The Final Report

Stormwind City, 11:00 in the evening

Lord Warten nodded to one of his operatives as the man finished his report. The evening had been a hurried preparation for the mission that Rosellina was engaged in. Although Rosellina would be taking a group of operatives into the Falconoak Estate directly, Lord Warten wanted to make sure that there were backup elements in place to respond to any sudden emergencies. He'd spent the last few hours preparing an SI:7 ranger force to move at a moment's notice.

An operative cleared his throat behind Lord Warten and he turned to see what the issue was. The operative immediately saluted and launched into his report, “Sir! There appears to be something happening with House Falconoak. About two minutes ago a group of armed men left the premises escorting a wagon. They were heading towards the harbor district. Our other operatives also spotted some more of their men guarding a warehouse in that area.”

Lord Warten's eyebrows shot up at the news; it was a bad sign to find out that a potential enemy might be maneuvering only an hour before a strike. After giving it only a few moments of thought Lord Warten nodded and issued his orders, “Round up our men here. We're going to shadow that convoy to the warehouse. Sounds like they're moving another shipment out and we don't want it to slip past us while Agent Cooke is working her end of the job.”

The SI:7 operative saluted and then turned to start giving out commands, leaving Lord Warten by himself for a moment.

“I don't like the way this is going already Rose...be careful out there,” he said to no one in particular.

*******************************

House Falconoak Estate, 11:30 in the evening

Rosellina pushed the gates and they opened before her. She looked back at the other SI:7 operatives and nodded. They were dressed in House Lightston colors in order to disguise their true identities. Rosellina herself had much of her standard combat equipment on, including her dual rapiers, poisons, and a variety of throwing knives. She knew that Lord Falconoak wouldn't question her choice of attire given what they were supposed to be doing, and it set her at ease to have her equipment in place.

She stealthily made her way across House Falconoak's manicured lawns, her men following along closely behind her. As they approached the main structure, she paused near a set of double doors that were connected to the building's cellar. She knocked very lightly, two raps of her knuckles followed by a pause and two more raps. The signal was repeated from inside and the doors opened, House Falconoak men letting Rosellina and her squad inside. These were the men hand picked by Lord Falconoak to assist her in the mission, and she nodded a greeting to them before setting out with the entire group down the long corridors that ran beneath the main floor of the estate.

If things went as planned, Lady Falconoak would never know that Rosellina and her men were there to capture her until it was too late, and the weapons would be seized before they could get to the enemy.

**********************************

Stormwind Harbor, 11:50 in the evening.

Lord Warten didn't like what he was seeing one bit. The warehouse that his operatives had lead him to was heavily guarded, with men patrolling up and down every alley and walkway in the neighboring community. The structure itself was typical of any shipping company, with a large door on wheels that could be rolled out to allow for cargo to come in and out by wagon and a man-door near the front of the structure.

He watched from a position just up the block as his operatives prepared to make their move. The building itself had guards near the man door, and not minutes before the main cargo door had been opened to allow the wagon entrance and then rolled back into place. Although there were a lot of enemies there, Lord Warten was fairly confident they would fail to stop his men; they weren't trained SI:7 agents after all.

No sooner had he thought that then the raid began. It was perfectly quiet when it happened. The two armed swordsmen guarding the door simply crumpled, the poisoned arrows hitting each perfectly in the neck and making no sound. Less than a second later cloaked figures appeared, quickly picking the lock on the door as more SI:7 agents took out the guards patrolling the streets parallel to the structure.

Lord Warten rose, signaling to the squad he had with him and hurrying down the block, heading for the cargo door. Although they were making a fairly decent amount of noise running across the cobblestones, the time for stealth had ended as the agents near the man-door forced their way inside.

As the structure loomed closer, Lord Warten and his men made no effort to slow their pace, heading right for the closed cargo door. At precisely the right moment it began to open as his infiltrators forced the door, allowing the SI:7 rangers with him access to the front of the building. They plunged into the darker interior, blades drawn and quickly engaging the armed men inside who made no attempt to surrender even when the agents identified themselves.

It was over in seconds, the extremely deadly SI:7 rangers taking out the armed thugs and clearing the inside of the large warehouse. A few lit torches, illuminating the inside of the structure and the wagon sitting in the center of the open space. Lord Warten walked towards it, blade in hand, prepared for anything. He reached the back of the wagon and jerked the curtain aside, a gasp escaping him as he found something he was totally unprepared for.

There were no weapons in the wagon. Instead it contained a chair with a woman tied to it. The woman's face was battered and bruised and one of her eyes was nearly swollen shut. Lord Warten quickly set his blade down and climbed inside, soothing the woman as she mewled through the gag that was in her mouth.

“There there, it's okay, we're the King's men Ma'am,” he said, gently removing the gag.

As soon as it came free the woman cried out, “Oh thank the Light you've found me! Y-you have to stop him before it's too late! He's sent weapons to the tram! He's going to smuggle them out through Menethil harbor. You have to stop them, there are Sha-touched artifacts in the shipment! H-he's selling them to the orcs!”

Lord Warten felt his stomach drop as the woman spoke, the situation quickly spiraling out of control, “W-who are you miss?”

The woman spit a glob of blood on the floor, hanging her head for a moment in exhaustion, her voice low, “I-I'm the Lady Elizabeth Falconoak, and my bastard of a husband did this to me. He said he didn't need me anymore. Said he's going to kill me tonight and make it look like some jealous mistress did it from another House. Please, I'll be alright sir, you have to stop those weapons!”

Lord Warten reeled back as if he'd been slapped. He turned and jumped from the wagon, barking orders, “Untie her at once. You and you secure the rest of this warehouse. We need to get to the tram entrance immediately. We can't let them get those weapons into Ironforge. The dwarves don't know what's going on and won't stop the shipment. It'll be too late!”

One of the SI:7 operatives paused, turning to look at him, “Sir, what about Agent Cooke and the operation at Falconoak Estate?”

Lord Gregory Warten paused, the lump in his throat hard to swallow as he made one of the most difficult decisions he'd had to make in many years. His voice was solemn as he replied, a hint of sorrow in the tone, “Agent Cooke and her men are expended. We can't get to the estate in time and stop the shipment. I wish to the Light there were more of us here, but we've no time.”

“I understand sir, we'll move at once,” the operative replied. Lord Warten was glad that he turned away so quickly, so he wouldn't see the moisture that had suddenly built in his eyes despite himself.

****************************************

Falconoak Estate, 12 midnight, lower cellar tunnels

“We're almost there,” Rosellina said to the men behind her. “The door's up ahead. Everyone draw your weapons and prepare for the attack.”

They'd been moving into position quietly for the past half hour, careful not to draw attention from House Falconoak's guards. After the days she'd spent with Lord Falconoak, Rosellina was familiar enough with the estate to guide her squad and the loyal Falconoak men that Zack had lent her into position.

She paused in the darkness as the men behind her drew weapons, mentally counting down the time. Her countdown was interrupted by the soft sounds of metal plunging into flesh and the grunt of men being wounded. She went to turn to see what was going on when a strong arm wrapped around her torso and a naked blade was pressed to her throat roughly.

“Hold very still Lady Lightston, or I'll slit your throat,” the voice said. In a panic, Rosellina realized it was one of the Falconoak men with her. Behind him the rest of the treacherous men had slain Rosellina's SI:7 operatives, cutting them down from behind with their treachery. Those few who still drew breath on the ground were quickly executed by the traitors.

“I-I don't understand...” Rosellina said quietly.

“Shut up Lady Lightston,” the man replied. Rosellina felt his hands relieving her of her swords before a sack was roughly shoved over her head and darkness plunged down around her. It was followed with a blow to her stomach and a kick to the back of the knees that sent her falling to the rough stones of the corridor.

In the darkness, Rosellina could feel every kick as the men brutally began to beat her.

************************************

Stormwind, Tram Entrance, 12:15 in the morning

The men driving the wagon never expected an SI:7 ranger team to halt them. They didn't even put up much of a fight as the rangers blocked their path and came out of the buildings surrounding the tram entrance. Lord Warten walked amongst them as the SI:7 operatives tied the wagon drivers up and relieved the guards of their blades. The men were a rough group that looked as if they had been hand picked from the worst of Stormwind's criminal cartels...likely hand-picked for their ugliness if he had to guess.

He pushed past them, reaching up and yanking a tarp off of one of the wagons. Under the tarp were dozens of flat crates just like the ones Rosellina had reported on the Falconoak ship. He didn't even need to open the crates to know that they were filled with weapons. There were a few that had odd shapes though, and he took a knife out and pulled up the cover off of one of them, peering inside.

There were daggers in the case, each of them plunged point first into a strangely pulsing orb that sat in the center of the box. The magic emanating from the orb made Lord Warten sick to his stomach just to look at it, and he quickly pulled his head back, spitting on the paving stones.

“She wasn't lying. There are magical weapons in here,” he said quietly. “If we hadn't stopped these wagons...they'd be in orcs hands within a few days. So many Alliance operatives and rebels could have been killed.”

The SI:7 rangers roughly pushed the prisoners into a waiting wagon. They'd be taken off for interrogation and processed. The weapons were quickly seized and moved to one of Stormwind's armories where they could be evaluated for any threats.

It took roughly thirty minutes to seize the weapons and prepare them for delivery to the armory. More time than Lord Warten knew they'd had. He shook his head sadly when they were finished, summoning one of his operatives over.

“Get the Stormwind guards,” he said quietly. “We're going to get Agent Cooke out, dead or alive. I don't care if we have to hack through Falconoak's body directly to do it.”

“Understood sir,” the operative said before turning and barking orders.

Minutes later a squad of SI:7 rangers backed by Stormwind Guards began to run towards a distant part of the city.

********************************

Falconoak Estate, Early Morning

The door to the small room banged open and Lord Zackery Falconoak walked in. Rosellina lifted her head, looking at him through puffy eyes. Her face was battered and bruised and her body ached. She was tied to a chair in the middle of what looked to be almost a closet.

“Ah Lady Lightston, so glad that you decided to play along with my little scheme,” Lord Falconoak said. He walked towards her, reaching out to cup her chin and tilt her head up, looking into her eyes. “I am sorry that our fun is over however, or rather, your fun. I may have a little more before we finish with you.”

For a moment Rosellina couldn't respond, emotions raging through her along with the pain. When she finally spoke, it was a croak and barely heard, “Why?”

“Why? Because there is profit to be made my dear,” Lord Falconoak replied. He smiled at her, leaning close so that his voice would not carry beyond the room they were in. “Did you ever look closely at me deary? Take a good look.”

He brushed his long blonde hair aside and she peered at him questioningly for a moment. He ran his fingers across his ears, his rather unusually shaped, almost pointed ears. Her eyes widened as he smiled.

“That's right! Elven blood my dear! And when the Sin'dorei who are my distant relatives receive their weapons, I'll have a place in lovely Quel'thalas I am sure. And you, well you my poor dear will be dead, branded a murderess for killing my poor poor wife. I don't know why you had to go and do that,” he smirked.

“You'll never get away with this,” Rosellina said defiantly. “The King will learn of your treachery one way or another.”

Lord Falconoak turned and slapped her across the face, causing her head to rock to one side. He slapped her again, and again after that, almost enjoying the sound of his hand hitting her flesh. When he was done, her lip was split and blood ran down her chin. He smirked at her, shaking his head, “I think not Lady Lightston. Enjoy your time here. I'm going to dine and then perhaps partake of the joy of questioning you for a while before I put an end to you.”

With that he turned and walked out of the room, two guards closing the door behind him and leaving Rosellina alone in the room to think.

He'd betrayed her. All along he had been playing her as she had been playing him, a game within a game. He had no idea who she was of course, but given his bent for inflicting pain it seemed obvious that he would attempt to torture her and learn whatever secrets he could from her over her screaming. Rosellina's head slumped as she thought about the situation, her tongue playing with the false tooth in her mouth, the one containing deadly poison that every operative carried as a last resort.

He'll learn of SI:7's operation if he questions me. I have no delusions as to how long I will last. I can't believe that bastard did this. He killed my men, he tricked me all this time. And now I'm going to die.

It was inevitable. Whether she took the poison now, or died under his torture, she was going to die. Her life was forfeit. Her regret was not that her life would end now, on her first assignment, but that she had not really finished it. That her duty was not complete. The monster who clearly was orchestrating arms deliveries to the Kor'kron was sitting in a room in that very estate, drinking his wine and laughing over his food at his success.

Either way, I am dead now. I have to use the poison before he questions me. I can't let him learn any secrets.

Sorrow set in; the feeling sinking deep within her. It was hard to face death; in fact, she was more afraid than she'd ever been in her entire life. Her body quivered with the thought of it, knowing that in a few minutes she would be gone, that her breath would leave her body for the last time. She whimpered once, letting the fear flow through her, letting her mind accept that she was going to die.

There is more than one way to die.

The thought stuck with her, refusing to let go. Loyalty to the King was what she was raised on, what she was trained for. Every fiber of her being protested at dying without a fight, without at least trying, without giving it her very best. His Majesty deserved that from His agents. It too was her duty.

I'll have two minutes before they overwhelm me. Two minutes to finish this.

Rosellina took a deep breath, closing her eyes and calming herself. She felt a drop of her blood drip from her chin to the floor in front of her, her thoughts locking into one and only one train of thought.

Two minutes Rose. Go. Now.

She lurched her body upwards as far as her restraints would allow her, bringing herself backwards at an angle, her body's weight applying pressure to the back legs of the chair she was tied to at a perpendicular angle. The wooden furniture shuddered with a bang and she jumped again, landing on it at the same angle. The third time she did it, the wooden joints holding the legs in place splintered, the chair falling to ruin beneath her.

It hurt when she landed on her arms like that, her weight and the broken wood wrenching her shoulders, but it didn't matter; the chair was broken, her bonds loosened. She stood, shaking off the ropes and grabbing one of the splintered chair legs in her hands as the door to the cell banged open.

The guard ran into the room, rapier held in front of him. She dodged as he swung in a clumsy arc, not expecting the prisoner to be standing. She swung the chair leg, the broken end slamming into his neck and driving the nails that had held the chair together deep into the flesh. Before he could even fully drop his sword and stagger away from her she had snatched his weapon up, darting through the door beyond the cell and stabbing his companion through the heart with the rapier's tip. She paused to snatch up the weapons they'd taken from her that were sitting in the next room, darting out the second door into the hallway.

One minute and forty-five seconds Rose. He's in the dining room. Go to the right and up the hall.

Rosellina ran like she had never run in her entire life, the sounds of shouting coming behind her as the murdered guards were discovered. She grimly pressed on, saying nothing as she passed servants and other House staff at full speed.

*********************************

Falconoak Estate, one minute and thirty seconds later.

To say that Lord Falconoak was surprised when his dining room doors were kicked in was an understatement. The utter shock on his face was only added to when Rosellina ran into the room, swords in hands. The lithe woman turned and slashed open the throat of one of the guards near the door before parrying a blow from the second guard and stabbing him through the heart with the tip of a rapier.

Lord Falconoak rose from his chair at the end of the long table that occupied the center of the dining hall, his voice echoing through the room, “Lady Lightston! I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish, but this will not end well for you!”

Rosellina said nothing, dashing towards the table and parrying another blow from one of the three remaining guards in the room. She could hear shouting in the hallways beyond the dining hall, and knew her time was almost up before House Falconoak's men rushed her from all sides.

Fifteen seconds Rose. Finish it now. For your King.

Her swords came up, the sound of metal striking metal loud in the room as she parried two blows. She slashed the throat of another of the guards, darting here and there amongst them with a display of swordsmanship that the real Lady Lightston would never have been able to pull off. Lord Falconoak stared with wide eyes as the frenzied woman jumped up onto the table, slashing another guard in the throat and kicking over a candle holder. The candles landed on one of the silken place settings, catching it on fire and causing flames to begin to roar across the table.

“Give up Bernice! This unseemly display only makes your position worse!” Lord Falconoak shouted as the flames erupted in front of him.

Rosellina parried another blow, turning to see three more guards running into the room. Knowing she was out of time, she took a drastic move. She turned towards Lord Falconoak, allowing one of the guard's foils to pierce her left arm, dropping the sword in her right hand at the same time.

The pain was intense as the blade passed through her flesh, but she didn't have time to worry about that, didn't have time to focus on it. Her left arm slumped uselessly beside her while her free right hand darted to her belt, whipping out a throwing knife and hurling it across the room, her voice following it, “My name is Rose.”

The blade tumbled end over end, and for a brief moment Rosellina could see her own reflection in the blade's edge, her battered face surrounded by the glow of flames. Time seemed to slow for just a second as the weapon flew its course, everyone in the room watching its progress. It tumbled one more time and then neatly ended its flight point first in Lord Zackery Falconoak's eye. He died before he even knew what happened, his corpse tumbling backwards into the chair behind him and staring blindly up at the ceiling.

Don't give up Rose. Don't you give up. For the King!

Rosellina forced her aching, wounded body forward, hurling herself into the wall of flames that made up the table in front of her. The heat singed her clothing but she ignored it, taking her remaining rapier from her useless left hand with her right and bringing it up, stabbing the first guard to follow her through the flames in the heart. She flicked the point down, using the blade to snag one of the flaming place-mats and flipping it up into the face of the next man to jump at her, the flaming cloth wrapping around his face and making him scream and windmill his arms. She cut him down, stepping over his corpse and hopping from the table.

In the doorway, three guards paused, eyes wide as they saw the bodies all over the room, the flames already licking up the sides of the walls and the tapestries hanging there. Rosellina walked towards them, blood running down her left arm and her face an expressionless mask. One of the guards hesitated, his blade lowering. After a moment he tossed it down and ran, his morale broken. The other two quickly followed suit, fleeing for their lives.

Rosellina Cooke walked after them, stalking them through the burning estate.

**********************************************

Lord Warten and his men forced the gate to the Falconoak Estate open, running up to the main entrance and skidding to a halt, their faces showing looks of disbelief. Guards and servants streamed from the front of the house, the center of the building behind them already fully engulfed in flames. As the House Falconoak guards saw the Stormwind Guards and Lord Warten, they threw down their weapons and raised their hands in surrender, not wanting any part of a battle.

As the SI:7 agents with Lord Warten began to round up key prisoners for interrogation, one last figure stumbled from the flaming doorway.

Rosellina Cooke stood on the front steps of Falconoak Estate, weaving in place, her left arm completely drenched in blood and her clothing covered in soot. In her right hand was a dented and bloody rapier, the weapon obviously having seen much use in the last few minutes.

Her eyes focused on Lord Warten and she smiled once, her voice a mere whisper and unheard over the roar of the flames behind her and the wailing of the men on the front lawn of the estate, “I told you that you could trust me sir.”

With that Rosellina's brown eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted dead away. Her rapier landed first with a clatter followed by the soft thud of her body. She lay on the marble steps for only a moment before Lord Warten ran over and scooped her up, carrying her from the burning ruins of the enemy's estate.

“We need a healer! RIGHT NOW!” he shouted, rushing her through the crowd. He'd carry her to the cathedral himself if need be. The girl had pulled off her mission despite all odds, and he'd be damned if she didn't make it because he was too slow. All the while as he ran, a feeling of fatherly pride flowed through him. He had never been as proud of an agent as he was in that moment.

The mission was complete, but Rosellina Cooke's career had only just started.