Missions of the Retrieval Team - Kilts in a Cage

[davedove]

Opening Scene

Factory in Mexico

The team had made its way to Mexico to a factory owned by a General I. Juan B. Ricos. Some research by Ms. Wren had uncovered that General Ricos had recently acquired a number of shares of stock from Globo-Fashion, Inc. Further research had turned up several pictures of the General with Ivana Rulital.

We were tracking down the source of a perfume used by Globo-Fashion in a plot to control the thoughts and actions of people through the use of mind-influencing drugs and devices. Globo-Fashion was using the products of Emma Ritchgarl to distribute these items, all without Ms. Ritchgarl’s knowledge.

We had neutralized the drugs in Ms. Ritchgarl’s perfume, but we still needed to keep any new drugs from entering the market. Our research had led us to this factory.

We had chosen the early hours of the morning to stage our operation. Although the factory continued to operate through the night, between the hours of ten and four there was only a skeleton crew on hand to ensure the automated portions of the production section operated without incident.

Our task was to alter the mixing process of the perfume so that the hypnotin, the chemical compound responsible for the mind-altering effects, was left out of the process. Fortunately, only two men were monitoring the computers through the night.

Ms. Raven had planned our entry into the facility. Only a few guards patrolled the perimeter, and they weren’t expecting any disturbances. Two of them even seemed to be drinking a bit of tequila while on duty. It was a simple matter to slip over the fence when they weren’t looking.

As we entered the main building, we made our way to the control room. The hallways were empty as we slipped quietly towards our objective. Ms. Raven slipped ahead of us to peek into the control room. She pulled back from the door and signaled to us. Only one person was currently in the room. Either the other man had gone to relieve himself, or he was off napping somewhere.

Ms. Hawk pulled the sap from the back of her belt and moved into the room. The rest of us kept watch, looking for the other man.

In only a few moments, we heard a slight thump and a muffled groan. Ms. Raven, who had been watching Ms. Hawk, signaled the rest of us into the room. Ms. Hawk had knocked out the man inside and was moving him to the side. She laid him on the floor after ensuring he was unconscious.

Ms. Swan quickly moved to the control monitor and set up her laptop, connecting it to the factory’s systems. I directed Ms. Raven to look around for the other man and told Ms. Hawk to watch the door.

It only took a few minutes for Ms. Swan to isolate the mixing procedures for the perfume. She quickly altered the formula used to eliminate the hypnotin. Another quick command caused all the hypnotin tanks to purge themselves into the drainage system. Finally, she eliminated all the copies of the original formula and substituted a nearly identical formula missing only the hypnotin.

Ms. Swan quickly disconnected her computer and packed it away in her bag. Ms. Raven moved back into the room, dragging another man behind her. She and Ms. Hawk placed the two men back in their chairs so that to all appearances, the two men had fallen asleep.

The four of us slipped out of the room and out of the building. Slipping past the guards outside was even easier this time. If they didn’t notice anyone sneaking into the building, they certainly weren’t expecting anyone to be leaving.

We quickly made our way across the hills surrounding the factory to the truck waiting for us. Ms. Stark and Ms. Falcon helped us load our gear and we all got into the truck. Its muffled engine allowed us to pull away so quietly that no one farther away than one hundred feet would never hear us.

As we moved away from the factory, I reflected on this mission. The hypnotin was destroyed along with the formula. No one had been hurt and apparently we had not been detected. Best of all, the factory could still continue producing the safe perfume, so no innocent workers would be without a job.

A complete success.

[Coemgen]

[Arizona Scot]

Oh goodie it's story time, Yea

[Kilted_John]

Hope that wasn't the whole thing... ;-)

-J

[davedove]

Hope that wasn't the whole thing... ;-)

-J

That's why it was titled "Opening Scene".

[davedove]

Commercial Break

Inside a home

We see a woman sitting in a chair. Several small children are running about the room, screaming and generally destroying everything. The woman looks as though she has reached her limits of stress and is about to give up. She massages her temples as though she has a terrible headache.

A mature woman wearing tartan steps into the scene and addresses the audience. “Hello, I’m Ms. Pleater. Does this scene look familiar to you? Has it happened to you all too often? We of the Institute of Culinary Excellence are here to help.”

“Our researchers have combed the globe for the rarest ingredients. We have assembled herbs from the most remote sections of the Australian outback and the frozen tundra of Siberia. We have gathered fruits from the deepest reaches of the Amazon and roots from the darkest jungles of Africa. We have combined these with special tea leaves from the foothills of the Himalayas and fragrant spices from Indonesia to produce an elixir that will calm the most frazzled nerves.”

“This elixir will produce a state of relaxation that will melt away hours of stress, enabling you to cope with your hectic life.”

The scene again shows the first woman. She takes a sip of steaming liquid from a cup and leans back with a blissful smile on her face. The children are still screaming around her, but the volume of their voices seems to decrease.

The scene returns to Ms. Pleater. She faces the audience and hold up a small bottle. On the bottle is the label ‘Stress Free’. “Try Stress Free and see if it doesn’t work for you. You can find it in most drug and health food stores.”

[Jock Scot]

Are we, perchance, situated in the UK? Some where near the South coast? Ok, I Know, shut up Jock and eat your peanuts!

[Pleater]

SSSSHHHHHHUUSSSHHH!!!

You'll have people turning up looking for the good stuff.

Those glittery greenhouses on sunny southern slopes are hard enough to disguise as a solar panel experiment as it is.

All products of the herbal essences wing of the MHICE are entirely organic and totally natural in origin.

[davedove]

SSSSHHHHHHUUSSSHHH!!!

You'll have people turning up looking for the good stuff.

Those glittery greenhouses on sunny southern slopes are hard enough to disguise as a solar panel experiment as it is.

All products of the herbal essences wing of the MHICE are entirely organic and totally natural in origin.

Don't worry, this is one of your more widely known formulas, specifically toned down and made available to the public. Simply a method to raise funds, of course.

[davedove]

Scene 1

Port of Miami

Ms. Stork and I arrived at the Port of Miami. We were attending the first ever Kilted Kruise aboard the cruise ship Ceilidh. Although it was a smaller ship, the attendees of the Kilted Kruise would only make up a small portion of the passengers.

The rest of my associates would not be on board with me. They were all enjoying a well-deserved vacation, and that meant getting away from the boss. Ms. Falcon had flown us to Miami in our jet and Ms. Raven was along as well, but after letting us off they were off to the Bahamas for some fun of their own.

Ms. Wren was spending time with her husband. After his recent recovery from his mistreatment at the hands of Ivana Rulital, they needed some time together. And if the rumors were true, she would be asking for maternity leave before long.

The rest of my associates had scattered in different directions, each pursuing their own diversions. Ms Stork had decided to accompany me, so I had reserved one of the larger suites available. From the stack of books she had brought along, I suspected her idea of a vacation involved finding a quiet spot and reading for hours.

As our bags were being unloaded from the taxi, I spotted another kilted gentleman approaching, accompanied by a flame haired woman and two small children.

“Mr. Dove,” he exclaimed as he approached. “So glad you could make it.”

“Likewise,” I replied, shaking the hand he offered. “But please, I’m on vacation. Just call me Dave.”

“Of course, and feel free to call me Jaime. You remember my wife?”

“How could I possibly forget her?” I took the hand she offered and kissed it lightly.

“And these are our children, Sinbad and Xena,” he said, introducing the children with him.

“Very pleased to meet you both,” I said, greeting the two. “Jaime, you remember Ms. Stork?”

“Please,” she said, offering her hand to him, “It’s Rebecca, or just Becca if you prefer. But not Becky, if you don’t mind. That has always seemed so childish to me.”

Ms. Stork greeted the rest of the Panache family and we gathered our bags and made our way into the terminal.

Inside we noticed only a few more kilted men. One immediately noticed us and approached. Along with his casual kilted outfit, he also wore a pith helmet. “Mr. Dove, Mr. Panache,” he said in a deep voice with a thick British accent. “So bloody good to see you. I was afraid I wouldn’t see anyone I knew.”

“Coemgen, Glad you’re on board,” said Jaime.

After he greeted us all, Coemgen moved back to his place in line to continue checking in.

I asked Panache, “I didn’t think he was British.”

“He's not,” he replied, obviously as confused as I was. “He’s from California.”

As we stood waiting, another kilted man approached us. From the way he carried himself, we could tell that he had spent considerable time in the military.

“Excuse me,” he said addressing me. “Aren’t you Mr. Dove?”

“Yes I am,” I replied. “And you are?”

“You probably know me as Macdoc. I’m pretty new to your group and I thought this trip would be a great opportunity to meet some other members.”

“Indeed it will be. Allow me to introduce one of our Moderators, Panache.”

The two men exchanged greetings until we were again forced to move in the line.

This continued as we made our way to the front of the line. Several members of the forum introduced themselves, then were forced to return to the line.

After Ms. Stork and I received our room keys, we made our way onto the ship. Like everyone else, we stopped to get our pictures taken as we boarded. Once on board the ship, we made our way to our suite.