*OPS: The Phantom Sniper Deception

The following covert operation may or may not describe actual events. Places, names, timelines and other details may have been modified, omitted or added in part or as a whole if inspired by events and actions that may or may not have actually occurred and people that may or may not have existed. Verifiably unverifiable but with the core narrative intact. -NOTICE #637BAU

[ OBJECTIVE ] Procure stolen documents in possession of Braga, the son of a lieutenant of the Ranka narcotics distribution organization in Spain.

0001 It’s unclear how Braga obtained these documents in the first place but he has used their value to make false deals with several interested parties, robbing them in the process. Well I’ve got a plan to rob him instead, but first I need some supplies.

0002 After tracking Braga from Lisbon to Seville to Madrid, I’ve finally set up a meeting with him to purchase the documents. No doubt he’s planning on taking my money that I won’t even have without giving me the merchandise. So I’m at the grocery store getting a bottle of Estrella Damm beer, a cheap cigar, duct tape and wooden matches to make the deal go my way.

0003 Back at my hotel I finish the beer with a hot dish of Arroz a la cubana and an empanada. I place a small strip of duct tape on the base of the beer bottle and crack a small hole through it with my Microtech. Then carefully stick a shaped charge explosive on the bottom with a fuse protruding out the hole.

0004 100 pushups, 200 situps, shower, sleep.

0005 I get to the meeting point 3 hours early with a plastic bag filled with dirt I grabbed from a nearby park and spread it around in front of where I plan on standing during the transaction, the top of a gated spiral staircase with a 30 meter drop.

0006 Down the street I get into the Volkswagen Jetta I parked the night before and wait, watching for any surprises Braga may have planned.

0007 It’s time.

0008 Braga and 3 of his men arrive in a BMW 7 Series. They get out and wait for me by the staircase, driver stays in the car. I walk up the stairs making pretend I’m drinking a bottle of Estrella Damm then lean on the ledge of the staircase, they see me and they lean on their car. We all look at each other, in silence.

0009 A long minute passes but no one speaks or makes a move. Then Braga flicks his cigarette away and starts to walk toward me, I (fake) sip my beer while putting my hand up-palm-forward and then I say “stop” in Spanish. He does. I then draw a semi-circle line in the dirt I placed earlier by dragging my boot in front of me. Braga and his men look in confusion.

0010 I tell him to look in the buildings directly in front and behind us, that there is a sniper in each of them instructed to start shooting if anyone crosses this line in front of me. I then pretend to finish my beer, take the cigar from my ear and simultaneously light it and the fuse with the bottle in front of my face as if to block the wind with it. Then I place the bottle on the ledge.

0011 I say, “let me show you how good my guys are” and put my right foot on the dirt line in front of me then point to the bottle… “Boom!” The bottle explodes as the directional explosion makes it seem like the fire was shot from the rear sniper… A second later, the broken glass crashes dramatically on top of a car below us, triggering the alarm.

0012 I go on to say, “From what I understand, you’ve been paid twice for these documents and I’m not here to pay you anything. But whatever happens in the next few moments, you’ll have profited. So please, Braga, kindly give me what you’ve been paid because I don’t want to take it from you.”

0013 He nods to the driver then the car trunk opens. Braga takes out a silver ZERO Halliburton attache case and comes closer to me but staying a clear distance from the dirt line. He puts the case on the ground and opens it so I can see. The sealed documents are there.

0014 I start laughing at Braga for bringing such a cliche briefcase then I say he watches too much movies, he doesn’t get the expression. He asks if he can go now. I tell him I want his sportcoat. He takes it off, folds it neatly and places on top of the briefcase.

0015 I tell him it was a pleasure doing business with such a gentleman. He says something under his breath I can’t make out then gets in his car, they jet out.

0016 As soon as the BMW is out of sight, I wrap the documents with Braga’s coat, leave the flashy briefcase then start walking down the stairs.

This is a simplified variant (with many details and further tactics left out) of the “Phantom Sniper Deception” method. So if you missed it, there were never any snipers or backup. As for the documents, it’s not important, I wasn’t privy to what they were.

A substantively indeterminate actually specified typical OP as a former covert operative. For days in my life of vagabonding, view A Day posts.