Science Fiction Multi-Feature Picture Show

White Lies (Part 2)

After a pleasant drink and alluring conversation, James found himself rearing for an adrenaline rush. He and the mysterious Ms. White made their way over the packed dirt terrain, dressed to blend into the shadows. Following the schematics given to them by M, they broke into the facility by a service entrance. Jane gave him one one last run down of the route to Hatten's cell and stressed the need for minimum encounters with the guards if at all possible. Strict orders to incapacitate, not kill. That surprised him. Normally, he would take out as many men as he could in a place like this, but he supposed it was more challenging to knock them down and out rather than dead. Jane's mission was far more dangerous, needing to slip unnoticed through the higher floors of the facility to find their intelligence center.

She nodded to him once, slipping back under her hood as she faded into the shadows. He admired her technique. For an American, she moved with an assassin's grace rather than a tech spy. For his part, James inserted a pair of wireless ear buds and hit play on his 'wrist watch'. It was a gift from M, who stated his atrocious habit should at least be subtle, though she often told him it would get him killed.

Ackercocke's Nadja blasted into his skull, pumping him up for the task. It was not gauche for an agent to dull their senses with such a distraction, but the pounding rhythmic frenzy helped him concentrate. He made his way down, following the route M gave him. To his surprise, he encountered very few men in the ill lit hallways, dispatching two with knock out darts from shadowy corners. A third man required a sleeper hold when James almost ran into him around a corner. Perhaps M was right about the music, though he found it odd their target was under such sparse guard. Three guards? He removed the ear buds when he reached the cell, peering through the slat at the curled up figure on the bed. Very odd indeed.

Having removed one of the guard's key-cards, he opened the cell door with little fuss, studying Hatten as the man sat up on the bunk, confusion evident in his face.

Though his features were gaunt from his time as a captive, Felix Hatten possessed a strong muscular build. The man was tall, broad shouldered, and once he filled out a bit, he would look a lot like James. He shook off the resemblance, offering the ragged man a hand up.

"Felix Hatten?"

"Who-who are you?" Hatten rasped, his lips cracked.

"Agent 007, sent to retrieve you from this place."

At James's words, fear filled the man's face. "No, you can't take me from here. I won't go!"

James frowned at him, wondering what the Devil was wrong with him. Hatten began to struggle, backing into the corner of his cell. "Help! Somebody help me!" He screamed, his voice hoarse, but James wasn't taking chances. He fired a dart into Hatten's neck, silencing the man. Heaving his knocked out target over his shoulder, James made his way out of the facility, passing only the unconscious guards on his way out.

He contemplated the situation as he left, waiting for Jane to join him outside with Hatten slumped against the outer wall beside him. The whole situation left a rotten taste in his mouth. What exactly happened here? Why was Hatten so dead set on leaving with him? The man appeared merely confused by the rescue until James told him his agent number. M had a lot of explaining to do. Perhaps Jane White would have a few answers for him.

The lady herself joined him a short twenty minutes later. The moment she stepped outside, the facility went black. She glanced at the unconscious Hatten, not batting an eye at him as she turned to James.

"Come, let's be on our way while they sort their system issues," she led the way, her hips sashaying in the moonlight. James hoisted Hatten up, half dragging him along as they made their way back to the car. He heard a few muffled shouts emerging from the facility but there was no gunfire, no spot-lights, and no pursuit. He bet they weren't aware of their missing prisoner yet.

Jane opened the back driver's side door for him to toss Hatten into the vehicle. "Why don't I drive us back? That way you can keep him subdued if he wakes up," she said, her voice brisk.

"Oh, those darts should keep him out for another couple hours at least," remarked James, settling the unconscious man across the back seat. He straightened, giving Jane a wink. "Plenty of time to deliver him, alive and unscathed."

He reached for the driver's side door as pinprick stab of pain shot into his neck. He reached for the spot, his fingertips alarmingly numb, but he could still make out the shape of the dart protruding from his skin. James tried to turn toward her, but the drugs made quick work of him. His legs gave up as he sagged against the car. Arms wrapped around him from behind, cushioning him as he fell. The last sensation he registered was a hand smoothing over his forehead.

***

Jane White stared down at the unconscious agent in her arms. It was harder than she thought to pull the trigger on him. The look of betrayal on his face cut her to the quick, but it was worth it. It was all worth it.

She hit the call button on her cell, waiting for the answer.

"This is M."

"Retrieval is a success. Hatten is safe and secure. The virus has been uploaded."

"Bring him to the drop off point. I shall consider our deal finished. I take it you have subdued James?"

Jane counted to five to keep the sneer out of her voice. "It is long past time you stopped calling him that."

There was silence on M's end. Likely the woman did her own count for patience. "As promised, Simon is all yours."