Project X - Agents & Assassins [COMPLETE]

Chapter 9

The wind blew in her face as she climbed the old church. It was still a cold morning but Kalea knew this day would be more than just training, it would be a mission. 'Agent 2, can you hear me?', the sharp voice in her ears said. It startled her and she almost lost grip on the rough stones. She moaned as she pulled herself up onto a balcony. She ducked and checked the round area around her. 'Yes Richard, I can perfectly hear you,' Kalea whispered back. On the balcony were large pillars which gave entrance to the clock tower of the church. She adjusted one of her carabiners to one of the ropes that hung inside. After that, she put on her leather gloves and swung onto the rope. Than it was just a matter of sliding down while her weight made one of the bells of the carillon ring. 'Is everything okay up there?', asked Richard through the mic. 'Yes, everything's fine,' Kalea whispered back as she stopped halfway through the rope. She knotted the rope around her feet and stood on it. 'Are you absolutely sure it's here?', she asked. 'Yes,' Richard answered. Kalea nodded and carefully detached her carabiner. After this, she turned back to climbing down the rope. At least one floor above the ground, she felt the rope shaking. She tried to climb down faster, but before she knew it the rope had snapped. She didn't make a sound. Instead, she carefully landed on the ground with a head roll. The rope stacked on a heap but again, in pure silence. Kalea looked around and made sure every sound she made was silent and still. She heard noises from the back of the church and crawled behind a large, white pillar. 'Put on your glasses,' said Richard through the mic.

Kalea silently obeyed as she took out a black pair of sunglasses from her bag. They were made to let Richard, or any other guy behind the net screens, see what she saw. She could also zoom in on certain places to see if there were enemies near. 'Great, thanks,' said Richard. She silently moved and looked at the silhouette of a man at the altar. 'That must be the priest,' whispered Kalea.

'Yes, but you have to wait until he's gone.'

Kalea crouched towards another pillar, closer to the altar, to get a better view. She saw the priest putting the monstrance on the altar, while holding it with a long, white blanket. Kalea didn't really understand anything of religions and didn't really care for them either. The priest kneeled before the altar before he went away. 'Do you think it will be in that golden thing?', she whispered. 'Might be,' answered Richard, 'but I think that'd be too obvious.'

'Should I just check it out anyway?', she asked.

No response. Now what was she supposed to do? She decided to move forward a few pillars, so that she was only a few meters away from the altar. Just before she wanted to move again, the priest appeared again and started placing golden and silvers cups on the altar as well. 'Okay agent 2, I just received a blue print of the church,' said Richard with a firm voice, 'on the altar should be a switch.'

Kalea nodded and kept an eye on the priest who now went away again and locked the door behind him. It didn't take long before the lights in the church were out as well and Kalea had to do with the upcoming light from outside. She crawled towards the altar and examined it. 'And where would you think it'd be?', she asked. Richard cleared his throat and was quiet. 'I think on the pattern behind it.'

Kalea moved towards the back of the altar and saw a pattern of a mother swan feeding her children. It was carved out of the wood but there wasn't really something special about it. Until she started feeling over the pattern, she felt a movable trigger on the carvings around the pattern. She pulled it over and heard stone moving on stone. She stood up and saw how in the middle of the church, a path had opened on the floor. 'Neat,' she said enthusiastically. She heard a loud noise behind her, as if something were to break, so she intended to get this over with. Who knew someone might come back. She stood above the opening and saw how there was a staircase built in it that led down. She took her bag and started searching in it. Moments later, she took out a flashlight and adjusted it to the middle of her belt, so that her hands would still be empty; might anything happen. It was dark and damp underground and Kalea expected no one had gotten down here in at least twenty years. The dust hung around in the air and Kalea made sure the cloth on her face, covering her mouth and nose, was still wrapped tight around her face. The whole room was filled with old stuff which should normally be stuffed around a dusty attic. There were broken mirrors, marble sculptures and basically a lot of grandma stuff. 'What are we looking for, again?', Kalea asked. No response, where was Richard? Kalea started digging through the porcelain plates and cups, through the jute bags wandering about. A screeching noise resounded through her ears and she had to hold herself in not to grab the mics right out her ears.

'Yes, I'm back. We had a power failure,' said Richard. Kalea sighed and sat down. "What are we looking for Richard?", she asked. She heard Richard laugh. 'We're looking for a small, golden statue of a griffon. It should be around the size of a grown man's hand.'

Kalea nodded and jumped back onto her feet. She'd seen it when she was searching for something like that. She opened a drawer of a nightstand and found the statue inside it. 'I've got it,' she said. She opened her bag and slowly let the griffon slide inside.