Chapter #35The ENNEU Protocol by: Nostrum   What’s a DMTP signal blocker? That is the question running through your mind as you grab the yellow pen. It’s identical to the others in design, other than its color.
That’s not supposed to exist. The fact that Silva’s mind (which, apparently, you were connected with while you were knocked out) is telling you this means you won’t get much information. But maybe conjectures work just fine. It’s supposed to block the effect of the dermatoplastifier.
The black pen, you recognize.
But everyone always told me that wasn’t supposed to exist! Why would we get something like it?
The answer, of course, comes in the documents. There are a couple of dossiers, but you’re led to one blank page with two seals. The one at the top simply says “press this”, while the one below says “don’t press this”.
You press the first, and the blank page suddenly shows a hidden message, seemingly written in a typewriter:
FOR THE OPERATIVE’S EYES ONLY
If you are reading this, you have been assigned as the operative for the ENNEU protocol.
Confirm that you have the following objects in your possession:
a) Standard Procedure Kit, Type 2 Agent
b) ENNEU Protocol Instructions
c) ENNEU Protocol Target Dossier(s)
d) ENNEU Protocol Destruction Envelope
e) [REDACTED]
f) Briefcase
g) This document (ENNEU Introductory Letter)
Upon confirmation, follow these steps:
1) Read the ENNEU Protocol Instructions and memorize them.
2) Read the ENNEU Protocol Target Dossiers carefully.
3) Remove the yellow pages from the Dossiers
4) Insert the ENNEU Protocol Instructions and yellow pages into the ENNEU Protocol Destruction Envelope.
5) Press the “Do Not Press This” Seal in this page and insert into ENNEU Protocol Destruction Envelope.
6) Seal ENNEU Protocol Destruction Envelope and set in non-flammable location.
Upon reading this document, you are assumed to have accepted your mission and entered operation. Documents set to be destroyed inside the Protocol Destruction Envelope *must* be thoroughly destroyed. Failure to comply will result in necessary and immediate termination. Attempting to store copies of these documents will also incur necessary termination. Failure to comply with this protocol will also incur necessary termination.
Further instructions are detailed in the ENNEU Protocol Instructions.
--
It takes you quite a while to read everything, but you know the gist of what you’re supposed to do. (And yes – as Epsilon claimed, these people are not joking.) To have someone from outside the agency act as their “operative” means they are desperate.
The instructions were pretty basic. The ENNEU Protocol, or “Enemy Neutralization Protocol”, is their plan to deal with rogue agents. There are four types of protocols, each dealing with one kind of agent – Type 3, Type 2, Type 1 and – what you’re about to execute – Type 0.
You get a lot of info from Silva’s mind, of course – including the meaning of each Type. Type 3 are your sleeper agents. People going deep cover. They’re there to replace, usually for extended periods of time. Sometimes, they’re to replace the target completely. They’re our support base.
Type 2 are quick-change artists. They’re our main operatives. When a Type 2 is sent, they’re meant to do anything you’d expect a spy to.
Type 1 are cleaners. When a Type 3 or Type 2 fucks up, they’re sent. They solve problems, and are given a lot of leeway as to how. They’re usually Type 2s that have served for a long time. There are some identities only Type 1s can use – in the Classroom or in the field. What matters is, their identities are unknown.
As a rule, Type 1s do not self-govern, nor self-police. They obey orders, and execute them. Generally, it’s a Type 1 that gets sent to execute an ENNEU Protocol. But when they fuck up, that’s when they send a Type 0. And that is as much as I can tell you – otherwise, I’d have to kill you. Even if I currently can’t.
Which makes this all the more serious. Epsilon – Adrienne Silva – is a Type 0, as the dossier claims. (That’s on a yellow paper, which means you’re supposed to destroy it.) So does Sigma. So you – a complete stranger to the Organization – are tasked to hunt their most elite agents, so secretive your own copy of Silva’s mind can’t tell you.
That is the level of fuck-up you’re tasked to fix. And the instructions? To recover the blueprints, and dispose of the rogue agents. Simply put – you must kill them. Them, and anyone they’ve related to. In fact, there is a little note attached – a yellow Post-It, which means you must also destroy it – with a special instruction for you:
FOR THE OPERATIVE’S EYES ONLY
If the individual known as Nicholas Gray Anderson is declared as an operative of the rogue agents, the protection does not extend to him. Failure to comply will incur your necessary and immediate termination. This supersedes the deal our Organization has offered.
So, in short – if Nick’s on with them, you have to kill him. Or else, they’ll terminate you. (Which is as grave as it sounds. Basically, they will kill you, because you’re a risk to them. Immediately. There is no mention about replacements, though.)
The white pages of the dossiers include non-sensitive information that you can keep, though the instructions instruct you to destroy the documents once you’re finished. It seems these fuckers have tailed Sigma for months and know all of his haunting spots. About Epsilon, however, you see a lot of yellow papers, with some of their best-known associates.
As you’d expect, Clark and the IT group are marked as “potential operatives”, but the information suggest they are loyal to Silva, not to Epsilon. If you contact them, it’s possible to keep them out of harm’s way. (Though, the note about Clark knowing about the pens marks him as “high-risk”, so you really need to do the impossible to save him.)
Curiously, there is no information about you. Either they know who you are and have deliberately ignored you, or they don’t know who you are and don’t know you associated with Epsilon. You suspect the first, because they must have seen you when they knocked you out.
The instructions also tell you that this safehouse is secure but limited. That means it’s only active for as long as you’re in operation. It’s part of the “Standard Procedure Kit”, alongside the keys to the safehouse, the car, the weapon and the credit cards. (Which, of course, are meant to cover for your expenditures.)
The pens – one black, one brown, but not the rest as the others are part of the agent’s belongings – are also part of the SPK, and probably the most important bit. Type 3 kits, according to Silva, lack the pens altogether, as they come with a skin instead. Type 1 kits include both – the skin used for the operation, as well as the pens for additional changes.
Notably, the yellow pen is not part of the kit – and arguably, the one thing you must keep safe at all costs. (Or you’ll suffer a “necessary and immediate termination”.) As Silva mentioned, it’s a “Dermatoplastification Signal Blocker” - in other words, a device to block the effects of the black pen. It’s very limited, as what it does is set some sort of shield that interferes with the deflation process, at the cost of stunning you for a brief moment and leaving you sluggish. If they shoot you with the pen again, it’s game over. But at least it gives you enough time to react and – potentially – change the outcome.
And of course, if one of the rogue agents managed to get it, they could dissect it and make one for themselves. And maybe, just maybe, become immune to the pen.
As the instructions mention, you’re currently on a time table. Epsilon and Sigma are fulfilling their plan to spread the C-Sets (Costume Sets, the informal name for the black and brown pens) all around the East Coast. If they succeed, you fail. It’s as simple as that.
Other than that, you’re given free reign. You can switch into anyone, gain access to their minds (but not their memories), steal their money, interfere with their lives – as long as that gets you one step closer to either, or sets you on the track to them, anything goes. (And this includes – and is not limited to – impersonating members of your own family, or your friends.)
You check the closet to see a couple surprises. There are three skins, in hangers, with three choices of attire each, plus three additional choices of attire fit for a federal agent. You have no idea about the first, but the second one is Ross. The third, however, is Tina – and there is a Post-It sticking to it.
You may find this useful.
Haskins.
The fourth set of clothes, of course, is for yourself. Other than Ross’s, there are no male clothes. There’s a reason for that.
As you check your body on the mirror, you notice the lack of the usual “slit” on your back. You touch it, and it’s smooth.
That means only one thing. You have been sealed inside the skin of Adrienne Silva. Because the Organization expects Adrienne Silva to solve this.
You check the skins at your disposal. You can use the new one to go unnoticed, sniffing for clues. You could go as Ross and investigate the abandoned building. You could use Clark and the IT guys to help you.
But – and the Post-It seems to suggest it – you could set a trap. All you need to do is tell Epsilon that you made your choice – to be Tina Anderson for the rest of your life.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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