“Is something up with Marc? Past couple of missions, he seemed ambivalent about everything. Like the time we guarded the Spanish prime minister, I don’t think Marc cared if the man died.”
That is Jeo for you. He hates this planet more than the rest of us, but I have known him for a long time. He has always been reliable.
“You hate Earth, Tao?”
You have to put it in perspective to where we came from. Kind of like visiting your tax accountant.
“Got it. Still, I wish he wasn’t such a downer.” Edward caught the handle as it burned off and placed it on the floor. He opened the door a sliver and scanned the area inside. Dark Brazilian wood floors, antique lamps, and plush Victorian furniture decorated both sides of a long hallway. Books filled rows of shelves on one wall; a large polished marble bust of Plato was prominently displayed between two elevator doors. “Did we get the right floor?”
I believe so. Chiyva’s fingerprints are all over it. How typical of him to have a bust of himself. And I see his taste has not changed much since the nineteenth century.
Staying flat to the wall, Edward crept to the end of the corridor and peered around the corner.
Two guards to the right side. Surveillance camera moving at twenty-second sweeps in the corner.
“Twenty seconds, huh? Not a lot of room for error. Gun?”
No, keep it quiet. No need to raise a fuss yet. Camera is moving now. Go!
Pulling out a knife from its holster, Edward exhaled, rounded the corner, and took off running. Hugging the right wall, he stayed low, covering ground quickly as he charged the two unsuspecting men. Once in range, he shifted to the left wall for a better angle and, with a flick of his wrist, threw the knife. It whistled as it shot past the first guard and into the neck of the second. The man gasped and went limp. The remaining guard turned to look at his fallen companion just as Edward closed in and rammed his fist into the man’s ribcage.
Fifteen seconds on the camera.
The guard doubled over as Edward grabbed his head and snapped his neck. Before the body had fallen to the floor, Edward had already moved to the other body and pulled out his knife.
Not bad for a forty year-old dog.
“Like I said, durability counts.”
Touché. Get the bodies in. Ten seconds on the camera.
Edward took out a modified keycard, slid it through the electronic lock, and opened it with a soft click. He dragged the bodies with him into a darkened room filled with rows of computers. The room was cool and hummed with a low resonance from dozens of machines and a loud ventilation shaft. “Did the camera catch anything?”
Two seconds and change. The mark is Trixlix GeTr715.
Edward’s eyes ran down the list of servers until he found GeTr715 tucked near the rear of the third row on the bottom rack. “Hello, mark,” he whispered in satisfaction. “Let’s see if you’re worth leaving Simone upstairs.” Edward pulled out a small cable from his belt and plugged it into the server. “Codes accepted. Starting extraction now.” The monitor above the server blinked to life, and Edward’s fingers blurred as he typed, digging for the information he needed. His trained eyes jumped from directory to directory, grabbing bits and pieces of different files. “It seems the rumors about this fabled Penetra program are true. It does exist.”
Verify.
Edward went into the folder and opened the files inside. “Hmm,” he paused, shaking his head. “My secretary can organize information better than this.”
Worry about their formatting skills another time. Copy the blueprints and get out of here.
Edward’s eyes widened as he scanned the contents. “Found the blueprints, but look at this provisions list and these chemical stockpiles. I thought this was a surveillance prototype. Could it be a biological weapon? How are they getting past customs? I wish we had lobbyists this good. Initiating upload. Wait, backup access control list just tripped. We’re getting kicked out.”
The security file probably just alerted a platoon of guards. Get what we have and go.
His earpiece crackled, “Edward, we’ve just confirmed the data stream. On our way to pick you up now.”
“Confirmed. Over and out.” Edward unplugged the cord and scrambled toward the exit. Hearing heavy footsteps, he stopped and retreated back to the rows of servers just as a group of guards entered the room.
No armor. 1911s by the looks of it. Laser scopes. Three, no, four guards. None appear to be Genjix.
“Must be the hired help.”
Take them out fast.
One of the guards turned on the lights and the rest fanned out, each moving from aisle to aisle. Shouts of “Clear!” could be heard as they made their way toward him. Edward pulled out his Glock pistol and crept toward the edge of an aisle. As an arm came into view, he trapped it with one hand and threw his elbow into the guard’s face, dropping him to the floor. The scuffle alerted the others and they converged on his position.
Another guard appeared at the other end of the aisle and opened fire. Bullets ricocheted off the metal frames of the shelves. A searing pain erupted in Edward’s left arm and his hand went numb. Falling flat to the floor, he took quick aim and finished his target with three quick shots to the chest.
Grazing shot. Shake it off.Get to the extraction point!
Edward reloaded the Glock and ran out to the hallway. Sirens blared all around him. He sprinted back toward the stairwell, hearing sounds of approaching footsteps close behind. He burst through the door and ran up the stairs. A group of guards soon followed close behind. Bullets flying past his head, Edward craned his neck over the railing, grabbed a grenade from his side, pushed the timer for one second, and tossed it over the railing. The resulting explosion knocked him off his feet and everything went dark for a split second. Water sprinklers activated and began to spray the room. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, Edward pulled himself up and continued up the stairs.
“I’m getting too old for this.”
What happened to “durability counts”? We can worry about putting you out to pasture after this mission.
Another group of guards appeared two flights above him and opened fire. Edward threw himself against the wall just as gunfire rained down upon him. “Get me another way up to the top.”
Through the door. Get to the roof from the other stairwell.
Marc’s voice came through the earpiece so loud Edward winced. “We’ve landed on the roof. Resistance heavier than anticipated. Hurry!”
“I’m working on it!” Edward yelled as he burst through the door out of the stairwell and came face to face with an attractive young woman. She wore an expensive tan suit and had her hair tied in a high ponytail. If it was any other time, he would stop and try to chat her up. But it wasn’t any other time. He grabbed her and jammed the Glock into her side. “Sorry, darling, this probably isn’t the best way to make a first impression.”
It is Yrrika.
Edward sighed. “Really? Yrrika always picks the pretty ones.” Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. She had only a moment to gasp before falling to the floor. Her body shimmered as the Genjix emerged and floated into the air.
Let us hope Yrrika does not find a new host in time. Down to the end of the hallway, make a right, third door on the left.
“Do you remember the time I tried to pick up Yrrika’s previous host?”
In Istanbul? I warned you not to. You were a fresh twenty-five year-old agent and she was sixty. How did that work out for you?