Note: More made up stuff from me in this chapter. The "target" for the job is something I made up. I have a habit of doing that, don't I...
Chapter 4: Bosses, Targets, and Memories, oh my!
The next morning Darien woke up refreshed and invigorated; much unlike his usual morning depression. He smiled at the rat and decided to shower and get some breakfast. The water in the shower was nice and hot this morning which caused Darien to be happier. For breakfast he decided to have a nice simple bowl of cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch again. Just as he sat down the phone rang. Darien answered it with anticipation.
"Hello?"
"Yeah, I'm looking for Jim R. Is he in?"
"Who? Sorry, I think you have the wrong number."
"Ah hell. Sorry," and the line went dead.
Darien checked the clock. It was only 10am.
"Holy crap! I was able to get myself up this early without feeling tired? Hobbes would never believe this!"
Just then Darien spied the video tape on the counter.
"Yeah, Hobbes," he sighed sadly.
Fawkes realized he hadn't thought of his partner in awhile. He still couldn't believe that Hobbes would have been so heartless as to give him a copy of "The Invisible Man". He shook his head again.
"Maybe it was a mistake," he said, trying to comfort himself. "What would Hobbes say if he knew what I was doing now," Darien laughed. "I know what he'd say," and in his best Bobby Hobbes impersonation he said,
"You shouldn't be doing this, my friend. It will cause you more harm than good partner. If you wanted something exciting to do you shoulda come skiing with me. I'll tell you one thing partner-if you go through with this I'm gonna be the one the fat man chews out, seeing as how I defend you and your honesty so much. Then I'll never get that raise."
Darien laughed again.
"That wasn't half bad," he said aloud. Darien then picked up the tape and set it on top of his t.v.
"Let's see," he said, glancing at the calender, "it's December 23 and I got my shot on the 21st. So, if I don't go see-through I should be fine 'til the 27th, and if I do go see-through I'll probably need to stop in the 26th. So, no need to stop in the Keep today."
After these little calculations Darien relaxed until around 11:30am and then decided to head down to the amusement park. The drive itself also served to relax Darien. He remembered the 'good ol' days' when he would drive to locations like this almost every other week to pick up "target" information. His friends at the agency had always took Darien for some simple, two-bit house burglar, but in reality he was quite good. Before the gland he had been well known in the world of thieves and their bosses as one of the best "lock and alarm" men. Of course he had used a code name then, which he dare not utter in front of anyone, especially someone like Hobbes, for fear of being caught by the FBI or of bringing some of his "friends" down. The kind of friends that would kill you, or hire someone to, if something happened to them. Yes, he had been good, he had been very skilled and precise. The question in the back of his head was "Am I still good enough?"
Fawkes reached the amusement park at 11:55am. He immediately spied Max Kifton, along with two other people he didn't recognize, and headed over to him. The smiled at each other which meant that they were going to greet each other like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in awhile.
"Max! It's so good to see ya man! How've you been?"
"Oh, I've been great Dare. It's good to see you too!"
The two gave each other a big hug with a pat on the back. Darien then proceded to shake the other two men's hands.
"Darien, this is 'Curt' and this is 'Gary'. They're two very good friends and associates of mine."
"Curt, Gary, pleased to meet you."
"You two," they said and they smiled and nodded their heads.
"Hey Fawkes, I know this great little place where we can go and, uh, catch up. We can take my car."
"Sure, man. Whatever works for you."
The four men headed to a nearby car. It was simple car- black, of course, a Ford something or other, the kind of car Darien expected to see Tommy Lee Jones or Will Smith drive in "Men in Black". Once in side Darien noticed that the windows were heavily tinted so that it was impossible to look out and there was a divider between the back and front seats, to prevent any back seat passengers from looking out.
"Okay, it's safe to talk now," commented Kifton, in his best serious voice. "This is just a security measure. You know that, right Fawkes? I can't let you know the actual location, until my 'superiors' agree with me that you're the right man for the job. Okay?"
"Fine, Kif. You know, I have done this before? I don't need all this explanation."
"I'm just making sure alright? You can never be too sure."
"Fine, fine," Darien smiled, thinking that that was sounded like something Hobbes would say.
The rest of the way was driven in silence. Darien picked this time to observe his old buddy. It seemed the longer they'd been driving, the more nervous Max got. He seemed to clench his knees more with his hands and stare out the window, even though there was nothing to see. He would nervously scratch his head and wiggle his feet. Just some slight body movements that Hobbes had taught Darien.
"Read the body language, my friend," Hobbes had said. "Look at what the other guy is doing. Trust me partner, it will help you read his true thoughts a lot more easily."
Darien realized that Max must be afraid of these "superiors". He must be a pretty low man on the totem pole and that even bringing Darien to this place was a big move for him. Suddenly the slowed down and seemed to pull into somewhere. Then it stopped.
"Okay, Darien. This is it. Remember, don't talk to these guys unless they ask you something. You're way to involved now to make a mistake. One mistake, you're gone, and I don't mean just from this job. Get it?"
"Got it Max. I'm cool."
It was true. Fawkes had been able to train himself to stay very calm in situations like this. The most important thing was to look calm, calculated, and like a pro. The car doors opened and Darien stepped out. The first thing he noticed was that it looked like they were in some kind of warehouse.
'Why do these things always take place in a warehouse,' he thought to himself.
There was no sign of how the car got in this place, no visible exits. The four men walked down the long corrider and then about half-way down they turned and 'Curt' knocked on a door. It sounded like a normal knock, but Darien knew there had to be something special about it. Just then a type of control panel was revealed and seemed to fold out of the wall. It was small. About the size of a old computer screen. 'Gary' then typed in a code on the small panel and placed his hand on the small scanning screen next to the number panel. The door slid up and they all entered. It was another large room, almost like a waiting room. There were a few no-name just hanging around drinking some coffee and eating some donuts. They paid no attention to the little group. The four entered another room adjacent to the "waiting room". This room was empty and had another door connected to it.
"Geez, Kifton? How many rooms are there?" Darien smirked.
Max glared at Darien with a look that might even caused the Official to stop talking. The group entered this last door and were met by another group of men, all dressed in dark suits. This room was dark, with one over-hanging lamp in the middle which was shining on a simple, round table that had a large map of something folded out across the table. Fawkes knew right then and there that Kifton hadn't been kidding. He was now involved in something very big, and very dangerous.
"Your on time, that's a very good start Mr. Arken," said one of the dark suited men, whom Darien labeled Mr. X.
Fawkes was very shocked when he realized that Mr. X was addressing him. Arken had been Darien's code name from long ago. He was surprised that anyone still knew it. He tried to maintain his air of 'cool' however. He had to stay professional.
"Thank you, sir," replied Darien, who was standing very upright with his hands held behind the back. He normally wouldn't do that, but something about these guys made him more serious, and more scared than he usually was.
"Do you have the maps Mr. Kifton supplied you yesterday afternoon?" said Mr. X again.
"Yes," he pulled them out of his jacket pocket.
"Are they memorized?"
"Yes."
"Good. Give them to Mr. Curt."
Darien handed the maps to 'Curt' who then handed them to Mr. X.
You said you needed fifteen minutes to disarm the Haeffer system?"
"At the most, yes. I may be able to cut that time down a little. Fifteen is the most though."
"Good. Look at this map."
Darien moved slowly forward. It was a map just like the one Max had given him only it was larger and had more marks on it.
"This is where the main control panel is located. The system in the "target" building is the most high tech one Haeffer makes, but as you already know, they can be overridden. Some are just harder than others. Look at the schematics of the panel here."
Mr. X handed a paper to Mr. Curt who handed it to Darien. Darien looked at the paper and studied it. It was a detailed drawing of the inside of a Haeffer security panel. One Darien had seen and disarmed before.
"I've worked with a model like this before. It was about six years ago. Took me exactly ten minutes and 39 seconds to successfully disarm it."
"Good, Mr. Arken. Very good. You may keep that paper has a refresher. Now the Teleric locks- I've heard you've worked with those before?"
"Yes, several times. They're very popular with the rich."
"And you've had great success with them?"
"Always."
"Very good. I think you will be perfect for our team. But just for this one 'target', correct."
"Yes, by the way, what is this target?"
Fawkes' boldness seemed to shock them all, except Mr. X. Kifton was about to say something in Darien's defense, but Mr. X held out his hand to silence him.
"You are a very brave man Mr. Arken. A little stupid, but brave. Very well, since you are now officially on this team I guess it is your right to know what the target is. On the night of December 31st, you, Mr. Kifton and two other men will be sent to the target location- the Grafter Research Company. There you will secure this device..."
Darien was handed another paper through the "X-Curt" paper process. He looked at it and was obviously slightly confused.
"...it is a new device that Grafter has been working on. It has the ability to scramble certain molecules and rearrange them. Right now it can only scramble the molecules of non-living matter. We have a team here that is interested in working with this device and we would like to acquire this item before it grows too large to obtain easily. You see, Mr. Arken, the scientists are constantly adding on to this small device and if we wait too much longer, then it will be to late. We would like to get it now and perfect it for our use later."
"And what use would that," questioned Darien, which seemed to be the wrong question. Mr. Gary immediately punched Fawkes in the stomach, knocking all the air out and causing him to wince in severe pain. Mr. Gary also took away the paper on the "device" and handed it to one of the other dark-suited mystery men.
"That will be all, Mr. Arken. You will be contacted later by Mr. Curt when there is new information that you need to know. Until then just sit tight and keep out of trouble. That is your only assignment. Don't worry, we will be in touch before the target date and yes, what Mr. Kifton was telling you about the money is true. You will be well paid for your services. Now, I have a few more things to discuss with Mr. Kifton before you leave so please wait one room over until we are finished."
With that Darien, who was still a little out of breath from the punch made his way to the door. He went through and almost closed the door behind him.
"I think its time to do a little shooming and see what else is going on in there," whispered Darien to himself. He coated himself with quicksilver and then carefully went back through the door he hadn't quite closed. He was lucky, no one had noticed. He closed the door just enough so that it looked closed, but wasn't shut tight and he walked over to Kifton and Mr. X who were in a deep conversation.
"You were right to seek out your old friend Mr. Kifton. He will be perfect for this operation, and maybe more to come."
"Thank you, sir. But I think all he wants is just to do one more heist."
"Very well. However if this goes well maybe you could persuade him to become a full time member of our organization? After all, you did persuade him to come this far."
"I will try sir, but I cannot make any promises."
Darien realized that their conversation was almost over and headed back to the door. He quickly shut it tight and then de-quicksilvered. He made himself comfortable in a chair, and a few moments later Curt, Gary, and Kifton came through the door.
"We can go now," was all Max said.
The group made there way quickly back to the "Men in Black" car. Once inside Darien felt like a weight was removed from his shoulders and he was able to relax. He could tell Max felt the same way. Darien tried to joke around a little to loosen them both up.
"Whew! That was like an interrogation man! How'd you get mixed up with those guys?"
"Oh, it's a long story Darien and you'd probably be bored out of your mind if I told you. I like working here, but that guy always gives me the creeps. I'm just glad I don't have to see him everyday. Hey, you wanna grab a beer or something? Do some actual catching up?"
"Sure man," Darien looked at his watch. It was 3pm. "How about some lunch too? I'm starved!"
"You never could get your mind off your stomach could you Fawkes? Where do you wanna eat?"
"There's this little place I know, Pancho's Taco Hut. Makes one mean enchilada. Then maybe hit a bar?"
"Sounds good Fawkes."
When the car parked and the two men were let out, they were back at the amusement park. The car was parked exactly the way it had been when Darien first saw it.
"We can take my car Max."
"Whatever works for you, man," laughed Kifton.
The two ended up staying out until past midnight sometime. Darien had parked his car back at his apartment before they went to the bars, that way neither of them would have the urge to drive. Darien had offered to let Max spend the night, but he declined. He said that he could catch a bus home. The two parted at Bob's Big Boy Bar. Darien laughed to himself all the way up the stairs to his apartment, and he wasn't really that drunk. He and his friend really did have a good time. They had reminisced about their high school days, their first heists, and first nights in jail. They remembered other old pals and old girlfriends. Darien entered his apartment, changed into some pajamas, and immediately went to sleep. He realized that talking with Max had done them both some good. Neither one of them mentioned their work once all night. Darien's depression meter really was low that night. He felt like a real person again, and not a science experiment.
"I need to do this more often," he sighed to himself and then drifted off to sleep, dreaming something about Hobbes and donuts.
TBC
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