After receiving Devon’s “Christmas” wishlist for stage two of their mission, Thomas forwarded it to his Tore Eneide at the Vatican, with a smiley face 🙂 and a note attached saying, “I think I have finally stumped you this time.” Two hours later, Tore texted him back with, “Close but no cigar,” with a LOL at the end of the message. He followed up with an addendum saying that he could pick up his gear the following morning.

When Thomas received the update from Tore, he called Devon to let him know that they would have all their gear in the morning. When Devon picked up the phone, Thomas told him that he would be ready to start for Germany the following day. “Devon, again I apologize about cutting your vacation short, but we need to get going, so I will pick you up at your villa at 0800 tomorrow morning. This way you won’t have to leave your car at the Vatican or have Jennie drive you there so she can have the car.” He further added that I have decided to drive to Germany instead of flying, so that we won’t have any issues with our weapons. We will first go to Frankfurt to terminate Kuno Baumann, the leader of IOHS, and then proceed to Düsseldorf to eliminate Siegbert Leitz, his second-in-command. We will completely take out all of the infrastructure of each of the two men. That is where you failed in your previous attempt to take out the Black Dawn Cartel; you and Burak weren’t thorough enough. We won’t make that mistake again. We will weaken their cartel so much that it will take years before they can even hope to rebuild it. By then, Germany may finally be ready to deal with these cartels once and for all.”

2025 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Cargo Van AWD 4MATIC

The next day, Thomas arrived at Devon and Jennie’s villa at 0800 sharp in his Sprinter cargo van on loan from the Vatican carpool. When he pulled up to their front door, Devon was waiting outside with two black “duffle” bags. He had a dour expression on his face as he tossed the bags in the side sliding door.

3 In 1 Military Backpack Travel Duffle Bag

As Devon hopped in the passenger seat, Thomas informed him that, “Since it is 1,240 km from Rome to Frankfurt, Germany, or approximately 13 hours of driving time, I think it would be better to break up the drive into two days. This way we will be fairly fresh when we arrive at our destination.” Devon nodded in agreement.

The mood was somber for the first few hours of the drive. After a while, however, the mood in the van shifted somewhat as Devon began to relax. He was the first to speak up and break the ice. “I know this is going to be a rough mission. But it should be over in less than a week. It is a lot different from what it was in the Philippines. We know who we are targeting and where they are located. It’s just a matter of working out a plan of attack once we conduct a little reconnaissance work. The biggest problem is deciding how far down the food chain we choose to go in each city. Because we want to eliminate the organization, we will most likely have to target them during daylight hours when they are all together; otherwise, we would have to take them out one by one, which would take a lot of time. It would also make it easier for some of them to escape from our net.”

Devon continued, “The gear I chose will allow us a great deal of flexibility. We can do a night assault or a day assault. The weapon selection will act as a force multiplier. We will essentially be an army of two with the capability of punching way beyond our weight class. WE can either go by stealth or guns a blazing.”

Thomas replied, “I agree, your weapon selection was outstanding. My buddy at the Vatican Armory, Tore Eneide, was measurably impressed, and he is not easily impressed. We are equipped to handle just about anything that they might throw at us or that we are likely to encounter.” After a pause, he continued, “We will stop to get a bite to eat in a couple of hours. I brought an Ice chest, a 5-gallon water jug, as well as a portable potty and a cot, so that we will be able to conduct lengthy surveillances if called upon. That is why I prefer using common cargo vans; they provide ample storage space, and you have virtually unlimited versatility. We even have room to set up the cot in the back if needed. They also have the benefit of being so common that they are virtually invisible.”

Thomas continued after a brief pause, “When I mapped out the route from Rome to Frankfurt, I chose Bologna, Italy, as a good place to spend the night. It is approximately 389 kilometers (242 miles) from both Rome and Frankfurt, while it is not exactly equidistant, it is the closest major city. Besides, it is considered the food capital of Italy, which should cater to your highly evolved palate. So we should have no problem finding a nice restaurant to eat at.”

Bologna, Italy

After taking a leisurely lunch, they continued on their way to Bologna. Devon took over the driving to give Thomas a break. “Knowing you, I am sure you have already made a hotel reservation in Bologna.” Devon prompted. “Yes I did, we will be staying at the Hotel Internazionale. It is highly rated, and it has a great breakfast bar.”

“It sounds nice, since you have chosen the hotel, it is only right that I should choose the restaurant. So I pick Drogheri Della Rosa. It is housed in an old pharmacy, and it is known for its exquisite pasta dishes. Where the tonics are the wines. The prescription is a plate of zucchini blossom-stuffed tortellini. There is no menu at Drogheria. The waiter will recite what’s on offer at your table. It’s often based on what’s in season, so you can expect market-fresh deliciousness.” Devon chimed in.

Green lasagna

Thomas commented, “I like the sound of it, too bad we are on a mission, I could enjoy spending some time here. I have lived all my life in Italy, and I have never visited Bologna.”

They pulled into Bologna around 5 PM and immediately checked into their hotel. After settling in, they went out for a walk through the city before going to Drogheria della Rosa, where they had an 8 PM reservation. After enjoying an excellent meal, they returned to their hotel to get an early night’s sleep. They wanted to get an early start the next morning. The plan was to arrive in Frankfurt early enough to conduct some surveillance while the offices were still open. The IOHS cell in Frankfurt was situated in the business district, where they maintained a respectable facade. The plan was to launch a blitz attack and exit the city as quickly as possible. Thomas, always on top of his game, had brought several license plates with him; he had a couple of Italian plates, one Swiss plate, and three German plates. Before they left their hotel in the morning, he switched their Italian license plate to one of the German ones.

When they entered Frankfurt, the atmosphere was entirely different; they were here to conduct business. They had their fun in Bologna, now it was time to get to work. Their choice of hotel reflected this change. Thomas had made reservations for The FLAG Oskar M hotel for five days. They had no plans on staying in Frankfurt that long, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

After checking into their hotel, they wended their way to the old business district where the offices of Kuno Bauman were located.

The first thing they noticed was that the streets were busy, so they would have to devise a way to conceal their weapons. A long trench coat would be ideal. Luckily for them, they had planned for this contingency and brought oversized trench coats. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to wear their bulletproof vests. Their trench coats could only cover up just so much. They would have room for their Molle tactical vest with slings for their Heckler and Koch silenced submachine guns, extra clips, their throwing knives, and their assault machetes. That was about all their coats could conceal. Each of the men would have neck gaiters that they would pull up over their noses as soon as they entered the building to conceal their identity. They still planned to follow their mandate, and unless a female presented a threat to them, they were not to be touched. That left the bodyguards and any other cartel members who might present themselves, along with their leader.

neck gaiter

They decided to make their assault around 10 AM, the rush hour would be over, and it would be too early for the lunch crowds. So the traffic and crowds should be at a minimum. Thoms and Devon were mildly surprised that they had been able to work out their plan with such limited surveillance. All their previous engagements had made them that much more efficient. Only time would tell. There was no more to be done, so they drove back to their hotel. They decided to make an early night of it. Because they were going to do something highly illegal in the city, they figured that the less of a footprint they left, the better, so they ordered food to be delivered to their room. Devon and Thomas decided to leave the city immediately after finishing their job and hide in the countryside for a few days, until things cooled off. They would check out via the internet after their 5th day at the hotel was finished, even though they were no longer staying at the hotel, to muddy the waters. On the off-chance that the police would waste valuable time watching the hotel with the expectation that they would return to their room.

Sometimes the best-laid plans of mice and men go awry. Despite making an early night of it so they would be well-rested for the next day, neither of them was able to get a restful sleep. You would think with all of the wet work that they had done in the past, especially Devon, that it would not weigh too heavily on their minds, but it did. The killing just never got any easier, despite the reason for it. Even though the men they were going to kill were evil, they had people who were going to miss them. The fact that these matters bothered them, maybe, there was hope for salvaging their humanity after all.

When they finally woke up in the morning, Thomas and Devon felt very sluggish and certainly not at the top of their game. So they ordered room service with an extra carafe of coffee. After downing five or six cups of coffee and taking ice-cold showers, they both started to feel more human. So as not to draw too much attention to their early departure, they left out the less-used side entrance of the hotel with all of their luggage. This hotel, like most other hotels, used disposable magnetic key cards, so there was no issue with them remotely checking out online at a later date.

When they pulled up to the office building, they dropped in enough coins in the parking meter to allow for two hours of parking. It is always good to give yourself extra time, because you never know what Murphy will have in store for you. Because there was an off-chance that they would come across non-combatants, they had brought plenty of zip ties and rolls of duct tape to cover their mouths. Using duct tape was the quickest and most efficient means of silencing someone. They couldn’t remove it with their tongue like they could a cloth gag; the only way to take it off was by using their hands, which they would not have the use of.

As you can see by the photo above, it doesn’t even take that much tape to do the job.

zip cuffs

Once the office staff, guards and the cells’ top ranking persons were taken care off, Devon and Thomas planned on searching the offices for any data that they could find, so they wore leather backpacks that blended in with their attire.

Just before they entered the office building Devon and Thomas pulled up their waiters over their noses. As soon as they entered the lobby they were accosted by two large bodyguards carrying Beretta 9mm semiautomatic pistols in shoulder holsters. They immediately asked Thomas and Devon what their business was and if they had appointments. When they hesitated with an answer. The guards became hostile and tried to physically throw them out of the building. Thomas and Devon immediately pulled out their silenced H&KS and double-taped them once in the chest the second in the forehead. Even though the guns had silencers the report of the huns was heard by two more bodyguards who came running down the hallway with guns drawn. They were just as quickly dispatched. Meanwhile, the receptionist started screaming. Thomas yelled in German “Die Klappe halten ( shut up.)” When she continued yelling, Devon pulled out a roll of duct tape and slapped a piece across her mouth and took her arms and put them behind her back, and put zip cuffs on her. He then none too gently sat her down on one of the chairs in the lobby.

After subduing the receptionist, Devon and Thomas continued to clear the first floor. As they looked in each room they found two more office staff cowering under their desks. The staff were also gagged and zip-cuffed and left lying under their desks. When the first floor was secured, they went up the service stairwell to the second floor. Devon and Thomas chose the stairs instead of the elevator because they are too easy to become trapped in. On the second floor, three more office staff were secured and gagged. On the third floor, two bodyguards who were guarding a large double door facing the elevator were quickly dispatched. When they tried to open the door it was locked. So Devon took a small shaped charge brought for just such an occasion and placed it over the lock. He set a simple dial-like timer for 5 seconds. He and Thomas stepped back several feet from the doors.

The explosion was small, but the force produced by the charge was more than sufficient to blow the double doors off their hinges. A single bodyguard was standing by a large desk in the center of a large ornately decorated office with a submachine gun pointed directly at them. He immediately opened fire on them. However, he was too late as they were already diving for cover. Once they were out of the line of fire, Devon and Thomas opened fire on the bodyguard. Their H&Ks virtually tore the man in half. The executive remained sitting defiantly in his overstuffed swivel chair.

Thomas said in German “Wie hissen Sie (what is your name)?” He proudly spoke and said, “Mein Name ist Kuno Bauman.” Upon hearing the man’s name, Devon simply fired a short burst at the man, literally shredding him to pieces. Thomas, looked at Devon, and said “You aren’t much for conversation are you?”

Devon and Thomas then did a quick sweep to make sure there weren’t any more people hiding anywhere. Once they were sure that it was safe they grabbed all the material that they could find including Kuno’s laptop. Since their identity was protected by their gaiters, they weren’t too concerned about any security cameras in the office building, so once they had all the material that looked important they just walked out if the building and drove away.

Thomas wanted to put as many miles behind them as possible, so they just drove and drove. It didn’t matter where. Once they were out in the countryside they found an old abandoned barn which they parked behind. The barn provided complete coverage from the road they had been driving on. Once they were secure, they changed out of their clothes and packed their guns away, so that they wouldn’t be visible from any casual observers.

Devon then checked to see where they were and what would be the best route to Dusseldorf. It turns out that they were just outside the small town of Dieburg, Germany. When he did a Google route, they were only 261 km or approximately a 2.5-hour drive away. If they left now they would arrive with plenty of time to do some reconnoitering. Just maybe they would be able to wrap things up tomorrow. Even though they were dog tired the thought of finishing up their assignment so quickly, reinvigorated them.

As Thomas started driving to Dusseldorf, Devon started looking up hotels. He quickly found a likely hotel. B&B Hotel Dusseldorf.

The accommodations were simple, just what they needed. He reserved the hotel for three nights, just in case. At least they had their lodging taken care of. Devon hoped the rest of the day went as smoothly.

Devon and Thomas pulled into Dusseldorf at 2 PM. To speed up the process they went directly to the IOHS offices. The office building was part of the old office district. Instead of the buildings being three stories, these buildings were five stories high. Of course, Kuno Baumann’s office had to be on the 5th floor. The security arrangements were anticipated to be a mirror of the Frankfurt offices, with there being anywhere between eight and twelve bodyguards. As before, the office staff would be restrained and gagged. Only the bodyguards and Kuno were to be terminated. Though there could be additional management present, because it had been rumored that there was going to be a meeting to plan the advancement of IOHS into Asia. So the body count could be much higher.

The first thing that Devon and Thomas noticed there were no parking meters. But there were signs posted for a limit on the time you could park on the street. The limit was two hours. This did not present a problem for Devon and Thomas, because they were shooting for an hour or less to complete phase two.

After spending 1 1/2 hours watching the comings and goings they felt Devon and Thomas felt that they had a good grasp of the routine of the offices, so they drove to their hotel so they could check in. Like in Frankfurt, they had food delivered to their room. As before they made an early night of it. This time the both took 3mg of Melatonin to help them go to sleep.

The Melatonin worked like a charm, because both men slept right through the night. They grabbed a quick bite to eat at the continental breakfast bar before they packed up and went out the side exit to their van. When they finished they were going straight back to Rome.

Devon and Thomas didn’t expect a warm welcome at the Dusseldorf IOSH branch office, and they weren’t disappointed. So instead of even trying to talk to the guards on duty, they let their H&Ks do the talking for them. The three guards were quickly taken out by the submachine guns. They had to tie up the hysterical receptionist just like they did in Frankfurt. Again no surprise there. They found several office personnel on the first two floors, all of which they tied up and gagged with little resistance. They only met one more guard on the second floor, and he was quickly dispatched. All told by the time they reached the fifth floor they took out two more guards and subdued and tied up six more office staff. By the time they reached the fifth floor stairwell they were getting a little tired.

When Devon and Thomas reached the stairwell door opening up to the fifth floor, they used a new toy. This was something that Devon brought with him from his house, something that he hadn’t used in a while and that was a fiber optic scope. He always tried to anticipate every eventuality, so he figured what the hell. Because they weren’t limited by room or weight in the van, it paid to be prepared. A lot of the gear they brought had not been used, like the crossbows, tactical machetes, and throwing knives, and even their night vision goggles. But one thing was for sure, if they hadn’t brought them, they would have been needed.

Devon wasn’t happy with how things were handled on the third floor of the OOSH office building in Frankfurt. He felt that they got lucky. By using the scope to peek under the door, they would at least have an idea of what they were walking into. The layout was somewhat different. Instead of there being a small atrium leading to one set of double doors, there were two sets of doors. More importantly, there were six heavily armed guards standing in front of the doors.

After Devon pulled his scope back and put it in his trench coat pocket, he made a signal to Thomas, indicating that there were six guards. He then took out both of his H&Ks from their holsters and indicated that Thomas do the same. He pointed to the right for Thomas and he motioned to the left for him then held up three fingers for a countdown. He mouthed out one, two three and opened the door, whereupon he immediately started opening fire with both his submachine guns taking out the three on the left, while Thomas opened fire on the three guards on the right. The six guards did not stand a chance.

Devon pulled out his scope to see what was going on in the two rooms. The room to the right was a rather large office and appeared to be empty. Thomas put a shaped charge on that one anyway. The other room appeared to be a large boardroom. There appeared to be two armed guards, standing in front of the doors, and a lot of well-dressed men huddled behind them. Thomas likewise put a shaped charge on the set of doors as well.

Thomas blew the doors to the empty office first, mainly to scare the men in the boardroom, and to make sure that it was empty. What they discovered was that there was a door that also led to the boardroom. So he put a shaped charge on that one as well. He motioned to Devon that he would set off both charges simultaneously, and that he would enter through this door while Devon would enter through the main entrance. This way they would catch the men in a crossfire. They just had to make sure that they didn’t shoot each other.

Devon went out to the hallway to wait for the charges to go off. Because of the increased risk of hitting Thomas, with an errant shell, he decided to just use one H&K at a time. Thomas did likewise. They still had ample firepower to get the job done. He also had to tell himself that even though the rest of the men in the room were mostly unarmed they were some of the most evil individuals on the planet. They were responsible for the deaths of countless innocent women and children, and they were making plans that would cause the deaths of countless more.

When the doors blew open, Devon and Thomas rushed into the boardroom and unleashed he’ll on earth. With 30 seconds there wasn’t a man left standing. Devon then took out one of his Silenced Desert Eagles and put a bullet in each of the men’s brainpan to make sure they were dead.

Meanwhile, Thomas went around and collected all the documents that he could find. As they worked their way down the floors they looked for any documents they could find, including any laptops.

When they were done, Devon and Thomas left the office building, pulling down their neck gaiters so as not to attract any attention. Thomas hopped in the driver’s seat and pulled out of their parking spot, and slowly drove away. Devon pulled up Google Maps to plan out the quickest route back home. He set up the GPS directions for Thomas. They were both anxious to get back home, so they decided to see if, by taking turns driving, they could cover the distance in one day.

While Thomas was driving, Devon decided to review all the documents they had collected from both office buildings. While many of the papers were in German and would have to wait for either Thomas to read them or until they returned to the Vatican, there were several documents in English, as well as a few written in Italian. As Devon skimmed through the papers, he discovered that a name familiar to him kept appearing. That name was Cardinal Petronella Arcuri Trevisani. Why was that name showing up? The more he read, the clearer it became. A few years ago, a relative of the Cardinal needed a heart transplant. Due to his advanced age, he was near the bottom of the list. It soon became apparent that his brother would most likely die before he received the heart, so the Cardinal pulled some strings and found a way to circumvent the system to get a heart for his brother. He never stopped to think where or how his brother got the heart. Now that his brother was healthy, he began to receive letters and phone calls requesting favors. Before he knew it, he was in over his head with the IOHS cartel. Once you are in this cartel, there is only one way to get out, and it isn’t pretty.