Confidential Assassination Troop

Confidential Assassination Troop
密殺戰群
Genre	Action/adventure, science fiction
Author	Fung Chin Pang
Publisher	Tong Li Comics
Other Publishers Free Books, Istari Comics
Original run	2003 – Present
Volumes	2

Confidential Assassination Troop (Chinese: 密殺戰群 aka C.A.T) is a Hong Kong-originated manhua series, created by Fung Chin Pang. Its been published in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Italy, France and Russia.

Plot summary

The third World War is nearing. Each super power country is going through a communications war to prepare for it, a war to obtain the top profiles' information of enemy countries using the Russian's secret weapon BEAR, China's Hao Long, and the United State's Confidential Assassination Troop, a.k.a. CAT.

Synopsis

The story begins in 200X, in Russia, with a young woman resting next to a bridge while it snows. Soon afterwards two uniformed and armed guards notice and approach her. They order her to leave the area, since it is a restricted Military prison complex. But she responds, “I’m trying to cool off here! So get lost!”. This angers one of the guards who grabs the girl’s jacket collar and screams in her face “Hey punk! If I killed you here, nobody would know!” She mumbles something incoherent before finally looking up into the guard’s face, her eyes feline-like. “True…If I kill you, nobody would know.” She kills both guards easily before stripping down to a spandex suit and jumping off the bridge into the river below, swimming towards the helicopter-infested facility.

Characters

CAT - She refers to her own life story as “the tale of the girl who became part cat”. At the age of six she became irreversibly traumatized when she witnessed her father committing suicide after killing her mother before her eyes. Afterwards she made her home an abandoned church, making friends with the stray cats that lived there. She managed to survive completely alone for about a year, after which, according to her, “the strangers in white coats appeared” and took her away. The CIA abducted her to be one of the test subjects of SFP, the Sensory Function Promote Project. This ‘project’ trained her in the stealthy act of killing, which she endured between the ages of eleven to thirteen. While in captivity in her prison she was both brutally beaten and raped by three of the program’s officers. She immediately swore revenge and eventually escaped her “hell hole” to embark on the hunt of her three rapists. However, right after she escaped she was picked up by an assassin ring whose head boss liked Little Girl Assassins. After two years the boss asked a special “service” and she, of course, killed him in cold blood. She accepted freelance contracts after that, but only for information to lead her to her main three targets. CAT becomes so consumed with vengeance that that is the only thing she is striving to achieve, with no other goals or dreams in mind. After finally achieving her revenge she has no idea what to do for the rest of her life. But after spending time with Joe Yee she begins to lead a normal life, a normal life she realized she wouldn’t be able to pursue because her enemies would not allow her to disappear from the radar so suddenly. She told Joe Yee she would be leaving but he responded that only meant that he would be going as well. She began to cry at this, leaving the possibility that she has developed feelings toward him.

Alvas - The former director of the CIA, a self-proclaimed genius who received his Bachelors Degree at fourteen and his masters at sixteen. During his early years he won various international tournaments in martial arts, swordsmanship, and gunmanship. At the mere age of 22 he had already joined the CIA, and at 31 he was chosen as the director. After Alvas receives news that he has a brain tumor he begins developing a special ‘game’ that he wants the whole world to play. It is obvious he has lost all hope in humanity since he once even asked one of his great friends, Polguschev, what he would do if God deserted him? Alvas answered the question his friend did not have an answer to: take revenge. So far his game involves unsuspecting Chinese, Russian, and American agents who are manipulated to complete his own hidden agenda as well as the three countries’ secret weapons (BEAR, CAT, & Hao Long). Since he is dying he feels he has nothing to lose, and so far what has been revealed of his master plan is that he plans to destroy the world, in the seven days it took God to create it. He’s currently in Russia, after avoiding FBI capture in the States and is waiting for CAT, the key player, to find Pandora’s Box and open it. Pandora’s Box is highly suggested has something to do with the Bee Project. A project which involves the creation of a large mechanical suit shaped like a bee whose purpose is warfare. It is controlled by a human via his/her nervous system, although the Russians have yet to discover how this can be accomplished. But Alvas has already done it, and he plans to have CAT as the pilot.

Polguschev - A colonel of Russia’s National Defense; he’s always one step behind Alvas. Seven years ago, he joined the CIA as a spy to obtain secret information from the government. His superintendent at the time was Alvas whom he became very good friends with. He knows Alvas is willing to give up his own life for the pursuit of pleasure. He is co-designer of the Bee Project: a remote control long range unmanned aircraft that’s extremely destructive. Alvas sends the finished product to him, by crashing it into the Russian headquarters as a gift for his assistance in its completion. Polguschev then realizes the Bee is similar to the Apparatus 5000, which is a machine the Russians are building. The software is actually identical meaning that Alvas can use the machines at any given time. After discovering this, the base comes under attack by a massive electronic virus that is breaking down all the software barriers. His current goal is to discover the truth behind ‘the game’.

Hao Long - He is China’s top agent. On his way back from stealing information of the SFP projects from Alaska, he is attacked on the train by CAT. The whole series of events was being manipulated by Alvas, who managed to have BEAR on the train as well. Alvas was CAT’s latest boss, via a laptop, and sent her a picture over the net, CAT immediately recognized Hao Long as the man sitting several seats before her in the train. Meanwhile the Russians send BEAR on the train to intercept Hao Long and steal the information he already stole from the United States, which none of them realize is completely false and fabricated by Alvas. In the fight that ensued Long’s sister was heavily injured by CAT thus forcing him to blow up the train in half in order to escape. He’s extremely skilled with knives and can easily manage to take down scores of men without a scratch. His dexterity is a match to CAT. His preferred weapons are two knives on a chain connected to the middle fingers of each hand. Later on he protects CAT from being recaptured by the CIA but only so he’s the one dealing with her punishment; he has sworn revenge on behalf of his sister.

Hao Fung - Hao Long's little sister; also an agent with a high alacrity. Her specialty is computers; she is a brilliant hacker and can hack any server through a computer. She also has a close bond with her brother. On the way back to China after their mission in Alaska, she was heavily injured by CAT when she tried to defend her brother despite his protest of leaving the train. She currently resides in a Critical State in the Hospital but her situation is stabilized.

Gum Joe Yee - A Chinese resident of Russia with the occupation of a freelance artist by day, and the secret profession of a Black Market Doctor for extra cash. He meets CAT while painting at the Red Square, after she approaches him and asks him to lend her his shoulder. She quickly nests on it and falls asleep, leaving him baffled. Eventually he wakes up to find blood next to the bench, where she had sat, and that she’s written over his portrait ‘Don’t drool while you’re sleeping! It’s gross!’ – He unfortunately can’t erase it afterwards and the painting is ruined. Later, he’s the one who finds a bleeding-to-death CAT after a chaotic fight with BEAR in an abandoned parking lot. He bandages her up and tries to befriend her, telling her he learned his trade from his father who was a legal doctor. He seems unaffected by the fact that she’s a killing machine, even though he saw the battered bodies of two of BEARS dead members. He seems to be breaking down CAT’s emotional barriers, getting her to willingly go to a local bar he works at and begin socializing slightly. But soon after a large group of CIA operatives arrive in Russia to retrieve CAT at the same time Hao Long arrives at the bar, CAT tells Joe Yee to please not follow her and to return to his house before leaving, taking her hunters as far away from him. In the midst of the fight Hao Long ends up arriving but helps CAT kill many of the operatives, since she needs help because she is still injured from her previous battles. An unknown sniper begins helping them, whose face is not revealed. However many of his characteristics seem to hint that the unknown new killer might be Joe Yee. After that battle CAT takes a job at a bar owned by a friend of Joe Yee. He continues finding skimpy outfits for CAT to wear which manages to reel her temper and continues adding fees to CAT’s growing bill (including her ‘hospital’ charge). After CAT informed him that she would be leaving, he told her that he would follow her anywhere; she runs into his arms and begins crying. One thing that seems very suggestive that he might have a hidden agenda is that once when he was looking at CAT troubled as she realized the monstrosities she had committed, he thought ‘It’s like looking into a mirror’.

Golem - Russia's BEAR Unit leader, an extremely level-headed and a capable leader. He is prideful of his status as a soldier. He now follows order from Russia's national defense for some unknown reason. Later on it is briefly revealed that he's serving a long Prison Sentence and is addicted to a Drug. He's very depressed when he loses his team to CAT and wants to extract revenge, thus maintaining a sense of team Honor. He's extremely skilled with a bowie knife.

Shatra - A member of Russia's BEAR unit. He has an over-zealous personality and considers killing as some form of art. His weapons are similar to CAT's, a dual bladed claw blade that has an integrated gun. In his second assault on CAT, he was killed by her due to CAT repeatedly kicking and punching him in the head causing a brain hemorrhage, which he was unable to feel because he'd lost his sense of touch during previous experimentation.

Balogh - A member of Russia's BEAR unit. He has a very large muscular body and speaks very little and is over-confident with his abilities. A heavy machine gun is hoisted onto his right shoulder and he has various grenades on his belt. He's extremely powerful, able to punch holes into concrete with ease; and has an almost invincible constitution. In the Train Scene while Shatra and Golem were on the rooftop fighting CAT, he attempted to undress Hao Fung but was stopped when her brother arrived and snatched her away by slashing his face, which nearly cost him an eye, and detonating a bomb . He takes over to defeat CAT after Shatra was killed, but was killed shortly after when CAT managed to pickpocket all the pins of the grenades on his belt blowing him up to bits.

Alfred - Russia's director of National Defense. He trusts Polguschev's ability explicitly and supports his every decision.

Eve - Alvas's secretary who admires him to a great extent. She is one of the very few people who knows about Alvas's secret plan of mad game; and was quickly arrested by the FBI after Alvas betrayed the US and made to work to capture him.

Prof. Gerald - A Bio-tech scientist of the United States, he is in charge of managing the SFP project. He is highly concerned of the subjects of his project. He is slightly disturbed by Alvas's actions. He was one of the people that oversaw CAT's Training with Alvas.

Moses Stanley - An American spy caught in Russia by the KGB. He thought the CIA sent CAT to save him, but it turned out that CAT was there for revenge as he was one of the three men who tormented her while in captivity. He's very over confident in his abilities as he self-proclaim himself as the Gunslinger in the CIA but was killed in mere seconds while trying to draw his gun on Cat.