//------------------------------//
// A Spy's Choice (part 3) 
// Story: Warfare: Cogs of the War Machine 
// by Im a B O X 
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“W-where am I?” Shiv spoke as he groaned in pain, it helps like every piece of flesh in his body was burning, a sensation similar to alcohol, he still felt very dizzy. Noticing that he was alone in a room, the only light source being a singular light bulb in the middle of the ceiling, ‘typical,’ he thought, but before he could speak up again, a muffled voice was faintly heard.

“-ERE’Z REZNOV!” The voice shouted, impatience clearly evident with each passing second. But before another word could be heard, what appeared to be slid doors opened into the room, revealing two humans walking in.

“Hey, hey now, calm down lad, he’ll show up eventually.” One of the humans said, but then, Shiv was unsure if he recognized the voice.

“Jean?” Shiv asked, doubt and fear creeping up his voice, hoping that he was wrong in all sense of the manner.

The two humans now looked at the now awake Shiv, “Now look what you’ve done, Johann, you woke up the lad, now we won’t get our ‘Grand Entrance’ for the record.” 

“Zat von’t matter, za vork e laid out is yet to be ripened aftzer all, ve don’t want Viktor getting blood on za vall.” The one referred to Johann said with a heavy German accent, as he pointed a finger towards Shiv.

Like any sane being, this greatly tipped Shiv, although he didn’t necessarily fear death, he’d still rather get a quick one, but it appears as though that’s likely not going to happen. Realizing that he’s strapped on some sort of bed, with his hooves chained in place, Shiv began to run down the procedure’s and scenarios that would likely occur, none, if any, of them going better after broken bones, worse case, they just keep him half dead, death likely won’t be an option, at least he thought. Real unfortunately for him, he forgot to place a cyanide pill before he took his first flight, only now did he regret not planning earlier during his stay.

“Now,” Johann began as he drew what appeared to be a Luger p08, a pistol of a bygone era, and pointed it directly at Shiv’s forehead, “Vat to do?”

Tensions of the air started to build up, but then in an anticlimactic manner, a new voice suddenly came in, “What is going in in herrre?” the voice asked in a Russian accent.

“Ah, Viktor, didn’t expect you to show up early, I assume the Frenchy will join us shortly?” Thomas said as he turned to greet the Russian that had entered the room.

“Nyet,” the Russian said, “had paperwork waiting, won’t kome back for some time.” He said as he too approached to join the first two in what was about to happen.

Johann, who was still pointing the pistol onto Shiv’s forehead, slowly turned around to face the new person who had just entered the room, “Didn’t exbect to zee zee Ruzian vizout zee Frenchy, put I azume he voud have bapervork, ja?” Receiving a nod from the Russian, he withdrew his pistol and stared at him for a few moments.

“What do you want from me!?” Shiv busted out, speaking so suddenly it surprised everyone in the room, even himself, but given a few moments and as the silence dragged on, he received his response soon after.

“Don’t worry now, lad,” Thomas said as he approached Shiv, reaching for something in his pocket, appearing to be a pen and a small sheet of paper, “We only need to ask you one question, everything that will follow after that will be related in more than one-way.”

“And what if I don’t want to comply?” Shiv asked, raising his voice to make himself look a bit more intimidating, “After all, all you probably want to know is about Equestria, and I’ll tell you to know, I got nothin’ worth your time.”

Just then a soft ringing was heard, promptly answered by Johann with an earpiece, “Shiza,” He instinctively said as he started to make his way and leave the room.

“Shoots fired?” Thomas asked.

“Ja.” Johann replied as he exited the room and made a dash to who knows where. Recognizing what that meant, the other two didn’t stop him from leaving, instead, they resumed the matter at hand. 

Now left with only two people to guard Shiv, the Russian began to speak, “So, I believe little comrade here has heard of proposition?” He asked.

‘Comrade? Preposition? What the fuck!?’ Shiv thought as the Brit responded to the question.  

“No, not yet,” He said, a hint of hesitation, “But with a potential breach like this one, I think it is best we speak with him now instead of the planned transfer back to Russia, agreed?” To which he received a nod from the Russian. 

“Alright, now, let us begin,” He said, as he made his way back in front of Shiv, followed by the other and soon, “as I said earlier, I will only ask you one question, and that is ‘how much do you know?’”

Taking a moment to observe Thomas, Shiv weighed his decisions, he didn’t spot any machines to accompany them. The room was mostly empty, with him being chained up being the near only difference, sure it’s more than likely there are cameras and microphones, but for the most part, the room was simple, too simple for this simple question, he decided to play it cheeky.

“I know something’s, yes, but as I said, I got nothing of relevance to you or your goals.” He stated blandly, making a stand, he knew he’d probably die this way, but he had tricks up his metaphorical sleeves.

“Well, you see-” Thomas began but was immediately interrupted by Viktor.

“We have proposition for pony,” He boomed, looking much more intimidating than what Shiv had expected, “One that we expect pony to accept.”

“And that preposition would to simply relate to ‘Project: J.G.W.’ and, some other matter, which could wait.” Thomas followed suit.

Thinking for a moment, Shiv thought if they were actually serious, he could bluff and say there are more who know, which would only double the efforts, he could tell them that Equestria already knew which would just get him killed or something, and if he told them that he was the only one that knew, that would mean that he would become something bigger and of worth, one that they could possibly not afford to return to Equestria. All in all, if he bluffed, he would likely just end up as another scapegoat or his actions would be overruled by some common soldier, whereas if he would betray Equestria, he could guarantee some form of protection from them.

“Hmm…”  Shiv thought for a moment, “What’s in it for me?” He asked, he knew humans are capable of many things, but just how far the question he was asking is.

“I think comrade is asking wrong question,” Viktor said as he drew closer to Shiv, “I think you should be asking, ‘what is it for Equestria?’”

“What do you mean?” Shiv asked, “Equestria is clearly not what you asked for, and I hold the chips for the information you want.” He said with pure unadulterated confidence, he thought he had them.

“I think you misinterpret us,” Thomas said, as he opened a folded paper from his pocket and showed it to Shiv, “What are you to Equestria?” He said as he whispered it to one of his ears, “And what is to become of Equestria?”

“W-what do you mean?” Shiv asked, visibly becoming uncomfortable with where the questions are leading, he was a quick learner and he knew what they were trying to say.

“Don’t play coy with us,” Thomas said, his patience being tested once more, “You know exactly what we’re talking about, the war is in its closing phase, all the information you have gathered will lead to that one point, in one way or another.” He said with a serious tone.

Slowly, the realization started too slowly to sink into Shiv, an act of mercy obscured and layered under the coat of a professional, at least he hoped it was, “N-no…” he said softly, “T-the war isn’t lost,” he said as he looked up, dread finally making itself apparent in his face, “Equestria could still win…”

Receiving silence, once he looked at the two other people in the room, they only wore the mask that showed only seriousness, a hint of sympathy in their eyes as they watched him swallow in the realization.

“The war is lost for Equestria, there is no changing that fact,” Thomas said, a somber tone as if he was comforting a child who had just lost his favorite toy, “and Project J.G.W. will cement that fate.” He finished as he stood up.

“We will give pony time, we will return,” Viktor said as he stood up and made his way to leave the room.

“Agreed,” He said as he turned to follow the same motion, “and if it isn’t clear enough, our offer is a show of mercy, should you accept it, you will be absolved of your crimes relating to the ESS, with other benefits to discussed, until later lad.” He finished as he exited the room, closing the door behind him, leaving the stallion alone with himself to think.

As for Sneaky Shiv, although it may seem like solitary confinement had he been left earlier, now, the silence allowed him to take in the information, only now did he rethink the full scope of project JGW, the project that would end the war, a secret weapon that Equestria had expected to never expect. Looking back, Shiv scanned through his memories, memories of lessons he took from human history, and he saw something, he saw the pattern of power, the path of hate, the cost of war, but like what Equestrian lessons had thought him before the war, he look beyond the actions of one and into their soul, he saw Humanity always had reasons, and even more terrifyingly, he saw Equestria, not in the lenses of a pony, but from the perspective of an outsider, it was… unrealistic, mythical even, how a nation like Equestria was near perfect and could exist because they had a god on their side, only now did he see how fortunate Equestria is to have a physical pony for their religion, someone who could put their belief in and see the fruits of their beliefs. 

Only now did he see, the war was coming to an end, it will only be a matter of time, and if he returned to Equestria, only for his nation to fall in the end, well, the only moral direction will prevent someone from making the wrong or right choice, and for Shiv, risking his life for a lost cause, one that might even bring more harm than what might be intended, he had a final thought, he was risking his life for a nation born out of supposed perfection and undying goodwill that was now fighting a world that had to fight against everything that was imperfect, a world of near perfection facing a world that had to fight its imperfections. 



More than four hours later, and Shiv was near adamant in his decision, he contemplated mostly if he could be guaranteed safety by humanity rather than the consequences of being a traitor to Equestria, the war was nearing its end, and he’d rather surrender now to an enemy how has a chance on sending to somewhere better than a labor camp, after all, recognizing the truth that the information he has would likely only drag the war further, still producing the same result, it was clear to him that some precautions on this new path must be taken, and right now, he was being taken to another room, one that he hopped has a bit more pleasant for discussion. 

Being escorted to another room, flanked by two other humans with full gear, most likely prototype phase gear from what Shiv could tell, it was simply amazing, how they were able to create something likely as complex as that in probably less than a year of planning, heck, he would even bet that this was one of those ‘top secret’ projects that were being worked on. Approaching a door, the two guards simply swung it open as they stood guard outside, Shiv promptly entered the room. In the room, he saw three people waiting for him, expecting him to have a final decision, he had one, no doubt, although he had some arrangements he would like to set first.

Stepping up in front of the three figures, as he did so, one of them spoke up, “Zo, ve azume zat vu haffe conzitered our offer, ja?”

Giving a nod to who he assumed to be the German it was, Shiv could see a chair that was large enough for him to lay or sit upon, which he promptly took.

“I believe we haven’t introduced ourselves properly yet, so, I was thinking that it wouldn’t be too much to inquire you three about it…” Shiv was sure his request was going to be denied by all three, now way in Celestia’s name would they even consider sharing that kind of info, but better try than never.

The three figures, who really are just the agents he met last time, looked towards each other, but to Shiv’s unexpected turn, they seemed to agree to the request.

“I guess we have been too uptight for the past three days, so I guess we could refrain from speaking professionally, and a small introduction is overdue, I myself am, Thomas Hartford, second son of Toby Hartford, and a current spokesperson for the United Kingdom.” He said as he performed a simple bow, but after he finished, he pointed to his left and was followed by Johann.

“Johann, Johann Schmidt, former Hadffizor for zee Chancellor of Germany, currently head for zee Pank of Eurobe, or at least vat’s left of it…” He finished and was immediately followed by Viktor. 

“Viktor Reznov, former advisor to the President of Russia, currently overseeing a rehabilitation operation in Japan, amongst other things…” 

Taking a moment to take in their names, Shiv responded in kind, “Shiv, Sneaky Shiv, ESS agent for the Equestrian crown stationed in North America, I was supposed to return to Equestria to deliver an important message I did not wish to be compromised, believing I had the skill and capabilities to do so, certain things took to turn for a different direction.” He said so with a hint of pride in his voice.

“Make that former ESS agent, Shiv.” Viktor said with a smile, he had believed that the moment Shiv entered the room, there was no doubt in his mind the Shiv had made a decision, one that all three of them had expected this to various degrees.

“We knew,” Thomas said calmly, a smirk forming thanks to Viktor’s prediction being right, which was a surprise considering ESS agents were some of the most delusional beings he had encountered, even to the point that he would rather have a member of the Gestapo from 1944 be his guest, no ill will, but that’s what you get from assumptions after all, “and we believe you have questions that you’d like to ask, yes?”

“Indeed,” Shiv said, his thought process already making and taking a new route of possibilities for the situation, “but first, just to make sure I have the records right, Johann and Viktor are labeled… MIA, or was it KIA?” Assuming that the information was just twisted a tad bit for protection purposes, he figured they were actually dead to most of the word, considering their previous position, a cover-up story that won’t seem too far-fetched is possible, “actually, I’d like to ask only one thing, if I were to comply with you people, I would be guaranteed safety, correct?”

“Indeed,” Thomas responded.

“And how will you do that?” Shiv asked, if his guess was correct, they would take him to an isolated or secure place far as possible from Equestria or better yet, fake his death.

“Fake death, I’m sure comrade pony will understand.” Viktor clarified, reaching for what appears to be files that Shiv would need to answer or sign.

Reaching in turn for the file, Shiv began to read it, he read it from the title page to the final page, every single bit of it, word for word. And surprisingly, he found it unexpected how these three had managed to give him plenty of room to make changes while also underlining what couldn’t be changed, the important bits he assumed for the most part.

“Is… this all I have to do?” Shiv asked, what was asked for him was pretty simple, and in return, he would essentially have a new life after the war with the winning side, “W-well, this is unexpectedly simple, I think I could follow through with the request, and just to make sure, I will get a new life if I comply, right?” 

“Ja,” Johann said, “Und all zat ve need are names, zoze bart of zee ESS und zee Hinformazion zat zey currently haffe, at least for zee most bart...”

“Well…” Shiv trailed off, although the ESS would give him a mouthful on why he should remain ‘honorable,’ but would he really give in to being honorable at the cost of winning? Of course, he wouldn’t, this was war, not a duel, and the moment he began to write on that very paper, he had sold everything he had in Equestria for a life beyond the war, which wasn’t much, to think about tomorrow while he still could.

All the while, the three agents could really only watch as Shiv wrote on the paper, they all remained silent because, at that very moment, they knew they stole Equestria’s only chance to plan and prepare for one of the most important moments in history, a history that was to be repeated, the moment when the tides of war changed. All that was needed to be done was to make sure it remained in obscurity, a fact remaining as an opinion for as long as possible to protect more. Each agent was in their own thought process as Shiv wrote, but they all thought about history, from the fall of Rome to the first and last time a nuclear warhead was used in war, it had been nearly a century-long since the first two World Wars up to that point, and the leap that humanity had made in less than ten years was a testament to its innovation compared to the last century that was. They only wished Jean was here to see what his part had to lead up to, but, there is still work to be done, and war, like many other things, would have many reasons to persist in an imperfect world. 

And fortunately for their cause, it would be too late for Equestria once this knowledge would be known, for it would only be when Equestria finally realizes the shifting tides, with one of their most beloved and important figure's being washed away with it.

 “As it had been said before, ‘if a god could bleed, those who believed will cease in their belief in him… and there will be blood to be spilled in the waters, and where there's blood, the sharks will come.’”