Shooting Star
Chapter 2
Sam tried getting used to moving in the sneak suit. The black and metallic gray suit was a lot stiffer than the olive green jumpsuit she was used to, and the equipment was much bulkier than what Jerry usually gave them. Despite that, the equipment fit well onto the suit. Her knife hung on the back of the belt, and the handle pointed to the right for easy access. The electronics and lock pick kits were clipped at her hips, and the holster was strapped to her leg. It was actually pretty comfortable. Her baklava and goggles were off, and the gun still lay unloaded on the bench. She still hated the idea of bringing one since they'd never needed one before. Clover was still having trouble getting her vest on.
"Man, that guy may be a cutie, but how rude can you get? He treated us like total rookies!"
"No kidding!" said Alex, trying to help clover get the vest on. "Clover, your legs go through the straps."
"I knew that." Clover finally got the vest on and started closing it up. "And on top of all that, these suits are just plain ugly! And what's with the vest anyway?"
"I dunno. Jacob said the whole thing's important."
"Important enough to make me go around looking like this, I hope."
There was a knock at the door. "Five minutes, girls!" said Jacob's voice.
Sam tried out the climbing gloves. They reminded her of the sticky gloves they'd used before, but these didn't stick. They did seem to allow her to grip surfaces much better than normal, however.
"Well, I suppose if we're not supposed to be seen, then it doesn't matter what we look like," said Sam.
Clover started stretching. "Maybe, but this thing sure is stiff."
Sam decided to load the gun and holstered it. She hoped she'd never have to use it.
"You know, I think he understood what that guy was saying."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. I think he might have recognized the voice, too."
"I thought I saw that, too" said Alex. "If he knows who the guy is, why didn't he say so?"
"It was just a bad video," said Clover. "And besides, we couldn't even see what the guy looked like. I think you could mistake someone pretty easy like that."
"I guess so," said Sam. "But I can't shake the feeling something's not right."
"How so?" asked Alex.
"I dunno. I just feels like they're hiding something, but I have no idea what."
For a moment there was only the sound of Alex and Clover strapping on the rest of their gear. Sam looked at her watch. "I guess we should get going, then. You girls ready?"
"When are we not ready?" declared Clover.
Alex yawned. "At one in the morning."
Their earphones buzzed, and then Jacob came on over the line. "Testing. Can you girls hear me?"
"Loud and clear."
"Yup."
"Just fine, thanks."
"Good. Everything's ready down here. Come down to the garage and I'll give you more info on the mission on the way over." Jacob disconnected.
Alex noticed the worried look on Sam's face as they walked to the elevator. "Don't worry Sammy! It's not like we haven't done this before! It'll be just like any ol' mission!"
"Yeah, Sam!" said Clover. "We're just getting in, grabbing some stuff, and leaving. Piece of cake!"
They exited the elevator and headed for the garage, where Jacob was waiting for them next to a van. He was wearing the same suit they were, except his was cut differently to fit his larger frame.
"Good, you got your suits on without any trouble. Any questions before we roll out?"
"Yeah," said Sam. "Why are these things so stiff?"
A slight smile broke on Jacob's face. "You'll just have to get used to it. There's actually a lot more to those suits than meets the eye."
"Like what?" asked Clover.
"Well, not only does the color scheme help hide you, but the suit itself also monitors your biorhythms, tracks your location, hides your body odor, masks your heat signature, and the vest will stop any small-arms fire."
Sam wondered how such a thin vest could stop a bullet.
"Those suits contain some of the most advanced evasion technology around, but don't overestimate it. You're still just one person, and we're all very lightly armed. We can't fight with this gear. We can only hide."
"If it's all about evasion, why can't you just borrow an invisibility suit from WOOHP?" asked Alex.
"WOOHP can use their methods, but I and the rest of the NSA prefer to use currently-existing technology."
"And that means?"
"It's possible to build everything we use from off-the-shelf parts."
"So, what exactly are we looking for?" asked Clover.
"I'll fill you in on the way over. Let's go."
They piled into the back of the van, which had benches set up along the sides and a panel in the floor. Once the van started moving and was away from the WHOOHP building, Jacob reached down and raised the panel to their knees. He pressed a button, and a holographic display of a warehouse layout appeared. Sam noticed then that a pair of fuzzy dice hung from the rear-view mirror.
"This is the building we're infiltrating," Jacob said, calling their attention to the layout. "We're going in via the roof. There's a fan right here we can disconnect and stop so we can sneak in. One of us is going to have to stay there to reconnect the fan after we're in and then turn it back off when we leave. Any volunteers?"
"I'll do it." Said Alex.
"Good. Keep an eye out while you're out there for anything that could give us trouble. Your goggles have a 10x zoom, so they can double as binoculars. Above all, stay out of sight."
"Gotcha."
"The rest of us will have the real fun. Even though it is early in the morning, there's still going to be people working there. We'll have to do whatever it takes to avoid being spotted by them. It won't be easy, because the building is well-lit."
"Then how do we keep from being spotted?" asked Sam.
"I want one of you to find the fuse box and disable about half the lights in the building. But don't take out the office, because I want that to still have power."
"Why?"
"I'm going to break in and see what I can find in their computer records."
"I guess I can take care of the lights." Said Clover.
"Thanks, Clover. Sam, you're going to search the stocks. Your electronics kit has a silent Geiger counter and explosives detector." He showed her the function. "If you find anything unusual, scan the shipping card into the device." He showed her the scanner.
"How much do we need?"
"Not much. Anything radioactive enough or that registers high enough on the explosives detector will do. Everyone understand their objectives?"
They nodded. "Good. If I find what I want, we all exit via the fan and fall back to here." He pointed at a spot a block down from the warehouse. "After that, we return to WOOHP and go over our findings. Any last questions?"
"What if we get spotted?" asked Sam.
"Run. Run and hide. If you're spotted, we abort the mission immediately."
"And if we run into security?"
"You know what to do."
He caught the concerned looks on their faces and tried to calm them down. "Look, this is a simple job. All of us have snuck into places far more secure than this. You shouldn't even have to deal with security or get spotted by the workers."
Warehouse District – 2:00 am
Four shadowy figures darted across a building and vanished behind an air conditioner. A minute later, they reappeared at the edge of the rooftop facing a large warehouse. Sam slung the crossbow from her shoulder, aimed, and fired the bolt at a spot on the roof of the warehouse. The bolt trailed a rope from the rack and attached itself to the sheet metal side. Jacob secured the other end of the rope to their building and handed zipline clamps to everyone. A moment later they zipped down the rope across the street and onto the warehouse roof. After removing his clamp, Jacob gave the rope a big tug and it came free, allowing him to bundle it up. They moved cautiously across the roof to a large vent, where a wire grate stood between them and the fan. Jacob opened his lock picking kit and removed a pair of cutters. He cut a large enough hole in the grate for them to crawl through, and then stood aside while Alex turned the fan off. He set the rope and the crossbow down near the vent, and once the fan had stopped, he motioned Sam and Clover through. Luckily, there was no grate on the other side, so they entered the building easily. They let themselves down to the floor close to the back, and then Clover signaled that she was going for the fuse box. Jacob waved her on and then he and Sam went to find a place to hide until the lights went out.
It seemed like an eternity before most of the lights on the ceiling dimmed and extinguished, plunging most of the building into gloom. The high stacks of crates provided plenty of shadows for them to hide in as they stalked through the building, listening for any footsteps or forklifts. Soon, Jacob signaled that he was heading for the office, and for Sam to start searching the crates. He lowered his goggles over his eyes and crept away without a sound.
Time to get started, she thought. Sam unfolded her electronics kit, extended the probe, and began waving it around the stacks. Many of the crates were high overhead, so she often had to climb up to check one. The gloves made it easier to climb, since they increased her ability to grip an object. Every few steps, she stopped to listen for the sound of approaching workers, but so far none had come.
Sam had almost worked her way to the other side of the warehouse without finding anything, when she heard voices approaching. She quickly put the kit away and scurried up a stack of crates. She got to the top and lay down when the workers appeared.
"Crud! That's the fifth fuse this month! We really gotta get this place fixed."
"No kidding." Said the other one. "We ain't usin' that much power. What's killing the fuses?"
"No idea, but it sucks. I hate working here when the lights are out. I can't help but feel like we're not the only ones here."
"Aren't we paranoid? It's just an old fuse box, that's all. Tell the boss to get it replaced."
"Yeah, I'll do that after my shift."
The workers rounded another stack and their voices trailed off toward the back of the building. Sam eased herself down and continued her search. The meter on the Geiger counter and the explosives detector remained normal. She crept towards a group of smaller crates and continued searching. A few minutes later, she heard the workers coming back. She looked for a place to climb up, but there was none. None of the stacks were over seven feet tall. Sam found the tallest one and hid behind it. She tried to keep control of her breathing, but her heart was beating like crazy. The workers' footsteps got louder and louder until the workers were right in the area.
"Dude, what's with that piece of junk? A whole row was fried!"
"I don't know. Guess it's a lot older than I thought."
"Guess we have no choice but to replace it, then."
"Yeah. Can we still work like this?"
"I think so. Just stay in the front where it's brighter. Don't go in the back unless you have to."
They started to move away from the short stacks. Sam watched them until she felt it was safe to go. She crept across a lane towards the taller stacks, but then her foot hit one of the palates with what seemed like a deafening thud. She stopped dead in her tracks and heard the workers stop too.
"The heck?" They started to walk to right where she was standing. As quickly and quietly as she could move, she darted around the stack and waited for the workers to walk around. Once they were out of sight, she headed towards the front of the building, and then took a right back to the larger stacks. She was in sight of the front doors, and peeked around the corner. Several workers were standing around drinking coffee, and the office was pitch black except for the light from the computer monitors. She waited for the workers to move before heading back to the rear of the room. She stopped when she heard the first two coming her way again.
"I know I heard something, and so did you."
"It's probably just a rat, but we'd better check anyway."
Sam was trapped. If she went back, she'd be far too exposed and risk getting spotted. Her best bet was to use the shadows and try to sneak past the workers, but that was equally tricky. She had to do something, because if they rounded the corner the game was up, but the workers were already too close. Sam prepared for the worst, as the workers were about to spot her, when something made a lot of noise back the other way.
"What was that?" asked one worker.
"Not sure, let's see."
They headed back in the direction of the noise. Sam took the opportunity to creep across the row and then climbed up the first stack she got to. She got to the top and crouched as low as she could, and then saw Jacob crouching on the stack across from her. He asked if she was okay through the mike, and she nodded. It wasn't until then that he relaxed his grip on his gun.
She heard one of the workers say, "I told you it was just rats."
"Did you find anything?" he asked.
She touched her earpiece and replied "No."
"Alright then. I found what I needed. Let's go."
They climbed down and moved back to the rear of the building. They found Clover waiting beneath the fan, and they climbed back up to it.
Jacob touched his earpiece. "Alex, it's us, Turn the fan off."
"Gotcha" she replied.
The fan motor stopped, and after a few seconds Jacob reached in and stopped the fan with his hand. They climbed out and Alex turned the fan back on when they were clear. They found the access ladder and climbed down it, and then hurried down the block to where the van was waiting for them. They climbed in, and only when the van was clear of the warehouses did they breath a sigh of relief.