The Malaysian Operative

Chapter 5 : Tradecraft

As the briefing ended, Azeem was requested to report to the Field Operation Unit. The unit is designated to provide field operatives with the equipment, tools and gadgets necessary to be used for their missions. The floor which houses the unit is located on the third basement level of the agency's building, purposely arranged in that way so as to conceal its secrecy and highly classified activities of designing, experimenting and production of state-of-the-art, prototyped or innovated equipment. The technicians and scientists working for the unit work countless hours to create, modified and innovate in order to deliver the best tools for their operatives.

Azeem took the elevator heading down. As the elevator arrived at the level, the door opened. As he stepped out of the elevator, he walked towards the entrance door of the unit. Two security guards stood behind the counter, ensuring any personnel who wishes to enter to furnish proper credentials. The guards wore the agency's uniform made of blue coloured digital camouflaged.

As Azeem approached the security counter, one of the guard swept his body with a handheld metal detector.

Azeem withdrew his security pass and handed it to the guard behind the counter. The guard took it and then inserted the card into a slot, enabling the computer to read the chip. On his computer, details of Azeem, including his rank and clearance level appeared.

"Please scan your eyes, captain."

Azeem did as he was told. The retinal scanner was fixed beside the automatic door. As the machine scanned his eyes, he could hear the sound of metal clanking inside the door. The lock mechanism operated to withdraw the steel bars from their housing, allowing the door to slide open.

The guard requested that Azeem hand in his firearm for their safekeeping while he was inside.

Azeem feigned a surprised look in his face. "Sorry, totally forgot about this," As he spoke, he used his right hand to grab the gun in his shoulder holster and handed it to the guard.

"You can collect the gun on your way out, sir!"

"Ok."

The guard took a step behind. He had completed his search.

"You can go in now, sir."

"Thank you." Azeem replied.

The guard at the counter handed back Azeem his card. Azeem took the card and walked through the door.

As he walked into the restricted area, he looked inside. There were rooms situated at the left and right side of the corridor that led to the main offices and labs of the Field Operations Unit. As he walked along the corridor, he could see workers and staffs of the unit, mostly in lab coats working in the chemical laboratory, vehicles workshop, a closed sound proof firing range, armoury, electrical gadgets and computer labs. All of them, men and women were occupied with their works.

As he passed the firing range, his attention was drawn to a man holding an AA12 automatic shotgun. He was firing towards the targets about 100 metres in front of him. The shots from the weapon ripped apart the card board targets in just a few seconds.

That is a cool weapon. With devastating stopping power.

As the firing stopped, Azeem continued to walk to the room of a technical officer he was requested to meet. The room was situated at the end of the corridor, the farthest of all from the entrance. As he reached it, he peeked inside and saw a man examining something through the magnifying glass. He was in his 30's, wore a thick spectacle and had a curly hair. He had a blue shirt with jeans on him, and 'Converse' branded shoes. A geek.