The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

“CIA? What possessed you to meddle with such mortal affairs?” Cliff inquired.

“Well it probably had something to do with my former tenure at the Office of Strategic Services, but never mind that. We’re not here to discuss my private life. I have a job for both of you, so pull up a chair, take a seat, and listen carefully.”

“Why should I listen to you?” Cliff asked.

“Oh honey, I know it’s hard to get through that faithful skull of yours, but I’m not the enemy here. Just think how bad this must be if the Vatican is making you work with me.”

Cliff had to think about that one. The words she had said. She had known that the Vatican had sent him, and she was aware of what he was. And yet she still chose to face him, knowing that something like this would probably happen. Despite all this, Cliff didn’t feel any more at ease about having to work with a demon. All the same, he took a seat with Sable next to him on a couple foldout chairs. His curiosity was getting the better of him.

The woman took a couple folders from on the table as she turned her chair around. She sat facing them and crossed her leg over the other thumbing through the folder before she spoke.

“Cliff Parsons.”

“Yeah?”

The woman looked up past her glasses at him for half a second before looking back down.

“Average student. Bit on the brighter side. Enlisted in the military right out of high school. Deployed with the 82nd Airborne Division. Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, Operation Golden Pheasant in Honduras, Operation Just Cause in Panama, and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. Left the service after the Gulf War and became a priest. Assisted in two exorcisms in two neighboring towns since.”

“So you got my files. Anything else?”

The woman ignored him and slipped the other folder out and placed it on top of the first. She opened it and read aloud again.

“Sable Whitfield.”

The girl perked up but did not make a sound otherwise. Sable had been quiet the whole time, sitting there and doing her best to be observant as Susan talked to them. She didn’t know what this was all about yet, but she knew the best thing to do was to listen.

“Daughter of Margaret Ellison and James Whitfield. Grew up in rural Illinois, attended school with high marks, and on track to becoming a grad student. Little to no extra-curricular activity noted by the school.” She looked up at Sable and her eyes narrowed, “But we know what you were up to.”

Sable swallowed hard. The woman looked back down and continued reading.

“Attended college and majored in history. Took classes in Japanese language. A fan of Sailor Moon as well. Me too. But you were also trying to find out about your ancestry. You visited local libraries and historical societies to dig up occult history, which led you to the Sisters of the Eclipse.”

The woman raised her head to regard Sable with undivided attention. Even Cliff was eyeing her more intently.

“How much do you know about the Sisters of the Eclipse?”

“Not a whole lot. They mainly taught me beginner witchcraft, not history. Said I would be ready for it in time.”

“They always were tight-lipped about where they came from. You can hardly blame them, what with the witchhunts of Salem having done a number on their membership.”

Sable’s eyes went wide.

“I can’t tell you a lot as I’m still sworn to secrecy, but let’s just say I did some work with your grandmother on your mom’s side back during the war. That’s probably why you’re here today. I make no promises, but you might be getting a lot more answers to those burning questions when this is over. Provided you survive, of course. And you,” turning to Cliff, Susan said, “I’m sure you don’t know, but I’ll definitely be having a chat with His Holiness about your manners. Make it up to me and you may still have a job at the end of this.”

Cliff scowled and sighed. He asked, “How many popes have you known, anyway?”

“All of them.”

Cliff gave her an incredulous look.

“Okay well not all of them, but I’ve personally met with each and every one back to Pope Benedict XV.”

“And what would a demon like you want with the pope?”

“Protection. From lackeys like you, of course, but that’s above your paygrade. We’re wasting enough time as it is. So, now for why you’re both here…”

The woman stood up and stepped up to a lightswitch. She flicked it on, illuminating the whole basement. Rows of shelves with boxes and equipment lined the walls. She walked over to a board with pictures of people on it and red yarn connecting them.

“Welcome to Operation Late Fee. I’ll try to avoid a lot of jargon for the sake of our uninitiated guest here, but do keep up and take notes.”

The pair grabbed a pair of small notebooks they had been told to bring from their bags and brought out their pens.

“This operation goes way back. It’s the 1940’s. Hitler and his Wehrmacht armies are currently blitzing through Europe. On the surface it’s all normal invasion fanfare. In their wake is the Waffen-SS led by Henrich Himmler. As the militaries paved the way, Himmler had more sinister means. Disguised as general looting, members of the Ahnenerbe organization began acquiring artifacts and tomes and other mysterious things from all the countries they invaded. They were looking for something. A lot of things, actually. Mystical items that could unlock untold power and allow them to conquer the world. Things like the Holy Grail, the Spear of Longinus, even had plans to try to nab Excalibur and Caliburn with Operation Sea Lion. Naturally, the Allies couldn’t let this happen.”

The woman turned to Cliff and Sable.

“Himmler’s Ahnenerbe organization became curator to some very powerful and mythical items during Germany’s rampage across Europe and North Africa. Many of these items have been found, recovered, and stored in secret vaults all over the world.”

“Like Area 51?” Cliff asked.

The woman smirked, “How secret would it be if you knew about it?”

“Point taken. Continue.”

“The Ahnenerbe had a manifest of their entire inventory that was picked up, copied, and shared between American and British intelligence agencies. Naturally, the Soviets managed to get their own copy too through less than scrupulous means. After World War II was done and over with, the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency, along with Military Intelligence Section 6, made it an ongoing effort across the span of many administrations to reclaim as many of these items on the records as possible. The KGB wanted in of course, and it became a race. Unfortunately there’s been a lot of debate and mistrust between us and MI6 about where exactly things should be interred, but we’re all largely playing on the same team.”

“So now that the Soviet Union is gone, what happened?” Cliff asked.

“Excellent question. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent economic turmoil it went through, many former party members were out to make a buck anyway they could. So, regrettably, a lot of the items the Soviet Union obtained that are listed on that manifest were sold off to the highest bidder on the black market. This is what brings us here today. After the rising tensions across the modern world, and global terror attacks rocking nations to their core, we’ve found ourselves in a precarious position. Since Operation Eagle Claw’s failure, many of the terrorist cells have become more emboldened. Now that it’s clear that the greatest military power on the planet can be bested by a bunch of part-time wannabes, we’re seeing groups cropping up all over.”

“I remember that. It was a huge upset. I was able to talk with some of the guys after Urgent Fury about what happened.”

“This has caused a lot of friction and resulted in more daring plans by the enemy. Last year we intercepted communications that regarded a terror cell made up of people under vampiric influence. We managed to trace them back to big wigs in the cells and found there is always at least one vampire on the ground with the cell, no doubt to keep them on track and for feeding purposes. I won’t bore you with the details of their psychology, but basically they’re vampire supremacists who believe humans are beneath them and are working to eliminate mankind to take over in their stead.”

“So how are they going to accomplish this?”

The woman sighed and adjusted her glasses.

“The coven of vampires is confirmed to be in possession of a very powerful tome that was once in the Soviet Union’s hands. We don’t know how or why it ended up there, but that’s not what we’re worried about. The tome is the Necronomicon, or more commonly known as The Book of the Dead.”

Sable went wide-eyed again. “I thought that was just something that Lovecraft made up,” she said.

“That would be called ‘disinformation,’ Ms. Whitfield. The Necronomicon is real, as are a great many other things thought to be ‘just fiction.’ We don’t exactly know what their plan is, but if they have the Necronomicon, it can’t be good. We’ve run them to ground and isolated as many of their cells as possible to prevent widespread damage, but we still haven’t found the book. That is until last week, when surveillance confirmed the sighting of it in transport. Unfortunately, the vampires skipped town before we could intercept them.”

“So where are they now?” Cliff asked.

“Somewhere here in Japan. We tracked their flight here and are currently working with the State Department, who is feeding intel to the Japanese Ministry of Transport. Japan’s police are on a nationwide APB for these guys, but are instructed to contact the State Department through the embassy first and foremost and to not directly engage with them. These guys are already cornered, and we don’t want something blowing up in our faces. I’ll be working with local Japanese authorities to ensure that things run smoothly. Officially, I’m a State Department liaison, so I’ll be able to swing things no problem.”

“And us?”

“You two have non-official covers. You are “illegals.” That means if you’re caught by the Japanese police and held under suspicion of criminality, we will not bail you out and we will pretend you don’t work for us. These covers are flimsy, but it should be enough for you to go on with your work. Just don’t get pulled over.”

“Great. Do you have leads?”

“We do, and you two will follow up on them. You’ll do dead drops at specific locations and times, which I’ve put down into a map. It’s written in invisible ink that only shows up in a blacklight. Memorize it and make sure you get the times right. And if you’re caught, destroy it immediately. You two are going to be our boots on the ground for this operation. I realize that you may not be as adept at tradecraft as I am, so let me give you the most important rules to live by. Take this down: Assume nothing, never go against your gut, everyone is potentially under opposition control, do not look back - you are never completely alone, go with the flow and blend in, vary your pattern and stay within your cover, do not harass the opposition, lull them into a sense of complacency, pick the time and place for action, and always keep your options open. Got all that?”

The two of them both nodded as they finished writing it all down.

“So then, if ever you get into real trouble that can’t be bought out or ran from, head to the embassy. My boss will take care of it, but you better have a damn good reason to be there or it’ll be the shortest stint in The Company anyone ever had.”

“Alright alright, we get it.” Cliff bemoaned.

“So what’s your name, then?” Sable asked.

“You can call me Susan.” The woman replied.

Cliff eyed Susan very intensely. Sable saw and understood that he was hoping for the actual name the demon had. Susan knew his game and refused to play it. Knowing a demon’s true name gave you power over them. They shared a silent exchange of daggers through their eyes. Cliff resolved to never fully trust her, but it wasn’t that easy. She was the boss now, and they had a job to do. He wondered if he could’ve just walked out the door and never looked back. Susan saw it in his eyes, the windows to the soul.

“If you want, you can walk right out. We’ll forget you were ever here and that’ll be that. But I know you’ll stay.”

“What makes you say that?” Cliff asked.

“Because we know you, Mr. Parsons. We know the both of you. Why do you think we picked you two? It wasn’t going to be anyone else for the first watch. But go ahead, prove me wrong. Throw the world away for another day at that seaside cottage. It’ll only be a matter of time before it’s burnt to the ground.”

Cliff bit his lip. Sable felt Susan’s cutting words driving into them both. Sable wasn’t totally on board, but the guilt trip was working its magic. Cliff folded his arms over his chest, his field jacket ruffled as he did so, almost like it was audibly punctuating his frustration.

“Alright, fine. You got me. So we got terrorist vampires trying to bring about the end of all life as we know it, and we’re the only ones who can stop it. That about cover it?”

“Well we’ll still need the assistance of the Japanese police, but for the most part yes. I’ve got a couple leads for you to run down, if you’re done having cold feet.”

“Let’s hear it,” Cliff replied.

“Good. The first one’s easy. We have someone who could possibly have more information on the current scene. These vampires are all Westerners, so they stick out to the other denizens of the supernatural community. That means they have to be sheltered somewhere. You’re to head up to an onsen at the base of Mount Fuji here. It’s run by a yuki-onna, so she’s a bit wary of humans. Discretion and diplomacy, you two. Once you have some solid intel, you’ll both head back to a designated safehouse that’s technically under Embassy jurisdiction. I’ll be at a noodle shop tomorrow afternoon for lunch. Meet me there and we’ll discuss what you found and go over your next steps.”

Susan walked forward and handed Cliff a piece of paper with the addresses of the locations and the meeting time written on them. She also gave them each a light messenger bag.

“Memorize it and then burn it, flush it, eat it, I don’t care. Just make sure it becomes illegible. Cover your tracks at all times but don’t make it obvious. There’s some essentials in the bags like yen and toiletries. You got this?”

“Yeah, I think we can handle that. Let’s go.”

As Sable got up, Susan softly clasped her hand around Cliff’s. The man felt a chill crawl up his spine as he watched Sable continue on ahead. Susan got close to his ear.

“You’re her protection. Make sure she stays with you at all times.” She whispered before letting him go.

Cliff merely looked back and gave a nod before heading out to catch up with Sable.