by Brian Cotton
***
Precision would be the name of Krys’s new game. She breathed heavy underneath the cubicle. Her hands damp under her gloves. She had to take the both of them out at nearly the same time. If not, if her aim was slightly off, they would raise the alarm…
“Krysta!” Clarke shouted. “He’s almost there, you have to…”
Krys popped up from her hiding spot. She eyed her two enemies who stopped in their tracks, alarmed at the sight of the intruder. The guard close to the computer tried to draw his gun. He took a bullet to the throat instead and dropped to the ground. Krys moved her pistol with a calculated fury towards the second guard. He was already darting towards the alarm. Three trigger pulls later and he had three bullets in his back. He dropped to the ground as well.
“The download is almost complete,” Clarke said. “Get that memory stick and get the hell out of there.”
The blood from the guard’s throat was still fresh on the screen when Krys arrived to the computer. She holstered the P99. Her eyes became transfixed on the screen. She gave the memory stick nervous taps as she watched the download progress.
82.8…93.4…99.2…100
She yanked the memory stick out so hard she almost ripped the end of it out. She replaced the stick back in the pouch on her flak jacket. Clarke informed her that the coast was clear in the hall, but she would have to do something about the guard by the side door. Krys thanked him for the good news then treaded past the dead bodies back out into the hallway.
Once again her back was pressed against the wall. She sidestepped her way to the end. A diversion would be necessary to get that guard moved from his post. Inside one of the pouches of the flak jacket rested spare magazines for the pistol. She took hold of one and tossed it down the hall.
“The fuck was that?” the guard posted at the door called out.
The guard shouldered his submachine gun and walked towards the hall. When he reached it, Krys could see the barrel of the gun. She grabbed at it and yanked it from the surprised guard’s hands. The gun crashed to the ground. Krys spun and aimed her pistol. The guard did a chopping motion. The force of the chop caused Krys to drop the weapon.
He grabbed Krys by the throat and back peddled her towards the wall. When she hit the wall, Krys could feel her head become light. In desperation, she kneed the guard hard to the groin. He backed off and released his grip. He composed himself with almost inhuman quickness. He threw a punch. Krys ducked and his fist met the wall. The guard breathed heavy in pain. Krys pulled out her combat knife. She thrust the sharp, pointed end into the guard’s gut.
The intruder ran for her pistol, picked it, then sprinted towards the side door.
“Robby?” Krys said.
“You’re clear to the garage, but hurry.”
Krys ran as hard as her legs could take. She flung the door open then made a break for the garage. Once inside, she grabbed both door handles and the doors flew open. She entered the van and took a seat on the bench.
With the engine still running, Paxton put the van into the first gear, and then slammed his foot on the gas. The tires screamed on the cement pavement. The van shot out of the garage.
Krys tore off her mask. She made contact with Kaspar’s concerned eyes. She ripped of her mask and showed him the memory stick. She smiled at him. Krys moved towards the front. She handed the stick into Kilbourne’s awaiting left hand. Kilbourne took the stick and inserted it into the black laptop that rested on his lap.
“Pretty impressive, huh?” Krys asked aloud as she moved back to her seat.
“Pretty impressive,” Kaspar replied. “Or pretty stupid. What were you thinking, agreeing to do that?”
“I told you I would be fine. You think that was the first time I’ve had to sneak into a building?” Krys fired back.
“What if they would have caught you in there?”
“Then I’d be dead. But, they didn’t catch me, did they?”
“I…guess you’re right.”
Krys’s eyes lit up. “You were worried about me, weren’t you?”
“Of course I was. You were going in there all alone…”
“Is Mr. Tough Guy Boxer getting sentimental on me?” Krys asked. Her eyes grew wider which forced Kaspar to feel that strange feeling again…
“Yeah, well, don’t get too excited.” Kaspar replied.
“Who said I was excited?”
Up front, Paxton listened with great interest to what Clarke was explaining to him. He listened with disbelief as Clarke revealed what was going on with the water supply. Apparently, the USR had pumped a top secret, experimental drug into it. The funny thing about the drug was that it only seemed to affect women, based on the reports Krys managed to download.
“Holy shit,” Clarke said.
“What now?” Paxton wondered.
“You’re not going to believe this…how could this be?”
“Just spill it already!”
“The team leader for this operation is…”
Paxton listened to Clarke rattle off the name. He cursed out loud then slammed his fist onto the dash board. Paxton ordered Clarke to run that name by him again. He just couldn’t believe what his friend was saying to him. Clarke repeated the name.
“Any possibility that that’s a mistake?” Paxton asked.
“None,” Clarke replied.
Kilbourne moved the computer screen over for Paxton to take a look over. The name was there, in bold letters, clear as day.
That name…how could it be?
