Story of My Life.
Ok, so here I was 6am sharp and it's all I can do to keep from falling asleep. Yes me, standing here in the charcoal gray skirt, white shirt and matching jacket. I prefer jeans and a tee shirt over any suit. Especially ones I paid too much for. At first glance I probably looked like a frumpy 5'11" stewardess who's been through a plane crash. Of course this being because I've only got 1 eye, yup, only 1. Lost in a long time ago, My fur is gray, though not in an old woman sort of way with a bit of white here and there, an ironically tie shaped bit that fell right between my breasts, party joke much? Anyway. Hell I'd even used product on my hair, its jaw length, and sometimes frills about the edges making me look younger then my 24 years gave away. It was straight today. Stupid bigwigs, making me get all dressed up.
My eye lid drooped and a heard a snicker nearby. "Your looking bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning, Lavinia." My name's Lavinia Valintino, but everyone calls me Vinny, except him apparently. I knew the voice to be my handler, Arc. Turning a glared at him, though I was pretty sure it looked more like a pouty glower than anything else. His smug look confirmed it. A arctic wolf looking smug in his suit, who would have ever thought.
"Whoever invented special 6am..." I yawned mid sentence and continued. "Meetings should be shot..." It was an old gripe, several water coolers old.
"Maybe you should just get up at this time every day, so..." he didn't get a chance to continue.
"Maybe you should shove it, Arc!" I can be witty when I want to, though apparently today wasn't one of those days. Yup, that's me, always unpredictable. We bantered a little more while waiting for the rest of the 6Am special's to arrive. He and I have worked on a lot of missions together. Usually though he was behind a desk, sending me Intel if I needed it, but sometimes out in the field with me. I trusted him one hundred percent. He's about 6'1", handsome and either 30 or 31... I cant remember what he said. He's like a brother to me.
The ding of the elevator brought my head around to look; my secretary came through the doors before they closed behind her. My secretary, Georgia, a lovely woman of canine descent. I love her to death, except on 6AM special days, whereas I manage to pull of the frumpy 'I just woke up look' she always looks like she has been awake for hours, ready to come to work looking pretty and professional. Perky and smiling. I glowered. She smiled and held out a cardboard cup and a napkin with a doughnut in it. "Here you go, the others will be up shortly." She told me as I took the items from her.
"Alright, thanks." Any ill will I had for her that morning was banished as I dug into the bit of sugary delight. In fact, I'm sure I looked very attractive gobbling it all up. The coffee she'd handed me was from some overpriced coffee shop, she'd seen down the road. But it tasted great despite the price. This did much for her mood, as she'd been quite cranky. She nudged Georgia and smirked a little. "Any word on what the plan is?" The woman blinked and shook her head before standing aside and leaning on the wall.
The elevator opened with a ding and they all looked towards it as two men wearing suits that were worth more then my car -I've got a cheap car, but still- headed our way. The taller of the two, he was the director his last name was Catterhaim. There was a pool on who could come up with Director Catterhaim's first name. It was quite large by now. "Mrs. Valintino" he said in greeting, extending his paw towards her. She took it as she always did and shook as he introduced the other man. "This is Mr. Keche" His head swirled to look at Mr.Keshe, then back to me. "Lavinia Valintino." And just like that, they were introduced to each other. I made pleasantry as I was custom and we all headed into a nearby conference room. The sign on the door said Catterhaim Insurance Inc.
My company was indeed an insurance company, but this was only a front. We're a government funded organization, that is its insurance. Lets just say... there in good hands. We took seats and the Director took the stage, passing me a folder while Georgia set up the projector and passed the thumb button to him. With a little 'sshkk' noise the first image appeared a rather ruddy looking horse. "This man, Dwain Ashton, goes by the name Cypruss. He's the current lead for the anarchist group 'Urban Brotherhood'." he paused and the slide changed to a picture of several people. "They have been responsible for several acts of urban terrorism in the last year. But no one can trace any of the actions back to him." He paused again, the slide changed to a boardinghouse. "This is where he is staying." At this he flicked the switch on the projector, it turned off without much noise and the lights came back on.
"Isn't this just a good snatch and grab for the police?" I asked, opening my folder and taking a glance at some slightly more detailed versions of what I'd just seen. I could see Arc doing the same out of the corner of my eye.
"The police don't have enough evidence to keep him for longer then 24 hours. The big wigs want this done quick and clean." The director pointed out to me with a little shrug. I knew what this meant and nodded.
The meeting was adorned and she left with Georgia and Arc. "And that couldn't have happened at 9?" I asked, another yawn bubbling up and escaping, my paw rising up to my mouth. I heard Arc snicker, but he was in business mode. His nose buried in the folder. He had research to do. He turned without so much as a goodbye and closed the door to his office. Georgia and I headed into my office. I promptly flopped into my chair like the elegant lady I was.
"This is your itinerary for today" Georgia told me, setting a piece of paper onto the desk in front of me. "These two you have to attend, the others... are optional." Aka, Those two are meetings with Arc and his planning crew. We always did two of them, the first then a revision to get it right. Not that any plan is fool proof, but we liked to think it was as close as it got. The others, they were regular insurance meetings. Truth be told, I didn't know anything about insurance and didn't care to. But I had the option of looking like a regular employee.
I leaned back in my chair and kicked my feet up onto the desk, ditching my heels onto the floor before saying. "Wake me when the first one is here." My eyes closed and I was out like a light. At first when I felt a light nudging of my foot I grumbled something about it not even being noon, but Arc's smooth voice cut into me and my eye flew open.
"Your right, its a little after 5." He looked amused. "We didn't need two sessions today, its literally a in and out job. Silenced weapon, wam bam thankyoumaam." He dropped a picture onto my desk and I pulled my feet off to look, wiping at my eye for a moment. "Go in here..." he pointed at an entrance. "The sprinklers will be on, so your gun wont make much noise. Shoot him and leave" He shrugged.
"Alright.." I responded after a moment. "Sounds easy." Though nothing was ever easy, especially in this sort of job. "When?" I asked him
"Tonight" he replied. "Figure you've slept long enough, a job like this wont be hard" he leaned on the desk for a moment. "Be ready to go in an hour" he told me and scooted off the desk to head out my door and into the hallway. I sighed lightly, I was going to miss my shows again. Getting to my feet I headed to the little cupboard nearby and opened it. Inside lay the suppresser for my SIGp226. I picked it up and pulled the gun out of its holster in the small of my back. Applying to modification was like second nature. I pulled on the side a little just to catch a glimpse of the round in the chamber before laying it onto the desk and pulling out some different cloths.
When I came out the back door of the 12 story building I wasn't wearing that ugly suit anymore, I'd changed into a pair of tight jeans, a T-shirt, a kevlar vest and a pair of sneakers I could move quietly in. My SIG was at my side, holstered and suppressed, held against my leg. I got into the car I always did, Arc in the side seat connected to the Internet via satellite, and our driver. His name was Marcus, Marcus... Marcus... I couldn't remember his last name. He nodded to me and started to drive. I guess he knew where he was going. Arc passed me a little speaker that fit into my ear. I took a deep breath and closed my eye, thinking of the target. "What if there are others around?" I asked after a moment, aware that anarchist groups often stayed together.
"If you feel like they are going for you, shoot them." Arcs cool voice echo's in my ear a little, as I could hear him though the speaker, and next to me. I nodded and remained quiet for the rest of the drive there.
The place wasn't much, in fact it was very run down and she wondered if maybe she could just kick a support beam and make the whole thing fall. She got out of the car and made for the door, it was dark enough that she was more or less shrouded in the darkness. The door to the front was open and she stepped inside. It was dark, only a couple of lights flickered lazily on this floor. She took the stairs moving quietly and stopping before room 002 on the second floor. It smelled here, of ammonia and other chemicals. She let Arc know and got a raspy response about being careful not to inhale too much. She rolled her eyes and reminded herself to berate his poor intel later on. She grasped the door knob and turned it. Sheesh... this was too easy. It was unlocked. Stepping inside I drew my handgun.
I paused hearing a sound nearby my back and turned in time to see some female trying to brain me with a golf club. The sprinklers came on and I thanked whatever god or man had made this happen. I took a step to the side and lashed out with a foot, catching her in the legs. The woman stumbled, that was all I needed to raise the SIG and put a couple of bullets into her. The noise almost completely covered up by the sprinklers, little whispers. They say that when you kill someone you lose a part of yourself. I told that someone to go fuck themselves. I don't feel anything anymore really. Maybe when I first started, but after seeing the really horrible things in this world. I stopped caring about someone's death.
Stepping further inside I looked around. All in all, there didn't seem to be anyone here, other then the dead girl in the hallway. I went into a bedroom and was bowled over by.. low and behold. Cypruss. Raising my gun I shot at him, though he was moving and I only caught him in the side. He staggered and went into a bathroom. The smell was getting stronger as I walked towards the door he'd gone into. The horse came out. He looked delirious, and definitely on something. He was holding a zippo lighter near a rather large drum filled with something that smelled flammable. "You lose bitch" he muttered in some sort of accent I didn't recognize. Though I realized what he was up to and made a face. Its funny, when facing rather possible death via explosion all I could think of was. 'That was a dumb ass line' Of course he lowered the lighter a little lower and I snapped back to reality. Glancing around I frowned, the front door was too far but a large window was nearby. I was on the second floor... broken bones were better then extra crispy. My SIG lifted and I started running, putting holes into the window as I did. I knew this had been too easy...
Unlike in the movies when you hit a window with your body and go through it, it doesn't usually just turn into little harmless bits of dust. I grunted as I pushed my full force into the window I'd been shooting. My left arm moving up to cover my head as I tried to get the kevlar and my shoulder to take most of the impact. It shattered, sending razor sharp bits flying into me. Luckily only my left arm got cut alot. Did I feel a damn thing? Nope, adrenalin was a lovely thing sometimes. Apparently he dropped it right as I went. Though this wasn't the type of explosion to send things flying everywhere, I still felt the whoosh and the force from it as it turned all the air in the apartment into fire.
I was sent tumbling through the air in a slow spin and the only inane thing I could think of was 'Mustard, do I have some at the house?' stupid I know. I felt the very cold water of the sprinklers on my arm and remembered to let out my breath before I hit ground. Though I didn't hit ground, instead I hit something sticking up out of the ground. The air that had been left whooshed from me as my lower back exploded into pain. Luckily I was wearing my kevlar vest and it absorbed a little of the punishment, just enough to have me not be seriously injured by whatever I fell on. Suddenly cold water flooded over me, getting my back and legs soaked completely with really very cold water. Why was it that sprinkler water wasn't ever warm... or even the same temperature as the outside world. My vision grayed at the edges as I faugh to take a breath. Finally my diaphragm kicked in and I croaked a breath, gasping lightly and slowly rolling onto my side, then flopping onto my front careful not to leave the gun on the grass as I looked next to me, I'd fallen onto a sprinkler head. Of all the luck.
I could see the car screech to a stop on the curb and I tried to get to my feet. I believe I was hurt more then I thought I was, My legs felt numb, but they moved at my command and I rose to my knees. Arc was running over the lawn towards me and I learched forward, almost falling. Arc wrapped an arm around his shoulders and practically pulled me towards the car. I didn't fight him. I was tired, hungry, hurt, and wet. This was turning out to be a nightmare.
I dimly remember the car ride, and being put on a stretcher. My eye opened and I felt fuzzy and nice all over. Painkillers are a wonderful thing. Apparently I was awake through whatever he was doing though because the paw on my right arm was holding a shirt to my front. I don't remember getting naked, or changing. But I wasn't wearing underwear. Only a pair of sweats and this shirt I was holding onto my front. I looked around slowly and spotted Ned nearby. "Ned..." my voice sounded so low. "Give it to me strait... that sprinkler had it out for me..." I felt loopy, must be the painkillers.
The racoon rolled over, yes rolled in his chair... cheater. "Your fine, that mean and nasty watering tool didn't do much other then give you a right nasty bruise, as for your arm." he paused a moment, looking to the white wrappings covering up my left arm. "Keep those bandages changed every 12 hours or so." He shrugged some. "Now get out of my office..." he shooed me away. Normally I'd tell him what cliff he could jump from but tonight all I wanted was the same.
After putting on the shirt, as opposed to just holding it over my chest, I headed out with Arc, he was driving his personal car now. A little sports car of some sorts. I wobbled about next to him before her opened the door and helped me in. How bad was a hurt really. Usually Ned told me how it was, but I felt worse then I think I was. I sighed lightly.
"Your in pretty good shape for basically being blown up.." Arcs smooth voice drifted from the other side of the car and I looked over at him. He smiled lightly. "I'm taking you home." was all the more he said as we drove. I was ok with that, I didn't want to talk anyway. I was very sure that if I did, I'd just be babbling. We arrived and he helped me inside. He's got a key. Though this led me to wonder where my gun and other effects were. I asked him about them and the said they were in the car. Letting me know he would drop them inside before he left. I nodded and went into my bedroom, shimmying out of her sweats. Arc's seen me naked quite a few times, so this didn't bother him. IN fact he helped me take the shirt off after it seemed hopeless to get it off myself. And helped me into a nice big T-shirt I sleep in sometimes.
I hit the bed and watched him head out of my room with a little smile. It was nice to have friends... even if I wasn't going to hear the end of it at the office. My eyes closed and I was out like a light... and I still didn't know if I had any mustard left.