The interior of the SUV was cold, Nikolai sat in it with his hands shackled in front of him,blood dripping down on his shirt from a cut above his eyebrow from one of the agents, Two agents sats with him with their weapons pointing to him, the SUV made its way as fast as possible through Vienna's countryside as its was heading to a rendezvous point where an airplane will be waiting to transport them to Warsaw, Poland to a secret CIA inspection site.
Angela sat in front of the SUV with another agent, and with the anguish burning through him Nikolai asked her "How long", she didn't answer him and he asked again, "How long have you been working with them".
She then responded to him with tears running down her face, she said "I didn't want this Nikolai, they threatened to hurt me and my family, I had no choice", Nikolai responded and said "you sold me out to them after everything".
In the midst of his conversation with her an agent said "Shut it Kane".
Finally the SUV got to the rendezvous point just outside the main city of Vienna, and a high military-grade transport plane was there ready to pick them and drop them off at Warsaw.
Finally Nikolai and the CIA agents boarded the plane and Angela was left to go and live her life, the air inside the aircraft was tensed, the operatives were silent and watchful, their hands never leaving their weapon, finally the plane landed in Warsaw and the then moved to the site.
Nikolai case wasn't the average CIA story, when the aircraft which transported him from Vienna landed in Warsaw, he was immediately moved and escorted to a fortified detention facility underground at the CIA inspection site.
The walls of the facility were thick with steel reinforcements, and the had built in camera's everywhere to track Nikolai every move, four agents who were fully armed with semi automatic rifles were with him on guard at all times, with their eyes wide open and their body alert, because of the kind of reputation Nikolai had built for himself over the years.
He was then moved to a detention room which was sound proof, with built in titanium walls with a 24 hour camera watch over him at all times.
The Polish sky was very cloudy with few aircrafts landing into the country through this route. A gulfstream G550 touched down at Chopin Airport.The aircraft barely rolled to a stop before the rear hatch opened. Michael Pompeo, Director of CIA Operations in Europe emerged from its seats , his polished suits hitting the airport's tarmac with purpose and vision. No hesitation,no delay and no time to waste because he was informed that Nikolai has been nabbed and brought to an inspection site in Warsaw.
His face was a mask of cold efficiency from the years of experience he has had with the CIA in field work, his jaw clenched, eyes sharp as he surveyed the waiting convoy which was supposed to convey him from the airport to the inspection site in the heart of the city of Warsaw, his convoy was a trio of armored SUVs,with them were Polish SWAT officers in tactical gear, their rifles held tight, scanning for every possible threats in every shadow, which could stop pompeo from arriving at the site to see Nikolai.
A Polish intelligence officer approached Mr Pompeo offering a crisp salute, he said to him "Director Pompeo, we've secured the route to the site." and we are ready to go sir.
Pompeo's response was a single nod. He didn't inhave time for pleasantries. "Let's move." His expression was serious and fierce.
He climbed into the lead SUV without breaking wasting any more time, and the convoy roared to life, making its way to the city of Warsaw, Police motorcycles moved ahead of Pompeo's SUV, sirens cutting through the cold Warsaw air, clearing a path through the bustling streets. The city of Warsaw was made of blurred past concrete, glass, and steel, but all this did not interest Pompeo, his mind was already miles ahead, locked onto the mission.
The Sphinx Protocol, a weapon, a legend reported by so many intelligence agencies around the world, a ticking time bomb which could cause global disorder, and the only man who could lead them to it was now shackled in a cell beneath the earth, and being held in detention.
As the convoy moved around through the outskirts of Warsaw, an MI-17 helicopter shadowed them overhead, its rotors slicing through the wind and keeping track of the convoy which it watched over below. The SUVs swerved off the main road, disappearing into a isolated industrial zone. Rusted factories stood all over the places like sentinels of a forgotten era, the windows of the building in it were shattered, their walls crumbling. Perfect cover for the secrets buried beneath ( a CIA inspection site).
The convoy finally stopped after driving for about 30 minutes in front of an unmarked steel gate. No signs. No logos.A biometric scan was done by one of the agents which escorted pompeo's convoy and he entered a coded pass, and the gate groaned open, revealing the entrance to the CIA's Warsaw Black Site.
Finally Pompeo had arrived the site and met with all the agents at the site, and he demanded he wanted to see Nikolai immediately and he was ushered in to meet him.
Nikolai Kane sat rigid in the cold metal chair, the weight of the handcuffs which was on him was resting heavy on his wrists. He could hear the hum of the cameras which were watching him, feel the unblinking eyes of the CIA agents watching his every move, more concentrated on him now than ever. He still didn't care. He had survived worse, Much worse cases than this and he still came out victorious.
The steel door finally opened after a long while and Nikolai raised his eyes to see Michael Pompeo who entered the room with the precision of a man who controlled empires from the shadows. Nikolai and Pompeo have a long history together as Nikolai had encountered him earlier in one of his missions in Bucharest, Romania. Pompeo's eyes were cold, calculating, and utterly devoid of sympathy because he knew how dangerous Nikolai was and how good he was in his game.
Kane." Pompeo's called out to him his voice was low and deliberate, each and every single thing he said was carefully measured. "You've caused quite the mess."
Nikolai smirked backed at pompeo, the corner of his lip curled up despite the cut on his face by one of the agents in Vienna. "Good to see you too, Director. Thought I'd get a warmer welcome after Vienna."
"Vienna?" Pompeo's eyes hardened and he became a little furious "You left a trail of bodies and chaos. Do you know how many operations you compromised in one night?"
"Lost count." Nikolai smiled. "Wasn't really keeping track."
Pompeo then moved from the door and took a seat across from him, folding his hands on the table. His mood was calm, but his eyes burned with something deep, something personal, like he had a feud with Nikolai himself
He finally said "You killed Sujiomoto. He was our key to the Sphinx Protocol. Now, that key is gone, and we're standing on the edge of a cliff."
Nikolai leaned out from his chair went a bit forward forward slightly from his former position, the chains on his wrists clinking and making a little noise softly. "You make it sound like I ruined your day. I did what I had to do."
Pompeo's look at him with anger and his gaze sharpened. "Why, Kane? You could have walked away. Disappeared. But instead, you killed him. Why?"
Nikolai's smirk faded as he became serious with what he was about to say his eyes darkened. "Because he was attempting to sell it. The whole world believed that Sujiomoto had the Sphinx protocol a weapon of mass destruction which could alter the destiny of the world , whoever posses it will have world dominance. The Sphinx Protocol wasn't going to stay in your hand if Sujiomoto really had it, he had buyers. Dangerous ones. And my client paid me to eliminate him".
"We know," Pompeo said coldly. As a matter of fact Sujiomoto worked for us, "That's why we had him under surveillance. Until you pulled the trigger."
"Surveillance?" Nikolai let out a bitter laugh. "You think watching him would've stopped it? By the time you acted, the deal would've been done and gone, and the Protocol would be gone. Forever."
Pompeo leaned back, studying him and laughed at him and he said "And you think you stopped it? You didn't. You just delayed it, Sujiomoto never had the Sphinx protocol it was just a tatic by the CIA to draw down potential arm dealers who could struggle with the United States government for it. The Protocol is still out there. Still in play. And now, we're blind."
Nikolai's eyes met Pompeo's swiftly with both of them looking at each other, unflinching. "Not blind. Just desperate."
A tense silence filled the room. The air between them felt like so could like it could snap at any moment into something catastrophic.
Pompeo finally broke the silence after a long while of both of them gazing at themselves. "You're right. We are desperate, the government too is desperate and that's why I'm here."
Nikolai raised an eyebrow looked at pompeo while he said what he said and he just laughed and then said "Let me guess. You need me."
"I don't need you," Pompeo said back to him. "I need results. But unfortunately, you're the only one who knows where to start."
Nikolai leaned back, a slow, mocking smile forming on his face which then burst into laughter which made Pompeo furious. "Funny how that works, isn't it?"
Pompeo's eyes didn't waver, he was damn serious. "Don't mistake this for a second chance, Kane. This isn't a pardon. This isn't redemption. This is a job. You find the Sphinx Protocol, you bring it back, and maybe you don't spend the rest of your life in a hole."
"And if I say no?" Nikolai's voice was calm, almost bored, but with an acute sense of reasoning.
Pompeo's answer was immediate swift and direct like a comman. "Then you rot in this cell. Alone. Forgotten. And when the world burns because the Protocol falls into the wrong hands, your name will be a footnote in a classified file."
Nikolai's smirk returned and he smiled at bim. "Dramatic. You should write speeches sometimes".
Pompeo's jaw tightened his face became pale and serious. "This isn't a game."
"Isn't it?" Nikolai shot back at him immediately "You're playing it just like everyone else. Threats. Promises. All to get what you want. What makes you different from the people I've spent my life fighting?"
"I don't kill for sport," Pompeo said coldly. "I kill to protect, for the benefit of humanity and mankind".
Nikolai's eyes flickered with something—something close to respect, but not quite, he was a bit angry from what Pompeo said to him and he then told him "And I kill to survive."
A beat of silence filled the room everywhere was just quiet and the tempo was very high.
Pompeo stood, adjusting his coat, getting to leave the room "You have one hour. Think it over. You're either with us, or you're nothing."
As he reached the door to leave Nikolai's voice stopped him.
"Pompeo."
The director paused but didn't turn around to look back at Nikolai
"When I find the Sphinx Protocol," Nikolai said, his voice low, dangerous, "we settle our score. You. Me. No chains. No guards. Just us."
Pompeo finally turned, his expression unpredictable "Looking forward to it."
Pompeo finally shut the door behind him and left, leaving Nikolai alone in the cold, sterile room. He leaned back in his chair, his mind already racing with plans of what he was going to do when he was free.
At this particular point in time the game had begun for Nikolai and if there was one thing Nikolai Kane knew, it was how to win when the odds were stacked against him.
After Pompeo had left Nikolai and finally Left Warsaw later that evening, Nikolai was informed by the agents that he will be moved to the United States of America for the next part of his missions with the CIA.