The Task Force- NCIS 2nd Generation
The streets were crowded with tourists, ranging from Mexican to Japanese to Chinese to Canadian, proving that most wars were only political, and the citizens only divided themselves after a war had already started. If only the government leaders could figure this out.
One person was leaning against the wall of a building, peering closely at each passerby from beneath a cap. He was looking for somebody specific. Smoke wafted from the cigarette between his lips and he held on to a newspaper with one gloved hand, the other shoved in a trench coat pocket.
The person he was searching for would most likely be hidden well among the crowd and not stand out, or disguised as a common civilian, but they were anything but. A lot of people who blended in, weren't who they seemed to be. You can't judge a book by its cover, one of the most famous sayings, and it definitely applied to this situation.
He studied passing schoolgirls, giggling models, so-called happy couples, and even an elderly woman hobbling along with a cane.
Reasons; he didn't know the face, only the name of the target and the target was exceedingly good at disguises, which was why he didn't have a picture.
The man was looking at the faces of the bystanders for signs of over excessive amounts of makeup, maybe to cover up their real appearances, and their eyes, which always held the truth. He was depending more on the latter, since the initial one applied to pretty much everybody…even some of the guys who slunk past.
Then his attention drifted to a sight that he would have previously considered strange, if he hadn't been standing there for the past two hours, seeing the future leaders of our world. He hoped to die early.
A teenage girl, maybe fifteen years old, strutted passed him.
She had waist-length ebony black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail, a single strand curling down her front.
Her fashion sense was…unique, to say the least. It consisted of a camo tank top, a black jacket, shorts, and combat boots. Sunglasses hid her eyes and an earbud was strung from one ear, the cord trailing down to her pocket.
A backpack was on her back, the strap secured across her chest. She was beating on imaginary drums as she bobbed her head and mouthed the words to whatever music she was listening to.
As she danced by him he caught a whisper of the words she was singing, Never gonna change my mind, we can leave it all behind…
He grimaced. He was way too familiar with that song, but it was good to know there were more than one person who knew it.
He straightened, smothered his cancer stick against the brick wall and tossed it in a nearby trash can as he trailed after the girl.
If she was who he thought she was, she would notice him soon, so he'd have to corner her quickly, without there being any way for her to flee, because if there was, she would find it.
She was notorious for that particular trait.
Girl's POV (first person)
I didn't even falter. I was listening to one of my favorite songs and not even my stalker could ruin it's awesomeness.
Only a select few songs were on my special playlist, and this was one of them. Rebel Love Song by Black Veil Brides.
When the song ended I sighed. It was time to get rid of my tail, but I'd have to do it creatively, while at the same time, somehow finding out who he was and why he was following me. There were plenty of reasons for him too, I just needed to know which one I had, apparently, sloppily displayed to the point of where I could be caught. Very uncharacteristic of me, but I guess it happened to everyone eventually. The hard part was erasing your tracks once they'd been discovered.
I swept my gaze over the approaching buildings and grinned as my mind automatically planned out an escape, connecting the dots like one of the popular number puzzles.
Good thing I had explored the area before actually showing my face. That was my number one rule.
1: Always know where you are and how to get away if need be.
Because I had apprentices often rolling through, I had made a list of my most important regulations for not getting captured. I must have accidentally skipped over a rule or something, since I knew I had covered every angle among the quotes. But when? And how had this person noticed it?
Don't get me wrong, I didn't do anything seriously illegal. I just developed prototypes of advanced weapons, communication devices, audio and video surveillance equipment, and pretty much anything under the sun. Stuff so before it's time that criminals and governments alike wanted and would do anything to get their hands on it, so the rules were necessary.
Anyway, I still had a shadow, and I still needed to get away from him.
A group of women stood in a circle at the mouth of an alley, gossiping on every detail of everybody else's lives, not bothering to mention a detail of their own; instead focused on being critical of each mistake a stranger made, whether it be stumbling on the sidewalk, or wandering into the street, disoriented for one reason or another.
Perfect. I swiftly ducked behind them and into the alley, bursting into a sprint to the fire escape. Scaling it easily, I mentally complimented myself on having stayed in shape for this exact purpose.
2: Never let yourself get lazy or fat, it will only slow you down in the long run.
Luckily, this roof was aligned with several others, not much space between them, so it was possible to jump and survive, which was always a good thing.
Man's POV
"Ugh," He grumbled to himself. "I really have to go to the gym more often." This revelation had occurred to him as he struggled to reach the top of the three-story building. When he finally heaved himself over the edge, his target was four rooftops away and had just dropped down into another alley.
"Man, she's fast." He marveled, elbows on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Seems he was going to have to track her down again; so it was a good thing had knew what she looked like.
In a way, he was grateful she had escaped. If she had just continued on walking, he would have concluded that she wasn't who he was after, but after displaying an impressive skill of parkour, it was obvious she was who he thought she was.
Now there was just the matter of locating her.