She saw police cars.
They whistled past on the street, lights flashing and sirens howling, like wild beasts. She could see them from the old leaf strewn, dilapidated fountain of murky water her specter rested in. She could see the cars, even though her body stood in a dark alleyway.
The sound of static cut into her ear, and Hei's voice came out tinny, and close, "Yin, where are the police?"
She showed no vestige of emotion at hearing Hei's voice as she spoke in return, "They're passing point A. Now. You have less than three minutes."
She heard Mao's voice just before Hei turned off his transmission, "Time to spare!" Yin didn't know what happened next. There was no water where Hei was, and so she couldn't send her specter to see. It didn't matter, though. That was not a part of her job in this mission. She had completed her part. She had followed the contractor as best as she could with her specter, and guided Hei. When Hei needed no further guidance, she watched the police pass through points F through A. They had passed through point A. Her job was complete. There were no more points to watch for.
Yin's unseeing eyes stared at the alley wall that she knew was in front of her. Slowly, she lifted her hand to her ear and removed the ear piece. As her programming instructed, Yin separated the ear piece, and the transmitter. The ear piece was placed in one trash can, buried a bit under the refuse. Touching garbage did not bother her. Neither did the smell of the rotting food that rested with in it. The transmitter she disassembled, the knowledge of how to remove all the pieces given to her for just this occasion. The pieces were then distributed among other trash cans.
She did not know why her program ordered her to make such a through disposal of the transmitter. Nor did she have enough emotion to care. She simply followed it, as she always did. She had once her Huang tell Hei that the syndicate took precautions that they deemed necessary, and that was all Hei needed to know. Hei and Huang would do something similar to their transmitters, and when the new mission was assigned, new transmitters would be deposited at Yin's tobacco shop.
Yin had settled into the routine of working with Hei, Huang, and Mao well. As a doll, routine was easiest. She also began to learn things about her team. Mao loved to rest on her lap and have her scratch his ears. Huang acted as though he treated her with indifference, but she would catch him watching her when he didn't know her specter was around. Being a normal human, he couldn't know she was watching him too. And Hei...
Yin stopped her line of thought. Working with Hei was... Hei was Hei. Yin concluded her thought simply. It was safer that way. She had done her job. It was time for her to return to the tobacco shop.
Yin returned to the monotony of routine that was her life. She didn't mind. She was a doll, how could she mind? It was simple life. Just enough to be functional. Just enough to keep up the pretense of a tobacco shop, should she ever get the rare customer. This was her life. Broken only by the occasional mission where Huang would show up wordlessly, for why would he bother speaking to a doll?, and take her the next drop off point, filling her on the bare necessities of knowledge she needed to perform her duty.
It would be almost boring. If Yin could feel boredom.
Yin rested on the river bank, her feet within the cool liquid. She was now tracking Hei and a woman. She'd been tracking the woman for a while, revealing her location to the others, as was directed of her. Hei had managed to find her, and now the two were running.
The smell of rain was still fresh in the air. If Yin had been able to, she would have liked that smell. Just as she enjoyed the feeling of the light of the moon. When there had been a moon. Fresh rain gave her a much wider field of vision. It was almost like she could see the whole world at once.
Yin half listened to Huang and Mao's conversation, her focus put more on locating Hei and the woman. She still heard them, however. Even though she was a doll, she still heard the things around her. Remembered them. People often spoke freely when in her presence. She learned a lot of things that way.
"The transmission's been cut." That was Mao. It had long since stopped being odd to see a cat talk.
"What's he doing? Think he tried to pull one over on us?" That gruff tone was Huang. It seethed with the color yellow.
"Not likely. I doubt he'd stand to gain anything. He's a contractor. It's his nature to do what's in his best interest."
"He's got a strange way going about it. He should kill the damn girl, and get out of there already." Huang shifted slightly. The wind brought the smell of his cigarette smoke towards her. "I mean, what the hell's he waitin' for?"
"It is odd. I'll give you that. Where is he now?"
Ah. That bit of the conversation was pointed towards her, it seemed. She could only respond with the truth. "I don't know."
"What?" Huang again. She felt, more than saw, Huang turn in her direction. So she clarified for him.
"He's in a place with no water..."
Even with her added field of vision, brought about by all the rain, Hei had still managed to hide in a place where she couldn't find him. It seemed odd... to be able to see so much, and yet not find Hei. But that was Hei, if he didn't want to be found. He wouldn't be. Hei wasn't careless like that.
It seemed the night would prove to be fruitless. Huang seemed frustrated, and had no problem expressing this very fact in the most colorful language. She tuned him and Mao out and continued searching. She would stop when ordered to. It didn't take long for Huang to do that. They were ordered to fall back.
"Let's go Yin," Huang said gruffly turning towards his car, parked not too far away. Yin didn't respond. She kept up her search for Hei. If only for a few more seconds. She was reluctant to break her contact with the water...
"Yin?" this time it was Mao, she felt him move to her side. It was then she removed her feet from the water, replaced her socks and shoes, and followed Huang to his car.
She could resume her search for Hei in the morning.
Yin followed along with Huang. Hei had been located, that was about all she understood. All the talk of "The stuff," and "So, she's a puppet," and so on wasn't important for her to hear. She simply followed and obey the occasional order to place a hand in a puddle of water, and relocate Hei.
It wasn't long before they were all in the midst of a battle field. Yin hung back, away from all the bodies, with Mao. Huang, however, boldly strode up behind Hei as he pulled back his wire. He had been fighting a contractor who disappeared in a flood of water. As Huang's gruff voice colored the air Yin knelt by the puddle of water left by the contractor.
"So, you fell for a decoy and walked right into an ambush. Meanwhile the item's already been acquired by another team. In other words, the Syndicate saw this coming. You get me? You should have just killed that damn puppet like I told you to."
Hei's voice returned softly, "Don't call her that. She wasn't a puppet."
What? Yin paused. Her breath. Why had her breath caught when Hei had said that? Yin wasn't allowed to ponder on it long, because Huang spoke up again.
"She sure as hell wasn't a person. An empty shell, nothing more. That's what dolls are, just like all you contractors are nothing but cold blooded killers."
"That's enough, Huang," Mao's voice this time, "Let's focus on finishing the job. Yin. Have you located him yet?"
Yin focused, and responded, "Yes. He's not far."
She knew exactly where he was...
It wouldn't take Hei long to reach him, and finish this job. Then things could go back to the way they were until another mission came up. Yin wouldn't have to think about Hei's words. And why they made it hard to breathe.
