The Briefing
The race to map known species of living organisms from around the world has been very close with no real dominant force since the mid-nineties. Many different and ingenious technological advancements have been developed over the last fifteen years, including a giant leap forward in the development of virtual reality dynamic genome mapping software and expansive algorithmic genetic theory.
Once such company that is emerging at the forefront of manufacturing some of the most powerful genome mapping software is Keyotex. Based in Austria, the company sells very stable genome mapping software to the scientific community and facilities worldwide. Allegations of unethical and illegal activities in the design and utilization of their prototype systems has emerged recently, bringing them to the attention of several organizations, including the Agency.
Your mission is to infiltrate Keyotex, gather any evidence of illegal and/or unethical activities and bring this back to the Agency. Your presence must be surreptitious so as to not arouse suspicions and casualties should be minimized. You are to rendezvous with your contact at the designated time and place for further details.
The Informant will say “They said it would rain tomorrow.”
Your Response is: “You can’t trust the weatherman, not in the summer.”
The safe reply is: “It’s good it will be autumn soon, then.”
The trouble reply is: “It’s good it will be fall soon, then.”
On the Ground
The team landed in Vienna on an Agency private jet. They collected their car and drive to the meet at the Prater. The Prater is a large public park in Vienna’s 2nd district (Leopoldstadt).
The Wurstelprater amusement park, often simply called “Prater”, lies in one corner of the Wiener Prater and includes the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel.
The Prater was massive and filled with a sea of tourists. From out of the crowd, Syntax and Mr. Wizard recognized Mathias Schmitt, “Badger”, approaching.
Badger walked up to Syntax and said, “They said it would rain tomorrow.”
Syntax replied, “You can’t trust the weatherman, not in the summer.”
Badger responded, “It’s good it will be fall soon, then.”
Mr. Wizard spotted the tail, a man in a yellow jacket and jeans. He circled around to accost the tail. The man saw him as well and approached him. He asked Mr. Wizard if he knew Herr Schmitt. Mr. Wizard feigned ignorance, apologized, and walked off, but Mr. Wizard spotted him paralleling his path back to the others. The man saw him and walked off in the opposite direction.
More Briefing
Schmitt took the team to an underground nightclub nearby. The club was closed, but the contact had the key and led them in. Then he led them to a secure room, where he provided surveillance photographs and floor plans from the public records.
Well, here is what I know. The facility is in a four story modern building located seven kilometers to the west, near the Medizinische Universität Wien at Kochgasse 11.
Keyotex is located on the top floor, but it is a secure facility. I observed the building for several hours and as far as I can tell there is only one way in, an entrance on the east side.
Pretty busy during the day. Many women going in and out and a couple men with pistols. The building probably has an advanced security system inside.
I tried to enter the east entrance one day posing as a tourist and was greeted by a host of security officers, security cameras and a multi-sensor detector system.
So, I would say you should enter from the roof. The facility has three ventilation shafts on top of its roof. That would be the best way to infiltrate the building without being noticed.
Preparations
The team planned to enter Kochgasse 11 via an adjacent building. From the attic of that building they could climb along a ledge onto the roof of the building next to their target. From there they could jump across to the roof and access the ventilation system.
To prepare for their exit, Mr. Wizard found a storage closet beneath the attic that would be adjacent to one of the offices in the Keyotex suite. He set a shaped charge with a remote detonator in the event that they needed a quick exit.
Infiltration
Mr. Wizard led the way, crawling across the ledge, but he landed hard, revealing a utility panel that resounded with a loud clang. Bigfoot and Syntax followed avoiding that spot.
Bigfoot unlocked the ventilation shaft, and Mr. Wizard led the way. They heard the guards patrolling in the hallway below them and froze. When they had passed, Mr. Wizard and Bigfoot headed through the vents for a lab where the specimen samples were kept. Syntax followed the vents toward the security office.
The Workroom
Mr. Wizard and Bigfoot passed through the ductwork easily, but just before reaching the selected vent over the specimen storage area, Bigfoot heard voices inside. One was sharp and one was muffled. They spoke in German and were talking about the viability of the specimen they were currently working with. Mr. Wizard peered through the vent cover and saw three rather large stainless steel specimen sample storage units. The glass covers were frosted over, but he could see that the readout indicated that they were set to –80 °C. There was a man in a lab coat checking the readouts while talking to another man who was in the lab outside the storage area.
The Security Office
Syntax made his way toward the Security Office, which required crossing several junctions. As he was crossing over a hallway, he heard the voices of the security guards below him. When the passed by, he continued to the vent over the Security Office. Peering through the vent cover, he saw a man and a woman watching two banks of video monitors that scanned the hallways.
The Workroom
Seeing that the room was occupied, Mr. Wizard and Bigfoot elected to access the computers in the other workroom. Bigfoot successfully navigated the ductwork to the other room, but Mr. Wizard made a noise, alerting the occupants of their presence. They raised the alarm.
The Security Office
The people in the Security Office began actively scanning the montors. Syntax noticed that they were accessing the cameras on the computers to see inside the rooms. He relayed this information to the others. After a few minutes, the security officers deemed it a false alarm.
The Other Workroom
Bigfoot determined that the room was unoccupied. Mr. Wizard noticed from their plans that there was a blind spot where the computer cameras did not cover one of the ceiling vents. They angled their way toward it.
The Team
- Darlene Pet “Bigfoot”
- Raul Pizotti “Syntax”
- Tom Whitehead “Mr. Wizard”