word.
Indigo gave him the eye in the rearview mirror then she said, "Karma, I am starting to envy everyone that you have never met… You are just trying to work me up. You should know better than to test me when I am already pissed off. I slept in a room with 4 crack heads on a bed with no frame."
Karma smiled hearing that she had not lost her personality. Then he said, "Sorry Indigo. We didn't get to hear what happened. How did you get arrested?"
"Bullshit charges." Indigo explained, "They arrested us on an anonymous tip of drug smuggling. Then they tried to pay off the security guards to hide drugs in our luggage. Luckily, the one guard they tried to pay was an honest person. He took their money and told us to watch our backs. The only downside was that they had to hold us for 24 hours."
"Wait hold up," Karma stopped her for a second, "You said "They". Who are they?"
"The handful of Exstrusis Agents that came to the airport. THEY came to pay off the guards. Some of them were wearing disguises, but one of them I recognized plan as day."
"Which one was that?"
"Marx. The whole reason we came here was to find her. She came to us."
Karma's head started to spin, "Are you sure it was her?"
"Absolutely, 100% it was her. She didn't come into the interrogation room to talk to us, but I saw her. She was wearing a wig, but there is no wig large enough to hide that ugly scar on her face. The other two agents followed her around like she was running the place. It's a good thing she doesn't have any seniority at the Prague airport, or we would be serving 5 to 20."
"That is very interesting."
"It's not interesting, it's scary. One wrong move and we would have been…"
Karma interrupted her, "No, no, no, I meant that Marx herself would show up at the airport."
"I'm not lying, she was there. Ask Leo. He saw her too."
Leo spoke up and said, "I did."
Karma continued to drive but his brain was working in overdrive. He didn't say anything for a few minutes. Indigo talked to Jynx about her time in jail and the things that happened. Jynx told Indigo about the Hitman and the breach team who raided the safe house. Karma just toned their conversation out. He drove, but he was concocting a master plan. After ten solid minutes, the conversation in the vehicle died down. Karma pulled the car to the side of the road and said, "Indigo, how much money do you have on you?"
Indigo was surprised by the question, she said, "All of it. We didn't get the chance to spend any. We have been in the lock up. Why are you asking?"
"We have been treating the Exstrusis Agents like they are normal people, like doctors, or office workers. What if they are just as advanced OR even more advanced than we are?" Once again, the vehicle fell into silence. Karma continued. "Indigo and Leo almost went to jail for 20 years today, Jynx and I almost died. So, there is no way anyone in this van would rat us out. I consider everyone in this vehicle to be clean. I have an idea. But it will only work if we all agree on it."
Karma turned around in the driver seat as everyone listened to his master plan. All the steps that need to be taken. Everything. When he was done everyone sat thinking about it.
Indigo finally said, "Karma, you batshit crazy. If we fail, then we are dead or WORSE. Freeman won't back our asses. In fact, he will probably write us off as rogue Agents."
Karma replied, "No one is going rogue here. If it doesn't work, we go home. I will take full responsibility. You can tell Freeman that you were following orders. Freeman can do whatever he wants to me... But we can't do it unless everyone here is on board. That includes both Leo and Jynx."
Leo nodded, "I don't make the calls, Indigo is my trainer. But I like it. A possibility of all of the rewards with none of the risk."
Jynx nodded at Karma and said, "I go where you go."
Indigo shook her head, "Oh no, wait one second here. Pretend that I am stupid, tell me the whole thing all over again. From the start."
Karma started again, "Thanks to the documents that Jynx recovered from the Financial Company, we know that the Exstrusis Facility is within driving distance of Chernivtsi Ukraine. Thanks to you, we know that Marx is actively checking up on our every move. My plan is to go to Chernivtsi, Ukraine. We call Freeman and tell him to leak the information that we are getting ready to attack the Exstrusis Facility. Then we wait at the train station and airport. If Marx is as connected as we think she is, she will show up. Just like she did in Prague. When she arrives to check on the Exstrusis Facility, all we have to do is follow her."
"Okay, so we bluff and somehow it scares Marx into making a dumb move. Then what?" Indigo questioned him, "Knock on the front door? It is a massive compound with hundreds of people inside. We won't be able to get in."
Karma smiled and said, "We can take pictures, expose this secret Soviet brainwashing sight. Exstrusis Agents have been making us look like fools for years now. They won't be expecting us on their home field. Putting pressure on Exstrusis could make them screw up. Hopefully we will be there when it happens. The options are really limitless. But I can tell you one thing… Freeman will give all of us a raise."
Leo smiled, Jynx smiled, Karma looked at Indigo and said, "You are the deciding factor here Indigo. You want to win this next one?"
Indigo paused, then said, "And Freeman isn't in on this plan?"
Karma shook his head, "He is too connected. They found out about your flight to Prague. If they do it again, THIS time it is going to work against them. We can't tell Freeman until we are in position. Even then, we should play it safe just in case HQ is bugged." Karma waited for Indigo to decide. She was thinking. There was a lot at stake.
Finally, she said, "Okay." Leo and Jynx both cheered. Karma just smiled. Then Indigo said, "We have to get supplies on the way. I don't even have a gun."
"I am already way ahead of you." Karma revved the engine and turned the car back onto the road. They had a lot of miles to cover.
There was a moment of joy as the crew finally agreed to try the mission. Then Indigo asked, "Does this plan have a name? Or are we just winging it?"
Karma thought about it for a second and then said, "Leo, you were the first to agree with me. What should be called this operation?"
Leo was put on the spot, "I have no idea. How about Operation Lost in the Woods?"
Indigo corrected him, "No, it has to be one word. Freeman always made his missions one word, so it is easy to remember. Like Tinhat, Rockbreaker, Bagman, Nightline, and all those other crazy names he comes up with. It doesn't have to pertain to the mission, it is just a name."
Leo thought again and said, "How about Operation Lostwoods?"
"Perfect."
Two hours later, Karma checked the time. It was almost 1 p.m. Everyone was chatting in the car. It was good energy. Karma saw it as a good bonding experience between their two teams. Then the song came on. The song was Eric Carmen's Hungry Eyes. It was that word that set everyone off. Leo was the first to speak, he said, "Dude, I am starving."
Everyone agreed that food was definitely a priority. Karma drove and listened to their comments. Even Jynx said, "I am starving. When we left the safe house this morning to get breakfast, I didn't realize it was going to be after noon until we actually got something to eat."
Leo replied, "Don't feel bad. We didn't eat anything either. It's not like they provided meals overnight in jail."
The car was also low on fuel. Karma eventually found a fast-food place to grab something to eat. He ordered food for everyone and pulled through to the pickup window. Jynx took the food and distributed it to everyone. She even reached over to Karma and gave him some fries. Karma drove the car back to the highway and started looking for a gas station.
In the rearview mirror he could see Indigo's face. Something was wrong. She was giving him the eye. The eye was her subtle way of transferring a message with a look. What did he do? After everyone was done eating, it was time to feed the Land Cruiser. Karma stopped at the petrol station. As he got out to fill up the tank, Jynx got out to use the bathroom. Leo and Indigo stayed in the car. Karma noticed they were talking. Something was going on. Karma didn't say anything though. Once the tank was full Karma paid the clerk and got back in the driver's seat. Indigo gave Leo a nod, and he got out of the car and went into the store. That left Karma and Indigo sitting in silence together. He looked back to Indigo and asked, "You want to do some of the driving? It's a long way to Chernivtsi."
"No, I am good." Indigo crossed her fingers together and asked him, "So Karma, how are things going with your recruit?"
"Good."
"Good?"
"Yes, good."
Indigo waited for him to say something, then she exploded on him, "You lyin ass. Don't play with me, Karma. Do you see me walking with a cane? Do you think I am blind? You and her are all over each other. I saw EVERYTHING. You are so busted."
Karma was confused, there was nothing to hide, or at least he thought. Karma asked, "Okay, calm down for a second here. I think you are jumping to conclusions here. How exactly are we all over each other? We have been sitting in the car minding our own business."
Indigo was getting angry that he was still playing innocent, "Karma! I asked you at HQ if you were getting sweet on your recruit! You said NO. But now that we are all here on this joy ride, road trip that you planned out… I see the truth."
Karma remained calm but he retorted, "I don't know where you are getting your information. There is nothing going on here."
"Really? That is your defense?" Indigo began her interrogation, "Jynx said you two were going out for breakfast together this morning?"
"We didn't have any food in the safe house. All we had was candy bars."
"I just watched your recruit hand feed you french fries. Did I imagine that? Leo and I weren't back here HAND feeding each other."
Karma's strong defense was starting to fade. He replied, "She is a friendly person, she does stuff like that all the time. Plus, it is dangerous to drive and eat at the same time. Safety first."
"Safety first?" Indigo was not giving up, then she said, "Alright Karma, maybe I was reading too much into that. Maybe you two really did run out of food at the safe house. However, just now when she got out of the car… you looked at her ass."
Karma paused for a moment, then he said, "I'm male. It happens."
Indigo did not respond. She just sat there watching him with a look of discontent. After a while she said, "Listen Karma, listen very carefully. I am not going to argue with you about this… But right now, we have a lot of cards on the table. There is a lot at risk, including our lives if this goes south. I am going to respect that you have the willpower to do the right thing."
"The right thing?"
"Yes, Karma is the right thing to do. You put the mission first when you have to." Indigo continued, "When the bullets start flying… you had better be thinking with your brain and not your head. Understand?"
Karma did not like the point she was trying to make. He retorted, "You have nothing to worry about."
Just as Karma finished his sentence, Jynx returned to the car. She walked around the side and got in the front passenger seat. She sat down and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she looked at Karma's vacant expression and asked, "What are you guys talking about?"
Indigo spoke first, she said, "Oh, nothing. Us old spies are bullshitting… I think I need to use the bathroom too." Indigo opened the car door and said, "Everyone in here is full of shit." With that she slammed the door and went inside.
Jynx looked at Karma with a bewildered look. Then she said, "What was that all about?"
Karma let out a long sigh and whispered, "She knows."
"She knows?"
"Yes, she knows." Karma put on his seat belt and looked at Jynx. "I think I told you before that she was a master of interrogation. She read us like a book. If we play it really cool… and I mean a Minnesota Winter level of cool, she won't call this whole thing off." Jynx reached across the seat to take Karma's hand. He reached out and held her hand but only for a second. The next moment Leo returned to the car.
Leo walked across the parking lot, opened the door, and jumped in the back seat. He had purchased some candy while he was inside. He opened the wrapper and started eating it. Then he asked, "So… are you guys dating? Like boyfriend and girlfriend or something?"
Karma lost his cool, "This isn't high school, Leo. Mind you own damn business." Leo did not respond. Jynx looked at Karma, but all he did was shake his head.