Jarmo Dorak woke up groggy, disoriented and with a splitting headache. He was lying on a cold, hard floor, surrounded by walls made of concrete. As he tried to sit up, he realized his hands were bound behind his back. Panic began to set in as he realized he was a prisoner somewhere.
He tried to think back to how he ended up in this situation. The last thing he could remember was Leonore breaking up with him and leaving to be with her ex-boyfriend. He had been heartbroken, but he never expected to end up in a prison cell.
As he tried to untie his hands, he heard footsteps approaching. The door to his cell opened, and a man walked in. Jarmo recognized him immediately as “the Tiger,” his old enemy from a previous encounter.
“What do you want from me?” Jarmo demanded.
The Tiger smirked. “I want you to be my guest for a while, Jarmo. You see, I have a job that I need your help with.”
Jarmo narrowed his eyes. “I’m not helping you with anything.”
The Tiger chuckled. “Oh, I think you will. You see, I have a little project that I’m working on, and you happen to be the perfect person to help me with it. Consider yourself a member of Operation Black Sapphire.“
Jarmo didn’t respond, but his mind was racing. He knew he had to find a way out of there and stop whatever the Tiger was planning. At that moment, the Tiger ordered his henchmen to take Jarmo away. Two huge guys grabbed him and dragged him away. Jarmo Dorak had never been in such a precarious situation. He was tied up on a chair, defenseless, and in front of a massive laser cannon. The Tiger, his captor, looked at him with a sly grin.
“So, Jarmo, you seem to have a habit of interfering with my plans,” The Tiger said, his voice dripping with malice. “This time, I won’t let you get away.”
Jarmo smirked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replied.
The Tiger leaned closer, his face contorted in anger. “You think this is a game?” he spat.
“Everything is a game,” Jarmo said calmly. “It’s just a matter of how you play it.”
The Tiger sneered. “Operation Black Sapphire is going to change the world, Jarmo,” he said. “And you’re not going to stop it.”
“I’m not here to stop it,” Jarmo replied. “I’m here to understand it.”
The Tiger laughed. “Understand it? You’re tied up in front of a laser cannon, Jarmo. What’s there to understand?”
“Everything,” Jarmo said, his eyes locked onto the Tiger’s. “Your motives, your plan, your weaknesses.”
The Tiger’s eyes narrowed. “Weaknesses?” he repeated.
Jarmo nodded. “Everyone has them,” he said. “Even you.”
The Tiger leaned back, a look of contemplation on his face. “Very well,” he said. “If you’re so smart, Jarmo, tell me. What are my weaknesses?”
Jarmo paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “You have an ego,” he said finally. “And that ego blinds you to the fact that you’re not invincible.”
The Tiger scoffed. “And how do you know that?” he asked.
“Because no one is,” Jarmo replied. “Not even me.”
The Tiger’s expression turned to one of fury. “You think you’re so clever, Jarmo,” he said. “But you’re just a pawn in my game.”
Jarmo smiled. “Maybe,” he said. “But even pawns can be dangerous if they know how to move.”
The Tiger raised an eyebrow. “And how do you plan to move, Jarmo?” he asked.
Jarmo looked directly at the Tiger, his eyes burning with intensity. “By playing your game better than you do,” he said.
The Tiger let out a bark of laughter. “You’re a fool, Jarmo,” he said. “You’ll never beat me.”
Jarmo didn’t flinch. “Maybe not,” he said. “But I’ll die trying.”
The Tiger smiled. “We’ll see about that,” he said, reaching for the laser cannon’s trigger.
Jarmo closed his eyes, ready to face his fate. But then, something unexpected happened. The Tiger hesitated, his finger hovering over the trigger.
“You know, Jarmo,” he said slowly. “You’re not like the others. You’re not afraid to die.”
Jarmo opened his eyes, looking at the Tiger with curiosity. “Why should I be?” he asked.
The Tiger’s expression softened slightly. “I don’t know,” he said. “But there’s something about you, Jarmo. Something different.”
Jarmo smiled. “That’s because I’m not here to fight you, Tiger,” he said. “I’m here to understand you.”
The Tiger nodded slowly. “Maybe you already do,” he said. “Maybe you understand me better than I do myself.”
The Tiger walked towards Jarmo, his eyes fixated on the captive. “You’re right, Jarmo. We’re not so different after all,” he said.
Jarmo raised an eyebrow in surprise. “How so?”
“We’re both willing to do whatever it takes to achieve our goals,” The Tiger replied. “But we have different methods.”
Jarmo nodded. “That’s true,” he said. “But there’s one thing we have in common.”
“And what’s that?” The Tiger asked.
“We’re both playing a dangerous game,” Jarmo said. “A game where the stakes are high and the consequences are deadly.”
The Tiger chuckled. “You have a way with words, Jarmo,” he said. “But you’re right. This is a game, and it’s not over yet.”
Jarmo looked at The Tiger with a glint in his eye. “No, it’s not,” he said. “But I have a feeling that I’m going to come out on top.”
The Tiger grinned. “We’ll see about that,” he said, turning to leave. “But for now, I have other matters to attend to. Don’t worry, Jarmo. We’ll meet again soon.”
He untied the knot on the rope that tied Jarmo, but didn’t open the handcuffs he was wearing. Then The Tiger disappeared through the door, leaving Jarmo alone with the laser cannon. He sighed, feeling a sense of relief wash over him.
As Jarmo sat there, his mind raced with thoughts of what had just transpired. He couldn’t help but wonder if The Tiger was really as dangerous as he had originally thought. Jarmo knew that The Tiger was a brilliant strategist and that he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. But there was something about him that seemed different. Something that Jarmo couldn’t quite put his finger on.
As he pondered his situation, Jarmo realized that he needed to come up with a plan. He couldn’t just sit there and wait for The Tiger to come back and finish him off. He began to search his cell for anything he could use to escape. He found a loose screw in the wall and managed to use it to pick the lock on his handcuffs.
Once his hands were free, he continued to search the cell. He found a small vent in the ceiling and managed to climb up into it. He crawled through the narrow space until he reached a larger room.
The room was filled with computers, monitors, and various other high-tech equipment. Jarmo realized that he was in some sort of hideout for the Tiger’s gang. He began to explore the hideout, trying to find out as much as he could about the Tiger’s plans. He found a map of the solar system, with various locations marked on it. He also found several schematics for weapons and explosives.
Jarmo knew he had to be careful. He couldn’t let anyone catch him snooping around. He continued to explore the hideout, trying to find more clues.
He found a room filled with weapons, including guns and knives. He also found a room with several people working on computers. Luckily he was able to sneak into this room without people seeing him. He realized that these were the people helping the Tiger plan his attack. Jarmo continued to gather information, but he couldn’t seem to find anything specific about the Tiger’s plans. He knew he had to find a way out of the hideout and back to Earth to stop the Tiger’s attack.
As he went on exploring the hideout, Jarmo stumbled upon a secret door. He cautiously opened it and found a long corridor leading to an elevator. He got into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.
When the elevator doors opened, Jarmo found himself on the roof of the hideout. He saw a spaceship parked nearby and knew that was his chance to escape. As he ran towards the spaceship, he was spotted by one of the gang members. They began to chase him, but Jarmo managed to fight them off and get into the spaceship.
He quickly got the ship started and began to fly away from the hideout. As he soared through space, he realized he had to find out where the Tiger’s attack was planned and stop it before it was too late.
Jarmo spent the next few hours trying to figure out where the Tiger’s attack was planned. He scanned the map he found in the hideout and tried to match it with any recent news reports about potential targets.
After a while, he noticed that several of the locations marked on the map had been mentioned in recent news reports. They were all related to the terraforming of Mars, which had been a hot topic lately. Jarmo knew he had to head to Mars and find out more about the Tiger’s plans. He set a course for the red planet and began his journey.
As he got closer to Mars, Jarmo realized that he had a problem. He didn’t have any valid credentials to land on the planet. He knew he had to find a way to get clearance or risk being arrested as soon as he landed.
He began to contact various officials and authorities on the planet, trying to bluff his way into getting clearance. It wasn’t until he stumbled upon an old friend from his time working with the Mars project that he managed to get the clearance he needed.
Once he landed on Mars, Jarmo began to gather information. He knew that he had to act fast if he wanted to stop the attack. There was only one problem: He found nothing. It seemed as if the red planet Mars was nothing more than a red herring.