Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Unresolved Questions

In the afternoon of the day after the situation at the language course, the team (Nicky Parsons, Emily Abernathy, Harriet, M1 and M2) met in the office of Nicky Parsons. Nicky told the team that whilst Natasha was at a private MI6 medical facility receiving treatment for her gunshot wound, both her home and office were swept for bugs. No bugs were found.

Parsons: How did these Team Iron Curtain bad guy criminals learn the location of the language course? Natasha must have revealed the location of the language course to someone, if not Igor. Before we confront Natasha about the source of the leak, we should do some more surveillance on her. M1, That romance of yours with Natasha may not be over.

Emily: There is no way Natasha could join The Famous Five. There is too much of the wrong kind of ambiguity about her. None of us could be comfortable doing Famous Five business with someone so resplendent in untrustworthiness.

M2: As I recall Agent Parsons once used a prospective suitor of Harriet, who would not leave her alone whilst they were having lunch in the park, as bait for a raid. I am not particularly enthusiastic about putting my life on the line for a team member who may have given up our address to the Iron Curtain crowd who seem to want to kill us. My reflexes might be a bit slow in trying to save Natasha during an ambush. That may be uncomfortable for you to hear, but this is a dirty job.

M1: I prefer to save my reflex skills for agents and colleagues I can trust.

The three female agents looked at each other somewhat stunned.

M1: In case you have forgotten, because I have not, I am alive today because agents in this room took out Iron Curtain assassins who could have killed me, had my colleague agents not acted so quickly.

Harriet:. Gentlemen, I am well aware Turkish Barber Shop raids can go horribly wrong. Perhaps we might prioritise some more surveillance on Natasha. If she is so disposed, Emily and I might canvass some options that MI6 offers to surveill Natasha, generally in the vein of the language course, but without Igor. We will try to spare you the discomfort of igniting your romance with Natasha, M1.

Emily: Surveillance without romance is a good option.

Parsons: This has been an interesting meeting. We might get together again when Emily and Harriet have worked up their plan.

Any questions or comments?

The other 4 agents: No

Parsons: Thank you for coming here, everyone.

The Hostile Agency Environment

There was not much comfort for Natasha when she returned to MI6 after her gunshot wound enforced stay at an MI6 private medical facility.

A male MI6 agent external to The Famous Five and who had not discussed Natasha with them, confronted Natasha:

“I hear The Famous Five saved your bacon. You will never get in The Famous Five. They will never trust you. You obviously leaked the address of the language course and you have not been candid about your doing so, nor of your history.

No one here is going to guide you, so that you can be a member of The Famous Five. You blew your chance right at the start. You are done. We have to work with you. But it is obviously very difficult to trust you.”

Agent Confrontation then left Natasha and proceeded to his office.

Natasha was shocked by that frosty reception and the fact that the future for her was significantly diminished. She made her way to her office and no one visited her, nor did anyone call her.

When lunch time arrived, she attended a cafeteria a little away from the MI6 building and spent her time out of the company of her MI6 colleagues.

Natasha Goes On a Mission

Upon her return from lunch, Natasha was informed she was being sent on a routine mission with another team of MI6 agents, Team 2. The task for the mission was the delivery of sensitive material at a pre-determined location, The Venue. The Venue was not an MI6 safe house, but it was assessed as safe for this particular exchange.

Team 2 and Natasha arrived at The Venue, as planned, and the initial stages of the operation proceeded without incident. While Team 2 and Natasha were at The Venue, another group of "bad guys" (Bad Guys Team 2) arrived unexpectedly. Their presence was for an exchange of their own, which was completely unrelated to the MI6 operation.

Bad Guys Team 2 were a little early for their scheduled exchange and before too long, they found themselves confronted by Bad Guys Team 1 (the adversaries for the proposed delivery of sensitive material to the MI6 team). That unexpected confrontation of the two (2) teams of bad guys led to them all panicking.

That panic triggered an immediate outbreak of chaos at The Venue. There was shouting, confusion, and an exchange of gunfire between the two groups of bad guys, as a result of that panicking.

Caught in the middle of this unexpected firefight was MI6 Team 2. By necessity, their priority shifted from just securing the sensitive material, to also neutralising the immediate threats posed by both groups of bad guys. Accordingly, they engaged with both Bad Guys Team 1 and Bad Guys Team 2.

In the midst of the chaotic exchange of gunfire at The Venue, Natasha was temporarily isolated from her MI6 team. During that isolation time she was caught in the crossfire and she suffered a fatal gunshot injury from a stray bullet from a member of Bad Guys Team 2. 

Despite the unexpected complication of the presence of Bad Guys Team 2 and the loss of Natasha, MI6 Team 2 quickly neutralised the threats posed by Bad Guys Team 1 and Bad Guys Team 2 and secured the subject sensitive material they were tasked with delivering.

Upon securing the subject sensitive material, MI6 Team 2 called the incident in to MI6 and requested that a clean up crew be sent immediately to The Venue.

Mission Report and Aftermath

With their return to MI6, Team 2 subsequently submitted their mission report. It detailed the unforeseen arrival of Bad Guys Team 2 and the ensuing chaos they created. The death of Natasha was presented as an unfortunate casualty of the intense and unexpected firefight at The Venue. The report also emphasised the successful completion of the mission objective, despite the complications and loss of life. That mission report was accepted by MI6 command and appropriately filed in The Vault by Agent Emily Abernathy.

A consequence of Agent Emily filing the mission report of MI6 Team 2 on the chaotic The Venue mission, was that Emily was informed of the unfortunate death in the line of duty of Natasha.

Shortly after the mission report was secured in The Vault, Emily telephoned Nicky Parsons and gave her the news of the death of Natasha. Emily also suggested a brief meeting of The Famous Five be convened in her office.

Nicky said she would contact the rest of The Famous Five and they would meet shortly in the office of Emily.

The general sentiment of that meeting of The Famous Five was that the anger and resentment towards Natasha at MI6 could now be consigned to history and everyone could move on to the next issue in their lives.

Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Agent Harriet conducted her intelligence briefings as required, rather than regularly. This intelligence briefing concerned an Iron Curtain assassin operating in London. He was a serious problem and the window to neutralise him as a threat would only be open for a short time. As usual, Agent Harriet prepared a Profile Folder for the intelligence briefing. She also prepared one for the sniper mission, which was ultimately a product of that intelligence briefing.

Nicky heard the intelligence briefing and it triggered her 2025 memory. Nicky read the Profile Folder and it reinforced her 2025 knowledge. The subject Iron Curtain assassin was an evil creature. Her assessment of the 1962 knowledge was it was sufficient to justify the sniper mission. Nicky knew from past experience not to mention her 2025 knowledge. She knew this 1962 opportunity to take out this evil Iron Curtain assassin should not fail this time. The Nicky Parsons mission needed to be properly planned and executed.

Emphasising the importance of the need to succeed when the 1962 mission to take out the Iron Curtain assassin was being discussed and planned, Nicky relied solely on the 1962 Intelligence briefing and Profile Folder information.

During the latter stages of the planning for the Sniper mission, Nicky Parsons told M2, and the room,

“M2, You are with me on this one. Consider it on the job training.”

No one argued with the suggestion of Agent Parsons.

Sniper Location

The MI6 agents then moved quickly to put the sniper mission into action.

Aided by M2, Agent Parsons was promptly set up in her sniper location, which overlooked a busy public park. The evil Iron Curtain assassin was soon to appear in her sight, but there was also a problem. Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time walked in the way of her target.

Agent Parsons was extremely conscious that her window of opportunity would only be open for a very short time.

As Agent Parsons took her first shot, Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time took it in his left calf and dropped to the ground.

Agent Parsons thought to herself a millisecond before she fired that shot: Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time, This is for Queen and country.”

Agent Parson did not miss with her second shot. She clinically took out her target. There would be no more Christmases for Mr Iron Curtain Assassin.

M2 watched the proceedings in silence.

Agent Parsons then said to M2: “Can you starting packing this up? I have to call this in.”

A public telephone was close to the building where Agent Parsons had set up. She immediately used it to call MI6:

“We have a situation you need to deal with immediately. Urgently. Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time just took one for Queen and country. There was no time to move him. He is on the ground in the park bleeding from his left calf. Get a team to remove him, immediately.”

Agent Parsons then ended the call.

By the time Agent Parsons returned to M2 to help with packing up the sniper location, an MI6 team had moved in to remove Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time from the park.

In less than five (5) minutes Agent Parsons and M2 were leaving the sniper location. Nicky used the same public telephone to again call MI6: “I have a suitcase for you to collect. I will wait for you on the footpath.”

An MI6 motor vehicle promptly arrived, collected Agent Parsons, M2 and the suitcase and returned them to MI6 headquarters.

Steak Sandwiches

When they alighted the vehicle in the car park of MI6, Agent Parsons gently grabbed the arm of M2 and said:

“Wait, M2. Do not go to the office. Steak Sandwiches.”

M2: Steak sandwiches?

Parsons: At your café.

M2: OK

Parsons: Lead the way.

About 15 minutes later Agent Parsons and M2 were at his nearby café drinking tea and discussing the sniper mission.

Parsons: “Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time had to take one for Queen and country. The target was not going to get away, and he did not. No more Christmases for the evil Iron Curtain assassin. Collateral damage is unfortunate and uncomfortable, but on this occasion, necessary. If we did not clean it up immediately, more problems would have been created. This is a dirty job, M2. We do it for Queen and country.”

“You do not have to say anything, M2. It may take you some time to process what happened earlier today. Your clean up of our location was smooth and efficient. I think you will come out of this just fine.”

M2: “I am glad we came here instead of returning to the office.”

Parsons: Take your time, M2. The mission was successful.”

Forty (40) minutes later the agents were back at their MI6 offices.

Private MI6 Medical Facility

In short compass Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time found himself in a private MI6 medical facility receiving good quality medical treatment. The MI6 agents and medical staff did not trouble Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time with the precise geographical details of his location.

Once the immediate demands of tending to and treating the wound of Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time were dealt with, he was told by the MI6 agents he had walked into the shot path of a dangerous Iron Curtain assassin and unknowingly had placed his own life at risk. Unfortunately it was necessary to temporarily disable Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time with a non-lethal shot to his calf to drop him to the ground, so the dangerous Iron Curtain assassin could be dealt with and prevent him from doing any further damage.

An MI6 agent told Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time:

“Mr Iron Curtain Assassin was not a particularly discriminating assassin. He was quite prepared to take out bystanders in the process of executing his target.”

“We also had to bring you here to assess whether you were likely to be the subject of a revenge attack from the colleagues of Mr Iron Curtain Assassin.  That is no longer an issue for you. We have neutralised any prospect of such a revenge attack.”

“The medical staff here have told us you have made excellent progress and in a day or two you will be ready to return home.”

When the time came for Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time to be released from the private MI6 medical facility, he was placed in the back of an ambulance with effectively no vision of the outside world. The ambulance drove Mr Wrong Place, Wrong Time to his home and the accompanying MI6 agent wished him well.