Podcasts about british sas

Angery American Nation Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2025

A Walk In the Park & Aya's Finest Hour.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Professional, conscript, or volunteer, they all have run away from battle.A Note on terminology and the metaphor of Cael's WorldThe terms Weave of Fate and 'Weave ' are interchangeable. Weave expresses the intersection ~ the sieve that all the possible futures entered to create what we perceive as this 'now'. Fate is the keeper of the sieve. The Present is what is happening right now. It is that infinitesimal which we interpret as Reality.The Legend is what happens when the present is pulled back through the weave and becomes the past. It is called the Legend because, as the former presents fade into the past, they blur; each becomes less precise and more open to interpretations. (It is as if you were looking at one thing through a prism; as you shift your stance, what you see appears to change.) Within the Legend exist mystic creatures, divinities, demons, spirits, all the Paradises and Hells.The Endless Black Sands is the final resting place for all failed legends. It is the place where all is forgotten until even former realities break down into the Black Sands. That Alal found a way to cheat this doom and retrieved Shammuramat, was truly remarkable; even though Fate 'balanced accounts' with him by sending Ajax and his war band along that path as well.If you wonder how that was a balancing, consider this:The only people Alal cares for (in his own brutal fashion) are Shammy, now Sakura, and his only true offspring in 5,000 years, Cáel.Fate sent Ajax.With Ajax available to test Cáel, how could Alal resist the temptation to place one of the planet's greatest killer on a collision course with both of his loves in order to test Cáel?The Veil is a function of the Weave that protects sentient perception from perceiving the Weave and disguises the otherness of creatures of legend, unless they willingly allow themselves to be seen, which they usually do only so they can 'physically' interact with the Present. Some sentient minds, through horrific trauma such as the Augurs' self- poisonings, through the quirks of Fate via Holy Men, Mad Prophets and Doomsayers such as Temujin, or through the touch of legends such as Ishara, can sense the fluctuations in the Veil and the things behind it. Cáel, in truth, has been shaped by all three vehicles (Ishara, the Augurs and Temujin's legend.)Oblivion is what awaits Reality if the Weave ever fails beyond its ability to heal itself. This threat is what keeps the creatures of legend from constantly traversing the Weave. They have to weaken the Weave to do so or to use powers in Reality, the greater the distortion they create, the greater the weakening that occurs.End Note(Two days ago, with thirty days left)"That was fantastic, Lady Yum-Yum," I sighed."What did you just call me?" she panted softly. We were naked in one of our Task Force bedrooms that was actually used for sleeping, and now sex. I was still pressed against her reposed body, despite our recent exertions. She was on her stomach, arms stretched down her sides.She was sweaty and short of breath. She still had her wits about her and an awareness of our situation: victory sex, me still aroused and her fingernails scratching my thighs and buttocks. My equally sticky body was pressing down on her, even though I supported my weight with outstretched hands placed on either side of her shoulders."Lady Yum-Yum," I mumbled as I kissed the back of her head. "That was the first thing that sprang to mind when you introduced yourself." I could see her working that through her highly complex mind."When writing your memoirs, please remember to me refer to me that way," she began to flex her thighs and abdominal muscles, so that her ass was pumping against my hips."Only if this helps persuade you to give me a repeat performance.""I'll consider,," she purred, then paused to catch her breathe. "You are in phenomenal shape, young man. Do any of your other lady-loves have pet names?""Nope," I grunted as I withdrew.She had teased me with anal sex hints repeatedly, yet never delivered. She liked the game and the power she wielded. My body being on top of hers was only an illusion of a tactical advantage. She knew me pretty well already. I wasn't the kind of guy who would use physical strength to overwhelm her vulnerable position. This being so, a cerebral skirmish only excited her more.We waged a war that was based on intakes of breath, the shimmying of muscles and the trembling of fatigued flesh. The prize for me was the winning. Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke played tricky-clever, but I was better. And at times like this, she admitted it. She gave me what I wanted. I rolled her.Straight, face-to-face fucking. The Lady's pulsar gaze trapped my vision. She smiled, grudgingly at first, then more and more sensually as my glans returned to her g-spot that it had scouted out earlier. This was 'surrender by the Fathom method'. She gave me what I wanted, so I took what I wanted, and pleasured her at the same time."Mmm, you are a bad, bad boy," she lapsed into her trashy West-End Londoner accent. It was perfect and an erotic whiplash when added to her native, refined manner of speech. This wasn't a trick this time, it was a treat. It was a gift, reciprocated. The tactile sensation of her cervix becoming a soft, spongey chalice for my final penetrations was icing on an all-so-luscious cake.I tendered her a tribute worthy of my first love, Dr. Kimberly Geisler. It was strange to find a woman like her. Outside of Kimberly, I had found only one other woman who graciously offered her ultimate pleasure paean to the hundreds of lovers who had become before. That other woman, it still floored me, was Buffy Du, no, Buffy Ishara, First of my House."Oh!" and several heartbeats later, "Cáel!" several hissed series of breathes and then, "Goddess! You are better than good!"Two thoughts collided within me:A) I had never seen a more controlled orgasmic explosion in my life. I was going to have to tell Buffy about this, once we were safely in bed. If it was office talk, she'd punch me through a window and that would make Aya cry. I couldn't have that.B) Goddess? I thought she was Anglican. This needed further study. This treatment was really nice. I leaned in, kissed her. Lady Yum-Yum smiled. "Take me to the shower. Play time is over, Cáel," and she was back to all business."You are treating me like a fleshy vibrator," I pointed out."But you are a very finely-trained, fleshy vibrator, you wonderful boy," she stroked my cheek. "Shower! Now!" So, like a Good Boy, International Merchant of Death and Chosen Son of a Divine Amazon Goddess, I slid off her, then cradled her in my arms as I rose from our totally trashed mattress.I didn't smile when it was confirmed that I wasn't carrying her out of any romantic after-coitus gesture. She couldn't walk. Woot! It took a bit of effort to get us into the walk-in shower and to get the water just perfect, all while keeping her cradled. She helped out by keeping her arms tightly around my neck."Cheeky bastard," she whispered in my ear. "You are gloating." Then she nibbled on my earlobe for good measure."Damn right," I did gloat as I let her slide down to her feet. "You are pretty sweet for an Old Chick." She wasn't angry, oh no."If you were trying to get me to say, 'I'll get you next time," she licked, nipped and sucked on my nipple as if I was the one with the mammaries in this relationship, "it worked." Double-Woot! I was going to get that damn four-way! I did coax a vigorous shower-quickie out of my Lady. Afterward, she shifted herself so she could get under one of the steaming showerheads."Cáel, why didn't you use a condom," she mused. Gak!"You aren't on Birth Control?" I panicked. She laughed at me."No. I've never been a fan of hormones replacement. I like the way I am. Do you expect the women to do all the anti-pregnancy measures?""No," I gulped."Don't' be so worried," she laughed. "We had unprotected sex one time. The odds are astronomical that an 'oops' happened, right?" Yes, it was a single sexual encounter, but included three firings of the one-eyed hydra, sigh."You are asking a man who has five children on the way, Fathom," I cautioned her."Oh, I'll update my files and make an appointment to seen a local, reliable O B G Y N," she slipped back into her unflappable British resolve. "Get along. I need to get cleaned up," she cupped my scrotum, ", again. So scoot." I scooted.I had updated my condom supply despite the forbiddance Dot Ishara, my Matron Goddess, beamed to me from the Other Side. She could only complain so much. I'd upped my selection of fortune cookies and added a fresh raisin chocolate brownie for my next visit with her. I had to get over to the other side of the floor to get a fresh shirt, and boxers.Yum-Yum had ripped off my shirt (a little kinky) and boxers (a little painful). I wasn't going commando, so I decided to quick step it before something important happened that required me to yank yet another solution out of my sexually-fueled creative imagination.How Lady Yum-Yum and I ended up in bedThe Secret Societies' long awaited war had begun in Africa and in India. The Amazons couldn't effectively reinforce these two homeland regions. No, my people's edge came from my stupid stunts (e.g., the fight outside that club in Chicago), the judicious application of a few kind words and a whole lot of targeted killing on my part along with that of my Amazons.Those actions convinced the Booth-gan (aka the Thuggee, but we no longer say that because it irritates them) and the Coils of the Serpent to toss in their lot with their local Amazons. They did the whole 'hostage exchange' thing as well. Two children from each side. That was a no-brainer on my part. All three concerned parties were willing to let their adults die if necessary. Their children were another matter.In Asia, the Seven Pillars had made only minimal progress. We now suspected the 7P had planned to roll over the three of the 9 Clans that were in their Sphere of Influence, the now 6 Ninja Families, the Black Lotus and the Booth-gan in rapid succession. A preemptive strike against both the Khanate and the Ninja were supposed to cripple those two factions.Against the Khanate, that had been a dismal failure. In Nippon, the Ninja were in dire straits and would be decades recovering from the original 7P blitz. But the combination of US black ops help and the infusion of Amazons and Okinawans had staved off extinction for the moment. Strategically, these failed actions were tying down 7P resources that the largest Secret Society had planned to move elsewhere.In China, the Black Lotus exhibited the same resilience and deceptiveness they'd shown in combating the Seven Pillars by themselves for the past 65 years. The chaos gripping the PRC was a blessing from the Ancestors, the four sacred spirits (lung/dragons, phoenix, unicorn and tortoise), and the nine entities (I now really had to know this stuff.) Word that a 'dragon' had appeared in the West had only heightened their desire to aid in our new alliance.Those factors meant a reprieve for India. As the 7 Pillars began ramping up their operations; increasing racial tensions, minor terrorist action and military and industrial sabotage; the Booth-gan and Amazon united resources and purpose. The Booth-gan would assassinate 7P operatives and pawns while the Amazons would hit 7P front companies and businesses based out of the People's Republic of China. (This activity also helped ratchet up India-PRC tensions and anti-PRC public sentiment in India.)In Africa, the Condotteiri had squandered precious hours reallocating resources before launching their assaults. Like everyone but the 7P, they had been caught flat-footed by the renewal of the Secret War. The Coils of the Serpent had never been overly antagonistic toward the Condos, since their interests rarely collided. The same went for the Coils and the Amazons.Two factors inspired a deep Amazon-Coil bond. They were both groups with deep African roots and a shared Central-Western African spirituality. Added to that was the growing power of the Coils of the Serpent in the past fifty years. Their main opponents had been the Illuminati who had a Eurocentric view. Pan-Africanism was in the Coil's best interest, but ran contrary to European economic interests.Long term, allying with the African Amazons was a good investment for the Coils. The 9 Clans relationships had already proved to be advantageous on multiple occasions in the past. The leaders of the Coils knew their power was rising with the fortunes of Sub-Saharan Africa. To them, the rise of the PRC and the Seven Pillars was a looming threat in the East.They had been handed a golden opportunity to deal with this enemy before the enemy was ready to deal with them. They had been 'gifted' with over 2000 highly-skilled, fanatical Amazon warriors as stealthy muscle to add to their own, more subtle arsenal. For the Amazons, it was access to continent wide clandestine intelligence network that could unmask their enemies' hiding places.The Condotteiri wiped out an Amazon freehold in Cameroon and a few Coils safe houses in Lagos, Nigeria. In the Republic of Mali, over 250 Condo mercenaries were slaughtered at a 'secret' installation and their armory was looted. Ebola kept breaking out in the West. The dominant regional powers, the Republic of the Congo and Nigeria, were tottering as a result of decades of economic mismanagement, civic, ethnic, tribal and religious strife, corruption and unreliable militaries.The scene was ripe for a secret conflict as well as public carnage. For the Joint International Khanate Interim Taskforce (JIKIT), this presented a dilemma. They were involved with a growing global struggle that went far beyond the Khanate and Central Asia. Their secret society allies strenuously objected to bringing any more 'outsider' people into the group.Handing over covert intelligence to other governmental agencies in the US and UK, then telling them they wouldn't divulge their sources went over like scuba diving with cement goulashes. Explaining to upper level bigwigs that they had a 'trust-based' team went nowhere. Those officials didn't care about a bunch of domestic/international criminals' sensibilities.They wanted names and faces. They wanted addresses, phone taps and bank account numbers. It would all be 'Secret', 'Top Secret', or 'Eyes Only'. It would all be vulnerable to all kinds of governmental subpoenas too. No threats were made from 'my' side. They'd killed more people than the Black Death and the lives of a few thousand bureaucrats (and their families) in London and Washington D.C. didn't mean shit to them.Selena did offer to kidnap some family members to get the message across. Javiera put her hands over her ears and began singing 'la-la-la' as she stormed out of the room. Lady Fathom suggested that we arrange a private meeting with the UK Prime Minister and the US President. It took a few seconds for Mehmet and Javiera to realize she wasn't kidding.That was a nearly impossible task, which on this taskforce meant we had to give it a shot. Let's just say that the US Attorney General, Eric Holder and Chairman John Jay of the British Joint Intelligence Committee thought their respective representative had lost her God-damn mind. I went to the Khanate for help.Twenty-four hours later Azerbaijan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Armenia and Georgia (yes, two tiny Christian nations) joined the Khanate. The integration of the first two nations had been in the works since the formation of the Turkic Council in 2009. For me, Temujin upped the time table strictly for our benefit. Turkey and Azerbaijan became the two newest states within the Khanate.The third, Tajikistan was different and the shakiest addition. The unoccupied title of 'Khwarazm Shah' was created, suggesting the Iranian Tajiks had a special status inside the Khanate. 'Khwarazm' referenced the Khwarazmian dynasty that ruled the last of the great, Persian-led, Iranian Super-States and dated back to the 13th century AD. 'Shah' was Persian for King.The announced status of Armenia and Georgia was quite a bit different. They become 'Protectorates', i.e., semi-autonomous states within the Khanate who were 'vassal' states, responsible only to the Great Khan and his personal representative in the region (ah, that would be me.)So, the first three entries made sense, strong geographic, ethnic and/or religious ties, plus this was part of the Khanate's agenda anyway. But Armenia and Georgia? That was the doing of the other regional secret society, the Hashashin.The Caucasus Mountains were the backyard of the Hashashin. They knew who to blackmail, pinch and kill to make the 'take-over' possible. The main stumbling block was the long Khanate-Hashashin history: the Mongols had destroyed the historical stronghold of the Hashashin, Alamut, in 1256 CE. In a way, that disaster had transformed the sect, making it move away from their strict Nizārī Ismaili roots and into a more ethnically and religiously diverse group that was centered in the Caucasus region.Temujin made it clear to this group that he was making a deal under my auspices. Both Armenia and, Georgia (as well as the future Kurdistan, his plans for the creation of that last state were told to me under condition of secrecy) would be part of my palatinate principality (along with Hungary, if we ever got there). Riki Martin defined the terms for me: I was the voice of those three regions in the Khan's court.They wouldn't have to deal with Muslim Khanate officials. They would deal with me and 'my officials'. If the Khanate had a problem with my principality, they came to me to resolve the issue. That translated to me giving a nod to the existing regimes ruling in Armenia and Georgia (along with the infusion of a few Hashashin supporters.)Publically the future of those three political and ethnic entities would be confirmed later. The existing governments knew three things.1) I was that madman who had led the charge in Romania, clearly a man of bravery and humility. The odds were good that I was going to be a man they could rely on to adequately represent their interests with the government that currently mattered the most (aka The Khanate.)2) The Great Khan thought the world of me and in this nascent New World Order that meant way more than membership in NATO, or begging the United Nations to apply sanctions of dubious value.3) There would be a change of leadership by about 2040. Children of excellent ethnic parentage would succeed me in this ceremonial role in the region. These new princes and princesses would be the scions of the line of Nyilas and representatives of the various states (translation: I was going to be sexing it up with Georgian, Armenian and Kurdish members of the Hashashin).That would establish the three 'cadet' branches of House Ishara (Nyilas) (which I've listed because all three alphabets are so freaking beautiful) that could weave the Amazons, 9 Clans and the varying ethnic identities into a quilt that could stand together as a force in the Great Khan's inner circle. This new spate of aristocratic, 'Archer'-themed lineages would be:1. Moisari, in Georgia.2. Aġeġnajig, in Armenia.3. Ram- alsham, in Kurdistan.This fiction made the key named entities happy. The combination of all these events applied another jolt to the heart of the global power structure (after all, Turkey was in NATO) and made the US and UK governments back off.By tidying up the world map, we'd brought our governmental chiefs to the chilling revelation that their sole conduit for insider information regarding the ongoing global calamity had reacted to their intransience by simply letting them be blind-sided by events. After the fact, Javiera and Lady Fathom relayed that message very clearly.

god tv american amazon death head world children father chicago europe english stories uk china house mother lost secret hell law state reality land british care west africa brothers chinese european sleep government washington dc turning influence mom current brazil professional santa europa african bbc rome east turkey fantasy cnn boss park ladies iran beyonce captain laws hearing straight hunt mine council concerns narrative honest tears nigeria records worse nations sister weapons southern sisters honestly fate ninjas independence sexuality worlds united nations republic twenty internal wtf fool nato ot fantastic disorders pillars call of duty explaining ram bay bitch nepal sinners sorrow shut romania sake khan exile goddess congo afterlife hungary keeper northern correct congressional instructions shower veil chang budapest rat apprentice added booth illuminati hurry vietnamese sisterhood serpent mali sd auschwitz explicit casper nypd other side ancestors persian task force ebola new world order lagos tibet himalayas birth control summer camp runners sphere novels armenia sneak ajax crawl tibetans arial us presidents martial cameroon azerbaijan spidey oblivion armenian al jazeera defeats top secret malaysian georgian chung traitor strategically gong anglican gathered threatening secret societies yum good boys central asia weep u s condo madi erotica handing goddesses archery bengal black death mmm secret wars weave mongolian oaths south china sea kurdish ish messina sub saharan africa times new roman cheeky pla sakura kurdistan clans high priestess aye chuckie fathom kursk mockery prc gak woot mehmet tajikistan condos eurocentric nepalese caucasus coil tahoma mongols hells uk prime minister errand hittite finest hour eric holder party lines pan africanism yum yum arwen council meeting first house seven pillars lhasa black hand restrain claymore dali lama black lotus jian us attorney general coils in asia saku unconquered javiera squirts gurkha katmandu cael han chinese intelligence services tibetan plateau epona tisza council chambers temujin alerted holy men ismaili melena febe british sas doomsayers literotica okinawans death song caucasus mountains 7p niz spetsnaz free tibet house heads msolistparagraph house head mycenaeans publically black sands shammy great khan his english alamut paradises marda thuggee

Angery American Nation Podcast with Special Guest Rossen Hristov

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 66:07

Rossen Hristov is the Director of Training for Tactical Performance Center After 7 years in U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, Rossen continued his career as a lead instructor, providing firearms marksmanship development and tactical training in several key international projects in the Middle East. He designed a methodology and was part of a project for training and development of a specialized counter-terrorism unit in the region. He worked together with experts from all over the world including top Israeli instructors, former Royal Dutch Marines, British SAS instructors, specialists from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Rossen also trained contractors from Nepal for a period of one year. He is a USPSA Grandmaster in the world of practical shooting sports and part of the CZ-USA shooting team. The "Angery American Nation Podcast," hosted by Chris Weatherman, known as Angery American, along with panelists like Bob "T" Toombs, Seaux Larreau, Imri Morgenstern, and Donnie Dunn, has become a platform where discussions on world and national news are intertwined with themes of self-reliance and community.

director australia training new zealand south africa middle east israelis nepal nation podcast rossen british sas hristov diplomatic security service cz usa chris weatherman angery american

Delta Force Original – Wade Ishimoto

American Warrior Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2024 39:50

Delta Force operator Wade Ishimoto was one of the founding members of the elite unit when it was first formed. The story of his progression from an American of Japanese ancestry born in Hawaii just prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Delta Force is told in his book “The Intoku Code”. Intoku is a Japanese word that means “doing good in secret.” Wade began his Army career as a military policeman and then moved on to counter intelligence and human intelligence. Fourteen of his twenty years in the Army were spent in Special Forces. He originally wanted to join the Marines, but the recruiter was at lunch. On his way to see the Air Force recruiter, he says the Army recruiter tapped him on the shoulder and “fed him a bunch of lies”. Wade was laser focused on getting into the Special Forces but the path was not an easy one. Eventually he joined the 5th Special Forces group because of a personal recommendation from a Warrant Officer. Terrorism was becoming more common in the 1970's and the US Government realized it did not have the capacity to conduct surgical hostage rescue missions. At the time, Charlie Beckwith had been developing a plan for a unit based upon the British SAS that became the basis for Delta Force. Wade had worked for Beckwith before and wrote him a letter describing how Special Forces could be improved. It obviously made an impression because Beckwith asked him to come on board with Delta Force. The Intoku Code describes numerous challenges involved with standing up Delta Force, including keeping itself secret from other military and government units and some of their training methods. Wade says another challenge was recruiting the “best of the best” from other branches because the commanders didn't want to give up their best personnel. Wade's book provides fascinating insights into the planning of the ill-fated “Operation Eagle Claw”, the mission to rescue hostages being held in Iran. He was nearly left behind when that mission was aborted. TAKEWAY: Wade's hope is that he will inspire others to do good things in secret. “Be steadfast, be resolute and continue to care for others.”

american japanese army hawaii original iran air force marines terrorism pearl harbor us government special forces delta force beckwith warrant officer british sas operation eagle claw

Cáel and the Manhattan Amazons: Part 18

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024

If you cannot compromise; Challenge! In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected.. “Every person is alone. That is the definition of Free-will.” The gift from Grandpa that keeps on giving. I almost miss not killing him myself." "That man was an eternal foe of the Amazons, Cáel. His death was necessary for peace with the Illuminati, thus peace with all the other factions," Pamela related. I began laughing. "So my misogynistic family heritage comes from my Mother and my misandristic lineage comes from my Father," I clued Pamela in. She found it to be hilariously ironic too. "We still have to be careful," Pamela nudged me. "After all, your Grandfather had plans for your body. Whether we choose to believe it was to be a vessel for your Grandfather's essence; or, if you prefer, he put something in your Mother's DNA that, when combined with the machinery he used to store his memories, would bring him back to life; Cáel O'Shea always was thinking three steps ahead." "Why didn't you kill me when you figured this out?" I stared at her. "You hold the fate of House Ishara inside of you," Pamela smiled warmly. "Besides, I like you. No one really understands me like you do. Everyone else thinks I have a sick sense of humor." "I wish you had been my Grandmother," I nodded. "Wait; wait," Pamela held me back from continuing. "Because if I had been your Grandmother, you would have known to avoid a nut-ranch like Havenstone." "Are you like my psychic twin?" I teased her. She was right, of course. "I had a twin brother," Pamela turned sad. "I have always wondered what path his spirit traveled once they took him to the cliffs." "The fact that you still recall him with empathy speaks volumes for you, Pamela," I hugged her. "I felt the same way, you know," Pamela drew comfort from my warmth. I was uncertain of her meaning. "When they told me what happened to boys; I couldn't accept it. Their reasoning rang hollow and I saw their denial of their own blood to be self-defeating." "I have always wanted to believe my brother waits for me in the Hall of Ancestors so I can finally see his face and tell him I'm sorry that I was the one that was spared," she confessed. "You weren't spared, Pamela," I comforted her. "You had children and grandchildren so that way your brother will have grand-nephews and great grand-nephews whose actions are recorded in the deeds of your house and their names inscribed in the roster of the Host." "That's my hope anyway," I added. "Let it be so," she whispered. (A Step back in time: that Weekend, between Oneida and Nicole) The weekend; I'd had plenty of relaxing sex over the weekend, bonded with Oneida somewhat while we biked Saturday morning, had sex with Gael, junior of House Bendis (the woman who let me borrow her phone so I could invite Buffy, Helena and Desiree to my little induction ceremony), then had a late afternoon date with Nikita. Escorting Yasmin and her son to the airport for the start of her Havenstone training after dinner was unsettling. The boy, Braulio, seemed worried, Yasmin was glad to see me, really glad to see me then finished if off by commenting that she could tell 'something had changed'. I affirmed her hunch without going into the details. As Yasmin's mood improved, so did her son's. I wished her luck. She told me I'd need it more. Late Saturday night I was invited to a party by Libra. Brooke showed up date-less (she wasn't jumping into a new relationship) so she glommed onto me; us. Marla and Libra had a huge phone fight about her (Marla) not being 21 yet, thus not invited to the party. Felix was there having reconnected with Gina because he had both a glib tongue and an awe-inspiring sexual arsenal. Felix's attempts to recoup any ground with Brook failed miserably. She had her own bitterness toward Trent, her memory of me handing her panties under an outdoor cafe's table as a trophy Felix had taken the night before and displayed openly in my office, and my own masculine support to draw strength from. Felix and I did not verbally, or socially, spar. He accepted the verdict of our first contest and, for all his faults, he acknowledged that my victory had worth and obeyed his conscience on the matter. If anything, he was visually more respectful than ever before. I wasn't his equal; no man and definitely no woman was; yet I was now a competitor he would have to give his very best to defeat. Sunday morning had been just me and Odette. We'd cuddled on the sofa, watched some TV and then I took her to Havenstone for time in the pool. I kept the overly-aggressive Amazons at bay while getting Odette used to the idea of regular exercise; hanging out with Timothy and I required greater endurance than her sedentary youthful stamina provided. An early afternoon invite to a 'pick-up' basketball game at the community, two-court, outdoor lot with Jason, the bar-back from the Yuppie bar, brought me back in contact with Katy Lee Baker, aka Delivery Girl. Odette tagged along. It also brought me in contact with the local 'wild-life'. A Latin King clique was starting to operate in the area and Jason's crew were the native inhabitants who took exception to this. We played for about half an hour were everyone learned I was a big, fat liar. I was actually good at basketball, despite my earlier claims at ignorance. The Kings showed up, drove off the younger teens playing on the other court. A few more of those jokers showed up and it was now 'our turn' to make space. That went over like a shit brick. The Kings outnumbered us a good two-to-one, but Jason wasn't backing down. I was struggling to convince Jason that discretion was the better part of valor when some of the new Latin King arrivals tried to play with a few of the local ladies who had come down to watch their menfolk pull off their shirts and get sweaty. Poor Odette; she had been in the company of so many powerful, confident and lethal women she'd forgotten she wasn't one. A King grabbed Katy Lee's breast. Odette hit the asshole in the stomach, put a shin to his nuts and finished him off with grabbing his head and driving it into her upward moving knee, dropping him like the sack of shit he was. But wait, he had five buddies. Poo was being served up and the electric switch was about to be flipped. "I'll be back to help in a moment," I growled to Jason as the gang members jumped Odette. Katy Lee and a slightly older woman rushed to Odette's aid. The Kings didn't ignore my approach, peeling off two to 'deal with me'. They really shouldn't have hit Odette because now I was angry. The feces hit the rotary wind machine. With their last shows of bravado, I lay into the closest bastards. The sixteen year old was hesitantly pulling out his 32 caliber ACP while reconsidering his poor life choices as I hit his buddy so hard he went airborne, two teeth and a fountain of blood coming from the ruin I'd made of his face. Gun guy was next. I clamped my left hand on his right, gun-toting wrist then drove my knee into his elbow. The elbow snapped upward with a sound reminiscent of a car backfiring. His screams drowned out the thud of his gun dropping to the court surface. For the three remaining Latin Kings I was closing with, a terrible social reality came crashing in. Gangs rely on several tools to exert power; a propensity for violence, illegal finances, a fierce reputation, and superior numbers. By the look on my face, they discovered that their numbers didn't bother me in the least. I knew exactly who they were and didn't give a damn. My desire to destroy them was motivated by something far stronger than any currency, and I was clearly better at this whole violence thing than they seemed to be. They had their pride and the fidelity with their gang, plus their intimidation tactics were going wrong so fast, they couldn't process the disaster quickly enough to alter course. These guys were not professional warriors by any stretch of the imagination. 'Warriors'; perhaps. 'Professional'; definitely not. Their ability to rapidly adapt to a changing situation was woefully under-developed. In gang hand-to-hand combat, you bunch up your members, overrun a foe and beat him to the ground. Fighting a practitioner of Brazilian jujutsu, standing close to one another is the Last thing you want to do. I was a whirlwind of destruction, fed by the understanding that Jason's bunch needed me back real soon. The asshat who tried to use a knife on me got his hand pinned to the court for his audacity. I repeat, threatening Odette had infuriated me. At center court, Jason had his hands full and then some. The Latin Kings had the edges in both numbers and ferocity. The only other hometown boy holding his own was this thick, solid Puerto Rican guy named Bennie; the rest were in trouble. I started with the four-on-one stomp-down on one of Jason's friends; I'd missed the guy's beat down. My inner Amazon was leading the charge. Unlike all my previous encounters, I was intentionally causing pain. I wasn't trying to drive them off, or render them hors de combat. No, my desire was to strike terror in their hearts, inflicting suffering in order to eradicate my foes' resolve to fight. Knees snapped, bones broke, faces were stomped into the court and internal organs ruptured. Even my erstwhile allies were aghast at the wickedness with which I treated our enemy. "Ah; Cáel; are you okay?" Jason mumbled when the last King went down. He'd have a shiner on his left eye soon and his lip was split and bleeding. I hadn't come through unscathed either. Havenstone had seriously upped my pain threshold. Jason wasn't really asking about my physical well-being anyway. I had to get ahead of this; predicament. "Let's get this trash off the court," I commanded. The boys hesitated until Jason picked up one of my semi-conscious victims. "Come on 'Pendejo', leave and don't come back," Jason yanked the man up and began shoving him toward the gate he and his buddies had arrived by. The rest of Jason's friends joined in and we began cleaning up the place. One gangster decided he was too hurt to be moved. I'd rammed his shoulder into the goalpost, breaking his collarbone. He was crying about the pain he was in. I pulled him up. He was around 7 foot 2 inches tall and 275 pounds. I wrapped my hands around his thick bull neck and slowly raised him up off the ground. His face was reddening, his good hand was trying to break my hold and his legs were flailing about in the open air. [In Spanish] "Pain, Asshole? No, pain is me having to come back here and hunt you and your vermin buddies down," I seethed. "I don't live here. These men are not my friends. You touched my girl and I am God Almighty when it comes to defending those of my household. I am not in a gang. I am not a criminal. If you, or your gang, come within a block of this place, I will become Death. Today, there are too many witnesses. This is your reprieve; your moment of grace," I snarled. "Use it wisely. It will not happen again," I finished in a fury. I dropped him to his wobbly feet, catching his good hand before he fell over. That act of compassion after my dire threat confused the guy. "Go," I returned to English. The rest of the Latin Kings walked, stumbled, were dragged from the court. "Who are you again?" Bennie inquired. "Cáel Nyilas," I grinned. "I'm an Aerospace Engineer working on the feasibility of having hamsters running on their wheels being used to recharge batteries on manned flights to Mars." "Hamster wrangling has to be one tough profession," Katy Lee snickered as she and Odette came up. "Come on now," Jason winced as he licked his lip. "Brawling is about panic, anger and the management of those two forces," I told them. "I was the only one in this fight in control of himself, so my actions look out of proportions to what really happened." "They were kicking our asses," Bennie chuckled. "Not as bad as you guys think," I consoled them. "None of you guys ran, or curled up in a ball. That allowed me to pick my fights. I clearly have more hand-to-hand combat experience, but none of that would have mattered had you guys freaked out." There was some truth in what I said. Had they panicked, I would have grabbed Odette and Katy Lee then fled as well. Since they toughed it out, and the Latin Kings exerted virtually no command and control, I was able take on the gang members in small, bite-sized chunks. My training and experience took care of the rest. This also made the somewhat traumatized ballplayers feel proud about the cuts and bruises they'd received. Now they realized they had 'won' this scuffle, they'd played their parts courageously and had all been instrumental in a successful stratagem. The fact that none of them knew that when the blows were raining in it meant nothing. The women who'd come out to watch the game then witnessed the beat down knew their men had been brave, taken their licks and routed their enemies. Martial ardor, baby! 'Defending' a woman does not diminish her. It increases her odds of dealing with insults and threats in a positive manner. Women who look down on women who use their pussies to better themselves are being stupid. It is the equivalent of having a complete toolbox and only using the hammer. The women were going to give up some level of sex to reward the men. The men, in turn, had an example of the kind of behavior that would get them what they wanted; defending your ladies equated to feminine reward. That did not mean penetration; life was far more complex. It did mean she would hang around you, talk to you and trust you (most likely more than she should). Guys still had to seal the deal, figure out what she wanted and deliver. That had been the working arrangement between men and women for most of the last 80,000 years. What I didn't know at the time was that I was being spied upon, that this spy called Buffy; my 'spear and shield'; and Buffy would gather up some Security Detail chicks. Why would SD help? Some morons had tried to murder the Head of House Ishara and that wasn't something the Amazons would tolerate. That Latin King clique was contemplating revenge. They were about to get schooled by the Grand Mistresses of that brutal and unforgiving Art form. I could never let Odette know. After all, to her they were someone's sons, brothers and husbands. My chilling rationalization was that, for whatever reason, the Latin Kings had redefined themselves as carnivores, preying on the rest of mankind. They should have studied what nature was really like. Predators had predators of their own. They'd been big, bad caimans, snatching all that came to the water's edge. In nature, the caiman was careful because jaguars hunted and ate caimans. In the urban jungle, there were things far more dangerous than gang-bangers living in the shadows that jealously guarded their spot as apex predator. Odette and I exited the field. I'd have to catch Katy Lee another time. I was to get the bad news from Ulyssa and her sister about the death in her family. Timothy, Odette and I worked out some more as Odette and I took turns relating the fight to Timothy. He reminded us that the Latin Kings were a powerhouse in the city as well as nationwide. Nicole called at the point I was ready for bed and the rest was family history. (Monday morning) I locked my bike up as normal. When I saw the security guards eyeing me funny, I grew cautious. "Is there a problem?" I asked the woman scanning my ID. She was fearfully hesitant. "Wait, are you worried that I'm pissed about Friday morning?" "We were only doing our jobs, Cáel of Ishara," she told me. "Oh," I chuckled. "So that is what is bothering you." I smiled at the group. "Of course you were doing your jobs. I would have been surprised if you hadn't and I'm certainly not angry about what went down. You acted in defense of Havenstone and I never saw it any other way." That gave them some relief. My next problem. "Has anyone from the Security Detail called about me?" I asked. "I don't see anyone here to pick me up this morning." "I'll call them," she offered. The answer was that they weren't expecting me, but I could come down if I desired. That was promising. My ID card worked for the lower levels now. Walking past the Armory was intriguing; in that they barely noticed me. In the prep room for the shooting range there was; nothing. No guns for me to try out, or even look at. I went to the firing range looking for one of my 'friendly' SD ladies. They were all giving me the cold shoulder. Naomi told me why; Constanza. The SD were very angry with my interference in justice for Constanza versus Pamela. Since Naomi had been there when the entire incident went down, I didn't laugh in her face. I got coldly furious instead. If I wanted a firearm, I could go to the Armory and check one out, so that's what I did. The guards there weren't helpful either. Inside was; well; everything. I called up SD and asked them to send an armorer to help me make some selections. Ten minutes later, the lady had still not arrived. That made me laugh. They were tit-for-tatting the wrong guy. Glasses and ear protection came first. I left the Armory with my weapon of choice for the day, a full bandolier and a crate of ammo. I could see the SD chick's guarding the Armory eyes bug-out. I grinned and headed for the shooting range. They surreptitiously called somebody. Knowing that, I hurried myself along, passing straight through prep room for the firing line. I was a man on a mission. See, I could be a raging prick when I wanted to be. Those SD babes should have talked with any number of the Amazons who already knew me. I had made it clear; make my life difficult if you wished, but accept whatever payback I could imagine. Respecting House Ishara wasn't even a question. For pummeling me over Constanza, they were about to get a whole new kind of Righteous Pricking, courtesy of the house they refused to treat with equality. An Amazon finished firing off a clip for her personal defense weapon and was checking her pistol's slide action. "Excuse me," I said as I stepped up. She was about to scream something. Most likely 'stop!' Since I had no intention of complying, I didn't wait; or stop. For me, I was suddenly wondering what the precise blast radius of a 40 mm grenade was. I pulled the trigger anyway. I swear by Ishara-turned-Ishtar, I hit that target right in the 10 ring. The explosion the grenade caused when it hit the back wall rendered my claims moot. Even with eye and ear protection, I could barely hear anything because of the ringing echo, or see anything because of the dust. The flashing yellow lights and klaxons going off indicated something bad had happened. Bad wasn't done yet. I walked to the next stand where the Amazon had ducked down while she oriented herself to the threat. "Good morning," I yelled at her. Then I aimed and prepared to squeeze off my second round. With all the dust in the air, I could barely make out the outline of the target I was shooting at. Accuracy at this point was unnecessary. This bitching toy seemed to kill everything. Third station; third shot and the Amazons were starting to figure out what was going on. Some moron was firing a grenade launcher within an indoor firing range. Before the fourth shot they figured out it was me. Now those bitches had a problem. The lead Amazon tried to get my attention despite my constant attempts to ignore her. I resolved the issue by tapping my six-shot bang-bang and indicating I had two shots left; and I used them. Only when I stopped to reload did the ladies screw up the courage to exhibit some kind of physical resistance. Naomi pulled off my ear protection. "What are you doing?" she shouted at me. She wasn't being rude. All our ears were ringing. "I'm being left to my own devices, you 'failures' to every concept of loyalty, respect and faith," I replied to the entire group. "Constanza called House Ishara an abomination, insane and diseased," I spat out my hate. "I spared her life when I should have had her stricken from the roles of her house and butchered her like some beast. I showed mercy and this is how the Security Detail responds? Congratulations, you have earned my contempt." "But why are you using a grenade launcher; indoors?" Naomi struggled to understand. "Oh," I smirked. "Because I can. I'm superior to all of you here so I can do what I want and you have to suck it up. I am the Head of a First House so none of you have a choice. Every one of you chose to show me no respect and, out of respect for your lack of respect, you get no respect." They were trying to figure how to work around that when I upped the ante. "I'm also going to direct the other members of House Ishara to come down here at random times and fire off grenades, use flamethrowers, or; how about tear gas; tear gas sounds good." "That would degrade the readiness of the Security Detail," the first Amazon protested. "Not my problem. Take your complaints to Elsa or Saint Marie. Make sure to start your complaint with exactly how you behaved toward me; but use the names Beyoncé, Ursula, Katrina, or Messina instead of mine," I glared. "Now excuse me. I have a box full of high explosives to work through." And off I went. There were 25 shooting lanes. I had fired off my 22nd grenade when Elsa showed up. "Cáel of Ishara, why are you destroying this training area?" she inquired calmly. "Working through a crate of grenades. I thought that would be obvious," I joked. "Is there something wrong we should talk about?" Elsa was keeping her anger in check. "Your underlings were chronically disrespectful. Since positive reinforcement failed; being nice to any of your weakling-bullies was counter-productive; I decided to employ the stick treatment," I met her gaze. "Stop destroying the firing line; please," Elsa ground out through clenched teeth. "You are right," I nodded. "I need to take a few of these upstairs to the pure-blood gym. There is a lot more damage I could do there. This place is already a mess." Desiree's voice broke the silence. She must have come in with Elsa. "Cáel," Desiree yawned. "How do you want to resolve this crisis? That doesn't involve setting off seismic sensors all over New York City, that is?" "Hmmm; fine, every member of the Security Detail is to write a romantic poem then read it aloud to a 'Runner' while at that 'Runners' workstation," I invented a punishment. "Ishara is the Goddess of Love as well as Oaths. It is a fitting tribute to her that romantic verses from the heart be created and spoken aloud." "It is also fitting that the recipients be 'Runners', since it will unite them in both their appreciation of love and their anger with me for throwing my weight around like every other Full-Blood who thinks they are better because of some quirk of birth," I concluded. "It will be done," Elsa intoned. That part of the matter was settled. Elsa looked at my grenade launcher. An unhappy sigh escaped my lips as I handed it over. "Elsa, I'm coming for weapon's practice again tomorrow," I informed her. Now I was going to burn off some time in the pool then get to work, or so I hoped. I hadn't gotten away with this because I was Cáel Nyilas, or the Head of House Ishara. I got away with it because Elsa didn't want to see the faces of the Council when she explained what her people had done. The Council members treating me like offal was their business. Other Amazons deciding that they could treat ANY member of the Council that poorly wouldn't fly; reference to the fate of Leona. Why had SD treated me poorly? Constanza. If they repeated my conversation with Constanza that cost her an eye, the outcome was known by all. Constanza would cease being an Amazon right before she died. I made it to Katrina's office four minutes before seven only to find Katrina absent while Daphne, Brielle and Pamela were hanging around. Dora and Fabiola followed me in. Everyone made it before the deadline, Katrina last of all. As Katrina began the meeting, Brielle left. Pamela and Katrina ignored one another. My work review was far better than normal. I'd sold Anthrax to a terrorist cell, but it had turned out to be a mislabeled Anthrax antidote instead, so all was good. Daphne was trying to figure out how her glowing report over my efforts had been so misconstrued. My assigned boss for the day was Rosette, one of the senior members of Executive Services. "Katrina, I need a moment of your time; in private," I requested as the meeting broke up. "As Cáel, or the Head of House Ishara?" she asked. "Neither," I replied. She waved the others away with Tigger shutting the door. Pamela remained seated. Katrina shot me a look concerning Pamela's presence. "I don't control her," I shrugged. "She hangs around me for her own reasons." Katrina nodded. I walked to the edge of Katrina's desk, put my palms on its cool surface. "Katrina, I am the Grandson of Cáel O'Shea, I met Brianna O'Shea earlier this morning, she knows who I am and was brought to town because some genetic research done on me." "Brianna knows where I work and who I work for, as in you. Pamela said the word 'Protocols' and Brianna backed off, but I'm sure she wants to see me again. I've warned my Dad about what happened and to destroy everything associated with my Mom. By the way, Brianna looks exactly like my Mother did when I was first born; exactly," I emphasized. Had the situation not been so completely screwed up, I would have treasured the steamrollered look on Katrina's face. "She is with something called the Illuminati. She doesn't know about me and House Ishara. When Brianna tried to figure how this Protocol/Truce thing involved me, Pamela stonewalled her," I added. "Pamela, I can understand Cáel not immediately bringing this to my attention," Katrina's cool exterior reasserted itself. "He doesn't know what's going on. You do." "I didn't feel inclined to do your job for you, Katrina," Pamela gave a rapier-thin smile. "Besides, you are part of the brain trust that sent him home Friday night cloaked in ignorance, not I." "Cáel," Katrina turned back to me. "How did you meet Brianna O'Shea?" "I met a lawyer, screwed her to multiple orgasms in the Women's room of some bar, met her again plus her lawyer buddies and Sunday night she called me to her downtown office to screw her into enlightenment; which I did," I sighed. "She was working on a case involving DNA ownership, which is oddly germane to my current predicament," I grinned. "Cáel, we need you to report to medical for more testing," Katrina ordered. "I apologize, but House Ishara does not believe that would be in its best interest so Cáel must decline," I nodded. "Will there be anything else?" Will battled Will to no outcome. She nodded and I left. Pamela ghosted along behind me. Rosetta intersected my path and off we went. I was given no clue as to my assignment; no surprise. I texted Buffy: 'Nothing new happening. Pick me up at 5:30 Wed. morning.' That meant there was no new development on the committee to help House Ishara pick 'Runners'. I had played nice. Katrina and Hayden had dodged me on Friday afternoon. This morning, she owed it to me to show some kind of progress. That wasn't what she offered. I had made a concession, they refused to reciprocate, so now I was free of any obligation to consider their wishes. I wanted more 'Runners' and come Wednesday morning, I was adding twenty. Working with Rosette (and Pamela) was a triple-barreled experience. Errands were the largest bulk of our time, but the rest was other mundane tasks of the most basic sort. Within the workload were instructions in the craft of being unseen. Executive Services was more than laundry and daycare; it was about not disrupting the lives of clients. A side benefit of that was learning how to move through any group and not be memorable; to not give off the subtle clues that you were an outsider. Not only could a group of executives hold a conversation without an ES person disrupting their trains of thought, people trained to look for threats wouldn't be tipped off to your presence either. It was peon-craft for beginners. Executive Services personnel weren't ninja; they were inconsequential. As I had bubbled to Katrina on day one, Executive Services got to go everywhere and learn how everything worked. What I didn't appreciate was that was how Counter-Intelligence worked too. From what I wedged out of Rosette, Counter-Intelligence had never uncovered a successful internal conspiracy. They had ferreted out multiple peripheral programs meant to gather information on Havenstone, but no Amazon had been critically compromised; which meant several Amazons had been blackmailed yet gone to ES before doing any damage. Rosette appreciated that fanatic devotion, but she'd never hold complete faith in it. Her job was vigilance. (What is really going on?) The third barrel was the real unhappy news. For all their illegal activities, Havenstone was not the Sinaloa Cartel. There were not a global criminal organization that invited international law enforcement scrutiny. So why did they devote so much time and energy to security? They weren't alone in the shadows of world-wide civilization. At the top of the pile was the Illuminati. They were a hydra controlled by a ruthless, cutthroat conclave; membership uncertain. They were a Darwinian meritocracy until the top tier of leadership, where a group of smaller secret societies and families monopolized the real influence. Their biggest strength, and weakness, was that most of the people in the organization didn't even know they were part of the Illuminati. After that was a mishmash of groups with different abilities that made rating them difficult. The Condottieri were rather simple; they sold mercenaries and weapons to anyone with the coin with the sideline of promoting conflict by any means necessary. The Nine Clans; that sounded familiar; were assassins in the truest sense of the word. Hashshashin, Ninja, Thuggee, Black Lotus, Coils of the Serpent, Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Black Hand, Cult of the Jaguar and the Ghost Tigers. They were not just murder for hire, but murder to advance their cause. Harmonious existence was bad for business, so they stirred up rivalries and conflict in every corner of the globe. The Egyptian Rite Masons sounded sublime. They weren't. They may have been a secret order older than the Amazons, claiming descent to the days of Imhotep. The Egyptians were the oldest enemy of the Illuminati. The Egyptian Rite's goal was a global autocratic government, were the Illuminati wanted a capitalist oligarchy in charge of global commerce; with the Illuminati pulling all the strings. The Egyptian Rite were not restricted to Egypt anymore; membership was open to all races and genders. The Earth and Sky Society were not New Agers. They were the descendants of Genghis Khan and were devoted to the reincarnation of the Greatest World Conqueror of all time. Before tossing them into the rubbish bin of bad ideas, know that Genghis was the largest single genetic contributor (via rape) to the human gene pool since the mystical Eve. To be a member you had to have a genetic link to ole Genghis. The Seven Pillars of Heaven were an ancient Chinese Secret Society out for; you guessed it; World Domination. To be a true member of this group you had to be Pure Han Chinese and a man, or bound to one. Needless to say, Havenstone and the Seven Pillars did not get along. The final bit of information; these groups were what was left of the Great Secret Societies; the survivors. Havenstone's place in all of this chaos was complicated. By mid-5th century BCE, the Egyptians were aware of the Amazons. The Amazons were not causing problems for the Egyptians, so they parted on decent terms and that was that. By the first century ADE, the political landscape had changed. Amazons had penetrated Roman society and brought Latin houses into their structure. Amazingly, the Egyptians contacted the Amazons again, figured out the Amazons only wanted co-existence so co-existence they got. In the late 4th century, the Amazons returned the favor. The Amazons told the Egyptians something horribly bad was coming across the Eurasian steppes and the Egyptians better batten down the hatches. A few decades later, the Huns were pressing on the Roman Empire's frontier. What is not generally know is that in the ranks of Hunnish horde were the Sarmatians, successors to the Scythians, who had allied Amazons in their ranks. This gave the Amazons, thus the Egyptians, contacts on both sides of the Roman-Attila conflict. By the mid-5th century the two secret societies parted ways once more. Their relationship had been useful, but not close. From the Amazons viewpoint, it was the equivalent of getting good gossip at the fish market. The Egyptians appreciated the intelligence, but wanted, and didn't get, military assistance in propping up the Roman Empire. For the Amazons, the fall of the Western Roman Empire was the trigger for a massive Diaspora. A few houses decided to tough it out in Western Europe and its packs of warring Germanic tribes. Others travelled to Egypt and from there, down the Nile to Ethiopia and Central Africa. A third group travelled farther East than ever before, eventually settling in Southern India. Of course, the World never stands still. In the late 8th century, the Illuminati was founded as a mercantile society trying to restructure the shattered Western and Central European economies. It turned out that there was a major pass over the Alps between eastern Italy and southern Germany that was a safe transit region. The Illuminati decided to seize it. The Egyptians popped up, revealed to the infant Illuminati that they didn't want them to do that, but were ignored. The Egyptians were out to rebuild European civilization, which meant, in their eyes, you didn't go around butchering those who were restoring law and order. The Egyptians went to the mountain pass and warned the Amazons there what was coming their way. The Illuminati convinced a local Lombard warlord that the pass would be a nice addition to his territory and off he went. Two months later, their bully boy hadn't returned. Neither had any of his men. Never ones to retreat from failure, the Illuminati sent another force and those guys were never seen again as well. This time the Egyptians showed back up to warn the Illuminati that those people whose land they'd been trying to steal were sick of their meddling and were coming to settle matters. Would the Egyptians help the Illuminati deal with this threat, now that it was out of the mountains? The Egyptians politely declined stating 'better the sitting stone you know than the rolling one that sets things around it on fire'. The Illuminati fled from their first base and that is the reason why they hate the Amazons and Egyptians to this day. Mind you, the Illuminati had no idea who lived in that mountain pass at that time. A few decades after the incident, the Amazons relocated northward. Being good stewards over their lands had given up unwelcome rewards; namely people came to them seeking sanctuary. Amazons can be rather cold-hearted. That does not mean they kill you for knocking on their door. When the number of refugees became too great, the houses voted for migration over slaughter. The Amazons travelled to the Black Forest, dispersing from there, and left the people behind to become known as the Swiss. Everywhere, Europe was tough for the Amazons in the Middle Ages. Heavily male-dominated Germanic cultures in the North, Islamic culture in the South, piracy in between and an epidemic of warfare all around. It was in Sub-Saharan Africa where the Amazons prospered the most. There, migrating populations worked in their favor, as did the style of warfare generally practiced. Perversely, the increase in the East African Arabic slave trade worked in the Amazon's favor. Not only could they 'liberate' captured populations; males for breeding and women for recruits; it encouraged local tribes to temporarily ally with the Amazons to fight off the slavers. The Subcontinent turned out to be a mixed bag. In the South, Amazons prospered and grew in numbers and houses. The problem was that they became too strong. Normally they would have spread out, but Eastern India proved more hostile than acceptable and further East looked like a crap-shoot. China didn't look welcoming at all. So, the Indian Amazons were caught up in a series of wars when Northern powers tried to move South and the Southern lords were in some serious need of aid. The issue was there were multiple players in the shadows pulling the strings. One day, the Egyptians came knocking. The Egyptians knew the Amazons well enough to not try to draft them into their cause. They simply told the Amazons who the key players were and what they were trying to do. Why would they do this? It was obvious. Amazons existed for two reasons; live free and make baby Amazons. Those other asshole Secret Societies were threatening both of those goals. Warfare is doubly hard on a female population and women spending years in combat aren't making babies. Take into account that during this time period a massive amount of the world's population lived in India. Add to that the Amazon numbers were respectively tiny (invisible) and Every Secret Society they were fighting didn't think much of women. A few thousand gurgling last breathes later and two of India's oldest Secret Societies were gone, or eviscerated. Why had they left the other, Islamic, secret society alone? The Islamic society operated in the populous North, not the jungle-covered South. Why did they leave the Amazons alone? The Amazons exhibited a shocking capacity for violence. The Muslim group was a 'secret' Secret Society. The Amazons were a 'hidden/don't screw with us' Secret Society. A side effect of the war in India was the creation of another Secret Society; the 9 Clans. They weren't nine back then, but thanks to the Amazons and Egyptians, this East Asian group picked up the Thuggee and, within a century, the Hashshashin. Things were about to get even more interesting. For the Amazons in India, life existed off the beaten path so it took a year for the Amazons to realize those 'dirty little men' who had shown up in some western Indian ports were, in fact, Europeans; in a European-built ship. They didn't know Portuguese, but they knew Latin and with a little bit off effort, they got an updated history of Europe. Amazons had been meeting regularly every thirty years, or so, to choose the next High Priestess and exchange notes. These meeting did not include studies of technological, political, or social improvements. Stealing the twenty-first ship to show up, the Amazons sailed home; Europe, that is. They stopped off in East Africa to spread the good news then, upon landing, went to tell their European sisters that their pilgrimages were no longer a matter of torturous overland travel. They could use nifty ships like these instead. With that came even better news; some Genoese, nut-job, failure of a mathematician had discovered a brand new land and they were going to check it out. The decision was made. The Indians were going back home. Their Europeans sisters were going to 'acquire' some instructions on how to sail a ship then 'obtain' some ships and divide them up among the three strongholds. Europe would be heading to the west, Africa would sail around the Cape of Good Hope (not yet named that), back toward Europe to link up their communication network (and in time, bump into Brazil), and India would head east to the South-east Asian archipelago, sailing around the hostile Asian kingdoms. Hopefully, the fleet sailing west and the one heading east would meet one day. Unfortunately, North and South America stood in the way of that dream. The 'little' hitch in this plan was who those ships belonged to. Nearly half the commerce of Europe at the time was either controlled, or influenced by, the Illuminati. The Amazons were running off with their equipment and profits; whoops. A cherry on top to that 'whoops' was that the Illuminati were only starting to come out of a bloody war with the Condottieri. The Condottieri had started out as a business venture/strong arm of the Illuminati. In classic Illuminati fashion, the leaders of the Condottieri didn't know precisely who they were working for. In fact, they thought they were independent. When the Illuminati yanked that leash, it snapped and the blood-letting began. The Illuminati had more money than the Pope and the subtle ability to call upon the kingdoms of the Mediterranean World. What did the Condottieri have? A small cadre of loyal, professional fighting men and the best strategic and tactical minds in the West; the ones the Illuminati had recruited into the Condottieri in the first place. Whoops yet again. The Illuminati had every resource under the Sun. The Condottieri knew they were screwed, but they'd been in screwed up situations before and battled through. They needed to stay alive until the path to victory presented itself. Re-enter the Egyptians and the 9 Clans (still not 9 yet). The Egyptians? The Egyptians made a butt-load of money on the silk and spice trade's overland routes. The Western Europeans/Illuminati were about to cut them out of that. The Egyptians needed time to reposition themselves. The revolt of the Condottieri was a gift from the Divine and suddenly the mercenaries had funds and ships. The 9 Clans? The Illuminati was a 'Does it All' organization. If the Illuminati won, who would need assassins? This was class warfare, pure and simple. Even with three-on-one, the Illuminati fought back and fought well. The Amazon predations were not the deciding factor in the war. It wasn't even their war. Soon enough, the Amazons were buying their own boats and going elsewhere. The Illuminati doesn't forgive, or forget. For some reason, they took the Amazon thefts personally, despite its negligible impact. Maybe it was that all the other players were regionally invested while the Amazons seemed to be dog-piling them. The fact that Amazons had existed in Europe for nearly 2500 years either didn't occur to them, or they didn't care. Flash forward to the start of the 20th century. Through the discrete use of marriage-assassination, land grabs and the basic lawlessness in the Western United States, rural South America, Australia and the islands of Southeast Asia, the Amazons had grown vastly in numbers and economic influence. The Egyptians come knocking once more. Unlike past encounters, they were bringing an offer of alliance. The Illuminati controlled key assets in the British Empire and were using those chokeholds to eliminate their rivals. This was not news to the Amazons. Their holdings in India and the Dutch East Indies had been under pressure of the Illuminati for a century. Ever since the Illuminati nearly ground out the Thuggee (one of the 9 Clans), the Egyptians and Amazons have been constantly harassed. This was not the first warning the Egyptians had brought. The Amazons hadn't want a war with the Illuminati and they certainly didn't trust the Egyptians. This time they agreed to go to war though. Why? Two things; totally unrelated. First, the Illuminati and the Seven Pillars of Heaven had agreed to carve up Asia. Amazons lived in Asia and they were no man's chattel. Secondly, the Women's Rights movement was in full swing. The Amazons had nothing to do with it. Those were outsider females. What interested the Amazons were the legal ramifications of Women's Equality. The Amazons were poised for a massive increase in their financial footprint. With the Illuminati out of the way, or at least, preoccupied, they could seize assets and have time to fortify before they could be attacked. Women's Equality would allow this to take place. Basically, the Amazons were going to exploit the blood, sweat and tears of women to advance their agenda. From all accounts, the only groups that recalled the Amazons last foray into Secret Society politics were the Amazons and Egyptians. Certainly no one had enlightened the Condottieri. They started smacking around some Amazon bases in Europe and unleashed 'Hell on Earth'. With the help of the Egyptians, they got to it in Amazon fashion. A General of the Condottieri and his family were eating at a Naples eatery when five women dresses like nuns walked in and shot up him, his entire family plus some bodyguards. When the response team showed up, they killed them too. A few police were added to the obituary column as the Amazons escaped. Welcome to Amazon warfare. The Condottieri were furious over such a public breach, as well as the losses. They swore a vendetta. The 9 Clans happily informed the Condottieri that a 'War of Extermination' was the Amazon default setting. The Condottieri were not afraid; not yet. See, there was another secret society called La Solidaridad. Working on intelligence from the Illuminati, La Solidaridad overran an Amazon compound in Argentina. They thought it would be funny to take the survivors as sex slaves. Maybe the Illuminati was experimenting to see just how pissed-off Amazons could get. Maybe La Solidaridad hadn't read their Homer, especially those parts concerning Ancient World vengeance. It took the Host six months to start things rolling then the carnage began. They made damn sure the men knew they were being hunted by women. They weren't there to out-macho the men, or make a point. Every night, they attacked the men and their families in the cities and towns. For safeties sake, La Solidaridad retreated to their country estates. Huge mistake. A good number of them had to have hunted at some point in their lives. How they missed being 'flushed out into the open' was beyond me. Out in the countryside, there was nowhere to hide. Walls meant little because Amazons were incredibly fit and trained to fight at night. Most of the families the Amazons killed. They were the lucky ones. The survivors? By using a new Edison device, they took some home movies of the fates of those men. The Amazon's favorite tactic was to shove lit sticks of dynamite in the men's asses then steer them toward the closest river. One guy actually made it. His relief didn't last long. The Amazons had done something to turn the normally safe caiman population into rabidly aggressive swarmers. Bitches; insanely, sadistic bitches. In eighteen months, La Solidaridad had ceased to exist as an organization and never recovered. The Illuminati used that time wisely to beat down the Egyptians, Earth and Sky, and the 9 Clans, aided by the Seven Pillars. Having concluded their first order of business, the Amazons sent their home movie to the Condottieri. It wasn't mercy toward the Condottieri. I was psychological warfare. The Amazons needed the Condottieri off-balance so they could go after their real enemy. It seemed the Illuminati had instructed La Solidaridad on how to 'intimidate' the Amazons; through rape, torture and enslavement. Specifically, it was Cáel O'Shea who set the tragedy in motion; Granddad. Beyond Granddad being impossibly fucking old, he had possessed some seriously out of control animosity where Amazons were concerned. Before the Amazon's could implement their hunt, the 9 Clans intervened. The Illuminati had been giving them real problems and they saw a way to gain some breathing space. Had the Amazons and 9 Clans been in communication, the World might be a very different place today. Instead, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne was wacked by the Black Hand, some Serbian numbskulls took the fall and the rest of us got World War I. Oddly enough, this one murder accomplished the goals of the 9 Clans, Amazons, Egyptians and Earth and Sky Society. The British Empire still stood, but was wrecked. China was much worse off than that. Before the Amazons could gain their vengeance, the Egyptians negotiated a cease-fire between groups. The Amazon Council was furious yet unwilling to fight the Illuminati alone. They kept down their bile; and waited. In the post-War period, the Amazon/Illuminati feud ate much of their resources (probably the Egyptian's intentions all along). A truly dark side of this struggle was the Amazon support for the Nazis. Did the Amazons switch course? Yes, but not for the reasons most people would think. Jews, gypsies, communists and homosexuals going into camps didn't worry them one bit. What did? Let's go back in time to those women in the Swiss Alps who headed north. A great many of them went North then East; to places like Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It wasn't so much a matter of whimsy as one of terrain and population. All the best farmland was in western Germany, the Low Countries and France. That's where the Germanic peoples settled. Behind them, to the East, were the Slavs. The Slavs had three things the Amazons liked; low population density, weak social hierarchies and crappy land. That meant they could live in relative isolation, not be subject to an all-powerful king and not be inundated with migrating hordes wanting to steal their dank swamps, deep forests and isolate meadows. Sometime in early 1939, right after the Third Reich snatched up Bohemia, some Amazon augur decided to open up Hitler's Mein Kampf to see what was going on i.e. to see when Hitler would get around to jumping on England; the whole reason the Amazon were supporting him. What she found out was bad, bad, bad! The genocide of a bunch of people they could care less about? Not a problem. Invading the Slavic lands? What? Russia/Soviet Union hadn't been the big foe in WWI and they certainly were not Germany's greatest enemy at the moment; Britain was! Drang Nach Osten? That was an undefined migration of Germans back into Slavic lands that ended over 600 years ago? Their Eastern European sisters were in grave danger from a lunatic. The common sense response (for Amazons) was to kill the Hitler. They couldn't get close, so they took their problem to their old allies, the Egyptians and 9 Clans. Those two saw nothing wrong with the way things were developing. The Amazons swallowed their pride and went to the Illuminati who seemed rather enchanted with the idea of the fascists and communists annihilating one another. They had no way to safely approach the Soviets. Pulling their sister houses out of Eastern Europe was no longer an option; the other Secret Societies would be looking for that and try to figure out where the Amazon home bases were. The Amazons decided to make a fight of it. They were not going to charge panzers with spears. No, they started setting up caches of supplies and weapons in the most inaccessible places imaginable. The hope was that as Nazi Germany was grinding Communist Russia to dust, they could smuggle out their people in the chaos to Sweden then points west. The problem was WW II didn't work out that way. Great Britain got spanked at Dunkirk and Poland, France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and Norway all surrendered to the Nazi blitzkrieg. Then the Germans invaded Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia went under, but the Soviet Union didn't fall. Much to the Amazon Council's horror, resistance units began to interact with the local Amazons in an effort to improve their mutual survivability. Tales of mysterious female fighter, appearing to slay their enemies then disappearing into the wilderness filtered to both the Stavka (Russians) and SOE (British). The SOE discovered an answer to the mystery in mid-1942, by way of the fledgling US OSS. The Americans 'found' three female Army recruits who volunteered for such a mission. A month later, the partisan bands with those agents found the 'Forest Women' and all the lights came on. Unknown to the public World, the Amazon Council decided that the best hope for their kinswomen was to bring down the Nazis and ride out the Allied conquest. All of that might have been a happily little footnote except for what happened next. Hundreds of Amazons fought; no surprise; yet they didn't fight alone this time. Men and women of the local populace fought side by side with these lethal warriors. They shared battle plans, food, fire and medical care. That huge cultural barrier created over two and a half millennia began to erode. They bled together and were forced from time to time to place their lives in each other's hands. They witnessed one another's courage and sacrifice. They watched them bury their dead, nurture their young and weep at their pain. Whenever things looked darkest, the Amazon would turn to their partisan partners and say with utmost confidence 'we have survived worse; so can you'. The seminal event happened on the night of February 17th, 1944. For two years, the fractured, wounded women that are ever-present wherever there is war began to attach themselves to the Amazon bands. At first they were little more than annoyances. In time, the Amazons tried to turn these women into something 'useful'. Later, a few earned the right to follow the Amazons into battle. On that February night, two ladies were inducted into House Živa. This was hardly the first time outsider women were brought into the Host, but this circumstance was unique; induction in the middle of a war, having proven themselves in battle before their now-sisters. From that action; not the last in that conflict; was born the concept of the 'Runners'. With the end of WWII, the Amazons emerged more powerful than ever. The three strongest groups in the United States were the Egyptians, Illuminati and the Amazons. The Amazons profited the most; having started with the lowest profile and having infiltrated both the government and business sectors during the war effort. Using the Freemasons, the Egyptians reaped great benefit from the US war effort too. Always forward-looking, the Egyptians helped the Amazons as well. Still, not everything was rosy. For the Public World, World War II ended in September of 1945. That was barely a blip in the Secret Societies' radar. The calamity came on the 10th of December 1949. Using their pawns in the Chinese Communist Party, the Seven Pillars had re-unified China and were back on the world stage. Earth and Sky and the 9 Clans were dealt a setback. A fourth secret society involved in the Chinese struggle was absorbed by the 7 Pillars. The problem was that all the societies were locked in a bitter struggle yet devastated and over-extended. The 9 Clans, fearing the ratcheting up of Cold War intelligence-gathering services by multiple national governments asked for a global truce. The Amazons were dangerously exposed and over-extended. The Illuminati decided this was their time to strike and nothing could deter them. Into this backdrop, came the news to the Amazons that they had serious genetic issues. That led to the First Directive; the recruitment of 'Runners' as an established program as well as the explosion of what I knew as Executive Services. In a truly bizarre twist, U.S. and Soviet agents found themselves engaged in cat-and-mouse games with European NATO agents. Amazons had penetrated the proto-CIA during the war in an effort to reach their European sisters. In Eastern Europe, many of those partisans went over to the Communists when the Soviets overran their countries and looked favorably upon their erstwhile allies from the War. They couldn't match the influence that the many of the other secret societies possessed. Instead they pulled upon existing, personal relationships. I worked with a negative result of those days; Desiree, or more accurately, Desiree's parents. I was also walking with the final resolution of that crisis. The Secret Societies proved they could work just as fast as the UN. In three decades they had resolved nothing and were spending more and more time on damage control. Three events converged. The Illuminati had figured out the full-blooded Amazons were dying out so they knew they could win a game of attrition. The rest of the groups were coming to the conclusion that wiping out the Amazons was the easier course of action. The Amazons had, without a doubt, located the leader of the Illuminati, Cáel O'Shea. O'Shea was in sight of his goal; the extermination of the Amazons; when a lone Amazon got to him first. O'Shea's death sent titanic shockwaves through the Illuminati. There was a scramble for the top spot, fear over how much the Amazons knew about their inner workings, and how the other secret orders would take this bit of news. The Illuminati recoiled from the event, agreed to a truce and that led to the protocols that kept Brianna from dragging me off; gunshot wounds and all. That had been the state of affairs for the last thirty years. Again, the World had not stood still. China was an economic powerhouse, the EU grew stronger, and wars of political ideology had been replaced by religious-based terrorism. The Amazons were at a critical juncture in their history. The 'New' Directive was their best chance at staving off extinction and the Houses were fighting it kicking and screaming. The First Directive wasn't being implemented properly. If nothing changed, the Amazons would be dragged under by the weight of their own bigotry. But wait! There was this idiot with no conception of history getting in the way of Amazon extinction; the decline toward oblivion that six murderous factions were waiting for. In this epic there were no 'friends', only 'allies of convenience'. The Egyptians weren't buddies. They simply preferred others to fight their battles for them. The Amazons fit that bill nicely, but if they were dying out, the Egyptians would be more concerned in filling the Amazon void than mourning over the Host's grave. The Illuminati and Seven Pillars were enemies. Though there was little animosity between the Earth and Sky and the Amazons, the E and S were based on perpetuating the legacy of the World's greatest rapist. The 9 Clans were the 9 Clans and their business was all about the precise application of death. They had no friends and if they pretended to be your friend, it was only so they could position themselves to kill you. It was only business. They rarely played with debts, obligations and vendettas. Still, if a member of the 9 Clans said they owed you, it was worth the assassin's weight in Iridium. As a bonus, the 9 Clans were gender-neutral. Outside of the Amazons, they had been using females in their numbers the longest. Because of this, the 9 Clans tried to interact with the Amazon using women from their own ranks, minimizing the sexual tension between the groups. The Condottieri had also began recruiting women into their ranks over the past twenty years. Their leadership was still all-male with the added complications of the unresolved Naples killings and the brutal destruction of La Solidaridad. Also, while the Amazons were not business competitors, they didn't employ the Condottieri either. All these micro-wars had been very good for the Condottieri, allowing them to build up quite a stable of talent and a huge war chest. If the Amazons recovered, the global map would change. How so? Madi and Rhada weren't from Cleveland, but from India where unresolved crimes against women were too common. Palli Chandra, the VP of International Finance and Ngozi from my sparring match were from Central Africa and I'd gathered from

united states tv love women amazon death head world new york city father australia europe art english stories earth china house mother france men england hell americans germany west war africa chinese european italy walking fighting german kings european union dna mind western guns army dad south mom mars brazil professional tales europa north east indian world war ii fantasy asian boss divine sun nazis jews sweden wolf beyonce britain rights manhattan netherlands council narrative cult id flash adolf hitler cia unknown poland southern latin south america norway ninjas sexuality denmark belgium pope egyptian brazilian guys connected equality walls congratulations astrology cold war pillars swiss hundreds uncle stealing houses pulling goddess soviet union antarctica needless islamic soviet northern great britain indians warfare gemini grandmothers communists mp brotherhood illuminati screw serpent sd libra roman empire homer gangs explicit glasses grandfather belarus ancestors sir predators knees naples diaspora cape bitches jaguar nile runners taurus novels lithuania nazi germany hmmm middle ages wwi special forces arial asshole accuracy martial dunkirk british empire alps allied western europe nikita bce yugoslavia secret societies chinese communist party heavily madi erotica sensing soviets anthrax grandson oaths ade third reich messina genghis khan directive slavic bohemia poo luxemburg clans harmonious lombard fabiola asc darwinian ancient world germanic eurasian world domination ishtar swiss alps tigger armory central africa us navy seals black forest acp mein kampf constanza imhotep scythians aerospace engineer huns granddad good hope ngozi first house seven pillars iridium central european invariably black hand international finance braulio tigerlily brawling errands southern india black lotus coils sinaloa cartel genghis slavs yuppie latin kings new agers dutch east indies amerindian genoese british sas literotica mediterranean world currying thuggee sarmatians

Cáel and the Manhattan Amazons: Part 18

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024

If you cannot compromise; Challenge! In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected.. “Every person is alone. That is the definition of Free-will.” The gift from Grandpa that keeps on giving. I almost miss not killing him myself." "That man was an eternal foe of the Amazons, Cáel. His death was necessary for peace with the Illuminati, thus peace with all the other factions," Pamela related. I began laughing. "So my misogynistic family heritage comes from my Mother and my misandristic lineage comes from my Father," I clued Pamela in. She found it to be hilariously ironic too. "We still have to be careful," Pamela nudged me. "After all, your Grandfather had plans for your body. Whether we choose to believe it was to be a vessel for your Grandfather's essence; or, if you prefer, he put something in your Mother's DNA that, when combined with the machinery he used to store his memories, would bring him back to life; Cáel O'Shea always was thinking three steps ahead." "Why didn't you kill me when you figured this out?" I stared at her. "You hold the fate of House Ishara inside of you," Pamela smiled warmly. "Besides, I like you. No one really understands me like you do. Everyone else thinks I have a sick sense of humor." "I wish you had been my Grandmother," I nodded. "Wait; wait," Pamela held me back from continuing. "Because if I had been your Grandmother, you would have known to avoid a nut-ranch like Havenstone." "Are you like my psychic twin?" I teased her. She was right, of course. "I had a twin brother," Pamela turned sad. "I have always wondered what path his spirit traveled once they took him to the cliffs." "The fact that you still recall him with empathy speaks volumes for you, Pamela," I hugged her. "I felt the same way, you know," Pamela drew comfort from my warmth. I was uncertain of her meaning. "When they told me what happened to boys; I couldn't accept it. Their reasoning rang hollow and I saw their denial of their own blood to be self-defeating." "I have always wanted to believe my brother waits for me in the Hall of Ancestors so I can finally see his face and tell him I'm sorry that I was the one that was spared," she confessed. "You weren't spared, Pamela," I comforted her. "You had children and grandchildren so that way your brother will have grand-nephews and great grand-nephews whose actions are recorded in the deeds of your house and their names inscribed in the roster of the Host." "That's my hope anyway," I added. "Let it be so," she whispered. (A Step back in time: that Weekend, between Oneida and Nicole) The weekend; I'd had plenty of relaxing sex over the weekend, bonded with Oneida somewhat while we biked Saturday morning, had sex with Gael, junior of House Bendis (the woman who let me borrow her phone so I could invite Buffy, Helena and Desiree to my little induction ceremony), then had a late afternoon date with Nikita. Escorting Yasmin and her son to the airport for the start of her Havenstone training after dinner was unsettling. The boy, Braulio, seemed worried, Yasmin was glad to see me, really glad to see me then finished if off by commenting that she could tell 'something had changed'. I affirmed her hunch without going into the details. As Yasmin's mood improved, so did her son's. I wished her luck. She told me I'd need it more. Late Saturday night I was invited to a party by Libra. Brooke showed up date-less (she wasn't jumping into a new relationship) so she glommed onto me; us. Marla and Libra had a huge phone fight about her (Marla) not being 21 yet, thus not invited to the party. Felix was there having reconnected with Gina because he had both a glib tongue and an awe-inspiring sexual arsenal. Felix's attempts to recoup any ground with Brook failed miserably. She had her own bitterness toward Trent, her memory of me handing her panties under an outdoor cafe's table as a trophy Felix had taken the night before and displayed openly in my office, and my own masculine support to draw strength from. Felix and I did not verbally, or socially, spar. He accepted the verdict of our first contest and, for all his faults, he acknowledged that my victory had worth and obeyed his conscience on the matter. If anything, he was visually more respectful than ever before. I wasn't his equal; no man and definitely no woman was; yet I was now a competitor he would have to give his very best to defeat. Sunday morning had been just me and Odette. We'd cuddled on the sofa, watched some TV and then I took her to Havenstone for time in the pool. I kept the overly-aggressive Amazons at bay while getting Odette used to the idea of regular exercise; hanging out with Timothy and I required greater endurance than her sedentary youthful stamina provided. An early afternoon invite to a 'pick-up' basketball game at the community, two-court, outdoor lot with Jason, the bar-back from the Yuppie bar, brought me back in contact with Katy Lee Baker, aka Delivery Girl. Odette tagged along. It also brought me in contact with the local 'wild-life'. A Latin King clique was starting to operate in the area and Jason's crew were the native inhabitants who took exception to this. We played for about half an hour were everyone learned I was a big, fat liar. I was actually good at basketball, despite my earlier claims at ignorance. The Kings showed up, drove off the younger teens playing on the other court. A few more of those jokers showed up and it was now 'our turn' to make space. That went over like a shit brick. The Kings outnumbered us a good two-to-one, but Jason wasn't backing down. I was struggling to convince Jason that discretion was the better part of valor when some of the new Latin King arrivals tried to play with a few of the local ladies who had come down to watch their menfolk pull off their shirts and get sweaty. Poor Odette; she had been in the company of so many powerful, confident and lethal women she'd forgotten she wasn't one. A King grabbed Katy Lee's breast. Odette hit the asshole in the stomach, put a shin to his nuts and finished him off with grabbing his head and driving it into her upward moving knee, dropping him like the sack of shit he was. But wait, he had five buddies. Poo was being served up and the electric switch was about to be flipped. "I'll be back to help in a moment," I growled to Jason as the gang members jumped Odette. Katy Lee and a slightly older woman rushed to Odette's aid. The Kings didn't ignore my approach, peeling off two to 'deal with me'. They really shouldn't have hit Odette because now I was angry. The feces hit the rotary wind machine. With their last shows of bravado, I lay into the closest bastards. The sixteen year old was hesitantly pulling out his 32 caliber ACP while reconsidering his poor life choices as I hit his buddy so hard he went airborne, two teeth and a fountain of blood coming from the ruin I'd made of his face. Gun guy was next. I clamped my left hand on his right, gun-toting wrist then drove my knee into his elbow. The elbow snapped upward with a sound reminiscent of a car backfiring. His screams drowned out the thud of his gun dropping to the court surface. For the three remaining Latin Kings I was closing with, a terrible social reality came crashing in. Gangs rely on several tools to exert power; a propensity for violence, illegal finances, a fierce reputation, and superior numbers. By the look on my face, they discovered that their numbers didn't bother me in the least. I knew exactly who they were and didn't give a damn. My desire to destroy them was motivated by something far stronger than any currency, and I was clearly better at this whole violence thing than they seemed to be. They had their pride and the fidelity with their gang, plus their intimidation tactics were going wrong so fast, they couldn't process the disaster quickly enough to alter course. These guys were not professional warriors by any stretch of the imagination. 'Warriors'; perhaps. 'Professional'; definitely not. Their ability to rapidly adapt to a changing situation was woefully under-developed. In gang hand-to-hand combat, you bunch up your members, overrun a foe and beat him to the ground. Fighting a practitioner of Brazilian jujutsu, standing close to one another is the Last thing you want to do. I was a whirlwind of destruction, fed by the understanding that Jason's bunch needed me back real soon. The asshat who tried to use a knife on me got his hand pinned to the court for his audacity. I repeat, threatening Odette had infuriated me. At center court, Jason had his hands full and then some. The Latin Kings had the edges in both numbers and ferocity. The only other hometown boy holding his own was this thick, solid Puerto Rican guy named Bennie; the rest were in trouble. I started with the four-on-one stomp-down on one of Jason's friends; I'd missed the guy's beat down. My inner Amazon was leading the charge. Unlike all my previous encounters, I was intentionally causing pain. I wasn't trying to drive them off, or render them hors de combat. No, my desire was to strike terror in their hearts, inflicting suffering in order to eradicate my foes' resolve to fight. Knees snapped, bones broke, faces were stomped into the court and internal organs ruptured. Even my erstwhile allies were aghast at the wickedness with which I treated our enemy. "Ah; Cáel; are you okay?" Jason mumbled when the last King went down. He'd have a shiner on his left eye soon and his lip was split and bleeding. I hadn't come through unscathed either. Havenstone had seriously upped my pain threshold. Jason wasn't really asking about my physical well-being anyway. I had to get ahead of this; predicament. "Let's get this trash off the court," I commanded. The boys hesitated until Jason picked up one of my semi-conscious victims. "Come on 'Pendejo', leave and don't come back," Jason yanked the man up and began shoving him toward the gate he and his buddies had arrived by. The rest of Jason's friends joined in and we began cleaning up the place. One gangster decided he was too hurt to be moved. I'd rammed his shoulder into the goalpost, breaking his collarbone. He was crying about the pain he was in. I pulled him up. He was around 7 foot 2 inches tall and 275 pounds. I wrapped my hands around his thick bull neck and slowly raised him up off the ground. His face was reddening, his good hand was trying to break my hold and his legs were flailing about in the open air. [In Spanish] "Pain, Asshole? No, pain is me having to come back here and hunt you and your vermin buddies down," I seethed. "I don't live here. These men are not my friends. You touched my girl and I am God Almighty when it comes to defending those of my household. I am not in a gang. I am not a criminal. If you, or your gang, come within a block of this place, I will become Death. Today, there are too many witnesses. This is your reprieve; your moment of grace," I snarled. "Use it wisely. It will not happen again," I finished in a fury. I dropped him to his wobbly feet, catching his good hand before he fell over. That act of compassion after my dire threat confused the guy. "Go," I returned to English. The rest of the Latin Kings walked, stumbled, were dragged from the court. "Who are you again?" Bennie inquired. "Cáel Nyilas," I grinned. "I'm an Aerospace Engineer working on the feasibility of having hamsters running on their wheels being used to recharge batteries on manned flights to Mars." "Hamster wrangling has to be one tough profession," Katy Lee snickered as she and Odette came up. "Come on now," Jason winced as he licked his lip. "Brawling is about panic, anger and the management of those two forces," I told them. "I was the only one in this fight in control of himself, so my actions look out of proportions to what really happened." "They were kicking our asses," Bennie chuckled. "Not as bad as you guys think," I consoled them. "None of you guys ran, or curled up in a ball. That allowed me to pick my fights. I clearly have more hand-to-hand combat experience, but none of that would have mattered had you guys freaked out." There was some truth in what I said. Had they panicked, I would have grabbed Odette and Katy Lee then fled as well. Since they toughed it out, and the Latin Kings exerted virtually no command and control, I was able take on the gang members in small, bite-sized chunks. My training and experience took care of the rest. This also made the somewhat traumatized ballplayers feel proud about the cuts and bruises they'd received. Now they realized they had 'won' this scuffle, they'd played their parts courageously and had all been instrumental in a successful stratagem. The fact that none of them knew that when the blows were raining in it meant nothing. The women who'd come out to watch the game then witnessed the beat down knew their men had been brave, taken their licks and routed their enemies. Martial ardor, baby! 'Defending' a woman does not diminish her. It increases her odds of dealing with insults and threats in a positive manner. Women who look down on women who use their pussies to better themselves are being stupid. It is the equivalent of having a complete toolbox and only using the hammer. The women were going to give up some level of sex to reward the men. The men, in turn, had an example of the kind of behavior that would get them what they wanted; defending your ladies equated to feminine reward. That did not mean penetration; life was far more complex. It did mean she would hang around you, talk to you and trust you (most likely more than she should). Guys still had to seal the deal, figure out what she wanted and deliver. That had been the working arrangement between men and women for most of the last 80,000 years. What I didn't know at the time was that I was being spied upon, that this spy called Buffy; my 'spear and shield'; and Buffy would gather up some Security Detail chicks. Why would SD help? Some morons had tried to murder the Head of House Ishara and that wasn't something the Amazons would tolerate. That Latin King clique was contemplating revenge. They were about to get schooled by the Grand Mistresses of that brutal and unforgiving Art form. I could never let Odette know. After all, to her they were someone's sons, brothers and husbands. My chilling rationalization was that, for whatever reason, the Latin Kings had redefined themselves as carnivores, preying on the rest of mankind. They should have studied what nature was really like. Predators had predators of their own. They'd been big, bad caimans, snatching all that came to the water's edge. In nature, the caiman was careful because jaguars hunted and ate caimans. In the urban jungle, there were things far more dangerous than gang-bangers living in the shadows that jealously guarded their spot as apex predator. Odette and I exited the field. I'd have to catch Katy Lee another time. I was to get the bad news from Ulyssa and her sister about the death in her family. Timothy, Odette and I worked out some more as Odette and I took turns relating the fight to Timothy. He reminded us that the Latin Kings were a powerhouse in the city as well as nationwide. Nicole called at the point I was ready for bed and the rest was family history. (Monday morning) I locked my bike up as normal. When I saw the security guards eyeing me funny, I grew cautious. "Is there a problem?" I asked the woman scanning my ID. She was fearfully hesitant. "Wait, are you worried that I'm pissed about Friday morning?" "We were only doing our jobs, Cáel of Ishara," she told me. "Oh," I chuckled. "So that is what is bothering you." I smiled at the group. "Of course you were doing your jobs. I would have been surprised if you hadn't and I'm certainly not angry about what went down. You acted in defense of Havenstone and I never saw it any other way." That gave them some relief. My next problem. "Has anyone from the Security Detail called about me?" I asked. "I don't see anyone here to pick me up this morning." "I'll call them," she offered. The answer was that they weren't expecting me, but I could come down if I desired. That was promising. My ID card worked for the lower levels now. Walking past the Armory was intriguing; in that they barely noticed me. In the prep room for the shooting range there was; nothing. No guns for me to try out, or even look at. I went to the firing range looking for one of my 'friendly' SD ladies. They were all giving me the cold shoulder. Naomi told me why; Constanza. The SD were very angry with my interference in justice for Constanza versus Pamela. Since Naomi had been there when the entire incident went down, I didn't laugh in her face. I got coldly furious instead. If I wanted a firearm, I could go to the Armory and check one out, so that's what I did. The guards there weren't helpful either. Inside was; well; everything. I called up SD and asked them to send an armorer to help me make some selections. Ten minutes later, the lady had still not arrived. That made me laugh. They were tit-for-tatting the wrong guy. Glasses and ear protection came first. I left the Armory with my weapon of choice for the day, a full bandolier and a crate of ammo. I could see the SD chick's guarding the Armory eyes bug-out. I grinned and headed for the shooting range. They surreptitiously called somebody. Knowing that, I hurried myself along, passing straight through prep room for the firing line. I was a man on a mission. See, I could be a raging prick when I wanted to be. Those SD babes should have talked with any number of the Amazons who already knew me. I had made it clear; make my life difficult if you wished, but accept whatever payback I could imagine. Respecting House Ishara wasn't even a question. For pummeling me over Constanza, they were about to get a whole new kind of Righteous Pricking, courtesy of the house they refused to treat with equality. An Amazon finished firing off a clip for her personal defense weapon and was checking her pistol's slide action. "Excuse me," I said as I stepped up. She was about to scream something. Most likely 'stop!' Since I had no intention of complying, I didn't wait; or stop. For me, I was suddenly wondering what the precise blast radius of a 40 mm grenade was. I pulled the trigger anyway. I swear by Ishara-turned-Ishtar, I hit that target right in the 10 ring. The explosion the grenade caused when it hit the back wall rendered my claims moot. Even with eye and ear protection, I could barely hear anything because of the ringing echo, or see anything because of the dust. The flashing yellow lights and klaxons going off indicated something bad had happened. Bad wasn't done yet. I walked to the next stand where the Amazon had ducked down while she oriented herself to the threat. "Good morning," I yelled at her. Then I aimed and prepared to squeeze off my second round. With all the dust in the air, I could barely make out the outline of the target I was shooting at. Accuracy at this point was unnecessary. This bitching toy seemed to kill everything. Third station; third shot and the Amazons were starting to figure out what was going on. Some moron was firing a grenade launcher within an indoor firing range. Before the fourth shot they figured out it was me. Now those bitches had a problem. The lead Amazon tried to get my attention despite my constant attempts to ignore her. I resolved the issue by tapping my six-shot bang-bang and indicating I had two shots left; and I used them. Only when I stopped to reload did the ladies screw up the courage to exhibit some kind of physical resistance. Naomi pulled off my ear protection. "What are you doing?" she shouted at me. She wasn't being rude. All our ears were ringing. "I'm being left to my own devices, you 'failures' to every concept of loyalty, respect and faith," I replied to the entire group. "Constanza called House Ishara an abomination, insane and diseased," I spat out my hate. "I spared her life when I should have had her stricken from the roles of her house and butchered her like some beast. I showed mercy and this is how the Security Detail responds? Congratulations, you have earned my contempt." "But why are you using a grenade launcher; indoors?" Naomi struggled to understand. "Oh," I smirked. "Because I can. I'm superior to all of you here so I can do what I want and you have to suck it up. I am the Head of a First House so none of you have a choice. Every one of you chose to show me no respect and, out of respect for your lack of respect, you get no respect." They were trying to figure how to work around that when I upped the ante. "I'm also going to direct the other members of House Ishara to come down here at random times and fire off grenades, use flamethrowers, or; how about tear gas; tear gas sounds good." "That would degrade the readiness of the Security Detail," the first Amazon protested. "Not my problem. Take your complaints to Elsa or Saint Marie. Make sure to start your complaint with exactly how you behaved toward me; but use the names Beyoncé, Ursula, Katrina, or Messina instead of mine," I glared. "Now excuse me. I have a box full of high explosives to work through." And off I went. There were 25 shooting lanes. I had fired off my 22nd grenade when Elsa showed up. "Cáel of Ishara, why are you destroying this training area?" she inquired calmly. "Working through a crate of grenades. I thought that would be obvious," I joked. "Is there something wrong we should talk about?" Elsa was keeping her anger in check. "Your underlings were chronically disrespectful. Since positive reinforcement failed; being nice to any of your weakling-bullies was counter-productive; I decided to employ the stick treatment," I met her gaze. "Stop destroying the firing line; please," Elsa ground out through clenched teeth. "You are right," I nodded. "I need to take a few of these upstairs to the pure-blood gym. There is a lot more damage I could do there. This place is already a mess." Desiree's voice broke the silence. She must have come in with Elsa. "Cáel," Desiree yawned. "How do you want to resolve this crisis? That doesn't involve setting off seismic sensors all over New York City, that is?" "Hmmm; fine, every member of the Security Detail is to write a romantic poem then read it aloud to a 'Runner' while at that 'Runners' workstation," I invented a punishment. "Ishara is the Goddess of Love as well as Oaths. It is a fitting tribute to her that romantic verses from the heart be created and spoken aloud." "It is also fitting that the recipients be 'Runners', since it will unite them in both their appreciation of love and their anger with me for throwing my weight around like every other Full-Blood who thinks they are better because of some quirk of birth," I concluded. "It will be done," Elsa intoned. That part of the matter was settled. Elsa looked at my grenade launcher. An unhappy sigh escaped my lips as I handed it over. "Elsa, I'm coming for weapon's practice again tomorrow," I informed her. Now I was going to burn off some time in the pool then get to work, or so I hoped. I hadn't gotten away with this because I was Cáel Nyilas, or the Head of House Ishara. I got away with it because Elsa didn't want to see the faces of the Council when she explained what her people had done. The Council members treating me like offal was their business. Other Amazons deciding that they could treat ANY member of the Council that poorly wouldn't fly; reference to the fate of Leona. Why had SD treated me poorly? Constanza. If they repeated my conversation with Constanza that cost her an eye, the outcome was known by all. Constanza would cease being an Amazon right before she died. I made it to Katrina's office four minutes before seven only to find Katrina absent while Daphne, Brielle and Pamela were hanging around. Dora and Fabiola followed me in. Everyone made it before the deadline, Katrina last of all. As Katrina began the meeting, Brielle left. Pamela and Katrina ignored one another. My work review was far better than normal. I'd sold Anthrax to a terrorist cell, but it had turned out to be a mislabeled Anthrax antidote instead, so all was good. Daphne was trying to figure out how her glowing report over my efforts had been so misconstrued. My assigned boss for the day was Rosette, one of the senior members of Executive Services. "Katrina, I need a moment of your time; in private," I requested as the meeting broke up. "As Cáel, or the Head of House Ishara?" she asked. "Neither," I replied. She waved the others away with Tigger shutting the door. Pamela remained seated. Katrina shot me a look concerning Pamela's presence. "I don't control her," I shrugged. "She hangs around me for her own reasons." Katrina nodded. I walked to the edge of Katrina's desk, put my palms on its cool surface. "Katrina, I am the Grandson of Cáel O'Shea, I met Brianna O'Shea earlier this morning, she knows who I am and was brought to town because some genetic research done on me." "Brianna knows where I work and who I work for, as in you. Pamela said the word 'Protocols' and Brianna backed off, but I'm sure she wants to see me again. I've warned my Dad about what happened and to destroy everything associated with my Mom. By the way, Brianna looks exactly like my Mother did when I was first born; exactly," I emphasized. Had the situation not been so completely screwed up, I would have treasured the steamrollered look on Katrina's face. "She is with something called the Illuminati. She doesn't know about me and House Ishara. When Brianna tried to figure how this Protocol/Truce thing involved me, Pamela stonewalled her," I added. "Pamela, I can understand Cáel not immediately bringing this to my attention," Katrina's cool exterior reasserted itself. "He doesn't know what's going on. You do." "I didn't feel inclined to do your job for you, Katrina," Pamela gave a rapier-thin smile. "Besides, you are part of the brain trust that sent him home Friday night cloaked in ignorance, not I." "Cáel," Katrina turned back to me. "How did you meet Brianna O'Shea?" "I met a lawyer, screwed her to multiple orgasms in the Women's room of some bar, met her again plus her lawyer buddies and Sunday night she called me to her downtown office to screw her into enlightenment; which I did," I sighed. "She was working on a case involving DNA ownership, which is oddly germane to my current predicament," I grinned. "Cáel, we need you to report to medical for more testing," Katrina ordered. "I apologize, but House Ishara does not believe that would be in its best interest so Cáel must decline," I nodded. "Will there be anything else?" Will battled Will to no outcome. She nodded and I left. Pamela ghosted along behind me. Rosetta intersected my path and off we went. I was given no clue as to my assignment; no surprise. I texted Buffy: 'Nothing new happening. Pick me up at 5:30 Wed. morning.' That meant there was no new development on the committee to help House Ishara pick 'Runners'. I had played nice. Katrina and Hayden had dodged me on Friday afternoon. This morning, she owed it to me to show some kind of progress. That wasn't what she offered. I had made a concession, they refused to reciprocate, so now I was free of any obligation to consider their wishes. I wanted more 'Runners' and come Wednesday morning, I was adding twenty. Working with Rosette (and Pamela) was a triple-barreled experience. Errands were the largest bulk of our time, but the rest was other mundane tasks of the most basic sort. Within the workload were instructions in the craft of being unseen. Executive Services was more than laundry and daycare; it was about not disrupting the lives of clients. A side benefit of that was learning how to move through any group and not be memorable; to not give off the subtle clues that you were an outsider. Not only could a group of executives hold a conversation without an ES person disrupting their trains of thought, people trained to look for threats wouldn't be tipped off to your presence either. It was peon-craft for beginners. Executive Services personnel weren't ninja; they were inconsequential. As I had bubbled to Katrina on day one, Executive Services got to go everywhere and learn how everything worked. What I didn't appreciate was that was how Counter-Intelligence worked too. From what I wedged out of Rosette, Counter-Intelligence had never uncovered a successful internal conspiracy. They had ferreted out multiple peripheral programs meant to gather information on Havenstone, but no Amazon had been critically compromised; which meant several Amazons had been blackmailed yet gone to ES before doing any damage. Rosette appreciated that fanatic devotion, but she'd never hold complete faith in it. Her job was vigilance. (What is really going on?) The third barrel was the real unhappy news. For all their illegal activities, Havenstone was not the Sinaloa Cartel. There were not a global criminal organization that invited international law enforcement scrutiny. So why did they devote so much time and energy to security? They weren't alone in the shadows of world-wide civilization. At the top of the pile was the Illuminati. They were a hydra controlled by a ruthless, cutthroat conclave; membership uncertain. They were a Darwinian meritocracy until the top tier of leadership, where a group of smaller secret societies and families monopolized the real influence. Their biggest strength, and weakness, was that most of the people in the organization didn't even know they were part of the Illuminati. After that was a mishmash of groups with different abilities that made rating them difficult. The Condottieri were rather simple; they sold mercenaries and weapons to anyone with the coin with the sideline of promoting conflict by any means necessary. The Nine Clans; that sounded familiar; were assassins in the truest sense of the word. Hashshashin, Ninja, Thuggee, Black Lotus, Coils of the Serpent, Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Black Hand, Cult of the Jaguar and the Ghost Tigers. They were not just murder for hire, but murder to advance their cause. Harmonious existence was bad for business, so they stirred up rivalries and conflict in every corner of the globe. The Egyptian Rite Masons sounded sublime. They weren't. They may have been a secret order older than the Amazons, claiming descent to the days of Imhotep. The Egyptians were the oldest enemy of the Illuminati. The Egyptian Rite's goal was a global autocratic government, were the Illuminati wanted a capitalist oligarchy in charge of global commerce; with the Illuminati pulling all the strings. The Egyptian Rite were not restricted to Egypt anymore; membership was open to all races and genders. The Earth and Sky Society were not New Agers. They were the descendants of Genghis Khan and were devoted to the reincarnation of the Greatest World Conqueror of all time. Before tossing them into the rubbish bin of bad ideas, know that Genghis was the largest single genetic contributor (via rape) to the human gene pool since the mystical Eve. To be a member you had to have a genetic link to ole Genghis. The Seven Pillars of Heaven were an ancient Chinese Secret Society out for; you guessed it; World Domination. To be a true member of this group you had to be Pure Han Chinese and a man, or bound to one. Needless to say, Havenstone and the Seven Pillars did not get along. The final bit of information; these groups were what was left of the Great Secret Societies; the survivors. Havenstone's place in all of this chaos was complicated. By mid-5th century BCE, the Egyptians were aware of the Amazons. The Amazons were not causing problems for the Egyptians, so they parted on decent terms and that was that. By the first century ADE, the political landscape had changed. Amazons had penetrated Roman society and brought Latin houses into their structure. Amazingly, the Egyptians contacted the Amazons again, figured out the Amazons only wanted co-existence so co-existence they got. In the late 4th century, the Amazons returned the favor. The Amazons told the Egyptians something horribly bad was coming across the Eurasian steppes and the Egyptians better batten down the hatches. A few decades later, the Huns were pressing on the Roman Empire's frontier. What is not generally know is that in the ranks of Hunnish horde were the Sarmatians, successors to the Scythians, who had allied Amazons in their ranks. This gave the Amazons, thus the Egyptians, contacts on both sides of the Roman-Attila conflict. By the mid-5th century the two secret societies parted ways once more. Their relationship had been useful, but not close. From the Amazons viewpoint, it was the equivalent of getting good gossip at the fish market. The Egyptians appreciated the intelligence, but wanted, and didn't get, military assistance in propping up the Roman Empire. For the Amazons, the fall of the Western Roman Empire was the trigger for a massive Diaspora. A few houses decided to tough it out in Western Europe and its packs of warring Germanic tribes. Others travelled to Egypt and from there, down the Nile to Ethiopia and Central Africa. A third group travelled farther East than ever before, eventually settling in Southern India. Of course, the World never stands still. In the late 8th century, the Illuminati was founded as a mercantile society trying to restructure the shattered Western and Central European economies. It turned out that there was a major pass over the Alps between eastern Italy and southern Germany that was a safe transit region. The Illuminati decided to seize it. The Egyptians popped up, revealed to the infant Illuminati that they didn't want them to do that, but were ignored. The Egyptians were out to rebuild European civilization, which meant, in their eyes, you didn't go around butchering those who were restoring law and order. The Egyptians went to the mountain pass and warned the Amazons there what was coming their way. The Illuminati convinced a local Lombard warlord that the pass would be a nice addition to his territory and off he went. Two months later, their bully boy hadn't returned. Neither had any of his men. Never ones to retreat from failure, the Illuminati sent another force and those guys were never seen again as well. This time the Egyptians showed back up to warn the Illuminati that those people whose land they'd been trying to steal were sick of their meddling and were coming to settle matters. Would the Egyptians help the Illuminati deal with this threat, now that it was out of the mountains? The Egyptians politely declined stating 'better the sitting stone you know than the rolling one that sets things around it on fire'. The Illuminati fled from their first base and that is the reason why they hate the Amazons and Egyptians to this day. Mind you, the Illuminati had no idea who lived in that mountain pass at that time. A few decades after the incident, the Amazons relocated northward. Being good stewards over their lands had given up unwelcome rewards; namely people came to them seeking sanctuary. Amazons can be rather cold-hearted. That does not mean they kill you for knocking on their door. When the number of refugees became too great, the houses voted for migration over slaughter. The Amazons travelled to the Black Forest, dispersing from there, and left the people behind to become known as the Swiss. Everywhere, Europe was tough for the Amazons in the Middle Ages. Heavily male-dominated Germanic cultures in the North, Islamic culture in the South, piracy in between and an epidemic of warfare all around. It was in Sub-Saharan Africa where the Amazons prospered the most. There, migrating populations worked in their favor, as did the style of warfare generally practiced. Perversely, the increase in the East African Arabic slave trade worked in the Amazon's favor. Not only could they 'liberate' captured populations; males for breeding and women for recruits; it encouraged local tribes to temporarily ally with the Amazons to fight off the slavers. The Subcontinent turned out to be a mixed bag. In the South, Amazons prospered and grew in numbers and houses. The problem was that they became too strong. Normally they would have spread out, but Eastern India proved more hostile than acceptable and further East looked like a crap-shoot. China didn't look welcoming at all. So, the Indian Amazons were caught up in a series of wars when Northern powers tried to move South and the Southern lords were in some serious need of aid. The issue was there were multiple players in the shadows pulling the strings. One day, the Egyptians came knocking. The Egyptians knew the Amazons well enough to not try to draft them into their cause. They simply told the Amazons who the key players were and what they were trying to do. Why would they do this? It was obvious. Amazons existed for two reasons; live free and make baby Amazons. Those other asshole Secret Societies were threatening both of those goals. Warfare is doubly hard on a female population and women spending years in combat aren't making babies. Take into account that during this time period a massive amount of the world's population lived in India. Add to that the Amazon numbers were respectively tiny (invisible) and Every Secret Society they were fighting didn't think much of women. A few thousand gurgling last breathes later and two of India's oldest Secret Societies were gone, or eviscerated. Why had they left the other, Islamic, secret society alone? The Islamic society operated in the populous North, not the jungle-covered South. Why did they leave the Amazons alone? The Amazons exhibited a shocking capacity for violence. The Muslim group was a 'secret' Secret Society. The Amazons were a 'hidden/don't screw with us' Secret Society. A side effect of the war in India was the creation of another Secret Society; the 9 Clans. They weren't nine back then, but thanks to the Amazons and Egyptians, this East Asian group picked up the Thuggee and, within a century, the Hashshashin. Things were about to get even more interesting. For the Amazons in India, life existed off the beaten path so it took a year for the Amazons to realize those 'dirty little men' who had shown up in some western Indian ports were, in fact, Europeans; in a European-built ship. They didn't know Portuguese, but they knew Latin and with a little bit off effort, they got an updated history of Europe. Amazons had been meeting regularly every thirty years, or so, to choose the next High Priestess and exchange notes. These meeting did not include studies of technological, political, or social improvements. Stealing the twenty-first ship to show up, the Amazons sailed home; Europe, that is. They stopped off in East Africa to spread the good news then, upon landing, went to tell their European sisters that their pilgrimages were no longer a matter of torturous overland travel. They could use nifty ships like these instead. With that came even better news; some Genoese, nut-job, failure of a mathematician had discovered a brand new land and they were going to check it out. The decision was made. The Indians were going back home. Their Europeans sisters were going to 'acquire' some instructions on how to sail a ship then 'obtain' some ships and divide them up among the three strongholds. Europe would be heading to the west, Africa would sail around the Cape of Good Hope (not yet named that), back toward Europe to link up their communication network (and in time, bump into Brazil), and India would head east to the South-east Asian archipelago, sailing around the hostile Asian kingdoms. Hopefully, the fleet sailing west and the one heading east would meet one day. Unfortunately, North and South America stood in the way of that dream. The 'little' hitch in this plan was who those ships belonged to. Nearly half the commerce of Europe at the time was either controlled, or influenced by, the Illuminati. The Amazons were running off with their equipment and profits; whoops. A cherry on top to that 'whoops' was that the Illuminati were only starting to come out of a bloody war with the Condottieri. The Condottieri had started out as a business venture/strong arm of the Illuminati. In classic Illuminati fashion, the leaders of the Condottieri didn't know precisely who they were working for. In fact, they thought they were independent. When the Illuminati yanked that leash, it snapped and the blood-letting began. The Illuminati had more money than the Pope and the subtle ability to call upon the kingdoms of the Mediterranean World. What did the Condottieri have? A small cadre of loyal, professional fighting men and the best strategic and tactical minds in the West; the ones the Illuminati had recruited into the Condottieri in the first place. Whoops yet again. The Illuminati had every resource under the Sun. The Condottieri knew they were screwed, but they'd been in screwed up situations before and battled through. They needed to stay alive until the path to victory presented itself. Re-enter the Egyptians and the 9 Clans (still not 9 yet). The Egyptians? The Egyptians made a butt-load of money on the silk and spice trade's overland routes. The Western Europeans/Illuminati were about to cut them out of that. The Egyptians needed time to reposition themselves. The revolt of the Condottieri was a gift from the Divine and suddenly the mercenaries had funds and ships. The 9 Clans? The Illuminati was a 'Does it All' organization. If the Illuminati won, who would need assassins? This was class warfare, pure and simple. Even with three-on-one, the Illuminati fought back and fought well. The Amazon predations were not the deciding factor in the war. It wasn't even their war. Soon enough, the Amazons were buying their own boats and going elsewhere. The Illuminati doesn't forgive, or forget. For some reason, they took the Amazon thefts personally, despite its negligible impact. Maybe it was that all the other players were regionally invested while the Amazons seemed to be dog-piling them. The fact that Amazons had existed in Europe for nearly 2500 years either didn't occur to them, or they didn't care. Flash forward to the start of the 20th century. Through the discrete use of marriage-assassination, land grabs and the basic lawlessness in the Western United States, rural South America, Australia and the islands of Southeast Asia, the Amazons had grown vastly in numbers and economic influence. The Egyptians come knocking once more. Unlike past encounters, they were bringing an offer of alliance. The Illuminati controlled key assets in the British Empire and were using those chokeholds to eliminate their rivals. This was not news to the Amazons. Their holdings in India and the Dutch East Indies had been under pressure of the Illuminati for a century. Ever since the Illuminati nearly ground out the Thuggee (one of the 9 Clans), the Egyptians and Amazons have been constantly harassed. This was not the first warning the Egyptians had brought. The Amazons hadn't want a war with the Illuminati and they certainly didn't trust the Egyptians. This time they agreed to go to war though. Why? Two things; totally unrelated. First, the Illuminati and the Seven Pillars of Heaven had agreed to carve up Asia. Amazons lived in Asia and they were no man's chattel. Secondly, the Women's Rights movement was in full swing. The Amazons had nothing to do with it. Those were outsider females. What interested the Amazons were the legal ramifications of Women's Equality. The Amazons were poised for a massive increase in their financial footprint. With the Illuminati out of the way, or at least, preoccupied, they could seize assets and have time to fortify before they could be attacked. Women's Equality would allow this to take place. Basically, the Amazons were going to exploit the blood, sweat and tears of women to advance their agenda. From all accounts, the only groups that recalled the Amazons last foray into Secret Society politics were the Amazons and Egyptians. Certainly no one had enlightened the Condottieri. They started smacking around some Amazon bases in Europe and unleashed 'Hell on Earth'. With the help of the Egyptians, they got to it in Amazon fashion. A General of the Condottieri and his family were eating at a Naples eatery when five women dresses like nuns walked in and shot up him, his entire family plus some bodyguards. When the response team showed up, they killed them too. A few police were added to the obituary column as the Amazons escaped. Welcome to Amazon warfare. The Condottieri were furious over such a public breach, as well as the losses. They swore a vendetta. The 9 Clans happily informed the Condottieri that a 'War of Extermination' was the Amazon default setting. The Condottieri were not afraid; not yet. See, there was another secret society called La Solidaridad. Working on intelligence from the Illuminati, La Solidaridad overran an Amazon compound in Argentina. They thought it would be funny to take the survivors as sex slaves. Maybe the Illuminati was experimenting to see just how pissed-off Amazons could get. Maybe La Solidaridad hadn't read their Homer, especially those parts concerning Ancient World vengeance. It took the Host six months to start things rolling then the carnage began. They made damn sure the men knew they were being hunted by women. They weren't there to out-macho the men, or make a point. Every night, they attacked the men and their families in the cities and towns. For safeties sake, La Solidaridad retreated to their country estates. Huge mistake. A good number of them had to have hunted at some point in their lives. How they missed being 'flushed out into the open' was beyond me. Out in the countryside, there was nowhere to hide. Walls meant little because Amazons were incredibly fit and trained to fight at night. Most of the families the Amazons killed. They were the lucky ones. The survivors? By using a new Edison device, they took some home movies of the fates of those men. The Amazon's favorite tactic was to shove lit sticks of dynamite in the men's asses then steer them toward the closest river. One guy actually made it. His relief didn't last long. The Amazons had done something to turn the normally safe caiman population into rabidly aggressive swarmers. Bitches; insanely, sadistic bitches. In eighteen months, La Solidaridad had ceased to exist as an organization and never recovered. The Illuminati used that time wisely to beat down the Egyptians, Earth and Sky, and the 9 Clans, aided by the Seven Pillars. Having concluded their first order of business, the Amazons sent their home movie to the Condottieri. It wasn't mercy toward the Condottieri. I was psychological warfare. The Amazons needed the Condottieri off-balance so they could go after their real enemy. It seemed the Illuminati had instructed La Solidaridad on how to 'intimidate' the Amazons; through rape, torture and enslavement. Specifically, it was Cáel O'Shea who set the tragedy in motion; Granddad. Beyond Granddad being impossibly fucking old, he had possessed some seriously out of control animosity where Amazons were concerned. Before the Amazon's could implement their hunt, the 9 Clans intervened. The Illuminati had been giving them real problems and they saw a way to gain some breathing space. Had the Amazons and 9 Clans been in communication, the World might be a very different place today. Instead, the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne was wacked by the Black Hand, some Serbian numbskulls took the fall and the rest of us got World War I. Oddly enough, this one murder accomplished the goals of the 9 Clans, Amazons, Egyptians and Earth and Sky Society. The British Empire still stood, but was wrecked. China was much worse off than that. Before the Amazons could gain their vengeance, the Egyptians negotiated a cease-fire between groups. The Amazon Council was furious yet unwilling to fight the Illuminati alone. They kept down their bile; and waited. In the post-War period, the Amazon/Illuminati feud ate much of their resources (probably the Egyptian's intentions all along). A truly dark side of this struggle was the Amazon support for the Nazis. Did the Amazons switch course? Yes, but not for the reasons most people would think. Jews, gypsies, communists and homosexuals going into camps didn't worry them one bit. What did? Let's go back in time to those women in the Swiss Alps who headed north. A great many of them went North then East; to places like Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It wasn't so much a matter of whimsy as one of terrain and population. All the best farmland was in western Germany, the Low Countries and France. That's where the Germanic peoples settled. Behind them, to the East, were the Slavs. The Slavs had three things the Amazons liked; low population density, weak social hierarchies and crappy land. That meant they could live in relative isolation, not be subject to an all-powerful king and not be inundated with migrating hordes wanting to steal their dank swamps, deep forests and isolate meadows. Sometime in early 1939, right after the Third Reich snatched up Bohemia, some Amazon augur decided to open up Hitler's Mein Kampf to see what was going on i.e. to see when Hitler would get around to jumping on England; the whole reason the Amazon were supporting him. What she found out was bad, bad, bad! The genocide of a bunch of people they could care less about? Not a problem. Invading the Slavic lands? What? Russia/Soviet Union hadn't been the big foe in WWI and they certainly were not Germany's greatest enemy at the moment; Britain was! Drang Nach Osten? That was an undefined migration of Germans back into Slavic lands that ended over 600 years ago? Their Eastern European sisters were in grave danger from a lunatic. The common sense response (for Amazons) was to kill the Hitler. They couldn't get close, so they took their problem to their old allies, the Egyptians and 9 Clans. Those two saw nothing wrong with the way things were developing. The Amazons swallowed their pride and went to the Illuminati who seemed rather enchanted with the idea of the fascists and communists annihilating one another. They had no way to safely approach the Soviets. Pulling their sister houses out of Eastern Europe was no longer an option; the other Secret Societies would be looking for that and try to figure out where the Amazon home bases were. The Amazons decided to make a fight of it. They were not going to charge panzers with spears. No, they started setting up caches of supplies and weapons in the most inaccessible places imaginable. The hope was that as Nazi Germany was grinding Communist Russia to dust, they could smuggle out their people in the chaos to Sweden then points west. The problem was WW II didn't work out that way. Great Britain got spanked at Dunkirk and Poland, France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxemburg and Norway all surrendered to the Nazi blitzkrieg. Then the Germans invaded Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia went under, but the Soviet Union didn't fall. Much to the Amazon Council's horror, resistance units began to interact with the local Amazons in an effort to improve their mutual survivability. Tales of mysterious female fighter, appearing to slay their enemies then disappearing into the wilderness filtered to both the Stavka (Russians) and SOE (British). The SOE discovered an answer to the mystery in mid-1942, by way of the fledgling US OSS. The Americans 'found' three female Army recruits who volunteered for such a mission. A month later, the partisan bands with those agents found the 'Forest Women' and all the lights came on. Unknown to the public World, the Amazon Council decided that the best hope for their kinswomen was to bring down the Nazis and ride out the Allied conquest. All of that might have been a happily little footnote except for what happened next. Hundreds of Amazons fought; no surprise; yet they didn't fight alone this time. Men and women of the local populace fought side by side with these lethal warriors. They shared battle plans, food, fire and medical care. That huge cultural barrier created over two and a half millennia began to erode. They bled together and were forced from time to time to place their lives in each other's hands. They witnessed one another's courage and sacrifice. They watched them bury their dead, nurture their young and weep at their pain. Whenever things looked darkest, the Amazon would turn to their partisan partners and say with utmost confidence 'we have survived worse; so can you'. The seminal event happened on the night of February 17th, 1944. For two years, the fractured, wounded women that are ever-present wherever there is war began to attach themselves to the Amazon bands. At first they were little more than annoyances. In time, the Amazons tried to turn these women into something 'useful'. Later, a few earned the right to follow the Amazons into battle. On that February night, two ladies were inducted into House Živa. This was hardly the first time outsider women were brought into the Host, but this circumstance was unique; induction in the middle of a war, having proven themselves in battle before their now-sisters. From that action; not the last in that conflict; was born the concept of the 'Runners'. With the end of WWII, the Amazons emerged more powerful than ever. The three strongest groups in the United States were the Egyptians, Illuminati and the Amazons. The Amazons profited the most; having started with the lowest profile and having infiltrated both the government and business sectors during the war effort. Using the Freemasons, the Egyptians reaped great benefit from the US war effort too. Always forward-looking, the Egyptians helped the Amazons as well. Still, not everything was rosy. For the Public World, World War II ended in September of 1945. That was barely a blip in the Secret Societies' radar. The calamity came on the 10th of December 1949. Using their pawns in the Chinese Communist Party, the Seven Pillars had re-unified China and were back on the world stage. Earth and Sky and the 9 Clans were dealt a setback. A fourth secret society involved in the Chinese struggle was absorbed by the 7 Pillars. The problem was that all the societies were locked in a bitter struggle yet devastated and over-extended. The 9 Clans, fearing the ratcheting up of Cold War intelligence-gathering services by multiple national governments asked for a global truce. The Amazons were dangerously exposed and over-extended. The Illuminati decided this was their time to strike and nothing could deter them. Into this backdrop, came the news to the Amazons that they had serious genetic issues. That led to the First Directive; the recruitment of 'Runners' as an established program as well as the explosion of what I knew as Executive Services. In a truly bizarre twist, U.S. and Soviet agents found themselves engaged in cat-and-mouse games with European NATO agents. Amazons had penetrated the proto-CIA during the war in an effort to reach their European sisters. In Eastern Europe, many of those partisans went over to the Communists when the Soviets overran their countries and looked favorably upon their erstwhile allies from the War. They couldn't match the influence that the many of the other secret societies possessed. Instead they pulled upon existing, personal relationships. I worked with a negative result of those days; Desiree, or more accurately, Desiree's parents. I was also walking with the final resolution of that crisis. The Secret Societies proved they could work just as fast as the UN. In three decades they had resolved nothing and were spending more and more time on damage control. Three events converged. The Illuminati had figured out the full-blooded Amazons were dying out so they knew they could win a game of attrition. The rest of the groups were coming to the conclusion that wiping out the Amazons was the easier course of action. The Amazons had, without a doubt, located the leader of the Illuminati, Cáel O'Shea. O'Shea was in sight of his goal; the extermination of the Amazons; when a lone Amazon got to him first. O'Shea's death sent titanic shockwaves through the Illuminati. There was a scramble for the top spot, fear over how much the Amazons knew about their inner workings, and how the other secret orders would take this bit of news. The Illuminati recoiled from the event, agreed to a truce and that led to the protocols that kept Brianna from dragging me off; gunshot wounds and all. That had been the state of affairs for the last thirty years. Again, the World had not stood still. China was an economic powerhouse, the EU grew stronger, and wars of political ideology had been replaced by religious-based terrorism. The Amazons were at a critical juncture in their history. The 'New' Directive was their best chance at staving off extinction and the Houses were fighting it kicking and screaming. The First Directive wasn't being implemented properly. If nothing changed, the Amazons would be dragged under by the weight of their own bigotry. But wait! There was this idiot with no conception of history getting in the way of Amazon extinction; the decline toward oblivion that six murderous factions were waiting for. In this epic there were no 'friends', only 'allies of convenience'. The Egyptians weren't buddies. They simply preferred others to fight their battles for them. The Amazons fit that bill nicely, but if they were dying out, the Egyptians would be more concerned in filling the Amazon void than mourning over the Host's grave. The Illuminati and Seven Pillars were enemies. Though there was little animosity between the Earth and Sky and the Amazons, the E and S were based on perpetuating the legacy of the World's greatest rapist. The 9 Clans were the 9 Clans and their business was all about the precise application of death. They had no friends and if they pretended to be your friend, it was only so they could position themselves to kill you. It was only business. They rarely played with debts, obligations and vendettas. Still, if a member of the 9 Clans said they owed you, it was worth the assassin's weight in Iridium. As a bonus, the 9 Clans were gender-neutral. Outside of the Amazons, they had been using females in their numbers the longest. Because of this, the 9 Clans tried to interact with the Amazon using women from their own ranks, minimizing the sexual tension between the groups. The Condottieri had also began recruiting women into their ranks over the past twenty years. Their leadership was still all-male with the added complications of the unresolved Naples killings and the brutal destruction of La Solidaridad. Also, while the Amazons were not business competitors, they didn't employ the Condottieri either. All these micro-wars had been very good for the Condottieri, allowing them to build up quite a stable of talent and a huge war chest. If the Amazons recovered, the global map would change. How so? Madi and Rhada weren't from Cleveland, but from India where unresolved crimes against women were too common. Palli Chandra, the VP of International Finance and Ngozi from my sparring match were from Central Africa and I'd gathered from

united states tv love women amazon death head world new york city father australia europe art english stories earth china house mother france men england hell americans germany west war africa chinese european italy walking fighting german kings european union dna mind western guns army dad south mom mars brazil professional tales europa north east indian world war ii fantasy asian boss divine sun nazis jews sweden wolf beyonce britain rights manhattan netherlands council narrative cult id flash adolf hitler cia unknown poland southern latin south america norway ninjas sexuality denmark belgium pope egyptian brazilian guys connected equality walls congratulations astrology cold war pillars swiss hundreds uncle stealing houses pulling goddess soviet union antarctica needless islamic soviet northern great britain indians warfare gemini grandmothers communists mp brotherhood illuminati screw serpent sd libra roman empire homer gangs explicit glasses grandfather belarus ancestors sir predators knees naples diaspora cape bitches jaguar nile runners taurus novels lithuania nazi germany hmmm middle ages wwi special forces arial asshole accuracy martial dunkirk british empire alps allied western europe nikita bce yugoslavia secret societies chinese communist party heavily madi erotica sensing soviets anthrax grandson oaths ade third reich messina genghis khan directive slavic bohemia poo luxemburg clans harmonious lombard fabiola asc darwinian ancient world germanic eurasian world domination ishtar swiss alps tigger armory central africa us navy seals black forest acp mein kampf constanza imhotep scythians aerospace engineer huns granddad good hope ngozi first house seven pillars iridium central european invariably black hand international finance braulio tigerlily brawling errands southern india black lotus coils sinaloa cartel genghis slavs yuppie latin kings new agers dutch east indies amerindian genoese british sas literotica mediterranean world currying thuggee sarmatians

Cáel and the Manhattan Amazons: Part 8

Born To Watch - A Movie Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2024

Cáel's tombstone: For the love of women, women put him here.In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand.Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected..

christmas united states america god tv love jesus christ ceo women american new york director family amazon time new year netflix death live money head game canada world learning president friends thanksgiving trust new york city church father chicago lord australia europe art english babies business stories hollywood earth starting china peace school science spirit man freedom los angeles house mother rock body las vegas france men secret work england voice sports giving woman college personal olympic games talk water mission hell law service running training real state crisis change reality land americans british living gospel child french stand pain young germany speaking canadian care west deep building truth video club race nature war society africa ms girl office brothers chinese gold european home dating wild masters blood fire sleep ukraine spiritual government italy rich cross sex simple walking evolution fighting strength german brain murder turning japanese russian board leader reach kings psychology batman spanish moon european union victory search dna girls evil mind local new jersey western italian putting medicine speak romans guns missing holy army universe leaving public north america safe dad drop write south darkness open mom berlin chief funny surprise safety police night mars brazil hands professional wife fake silence hawaii jewish santa fortune tales meaning illinois south africa irish europa north greek keys shame african americans new orleans african clients wealth serve hospitals field rome east afghanistan weird indian respect nasa connecting high school harry potter security argentina fbi world war ii pass philosophy shadow fantasy maryland poor facing legal watching asian saved boss park middle east champion temple code court ladies stage dragon awards target wind wall afraid divine massachusetts worry md driving leads humor broadway sun portugal nazis color jews economics fall in love hong kong run balancing winner drugs violence families union force dark saving sweden touch cleveland wolf beyonce player alaska standing daughter clear captain medical south carolina quit walmart killing laws curse fight tool britain danger chicken rights atlantic manhattan muslims catholic straight kiss dangerous mothers wise casa old testament forgive threats warriors snow queens partners bubbles couple scary netherlands daddy cops act mine iraq council narrative sexual paradise calm tears married dinner fathers civil war figure bond cult acting covenant plant obedience gang id mac new england guilt stanford flash breakfast taste records columbia cd cat adolf hitler mass worse lust male senior names kick sister doom air cia shit tiger hang worthy caring james bond unknown philippines credit beginners indonesia blame sitting mma poland engaging soccer venezuela peru eat smile accept federal southern laugh anime rio latin define sisters chocolate honestly pure criminals west coast prepared south america fate wikipedia gotta hint attorney dare norway ninjas trick sexuality sense kicking stepping oz alpha flesh korean secure picking gps tests failing offering raiders sword denmark outdoors bodies odds fuel belgium shoot pope drunk flowers heads entering scream sucks fuck egyptian brazilian gaza faces twenty guys connected confusion highways thousands constitution bbq lying equality jail hunting east coast albert einstein heading bang honesty new hampshire walls congratulations tasks factor boxing funeral guilty qatar lent defeat bright laughter fatherhood loyalty lonely traffic sort bass steal astrology delivery neighbor ot lift long island eleven cold war fantastic wearing beating implications sins dracula pillars logic heritage jedi investigation physicians harder civil uganda pants lunch mafia holistic knock ecuador explain confused crimes best friend cpa treating publishers armed finished cancel hanging swiss ram personally warm cheap ash buddy eyes ottawa worried quitting cows contest bitch serial killers fed mount hundreds nun delaware excuse drinks uncle clothes polish finishing idiots stealing prey samaritan houses careful denial domestic violence southwest nepal janeiro virgin nirvana shut doc pulling assistant smoking esp missionary upset sad catholic church selfish constant vengeance southeast asia goddess slap cliff punch domestic human resources bahamas soviet union buddha professionals ethiopia rapid mexico city antarctica badass legion portuguese menu batteries discrimination hook valor padre needless northeast afterlife hungary selection ark psycho quebec islamic keeper psychologist soviet thai thirty bmw sharp tlc arm mutter home alone northern correct amendment conscience rios subway turkish great britain lie indians washington state won competing horn retire champagne warfare arctic gemini worked thank god laughing goodbye cgi top ten knife hoping celtic touching runner old man day one shirt warner gamble plague defend arab halfway contrary spring break chose recycling mourning fifty bullshit terrorists silly nah ladder household protocol compassionate tested tight bdsm cosmos liar lighting jerks conduct penis smooth new york giants nobel prize carnival canceled lemon theft ignoring arabic little mermaid blink fascinating painful hern orders grandmothers cycling knives tide gremlins syrian masculine ding taxi possession afghan eastern europe translation hunters bit lands communists belly grandpa myanmar acid rolls mp bedroom added recall saturday night wild west brotherhood mumbai foolish kindergarten handbook minimum crap physically forgetting illuminati homeland security companion hurry screw cobra almighty petty bro unc vietnamese remind babe hierarchy real housewives relentless burned serpent allah secret service guinness irishman sd libra peter pan goodnight bluetooth mansion mri king kong cheer pops ranger roman empire abyss btw tango homer bing smaller dmv salmon girl scouts gangs explicit jehovah good morning blonde hq martian ak sixth charging grandparents glasses casper yahweh fucking fiscal appeals newark planned parenthood grandfather adultery acquisitions belarus nypd state department pole aunt murdered rude bibles heavens central park ancestors holy grail libertarians breach fuego mister anal wisely santa fe winds plea nsa boy scouts momma patagonia feds bordeaux device ballet bounce sasquatch converting rope south koreans administrators lemonade shore estonia 401k monday night atm mano puerto rican meth sir bastards predators dwellings rockies clever underworld menace knees hungarian torn apologize promising protocols warner brothers slaughter naples cpr diaspora tend laden tender slayer south asian unable cape bitches cargo scandinavian jaguar lay immortal homicide tibet technically underwear condoms cheerleaders copper refer pd lacking asians guarding al qaeda devo stevenson appalachian esquire virtually ambitious larger ro benjamin franklin automatic nile life insurance sunday night mare fist summer camp runners taurus novels personnel oath equally midway std dwayne johnson thursday night lithuania angola nazi germany liquor conversely stephen hawking insults hmmm kerr hamsters respecting ems middle ages swinging atlantic ocean pile pratt tarzan hush sneak ajax mecca wwi lost ark seduction cock verbal mistress kkk scotch morals tibetans slovakia special forces smiling justice department east africa friendzone my father business management odd free will erotic placing dominican affordable care act swear sixty asshole excessive accuracy flavors lebanese goth halls internship illusions martial cort dunkirk day two jefe azerbaijan band aids pointing reception conqueror mysticism british empire tuna alps underneath latvia stupidity bow milfs sully anima pin workday buttons papua new guinea sexually windy city grinding allied lone dumbledore hm spear wham duh muay thai understood professors ids western europe guards supreme court justice introspection repeating hooters vacuum burma males nikita kinky green beret democratic republic defy interpol charlie chaplin trojan virginity cheetahs bce freemasons big one angelic hamptons kill bill oak pity ear missing link parasites mccabe jason statham year one behave nutcracker futurama thrilling irrelevant george carlin convincing mothering vessels white christmas eastside depaul yugoslavia al capone secret societies yum yummy slight neanderthals ran serbian central asia cha extensive grizzly cougar pinnacle vulcans storming sweaty liking whore tragically lesbians sikh morons chinese communist party reminding triple crown great wall magnum exiting heavily airborne osama grappling obama administration pleased savor u s missing person state fairs dispelling generals man up stud pocahontas bulgarian deep south caucasians emergency rooms lawless state senators gf madi nipple obtain suffice canada day shampoo inuit turks tandem erotica maldives sensing goddesses brownies speeding soviets archery purple heart strangely cambodians sob fp rising sun spinal tap atf fdic oh god nerf marshal mmm anthrax helium god almighty hostility weave lk renfield ghost hunters mongolian apologizing comforting federal court moor holy cross princess leia ncis old world cyclops trojans cicero grandson oaths restraint barnum rasputin good guy reload oh my god assyria brewster grenades sop roman catholic church sz collar new england journal east asian kurdish referring ade creeping amazonian jason voorhees janus my dad jonestown special agents ish dg braille horace belles jokers fraternity third reich ballroom medical center carmichael diplomatic tad stalkers federal bureau eurasia christmas holiday taser seti messina timer feinstein legalize genghis khan winslow sub saharan africa soaking spirit world arabian laguardia farsi animaniacs hecklers goddamn wiccans patriot act pla district court nimrod carnegie mellon testicles directive slavic iliad stasi peeling peugeot bohemia poo luxemburg columbian chalmers endo chicagoans truce equestrian catholic school orgies modernism home loans village voice recount faults kurdistan clans kneel harmonious sipping glock team lead my mother high priestess invading resonate draco lcd precinct ancestor keyes lombard donetsk foe emergency services burnham coroner krav maga forc celts bushido magna carta hubby rhodes scholar rorschach penetration assyrian violating congolese grace kelly fabiola asc bolivian frat snape ako atwood second language mah enrique iglesias darwinian blush friday morning medico ancient world umm prc germanic i won big boss buster keaton hippocrates pinhead woot eurasian world domination snapping kama sutra bum ishtar swiss alps dumbass coal mine holy crap life plans tigger armory holy shit prick improper my son sizzling appoint beg hunting season holy cow four days coughing castello amusement neapolitan speedo park rangers vassar college athleticism orphan black central africa felicit omniscient his house eharmony timothy leary wha hadrian great pumpkin amazonia father daughter naughty list alphas pandering little sister finnes propelled ursula k le guin infighting birthed umami pluck timur magyar us navy seals chuckles solar plexus amway evasion hittites eek geisha intensive care barring my house legions danube motherfuckers cowardly mongoose hilton head restraining orders western united states evil empire black forest zen masters brainiac iron age intercourse yakima silky acp ow vietnamese american disrespecting trust funds bacchus bad girl assistant manager abed internal affairs kindergarten cop taunting mein kampf cavemen trojan war padawan 3f canadian american anat mesoamerican old spice hellas shotguns lumpy crouching tiger ramses consulate top shot last place medical examiners patching hittite boohoo oliver cromwell chicago pd intensive care units east river crewe cunt scathing your father hippocratic oath constanza imhotep rolling thunder sick leave saturday afternoon dominicans groan scythians ash ketchum deyoung northern district developing world octopussy fuckers flatbush fifth amendment laughable evian jacking atta voa tasmanian devils ssr maoist aerospace engineer nonviolent girls gone wild wonder twins bbc america troika hidden dragon firemen khmer ruger huns vassar surrogates exceptionally every member soe arwen security services insulted saint james chicago police department ace hardware big wheels incan extermination granddad writ gibbon wies good hope united states district court sterile bravado alternating humping nubian cunnilingus littering ohio valley little bighorn ragged ngozi sex addicts first house sparing united states attorney seven pillars colonial america ravine witness protection baring iridium clearinghouse cleverly other half flailing bitchy central european invariably overt sky blue mafioso holy mother hic international finance black hand sapphic tigerlily braulio inadvertently oink moorish azerbaijani brawling your mother other' errands bouncers murmurs mmmmmm pharos moose jaw bestiality lashing quebecois smg stanhope sot retrieve uzbek southern india mountie gruff supremacists sex god modern american black lotus searing kibble wmds estere shoshone miranda rights augur sperm whales durex matron sheath olmec caress amory coils grans madame butterfly gutless big sis minoan main man jaywalking lead investigator belafonte sinaloa cartel foolishly slaughtering genghis unconquered long island medium slavs romany squirts javiera mumbling normals hey dad muay caller id yalda friendless bolingbrook cherrie yuppie latin kings egg mcmuffins wakefulness ibew sunni islam blood feud garden gnomes tri state area you god issue one picts holy fuck low countries han chinese mossberg cloaking western roman empire bereft marilynn we americans un charter rusty nail misinterpreting amateur night new agers peregrine falcon reichmann corporate security tabriz weeee mississippi valley magyars inflicted bwana dutch east indies ninja assassin death certificate professor snape momma bear kyrgyz christmas elf communist russia cambodian americans englishwoman tamerlane bomo casus belli amerindian counter intelligence epona angel falls lothario paranormal witness subcontinent otolaryngologist dcup council chambers temujin negative reinforcement pillow guy george anderson wakko arpad fbi headquarters wagnerian my aunt welcome wagon genoese obedience training miyako hey bro nazg british sas good golly literotica wiggling chip coffey zombie survival guide divulging mediterranean world my sisters personal defense bumpkin yes ma charlie horses savate hron new york county free tibet me let director c unluckily motherfu collapsible house heads century bce italian deli dual survival lucky bastards mycenaeans lilliputian natural born killer eminently black sands shammy hey lady daniel burnham english midlands dacian policia federal cheese puffs thorazine nicorette 2x4 'thelma marda in soviet russia dimwit us tax code brian fung currying firing range cherry vanilla carnegie melon green meadows cocksucker every amazon she had unbutton dutifully fiji mermaid late saturday lydians amazon c neutron bomb bersa homicide division goddess ishtar united states federal thuggee wiccan priestess cyberdyne systems stanica girl you sarmatians deoxyribonucleic avars mirandized kazaks my japanese karvala bulgars her aunt gotchya maldives islands katrina love ruger lcr you broke

The Rock (1996)

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2024 107:14

When it comes to 90s action movies, The Rock (1996) is an absolute powerhouse, packing in all the adrenaline, explosions, and star power you'd expect from a Michael Bay film. This high-octane blockbuster fuses a prison break with a military conspiracy, creating a wild ride that still holds up almost 30 years later.At its core, The Rock combines the thrilling escapism of an action movie with a surprisingly engaging plot. The story kicks off when a group of rogue U.S. Marines, led by the stoic General Hummel (played by the legendary Ed Harris), seizes Alcatraz Island and threatens to launch chemical weapons on San Francisco. The government assembles a rather unusual duo to thwart the attack: Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (a quirky and nerdy Nicolas Cage) and John Mason (Sean Connery, effortlessly cool as a former British SAS operative). Mason is the only man ever to have successfully escaped Alcatraz, making him the key to breaking back into the "rock" and stopping the impending disaster.What sets The Rock apart from other 90s action films is its all-star cast and their ability to bring depth to what could have been one-note characters. Connery, in particular, steals every scene he's in, bringing both gravitas and sly humour. Cage's Goodspeed is a fish out of water, providing a balance to Connery's seasoned warrior. Their dynamic delivers much of the film's heart and unexpected comedic moments. Meanwhile, Harris' Hummel is a villain with depth—a man who believes he's fighting for a noble cause, adding emotional layers to the otherwise explosive spectacle.Visually, Michael Bay's signature style is all over the screen. Expect dizzying action sequences, perfectly timed slow-motion shots, and some truly unforgettable set pieces, including car chases through the streets of San Francisco and tense scenes inside the ominous Alcatraz prison. Bay knows how to amp up the intensity, and Hans Zimmer's pulse-pounding score keeps your heart racing right alongside the action.What makes The Rock such a standout is its ability to blend the best of 90s action excess with memorable performances and an engaging narrative. It's a film that doesn't just rely on explosions but instead crafts a fun, fast-paced story around them. For fans of action movies, this is one of the decade's must-see films, offering pure entertainment from start to finish.Why It Still Matters:The Rock endures as one of the best action movies of its era. It captures the quintessential 90s action formula while pushing its limits with a more intricate story and standout performances. Connery's role as the aging but unbreakable Mason remains a defining one, while Cage's Goodspeed is a great mix of quirky and capable, perfectly capturing the “unlikely hero” archetype. Add in the film's gripping premise, explosive action, and a truly memorable villain, you've got a recipe for a classic.For fans of Born to Watch, The Rock is an ideal discussion piece—it's pure popcorn entertainment with just enough emotional complexity to elevate it above other action flicks of its time. Whether it's your first time seeing it or your 50th, it's a movie that never fails to entertain.Please follow the Podcast and join our community at https://linktr.ee/borntowatchpodcasthttps://www.borntowatch.com.au/

9 British SAS v. 400 Communist Rebels: The Epic Battle of Mirbat

Heroes Behind Headlines

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2024 64:01

Did you miss it? One of the most popular episodes we ever released from Season One is back for an encore listen:Russian and Chinese-backed rebels were making deadly headway in Oman during its Civil War of the early 1970s. In support of the Western-allied Sultan, the British Army secretly deployed nine operators from its most elite unit, the SAS. HBH is honored to have our guest, Pete Winner, with a special appearance by Sekonaia ‘Tak' Takevisi, two of the nine SAS heroes who took on over 400 Omani rebels at the Battle of Mirbat.At stake on July 19th 1972 was more than just a single battle for a small town on the Gulf of Oman. Due to Mirbat's geographic significance, had the SAS fallen the communist rebels would have taken hold of the region – and controlled the global shipping routs for Middle Eastern oil. Statues of individual soldiers are rare, but due to his heroism at the Battle of MIrbat, there are not one but two statues of Sergeant Talaiasi Labalaba. One unveiled in 2009 at the SAS headquarters in Herefordshire, and another in 2018 by Harry and Megan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in Fiji - which at the time of Labalaba's enlistment was still a British colony.Pete Winner is the author of his bestselling memoir "SOLDIER, I," which he wrote with Michael Kennedy.

#257 - 22 SAS Operator: DARPA Biotech & Future Super Soldiers | Jon Truett

KONCRETE Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2024 147:26

Jon Truett served 20 years in the 22 SAS Regiment of United Kingdom Special Forces. SPONSORS https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off EPISODE LINKS https://instagram.com/jon_neuro https://linkedin.com/in/jon-truett-60841b222 https://nmesgroup.com FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Joining British Army's Parachute Regiment 09:15 - British SAS vs. U.S. Special Forces 18:07 - British SAS recruitment process 25:59 - Zarqawi and the Iraq war 38:59 - Facing death 46:49 - Deadly Mumbai attacks 53:56 - Problematic parenting 01:02:02 - Why military special forces join for life 01:09:06 - Nostalgia is an illness 01:12:38 - How you can die from a broken heart 01:22:22 - Monitoring soldiers' mental health 01:28:02 - Why soldiers scrub their identity 01:33:42 - Working w/ Darpa & NASA 01:37:46 - Musculoskeletal gateway system 01:47:58 - Early Parkinson's detection 01:52:52 - DARPA super soldiers created with brain implants 02:01:18 - Prototype musculoskeletal stimulation technology Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

facing iraq nostalgia monitoring operator problematic biotech prototype darpa super soldiers musculoskeletal truett dj p british sas zarqawi future super

Episode 49: Gavin Fisher (Part 1)

uk battle afghanistan vietnam air force pj pjs discount codes silver star global war on terror british sas ghazni

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2024 95:33

Tonight's guest is with my friend Gavin Fisher. Gavin has more than a decade of experience as a US Air Force Pararescueman, or PJ. He has 10+ deployments serving in the Global War on Terror and was famously awarded the Silver Star in the Battle of Ghazni in Afghanistan in 2018. This interview is split into two parts. Part 1 focuses on Gavin's journey from becoming one of the top lacrosse athletes in the country to joining the Air Force and graduating from one of the most challenging special operations selection courses in the world. Throughout the episode, we explore interesting traditions associated with selection, such as the Mogadishu Mile, as well as humorous cartoons and skits. Additionally, we delve into the rich history and heritage of PJs, particularly focusing on the legends from Vietnam who helped shape the PJ persona. Part 2 will be all about Gavin's personal experiences. Late Night History Website! (http://www.latenighthistorypodcast.com) This link is for other podcast platforms: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

Episode 48: Ben Thompson

uk internet discount codes drunk history ben thompson british sas

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2024 86:07

Tonight's guest is Ben Thompson. Ben is an early, early OG of Internet humor writing. He founded the website ⁠Badass of the Week⁠ in 2004, which gained a loyal following of millions of monthly readers. Ben's style of mixing witty pop-culture references, crude humor, and F-bombs with tales of historical heroes made history fun. The style has become so popular that history and humor writers everywhere have replicated it. Yes, even Drunk History, which we get into the controversy covering that ordeal. In addition, Ben has written 10+ books about historical heroes. Today, he is the co-host of the iHeartRadio podcast ⁠Badass of the Week⁠. Check out ⁠Ben's Store⁠ where you can purchase his books and badass playing cards. Other guests mentioned in the show: Alex West (⁠Episode 1⁠) Rob Garnett (⁠Episode 2⁠) Ben Garwood (⁠Episode 7⁠) RJ Thomas (⁠Episode 26⁠) Ed Loder (Episode 28) Ways to support the channel: Late Night History Website — ⁠⁠⁠https://latenighthistorypodcast.com⁠⁠⁠ This link is for other podcast platforms: ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history⁠⁠⁠ Listener Support: ⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support⁠⁠⁠ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS⁠⁠⁠ Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

The Origins of Navy SEAL Swagger

uk origins seal navy seals vietnam war swagger discount codes alex west british sas

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2024 9:42

The Origins of Navy SEAL Swagger is a mini-episode featuring three previous podcast guests Alex West, Kirby Horrell, and RJ Thomas. In less than 10 minutes, we discuss the SEAL mentality and swagger that emerged in the Vietnam War and how those concept transcend the test of time. Late Night History Website (⁠http://www.latenighthistorypodcast.com⁠) This link is for other podcast platforms: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history⁠ Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support⁠ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: ⁠https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS⁠ Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

Episode 47: Kyle Buckett

Military Veterans Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2024 119:11

Tonight's guest is my good friend and one of my mentors Kyle Buckett. Kyle, or "Buck," as I know him, served a career in the US Navy, most of which was as a Navy SEAL. Buck served with various west coast-based SEAL Teams, including as a plank owner — or founding member — of Special Activities One (now called Special Reconnaissance Team One), a unique intelligence unit that helped bring the SEALs' mission success rate from just 35% to over 96% in a four year period. Episode 47 History Highlights: 1). US Navy before the SEALs and witnessing 9/11 while overseas. 2). BUD/S and class gifts. 3). SEAL Team 1 in Baghdad and helping stabilize Iraq to allow women to vote in the country's first democratic election. 4). Plank owner of a unique military start-up and intelligence unit. 5). The various mission dynamics of different GWOT deployments to the Philippines and the Middle East. 6). Big picture strategy; plus a story about the cover of Time Magazine's “What Happens if We Leave Afghanistan” featuring Afghan Bibi Aisha. 7). Village Stability Operations in Afghanistan. 8). Tactical leader of a major clearing operation that ended with divine intervention. 9). Behind-the-scenes insight and history about the military construction project to relocate the west coast-based SEAL Teams from Coronado to Imperial Beach. Other guests referenced throughout the show: Rob Garnett (Episode 2) Annie Ferguson (Episode 4) Rob Newson (Episode 35) Buy Buck's book: Leadership is Overrated Late Night History Website — ⁠https://latenighthistorypodcast.com⁠ This link is for other podcast platforms: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history⁠ Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support⁠ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: ⁠https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS⁠ Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

Ep 048: SSgt Ben Garwood - British SAS Veteran

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2024 111:43

Ben joined the Parachute Regiment within the British Army in 1997, and served 23 years across multiple areas including, the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (REME), Pathfinders (PF), and finishing with the British Special Air Service (SAS), reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt).In this episode Ben talks about growing up and wanting to join the Royal Marines, before ending up joining the Parachute Regiment, in the British Army. He shares life with 2 PARA before transferring to the REME, and then transferring back to 2 PARA, with a deployment to Iraq in 2005.Ben wanted and needed more challenges, so went into the Pathfinders and shares what “The Cadre” was like to successfully become part of this advance force, and then deployed to Afghanistan in 2008. After sometime with the Pathfinders, Ben went on Selection and joined 22 SAS where he saw out his career, completing just under 12 years within the Special Forces. Lastly, as he transitioned out of the military, Ben created HR4K based in Hereford, UK, which is a veteran owned community hub. Bringing good people together.Watch Episode on YouTubePart 1: youtu.be/4pyCPdMN_mAPart 2: youtu.be/JRvGwZhLxNUTikTok:tiktok.com/@militaryveteranspodcastInstagram:instagram.com/militaryveteranspodcastX:twitter.com/MilVetPodcastLinkedIn:linkedin.com/company/military-veterans-podcastMerchandise:milvetpodcast.com/merchSend us a Text Message.Message at the end of the recording is from your host Gav, giving you information on how you can support the show through Patreon.Supporting monthly would help the show record future episodes and help with the upkeep of previous recordings. £5 a month will give you access to bonus recordings, where Gav and the guest chat about things that don't make it into the main recording. Thank you.Support the Show.

uk veterans afghanistan iraq selection text messages sas special forces british army cadre royal marines gav hereford pathfinders reme garwood ssgt parachute regiment british sas

Episode 46: Dan Cnossen

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2024 116:58

It's an honor to welcome former Navy SEAL officer and Paralympic champion Dan Cnossen to the show. Episode 46 History Highlights: 1). 80th anniversary of D-Day + Matt's experience at the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. 2). Unique Naval Academy traditions. 3. Selection to become a US Navy SEAL officer + Mini BUD/S 4). BUD/S Class 242 and the awesome Gladiator helmet class gift. Medal of Honor recipient Ed Byers is a graduate of class 242. 5). Deployments with SEAL Team 1 to the Philippines, Iraq, and Afghanistan. 6). In September 2009, Dan was wounded in action after he stepped on an IED. He lost both of his legs above the knee. Dan tells us about the mission. 7). 3-time Paralympian and 7x Paralympic medalist (2 Gold, 4 Silver, and 1 Bronze). 8). One More Wave, Dan's love for surfing, and what surf therapy means to him. 9). The Mountain Seed Foundation, which empowers US and Ukrainian veterans impacted by war through nature-based activities and community. Late Night History Website — https://latenighthistorypodcast.com This link is for other podcast platforms: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

uk gold afghanistan iraq philippines silver ukrainian selection navy seals gladiator paralympics medal bronze pearl harbor paralympian ied seal team discount codes us navy seals deployments british sas one more wave bud s class

Episode 45: John Norman (Part 2)

history uk lessons rescue ret discount codes new york fire department british sas john norman buy john

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2024 83:35

Ret. FDNY Chief of Special Operations Command John Norman returns for Part 2. Episode 45 (Part 2) History Highlights: 1). The USAir Flight 5050 plane crash on Sept. 20, 1989. 2). History and mentors at Rescue 1. 3). Y2K Task Force and wargaming for future disasters or critical incidents. 4). John's perspective before, during, and in the immediate aftermath 9/11. 5). John's insider perspective towards the impact 9/11 had on the FDNY. 6). Rebuilding Special Operations Command after 9/11 because about 1/3 of the 450 members were killed. 7). Lessons learned from 9/11. 8). John's career until retirement in 2007 + advice for the young bucks looking to become great firefighters themselves. Follow John on Instagram: ⁠@chiefnormanfdny⁠ Buy John's book: Working With Giants ⁠Late Night History Website!⁠ This link is for other podcast platforms: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history⁠ Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support⁠ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: ⁠https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS⁠ Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

Episode 45: John Norman (Part 1)

family history uk tools chief world war ii rescue legendary mentors engine peer soc ret discount codes new york fire department british sas urban search john norman

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2024 85:59

Tonight's guest is Ret. FDNY Chief of Special Operations Command John Norman. John has more than 50 years of experience with the fire service. He is also the author of the riveting memoir “Working With Giants,” which is about his life, as well as the mentors he served alongside. John's book is a reminder that the people that we try to emulate or aspire to become didn't get to where they are today by themselves. They had mentors, coaches, and leaders in their lives that supported and guided their potential into greatness. Episode 45 (Part 1) History Highlights: 1. Family lineage of US military service in World War II as well as within the fire service. 2. Mentors at Inwood Fire Department (NY) and the meaning behind "sucking nails out of the floorboards." 3. History of Engine 290 in Brooklyn and its legendary reputation as one of the busiest fire companies in the world. 4. An in-depth discussion covering the history of Rescue Companies within the FDNY. 5. Peer-to-peer mentoring at Rescue 3 6. Tools and equipment of the job including entry tools, the Lyle gun, and lifesaving ropes. 7. Legendary reputation of Rescue 2 and the so-called War Years. 8. Mentors at Rescue 2, including Ray Downey, then a captain, who pioneered the formation of the 28 Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces strategically emplaced around the country to respond to catastrophic events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and terrorist attacks. (Can listen Ray's son, Joe, who later became FDNY's Chief of SOC on Episode 10). Follow John on Instagram: @chiefnormanfdny Late Night History Website! This link is for other podcast platforms: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

Episode 44: Nick Betts

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2024 93:50

Tonight's guest on the Late Night History podcast is Nick Betts. Nick mostly grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and had a full-ride golf scholarship to Arizona State University, but lost it all after a costly mistake following the state finals. He then enlisted in the US Army and served in the Global War on Terror between 2005 and 2013. He served two tours, first to Iraq, then Afghanistan, and worked as both a machine gunner and a sniper. Today, Nick is the creative director for URT, a lifestyle brand in San Diego, California, as well as the C4 Foundation, a nonprofit named after the late Chuck Keating IV, who was killed in action in Iraq fighting ISIS. The C4 Foundation supports active-duty Navy SEALs and their families by providing a refuge via a ranch retreat to decompress from military service. Reach out to Nick at his company Krupto Strategic Media.Episode 44 History Highlights: 1). The infamous dive bar in Tucson, Arizona, known as The Meet Rack. It made headlines for the debauchery that occurred there. However, all walks of life entered this seedy establishment, including students from University of Arizona, tourists curious to see if the hype read in newspapers was real, and sometimes, even celebrities like Arnold Schwartzenneger, Burt Reynolds, and Elvis. 2). Nick's first deployment to Iraq where his unit, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment (1/26) became the hardest hit unit — 36 casualties — since Vietnam. The 15-month tour supported the SEAL Teams, including SEAL Team 3 (the same platoon twice) and SEAL Team 5. Here, Nick tells us about providing security with a M249 SAW machine gun and a claymore on the ground level of a multi-story house where the SEALs engaged combatants from the roof. 3). SKTs or Small Kill Teams in Iraq. Two Army snipers on the roof, while Nick with the machine gun and claymore mine providing security. These missions emboldened Nick to become an Army sniper. 4). History of the term "sniper" as well as the origin of Ghillie suits. 5). Sniper operations in Afghanistan and stay behind teams. 6). Photographs Nick captured from Iraq that were published in Esquire, which would prove impactful later in life as a professional photographer. 7). A rip-the-band-aid-off look into Nick's difficult journey returning from war and the realities that veterans of the GWOT faced without a support system. 8). Nick's docuseries called "Let's Talk About The War." The docuseries discussed the taboo topics of the war. Listen to the full episode on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/late-night-history/id1553678075 This link is for other podcast platforms: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

Episode 43: Bruce Norton

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2024 122:27

Tonight's guest is Ret. Maj. Bruce “Doc” Norton served two tours to Vietnam as a member of USMC Force Recon. Much of the episode covers Doc's experiences in Vietnam, which included conducting more than 25 long-range reconnaissance patrols. After Vietnam, he received his commission, and served as a Marine Infantry Officer until retirement in 1992. After the military, Doc worked as the Director of the Marine Corps' Command Museum, has authored 13+ books, including his latest project, “Voices From Vietnam,” a book/playwright modeled after Tom Brokhaw's “Greatest Generation Speaks.” Voices From Vietnam is scheduled to release this November on Veteran's Day. History Highlights: 1). Family military lineage that dates back to the American Revolution. 2). The legend of Clover “Bucky” Coffman — He received a Battlefield Commission to 1st Lieutenant … When Doc met him, Bucky had earned the Navy Cross, 3x Silver Stars, 5x Bronze Stars, and 7x Purple Hearts… 3). Discussion about setting up Harbor Sights in the bush — which sometimes included making coffee with C-4 explosives in the mornings. 4). Jungle penetrators, ladders, and SPIE rigs used to evacuate recon troops from the jungle quickly. 5). Gurkha-style ambushes to capture a HVT on a trail and a real close-call. 6). Story of a Force Recon Marine tragically killed by a tiger. 7). Voices From Vietnam book/playwright and Doc's other history books. 8). Favorite galleries and exhibits at the US Marine Corps' Command Museum. Buy Doc Norton's books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00F5CSNE8/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=45ac1fa8-f8c1-42d4-ba71-3d9a0637d3c9 Listen to the full episode on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/late-night-history/id1553678075 Listen to the full episode on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7qWvBOyBvlK7yJ9SAZa8m2?si=9cef1a38625e4708 This link is for other podcast platforms: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history Ways to support the channel: Listener Support: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ #History #USMC #Marines #ForceRecon #LateNightHistory #OralHistory #VoicesFromVietnam --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

Episode 42: Danny O'Neel

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2024 115:08

Tonight's guest on the Late Night History podcast is my friend Danny O'Neel. Danny is a former US Army forward observer, serial entrepreneur, and nonprofit founder doing great things for the military and first responder communities. Danny and I first met many years ago when I was writing profiles for One More Wave, a nonprofit founded by former Navy SEALs that provides veterans customized surf equipment and community. Since then, we became fast friends for our shared passions of sports, tacos, and history. History Highlights Episode 42: 1). Danny's military family lineage that dates back to the American Revolution. 2). 9/11 experiences and how that event changed the trajectory of his life. 3). Remembering Jared Monti, who served as a US Army forward observer with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Country music singer, Lee Brice, later sang “I Drive Your Truck,” about Monti's dad, Paul. The song became so popular it was voted Song of the Year at the Country Music Awards in 2013. 4). The Korean Axe Murder Incident between North Korea and the US military. 5). 1st tour to Iraq during the ‘03 invasion and living out of Saddam Hussein's palace. 6). 2nd tour to Sadr City, Iraq. Danny's combat experiences in ‘05-'06, a grenade discussion, movies during downtime, food experiences, culture surrounding TBI/PTS at that time. 7). Transitioning out of the US military and asking for mental health help. 8). Surf therapy and how One More Wave has helped Danny's recovery. 9). Entrepreneur for Kinetic Ink Tattoo — where we discuss storytelling in tattoos — and Danny's nonprofit Warfighter Overwatch (military and first responders and their families). Please subscribe on ⁠Apple⁠, Spotify⁠, and YouTube. This action might not seem like much, but the support allows Late Night History to continue interviewing world-class guests. Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/⁠⁠ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: ⁠⁠https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

A Look Back: The Former SAS Member And The Plan To Take Out Pablo Escobar

news british colombia member true crime breaking news serial killers unsolved pablo escobar us news world news cold cases british sas

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2024 22:24

As Pablo Escobar was being pursued by forces within and without Colombia, many bounties were put on the kingpins head. One of those bounties, a million dollar pay day, was accepted by a former British SAS soldier who had spent plenty of time fighting on the frontlines around the world. In this episode, we hear the tale of how two British men decided that they would chase their fortune, and Pablo Escobar, in the jungles of Colombia. (commercial at 11:15)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/1683502/Pablo-Escobar-million-hire-mercenaries-drug-boss-Peter-McAleeseBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-epstein-chronicles--5003294/support.

Episode 41: Stephen Spencer-Chapman

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2024 60:57

Tonight's guest is Stephen Spencer-Chapman, a veteran of the British Army's elite Parachute Regiment, and former commanding officer of the Red Devils parachute display team. While we certainly cover some of Stephen's life story, including his time in the British military, the bulk of the discussion is about his inspiring grandfather, Freddy Spencer Chapman. Episode 41 History Highlights: 1). The Shetland Bus — a lifeline for Norwegian citizens escaping Nazi oppression and a highway for British Special Operations Executive (SOE) officers linking up with Norwegian commandos for sabotage operations. For more info, read this article published in 2019. 2). Freddy Spencer Chapman's “Living Dangerously” book about his 1930 polar exploration in Greenland, which aimed to uncover an air route between North America and Europe by way of the Arctic. Here, Freddy and 13 others spent 13 months living with the Eskimos, hunting seals, and fending off territorial polar bears. 3). Stephen tells us about his personal experiences meeting the Dalai Lama. Freddy previously made a diplomatic mission to Tibet in 1936. 4). Freddy's 3 ½ years in the Malaysia jungle fighting and evading the Japanese as a member of British SOE's Force 136. (Read more here: ⁠To Hell and Back Again: The Epic Adventures of British Commando Freddy Spencer Chapman⁠). 5). “The Mad Fortnight” — Freddy and two other SOE commandos launched offensive action against the Japanese. They developed tactics to move as a small team and traveled at night along the Japanese supply lines. The SOE commandos would position themselves so one person would engage the enemy — often with IEDs, sticky bombs, and grenades — as a distraction and a second commando would move to another position to make them appear larger than they were. The three commandos wrecked 7 trains, cut a railway line in 60 pieces, and killed scores of enemy troops. In the end, the Japanese thought this was a battalion of men and sent regiments of soldiers to find them. 6). Freddy's escape through the jungle — where he was captured and fled twice — and into the sea to rendezvous with a submarine. 7). Freddy's legacy and The Chapman's Challenge adventure race held annually in Malaysia. The race follows part of the route Freddy took to escape the jungle and get picked up by submarine. 8). History of the Parachute Regiment. 9). History of the Red Devils and tribute to the late Dean “Waldo” Walton. 10). Stephen's experiences with military transition. Buy Freddy's book: The Jungle is Neutral Buy Brian Moynahan's book: Jungle Soldier Please subscribe on Apple and Spotify. This action might not seem like much, but the support allows Late Night History to continue interviewing world-class guests. Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/⁠ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: ⁠https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

ICYMI: The Former SAS Member And The Hit Squad Put Together To Go After Pablo Escobar

mexico news british colombia member true crime pablo escobar icymi cartels put together cjng hit squad british sas

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2024 22:24

As Pablo Escobar was being pursued by forces within and without Colombia, many bounties were put on the kingpins head. One of those bounties, a million dollar pay day, was accepted by a former British SAS soldier who had spent plenty of time fighting on the frontlines around the world. In this episode, we hear the tale of how two British men decided that they would chase their fortune, and Pablo Escobar, in the jungles of Colombia. (commercial at 11:15)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/1683502/Pablo-Escobar-million-hire-mercenaries-drug-boss-Peter-McAleese

199. The Ungentlemanly Like Episode

Nerds Talking

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2024 66:05

**Nerds Talking The Podcast: Episode Description** In this week's episode of Nerds Talking The Podcast, we dive into the action-packed world of Guy Ritchie's latest film, *The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare*. Based on recently declassified files from the British War Department and inspired by true events, this action-comedy explores the origins of the first-ever special forces unit formed during WWII. Directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Henry Cavill and Eiza González, the film tells the thrilling story of a top-secret combat unit assembled by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a select group of military officials, including author Ian Fleming. This ragtag team of rogues and mavericks employs unorthodox and "ungentlemanly" techniques to take on the Nazis, ultimately changing the course of the war and paving the way for modern special forces units like the British SAS and contemporary Black Ops warfare. Next, we switch gears to review Dua Lipa's new album, Radical Optimism. How does it stack up against her previous hit album Future Nostalgia? We break down the tracks, the vibes, and whether this new release cements Dua Lipa's status as a pop icon. And for our hot take of the week: Is Patrick Swayze an overrated actor? We debate his filmography, iconic roles, and lasting impact on Hollywood. All that and more on the number one podcast on your dial, Nerds Talking The Podcast. Tune in for insightful reviews, spirited discussions, and the nerdy banter you love! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdstalking/support

hollywood ministry world war ii nazis directed dua lipa henry cavill guy ritchie black ops ian fleming ungentlemanly warfare future nostalgia eiza gonz british sas

Episode 40: Bob Charest

Outkickâ€™s American Joyride with David Hookstead

Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2024 92:20

In Episode 12, Bob discusses his Hall of Fame Army Special Forces career. Tonight, Bob tells us about how he was awarded the Silver Star with MACV-SOG; his extensive experiences with Detachment-A; and his time with the CIA in Thailand. Episode history highlights: 1). B-56 Project Sigma, explanation of MACV-SOG's Recon and Hatchet Teams, and Bob's Silver Star (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwXYgQ4tvYE&t=22s) 2). Lodge Act soldiers — Eastern Europeans who volunteered for Army Special Forces and in return would receive their US citizenship. Note: Some of these soldiers would become Distinguished Members of the Regiment i.e. the Green Beret Hall of Fame. 3). Detachment-A in Berlin — https://detachment-a.org/ — the Cold War clandestine unit tasked with “stay behind” operations in Berlin in the event of a Soviet Union invasion. 4). Fascinating tradecraft used throughout the 1960s like invisible ink, how to blend in as an American in Germany, and use of tabletop 3D models stashed in ceilings, which were miniature replicas of real targets. Additionally, Bob talks about OSS/CIA-developed cigarette lighters that fired a .22 bullet. 5). Sketchy nature of locking-out of a WWII-era submarine in Greece. 6). CIA in Thailand in the 1970s and Air America. 7). Driving a flatbed truck on fire and loaded with ammunition off a CIA base in Thailand. Bob received the Soldier's Medal, which is a life-saving medal awarded for non-combat action. Please subscribe on Apple and Spotify. This action might not seem like much, but the support allows Late Night History to continue interviewing world-class guests. Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/⁠ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: ⁠https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

British SAS In Bosnia And Iraq Invasion | Melvyn Downes

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2024 116:29

Former SAS operator Melvyn Downes speaks with David Hookstead about his time in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

iraq northern ireland bosnia downes melvyn british sas iraq invasion

Episode 39: Mac Caltrider

Somewhere Between: A TV and Film Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2024 93:49

Tonight's guest is Mac Caltrider, the author of Double Knot, a war memoir in seven essays. Mac shares with us his life story, including culture associated with Baltimore, Maryland; two deployments to Afghanistan as a Marine; working as a patrol cop during tumultuous times; and his career in journalism. All of which is connected in Double Knot. Episode 39 highlights: 1). Plug Uglies — a now closed Irish pub in Baltimore, Maryland, named after old-timey firefighter gangs that used to start fires and get into street fights. 2). Family lineage in the US military. 3). Mac's passion for books from an early age, which would prove useful as a writer and journalist years later. 4). Awesome history associated with Mac's unit, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines (2/8), which includes a tale about the first ever Medal of Honor recipient's action captured on video (many confuse Air Force CCT John Chapman's action in Afghanistan as the first). 5). The humorous tales of the wiggling hedgehog and “the smoking crab” in Afghanistan (YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1bEDH4bwHI). 6). Double Knot (YouTube link: https://youtu.be/UP2dlTmig8Y) 7). Coffee or Die magazine and honored by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. 8). Pipes & Pages — Where Mac pairs books others should read with a tobacco pipe (https://www.instagram.com/pipes_and_pages/?hl=en). Buy Double Knot on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Double-Knot-Mac-Caltrider/dp/B0CYX1RB6G) OR at veteran-owned publisher Dead Reckoning Collective (https://deadreckoningco.com/collections/books/products/book-double-knot). Join 13K followers of Late Night History on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latenighthistory/ 10% Discount Code using MATTFRATUS at HR4K's store. HR4K is a UK lifestyle brand founded by British SAS veteran, friend, and guest of the show (Episode 7) Ben Garwood. Follow the link here: https://www.hr4k.uk/?ref=MATTFRATUS --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/late-night-history/support

family amazon uk coffee irish afghanistan maryland baltimore mac marine marines medal pipes battalion discount codes british sas marine corps heritage foundation dead reckoning collective

41: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Review

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2024 52:01

Daniel and Erwin review the new Guy Ritchie film "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" starring Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Eiza Gonzalez, and Henry Golding and talk about his filmography, his Quentin Tarantino inspiration, and more. This review contains FULL spoilers. Did they love it, did they hate it, or are they somewhere between? Listen to find out. Description: Based upon recently declassified files of the British War Department and inspired by true events, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is an action-comedy that tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming. The top-secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, goes on a daring mission against the Nazis using entirely unconventional and utterly "ungentlemanly" fighting techniques. Ultimately their audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare.

Beyond Torture: Andy McNab's Mental Fortitude in Bravo Two Zero

Danger Close with Jack Carr

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2024 15:51

NOTE: This segment has been extracted from the full-length episode, which originally aired on September 8, 2021. It has been REDEPLOYED. Andy McNab is a former member of the British SAS who led Bravo Two Zero during the first Gulf War. During his time in the military, Andy conducted counter-terrorist and anti-drug missions in Central America, South America and throughout the Middle East. He also worked undercover in Northern Ireland. He was captured in Iraq on a mission during the first Gulf War in 1991, an experience he recounts in his first book, Bravo Two Zero. Andy was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM). At the time he left SAS in 1993, he was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier. In his post-military life, Andy has instructed special operations forces in survival, hostage rescue, and counterterrorism. He was also the technical advisor on the classic action film Heat. He is the author of the Nick Stone and Tom Buckingham thriller series, the co-author of the Boy Soldier series, and the author of three books about his own military experience: Bravo Two Zero, Seven Troop, and Immediate Action. Andy's novel Red Notice was recently adapted into a major motion picture. It is currently available on Netflix as SAS: Rise of the Black Swan. To learn more about Andy, follow him on X @The_Real_McNab and Facebook @Andy McNab Official. SPONSORS: Red Sky Mourning – The 7th novel in the James Reece Terminal List series. Pre-order today! http://jackcarr.co/rsm Bravo Company Manufacturing: Visit us on the web at http://jackcarr.co/bcm and on Instagram @BravoCompanyUSA.com SIG: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the legendary SIG SAUER P226. Learn more here - https://jackcarr.co/SIG40thP226 Jack Carr Gear: Explore the gear here - https://jackcarr.co/gear

netflix middle east heat iraq south america northern ireland central america torture sas black swan british army gulf war red notice mental fortitude british sas andy mcnab nick stone bravo two zero

232 Degrees S3 Ep 9 - Rogue Heroes by Ben Macintyre

The 232 Degrees Podcast: Unlocking Great Books

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2024 27:08

Welcome to Season 3 of the podcast. We love books and reading, and today we dive into a history book. Now a hit TV series, this book captures the origins of the British SAS during World War 2 and their campaigns in North Africa and Europe. We explore our historical knowledge, and find out more about an important campaign that Sean's grandad was part of. Support your local bookstore PLEASE :-) or find out where to grab the book here: https://booko.co.nz/w/9198522/Rogue-Heroes_by_Ben-Macintyre Connect with us here: the232podcast@gmail.com

tv europe heroes world war rogue degrees north africa ben macintyre british sas

Weathering the Storm: Practical Tips for Handling Disruptions

The Working With... Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2023 12:03

I and many other people in the productivity world talk a lot about planning your day. However, what happens when your plans are frequently destroyed by other people? You can subscribe to this podcast on: Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | TUNEIN Links: Email Me | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Linkedin The CP Learning Centre Membership Programme The Working With… Weekly Newsletter The FREE Beginners Guide To Building Your Own COD System Carl Pullein Learning Centre Carl's YouTube Channel Carl Pullein Coaching Programmes The Working With… Podcast Previous episodes page Episode 303 Script Hello, and welcome to episode 303 of the Working With Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein, and I am your host of this show. As the Scottish poet Robert Burns once wrote “The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley”. “Gang aft agley” can be translated as go awry. This means that no matter how well you plan your day or week, things are not going to go according to plan. Similarly, one of my favourite quotes that is often attributed to Mike Tyson is, “Everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face.” And it's so true. One of the reasons so few people actually do a daily or weekly plan is because they believe that no matter what they plan, it is going to be torpedoed once they begin the day. A simple text message or email can derail the whole day. Yet, I still believe it is important to have a plan. Without a plan, you will be waiting for others to give you something to do. You will feel lost and never get anything important to you done, and you are guaranteed to build horrendous backlogs. This leads me to this week's question, and for that, it means it's time to hand you over to the Mystery Podcast Voice. This week's question comes from Sasha. Sasha asks, Hi Carl, what tips do you have for me to harden my system so that it doesn't constantly wobble when life experiences significant deviations outside of the planned week? Hi Sasha, thank you for your question. Now, I know there is a little more background to your question. Specifically, managing two young children and both yourself and your wife working full time. So with that in mind the first problem people face is with being too structured. What I mean by this is being too specific about what you want to get done each day. Most of the things we want to get done around the house do not really need to be done on a specific day. For instance, I like to give my home office a really good clean on a Saturday morning, but more often than not something will come up that prevents me from being able to do that. Now if I want to follow my calendar religiously, it would annoy me if I was prevented from doing what I had planned, but really, does my office need a good clean specifically on a Saturday morning? No of course not. It would be nice, but it really doesn't matter if I do it on Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. The only thing that really matters is at some point in the week I do it. (But even then that is debatable). This problem can be exacerbated if you have young kids. With kids under the age of 13, there's no way you will be able to maintain a well structured home. Kids were born with the natural ability to destroy all well intentioned plans. And that's fantastic. It's all part of the experience of raising children. If it didn't happen, you'd miss out on one of life's joys. I can promise you on the day your kids turn 13 you will miss all that disruption. Your kids are going to go from being entirely dependent on you to wanting to have nothing to do with you as they go through adolescence. For most of you, I hope, your family comes first. This means if you get irritated because a family member ungently, and unexpectedly, needs you you should be happy. It might be inconvenient, but family comes first. There's no debate. If there is a debate, then perhaps family (or this particular family member) is not really your number one. One thing I've learned over the years is as soon as you involve another living creature in your plans, you are going to need to be flexible. My wife, for example, has no concept of time when it comes to family plans. She's spot on with her time when it comes to friends or strangers, but when it comes to her family, her buffer is two or three hours. I remember not long after being married I used to have to lie to her about when we needed to be at the airport. If check in time was at 9:00am I would tell her it was 8:00am. This meant we were able to build buffer time into our plans. Today, she's much better—I must have coached her well, but it did take ten years to get her to that state. And there will always be the unexpected. As you say, kids get sick and that changes everything. Now, as you both work, what contingency plans do you have in place for when a child cannot go to school or daycare centre? This is critical because you cannot plan for a child being sick. This is contingency planning and as soon as the decision to keep you child at home, what needs to happen? Do you call your parents and ask them to take care of your child, or does one of you need to stay at home? Ensuring your contingency plan is in place and ready to roll should the unexpected happen will save you a lot of stress and panic. Now the question arises; what do you do with all the work you had planned to do when the unexpected takes over your day? Well, if you are planning for the week, all it means is you reschedule what you wanted to do to some other time in the week. It's likely you will have a few days to reschedule things over and you may be able to renegotiate some of your commitments. A few years ago we had a family emergency that became apparent at 7:30am. I had a full day of work planned, yet this was family and I immediately took action to deal with the emergency. This essentially destroyed my plan for the day and the repercussions continued into the next day. However, I was able to sit down for ten minutes later in the afternoon and I messaged my appointments scheduled for the next day to tell them I was going to be unable to attend. I was then able to get back to the emergency. The most important thing is you deal with the issue in front of you first and once everything is back under control, you can review what you have on your plate and reschedule where necessary. Life is never going to be a straight line and no matter how well planned you are, things are going to go wrong. In a previous episode I spoke with Simon Jeffries, former UK Special Forces officer and Simon mentioned about when in the special forces you know before you begin things are not going to go according to plan. However, the important thing is to know precisely what you objective is and you stay focused on accomplishing that. Special forces soldiers do consider everything that could go wrong and what they would do in those situations, but the most important thing is they keep their eye on the objective. If you have ever seen the news footage of the the British SAS storming the Iranian Embassy in 1980, you may have seen one of the SAS soldiers getting caught in the rope he was descending on. His colleagues did their best to cut him down, but the mission still went on. They dealt with the emergency quickly and as efficiently as possible then got straight back to doing what they had planned to do. It's this approach we want to be bringing to our lives too. Things are not going to go according to plan. However, when you are clear about what must be done that day, you put yourself in a much stronger position because you are more focused and disruptions will just bounce off you. Now you don't want to be setting yourself too many objectives. I only set myself one or two. I know that I will get those done 99% of the time. Yesterday was a very disrupted day, yet I had two things to complete. I needed to go to the bank and record and edit my YouTube video. My wife woke up feeling rather unwell, so I took her to the doctors. While she was there I realised I could call in to the bank, so I did that (there's long queues at this time of the year to see a doctor). Once done at the bank, I picked my wife up from the doctors. I had to go to the pharmacy to get her prescription once I'd got her home and tucked up in bed. After a short sleep, my wife was feeling a lot better, so I was able to pick up the video recording and editing. There are other things on my list for the day, and a few of those I needed to reschedule, but when I finished for the day, I was surprised how much I'd actually got done. The important thing is not to panic. Accept the disruption for what it is, a disruption that needs to be dealt with then move back onto your objectives. Things will always calm down and return to normal, so there really is no need to panic. If meetings need to be postponed or cancelled, get on and do it as soon as you can. If planned work needs to be rescheduled, then do that. Just don't overthink things. The great thing about having a plan for the week (because you did a weekly planning session) you have a plan to get back on to. This means no matter what disruptions that come your way, you only need a few minutes to review your plan and decide what still must be done and what can be renegotiated. In worst case scenarios, you may feel the need to do a weekly planning session to get yourself back on track. That's okay. Sometimes that's the wisest thing to. I think over the last year, I've had to do that once or twice. It's not something you will need to do often, but if you feel that's the only way you will get back on track, then by all means do it. You'll feel a lot better and much more focused. I hope that helps, Sasha. Thank you so much for your question. It just remains for me now, to wish you all a very very productive week.

kids gang accept scottish mike tyson disruption ensuring practical tips sas weathering the storm robert burns iranian embassy british sas carl pullein

Who Dares Shares

The Great Conversation

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2023 29:11

“Who dares wins” is a motto made popular in the English-speaking world by the British Special Air Service. The motto has also been used by twelve elite special forces units around the world that in some way have historical ties to the British SAS. But the title of this blog and this Great Conversation is different. It is used as a tag line by our guest after every one of his posts on LinkedIn and in his new book. He would say, we win when we no longer fear to tell the truth. The author I speak with in this Great Conversation, Robin Horsfall, was a boy soldier at fifteen, a paratrooper at seventeen and an SAS soldier at twenty-one. He fought in five wars as a front-line soldier, was a Royal Marine Sniper and a top bodyguard. He was also one of the UK's first Paramedics and ran clinics all over the world. He once built a medical center in the middle of the Guyana Jungle, but there is more. Robin has been in front of the events leading up to the Ukrainian conflict and writing about it. At one point he had close to 1,500,000 people following his every word. And he has ended every one of his blogs with the phrase: “Who dares shares”. In the age of polarized social and political voices attempting to cancel one another, Robin is truly daring to get the truth out about this conflict that impacts the future of western democracies and values. After a time, he was asked to compile his journey into a book. It is called Slava Ukraini! Who Dares Shares. I continue to read Robin's posts on LinkedIn that now transcend the Ukranian conflict. He truly desires a world that is free, but as a warrior he understands the need for good to stand against bad. Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine!) Who Dares Shares. Another Great Conversation.

english uk ukraine ukrainian sas ukranian paramedics dares great conversations slava ukraini british sas

Episode 189: Krish Thapa | SAS Training, War Stories, Weapons, Faith | Sushant Pradhan Podcast

Sushant Pradhan Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2023 109:50

Krish Thapa, the formidable former British SAS soldier, returns to delve even deeper into his gripping experiences. Known as the Warrior Monk, Krish takes you from the peaks of the Nepal Himalayas to the intense battlegrounds of Afghanistan and Iraq. He shares heart-pounding SAS training tales, riveting war stories, insights into weapons and faith, and his ongoing mission to help soldiers battle PTSD and identity crises. Krish's journey is a stirring testament to courage, resilience, and the unyielding human spirit.

training afghanistan ptsd iraq weapons sas war stories krish pradhan sushant british sas

Episode 177: Krish Thapa | British Gurkha, Culture, Masculinity, Meditation| Sushant Pradhan Podcast

Sushant Pradhan Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2023 137:06

A true embodiment of courage and commitment, Krish Thapa's life story is an awe-inspiring saga of service, survival, and spiritual wisdom. From the Nepal Himalayas to the front lines of Afghanistan and Iraq, he shares his unparalleled experiences as a trailblazing member of the British SAS. In this podcast, he discusses his unique perspective on masculinity, controlling emotions, and transcending limitations through courage and connection. Through adversity and enlightenment, his journey is a testament to the power of the human spirit.

culture british meditation afghanistan iraq masculinity krish pradhan gurkha sushant british sas

Leadership Lowdown | The Power of Community

Michigan Business Network

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2023 40:35

Vic Verchereau welcomes Steven A. Morgan, who is the founder of Maximum Athletic Performance. Steven A. Morgan is a career strength and conditioning coach whose experience spans three decades and five continents! Division One, Olympic, and professional athletes have been sprinkled in along his career path, but Mr. Morgan truly has a passion for working with tactical athletes. Starting in Kuwait, he partnered with the US Marine Corps and co-authored the Semper-Fi instructor manual. Shortly afterwards, United Arab Emirates Land Forces contracted him to develop a stringent testing criteria and environmentally specific training program for their soldiers. He has also worked with Elite Guard Forces in Saudi Arabia and British SAS in Cyprus conducting field testing and training. Recently, Mr. Morgan has spent the past three years working at Ft. Carson with the 4th Infantry Division as a subject matter expert focusing on combat readiness and injury prevention. Vic Verchereau asked him to share his story and the way he pours into others in his effort to give back! What a story and what a journey! Turn up this edition of the Leadership Lowdown. » Visit MBN website: www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com/ » Subscribe to MBN's YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqNX… » Like MBN: www.facebook.com/mibiznetwork » Follow MBN: twitter.com/MIBizNetwork/ » MBN Instagram: www.instagram.com/mibiznetwork/

community starting leadership olympic games saudi arabia cyprus kuwait lowdown us marine corps infantry division division one semper fi british sas mbn

A Look Back: Pablo Escobar And The SAS Hit Squad That Hunted Him

news british colombia true crime hunted narcos pablo escobar organized crime hit squad british sas

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2023 19:53

As Pablo Escobar was being pursued by forces within and without Colombia, many bounties were put on the kingpins head. One of those bounties, a million dollar pay day, was accepted by a former British SAS soldier who had spent plenty of time fighting on the frontlines around the world. In this episode, we hear the tale of how two British men decided that they would chase their fortune, and Pablo Escobar, in the jungles of Colombia.(commercial at 11:15)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/1683502/Pablo-Escobar-million-hire-mercenaries-drug-boss-Peter-McAleese

A Look Back: Pablo Escobar And The SAS Hit Squad That Hunted Him

Down to Earth with Terry Virts

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2023 19:53

As Pablo Escobar was being pursued by forces within and without Colombia, many bounties were put on the kingpins head. One of those bounties, a million dollar pay day, was accepted by a former British SAS soldier who had spent plenty of time fighting on the frontlines around the world. In this episode, we hear the tale of how two British men decided that they would chase their fortune, and Pablo Escobar, in the jungles of Colombia.(commercial at 11:15)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/1683502/Pablo-Escobar-million-hire-mercenaries-drug-boss-Peter-McAleese

news british colombia hunted pablo escobar hit squad british sas truecrimedaily

EPS 83: Inside Ukraine: A Former SAS Soldier's Perspective

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2023 82:31

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Robin Horsfall, a man who has truly lived a life like no other. Robin's incredible journey has taken him from the British SAS to a successful career in private security, but that's only the beginning. As a black belt in karate, Robin has faced countless challenges and overcome them all with strength and determination. He is also a cancer survivor and an advocate for living life to the fullest. In addition to all of this, Robin is a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a true hero and learn about his amazing life. https://terryvirts.com/ Twitter: @AstroTerry Instagram: astro_terry

ukraine soldiers british sas

A Look Back: Members Of The SAS Are Accused Of Comitting War Crimes In Afghanistan

news british bbc afghanistan taliban accused geopolitics war crimes afghans british sas

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2023 15:04

An explosive report by the BBC is claiming that the British SAS is responsible for the coldblooded murder of 54 Afghans who died under suspicious circumstances. The British authorities have denied the report and claim that the facts in the report have been misrepresented.(commercial at 10:26)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/12/bbc-probe-suggests-afghanistan-war-crimes-by-uk-special-forces

A Look Back: Members Of The SAS Are Accused Of Comitting War Crimes In Afghanistan

news british bbc afghanistan true crime taliban accused sas geopolitics war crimes afghans british sas

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2023 15:04

An explosive report by the BBC is claiming that the British SAS is responsible for the coldblooded murder of 54 Afghans who died under suspicious circumstances. The British authorities have denied the report and claim that the facts in the report have been misrepresented.(commercial at 10:26)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/12/bbc-probe-suggests-afghanistan-war-crimes-by-uk-special-forces

Operation Gunnerside

History Is Dank

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2023 34:24

“Basically a badass secret mission that some super badass elite British SAS dudes teamed up with Norwegian resistance fighters to STOP NAZIS FROM MAKING AN ATOMIC BOMB,” Tyler, the bro who suggested this fire episode topic! Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code DANK. New customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS on the Conference Championships and get TWO HUNDRED IN FREE BETS INSTANTLY. patreon.com/striderwilsoon Sources: Scientificamerican.com ‘Operation Gunnerside: The Norwegian Attack on Heavy Water That Deprived the Nazis of the Atomic Bomb' by Timothy J. Jorgensen 2018 Nationalgeographic.com Imdb.com wikipedia.org Gambling Problem? Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (CO/IL/IN/LA/MD/MI/NJ/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA(select parishes)/MD/MI/NJ/NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Void in OH/ONT. Eligibility restrictions apply. $200 in Free Bets: Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 bet. Promo code req. $200 issued as free bets that expire 7 days (168 hours) after being awarded. Free bets must be wagered 1x and stake is not included in any returns or winnings. Stepped up Same Game Parlay: 1 Stepped Up Same Game Parlay Token issued per eligible NFL playoff game after opt-in. Min $1 bet. Max bet limits apply. Min. 3-leg. Each leg min. -300 odds, total bet +100 odds or longer. Profit boosted up to 100% (10+ legs for 100% boost). Promotional offer period ends 2/12/23 at 11:59:59 PM ET.See terms at sportsbook.draftkings.com/footballterms

Best of Danger Close: SAS and SBS

Danger Close with Jack Carr

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2022 73:41

NOTE: In the coming weeks, Jack is releasing a series of “best of” collections from the Danger Close archives. Each episode contains portions of past interviews, all centered around a theme or topic. Today's episode features interviews with veterans of the United Kingdom's Special Boat Service (SBS) and Special Air Service (SAS). FEATURED INTERVIEWS: CHRIS RYAN Chris Ryan is a former member of the Special Air Service. He is the bestselling author of seventy fiction and non-fiction books including the Geordie Sharp series, Alpha Force, the Danny Black series, and The One That Got Away, which details his experience on E&E (Escape & Evasion) during the 1991 Gulf War. Full Interview: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danger-close-with-jack-carr/id1557814875?i=1000523888176 MARK “BILLY” BILLINGHAM Billy Billingham served in the UK's Parachute Regiment from 1983 to 1991 before joining SAS, where he was a Mountain Troop specialist conducting operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, and Africa. He is the author of The Hard Way: Adapt, Survive and Win, Call to Kill: The Enemy Is Everywhere, and Survive to Fight. Full Interview: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danger-close-with-jack-carr/id1557814875?i=1000539146477 OLLIE OLLERTON Ollie Ollerton is a writer, entrepreneur, speaker, and veteran of the British Special Forces who served in the elite Special Boat Service (SBS). Full Interview: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danger-close-with-jack-carr/id1557814875?i=1000568129967 DES POWELL Des Powell is a veteran of the SAS who served 28 years in the British military, going behind enemy lines in one of the Gulf War's earliest and most dangerous missions. His book SAS Bravo Three Zero: The Explosive Untold Story tells the story of Des' experience during the opening hours of the Gulf War. Full Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danger-close-with-jack-carr/id1557814875?i=1000568129967 ANDY MCNAB Andy McNab is a former member of the British SAS who led Bravo Two Zero during the first Gulf War. He was captured in Iraq on a mission during the first Gulf War in 1991, an experience he recounts in his first book, Bravo Two Zero. Full Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danger-close-with-jack-carr/id1557814875?i=1000534670680 BEN GARWOOD Ben served in multiple units in the British military, most notably in the SAS and as a member of the Pathfinders, an elite reconnaissance platoon for the British 16th Air Assault Brigade. The platoon was featured in the documentary Pathfinders: Into the Heart of Afghanistan. Full Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danger-close-with-jack-carr/id1557814875?i=1000577233745 DEAN STOTT Dean Stott is a former operator in Great Britain's Special Boat Service, a security consultant, an adventurer, an endurance athlete, and the author of the book Relentless: From SBS to World Record Breaker. Full Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danger-close-with-jack-carr/id1557814875?i=1000542928193 Sponsors: Navy Federal Credit Union: Today's episode is presented by Navy Federal Credit Union. Learn more about them at navyfederal.org Black Rifle Coffee Company: Today's episode is also brought to you by Black Rifle. Purchase at http://www.blackriflecoffee.com/dangerclose and use code: dangerclose20 at checkout for 20% off your purchase and your first coffee club order! SIG Sauer Today's show is also sponsored by SIG Sauer. You can learn more about SIG here.

The Former SAS Member Who Put Together A Hit Squad To Take Out Pablo Escobar (10/23/22)

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2022 19:57

As Pablo Escobar was being pursued by forces within and without Colombia, many bounties were put on the kingpins head. One of those bounties, a million dollar pay day, was accepted by a former British SAS soldier who had spent plenty of time fighting on the frontlines around the world. In this episode, we hear the tale of how two British men decided that they would chase their fortune, and Pablo Escobar, in the jungles of Colombia. (commercial at 11:15)to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/1683502/Pablo-Escobar-million-hire-mercenaries-drug-boss-Peter-McAleese

news british colombia member true crime escobar narcos pablo escobar put together hit squad british sas truecrimedaily

The Former SAS Member Who Put Together A Hit Squad To Take Out Pablo Escobar (10/18/22)