THE CEREBRUS IMPRIMATUR
CHAPTER 1
"Heroes are made by the times."
-Traditional Chinese proverb
The Kremlin stood in the very heart of Moscow like an epitome of tragedy. It overlooked the Moskva River like an ancient lover looking at his love. They could see each other yet they could not be together. The sun was at its cruelest might. It was red and radiant like a ball of fire. Yet it did not deterred the tourists from thronging this historic fortified complex. It was a witness to many a events, yet in today’s modern world it was the seat of a decaying world power, a power which was sinking but still trying to stay afloat.
He saw the tourists with his custom designed Alpen binoculars. He saw faces of happy people, people who hardly knew what was going around them. He stood in one of the Kremlin towers. He saw his watch. 15 minutes from now these tourists would be asked to leave by Spetnaz operatives, as they will shroud the area under total security.
He was almost invisible from them. He was like a fog; he was like a mist. He lay motionless on the terrace. He kept on grazing around with his Alpen binoculars trying to locate any hostilities.
The city of Moscow looked eerie from such a massive height. It looked like an artist's dream, like a utopia, calm and quiet. Yet it had an air of nostalgia gripping itself. It was in reality once the butcher house of Europe.
He took out his weapon, a standard M40A3 rifle. It was an USMC approved sniper rifle. It was one of the most powerful rifles ever built and had many legendary stories attached to its name from the Vietnam War. He carefully chipped in the magazine, uncased the scope covering and tested it. It had a range of 10x, which could be increased according to the customers demand.
The scope gave a perfect view of the Alexander gardens, the place of today's action. He was virtually shielded from other sniper activities. His only concern was spetnaz operatives coming in here. Then he had to obliterate them and think about a different course of action.
He was a well-built man, exactly six feet in height. He wore a black army fatigue, the ones necessarily worn by American Special Forces. His face was covered behind a mask. His eyes were only visible, eyes that were always at rage. It was fiery, Celine had once told him. He took it as a compliment. He longed to return back to her, but after today's work the chances seemed remote.
The first truck exactly entered the Kremlin premises at 4:30 pm. soon he heard sounds of heavy boots echoing around the place. There were 20 men, all highly trained. The tourists looked at them awed. They were obviously astonished. But Russian military didn't cared; they did there job without reservation. A loudspeaker boomed asking all civilians to evacuate the place.
He smirked. They were only making his job easier. The 2nd truck came just after that. Another 20 men. 40 in total. They stood in an orderly manner. All of them were heavily armed. Each carried a M60 machine gun, a walther automatic apart from other required equipments. Their leader was a man who spoke with a befitting voice. He smiled when he caught a glimpse of the man.
"You will be a lucky man if you escape alive today, Igor" he whispered to himself. He saw their course of action. Cornel Igor Romanochak, once his friend, now his foe. He was in the wrong side. He would have to die.
Today was an important day. It was.
Three heads of states were meeting today to ease all tensions among them, to start a new world order. They were meeting to eliminate all their common enemies, yet little did they know that death was looming in the horizon. Their enemies have already planned to kill them. They knew that this death was important for world chaos. It was a must. The place was soon crowded with people of variety of skills. Soldiers, diplomats, reporters, organizers soon overwhelmed the place. It was no less than a circus. The stage was set. The pawns were ready. Only they awaited the orders.
5:30 pm
It was at this time when he saw the unending wave of traffic. Limousines, Corvettes, BMWS all begin to arrive. Each with a flag, mentioning their nationalities.
The first to arrive was the Chinese president. Zhang Xuan. He was a tall man with charming features. He was an honest man. Back at china the communist party criticized him for his reformation measures as well his way of tackling the Uighur uprisal. He was an honest man surrounded by dishonest people. The Russian defence minister accosted him in.
The next one to come was the Indian prime minister. Ravi Mittal. He was a rich man. Before he joined politics he was the third richest man on this planet. His rise to power surprised many. His uncanny sense of politics always kept his rivals at bay. He was a good man. But tonight he had to die. For a better tomorrow
He was impatient. The Russian president was yet to arrive. Did someone inform him about the impending dangers? Vladimir Gorbunov was a ruthless power broker. His rise to power was by sheer brute. His motto was simple. He liked to keep his enemies close. If that were the scenario, he would obviously come.
A smile flashed across his face when the black Mercedes entered the premises. It was the signature vehicle of the Russian president. The press surrounded him. The GRU men pushed them aside and made way for their beloved president, who once was a GRU operative.
The targets were here. Now he had to act. The sniper rifle was ready. He carefully targeted them. Perfect shots. One bullet for each of them. He had a bad omen about this. Was it a setup? May be. His contractors had paid him handsomely for this. A cool 75 million dollars! Did they wish to kill him? It was not so. He did know knew their identities, but he could faintly guess they were either from the United States or Pakistan. Both of them were disgusted with this summit. If this summit were a success, a stronger alliance than NATO would emerge. It would mean a new world order. Both USA and Pakistan were cynical about this.
His plan was simple. He would shoot them and then escape to the Moskva River where a boat would be waiting for him. It would take him to a waiting blackhawk fighter near the Vedersbid mine. From there he would escape to Malta. A perfect plan! No chances of it going wrong. He felt he knew that something was wrong. He was concerned with the lapse of security. They were too less or too carefree about this summit.
"You are thinking too much Cerebrus." He told himself. In the world of hired killers he was known only as the Cerebrus. No one knew his real name. No one remained alive to knew it. He was an enigma. He was Herculean figure in his world. His body structure was massive. Over 6 feet in height, each and every portion of his body seemed as if they had been chiseled out. He was a soldier once. He was a soldier now. Only on the wrong side. His conscience questioned him a lot about the things he was doing yet there were no answers from his side.
He saw the watch. 5:49 pm. Time to get down to work.
CHAPTER 2
"Tomorrow's battle is won during today's practice."
- Samurai maxim
They were the protectors of the old world order. They were the legionnaires. They came various strata of the society. They represented the people of this world.
He was known only as Hades. Like the Greek mythological character he ruled over his vast empire with an iron fist. He was cruel; he was murderous, yet he was hailed for his brutish ways as they protected the old order.
This organisation was started soon after the 2nd world war. It was started mainly to protect interests of various regimes so that there was no world war again. Yet this same organisation morbidly was in favour of the Vietnam War. It vehemently supported USA during operation Enduring Freedom and the 2nd gulf war. This was his way of maintaining the old order. But everything was going wrong.
Russia, China and India were treading on dangerous territories. They were trying to forge an alliance. This would break the equilibrium of the power balance. It would only cause terrorist organization to break loose. USA was the world leader now. The power should rest in their hands for the moment. This alliance should not take place at all. And he knew after events of tonight at Alexander Gardens the three countries would virtually be at war. He was doing it for the good of mankind.
The organisation had a three-tier system. Only the chosen was selected for the topmost echelon. The other two tiers mainly consisted of young hungry people who did their best to rise to the top. By the time they did it, they were nearly fifty. It was a reward to be on the top but Hades was surprised as this year before these events were planned out a young women code named Persephone was selected for the topmost honour. There was no mistake in admitting her because it was her who had set the timer ticking. She had hired Cerebrus. Hired him to do the most dangerous job on this planet.
Hades sat comfortably on the Spanish teak chair. Most of the members were absent. They were because they were in their respective countries handling their various businesses. Their business flourished because of the organisation. They knew it well. The organisation acted under a camouflage. It never exists in the eyes of the world yet it was the eye, the hand of the world.
Only Persephone was present with him. She waited for the news to come. Another victory for the organisation. He was pretty sure there would be no problems. If there was one that would be taken care of. There was no chance of this going wrong. If anything goes wrong Persephone would have to pay the price. She knew the consequences. She knew the price.
"How long do you know this man called Cerebrus?" he asked.
"For some years now. I am surprised that the organisation did not took his services before." she said her voice sarcastic. She sat a little bit far from him.
"It was not required at that time."
"I can guess so."
"Is he your lover?”
"No." she said. It was hard to guess by her voice if she was annoyed by the question.
"A lot depends on today’s outcome."
"I know that."
"This would seal the fate of the world."
"And so would ours."
"Yes."
Hades got up. He was getting hyper. This would make them powerful. Powerful beyond their wildest imagination. He saw the watch. 6:30 pm. The news could come anytime soon. News of survival or news of destruction
The three heads of states had to die before 8 o' clock. Then the organization would embark on another voyage. The voyage to hell. Territory of Hades.
