A figure stood alone on the rooftop of the building. Beside her was a pair of binoculars, a black case and a computer case. A second figure joined her on the rooftop. The girl was dressed in all black, down to black soft-soled shoes, and the man was dressed in a green uniform with the communist pin on both of his lapels.
" An hour to go," he said in Chinese; a car below honked, the man turned to leave, but not before he issued his last order: " Be careful, Erica. We would not want this to be your last assignment." He disappeared off the rooftop.
Erica was not idle after he left; she immediately began to assemble her weapon, which was transported to the site in the black case. Then she set up her laptop and turned it on.
"Normally people want security cameras, but not today," she mumbled to herself as she punched in a few commands. Her computer went searching for all possible security cameras. The wind picked up, blowing around snowflakes, temporarily making Erica lose her vision. A fist came out of the swirling snow and missed her by a few centimetres. Reacting as trained, she let loose a punch of her own, this time making contact with her assailant. It fell down and then got up again, preparing for the next blow. Erica kicked out, causing him or her to knock its head against the concrete floor. Turning back to her computer, she saw that there were only three security cameras in the whole building. The computer asked whether or not she would like to shut off those cameras.
"Why else would I ask you to search for them?" She signed as she pressed yes. The computer got to work shutting off the cameras. Erica then turned her attention to the unconscious form on the ground. A faint whistle sounded, she stood up suddenly and listened carefully. There it was again. A shadow detached itself from the other shadows and made for the staircase leading down. Erica grabbed her gun and ran after it. Ping! A stray bullet went over her head, a warning to her that the shadow, if that's what it was, was armed.
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In darkened room, a person was busy moving around, packing bags. A manila envelope lay on the table, waiting for the drop off. The person occasionally stopped to look at it, then went back to work. The document was safe; he wouldn't dare to open it in America. Last time he checked was on the airplane across the Pacific Ocean. It was safe, no one has touched it , he made sure of that. Yet he did not realize his fatal mistake was his confidence.
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Erica prodded the downed person with her foot. Getting no response, she left it and went up the stairs to the roof. A blast of cold air greeted her, and she pulled her jacket even closer to her body. Erica jogged on the spot to warm up then went over to her computer and sat down, waiting for the time to arrive. Down on the street below, another person was waiting for the same person to arrive, unaware that another was watching him with the same orders as him. Erica spotted the person and waved, the person waved back then spoke through a headset to her.
"Everything okay up there?"
"Yep, except the fact that I'm freezing my butt off up here waiting."
" He'll come. Soon."
"I hope so, Hé, I hope so." She looked at her watch; it was 2330 hours, half an hour to go. Erica walked over to where her gun was lying and started to set up the tripod when there was a sudden scuffle on the road below. Erica dashed over to the pulpit, and to her surprise there was two men fighting each other, "I'm guessing that one of them is you, Hé," she pulled out her hand gun and shot at the other man twice before he fell to the ground. "Thanks," came the breathless reply. Erica walked back to where all her equipment was and finished setting up the tripod. Then she sat down and waited.
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------------------------------------2355 hours-------------------------- ---------------------------------
A black car circled the block once, twice, then pulled up to the curb. Erica was sitting down when the call went through.
"It's time." Erica got ready, and so did Hé. The occupant of the car was waiting until it was midnight before he got out. All that the duo could do was wait. Two and half minutes passed and the car door opened. A tall lean man got out of the car and pulled his collar up.
"Confirmation, please," asked Erica.
"That's him," replied Hé. "He's going up to the fourth floor." Erica looked into the scope, and waited for him to open the door. A movement in the room caught her eye.
"Hé, is there supposed to be someone else in that room?" She asked causally. Erica heard him swearing over the headset. "I take that as a no."
She dismantled the tripod, slung the gun over her shoulder, grabbed a few ropes and ran to the side of the building. On the side of the building there was a metal hook, which Erica clipped a carabiner to. She already had her climbing harness on so only the rope had to be attached. Climbing over the ledge, she repelled down the side of the building. After unhooking herself, she ran across the road, and up the first flight of stairs. Hé was waiting for her, he pointed up and held up three fingers, and Erica nodded. Looking down at her watch, her eyes widened, and started to run up the stairs.
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---------------------------------------2357 hours----------------------- ---------------------------------
On the fourth floor there was a commotion. Two corpses were lying on the ground and a tall Asian with bleached hair was pacing the room, looking at the two bodies on the floor and nervously looking at a package lying on the table. In his hands was a shotgun. He looked up as two figures burst through the door, a girl wearing all black and a Chinese soldier. A smile formed on his face as he recognized the soldier.
"Well, aren't we a little slow. Hé, isn't it? And who's your friend?"
" Kjell, give me the document please," Hé forced out between deep breaths.
Erica just stood there, holding her weapon with both hands. She was staring at the document on the table.
"Nope." "Erica, take the document," ordered Hé. Erica stood there, her face showing the doubt that she felt as he repeated, "Erica, take the document! Did you hear me?" Erica raised her eyes and looked at him directly in the eyes. The look made Hé shiver all over, Kjell saw the look and shivered too.
"No." That single word broke the tension that was building in the room. Hé looked at her as if she was crazy. Kjell looked surprised.
"The document is worthless. It's not real." her eyes were cold and hard, " The Chinese would never write something down as top secret as a formula for a microscopic nuclear reactor then leave unattended. No, it is fake, a fraud, a copy. Which ever way you say it, it is worthless."
" The priceless, worthless document. I went through so much trouble for this," Kjell paused and stared angrily at the package on the table, " for this piece of junk!" Erica went over and picked up the package, opened it and pulled out the contents. She showed it to the stunned men. It was a photograph of a family.
"Not worthless, it was an experiment to see how greedy governments could get. That's what killed the three men, greed. Each of their governments wanted it. That's what brought all of us here. The experiment proved worthwhile, I may just do it again." Erica had a mysterious look on her face.
" You?" Kjell and Hé asked together. A smile came over Erica's face, one that neither man liked.
"I am the real thief." Erica took out a letter from her pant pocket, laid it on the table and left the building. Neither saw her again because she did not exist. It was exactly midnight, December 25, 2002.
THE END
