Chapter 3
"What, you still can't get anything? Cathy, I'm shocked!" The middle-aged man spoke to Cathy once she appeared in the doorway.
"Uh, shut up. She's stupid or she's playing her own game. Anyway we're off our schedule now, god damn it!" As she said this, she hit the table with her hand.
"Hey, don't break furniture, hon! Who said that it would be easy?" Timothy said taking her into his arms. "We'll need it. The table, I mean," he smiled. "Does she at least trust you?"
"Course she does!" Cathy shouted. She was now in another house and Irina would not hear her, nor would she even know where Cathy was. "We need more time and apparently we don't have that much. We better get back to the substation. She thinks I went to bed, so she doesn't expect me till morning."
They left the house, closing the door, and turning on the gate signal. Once seated in the jeep, Cathy spoke: "I honestly don't get it. How could she create that crazy group of killers, she looks so peaceful."
"You look so too, now." Tim said. "That also doesn't mean anything, does it?"
Cathy didn't reply as her phone rang.
"Hola, Josh! Yep, we'll be there soon. Uh, don't even ask; I want to see Jane in my office once I arrive, yes, and briefing in 40 minutes. Okay, see you." She turned off the mobile, and took a deep breath watching the road passing by their car. "I'm afraid I'll kill her soon. Anyway, it has to end. I'm tired."
"Catherine, you surprise me. If I hadn't known you for all my life, I'd think you were out of your mind." Tim laughed. "We've spent so much time hunting her, so much of our resources…"
"And what's the point? I thought once she didn't remember anything, she'd be easy to deal with." The woman shrugged.
"You'd better have some sleep, little one. I'll wake you up when we arrive."
"You're kidding? I'm 40, so don't call me a little one, Tim. If you weren't my brother, I'd kill you for that," she yawned. "Besides, we'll be in place soon."
A half hour later their car slowed and they stopped in front of the gray wall, waiting. Cathy typed something on her panel, and the wall moved to the right, letting them in. Rain stopped hitting the car as they moved inside their base. A man was waiting, holding some papers.
"What is it, Simon, you drown your laptop?" Cathy smirked as she got out of the jeep, taking her bag. Timothy followed her, smiling at her joke.
"Un, no, madam. It is what we found in the flat of the last target we eliminated. It's a protocol related to 2005. I want you to have a look," he handed the paper to his boss.
Cathy studied it for a second, and asked, "Why would someone keep it in one's apartment for that long?" Cathy wondered. "Is there anything I don't see?"
"Well, yes and no. First, I wondered about it too, but then, uh, madam, it is encrypted. I think the CIA might have something to do with it, but we need more time to contact our sources."
"Simon, who was the target?" Cathy asked, her voice inpatient.
"Ex-Prophet agent. High ranking. Helmut Folker." Simon said following his boss to the elevator.
"Wasn't that the one who ran a science laboratory in Nevada?" Timothy interrupted as he typed the password on the panel; the elevator started down. "He wanted to make a deal with us, but betrayed us, didn't he?"
Cathy nodded slowly. Simon gave her the second piece of paper.
"And this is…" the woman asked.
"We found it in his apartment too. Looks like he worked on brainwashing program for the Prophet V. Yes, yes, I know, that is old one, but somehow he added some sort of therapy, the subject would react the way the programmer wanted, not even knowing he was programmed. Just in some situations, but not all the time."
The elevator's door slid open, and they went down the hall. Cathy led the way to her office, still thinking.
Simon continued. "We've been working with it for the last 20 hours, still can't gather all of it. It's too complicated."
Cathy greeted people who stood in the briefing room, and turned to Simon:
"Speaking about Folker, not to mention, that was a tactical mistake. His death I mean. Contact your sources; I want to know what is in that protocol. And if that is instruction for his program, I want to have it." She again looked at the agents giving Simon a signal that their conversation was ended. "Okay, everyone. We have new assignment…"
End of chapter 3:)