CIA : Its not what you think

Chapter Five

[SOUNDTRACK FOR THIS CHAPTER] 

[Somewhere on Earth at 5am ET]

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Main POV

"Still no news?"

"Nope. Not a word from Amoux"

Two middle aged men were having a short conversation. The cold room they were in was slightly dark although it was nearly noon. They were in the attic of one man's house but they had covered the glass section of the ceiling for added privacy. A fluorescent bulb hung down from the middle of the ceiling spreading a soft white light. It also created tall shadows of the bookshelf and the cupboard up the grey walls. A bed with a thick duvet which had papers and books piled up in a mess , stood in one corner. Except for the occasional words that were shared among the men, the only sources of sound that disturbed the eerie silence were the gecko chirps and the footsteps of one man. 

He was pacing around with slow, thoughtful steps. Hands deep in his trouser pockets, he was lost in a world of thoughts. This pacing had been going on for a while and now he had created himself a route ; to the side of the bed and back to the door.

The other man sat hunched by a computer. Aside from the rest of the items in the room, this man's computer looked very odd. The Apple Mac stood out like a sight for sore eyes. Its screen brightness was reduced to prevent the man's eyestrain. Also if not the bulb would not have been any use either. The man was staring  at the screen which was running a video conferencing software.  An emergency meeting had been scheduled just 3 hours ago to discuss about a topic. The meeting had not started yet but the man was staring absently at the screen thinking deeply, like his pal. 

"What was Amoux thinking?" The walking man broke the silence again in an exasperated tone. "Was this his plan all the time?"

The other man sighed. He made a clicking noise with his mouth.

"He's one God dagnabbit sly creature. He defo has a way out planned too." His voice was a little muffled than the other man. 

Due to his metal mask.

A silver mask mimicking the facial structure of  a Common Grey Wolf hid the face of the man by the computer. Artistic as it may seem, the reason it was worn is nowhere near that fact. The mask was craftily made, with immaculate details of the four legged canine. Upon a close look, the fur details will be very clear. The soft light coming from the computer screen was reflected on the silver surface of the mask and the pupils of the man gleamed through the eye sockets. It would be a shock for someone at first sight but as the other man was very used to the odd accessory, he gave it zero attention. In fact, his own mask lay on the bed, gleaming evilly under the fluorescent light.

Although their current location and the appearance of one man was a bit strange, these two men were ordinary gents with real jobs. What keeps them apart from the rest of the population was what they do when they are not reporting to work. The masks they owned had various purposes and helping the men feel the transition from the outer normal world was one. Grey wolves are known for being  deadly beasts and hence it served as another reason to wear the mask. 

So why do these men need to transition from the outer world wearing masks depicting the face of a vicious brute?

As a silent answer to that question, a faded banner was hung in one wall of the room.