still using matchlocks, are ya? i can get you a pair of flintlocks, you let me sneak out of here. everyone else in this sequence speaks with a french accent.
the best. from spain. and perhaps a couple of pretty young ladies to teach you how to use them. guard #1 is even more tempted, but his partner is a loyalist.
your king is a vile bag of filth who murders his own allies. i should've charged him double.
they offered me a chancellorship, because unlike your simpleton king, they know that is the mccullen destiny, to run the wars, the true power, not simply to supply arms.
yes, i do. clan mccullen is far bigger and more powerful than any of you could ever imagine. my sons will continue to rise along after i am gone. as will their sons. and, god willing, their sons.
tragic as they are to fight, wars must be won. but perhaps they don't have to be as destructive as they've been in the past. a series of complex schematics rolls continuously on a screen behind him. mccullen is briefing twenty-two nato military commanders, many of them listening in translation headphones.
nano-mites. perfect little soldiers. their size can be programmed as well as their intended task. originally developed to isolate and destroy cancer cells, but at mars industries, and with the help of a little nato funding.
we discovered how to program them to eliminate most anything. for instance.  metal. on screen: a soldier fires a shoulder-launched missile at a tank. the warhead bursts into millions of silver microscopic nano-mites which eat away the metal like piranhas devouring a horse. then the nano-mites fan out from the consumed tank and quickly head for a nearby jeep.
once the target has been destroyed, the launcher triggers a kill switch unique to each warhead that short- circuits the nano-mites, preventing any unwanted destruction. on screen: the soldier hits a kill switch on the launcher and the nano-mites instantly "drop dead" around the nearby jeep.
each warhead contains seven million nano-mites and has the ability to eat anything from a single tank to an entire city. but without innocent casualties. which is why this has been such a priority for me and my company. the room breaks into applause. focuses on general hawk, a british veteran or countless battles, not buying it.
i prefer the term "armament solutions engineer" gentlemen! i'm pleased to announce that tomorrow morning your first order of nanotech warheads will ship from my factory in kyrgyzstan.
i know who you are general hawk. as sharp in a briefing room as your reputation is on the battlefield.
it's an honor to meet a man of your many accomplishments. mccullen smiles, then offers hawk to walk with him.
what's on your mind, general?
those "ears" all have top security clearance.
look, general, delivery is my responsibility and it's not one i take lightly. i had nato assign an elite american special forces unit, a fully armored convoy with air support. i assure you, my warheads will be quite safe.
this is no time to play catch up. the nato team's been drilling for weeks. they're lit up and ready to roll.
maybe next time, general.  what did you say your unit was called?
general, most men i've encountered in this business over-promise and under-deliver. you're the opposite. clearly, you were the security option i should have chosen. on duke: steaming behind his military demeanor.
--but not you.
i've spent ten years and thirteen billion euros creating these four warheads. your job, captain, was to protect them, and if it wasn't for general hawk, you would've failed.
well that wasn't enough. duke bristles. mccullen turns to hawk.
what are your coordinates? i'll have nato send another special ops team to retrieve the warheads, company strength this time.
you do just fine, general. now, so the bastards who attacked you can't find you, you need to disable the tracking beacon hidden in the case.
good man. so, can i count on you to deliver the warheads to nato now?
alright. but allow me to check the warheads to see if any have been damaged. duke begrudgingly sets the case down. breaker turns on his suit's ball-eyepiece. it goes into x-ray mode and we see the nano-mites crawling around inside the four warheads.
open it, please.
general?
five-two-nine-four-four-oh. breaker enters the code. as the case opens, breaker discreetly watches mccullen in his ball-eyepiece scanner. mccullen runs his holographic fingers over the warheads. satisfied, he turns to hawk.
please keep me informed of your progress, general. duke and mccullen share a quick glare. and then mccullen cuts the feed. scarlett notices concern on breaker's face.
i spend five years setting this up. wringing money out of nato. this was supposed to be the easy part.
and lost the trust of our clients in the process? it had to be nato's fault. what happened? did you hesitate?
forgive me, jealousy isn't my strong suit.
they deactivated the beacon. i gave them a code to quietly re-arm it. mccullen hits a key, a screen switches on, displaying a map of the world. a beacon light flashes over a spot in the egyptian desert, grip coordinates blinking.
there it is. the infamous pit.
i hope so.
i'll send a jet.
sometimes i really hate technology. he sighs heavily, then hears a voice:
there can't be any more mistakes. the schedule can't be compromised any further.
i'm sending you now, storm shadow. to the baroness's villa. .make sure her commitment doesn't waiver. storm shadow nods, mccullen continues on through him. we now realize storm shadow was a holo-proj. storm shadow vanishes.
good to be back.
is it working?
english, doctor. the doctor keys a demand and that particular neo-viper steps up and sticks his bare arm into the case through a portal.
--doctor.
and they are completely obedient?
you've done well. you've thrown the caber clear out of the yard.
--i appreciate your thirst for knowledge, doctor. but this world is messy enough. factions fighting and scrabbling for control, for resources, and it's only going to get worse as the century progresses. no. what the world needs is unification. leadership.
it needs to be taken out of chaos by someone with complete control. he looks through a portal into a shadowy operating chamber, where a brilliant but vicious looking man is being scanned by smart robots. this is zartan. a smart robot begins to change zartan's fingerprints, which we see on a monitor.
my family was once this close to that kind of power.
once i get my hands on the reins, the money will take care of itself. you'll be able to do all the research you want. mccullen strides off. the doctor stares after him.
never get caught. mccullen carefully puts the mask back in its ca se.
i don't wan t you until leaving paris that they've you;re sure that the work, been properly y weaponized.
i have a target french will never in mind, one the forget.
as i have never forgotten what the french did to clan mccullen.
gentlemen. about to get under way? zartan raises his pda.
check your account. zartan checks the pda. mccullen shakes his head.
it's always about the money.
destroy that unit immediately. the doctor removes his pda and taps a key to draw up the neo- viper's file. he clicks a button that reads "terminate".
take them to the drones. i want them ready to launch in one hour.
my beautiful lady of the lake.  he kisses her. ana kisses him back with slightly-feigned affection, her eyes open and on duke. duke stands there, impassive. mccullen finishes the kiss and turns to duke.
this bother you? duke says nothing, so mccullen steps closer.
isn't it funny, with the entire balance of power in the world about to shift, a couple of guys can still have a stare down over who gets the girl. duke takes the opportunity to head butt mccullen. the neo- vipers instantly pummel duke to the floor. mccullen wipes a small trickle of blood from his nose.
the interesting thing about my neo- vipers is they still think the same thoughts they always did, they just can't act on them anymore. instead, they do what i want. i imagine that must be very frustrating. he gets right down in duke's face.
i'm going to make you very unhappy.
you take to your training well, that's good. still trying to develop information. still planning to escape and stope me. moments from now, you'll see that won't ever happen.
isn't it clear? i'm a business man. i'm going to use them.
merely to strike fear into the hearts of every man, woman, and child on the planet. only then will they look up to the man who wields the most power, and obey him.
meet the genius behind all my nanotechnology.
you'll have to excuse his modesty, when i found him, he was --
albeit a rather unwilling one. the doctor's nano-mites can control all manner of brain functions. when you wake up, you'll be working for me, and your past will be a distant shimmer that floats in and out of your mind like a leaf on a breeze.
good, commence the launch sequence immediately. is that a ripple of concern flickering across ana's face?
lost one? what do you mean?
alert all defences. charge up the pulse cannon. he turns to say something to ana, but she has left the room.
is she still alive?
you said this couldn't happen.
did you think she loved you?
did you imagine your life with her?
i guess i should thank you, doctor. the doctor is busy fiddling with his hand held pda.
yes, commander.