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Subterfuge by Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. Additionally there is minor violence and implied bloodshed. You have been warned.

"This is the wonderful thing about espionage,

nothing exists anymore."

-William Stephenson

+++Codex Entry AOO19A+++

The life we live...is one of lies. Constantly woven webs of intricate fallacies. We...are the agents of all and yet known know we exist. The art of the clandestine is a fine one in which we tread the fine line of life and death. Yet we, the select few, who do so have no issue with such thing and act with pride and prudence. Such is the way of things...and there is no need for questioning such an existence. When asked...we respond with yet another tall tale to build upon the already silly amount of deceit.

Intelligence is one of those things where...you think you know what's going on and yet nothing is real. How do you know what is authentic and what is not? Such is the way of things in the service and its agents are often misinformed in order to protect their own identity as well as the security of the mission. There are only a select few who work there and even less who remain there as a career, so it is in the best interest of the agency to maintain the confidence of their agents.

Ethan Clawscratch was an agent who had worked for the agency for a few years now. He'd gotten past new agent training after he turned 19, quite easily. Now 2 years into his tenure, he had moved on into becoming a field agent. He was a Catanian nationalist through and through and wasn't exactly cut out for the military, so this was the best he figured he could do. His code name among the agency was "Scratch" and he was known for his ruthless yet methodical in each mission he was assigned to do.

Already in the second year of his employment, most of the other agents formally recognized him. He was one of the few furs who happened to be a domesticated cat. Most of them were various breeds of canines and big cats, he was one of the smallest men on the force. Since he was still a "fresh-face", he was also one of the youngest. Scratch didn't really mind since it just offered him more chances to prove himself. Today was another such day, as he was expecting a new assignment from his boss.

His boss had a rather infamous personality. Known fondly as "Z", the woman had been with the agency for some time. She was considered a hero by many within the inner circles of the Catanian government. Of course, outside of the "in-the-know" no one knew who she was. There were rumors that often floated around but they never perpetuated beyond old wives' tales. Scratch never really looked forward to meeting with the man. She was several decades his senior and considered a graymuzzle by her counterparts. But this didn't stop her from being the strong-willed leader that she was.

Scratch ruffled his orange and white fur and made sure that it was well-groomed, simply matting whatever cowlick he had with some spit. It was better than going into the bathroom and combing his fur, he thought. Wearing his usual getup; a suit, tie, and slacks all of which were in a matching navy blue color. He straightened his formal attire and headed towards the office with as much swagger as he could muster.

Z's office was at the end of the largest corridor in the whole building. CCTV cameras watched as he made his way down the marble halls of the huge complex. The walls were grey and without decoration. A large metal door was at the end of the passage with a 9 digit number system with a card reader on the side. Scratch had an ID card that allowed him access into most places in the building. But even with his clearance, he didn't have access to everywhere. Sometimes he couldn't help but be curious about the other places he had never gone to.

Sliding his ID card through the reader, Scratch made his way through the door. As usual, the swivel chair was spun and Z was looking out the window. She already knew who had entered because the ID card produced a profile for her to review before speaking to the agent.

"Good morning, Agent Scratch, how are you this fine day?" She asked with a calm and collected voice as she spun the chair around to get a better look at her employee.

The woman seldom showed herself, but everyone knew her to be a rather lithe mouse. She was stern yet fair in how she dealt with business and everyone knew not to get on her bad side as she had quite he quite the temper.

"Good morning, ma'am. I am fine...thank you for asking. How are you?" He knew to be cordial with her as she valued politeness more than anything else.

"I am well. We have an assignment for you." She pulled out a folder and placed it on the desk.

Scratch leaned over and took the folder before examining it and spending a quick minute to review it. He didn't really have a choice in the matter and would have to study the matter before actually engaging in the mission.

"Any questions are to go to your senior officer, Briar. Are we clear?" The mouse spun back around so she could look out the window again.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for the opportunity." The man responded in kind as he stood back up, glad that it had been a shorter meeting than normal.

"You are dismissed." The door behind him automatically opened as she said that.

Ethan thumbed through the file as he exited the office. It wasn't lit well enough to read any of it, but it seemed like a pretty standard file. There was a profile of the people's interest and a letter which explained the intent of the mission. Included was a fake passport, it seemed that Scratch was being expected to travel abroad. The document seemed to be crimson red and had the state symbol of Scylera, the mortal enemy of Catania.

When the agent returned to his desk, he put all of the papers down so that he could properly review them. Upon reading the letter, Scratch had a better understanding of what was expected of him. It seemed that he was being tasked with going into enemy territory in order to obtain information from a few high priority targets. The military of Scylera, was supposedly planning something big and the Ministry of Intelligence had received information that they were planning a large scale invasion of Catania.

Scylera and Catania had been enemies ever since the Epoch War. The conflict was one that everyone remembered since it was just in the last 20 years. An Armistice had been signed but no formal peace treaty was recognized by either side. In addition, the two nations bordered one another and the line of demarcation was noted as one of the most problematic areas in the entire world. Hardly anyone remembered that just a century ago the two nations were one, instead buying into the propaganda that each was its polar opposite.

Scylera was called the "Land of Scales", ruled by a Vizier who was regarded by his people as omniscient. Seen as the hand of the gods, the Vizier was feared by anyone outside the Empire as a terrifying man. A hulking chimera...with three heads as told by Catanian mothers to their children. However, such was not the case. Rather he was a dragon who had justly ruled over his people since the coming of the separation. Very few had actually seen him in public, and the oracle was his voice to the people.

Catania on the other hand was the "Land of Fur" where the government wasn't quite as centralized as Scylera. A constitutional monarchy where a Lioness known as Galatea ruled with her many consorts. She had no significant lover as she was quite paranoid about losing power to a man. The "Pale-skinned-one" as she was known by the enemy was an Albino with frosty white fur and a very intimidating muscular feature among her kin. She was known to be rather vindictive to those who crossed her path, but also very fair to those who served her well.

To people outside of the region, everyone knew of the conflict but the reason behind it was lost within the volumes of history. Both sides had their own story to the tale. Only the elders knew the true reality of the conflict, figuring it was in the best interest of the state to maintain the ignorance of the public. Slowly but surely they were dying out and with them the truth. But it wasn't really their fault since both countries were ok with living within the cultural bubbles they had created.

Scratch read through the file a second time, just to make sure he knew what was expected of him. A small sum of Scyleran cash was inside along with a ticket, so he took a hold of it along with the visa and made a quick dash to grab something to eat so that he could make his train. His ticket said his trip was tonight so he didn't have much time to prepare. This was the way things usually were within the Ministry of Intelligence.

The lunch in the cafeteria was your usual ham and cheese on rye. It was toasted today which was a surprise to say the least. The agents on duty were always given something special before they left. Today's dish of the day, as it was called, was tuna with swish on a kaiser. It was one of the feline's favorite. Especially when it came with hollandaise sauce, which was one of the many available on the condiment table. It smelt fresh and Ethan's whiskers curled at the scent of the decadent meat. Once next to it, he leaned down and enjoyed its aroma.

A couple of nearby people stared at him, which caused Scratch to hesitate and finally stop what he was doing. Returning to his seat with some lemonade and a fat-stacked sandwich with his favorite meat. He wasted no time in downing the meal, as he knew he had precious little time to pack what he could. Any agent that was given duty was allowed to leave early to prepare for the task. No one questioned them as anyone who worked with the agency was considered of the highest integrity.

Ethan made his ride home a shorter one than normal, taking the turnpike so he could avoid traffic. It was still pretty early in the day, so there wasn't that many people around. He made it home in pretty good time and quickly headed inside to gather his things. The cat knew he could only have a single bag as it was always best to travel light on missions. So he had to make do with what he could and pack only the bare necessities.

Once he was packed, he lazed about a bit and continued obsessing over the file. Scratch was a perfectionist who never wanted to botch a mission, no matter what it was. This one seemed to be of the utmost importance as it was labeled as a National Security issue. Ethan for the first time in his young career was nervous as he'd never been into Sclyera and had only heard stories that were increasing his anxiety. The cat had to do his best and ignore his self-conscience and ignore it, elsewise he would surely fail the mission. Failure was not an option to him.

By the time he finished obsessing over preparation, it was time to head to the train station. Scratch decided it was best not to bring his car and figured the local bus would serve just as well. He didn't want to leave any unfinished behind and he didn't know how long the trip would take. Additionally, he certainly didn't want to be left with a huge parking bill. Ethan changed into something more casual and grabbed his bag before heading out the door. It was now later in the afternoon and dusk was setting in.

The trip to the train was uneventful even though the bus was packed with people. The train station was busy as it usually was, though the train to Scylera was essentially empty. When Scratch arrived to the waiting area, most of the people were in suits and ties were standing around. He assumed they had to be diplomats. Many of them were of the scaled breed but there were a few furs, like himself, out and about. He was a bit nervous but knew that it had to be done in order to secure the integrity of his home nation.

His cabin inside the train was towards the front end of the train. It was the coach section, so there wasn't many people around. Arriving inside, he found he was alone and had the dual bunked room to himself. It was about a 12 hour trip according to the ticket, so he decided he would take a nap before he arrived in Scylera proper. Once the train began heading around, a waiter with a cart stopped by the cats room.

"Would you like anything to drink, sssir?" The elongated slur was indicative of the Scyleran accent.

"Just milk is fine." Scratch wasn't a picky person and rather enjoyed milk.

"Here you go, sssir. Anything to eat for you?" The snake asked as he handed over a plastic cup of milk.

"No thanks..." The cat had to do what he could not to appear nervous.

"Pleassse let us know if you need anything..." The man slipped away as the cart made a creaking sound as it exited the train car.

Ethan wasn't really hungry and just wanted something to drink. He figured he would find the food cart later when he was more hungry.

As he began to drink the milk, Ethan felt strange. It was tasty but the more of it he drank, the more lethargic he became. He tipped the glass so he could smell it. The aroma smelt normal and he didn't suspect any foul play so he decided to finish the beverage. Once he did he was feeling a bit woozy and decided to lay down. It didn't take long for sleep to take him as he was more tired than he should have been at this time in the day.

He didn't awake for several hours. When he did, his vision was blurry and he couldn't think straight. It was dark and his surroundings didn't seem that familiar. It definitely wasn't the train car he fell asleep on. Instead he was tossed on the floor of an area inside of bars. It was dark and smelt of a foul odor that Ethan couldn't readily recognize. A sense of fear came over him, had he already been discovered? The cat hadn't even crossed into the Scyleran territory and his ruse had apparently been realized.

Scratch overheard a loud clang of a door as some steps began to walk towards him. The young man was nervous but couldn't move no matter how much he tried. It was if he was sedated. A squeaking sound was heard before the steps came within a seemingly immediate range of the disheveled agent.

"Afternoon Agent, Ssscratch. We have been expecting you." Ethan began to feel hot when the voice spoke.

"You will only anssswer. There will be no questionsss. Are we clear?" The unknown was deep and seemed to beckon to the young agent.

Ethan couldn't respond and instead nodded as he was fearful for his own life. The cat felt a prick on his arm as something was injected into him.

"This will allow you to ssspeak." What he failed to mention was the truth-eliciting nature of the liquid.

"Firssst question...Why are you here?" The man suddenly stepped on the agent and pushed his body so that it was flat on the floor, so that it could see him.

Now that he could get a look at his pursuer, he saw that it was a rather lithe looking dragon. Yellow and orange in color, Ethan got a sense that the guy couldn't have been any older than he was. Yet, still no matter how hard he tried he couldn't move. His body was completely limp and useless to him. The dragon kicked him intent on getting him to answer.

"I...was sent here as a delegate from Catania."Scratch came up with the best lie he could come up with on such short notice.

"BSss...where are your papersss then?" The dragon seemed annoyed at this response and thought his serum wasn't working as anticipated.

"In...my bag...?" Ethan knew there was some fake stuff in there he could use to get out a sticky situation like this.

The scale whispered for a moment and then waited for a response from his partner outside of the cell. The partner brought him the small letter and fake visa. The partner made a faint mumbling noise and repeated himself three times as if he had a stutter.

"Thisss isss falssse." The warden wasn't gullible enough to buy that this was a genuine travel document and kicked the agent again, this time more harshly.

"I will asssk you again. Why are you here?" The dragon repeated the same question.

Ethan's side was getting sore from being kicked a few times but his will was strong and wasn't so easily broken.

"I can prove it..." Scratch had apparently immune to the truth serum.

"Do it..." The dragon crossed his arms defensively.

Finally, the warden stopped kicking him and sat there idly. This was the opportunity the agent needed, sweeping his legs from underneath and knocking the dragon too his but. Scratch quickly used the claws on his feet and kicked right into one of the warden's pressure points.

This caused him to pass out, Scratch looked over his shoulder and saw that the partner wasn't even moving. Ethan nodded and the guard understood. The repeating of the answer earlier had been a signal that the other man was an agent of Catania just like himself. But that didn't change that they were in enemy hands. But Ethan also knew they couldn't leave the place without any sort of information for the state.

"I'll take point you bring up the rear." Scratch began to strip the warden and take his clothes in order to maintain some sort of disguise.

Ethan's partner already was in a guard uniform, so they now could walk about the compound without much worry.

"What's your name anyhow? I should thank you for saving me." Looking at his partner, the guy appeared to be an old collie.

"They call me Y. Let's go...you take point and I'll bring up the rear if trouble rises up. We need to get to the computer room.

Ethan had heard the name before. Wasn't he the second in command next to Z? It wasn't something he had time to think about as the two exited from the cell and into the main corridors of the building. They walked together for a time as they patrolled the building from hallway to hallway. A few of the pacing guards simply nodding at them as they walked past. Most of them were of the scale variety but there were a few furs. Eventually they happened on a door in the corner. Y walked ahead and pulled out a small wire from his pocket as he fried the circuit. The dog had to force the door open and motioned for Scratch to go inside ahead of him.

Ethan went inside, it was a huge center of computers. Surprisingly there was no one inside. By the look of it, most of the hardware seemed to the servers. They hummed and whirred as Y closed the door behind them and barred it back shut by sliding a cabinet in front of it. Scratch looked around for something he could use to collect information, but there didn't seem to be anything around. Luckily the dog had a flash drive installed with hacking software to collect whatever data they could.

"Go on...I'll create a barricade. We can escape out the window once you get the software installed." The canine's plan was to just leave a virus on the computer so they could access it whenever they wanted.

Scratch did as he was told and inserted the flash drive into one of the USB ports of the servers. The moment he did an alarm went off and started to sound. A red light began to spin from the top of the room as it spun around. Some cameras moved and began to scan the room before focusing on the cat, not even noticing his partner.

"Let's go...we have less than a minute before the entire place is onto us." The dog pushed one of the servers in front of the door and allowed it to crash against the entrance.

Ethan knew it was best not to wait around and snatched the flash drive after about 20 seconds. It was a quick unpacking program, so they didn't have to wait long.

The two headed towards the window, which was large enough to fit one of them at a time. The cat forced tried forcing it open but it wouldn't budge. Instead having to use his claws to cut out some of the glass. Luckily they were sharp enough to do so. As he shaved through the glass it made a sharp screeching sound. It was mere moments before slamming was heard as the door. They knew they needed to get out of their fast. Y didn't wait for any further and crashed into the window with his foot as it broke open and created a small space for them to get through.

As they slipped out, spotlights were all over the place. They were only on the second floor, so jumping down was certainly an option. Both had been trained in some level of acrobatic recovery and were able to hop down without injuring themselves. Scratch looked around for somewhere to get out. The compound was fenced in with guard towers around the four corners of the complex. Each was using a searchlight to find the escapees.

But they were still in disguise, which in theory would make it easier for them to escape. Scratch figured most of the staff would be looking for them. Scratch and Y made a retreat around the rear of the building, where much of the same activities were going on. The siren was getting rather annoying at this point and Ethan was tempted to cover his ears, but he knew it would look suspicious.

"Come on..." Y began to run in front in an effort to beam to the back of the lot where there were some Jeeps assembled.

They mounted into the jeep and the moment that the dog started the engines, all of the spotlights centered on them.

"Over here!" The whole compound was alerted.

It was much too late now though...the two were able to use the jeep to be able to ram their way out of the compound. No one really giving them much of a challenge since they feared for their own lives as the jeep bulleted into the fence and through it.

Once they were out of the area, their safety was essentially secured. After driving a good hour, Y pulled out a small phone and called for reinforcements. Within moments they were extracted by a helicopter. Onboard Y began debriefing the cat of his full situation. Y informed him that the issue had been leaked by an informant of Scylera. However, his mission had still been achieved for the most part. As such his efforts, despite the minor failure would be rewarded upon his return.

When they arrived back in the capital, Ethan and Y were received with roaring applause. Z was waiting for them among a procession of people who were rather happy that they had returned save and sound. Both of them were given awards and a nice ceremony where they were given a grand feast. Y smiled at him as the two sat together and dinned. All and all everything seemed to have gone well. Scratch was filled with some mixed feelings and not sure what to think about what happened.

Once Z assured him everything was ok, he felt better. The mouse promised him that it would never happen again and that the mole had slipped her own intelligence services. Ethan was glad it wasn't his fault and couldn't help but curious what his next mission would be...