𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 [𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐎𝐩𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] — 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎: ❝ 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 ❞
READ HERE | RATING: M
SUMMARY [SEE AO3 TAGS FOR CONTENT WARNINGS]
During the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, CIA field officers Alex Mason, Frank Woods, Russell Adler, and Joseph Bowman were tasked with assassinating Castro as part of a team codenamed Operation 40. Instead, they found a body double and intelligence reports speaking of a mysterious Soviet operative trying to split off from the KGB. During their escape, Mason would sacrifice himself to ensure the others could get away, falling into the hands of rogue operatives reporting to the enigmatic man that would come to be known as 'Perseus'.
Two years later, he manages escape from the Vorkuta prison camp and return to the States, only to be plagued with near constant migraines, seizures, hallucinations, blackouts, and numbers he can't stop hearing.
As tensions rise in Vietnam and his life falls apart back home, Mason is assigned to a MACV-SOG team to track down Soviet operatives and suspected collaborators of Perseus aiding the Viet Cong. He and the CIA are working to prevent the Cold War from heating up, the KGB is hunting down loose ends, and Perseus is laying the groundwork for his plans. Unbeknownst to Mason, he's become Perseus' greatest weapon against his own country. And the key to saving it.
CATEGORIES: M/F, Gen
PAIRINGS: Alex Mason/Original Female Character(s), Russell Adler/Original Female Character(s), Grigori Weaver/Original Female Character(s)
WORD COUNT: 10.6k
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Back in DC, Woods, Bowman, and Adler deal with the aftermath of the failed invasion and assassination attempt and suspect there's more than meets the eye.
Mason arrives in Russia and experiences a taste of his new reality.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the attack and the newfound deal between Castro and the Soviet Union, Svetlana—better known in the States as Claire—receives permission from her handler to move forward on her plan to infiltrate the CIA, and Adler confronts his superiors on their secrecy in response to the matter of "Perseus."
CHAPTER PREVIEW
“Misha tells me you’ve been scheming,” Kyrill said, quickly getting to the point. Claire looked over at him while he kept his head level and his gaze straight ahead while he puffed on his cigarette. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Please, Sveta, close your mouth. It’s uncouth.” She obeyed, burying her shock beneath a blank expression as he went on. “I receive reports on all of you. I asked him to elaborate on some recent activity, he confessed. Something about the loss of two of your informants a few months ago.” “It’s nothing,” Claire said, turning away from him again. “I’ve just been…considering additional options.” “So you've considered infiltrating the CIA?” Kyrill asked. “That’s bold. Especially for you.” “And putting the dirty work in others’ hands requires far more risk,” Claire explained, trying to keep the defensive edge that was bubbling to the surface. If there was one thing she could do, it was argue. And she could do it without resorting to shouting. “Suppose they interrogate them next time, or someone gets sloppy and fails to cover their tracks. Everything we’ve been working for would be for nothing.” “Although this is the last thing I ever wanted to admit, I agree with you,” Kyrill said with audible reluctance and a tick in his jaw.
