-32 hours ago, several astronomical observatories reported the fall to earth 200 nautical miles north of Papua New Guinea of an object that was later identified as a meteorological satellite belonging to a private Indian company. We do know that this company does not exist and that the satellite was actually a spy satellite belonging to Country A that was in charge of optical and electronic monitoring of the entire North Pacific area. And that it was shot down by an anti-satellite missile launched by a fighter from Country B, presumably after the former captured highly sensitive information. And it must have been something very juicy since Country B rushed to shoot down the satellite minutes before it reached its downlink area.

-So the information is still stored inside the satellite.

-And both countries want it badly. It's the typical cold war scenario, espionage, sabotage, violation of international law... both sides know what the other is doing, both sides want to screw the other, but neither is interested in making their respective dirty work public or in escalating the war beyond the rhetoric of their leaders. So they can't mount an official satellite rescue operation and that's where people like us come in.

-So, will I work for the Americans or the Chinese?

-Has it ever mattered?

-I guess not. I just hope it's not North Korea. Those people are bad payers.

-Somehow the client is informed of your role in the heist of the Nuestra Señora de Begoña and that incident in the North Sea and has specifically asked for you. He wants the satellite and demands speed and above all that there is no trace that could point to him.

-I don't know if I should be worried about the fact that I'm becoming famous.

-Oh, don't worry about that. We're just tools, people don't get mad at the gun, they get mad at the person holding it.

-I was more confortable in the minor leagues. A little smuggling, a little casual piracy... But the pay is incomparable.

-There's one more thing. I just sent you some photos provided by the client.

-Mmh, hot guys.

-They're screenshots from Sydney airport security cameras from ten hours ago. The client's intelligence services have been able to identify four of them, ex-Navy Seals and their West and East European equivalents, and at least two of them related in the past to the private military contractor Mondragon.

-And I suppose it's too much of a coincidence that a team of mercenaries specialized in amphibious missions has arrived in the approximate area of our operation to not take it into account. If we're lucky they've only come to surf.

-If the involvement of a large PMC like Mondragon is confirmed, the game changes completely. It's still going to take them a while to make their preparations and hopefully we can be more agile than them, but if you do meet them things can get serious. I'm talking about big guns, high-tech shit, fucking warships, stuff like that. Should I be worried? And I mean it.

-Nah, amphibious operations, you said it. If we were to meet on a beach I'd be worried, but the ocean is my thing. They adopted the sea, I was born in it.

-...

-Get it?

-You're not half as witty as you think you are. Your flight to Manila leaves in two hours. I'll meet you there and help you buy, hire or bribe whoever you need to. But once at sea you're on your own.