Disclaimer: I do not own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.
"Really, Ilsa, no need to worry, just stay calm, find that instruction manual and everything will be alright."
"You do realize that "somewhere in the storage room" isn't exactly a precise location, do you?"
"If I could give you more precise information, Ilsa, I would…"
"And in addition to that, this storage room is a mess! No discernible order at all! We'll definitely discuss this at our next meeting, which I rescheduled for Friday morning, eight a.m., by the way. I know a very professional document shredding company that offers mobile services. If we put in a filing cabinet…"
"Ilsa!"
"You said "stay calm"!"
"I didn't say "take your time, no need to hurry"."
"So it is a time sensitive matter then?"
Silence.
"Chance, how urgent is it for me to find that manual?"
More silence.
"This issue doesn't involve a timer attached to a bomb, does it?"
"If you don't find that manual in the next three minutes, you'll need a broom and a dust pan to gather us for your next meeting, boss." Guerrero's voice. Not a thread of panic in it, but the message couldn't have been clearer.
Ilsa closed her eyes. Where in this jumble of furniture, documents, mechanic parts… a life-size wooden figurehead depicting Poseidon… was that dried up blood on his trident? … could the manual be hidden?
Logic, Ilsa, logic – things pile up in layers… she had once sat through a very boring lecture about sedimentation, layer formation and their role for modern archeology, after she and Marshall had made a donation to the historical institute of a small South American university. The lecture had been meant as a gift and maybe now it would turn out to have been a gift indeed.
She rushed to a pile of what looked like old files way in the back of the room. "Is this manual red?" She hectically started skipping through the pages.
"See, she can take pressure." Guerrero again. Judging from his muffled voice he wasn't talking to her.
They managed to defuse the device in time. As the men filed back into the office about an hour later, Ilsa studied them carefully. Chance was hurt, his forehead looked like someone had used a cheese grater on it.
But it was Guerrero whom she brought a glass of water first.