Another spectecular night with my Hong Kee friends

Kamloops is nothing close to Alor Setar, what more Kuala Lumpur. My leisure is usually only restricted to movies...and grocery shopping (yeah...that is so sad). I still remember a friend of mine from Malaysia once told me that no matter how "ulu" or how boring the place is, as long as you got a group of friends whom you usually hang out with, you'll never feel bored. Initially, I doubted my friend's philosophy but I thought of giving it a try. I recently joined ranks with a group of Hong Kee students who were roughly around my age at the beginning of this semester. Although we enjoy each other's company, nevertheless we hardly call each other out for any outing as there were nothing much to do over here. The only time all of us are together is when we happen to be online at the same time. A couple of days ago, one of my Hong Kee friends, Calvin suggested that all of us had dinner together. Knowing that it wouldn't be as fun however, since it's better than nothing at all, we just agreed. Conversely, we had dinner together at a pizza joint in downtown yesterday and to my surprise, it was really fun. I guess that was my best night ever since that Thanksgiving dinner I had with them couple of weeks ago.

Like any other usual night, my Windows Messenger was left online to indicate to the others that I'm available for any conversation. Usually, I would start a conversation with those who are online but that night, most of my friends who logged in had either a "Busy" or an "Away" sign; therefore, I did not dare to greet any of them as I fear I might disturb them.That night was plain quiet (like most other nights), nevertheless, I remained online throughout the night. Not long then, my Messenger beeped and I knew I had an incoming message. Curious to know who was that person who decided to break the silence of my night, I immediately opened the window of the Messenger; to my pleasant surprise, it was my Hong Kee friend Shelley. After a brief exchange of "hi"s and "how are you?", Shelley went straight to her reason for dropping by. She informed me that Calvin was organizing a dinner at a pizza joint called Boston Pizza on the following night; knowing that attending a dinner was way better than staying in my room all night long, I decided to tag along. After expressing her joy for deciding to come along, she then informed me to wait at the apartment lobby at 6pm on the following evening.

As the next evening approached, all of us rendezvous at the apartment's lobby as promised. There were the 5 of us that evening; Calvin, Cindy, Shelley, my roommate and me. Cindy announced at the last minute saying that her Russian friend will be joining us for dinner; from then on, I knew this night wasn't going to be pleasant. I never like the fact of someone new disturbing our quality hang out time together; instead of spending time enforcing our friendship with one another, we will be forced to establish short sentenced and awkward conversations with that new person all for the sake of getting to know that newbie better. When Cindy mentioned that our new guest was a girl, I thought things wouldn't be that bad; however, when she added that she was a Korean Russian, I started dreading again. The Russians over here in our universities are notorious for their unfriendliness, arrogance and their ethnocentrism...especially those female Russians. The fact that this girl was a Korean made me thought that there could be still some hope that she wouldn't screw our dinner up with her arrogance and her sarcasm.

A couple of minutes later, we joined up with Cindy's Russian friend who was waiting for us outside the apartment. She greeted everyone with a "hi" and introduced herself as Irena. Everyone was eager to introduce themselves to her except me as I refused to interact with her fearing that I might get insulted by her typical Russian arrogance. We all then marched together to the bus stop before waiting for a public bus to take us down to downtown. While waiting for the bus to arrive, everyone was busy talking to that Russian girl; I on the other hand kept to myself and just talked to Shelly as I had no interest of knowing that new girl. 15 minutes later, the bus arrived and we immediately boarded the bus without wasting any time eager to reach the pizza joint seeing that all of us were already hungry.

It was not long before we reached the pizza joint. After being ushered to our table by the waitresses at the restaurant, we hung our thick coats on our chair before taking our seats; the girls sat together just like the boys did. As usual, Shelley and Calvin were at it again verbally assaulting each other; just what we need for that night. Instead of dreading the war of words between Shelley and Calvin, all of us were laughing our asses of as we found them to be very humorous. Just like out Thanksgiving dinner, both Shelley and Calvin persuaded me to join either one of them and curse their opposing force in foul Cantonese language. Seeing that I had no intention to be bias, I decided to remain neutral. Cindy paused their verbal war for a moment as she was hungry and she insisted that we began ordering. For that night, we ordered two pizzas and several plates of pastas. Instead of dining individually, all of us decided to share the plates together just like a typical Asian dinner. After getting the waitress to jot down our order, Calvin and Shelly continued their battle of words. In the midst of their conflict, Irena, the Russian girl took the effort to know me. She mentioned that she didn't get my name and she was hoping that I could introduce myself more. Feeling delighted as she had the initiative to know me, I then started introducing myself with my name followed by what am I studying in TRU. Although, she didn't show any signs of arrogance and sarcasm, I didn't really talk much to her that night as I was too busy with Calvin and Shelly. Half an hour later, dinner was served and all of us were impatient to dig in.

That night, we had barbecue chicken pizza and pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Besides that we had 2 plates of chicken wings and 2 plates of different pasta. Before digging in, the girls insisted that we had a group photos with our food. After snapping ourselves a couple of photos, the boys thought they were allowed to sink their teeth on the tempting meal served right under their noses only to be restricted by the girls who desired to take a photo of their dinner; which began to annoyed us guys. Resistantly, we (boys) all objected the girls and immediately dug in while the girls mumbled in anger and annoyance for our impatience. Dinner was awesome; the pizza filled with thick melty cheese, covered with chicken meat and barbecue sauce was very arousing. The pasta with tomato base had us coming back for more, so was the one with the garlic and cheese base. Like both the pizza and the pasta, the chicken wing was tremendous. It didn't take us long to finish dinner since we were hungry and the food was great. After stuffing ourselves full, Shelley suggested having chocolate cheese cake for desert; she then asked who wanted to share with her. After what seems to be an absence of raised hands as everyone was full, Shelley knew that it was impossible to have desert. On the other hand, knowing that desert was a compulsory follow up to Shelley's dinner, I told her that I would join her for desert although I wasn't really a chocolate fan. As the cake was served, I reluctantly took my part of the cake and pretended to enjoy it. The chocolate was so thick and I knew a couple of more spoons would make me sick. Conversely, I told myself to drink lots of water upon reaching home later on. As the both of us finished the last bite of cake, my roommate called for the bill and we all paid for each of our part.

As we left the restaurant after wishing goodbye to the restaurant manager and waitresses, we all headed for the bus stop. Unfortunately for us, Cindy said we missed the next bus to our apartment. She added that the following bus will be an hour later which we couldn't afford to wait that long. That night was cold and we shivered in discomfort; in response to that, Irena suggested that we grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks which was a stone's throw away from where we were. As we reached the coffee house, the warm cozy environment greeted and comforted us, there were not many people that night so we basically had the place to ourselves. Everyone ordered a cup of hot coffee except me. Irena then asked me why I wasn't joining them for coffee; seeing that I didn't like the taste of coffee not to mention their cut throat prices, I told her my reasons. Shelley then suggested there's always the Green Tea frappucino as an alternative to my dislike for coffee. Trying to be adventurous, I decided to try out what Shelley suggested and fortunate for me, I'm glad that I listened to Shelley's suggestion as the Green Tea frappucino was great ( a little sweet though...). After our cup of coffee, we were back into the cold again waiting impatiently for the bus.

Like every other time, Shelley and Calvin were assaulting each other with Cantonese foul words and as usual, the rest of us were laughing ourselves silly. To make things more exciting, I suggested that they both fight instead of verbally thrashing each other. Shelley who knew I was a Muay Thai practitioner seek for my teachings as she wanted to lay the smack down on Calvin. Calvin on the other hand didn't bothered asking me or Cindy (who was also a Muay Thai exponent) since he was confident enough that he could protect himself from a little girl. Surprisingly, Shelley learned the basic stance, hand attacks and leg strikes at a tremendous speed. Equipped with the basics of Thai boxing in less than 10 minutes, Shelley went into her standard fight stance and walked towards Calvin; she was so adorable in her fight stance. Like her, Calvin went into his own fighting stance which was similar to Bruce Lee's one. He even had the Jeet Kune Do yell from Bruce Lee . All of us then shouted "fight" repeatedly to instigate the both of them to rip each other apart and it didn't took long for them to do so.

Calvin and Shelley charged at each other and the second Shelley laid her combo attack I taught her, Calvin had no choice but to retreat. Shelley continued pounding on Calvin violently with more jabs, hooks and knee strikes; I just felt bad for Calvin as he was so helpless in defending himself. Fortunate for Calvin, he managed to pull off a reversal grapple on little Shelley which then turned the table around. Shelley was in a choked up position and Calvin dominated for that round. As the next round continued, the both of them continue charging at each other only to be interrupted by Cindy. The second Calvin started charging, Cindy grabbed his hair and pulled him back. Shocked in horror about Cindy's brutal interruption which nearly forced Calvin to drop hard on his back and maybe break his back, the fight stopped in surprised. Everyone was just shocked with Cindy's unexpected interruption. All of us really had a great time laughing and having fun together until the extent that we even forgotten about the cold and time. Just as the final round between Shelley and Calvin's brawl ended, the bus arrived just in time to take us home.

I guess that was my best night ever since that Thanksgiving dinner I had with them couple of weeks ago. Ever since that unforgettable night together, all of us became closer and we even thought about attending the upcoming Halloween party together. I guess my friend's philosophy was really accurate: as long you got a group of friends together, anything you do with them will never be boring and dull.

Our dinner at Boston Pizza. (From left to right) Shelley, Irena, Cindy, Calvin, my roommate and me

A picture of our dinner...taken by the girls as usual. We had chicken wings, pizzas and pastas. Dinner was great.

Marketing can be a masterpiece sometimes

During any festivals or celebration in Malaysia, there ought to be a lot of interesting advertisements that promote the themes of the celebration or the festivals in subject.There will be one or two advertisements that hold a meaningful and sometimes touching plot (like advertisements from Petronas) while the rest are plain simple ads that deliver the message straight to the point. Rewind 11 years ago for a moment when Malaysia celebrated Chinese New Year and Hari Raya together, most of the ads back then were as great as the ones we often see from Petronas. This wouldn't be any surprise as many companies will take more initiative to spend (or should we say "invest") a lot of effort to commemorate such a special once-in-a-lifetime occasion which reflects the unity of two main races in Malaysia. Despite there were a lot of great ads back then, there was an ad from a tobacco company called Malboro that really had my jaw dropping in utmost amaze. The advertisement from Malboro cigarettes was a masterpiece to be remembered.

I won't blog about why I like it a lot or why do I consider it a masterpiece because it wouldn't be easy to put them in words. It would be better if you would just see it for yourself to understand my opinion regarding the advertisement. You might think it's going to be a lot of trouble looking for a decade old advertisement on the internet, well worry not, for YouTube has it ( thank God for YouTube...but most importantly, thank God for the person who posted in on YouTube). I hope at the end of the video, you will share my same opinion about this advertisement from Malboro.

Thanksgiving in Kamloops

Thanksgiving posters were glued on the walls of my Residence apartment a couple of days ago. Initially I couldn't be bothered less about them as I never thought about celebrating it; however, the posters which featured a picture of Sesame Streets characters feasting on poor Big Bird who has been grilled caught my attention. I didn't even know it was a poster to promote Thanksgiving at first as I thought it was some mischievous work of a punk living in the Residence. After carefully reading the contents of the poster, I then realized that the apartment staffs were trying to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for the residents. The dinner was held a day after Thanksgiving and the fee to experience a nice Thanksgiving dinner was amazingly only $2. Skeptical about the price, I considered the dinner carefully before signing up seeing that for all I know, they could be just serving a couple of miserable turkey skins with one or two tea spoons of coleslaw and mashed potatoes for the price of $2. However, after being convinced by my Japanese friend Maaya that the Thanksgiving dinner was not some gimmick since her previous Thanksgiving dinner at the Residence last year had both her thumbs up, I eventually agreed to join the dinner. Delighted to find out that I'll be going for the dinner as well, Maaya suggested that I followed her and my two other Hong Kee friends, Shelly and Cindy to the dinner. Seeing that the more people joined, the merrier the dinner will be, I thought of inviting my roommates and his friend, Kelvin (both from Hong Kong as well) to the dinner as well. On the day of the dinner itself (which was yesterday), the six of us marched to the multipurpose hall of the apartment armed with our big appetite, our own plates, eating utensils and of course our two dollars only to be told that dinner ran out. We were all astonished and angry to the point of using our fork and knives on the bugger that told us that dinner ran out. Although we didn't have the opportunity to experience a real Thanksgiving dinner, our alternate plans yesterday turned out to be surprisingly fun.

After being informed that dinner ran out, all of us initially decided to retire to our rooms and call it a day. Kelvin, my roommate's friend who wasn't living in the Residence decided to accompany my roommate and I; consequently, we brought him to our room. In the middle of our "boy talk", I came up with an idea to celebrate our own Thanksgiving in a Chinese restaurant. Instead of having turkey, I thought about having Peking duck. My roommate and Kelvin eventually agreed to my plan despite finding it weird. I then called up Maaya's room and proposed my alternative for our Thanksgiving dinner; like the rest, she felt awkward. Nevertheless, she thought it was better than nothing so, she informed Cindy and Shelly about my plans. Lucky for me, everyone agreed to my proposal and we all eventually celebrated our Thanksgiving in a Chinese restaurant.

The restaurant was not far away from our apartment. It was only a 5 minutes bus ride from our place. Despite the short bus ride, we waited for more than half an hour in the cold for the bus to come. While waiting for the bus, we were trading conversations among one another. As usual, the Hong Kees were speaking in Cantonese which often leave Maaya and me confused about what were they talking. Shelly and Kelvin were as usual, arguing with one another and cursing each other in Chinese which nobody bothered to stop them as their comical and humorous display never fail to make us laugh ourselves silly. As the bus arrived, a great sense of relief struck us as we didn't have to freeze our ass any further in the cold. We immediately boarded the bus and headed straight for the Chinese restaurant which was a stone's throw from our place.

After a short nice and warm bus ride to the bus stop not far away from the restaurant, we were let out into the cold again before we begin our 4 minutes walk to the restaurant. As we reached the restaurant, we were welcomed by the smiley Chinese waitresses with food menus in their arms. The restaurant was completely packed with people which forced me to assume that the food here is good. The waitresses then ushered us to a nice warm cozy spot of the restaurant as they noticed we were shivering in cold before they handed each of us a menu. I was the first one to take my seat and I began to wonder who was going to sit next to me; Kelvin occupied the seat on my left and the seat on my right was yet to be taken. A couple of seconds later, Shelly took the seat on my right which pits me in between the arguing couples (Kelvin and Shelly). Fearful that I would be in the middle of their war of words if they so happen to argue, I began to worry. It was not too long that their war broke out and my nightmare then turned into reality; like earlier on, the both of them were arguing and cursing at each other. They even argued about what to order and what not to order; the rest of us didn't bother deciding what to order as we were busy watching Kelvin and Shelly's war.

Since I was in between the both of them, Kelvin and Shelly were all over me persuading me to join their sides; which clearly reminded me of the Cold War. Having realized that I don't know any Cantonese, Kelvin told me to say some Cantonese words to Shelly. Like Kelvin, Shelly told me to do the same thing to him. Despite not knowing the meanings behind those words which they wanted me to say, common sense told me they were bad words. Although the rest of us were attentively listening and watching both Shelly and Kelvin's comical arguments, it was a miracle that we even managed to remember our purpose of coming to this restaurant. Finally, we managed to order some food for dinner before resuming our attention on the war between Shelly and Kelvin.

For dinner, we had Ma Po tofu, shredded pork with chili, chicken meat with bamboo shoot, fried chicken and fried rice. The dinner was simply superb not because only of the great taste but also the entertainment that accompanied our dinner compliments of Kelvin and Shelly. I was just amazed to see how the both of them could continue arguing and talking non stop when the rest of us were completely silenced by the good food we were busy stuffing ourselves with. Shelly and Kelvin managed to teach me some Cantonese words; most of them were foul words of course. The rest of them were laughing themselves silly as they heard me use the bad words which both Shelly and Kelvin taught me. Cindy, one of my buddies asked me to recite 1 to 10 in Cantonese which she taught me a couple of days ago; initially, I was reluctant to recite them as I was so embarrassed but as everyone were dying to hear, I eventually recited the numbers in Cantonese. Of course, they all laughed their guts out as I reached 10; nevertheless, they clapped showing their support for me. Maaya had everyone's attention on her when she started educating all of us on Japanese; like usual, they weren't the words which people would use in their daily conversation unless they want to get their ass beaten. We enjoyed ourselves learning Japanese bad words from Maaya and it was not long before we practiced it on each other.

After dinner, Kelvin decided to take us to his place. Unlike all of us, Kelvin is living in a rented house not far away from the university. The road to his house was so dark that night and the boys of course decided to take the advantage of the complete darkness by scaring the girls. As we reached his house, Kelvin began his tour around his place. His place was nice and cozy and it has eight bedrooms. The rent is shared by 8 other students from Hong Kong and China and apparently, their paying half of what the rest of us are paying for our apartment fee. We didn't stay for long as the day was getting late and most of us had early classes on the following day. We headed back to our Residence by cab before thanking Kelvin for showing us around his place. On our way up to our respective floors by lift, we told each other how we enjoyed our unusual Thanksgiving. As I was living on the second floor, my roommate and I was the first one to exit the lift. After wishing them goodnight, I quickly pressed all the floor buttons before making a quick escape. The girls started screaming in anger but it was not long before the closing doors of the lift silenced them. My roommate complimented me with my fast move as we retire into our room.

Although we didn't have the opportunity to experience a real Thanksgiving dinner, our alternate plans yesterday turned out to be surprisingly fun. I really enjoyed myself that night with my Japanese and Hong Kee friends as they were so active and energetic which never made any second with them boring. Basically, that was one of my best nights in Kamloops for me

Blockbuster Preview: The Berlin Protection

INTEGRATED WITH DIVERSE SKILLS IN SPECIAL OPERATIONS AND CUTTING EDGE MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, GLOBAL TERRORISTS AND CRIMINALS FACE A NEW THREAT---THE INTER CONTINENTAL PARAMILITARY UNIT (ICPU)

The escalation of the Nigerian civil war forces the United Nation Security Council to address the issue in an upcoming general assembly in Berlin. Meanwhile, Commander Rohwena received a report from Interpol Intelligence claiming that an act of "havoc" could occur during the day of the assembly. German officials speculated that this act of "havoc" could be an instigation of riot by the protesters; on the other hand, the Commander thinks differently about it. Perplexed and mostly influenced by the recent April 12th attacks (terrorist bombings on the United Nations Headquarters in New York), the Commander decided not to take any chances as she does not want to see a repeat of the April 12th attacks. In response to her anxiety, Commander Rohwena spearheaded a joint protection campaign for the U.N. assembly between Germany's counter terrorist units and the Interpol's ICPU. Despite getting the green light for her protection program from both the German government and Interpol, Commander Rohwena is still unconvinced with her efforts as something is telling her that this act of "havoc" could be unexpectedly more lethal than the April 12th attacks.

In the meantime, successfully completing their HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jump from a Lufthansa commercial air bus on their way to Germany under the ICPU's "flexible" training protocol, Shenji and his squad of ICPU commandos find themselves in the country side of Germany. What thought to be a training program turns out to be a life threatening situation when the team picked up multiple unidentified tangos on their position. Could this unidentified tangos be related to the act of "havoc" that the Commander fears so much? Will they stop the ICPU commandos in their effort to protect the U.N. delegates at the upcoming general assembly? Will the April 12th terrorist attacks occur again? Find out more in The Berlin Protection.

The Berlin Protection

A Lufthansa commercial air bus screeches across the skies 30,000 feet above the ground on the dawn of Tuesday. Most of the passengers were wide awake despite the time of the day due to different time zone. Everyone in the business class of the airplane were awake hours ago and they were occupied by either the latest in flight movies or their breakfast. The only passenger who was still in dream land was a rugged looking man in his early 20's. Tucked cozily behind a soft cushioned sofa with a thick fury blanket, the rugged man was sleeping with his jaw wide open which informed the flight attendants that this passenger was dead tired and was not to be bothered. Fortunate for him, his saliva was safely kept behind his mouth or he would risk presenting an uncivilized impression that might force the other passengers to wonder whether is he supposed to be in this "prestigious" flight class. As the man fully recovered his strength, he slowly opened his eyes and peeked out the plane's window. After loosening his blanket that had kept him warm for the past 15 hours, he stared at the small TV supported by a short metallic pole on the side of his sofa. Details regarding the approximate time to arrival, the local time at destination and other essential flight information were illuminated on the TV screen. "Slept well?" greeted a young lady with long hair in a formal working attire who was sitting next to the woken man. He combed his slightly messy hair with his fingers before replying to the lady next to him, "That was one of the best sleep I ever had this month, Michelle". She then continued, "Well, I'm glad you had a good one cos you're gonna need it for our next assignment, Shenji". Feeling slightly deemed for being reminded a long day ahead, Shenji frowned a little. "How long more before we touch down at Berlin?" questioned Shenji. "Another 2 more hours" replied Michelle. "Oh, thank God for that. I thought this flight was never going to end." Shenji sighed in a relief manner. He then later pulled himself up from his seat before taking a peek at two of the passengers sitting right in front of him and Michelle.

"What are you girls doing?" questioned the curious rugged man, looking at the girls whom were staring attentively at a shared laptop screen. "Oh hey, boss." greeted Chin Yen before she continued looking back at the laptop's screen. "We're reviewing the after action report on our mission back in L.A." Eugenia said. The screen of the laptop was playing 3 different recorded video simultaneously. Each recorded video was illustrated in a first person mode that looked like something out of a Counter-Strike or a first person shooter game; the videos were recorded by the high tech computerized goggles of the ICPU commandos which was a standard operation protocol for them. "So who scored the highest kills?" Shenji questioned eagerly hoping to be the winner for the team's previous mission in Los Angeles. "Well, it's not you this time, cowboy" chuckled Chin Yen mischievously as she derived the pleasure of delivering the bad news to Shenji. "Michelle is the winner for this round judging by the number of kills...not to mention the number of head shots she made" announced Eugenia in amazed. "Goddammit!" shrieked Shenji in disappointment. "Ha! In your face, Shenji!" taunted Michelle in joy before she traded high fives with Eugenia and Chin Yen. Shenji then reluctantly withdrew a hundred Euros from his wallet before handing them over to Michelle as he lost the bet. "Thank you," Michelle giggled happily. "More shopping for me in Germany" the victorious ICPU commando continued while counting her bills to make sure Shenji delivered his side of the bet without any short. " Well, don't forget our purpose of our trip" Shenji reminded. "So you're up for another round in Berlin?" Michelle questioned, hoping that Shenji will accept her challenge; conversely, Shenji just remained silence. "Aww...Don't tell me you've chickened out for good, boss?" Michelle teased sarcastically. "Fine, you're on. 200 Euros on the table for the next round" Shenji stood up courageously trying to preserve his challenged dignity. "Yeah sure, more shopping for me and more holes in your pocket for you when we're done in Berlin" Michelle laughed sinisterly in confidence. Shenji smiled in return, looking forward to their mission in Berlin. "Guys, you might want to check out channel 14" informed Eugenia. Shenji and Michelle put on their head sets before punching the channel buttons on the remote control which was located at the right hand rest of the sofa. The mini TV then played a news broadcast from the Central News Network(CNN) which immediately captured the attention of the ICPU commandos.

"Casualties continue to sky rocket at an alarming rate as the civil war in Nigeria escalates. The Nigerian government faces a great deal of pressure from the militia attacks conducted by the rebel forces knows as the New Nigerian Order (NNO) which is led by rogue General Yakubu Ajani. Once a decorated General in the Nigerian Armed Forces, General Yakubu Ajani was dispelled from his service due to allegations of treason. Not long after his expulsion, General Ajani then formed his own illegal political party which is now known as the NNO with the sole objective of replacing the democratic government of Nigeria. His famous propaganda entitled "The Hippocracy of Democracy" has influenced a large number of Nigerians to fight along his side. Human casualties were not the only victim of the militia attacks as foreign business interests have been compromised in response to the NNO's ideologies which also includes anti-capitalism. Nigeria, a country in the western region of Africa which is rich with labor force and lands for commercial investments has significant potential to be the next world economy icon ever since China and India. However with the emergence of another civil war, many economists share a similar conclusion---Nigeria will be years away before it can achieve a economical status similar to China and India. In response to the civil war, members of the United Nations Security Council has vowed to provide military aid to the Nigerian government which will be addressed later on at the General Assembly in Berlin, Germany. Despite Germany is not a permanent member of the security council, President Eisenberg has generously offered Berlin's House of International Dialogs as the chamber for the assembly to temporarily replace the United Nations Headquarters in New York that was devastated in the April 12th terrorist attacks. Jun Nam Choi, the current President of the United Nation Security Council will also address a contingency plan to evacuate all foreign business workers and visitors in Nigeria later at the assembly which will begin in 3 days time."

As the news ended, the flight P.A. beeped hoping to get the attention of the passengers. "This is the flight captain speaking, we will be arriving in Tegel International Airport in half an hour. The local time now in Berlin is 3:o5am and the current temperature is 2 degrees celcius. We appreciate your patience with us at Lufthansa airlines and in the meantime, please fill in the immigration cards which will be handed by our flight crews. Thank you." Shortly after the announcement ended, a cute German stewardess in a dark uniform with her long sultry hair tucked neatly behind her hat, approached Shenji. "Sir, here's the magazine you've requested for" said the polite and courteous stewardess. After blushingly thanking the nice stewardess, Shenji stared at her back admiring her beauty while she walked down the walk way slowly disappearing from his sight. "I didn't know you were into fashion magazines" Michelle wondered while looking at the cover of the magazine Shenji was holding. "Nah, I couldn't be bothered with today's garment trend" Shenji replied. "So you requested a magazine from that stewardess just to lust yourself on her?" Michelle teased sarcastically. "No, silly," Shenji gently hit Michelle on the head with the magazine before he withdrew a blu ray disc from the magazine. He then flashed the disc to Michelle. "What's that?" Michelle asked curiously. "That's what I want to know. Commander Rohwena reminded me to ask a copy of Tuch und Art (title of a German fashion magazine) from the stewardess at this hour of the flight. Let's check it out." Shenji explained. "Eugenia, pass over your laptop. We've got an update from the Commander" informed Michelle as she tapped Eugenia's head from behind. After passing over her laptop, Eugenia and Chin Yen joined their comrades who were sitting behind. As Shenji ran the disc, a recorded video of Commander Rohwena appeared.

"Good morning ladies and gentleman. I hope you've had a good rest throughout your 16 hours flight from Kuala Lumpur to Berlin. Before I begin, allow me to congratulate all of you for your outstanding job back in Los Angeles; Senator Hee and the LAPD are grateful for your help. Now as you are all aware, the Inter Continental Paramilitary Unit (ICPU) is a global flexible SWAT team or a tactical force developed by a joint effort of the United Nations Security Council and Interpol. This means that the unit is capable of being dispatch into combat from sea, air or land. It is also capable of conducting tactical operations regardless of the type of warfare. Like the unit's combat capabilities, the ICPU daily training program is also flexible which allows the operatives to train regardless of where they are. Therefore, your training today will encompass the techniques of High Altitude Low Opening (HALO). Now this is something that all of you have done more than once, so it should be a piece of cake. By this time of your flight, the Lufthansa commercial airbus has reached a suitable altitude that will facilitate your training requirements. Refer to the stewardess that handed you the disc and she will handover your HALO gears and guide you to the parachute ramp of the plane. Your HALO training will be recorded for evaluation purposes and monitored live from the computerized goggles. Begin your training immediately after this message ends. I am looking forward to seeing all of you in Germany later."

As the recorded message ended, the ICPU commandos immediately pull themselves up and started searching for the stewardess who handed Shenji the magazine. "What a knee slapper. I was planning to take a short nap." Chin Yen complained. "This isn't the girl scouts you know."reminded Eugenia who was rushing through the walkway of the plane. "C'mon ladies,time to hussle. If we're late for a minute, the difference in the altitude will jeopardize our training." Shenji warned as he portrayed the role of a leader. After the team discovered the stewardess, they were guided to a quiet empty compartment of the plane before being handed their HALO
gears. The team were hastily putting on their jump suits and strapping their standard ICPU issue of body armor, ballistic combat helmet with computerized goggles and an oxygen muffler. Geared up and good to go, the commandos stood by the parachute ramp in one straight line. "Hey, when was the last time you jumped?" Shenji chuckled at Michelle. "Don't remind me, Navy SEAL boy!" Michelle warned. Everyone noticed her trembling in fear as she was never comfortable of heights. That was one of the main reason she chose State Protection Group (the Australian version of SWAT) over SASR (Special Air Service Regiment) years before she joined ICPU. On the other hand, Shenji was a seasoned veteran when it came to sky diving as he served in the SEALs long before he joined ICPU. As for Eugenia and Chin Yen, despite their fresh start on special ops, the fact that they did sky diving a couple of times for recreational purposes equipped them the sufficient courage to jump. "Have a nice jump" the German stewardess wished awkwardly as she never thought of facilitating "services" like these in her career. The second, she pulled the lever, the parachute ramp opened and the jump light flashed green. The rushing air that trembled the jump ramp forced the stewardess to hang onto something or risk getting sucked out. "Thank you, ma'am" Shenji thanked the stewardess. Usually he wouldn't bother thanking people for such petty help but the fact that the stewardess attracted him to the extent of making him blush every time he sees her, Shenji was persuaded to fake his gratefulness in the hope of seeing her smile. Lucky for him, the Lufthansa stewardess returned a sweet smile; Shenji was glued to the ground procrastinating his jump so that he could cherish every single second looking at his favorite stewardess. "Stop day dreaming, Navy SEAL" said Michelle, before shoving Shenji off the parachute ramp suddenly. Having pushed out of a plane without getting ready startled Shenji for a second, but as he managed to get back into a suitable diving position, he worried less. The remaining commandos got themselves ready and when the next jump light turned green, Michelle braced herself before throwing her body out from the plane. Eugenia and Chin Yen were next and they jumped without hesitating at all. The both of them screamed in excitement as they were sucked by gravity, flying down at a very fast speed. The commandos made it into Germany not entirely by a commercial plane but also by free falling.

Gravity rushed them down with the speed of lightning. In the middle of his HALO, Shenji activated his cross comm on his computerized goggle to reach his teammates. "Team, report in"Shenji ordered. "This is Eugenia, cross com signal clear". "Chin Yen here, all clear". "Michelle here...I think I'm okay". Minutes later, the commandos pulled their chute open and they were dragged back by their deployed parachute; their speed sharply decreased and they were hanging in the air slowly approaching the ground from a couple of thousand feet above. The cold weather greeted the team and they started to shiver in discomfort. "Welcome to Germany, team" Chin Yen added while she viewed the environment around her enjoying the early morning country side scenery of Germany. "It's...beautiful" Michelle complimented while she witnessed the plains filled with green grasses which were shadowed by the darkness of the dawn. As their boots reached the ground, they picked themselves up and folded their gargantuan chute. The leader of the ICPU commando didn't enjoyed the country beauty of Germany, instead he immediately toggled the computer system in his computerized goggle trying to locate their current coordinates while his teammates secured their landing point. "Shit, we've got unidentified targets approaching our position" alarmed Chin Yen as her goggles illuminated multiple red dots approaching their position on her virtual schematics of the terrain they were on. "Fuck!" Shenji cursed in panic as the only weapon he had with him was an Mk 23 side arm. "Team, report your weapon status"ordered the terrified leader. "I'm only armed with a Glock 18...just a clip...which is in my gun" Michelle reported at the same time cocking her gun and checking her empty magazine pouches. "Just a fully loaded M92F pistol and a couple of flash bangs" reported Eugenia. "Dammit! How the fuck are we going to defend ourselves with pistols?" Shenji wondered. "Wasn't this suppose to be a HALO training exercise only?" Michelle asked. "It was a couple of minutes ago...Now it's something else" Shenji replied while keeping an eye out. "Chin Yen, report your weapon status" ordered the team leader. "Boss, I've got an M4A1 with me. Equipped with aim point optical sights. Just one mag though" Chin Yen reported. Shenji paused for a second trying to produce a plan in his head that would keep his team and him alive. He then came up with one that he hopes will save him and his squad. "Chin Yen, trade your rifle with Michelle" ordered Shenji. As Michelle caught the rifle being tossed by Chin Yen, she stared at Shenji in cofusion. "Hey sharpshooter, since you won the bet earlier, you'll be our rifle man for now. Take your position at that tree now. It'll make a good cover and an OP (observation point)" Shenji said. " The rest of you, stay low and dig deep. We can't afford to get spotted" Shenji continued. "Roger that" replied Chin Yen and Eugenia who were placing their utmost trust on their team leader. Shenji immediately laid behind a small pile of rocks; the small openings between the rocks allowed him to keep a brief eye on any incoming enemies. Eugenia hid herself behind an old rusty abandoned truck with a Berretta in her grip. As for Chin Yen, she hid herself behind a big pile of straws that belong to a straw mill not far away from their position. Michelle who was up on the tree, fully concealed by the thick branches and leaves started looking down the aim point of the M4A1. "Team, the tangos could be here any moment so listen up. Michelle, keep us inform of the enemy's movements. Eugenia, get your flash bangs ready. Chin Yen, stay low and wait for further orders." ordered Shenji. "Got it, boss" answered the three of them. The sounds of footsteps on the green grass were heard, the team knew that they had visitors. The ICPU commandos switched their goggles to night vision for a better view as the sun of dawn was not bright enough.

"I've got targets in sight" reported Michelle who was controlling her breath to stabilize her supporting arms of the rifle. "Hold your fire, Michelle" Shenji ordered quietly as he didn't wanted to risk having his position exposed. He then toggled his computerized goggle to obtain the computer window that would allow him to see what Michelle was seeing. As he accessed Michelle's "eyes", he started observing his visitors carefully. There were six of them and they were equipped with balaclavas, body armors and H&K assault rifles. Their movements were so systematic and they had their entire team covered in 360 degrees. It was clear to the ICPU commandos, that their hunters had special ops background. "How the fuck did they know we were here, boss?" Michelle asked while still keeping her sights on her targets. "And who the fuck are they, exactly?" she continued. "Michelle, zoom onto their arm patch."ordered Shenji. He could then clearly view the arm patches of the hunters through Michelle's zoomed in eyes. "They're GSG 9!" whispered the team leader. "GSG 9?" asked Chin Yen curiously. "Grenzschutzgruppe 9. They're counter-terrorist tactical units" Eugenia explained. "Should we show ourselves as friendlies?" Chin Yen suggested. "Negative. Judging by their awareness and their group's offensiveness, they would accidentally filled us with bullets if we just show ourselves" Shenji explained. "Here's the plan," he continued. " As the GSGs reach 15 feet from my position, Eugenia will toss a flash bang. From then, we will pop up, corner them and forced them to drop their weapons when they're stunned. Michelle will inform us the distances between them and us. Is that clear?" Shenji asked. "Roger that, boss" the girls replied while bracing themselves hoping that Shenji's plan will save all of them.

"20 feet" Michelle reported. "17 feet, get ready team" she continued. "Eugenia, now!" she alerted. Immediately, Eugenia tossed a flash bang from her side at the incoming GSG 9. The loud sudden explosion stunned the GSGs and with the speed of light, Shenji, Eugenia and Chin Yen popped from their cover before charging at the disoriented German commandos. " Tropfen Ihr Waffe. Tun sie es jetzt !(Drop your weapons. Do it now!)" ordered Shenji as he aimed his Mk 23 sidearm at the GSGs who were about to regain their senses. "Wir habe sie umgeben, nicht all eilig ( We have you surrounded, don't do anything hasty)" warned Eugenia. "Tropfen Ihr Waffe (Drop your weapons!)" ordered Chin Yen who had her Glock aimed at them. "Wir lassen unsere Waffen, schießen nicht fallen! (We're dropping our weapons, don't shoot!)" one of them informed while placing his rifle on the ground. The rest of them did the similar thing and they kept their hands high in the air while Chin Yen collected their weapons. What thought to be a victorious ambush, turned out ironically to back fire when two black Enforced Comanche helicopters ( the upgraded version of the Comanche attack helicopters) appeared in the skies. The choppers had the words Polizei (Police) on it and the team was shun with the blaring lights from both of the choppers. The choppers weren't the only one ambushing the ICPU team as half a dozen of Humvees stormed into their presence. "Fuck, we're ambushed!" Eugenia panicked while aiming her rifle at her ambushers. "Hold your fire, team!" ordered Shenji who was pointing the confiscated H&K rifle at the choppers. "Oh God..." Michelle cried from a far as she was still concealed in the trees. "Boss, I've got clear targets, let me take them down" Michelle suggested in fear. "Negative, hold your fire!" Shenji repeated. More GSG 9 commandos appeared from their Humvees before surrounding the ICPU commandos. They had their rifles red dots on the team and they fiercely ordered the them to drop their weapons. "Wir sind Interpol offiziere, schießen nicht! (We're Interpol officers, don't shoot)" Shenji informed as he had his hands up. Chin Yen and Eugenia did exactly the same to save themselves from getting killed mistakenly.A familiar voice then appeared among the GSG commandos ordering them to lower their weapons; a 5 feet middle age lady in a green commander uniform then appeared. "Welcome to Berlin, team" greeted the lady who was then identified as Commander Rohwena. Shenji and his squad were relief and very grateful to witness the presence of their commander in a critical situation like this; they felt as if they were saved...by an elder lady. "Team, congratulations on your successful HALO jump. I'm glad to see everyone of you alive. What amazed me more was the fact that all of you managed to ambush the hunting party with only a sidearm and a petty amount of ammunition. Your tactical and strategical prowess has truly captured our admiration. Amazing job, team" complimented the Commander. "Thank you, Commander" the team replied. After an unusual welcome to Germany, the team boarded the Commander's SUV with a great sense of relief.

Three days later at the German Interpol briefing room at 11 in the morning. The ICPU commandos weren't the only inhabitants of the room as several members of GSG 9 operatives were taking their seats waiting for their briefing. All of them knew that today was the United Nations General Assembly which will be held later on at Berlin's House Of International Dialogs. The ICPUs were trading warm friendly conversations with their GSG counterparts to orientate themselves with whom they will be working with later on. Surprising to the ICPU commandos, they discovered that many of their GSG counterparts could converse fluently in English. Minutes later on, Commander Rohwena appeared into the briefing room . The once noisy room turned silence as the inhabitants were ready to dedicate their full attention to the Commander. After stacking a couple of A4 papers onto the speech table and putting on her reading glasses, she began her briefing. "Good morning ladies and gentleman, as you are all aware, delegates from the United Nations member countries will be attending the General Assembly at the House Of International Dialogs in a couple of hours time. As obvious as it may sound, your role for today's operational theater involves V.I.P. protection. However, allow me to remind you that there are a hundreds of V.I.P.s that requires our security; therefore, this will not be any ordinary V.I.P. protection. Furthermore, with an anticipated huge amount of protesters or supporters gathering outside the House, an assassination attempt that can go undetected is very possible. Consequently, a systematic and a planned protection program is essential during your operation out there. Now as you are all aware, there are a couple of unfamiliar faces in this briefing room; rest assure that these operatives are members from the Interpol that will be assisting all of you out there. These men are not less than you as they are highly trained in special operations and have a wealthy experience in unconventional warfare. The reason they are dispatch to collaborate their effort with you is due to the international profile of these V.I.P delegates. I strongly urge that all of you will communicate frequently with these men during the operation in order to produce an efficient action out there. Before I continue, are there any questions?" the commander asked. Seeing that nobody interrupted for the first 10 seconds, the commander continued. "A couple of days ago, Interpol intelligence intercepted a communication transmission from an unknown origin. The transmission was in a form of a conversation between two unidentified male parties conversing in English. Their conversation featured plans to wreck havoc at the House of International Dialogs during the day of the assembly. We have no idea what do they mean when they said "wreck havoc"; for all we know, it could be a plan to ignite an aggresive riot outside the House or worst---to assassinate members of the United Nation delegates. The intercepted transmission has placed the German police on full alert. Additional members of the GSG 9 and bomb squads have been deployed earlier on at the House. So far, we haven't recieved any reports of threat from either the police, GSGs or the bomb squad. Interpol and German officials are assuming that it could be an instigation of riot by a couple of nobodies or street hooligans based on the threat report; in response to that, additional riot police have been dispatched outside the House. However, I wouldn't take any chances of assuming that it is a plan to instigate a riot. For all we know, the April 12th attacks could repeat again, therefore, I urge all of you to be very caution out there. Are there any questions before I end the briefing?" the Commander asked again. Like before, the room was silence as there were nothing to inquire about due to the crystal clear briefing that the Commander made. "Okay then, load up and get ready for deployment!" Commander Rohwena ordered before she left the room. After the ICPU commandos geared up, they headed for the heliport of the Interpol building. The sight of the Mi-24 Hind helicopter greeted the team; already fired up, the pilot in the chopper gave them the signal to board. The pilot welcomed them on board, "Welcome aboard, commandos. I am Alina Beike and I will be your pilot for today". The team then noticed the pilot was a female as they couldn't recognize her gender due to the pilot helmet which shadowed her face and the big pilot jump suit that hid her body figure. "It's a pleasure to be on you flight, ma'am" Shenji replied. "The pleasure is all mine, sir. It's an honor to fly with the elite members of the ICPU. Before I forget, your armaments are all located at the rear of the chopper" informed Alina. The huge gun ship then carried the commandos to their operational theater.

Throughout the flight, the team was loading their fire arms with ammos before cocking them up. They were checking their sights alignment and making sure that the grip was perfect. They strapped on belts of magazines and did some light stretching. Shenji then tried to reach the Commander via his cross comm feature of his computerized goggles. As the image of Commander Rohwena appeared, he initiated a request. "Commander, this is Shenji" he informed. "Go ahead" the Commander said. "Can you send me a copy of the conversation that Interpol intercepted?" Shenji requested. "Sure, give me a few second" the Commander agreed. "Boss, why do you need that?" asked Eugenia. "Their voices and accents might narrow our list of suspects to watch for later on outside the House" Shenji explained. His computerized goggles then beeped the moment the copy of the conversation was send. "Thanks, Commander" he said before he played the conversation. The conversation wasn't long; in fact, it was short and simple; not to mention the presence of static made it difficult to listen. Despite several obtsacles presented, Shenji continued to listen attentively. "Both of the parties have some slang to it..." Shenji said. Chin Yen then played the recorded conversation on her goggles and then interrupted, "One of them is somewhere from an African country and the other...somewhere from Europe?". "The other party is from Russia" Eugenia concluded. "What makes you so sure?" Michelle questioned. "I've spoken to a lot of Russians during my Interpol service; that's how I know. He's got to be Russian" Eugenia explained. "Damn...Please don't tell me that African voice belonged to someone working for the NNO" Shenji worried. "Oh fuck..." Chin Yen added. "Are you telling me that the NNO are instigating some Russian punk to start a riot outside the House?" asked Michelle. "No that would be a waste of time for the NNO. I'm thinking that the NNO's hired a group of Russian mercenaries to strike the General Assembly" Shenji speculated in fear. " Commandos, we are reaching the insertion point ETA 10 minutes" interrupted the pilot. As the team got themselves ready, the girls continued listening to Shenji's speculation. "With fear and terror at the assembly, the NNO will "convince" the members of the United Nations Security Council to stay the fuck away from the NNO's war. It all make sense." Shenji continued. "We've got to inform the rest about this." Chin Yen warned. As the chopper approach the House, the pilot's attention got distracted by two police Enforced Comanche flying at a low altitude. "What the hell is this? No one told me that there will be additional helicopters dispatch to the House...and for fuck's sake, why are they flying so low." Alina wondered. The team then peeked at the window and shared Alina's confusion. All of a sudden, blinding flash flares shot out from the side tail of the Comanche helicopters; the team was thrown back and they were covering their eyes.

"Ahhh...what the fuck?" screamed Shenji in pain. " My eyes..." Michelle continued while small drops of tears poured out from her eyes. As Eugenia slowly regained her eye sights, she peeked down the window and witness a horrifying massacre. Four vans smashed through the police barricade at the same time tossing gas grenades out. As the foggy black mist of the grenades blurred and confused the police officers out there, the occupants of the vans came out and started blazing their assault rifles. The supporters outside the House left in fear and terror; however, some of them became victims of random shots. GSG operatives started firing in return but they missed most of the time as the enemies were shadowed behind the misty black fog. The Mi 24 Hind helicopter the team was in recieved a couple of slugs in the process; Alina immediately maneuvered the chopper to avoid further hits. The Enforced Comanche choppers fired their missiles on the patrol cars and GSG vans on the ground killing more police officers and civilians. The blinded GSG snipers who were taking watch on the nearby buildings became the victims of the Comanche's machine guns. "Take this you fuckers!" screamed Alina before she ripped one of the Comanches with the gun ship's gattling gun. "Nice shot!" complimented Eugenia as she witnessed one of the police attack choppers burn and crash in flames. "Oh fuck! RPG! (Rocket Propelled Grenade)" screamed Alina; it was too late for her to evade as the rocket struck the tail of the Mi-24 Hind. The team was violently thrown forward and they crashed onto each other. "Brace yourselves, we are going down!" warned Alina as she struggled to balance the chopper. The helicopter was circling in air as the tail was gone; the team held onto something and braced themselves. "Oh God..." Alina muffled as she realized that the helicopter was about to crash into the ground. "This is it..." whispered Shenji as he closed his eyes getting ready to submit himself to his fate. A loud crash was heard together with terrifying screams of his teammates and everything went dark.

"Wake up!"those were the words Shenji heard playing softly in his ears. "Please...don't die on me! Wake up!" those words continued playing. All of a sudden, a strong impulse struck Shenji and he began to slowly open his eyes. As he regain his consciousness, an intense pain burned in Shenji's head. He screamed in pain while grabbing his head tightly. "You'll be just fine, relax my friend" a blonde German girl with short hair in a black tactical gear helped Shenji to sit up. "Just hold still, you're almost done" said the girl as she made the last bandage wrap around his bloody head. "Ahhh...Michelle...Eugenia...Chin Yen, where are you?" screamed Shenji as he looked around before he struggled to pick himself up. "Whoa, calm down. Your teammates are alright," the girl pointed at Shenji's teammates who were lying on the ground not far away from the crashed helicopter. They were breathing but unconscious. " I don't think they are fit to continue their operation" the girl said while observing Shenji's knocked out teammates. "Goddammit...How bout the pilot? Is she okay?" he asked before checking out the chopper's cockpit. To his sorrow and anger, he discovered that the pilot was stuck behind the cockpit. She was lying at her seat motionless with her helmet's visor cracked open. The scene just look awfully bloody. "Oh God..." Shenji mumbled in sorrow. The girl then placed her hand on his shoulder feeling sorry for him and the mutilated pilot. "...Who are you?" Shenji asked at the same time wiping his tears from his dirty rugged face. "I am Corporal Hiltraud Aachen, a GSG operative. You must be ICPU, right?" the Corporal introduced herself. "That's a positive, Corporal. What's the situation in the House?" Shenji asked. "Our GSG 9 are holding the gunmen back. However, they're not doing so well...We're losing a lot of people in there. Sir, are you fit to fight?" questioned Hiltraud. "Don't worry about me," Shenji convinced the corporal while he cocked his M4A1 assault rifle. "We've got to get the delegates out" he said. "Very well, paramedics are on route to take care of your friends. We must hurry or there won't be any delegates to save" reminded the corporal as she cocked her MP5 . The both of them then hurried to the House not far away from the crash site.

A few hundred feet away from the House, the roads were barricaded with shot up cars and vans. There were bodies of police officers and civilians soaked with blood lying motionless on the ground. A couple of gunmen were seen hiding behind the abandoned cars armed with assault rifles. Shenji and Hiltraud dug deep to avoid detection; at that same time, Commander Rohwena called in. As Shenji, activated his goggles, a video image of the Commander appeared. "Shenji, give me a sit wrap on your current situation". "Commander, my entire squad is out of commission. Some RPG took our chopper down I'm alright but the rest of them are seriously wounded. Medical assistance are en route to evacuate them, though." Shenji regretfully reported. "On the way to our insertion point, we came across the Enforced Comanche helicopters that belonged to the police. They opened fired on us and created a massacre outside the House" he continued. "German officials have reported that an organized assault was conducted on a police station not long ago by a group of unidentified gunmen. That explains how they got the police choppers to obliterate the ground forces" the commander explained. "I'm thinking they're Russians," Shenji suggested. "Psst...Sir, we've got incomings" Hiltraud whispered. "Commander, I've gotta go. Somethings coming up" Shenji whispered before he went offline with the Commander. The approaching gunmen were unaware of of the both of them; Shenji lobbed a flashbang over at the feet of the gunmen. As it exploded, Shenji and the corporal popped up from their cover before projecting rifle slugs at the stunned gunmen. As the bad guys drop dead to the ground, both of them immediately advanced to the nearest cover which was an abandoned GSG truck. More gunmen appeared and they opened fired on the duos. The both of them were heavily pinned down and they had difficulty advancing further. "Corporal, I'll cover for fire. Get ready!" Shenji suggested. The corporal got into position and waited for the ICPU commando's green light. After reloading a fresh clip into his M4 rifle, Shenji returned suppressing fire before giving Hiltraud the green light to go. Hiltraud dashed immediately behind a destroyed police car before returning fire. She lobbed a High Explosive grenade to force the gunmen into cover before informing Shenji to advance to his nearest cover. The gunmen re emerged again and violently projected more slugs at the corporal. The corporal's cover was deteriorating and soon it will not protect her anymore; consequently, Shenji had to came up with a plan fast or risk losing his ally. The second he spotted a leaking fuel tank from an abandoned car, he thought of an idea. Immediately, Shenji send a bullet to the leaking fuel that was around the gunmen. As the bullet struck the surface of the oily floor, the flames of hell emerged and the gunmen were incinerated slowly to their deaths. Shenji immediately approached Hiltraud and helped her up. "Are you okay?" Shenji asked in concern. "Yes, thank you. We must hurry into the House for we are running out of time." the corporal replied before she dust the pieces of glasses and dusts of her vest. Shenji and Hiltraud then continued their way into the House; they cleared the lobby of the House to make sure there were no hostiles.

"All clear" Shenji reported while keeping his guard high. "No signs of the delegates here, though" Hiltraud informed. In the middle of their way up to the first floor, the duos were alarmed by a footstep. Hiltraud immediately turned around with her MP5 and demanded the mysterious figure to freeze. "Wait please don't shoot!" begged a middle age man in a formal suit. "Hands up, do it now!" demanded Shenji who was pointing his rifle at the man. "I'm Shiro Takeda, an ambassador from Japan. Please don't shoot" the man pleaded in mercy. Hiltraud and Shenji lowered their weapon as they approached the Japanese delegate when all of a sudden more gunmen appeared behind him. "Get down!" warned Shenji as he raised his rifle back again. The gunmen launched a bullet through the chest of the Japanese delegate. Hiltraud immediately dropped herself down and fired her sub machine gun before she crawled back behind a turned over desk. A couple of gunmen were killed in the process, conversely the gunmen didn't cease firing at the duos. The Japanese delegate dropped to the ground struggling in pain while gripping hard on his chest. He was spitting blood out from his mouth and his body was jerking violently. "Cover me, corporal. I'm going in!" ordered Shenji. The corporal continued blazing her MP5 while the ICPU commando reached for the wounded delegate. Shenji then dragged the delegate back behind cover at the same time, the corporal continued suppressing fire. "Fuck, I'm out!" informed Hiltraud as she threw down her empty MP5. She immediately drew her Desert Eagle side arm and returned fire. "You've....you've got....help my colleagues...." the Japanese man choked on his own blood. "It's okay sir, I've got you. You're going to be fine" Shenji comforted. He held his left palm on the man's wounded chest to prevent him from further bleeding. "...Third floor...help them..."those were the last words of the Japanese delegates before he died. "Oh God...No...Not again" Shenji broke down in tears as he witnessed another innocent dead in his arms. "Sir, snap the fuck out! He's dead, there's nothing you can do about it" said the Corporal before she returned more fire with her soon depleted gun. "You better pick up your rifle and start fighting back or it's going to be us, sir" she continued at the same time sliding in her last magazine into her Desert Eagle. Shenji got himself back together and joined in the firefight after picking his M4A1 up. The both of them were taking heavy fire and they were forced back into a small administrative office in the lobby. "Shit! I'm completely dry" informed Hiltraud as her Desert Eagle's reloader slammed back. "Take my sidearm from my right thigh" ordered the ICPU commando who was returning fire. Without wasting any time, the corporal immediately took the Mk 23 pistol from Shenji's thigh and returned fire. More gunmen were killed but there were still a lot of them. "Fuck, they're everywhere!" screamed Shenji as he immediately turned around and fired his rifle. "Yeah, tell me about it" chuckled the Corporal who was changing her magazine. A bullet then struck Shenji in his back shoulder; he immediately dropped down and grunted in pain. "Ahhh fuck!....Ahhh!" he grunted. "Sir!" Hiltraud immediately dropped down and approached the ICPU commando. "I'm alright, I'm alright...It got my vest.Don't stop firing"ordered Shenji who was grabbing his wounded back shoulder. "I wish I could continue, but I'm completely out again" she smiled. "You've gotta be kidding me, Corporal" Shenji chuckled. "Take my rifle," Shenji suggested. "...and smack them in the head with it?" the Corporal joked while checking the empty barrel of the M4A1. She then looked back and continued, "It's a good day to die today isn't it, sir?". Shenji's eyes watered again as he never thought his days was about to be over. The gunmen were still viciously firing despite the duos stopped returning fire. Back behind the shattered office, the corporal and the ICPU commando just sat back and awaited their fate. "Don't worry, sir. I've got your back" she continued. The gunmen ceased firing and they approached the crumbled administrative office slowly in an organize pattern. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Corporal" Shenji said. "By the way, my name is Shenji" he continued as he saw one of the gunmen with a shot gun approaching. "Likewise Shenji," replied the Corporal. The gunmen then cocked his shotgun and said, "Die, you pigs!". "Hey scheisser (shit), it's you who's going to die" a GSG 9 operative suggested. He then pulled the trigger of his Glock side arm which projected a bullet into the gunman's skull. The other gunmen then looked at him and to their surprise, that GSG operative had a team with him all armed to the bottom. They opened fired on the remaining gunmen taking no prisoners. "Corporal, are you alright?" the GSG operative in balaclava and tactical clothing asked while saluting. "I'm fine, private. You and your team came just in time. Good job" Hiltraud complimented after she got herself up from the ground. "Thank you, ma'am" replied the proud GSG private. Shenji collected the SIG Commando rifle from one of the the slaughtered gunman's hand before informing the others that the delegates are held hostage at the third floor of the House.

A platoon of GSG 9 accompanied the Corporal and the ICPU commando to the third floor. They heard screams and mumbles in terror coming from a conference room not far away from the stairs they came up from. As they approach the door of the conference, Shenji signal his counter parts to hold their position."Hold" Shenji whispered quietly. Hiltraud, informed the rest of the platoon to paused their movements and provide cover. The ICPU commando then sneaked in a snake cam under the conference room's doors; the camera provided "eyes" for the commando through his PDA. Shenji witnessed several dozens of petrified U.N. delegates who were at the mercy of the gunmen. He later spotted a big glass window in the conference room which presented a tactical idea to him. "Corporal, I need some of your men to rapple through this window."Shenji requested quietly as he showed his PDA to the Hiltraud. "Got it!" the Corporal agreed before ordering some of her teammates to stack up at the windows. One of the gunmen in the room forced a camera man to activate his video camera by pointing a gun to his head. Fearfully, the camera man obeyed and he started recording with his huge video camera. A small plasma TV hanging on the ceiling at the 3rd floor played a live recording from the conference room in the House; the camera man was recording a life broadcast. "Fuck...those lunatics are going to broadcast a live execution in the conference room" the Corporal stammered in panic. "Everyone, stack up!" Shenji ordered. The ICPU commando and his GSG 9 counterparts immediately got into an assault position. "Shenji, the rappel team are in position. We are waiting for your go" Hiltraud informed. Meanwhile, behind the walls of the conference room, the leader of the gunmen began his speech in front of the camera.

"The Nigerian civil war does not concern the Americans, the British or any other countries. It is Nigeria's own affairs and the New Nigerian Order does not tolerate any foreign interference. As a result of the United Nations ignorance and nosy behavior, incidents like the April 12th attacks occur and it is about to happen again. This time it is going to be here in Germany" the Russian gunmen leader announced in front of the camera. He then ordered his teammates in Russian to get ready to open fire on the delegates. The delegates shrieked in fear and each of them begged repeatedly for mercy. "General Ajani hopes that this public execution which will be telecast globally will serve as a lesson to the United Nations and other countries to stay away from Nigeria's political affairs. Let this be the second and the last lesson for the United Nations." the Russian gunmen concluded. Just as he was about to commenced the execution, a group of GSG 9 operatives stormed into the room after tossing in a flashbang. Another team rappelled into the room via the windows for further enforcement before taking out the gunmen. A figure of an ICPU commando then appeared on screen; he fiercely ordered the Russian leader to surrender. Petrified, the Russian gunmen dropped his weapon, went on his knees and placed his hands on his head. The Corporal then restrained the leader in plastic straps before leading him out of the room. The onslaught of violence and terror was over and the GSG operatives escorted the remaining delegates out of the House. What thought to be a public broadcast of execution turned out to be a special operation rescue which threw the viewing world into relief and joy.

The next day.

"The United Nations General Assembly in response to the civil war in Nigeria came to a halt when a group of gunmen organized an assault on the House Of International Dialogs in Berlin yesterday at 2 pm. 35 unarmed supporters and nearly 70 police officers were killed in yesterday's assault. 17 delegates from Japan,China, France, America, England and Malaysia were reported to be the casualties of yesterday's assault. What thought to be a public execution of the captured delegates turned out to be a successful rescue attempt when members of Germany's elite counter-terrorist units stormed in to neutralize the life threatening situation. All gunmen except the leader were reported to be killed in the rescue attempt yesterday. The leader of the gunmen who was later identified to be Ivan Akhatova by German intelligence was known to be a former member of the GRU, Russia's Special Forces that has been in operational ever since the Cold War. German intelligence has also discovered that Ivan Akhatova and his gunmen were affiliated with a Russian criminal mercenary sect known as the Red Sickle, which is known for numerous assassination, robbery and kidnapping cases throughout the Eurasia regions. Interpol was shock to learn that the Red Sickle mercenary sect has extended their services to a political level. What surprised the world audience was General Ajani's bold actions and threats against the members of the United Nations. His threating claims against the United Nations was officially true when the NNO transmitted a recorded video of General Ajani declaring his war on the United Nations earlier today. Political analysts has regarded the General to be over confident and foolish seeing that his claims and his declaration of war on the U.N. has turned the majority of countries in the world against him. Jun Nam Choi, the current President of the United Nation Security Council has inform that the United Nations will continue their efforts to aid the Nigerian government in the fight against the NNO despite, the life threatening attacks in Berlin yesterday. He added that if the United Nations decided to cease their provision of aid, they (United Nations) will be allowing terrorism to happen. In response to his decision, peacekeeping missions in Nigeria will commence in 2 weeks time."

As the first headline of the Central News Network ended, Shenji switched off the telivision. He turned around and approached his ICPU teammates who were lying on the hospital beds. They were heavily wrapped in bandages like mummies and each of them had a neck and leg supporter. "You did a great job yesterday, boss" Eugenia complimented. "I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for my German friend over here" Shenji replied while he smiled at Corporal Hiltraud who was standing next to him. "Anyway I've gotta catch my flight. You girls look fucked up, you all better rest" Shenji added sarcastically. "Yeah, get the fuck out of here, boss" Michelle chuckled. "Oh yeah, I believe you owe me 200 Euros. Don't forget to pay me when you could move those broken fingers of yours, Michelle" Shenji reminded her mischeviously before he and the Corporal left. "That motherfucker..."Michelle complained while both Eugenia and Chin Yen giggled quietly. At the departure gate of Tegel International Airport, Shenji was ready to leave for Malaysia. "So I guess this is it huh?" he said. "Yeah, I guess this is where we go our separate ways." the Corporal said. "Anyway, it was a real blast working with you. Thank you very much, Corporal" said Shenji. "The pleasure is all mine, Shenji" Hiltraud insisted before they both traded hugs. In the middle of their emotional moments, Shenji's PDA beeped. "Oh damn, excuse me for a while Corporal" Shenji said. He activated his PDA and answered a video call from Commander Rohwena. "Shenji, there's a slight change in your flight plan, you will be joining Peter's squad on a mission to Nigeria. Be prepared" informed the Commander. Shenji was speechless after ending his video conversation with his commander. What thought to be a long weekend for him turned out to be another long day of work. "I guess you're gonna have to work overtime huh?" the Corporal laughed. "Well, that's ICPU for me." said Shenji. The both of them traded hug for the last time before they separated.

A Pleasant Friday Evening Afterall

Limping back to my Residence apartment in agony after a horrific first time paintball game in Canada, I thought that was how my Friday evening was going to end---in pain, disappointment, sorrow and the worst part: disgust. My first foreign paintball game had these 3 words written all over it as those damn Canadian and Taiwanese punks I played with that day were a bunch of savages and barbarians who do not recognize sportsmanship and teamwork. Not only that, they were also rude, arrogant, uncooperative and full of self glory( the most annoying characteristic I find in a person when it comes to team sports). I was not only shot at close range for more than once but also I received insulting remarks and obscene hand signals from my opponents and even my teammates. I even nearly had my paint pellets stolen by a Canadian player however, I was fortunate enough to catch him red handed in time. Sadly, I was not only playing with assholes but also thieves. The Taiwanese were the main morons of the day as they not only grouped with their own kind which made it difficult for team coordination but also communicated in their goddamn Mandarin language which made our strategy briefing and team communication confusing. Basically, if one was curious to witness a dysfunctional team in action, the group of Canadian and Taiwanese boneheads I played with that day would be a perfect example. On the other hand, I was glad that I made five kills throughout the entire game and the best of all; having the opportunity to form my own unofficial three man squad with two Canadian girls who were not only cooperative but also very wise in tactical planning and team communication (which reminded me of Logan Keller's three man squad in Rainbow Six Vegas). Despite going through a shit storm earlier on that day, my final chapter of Friday wasn't completely soaked in dunk as I had the opportunity to attend the Latin Fiesta at my university later at night.

As I reached the lobby of the Residence apartment, I was greeted with a pleasant surprise by the presence of my Japanese good friend Maaya and my Hong Kee pal, Cindy. Both of them who were waiting in the lobby were shocked to see my dreadful and bloody appearance. Observing my gun shot wounds on my palm, forearms and legs, they asked me worriedly what exactly happened to me. The minute I summarized the torture I experienced at the paintball game, I could sense how grateful they felt for not attending the game. As Maaya and Cindy continued observing my wounds attentively, I interrupted their observation by asking them what were they doing down here at the lobby. Both of them told me that they were waiting for their friends whom were going to accompany them to the Latin Fiesta at the university's Campus Activity Center. They then invited me to tag along but seeing how miserable and tired I was not to mention my reluctance to spend unnecessarily for a fiesta ticket, I declined their generous and friendly invitation. After telling them to enjoy themselves at the fiesta, I wished them good bye and retired to my room.

In the middle of my shower, I then considered about going to the fiesta. Although I realized that I might have to spend a few dollars for the ticket, having the opportunity to expose myself to a different culture would be worth the money. After all, seeing that I'm a Sociology student this semester and a future International Business graduate, attending the fiesta would be an educational visit for me to a different culture. Consequently after my shower, I dressed up casually, made my hair, armed myself with a digital camera and headed to my university's Campus Activity Center for the fiesta hoping to learn something new about the Latin culture.

As I've reached the entrance of the fiesta, I was welcomed by colorful decorative lights that beautified the halls of the Campus Activity Center. Most of the visitors inside had a sombre on compliments of the organizer's generosity. The stage in the center of the hall was occupied by a music band playing Spanish songs which had everyone dancing to the music. The ceiling of the hall had a couple of pinata hanging which added to the authenticity of the Latin culture . Around the halls were buffet tables which featured burritos, tortillas, tacos and a variety of Mexican food that ignited my appetite. Impatiently, I went up to the ticket counter at the entrance of the fiesta to purchase a ticket. As I asked the counter staff about the ticket's fee, I braced myself hoping that the ticket wouldn't cost me more that $10. To my surprise, the counter staff informed me that the entrance was free of charge. Filled with joy and also relief since I don't have to pay, I strolled into the hall getting ready to begin my exposure on the Latin culture.

I started of taking pictures around the hall with my digital camera. In the middle of my photo taking, I was greeted by my friends, Maaya and Cindy again. Both of them were surprised to see me here as they thought I didn't wanted to follow them earlier on. I then had to explain to them the reason I changed my mind. Regardless for my fickle mind, they were glad that I turned up. Maaya then reminded me to grab some food as they were running out fast. Immediately, I grabbed onto a Styrofoam plate that was provided and began my food hunting. Most of the buffet tables were empty by that time and I only managed to grab a miserable amount of food. Feeling slightly disappointed as I won't be able to try every Mexican food which was served, I feasted on whatever I had with me. The Mexican pancake with salsa sauce I had was superb. The pancake was filled with minced meat and vegetables and the taste of it was so arousing. Thanks to Maaya's generosity for sharing her food with me, I managed to try the Mexican spring rolls. Just like the Mexican pancake, the spring roll had minced meat and veggies in it; however, the spring roll was smaller than the pancake. Minutes later on, God blessed me when the buffet tables were filled with more food again. The feast I had that day was simply remarkable.

Later on in the evening, the host of the fiesta presented a Salsa dance instructor to the stage. The Salsa dance instructor was a woman in her middle age and I had to give her credit for her flexible dancing moves despite her age that usually restricts agile and flexible physical capabilities. She was generous enough to teach everyone how to do the Salsa dance. Most of the visitors danced under the guidance of the Salsa instructor. As for me and Cindy, we just watched at the corner of the hall as we were too embarrass to dance. Maaya, who loved dancing enjoyed herself initially during the dance alone sessions. However, as the dances required a dancing partner, she began dreading as she had no one to dance with. Maaya was complaining to me about how shy Cindy was to dance with her and about how awful she felt not being able to dance with anyone else. Knowing that I mustn't let her dread furthermore, I volunteered myself to be her dancing partner. Our dance begin smooth initially but as the paced increased, I felt lost with the steps and I was totally thrown into an awkward situation. Maaya didn't really bothered much about my incompetency as she understood that I was never a good dancer. Fortunate for me, Maaya's Hong Kee friend (not Cindy) arrived and saved me from further embarrassment once she decided to took over my place. Feeling relief seeing that I don't have to dance any further, I continued watching the rest dancing from afar with Cindy. Later on, Maaya and her friend persuaded Cindy and I again to dance. Maaya then whispered to my ear mischievously asking me to dance with Cindy as she always thought that I have the hots for her (Cindy). Since I didn't really want to stand and watch all night long, I took the courage to ask Cindy for a dance by presenting my hands for her to hold. I was surprised that she grabbed my hand and she danced with me despite witnessing how shy she was when Maaya asked her for a dance. As usual, our dance threw us into an awkward position since the both of us hardly dance. Despite how stupid we felt, we tried to masquerade our embarrassment by giving out fake giggles and laughters. I felt so awkward and embarrassed that I accidentally stepped on Cindy's foot a couple of times. Nevertheless, I sure enjoyed myself dancing with my friends that night.

Maya introduced me to her Hong Kee friend later on that night. Her name was Shelly and although she is as old as Maaya and me, she looks criminally young for her age. She seems nice and she's very sociable. On the other hand, her playful character enforced a childish impression which makes her immature (...okay, maybe "cute" is a less harsher word). Later on in the night, we visited the Latin wedding booth to try on some bridal props and snapped photos of ourselves in it. It was so hillarious that time as Maaya had the groom's coat on while I was forced by Cindy and Shelly to put on a bridal's gown and play Maaya's wife. There was also a jail booth for the visitors to snap photos of them pretending to be in a Mexican jail. Like the wedding booth, the jail booth had a variety of props ranging from inmate's uniform to shackles and hand cuffs. Tempted to monkey around, all of us snapped more photos at the jail booth with our wacky expressions and poses attached. An hour before the party ended, we were all fatigue from fooling around and we decided to return to our Residence apartment. We really had a fun time taking photos and fooling around at the fiesta that day.

Despite going through a shit storm earlier on that day, my final chapter of Friday wasn't completely soaked in dunk as I had the opportunity to attend the Latin Fiesta at my university later at night. I didn't only enjoy what the fiesta had to offer me that night but also the friendship and companionship of both my good friends, Maaya and Cindy. I guess it wouldn't be exaggerating to say that the fiesta has enforced our friendship as the three of us has been hanging out together more often than before.


The hall of the university's Campus Activity Center was beautified by the colorful decorative lights.

Feeling tempted to break the pinata? Too bad that's not going to happen since it hung high

Hanging out with Maaya (next to me) and her friends from Hong Kong at the fiesta.

Fooling around at the Latin wedding booth. 2 men owned by 3 women in marriage.

Shenji and Shelly, the sombre heroes.

The sombre hero in action applying the chained choke hold on his victim. Badass....

No...Don't let Maaya take me away.

Cindy getting her man.

Being the obedient bride for Maaya at the wedding booth.

Sharing a same cell with my buddy, Cindy in a Mexican jail

Cindy teaching me how to "pan cool".