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Special Ops: Declassified Notes from the TF Militia Training Manual It's tough being the best of the best of the best! But we do it well. As a special operative in the TF militia, it is imperative to be familiar with these basic tools of the trade. We couldn't function in the field without them. We find that any one of these methods is effective in its own right when dealing with an evil dealer. When you use them in combination, no one can stand against you. "Checkbook" diplomacy: simply buying the hostage tfs from the dealer...essentially giving in to the evil dealer in some respects, as we are purchasing them on his terms if we come in with this as our first move, but in the end we justify that it is for a higher cause. Checkbook diplomacy is the most cost-effective method when employed after one or more of the other specialized maneuvers are employed first, or in cases where we cant afford to create a scene, ie bloodshed, damage to property, etc. Around 60% of our interaction with dealers involves some form of checkbook diplomacy. The "Sweeps" maneuver: a tactic similar to the trojan horse concept, employing the use of tfs specially modified to complete a specific mission objective, using their ability to blend into a toy store's enviornment...In one case, a small group of specially outfitted scourge toys were fitted with cameras and used for spying on the dealer, allowing us to track his dealings in the store prior to starting a mission...in another case, they were outfitted with radio-controlled devices, allowing some limited movement within the dealer's store...and in yet another case, along with radio-control devices, they were also fitted with small explosive devices used to distract the dealer for a more active mission within the store. The "Assimilation" maneuver: has sometimes been considered an advanced form of checkbook diplomacy, usually hostile, that inolves not only buying out the dealer's tf inventory, but in fact buying out the dealer, his store..in some cases, leaving the unit operational with the TF militia in the background, but in most cases simply making the store...disappear. The dealer is gone. No traces. Resistance is futile. In one case, this involved tracking down who the dealer had his lease with, buying out the building, evicting the dealer, and converting and converting the space into apartments for the elderly. The "Beavis and Buthead" maneuver: wearing down the dealer until he gives into our demands by sending in a pair of special operatives to harrass and annoy the dealer, fingering merchandice for hours on end, asking how much something is, or offering a buck for something listed at 100. We use two of these individuals so the dealer's attention is split between running to different parts of the store to answer annoying questions. It wears him down quicker, and makes him much more open for one or another of our other maneuvers. The "Vulcan Logic" maneuver: a special maneuver requiring advanced training on the part of the operative, who has to be very knowledgable about a toy and a market value, preferably having been immersed in tfs their entire lives. This operative is sent in to embarras the dealer on the ridiculously high price he has set on a toy, explaining in a patient, continous monotone as to why he has the intelligence of a pea by pricing an incomplete Prime at 75 when in every other market you could get it for 25, and how all the collectors are laughing behind his back, and going to that other store in the next town. This will wear down the dealer's patience until he finally gives into your demands just to make the horrible pain stop... Again, this requires patience, and advanced knowledge of all things tf, and thus is able to be carried out only by a very few special operatives. The "Good Old Boy" method: This involves having a dealer of your own in your back pocket, so to speak...infiltrating their world requires that you have a dealer working for you, if not in fact the dealer being the lead operative going undercover...having establised a preliminary trust with a group of dealers in a specific market, you can "help" them by steering them into other toy venues by generating a false customer interest in other toys, and away from tfs. Then, you can arrange to do a "fellow dealer" a favor by arranging to funnel all the tfs to your store, since you have, "one or two" customers that pay a pittance for them. Very useful in a large metropolitian area, where you have several toy dealers in operation, and are unable to buy them all out thru normal channels, or risk lives thru an attack because they're too close to civilian installations. The "Dealer whip" method: a more common practice involving helping the dealer sort inventory in exchange for getting first priority on TFs. Although cost-effective, it is useful only up to a point; the dealer, being the unscrupulous individual that he is, decides at some point that your usefulness to him is at an end, and eventually does some selling behind your back, screwing you out of tfs, and betraying your trust. We have many an operative that has come from this kind of setup. Revenge is sweet.
More to come as it becomes declassified. |
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