Queen & Country (2001) 12

Queen & Country (2001) 12

Sep 2002

Operation Crystal Ball - Part Five

by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez, John Dranski

The terrorists in Japan prepare to strike their intended target. Wallace works with Sanya Miloska in Sarajevo to find Rashed El Haje. Chace works with Colin Hodgson in Cairo to learn something about what Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) has planned. 

Chace and Wallace learn enough to figure out that the terrorists' intended target is at the Men’s World Cup in Japan. Japanese special forces finds the terrorists and the canisters of sarin gas before the terrorists are able to pipe it into the locker room where the English team is preparing for their match against the Nigerian team.

Queen & Country (2001) 11

Queen & Country (2001) 11

Aug 2002

Operation Crystal Ball - Part Four

by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez, John Dranski

Tara Chace returns from Rome. Edward Kittering returns from Turkey. Paul Crocker, Don Welson and C ponder why Youssef was killed and what their next move should be. Crocker wants an SAS operation in Sudan but Weldon nixes that idea. C says he’s willing to go ahead with it but he will need more information before he can attempt to get the authorization for it.

A Saudi who is suspected of having ties to EIJ is spotted in the Cairo airport, headed to Sarajevo. Crocker sends Paul Wallace to Sarajevo and Tara Chace, after a brief reunion with Kittering, to Cairo. Both are told not to maintain a low profile and to make sure that they are armed.

Queen & Country (2001) 10

Queen & Country (2001) 10

Jul 2002

Operation Crystal Ball - Chapter Three

by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez, John Dranski

Kittering goes to Iraq on a black op mission.

There is lots of conversations at headquarters about operations that are currently ongoing. 

The intel that Youssef provided seems solid so Chace is sent to meet with him again. This time the meeting is to be in Rome. Something seems off when she gets there. Someone is tailing her. She eventually finds Youssef but he is dead.

The issue ends with Kittering making his way across the border, into Turkey.

Queen & Country (2001) 9

Queen & Country (2001) 9

Jun 2002

Operation Crystal Ball - Chapter Two

by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez, John Dranski

Chace meets with Youssef in the Cairo embassy. She ruffles the feathers of the local station chief. She reports back in once the meeting is over. Youssef told her that Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) had the means and intent to strike a British target with poison gas. He gives them the grid coordinates for a facility somewhere in Sudan. He wants a substantial amount of money before he will tell them more.

Kittering mopes while Chace is in Egypt. His mood picks up once she returns. They share a tender moment in a pub after she gets back. 

Paul Crocker tries to get some help from the CIA but they want something in return, a black op. There’s someone they want killed. Crocker decides to send Kittering to do the job. 

Queen & Country (2001) 8

Queen & Country (2001)

May 2002

Operation Crystal Ball - Chapter One

by Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez, John Dranski

Tara Chace and Edward Kittering assist German intelligence with Operation Roseshore. Chace and Kittering return to the UK with a laptop recovered from suspected terrorists. Crocker insists on making a copy of the data on the laptop before handing it over to the CIA. This brings him into conflict with Don Weldon, his boss, but C backs up Crocker. Angela Chen, the CIA’s station chief in London isn’t happy about the delay but can’t do anything about it. 

Chase is sent to the British embassy in Cairo to interview Mahmoud Youssef, a Lebanese man, who walked in off the street claiming to have knowledge of a plot involving chemicals.