Icy assignment - Reaper # 2

Chapter 5

I start the engine, turn on the heater, and accelerate forcefully. I wish I could do a three-sixty on the ice and shoot off in a blast of snow and ice, but I slowly reach a speed of twenty kilometers per hour, cruising towards the base at maximum velocity. Upon my return, I wash my hands and head to the corner where we leave our extreme cold coats, taking off my boots and swiftly making my way to my room, retrieving my personal computer. Settled at my desk, I review the various surveillance footage. Hours pass as I indulge in this activity, nibbling on a granola bar I find in my bag.

I press the pause button and lower the screen just as Julia opens the door.

"Ohhh, you look guilty," she says, observing me. "Are you watching a porn movie?"

"I have never watched a porn movie. I'm working," I reply.

"Sorry, I'll leave you be and go work in the computer room, you know, the one that's a bit forgotten by the men," she responds in a smal lvoice.

"Stay here, Julia. It just had to go to my office. Did you have a good day?" I ask.

"Well, listen, I saw some adorable faces. Those seals are chubby, they have small heads, but they're so cute. Did you know they can slow down their heart rate to stay under water for over an hour? Me, at the pool, I could barely hold my breath for three seconds, max! And they dive really deep. I have some magnificent photographs. Anyway, it's nature, I have to let it take its course without interfering, so I also took pictures of an orca hunting. A seal served as a snack."

"That's sad," I remark.

"It's nature. I photographed hyenas attacking a lion, damn, I was less thant hirty meters away. I can tell you, I wanted to sing 'Banana Boat Song' as loudly as possible to make them leave him alone, until a group of lionesses arrived and chased them away. Day-o, day-ooooooo,"she begins, laughing.

"Tha tsounds familiar," I say.

"It's from the movie Beetlejuice."

"Ah, yes, the meal," I smile, imagining her singing and dancing in the savannah to save a lion.

"And what about you? What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a missing employee and one who got injured."

"Oh really?"

"But no one is missing, and no one has been to the infirmary."

"You're conducting an investigation! Are you like an insurance detective?"

Not bad! I will reuse it.

"Sort of, yes."

"Can I take a look?"

I don't know why, going against protocol and everything I adhere to, I lift the lid and start the playback.

"The footage is terrible," she immediately remarks.

"I know."

"You should run it through a filter to clean it up."

"The image has been compressed. That must be affecting the quality, right?"

"It depends on your equipment. Is it powerful?"

Julia nudges me and grabs my mouse, clicking through the files. She doesn't realize that my computer is from a government agency, not some computer store on the corner.

"Yeah ,it's heavy. I can't do anything with my equipment here. If I had it at home, I could clean it up quickly, while we enjoy a drink. By the way, what's this?"

I watch as her finger touches the screen, leaning forward just like her, as we see a snowmobile approaching.

"This is so cool," she exclaims, dropping her coat to the floor and standing behind me, her arms crossed over my shoulders. "What's he up to? Is he the one who went missing?"