La Femme Serena
by Aglaia

PREACHER: "Einstein's theory of relativity. Grab hold
of a hot pan, and a second can seem like an hour. Put
your hands on a hot woman, an hour can seem like a
second. It's all relative."
TOM SCOGGINS: "I spent four years at CalTech, and
that's the best physics explanation I've ever heard."
LL Cool J and Michael Rapaport - "Deep Blue Sea"

---

Chapter 6: Out of Time

Serena's eyes were trained mechanically on
her target. She moved automatically, aiming at the
arms dealer's head and pulling the trigger on the
gun in her hands. Three shots sounded loudly in
her ears.

She watched the bullets impact the dealer's
head and chest in slow motion. His eyes bulged and
a look of shock and incomprehension flitted
momentarily across his face. As the light of
comprehension left his eyes, his body slumped face-
first onto the table.

She was unable to move or speak. The minutes
passed, and Serena continued to stare in morbid
fascination at the messy splatter - all that
remained of the back of the head. Unable to look
away, Serena began to feel a creeping fear
slithering up her spine and forcing its way into
her consciousness. She moved involuntarily forward
and watched as her own hand moved to touch the
corpse. She gazed helplessly while her hand
callously turned the body to its side and revealed
what was left of the face.

Open eyes stared sightlessly at nothing, a
frozen expression on the contorted face...

...A face that once belonged to Lita...

She found her hands covered in blood - Lita's
blood. She frantically tried to wipe off the
sticky substance, but the more she did, the more
the bloodstains spread. It spread until it covered
her arms, her body, and soon she was drenched in it
from head to toe.

Suddenly finding her voice again, Serena
began to scream. She screamed, and screamed, and
screamed...

Serena came awake with a start.
She was soaked in sweat, tangled chaotically
in her own blankets. A great weight was pressing
down on her chest, preventing her from breathing
properly. She took short, shallow gasps, but she
continued to feel weak and shaky. Her heart
pounded loudly in her ears, echoing together with
the distant sound of her own scream of terror.

A dream. It was all a dream.

Serena tried to calm herself by taking deeper
breaths. Glancing frantically around her bedroom,
she took comfort from the familiar: the sliver of
light that slipped past her curtains to dance on the
wall, the canopied ceiling over her bed, the sounds
of the night traffic outside her window. Gradually,
as reality reasserted itself, her breathing and
heart rate returned to normal.

Serena continued to lie in bed staring up at
the canopy, waiting for the feeling of weakness and
quivering to pass. She felt as if she hardly had
the strength to keep breathing, let alone move her
body. This wasn't the first time she had
experienced this particular nightmare. Since the
night she had left the complex, the nightmares had
been slowly decreasing in frequency, and she had
been hoping that they would stop altogether. But
they hadn't.

She was still affected by that night in other
ways as well. Sometimes when Serena was eating in
a restaurant, the motions of the waiter or the music
being played would cause the events of that night to
come rushing back to her as if she were experiencing
them all over again. The emotions, the tension, the
feeling of helplessness - it would all appear before
her again, paralyzing her for a few seconds before
she recollected where she really was. She frequently
came out of these flashbacks trembling uncontrollably
and with a need to escape outdoors. Serena had also
become somewhat fixated and obsessed by a fear of
being trapped, often going to great lengths to avoid
being in small, enclosed spaces.

So far, no one had noticed her strange
behavior. She was thankful that Lita had never
been around when one of these episodes occurred.
Talking with Lita about normal things allowed her
to forget, at least temporarily, and Serena's
regular exercise regimen helped to distract her
from the feelings of guilt and anxiety that often
preoccupied her thoughts. She would frequently
seek the refuge of her favorite bookstore, although
she never again saw Seiya's look-a-like.

Reminded that Lita was supposed to come over
later that day, Serena tried to go back to sleep.
If she didn't want Lita to find out that something
was wrong, she needed to get some rest. She used
one of the breathing techniques the Project had
taught her, trying to fall into that easy trance
which comes with meditating. Turning on her stereo
with the remote, Serena listened to the soothing
notes of her favorite piece, Mozart's symphony in G
minor, as she drifted more peacefully back into
unconsciousness.

---

Serena puttered happily about her kitchen.
She glanced at the clock to make sure she had enough
time to complete the meal before Lita's arrival for
their girls' night in. They were planning on
relaxing by having dinner and watching a movie
together.

From her well-stocked spice rack, Serena took
out the ingredients she needed in preparation to
making a marinade for the chicken she would later
grill. She placed some sage, thyme, oregano, and
garlic on the counter next to a large mixing bowl.
While she soaked the boneless chicken breasts
in the marinade, Serena wondered how her friend had
been doing lately. Lita had become rather absorbed
with Charles, leaving very little time to hang out
with Serena. After the fiasco at the movies a few
weeks ago, during which Serena had been forced to
watch as Lita drooled adoringly and obliviously over
Charles while he said stupid, macho things and
checked out every girl they saw, Serena had refused
to accompany them on any more dates. If Serena had
to listen to one more comment about how much of a
"chick-magnet" Charles thought he was, she thought
that she might go mad.

She sighed once again over her friend's poor
judgment about men. Now that Serena thought about
it, Lita had been dating Charles for two and a half
weeks already. It was nearing that critical stage
when Lita's boyfriends tended to dump her. Serena
could only hope that she wouldn't have to pick up
the pieces of her friend's broken heart tonight.
The only heart mending she was planning on dealing
with were the ones in the romantic comedy she had
rented.

It was really strange the way that Lita's
boyfriends tended to dump her at around the three-
week mark. Serena wondered what happened to cause
them to leave. Lita could be quite aggressive and
forceful at times, particularly when anything
threatened someone or something she loved. But
Serena knew for a fact that she also had a much
softer side.

The first time Serena had ever seen under
Lita's confident outer shell was a month ago when
David had broken up with her. When the shell
cracked, it had split wide open, revealing a
vulnerable, needy side to Lita that Serena had
never seen before.

Lita had come crying to Serena's apartment,
her cheeks blotchy from the tears. Serena had been
trying out a new recipe at the time, not expecting
any visitors, when the doorbell had rung...

"Coming!" she called out. Serena quickly
wiped her hands on her apron and walked to the door.
Taking a quick peek through the eyehole, she was
surprised to find Lita with a tear-streaked face,
looking miserable. Serena immediately swung open
the door.

"Lita! What's wrong?"

Lita fell sobbing into Serena's arms.
Gradually, from the muffled words interspersed with
more tears, Serena came to understand that her
boyfriend, David, had dumped her.

'Oh, Lita. When will you learn?' Serena
thought with a sigh. The news had hardly come as a
surprise, given the type of asshole David was.

"Shhh... It's okay, Lita. It's gonna be okay."
Serena tried to comfort her friend. Gently closing
the door and leading Lita to the living room couch,
she grabbed a box of tissues and tried to dry her
friend's eyes.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"
she asked gently.

Lita nodded miserably and blew her nose.
Still sniffling, she slowly gathered her courage
and haltingly began her story.

"I-I had the day off work today, so this
m-morning, I made a s-s-spinach quiche for David.
You know that it's his favorite." She paused,
looking to Serena for encouragement.

'He doesn't deserve you,' Serena thought
fiercely, but merely nodded, not wanting to
interrupt Lita.

"Well, I wanted to surprise him, I th-thought
that we could spend the day together. But... but...
when I brought the quiche over to his apartment... I
saw... he was..." Lita seemed unable to continue, and
Serena squeezed her hand in support. Finally, she
managed to choke out the terrible news.

"Wh-when I got to his a-apartment, he was
there with another woman."

It was on the tip of Serena's tongue to reply
that perhaps the woman was a friend or a relative,
but something instinctively stopped her.

Before Serena could speak, Lita blurted out
in a rush, "And I saw them kissing!"

At this point, she burst into tears again.
Serena hugged her close and let Lita cry onto her
shoulder. "Oh, Lita! I'm so sorry!"

It was several minutes before Lita could
speak again. When the crying had subsided somewhat,
Lita continued her narrative without looking up from
Serena's shoulder.

"She was beautiful. They were all dressed up.
She was wearing a beautiful dress. He held her
hand, and they turned to leave. He saw me standing
in the hallway, dressed in my grubby cooking
clothes, holding that stupid quiche. I couldn't
speak. And they just walked right by me. He didn't
even say anything. I felt so stupid! I could hear
them laughing together down the hallway."

"I don't know what happened," Lita wailed
between sniffles. "One day we were so happy, going
out to dinners and parties, and the next day he's
seeing someone else! What did I do wrong?"

Serena thought she knew what happened, 'David
is a jerk - that's what happened. For all we know,
he was two-timing you all along!' But what she
said was, "Honey, you didn't do anything wrong.
I'm sure it had nothing to do with you. He's just
a jerk!"

"But... but... I think I love him! What am I
gonna do now?"

Serena cringed at these words. Did Lita even
know what love was? How could she love someone who
treated her so badly? In Serena's opinion, Lita
wasn't really in love with David. She was in love
with love.

Serena knew that Lita had led a lonely,
loveless life, having lost her parents at an early
age. Often hiding her hurt at rejection by
retreating into herself, Lita had adopted a tomboy
persona and had taken up martial arts as an outlet
for her anger and fear.

As a teenager, Lita had acted out in violence;
her aggression became a defense mechanism. She had
been frequently suspended from schools for hurting
other students, thus making her unpopular among the
social workers. What no one had understood or
bothered to discover was that Lita had been
protecting younger children from bullies, but no one
had ever come forward in her defense. Always the
first one to be blamed, Lita had stopped looking for
sympathy and understanding long ago, but what Serena
most admired about her was her courage. In spite of
all she had suffered in her life, somehow, she still
managed to keep opening herself up to others, like
she had with Serena. But she wasn't just opening her
heart to love; she was also opening herself up to
hurt.

Serena had seen Lita with her boyfriends, had
seen the way Lita threw herself into each
relationship. Lita was so desperate to be loved
that she turned herself into a kind of doormat,
allowing the men in her life to walk all over her.
Serena suspected that this was what attracted the
wrong kind of men to her friend. Lita became a
magnet for exactly the kind of guy that would take
advantage of her.

...Which brought them to the current situation.
It was completely disarming the way Lita wouldn't
meet Serena's eyes. It tore her apart to see her
friend in such a low state, as if Lita had anything
to be ashamed of. Serena would have liked to make
David pay for what he had done to her friend, making
her feel unlovely and unloved. But what she did do
was make soothing noises to the weeping Lita while
gently rubbing up and down Lita's back. When the
tears had abated a little, Serena forced Lita to
look into her eyes as she spoke with conviction.

"David obviously doesn't deserve you. Don't
throw yourself away on someone who can't even
respect you as a person. You're strong, successful,
and absolutely beautiful. One day, you're gonna
find someone who loves you just as much as you love
him, and you'll look back on this day with relief
and happiness. Happiness because today you were set
free."

Lita's eyes widened at Serena's words, and by
the end of the speech the tears had returned. But
this time, they were tears of gratitude.

Serena let her friend cry herself out. Then,
gently wiping away the tearstains, Serena put on a
teasing grin knowing that the worst was over.

"Now, how about some chocolate ice cream?"

Serena sighed at the memory as she put the
marinating chicken in the fridge. She had been
shocked at the transformation that had occurred to
make Lita so emotional. Lita was such a strong
person that she never would have suspected such
insecurity. She could only hope that it wouldn't
happen again, but given the type of guy Charles was,
it seemed only a matter of time.

'Please, not tonight.' Serena sent up a
silent prayer.

While she waited for the marinade, Serena
cleaned up the mess she had made in the kitchen and
went to straighten up the rest of the apartment.

Several hours later, as she went to answer the
doorbell, she steeled herself against the possible
emotional storm. When she opened the door to a
cheerfully smiling Lita, she sighed inwardly in
relief.

"Hey, girl! Something sure smells good in
here!"

"Come on in. Dinner's just about ready. How
was your weekend?"

"It was so busy. I didn't get out of the
restaurant until after midnight yesterday. The
Tulip Festival always brings in a ton of customers.
I'm so exhausted that I can't wait to sit back and
let someone else do the cooking for a change."

Lita made her way to the familiar kitchen, but
in spite of her words, she couldn't resist the habit
of taking a peek into the oven and lifting the lid
of a pot to sniff delicately underneath.

Serena noticed and hid a grin. "Once a chef,
always a chef."

"Everything looks great, Serena. Soon you
won't even need me to teach you anymore."

"Well, I did learn from the best."

"How many times do I have to tell you, girl?
Flattery will get you everywhere!"

They laughed together as they set the table.
In a matter of minutes, there was a beautiful spread
prepared. When they were both seated, Serena poured
the white wine and raised her glass in a toast.

"To the best cook and teacher this side of
the border!"

"To the best apprentice, who will one day
surpass her teacher!"

The two women touched glasses and dove into
the food with gusto.

"Mmmm. Serena, it's delicious! You have an
instinct for flavor."

"Why, thank you Lita. Speaking of flavor,
how are things going with Charles?"

"Oh, he's amazing. We're really hitting it
off. To be honest, I already think I'm falling in
love with him!"

Serena didn't react much to this remark as
Lita said this about every date she had. In fact,
it was only a matter of time before Lita compared
this guy with -

"Actually," Lita broke into Serena's thoughts,
"Charles looks JUST like my old boyfriend."

Serena sighed. 'I should have seen it coming.
At this rate, Charles will be history by next
Friday. Oh Lita, when will you learn?' She bit
back a scathing remark and opted for a more
diplomatic silence instead.

Lita moved the conversation on to other
topics, seemingly oblivious to Serena's reaction.
"So what are your birthday plans, Serena? Anything
special in mind?"

"Hmmm... I dunno. What do you think?"

"Uh-uh. No way. It's your birthday. We are
gonna spend it doing what YOU want to do."

"Well, what about a road trip? We could drive
down to Toronto, do some shopping. Maybe go to
Wonderland?" Serena had always wanted to go to the
'wonderful' and 'wondrous' amusement park.

"That's an awesome idea! When do you want to
go? I'll have to let the manager know early so I
can get some days off."

"How about the weekend after my birthday.
That'll give us a couple of days to hang out and
have fun before we have to drive back."

"Sounds great. Hmm. I wonder if Charles is
free that weekend?"

Serena tried to hide the feeling of sick
disappointment that hit her stomach at hearing
those words. She most certainly did not want to
spend a whole weekend with Charles, especially not
her birthday weekend. Spending three hours with
him at the movies had nearly driven her crazy, let
alone three days. But how to tell Lita without
offending her? A difficult task since Charles
could do no wrong in Lita's eyes.

"Well... I was thinking..." Serena began
tentatively. "Wouldn't it be nice if we made this
a girls only weekend? I mean, I can't imagine
Charles having fun watching us shop, and I haven't
been able to spend much time with you lately
because of the busy season at the restaurant."
Serena mentally crossed her fingers and hoped it
would work. After all, she hadn't exactly lied.
The summer was always the busiest time of year for
Lita's restaurant because of its location in the
trendy tourist area and its beautiful patio. And
Charles was taking up most of Lita's remaining free
time.

"Y'know, I think you're right. Charles hates
shopping, and I do want to catch up with you. That
is, if you can stand spending three whole days with
just me for company."

Serena laughed, giddy at having dodged the
bullet. "It's gonna be great! Epic!"
Further excited discussion of their plans was
cut off by the insistent ringing of the phone.

"I'll get it." Serena rose from her seat and
picked up the nearest phone. "Hello?"

A male voice she didn't recognize spoke.
"Moon?"

She froze, clutching the phone to her ear,
hoping she had misheard. With that one word,
Serena's peaceful world shattered, bursting like a
soap bubble. Somewhere, somehow, in the midst of
picking out wallpaper and learning to cook with
Lita, Serena had forgotten about the reason why she
was there. She had hoped that the Project had
forgotten about her also. But buried somewhere
deep in her heart, she knew that that would not
happen. She was being pulled back into the world
of darkness, pulled back when she had only just
gotten out. She had only just begun to live.

"Moon?" the deep voice on the other end of
the line repeated.

"Yes, I'm here," Serena replied a little
shakily.

"Your presence is required at the Complex at
eight pm tonight. You're wanted in Operations."

Forcing herself to be calm, Serena said
quietly, "I'll be there."

There was a click, and the dial tone sounded
in Serena's ear.

"I understand, sir," Serena continued to talk
into the dead phone for Lita's benefit. "There
shouldn't be a problem with that account, but I'll
get right on it. Yes, I'll be in tonight. See you
in an hour, sir."

Serena slowly replaced the phone in its
cradle, taking a moment to gather her thoughts
before turning back to Lita.

"Problems at work?" Lita inquired innocently.

"Yeah, that was my boss. There's an
emergency meeting tonight about an account I'm
working on. I'm not quite sure what's going on
yet."

"Well, don't worry about it. I understand if
you have to go in to the office now. I'll clean up
here and let myself out when I'm done."

"Thank you so much, Lita. It means a lot to
me. I'm sorry our evening didn't work out the way
we planned," Serena replied sadly.

"Never mind about that. We can get together
anytime. And don't worry about your work. I'm
sure it'll turn out right in the end. You'll see!"

---

Lita's words haunted Serena as she rode in a
taxi to the complex. She reflected in depression
that Lita had no idea just how wrong she was.
Serena was sure that for someone, it would not turn
out right in the end. But, it remained to be seen
who that someone would be. She didn't hold out
much hope for herself.

The cab navigated the lonely streets of
Ottawa, Serena's hometown. She had been a little
surprised that night when she had left the complex
for the first time with Seiya. To find herself in
a city that she thought she had known so well, a
city she had lived in all her life, had come as a
shock because she had never had any idea that a
place like the Complex existed within it. Glancing
out the window now, her spirits were buoyed by the
sights of the nation's capital as they whizzed by
outside.

The taxi pulled up to a set of office
buildings spanning the entire block across the
street from the Parliament buildings. Serena paid
for the cab and got out, nodding to the guard on
duty just inside the main doors. These buildings
contained regular government offices that
functioned largely during the day. Bureaucrats,
pencil pushers, and politicians worked nine-to-five
days in these buildings with no idea of what kind
of operations were conducted in the basement and
sub-basement levels deep underground.

Serena pressed the button for the elevator,
and when she got in, she slipped in the double-
sided access card Seiya had given her two months
ago. This allowed her to open a hidden panel that
contained a retinal scanner. Positioning herself
on the chin-rest, she opened her eyes wide as a
beam of light passed horizontally then vertically,
scanning her left eye.

"Identity confirmed."

Serena stepped back and closed the panel as
the elevator began its descent. After a long drop
the lift finally stopped, and the rear doors opened,
allowing her into a small bare room. The elevator
doors slid closed behind her and sealed her into
this square room, while cameras in all four corners
of the ceiling tracked her movement. She walked
calmly through the cube, knowing that if she didn't
pass the second stage of identification, the room
would quickly fill with sleeping gas. Standing in
front of the only exit, Serena enunciated her next
words clearly.

"Agent Moon. Security code: nineteen-oh-
three-fifty-one-Foxtrot-Zulu-Tango." There was a
three second pause as the computers verified her
voiceprint and code during which Serena's heart
accelerated slightly. Thoughts raced lightning
fast through her head. What if they had changed
the access codes? What if the Project had decided
to eliminate her? She knew that this room was
something of a death trap for anyone without the
proper clearance.

She allowed herself a small sigh of relief
when the computer beeped its approval and the door
slid open. On the other side, Serena nodded to the
well-armed security personnel ensconced in front of
several banks of view-screens monitoring the room
she had just left. Passing quickly through the
maze of the complex, she reached an internal
elevator and directed it to the Intel level.

Serena made her way to the operations center.
Literally the center of the complex, it was also
the room from which all of Project Eleven's
activities were coordinated. It was not her first
time there, but she never lost her sense of awe
over the vast and constantly bustling room. Always
full of people at any hour of the day, the room
seemed even bigger than it actually was.
It was designed as a perfect circle with
ceilings raised two stories high. The walls of the
room were divided into two halves. Around the
bottom half, banks of monumentally sized curved
plasma screens formed a 360° panorama. Many
individual consoles and workstations were set up in
the middle of the room with computers, telephones,
faxes, and all of the latest in communications
technology. The operations center was in many ways
a cross between a signals center and a situation
room.

Around the upper half of the walls, above the
plasma displays, floor-to-ceiling glass windows
overlooked the operations center. These formed a
series of offices for the very highest-ranking of
Project members, in addition to providing
boardrooms and briefing rooms for important
meetings. It was to one of these rooms that Serena
was now directed.

Pausing briefly outside the door, Serena took
a deep breath to ready herself before pushing it
open. She was the last one to arrive, and all eyes
in the room fixed upon her as she entered. She
glanced up and down the boardroom table at its
occupants, some of whom she recognized and some of
whom she didn't.

At the head of the table sat a short woman
with wavy, shoulder-length black hair. She was
dressed in a suit, the clean precision of which
exuded power and control. Serena knew instantly
that this was a person who was used to giving
orders and having them followed.

Immediately to the right of the head of the
table was Seiya. Serena let her eyes slide past
him nonchalantly, even as she noticed the lack of
expression on his handsome face. She couldn't,
however, completely smother the flush on her cheeks
as she recalled her panicked reaction to his almost-
twin from the bookshop. It had been several weeks
since that incident, but she still felt humiliated
by her mishap.

'You're not afraid. You're not afraid.' She
mentally repeated her mantra. Marshalling her will
power, she shoved the memory aside. Her spine
stiff and shoulders square, Serena continued her
perusal of the conference room occupants.

On the left of the woman in charge sat a man
of average build in one of the ubiquitous black
suits that most project members seemed to don. A
flamboyant red shirt with wide lapels gave his
appearance a unique flair that was rare among the
too-serious Project members. His solemn and severe
mien was tempered by a playful twinkle in his blue
eyes. What was most surprising about this man was
his hair. Despite his otherwise relatively
youthful appearance, his hair was completely a
snowy white. This gave him a look of maturity and
experience that demanded respect. A man full of
contradictions.

Next to the white-haired man was Amy. As
prim and proper as usual, still wearing her
pristine white lab-coat over a conservative skirt
and jacket combo, Amy looked like her usual
competent self.

On Amy's other side was a woman Serena had
seen many times before but had never actually met.
She was slender and tall; her long tresses of
luxuriant black hair shone and slid over her
shoulders like masses of raw silk. The deep ebony
color of her hair only accentuated the paleness of
her creamy skin and the natural crimson stain of
her lips. Her exotic features were accented by the
unique clothing she wore. Obviously of an eastern
design, the clothes suited her so perfectly that
they appeared to have been designed specifically
with her in mind. Her beauty and unconventionality
would make her stand out in any crowd, but somehow
she didn't seem out of place in this one.

Across the table from this exotic woman was
Amara, wearing her traditional tracksuit. Serena
had never seen the athletic woman dressed in
anything other than casual clothing, and today was
no exception. The only person in the room not
wearing formal business-wear, Amara's policy of
dressing up for no one made her different from the
others. When their eyes met, Amara flashed Serena
a brief welcoming smile.

"Serena, please, have a seat," said the woman
at the head of the table.

Serena sat down in the last remaining seat
that had obviously been reserved for her.
Subconsciously, as she sat down between Seiya and
Amara, Serena edged her chair closer to Amara's.
Once she had settled herself, the woman at the head
of the table called the meeting to order.

"Agent Moon, let me introduce you to everyone.
My name is Luna." She gestured crisply to her left
to the snowy-haired man, "And this is Artemis. We
are in charge of Operations and Intel respectively.
You already know Seiya, Agent Star, team leader and
recruiting officer; Amy, Agent Mercury, professor
of languages, technology specialist, and a section-
leader for Intel; and Amara, Agent Uranus, martial
arts expert and physical trainer. Finally, let me
introduce Raye, Agent Mars, psych officer and
demolitions."

Raye nodded politely at Serena in
acknowledgement of the introduction. Luna then
continued with the meeting.

"This is the team of people you will be
working directly with. We'd like to give you a
chance to get to know the people in your group, but
more importantly, Serena, you've been called here
tonight so that we can brief you on your first
mission. Amy, if you please..." Luna requested.

"Thank you, Luna." Amy picked up a remote
control and pressed a button, turning on the large
plasma screen affixed to the wall at the other end
of the table. Everyone swiveled his or her chair
to look at the screen. It showed video images of
an Asian man of with shaggy brown hair and an
average build leaving a restaurant. He was
accompanied by two hulking brutes who were
unusually large in stature for Asians. These
Serena assumed were his bodyguards. One of them
held open the back door to a waiting car.

"His name is Alan Cheng. He's a banker who
uses his front offices to conceal the operations of
his back office: money laundering for the Triad
elements in Canada and the Western United States.
He works out of Vancouver and owns a medium sized
shipping firm, which we believe is sometimes used to
smuggle contraband into the country. He owns
several warehouses near the harbor, as well as a
variety of small businesses in Chinatown. His main
office is located in the heart of the downtown area.
He is currently living on a large estate in West
Vancouver.

"However, something has happened recently to
change his normal patterns. We think that
something big has changed within his organization,
and we want to know what it is. This could
potentially be very important if it links back to
his Triad connections." Amy stopped the video on a
profiled zoom shot of the brown-haired man.

Luna now took control of the briefing.
"Thank you, Amy. Serena, we want you to
insinuate yourself into his organization. Get
close to him. How you do so is, of course, at your
own discretion, but our psych profile on him
suggests that an aggressive approach is more
likely to succeed. Our sources tell us that he is
looking for a new bodyguard; this is perhaps an
avenue you can pursue. Earn his trust, find out
what's behind the changes, and report back to us.
If there's a new power player involved, we want to
know about it.

"Serena, I don't need to tell you how
important this mission is. Amara will be traveling
with you to Vancouver to help you infiltrate his
compound. She will be running backup for you in
case anything happens. Needless to say, you won't
be able to communicate often with Project members
once you are inside his organization, so we'll
equip you with some special devices. Amy?"

Amy opened a briefcase and extracted what
looked like two digital watches. She handed one
each to Amara and Serena before explaining what
they were for. "These are our newest communication
devices. It's something we've been working on
developing for some time now. Designed to allow
various team members to speak to one another
secretly, it won't be detectable by any of the
usual means because it doesn't travel by radio-
wave. Also, the transmissions will be encrypted,
should anyone be advanced enough to detect them.

"You will find that the watch face flips open
to reveal the small video screen. The watch
automatically transmits to every other device
within the same call-group. Once we outfit
everyone in this team with communicators of the
same call-group, it will mean that unless you
specify a receiver, your message will go out to all
of your teammates at once. Keep in mind, however,
that these devices have a limited broadcast range.
They will work anywhere within, say, the size of a
large city, but not much beyond that."

When Amy had finished her explanations, Luna
resumed her briefing, speaking directly to Serena.
"Your flight leaves tomorrow morning at seven am.
Do you have any questions?"

Serena shook her head.

"Good. Remember that Amara will be there in
a support capacity only." Here, Luna pinned her
with a disconcertingly piercing gaze, "The Project
is depending on you to successfully carry out this
mission, Serena."

Luna broke her stare, and Serena felt an
immense relief as if an oppressive weight had been
lifted. "That's all for now. Raye, please help
Amara and Serena get outfitted for the mission."

As this was clearly a dismissal, Serena,
Amara, and Raye stood up and left the room. Once
the door was shut behind them, Luna turned to Seiya
and Amy and asked, "Is she ready for this?"

Seiya responded immediately, "Yes, she's
ready."

Artemis spoke for the first time since the
meeting had started. "Are you sure about that?
Need I remind you of how much is riding on this
mission? This is a little heavy for a virgin
operative."

"I wouldn't have graduated her if I didn't
think she was ready," replied Seiya, bristling a
little at the implied criticism. "Serena is
perfectly capable of completing this mission.
She's the best operative we've ever trained. Not
only that, but she's the only one capable of
pulling this assignment off. You know that,
Artemis," he finished with a hint of reproach in
his voice.

"I must agree with Seiya's assessment of
Serena. Having worked closely with her, I have
observed her ability to think quickly and make
important decisions under stressful circumstances.
I believe that Serena is fully capable of bringing
the mission to a successful conclusion," Amy added.

"I hope you both are right. Too much is
riding on this for it to be bungled by some green
agent," responded Artemis.

"And more heads than one will go rolling if
this doesn't work out," finished Luna.

The meeting was concluded, and each left to
attend to their own affairs. Seiya left the
meeting feeling pressured by a sense of foreboding,
knowing that if Serena failed, his own neck might
just be on the line. Despite his worry over her
ability to cope with the tough assignment, Seiya
felt confident in her ability to carry it through.
'I know she can do it. The question is,'
he wondered, 'Will her conscience allow her to?'
He could only hope that it would. If not, he would
undoubtedly get the order to cancel Serena. And
that was something he could not do.

---

Serena and Amara followed Raye to the
training level. She led them to a room not far
from the indoor track. From its appearance, this
was obviously the Quartermaster's supply room.
Serena glanced around at the walls where guns of
every imaginable variety were stored and displayed.
From sniper rifles to dart-guns, there were rows
upon rows of handguns and assault rifles - a "fully
loaded" armory. Towards the back of the room, the
more arcane weapons were stored, like crossbows,
ninja throwing stars, and all manner of knives,
daggers, and swords.

"So, what do you two prefer using?" asked
Raye.

Amara thought for a minute before responding,
"Ideally, this mission should be kept very low
profile, so we don't want to draw too much
attention to ourselves. Subtlety is the key.
We'll need at least two suppressed submachine guns.
As for handguns, I prefer the Smith and Wesson 1076
stainless steel." She had always liked this bulkier
gun. "Oh, and ammunition for everything."

Raye placed two standard Project issue
Heckler & Koch MP5s on the counter and added the
requested handgun. "What about you, Serena?"

"I guess...," she hesitated a little, "a
Beretta 92FS."

Raye placed one on the counter; its slick
silver finish gleamed coldly. "Well, that's about
it for weapons. Remember to pack them in these
special cases when you're traveling. These will
prevent airport security from detecting your
weapons. I'll throw in the standard field pack -
you know, thigh and shoulder holsters, switchblade,
handsfree com-radios, nightvision goggles..."

As Raye continued to list off the contents of
their field issue, Serena felt trepidation set in
about embarking on her first official mission.
After what had happened at the restaurant with Seiya,
she wasn't sure if she could go through all that
again. She tried to steel her nerve by reminding
herself that she wouldn't necessarily have to kill
anyone on this mission. She needed only to gather
information. Suddenly, Serena remembered the way
the arms dealer had slumped over the table, his
eyes staring lifelessly at her. She shuddered at
the mental image.

Serena made a silent vow, one that would
affect the rest of her life. She promised herself
never to take a life unless it was absolutely
necessary.

Raye must have sensed Serena's apprehension
because she stopped talking and looked straight at
Serena. "Amara, can you go down to the lab and
grab the transmitter devises Serena will need?"

"Sure thing."

Once Amara was gone, Raye favored Serena with
a long, knowing look as if Raye was reading her
mind. While Luna's gaze had made Serena feel as if
her faults were being picked apart, Raye's did the
opposite. Her stare, though acute, seemed
particularly sensitive, and it made Serena feel
stronger and more confident.

"Don't worry, Serena. You can do this
mission. I believe in you." Raye spoke in a low
voice, but the fervent undertone conveyed itself to
Serena.

Serena was pretty surprised by Raye's vote of
confidence. After all, they had only just met one
another. How could Raye understand exactly what
she was feeling?

Her confusion must have shown on her face
because Raye shrugged and said, "I just get these
feelings about people. I'm usually right. There's
a reason why I'm a psych officer."

At that moment, Raye looked more exotic and
mysterious than ever. There seemed to be a deep
spirituality about her that Serena found comforting
rather than frightening. Raye was so deeply
centered that she was like a giant tree that had
weathered hundreds of years of storms, still firmly
grounded and offering shelter beneath her branches.

"I am pretty worried," Serena confessed.
"It's my first mission, and everyone is depending
on me. I just don't know if I'll be able to kill
anyone. If it comes down to it, I'm afraid I just
might freeze."

"I understand, Serena. I went through the
same thing myself during my first mission. It's
normal to feel that way. Just remember that we're
fighting on the side of good. Fighting so that the
regular people don't have to. Fighting to protect
them and their families. Always keep that in mind.
This is what we've trained so hard for - trust in
that training. Deep down, I think you're a good
person, and I believe that you will do the right
thing in the end - whatever that may be."

Serena had never thought about things in that
light before. She felt a little better and
reminded herself of the vow she had just made. It
gave her confidence to know that someone believed
in her that strongly. "Thank you, Raye."

"You're welcome, Serena."

---

When Serena got home that night, the first
thing she did was phone Lita.

"Mmm...yell-o?" a groggy voice answered on the
other end.

"Oh, Lita, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up? I
didn't realize what time it was." Serena glanced
at her watch and saw that it was past midnight.

"Serena...? Oh, thash okay," responded Lita,
slurring her words slightly. "How did your meeting
go? Emergency taken care of?" Lita gradually
began to sound more awake.

"Actually, no," Serena lied. "One of our
major accounts suddenly decided to back out, and
now I have to fly to Vancouver tomorrow morning to
fix things."

"Is there anything I can do? Do you need a
ride to the airport?"

Serena silently blessed Lita for her
thoughtfulness. "No, but thanks. I wouldn't want
to drag you out of bed that early in the morning.
The office is sending a taxi for me anyways. I was
wondering if you could water my plants while I'm
gone. It may be for a week or two. I'm not sure
how long it will take to patch things up with the
other company."

"Sure, Serena. 'S no problem."

"Lita, you're an angel! Thank you so much!
I'll leave the key to the apartment hidden under
the Welcome mat. You might as well keep it for me.
In case I'm ever locked out of my apartment, it'll
be a good idea if you have a copy of my key."

"Okay, sounds fine. Leave me a message if you
think of anything you've forgotten or if you need
me to pick you up from the airport."

"You really are an angel. Thanks again. I'm
sorry to have woken you up."

"Don't worry about it. Just get your work
stuff straightened out quickly so you can hurry
home. Have a good trip!"

"Bye."

"Bye, Serena."

---

Serena was sitting in the window seat,
glancing down at the voluminous gray clouds
underneath the small plane. Amara was in the aisle
seat next to her and had been asleep even before
they had taken off. Serena almost wished she too
could sleep because she had gotten very little the
night before, staying up late to pack and to plan
out her strategy for infiltrating Cheng's
organization. Unfortunately, she was just too
keyed up to rest.

In addition to her anxiety about the upcoming
mission, this was Serena's first time on an
airplane, and she was pretty excited about it. In
spite of her enthusiasm and amazement that this
mechanical contraption was soaring above layers of
clouds, she found that the plane had a too-sterile
smell that reminded her unpleasantly of hospitals.
The un-definable smell gave her a small headache,
which, combined with the food that was just as bad
as it was reputed to be, left her feeling somewhat
queasy.

Serena continued to stare out the small
window, heedless of the bright sunshine that poured
into the cabin, and ignored the movie playing on a
screen at the front of the plane. She reflected
that Lita had never so much as questioned her cover
story or her "business trip." She felt extremely
guilty about lying to her friend, but wondered if
it was strange that Lita had asked so few questions.
She supposed that it must be pretty common to find
someone working for a high-tech company in Ottawa.
After all, it was widely known as the "Silicon
Valley of the North." Spur of the moment business
trips were nothing unusual either. 'I'm probably
overreacting. Working for the Project has made me
paranoid. I guess my cover story is just well
thought-out.'

---

Once the plane landed, Amara took charge and
rented a car. They drove directly to a downtown
hotel where they checked in and settled into their
room. Then, Amara suggested that they take the
opportunity to reconnoiter their target's house and
offices and simultaneously do a little sightseeing.
Serena eagerly agreed to this idea because she had
never been to Vancouver before.

Traveling on foot, they decided to swing
through Gastown on their way to Cheng's Chinatown
businesses. The ground was wet from a nighttime
shower, and Serena found it odd that moss seemed to
be growing all over the sidewalks. They stopped to
admire the charming steam clock as it whistled the
hour into the pale morning gloom. The inexorably
rising sun cast a glowing pink hue on the sky and
reflected off the shining clock faces, dissipating
the pre-dawn fog. The quaint Gastown boutiques
were not yet open as it was still very early, but
Serena happily peered at the window displays.

The two women then proceeded to Chinatown,
passing restaurants of astonishing variety, and
gradually making their way to the seedier areas in
which one of Cheng's businesses was located.
People here were already well into their daily
routines, in spite of the fact that the sun had
barely risen. Vendors were laying out their wares,
and the two operatives had their olfactory senses
assaulted by the blended smells of oriental spices,
exotic cooking, and rotting fruit.

Finally, Amara and Serena found the small
place that Cheng owned. The tiny building was
crammed between two larger buildings and looked to
have been built out of an alleyway. It appeared
rather decrepit and decadent. Unlike the other
active places in the area, Cheng's building was
shut tight. There were no signs of life or
movements inside the building, and little could be
observed from the outside since the windows had
been boarded shut.

Since nothing more was to be learned from the
place, Amara suggested that they swing by Cheng's
main offices before heading back to their hotel for
a shower and a meal. Feeling tired from their
morning walkabout, Serena agreed. Upon reaching
the hotel, they found that they were just in time
for a continental breakfast in the modest dining
room.

Later that afternoon, the operatives had
driven their rental car to Cheng's West Vancouver
estate. Parking their car a block away, Serena and
Amara walked to the crest of a nearby hill to
survey the estate. The sprawling house was set far
back from the road, and there was a walled fence
that ran the perimeter of the land. Steel gates
closed off the driveway that led up to the house
and to a garage housing three or four cars.

"Intel reports that they have guys guarding
the perimeter, but only at night. That's probably
because it would look weird in this neighborhood if
you had obvious sentries posted twenty-four hours a
day. This is still a residential area after all,"
Amara commented.

Serena peered through her binoculars at the
three-story building constructed on the slope of
the mountain. "It looks as if that's the best time
to hit them then. Remember, we want to impress
this guy enough for him to hire me."

"Are you sure, bunny? It seems like this
will be a pretty tough entry. This guy obviously
values his privacy. Just look at those electronic
gates, the high walls, and the tree-covered
perimeter. You won't even be able to see the house
from the street. And remember that once you're
inside, I won't be able to contact you very often.
It would be too dangerous."

"I'm sure," Serena replied. "If I just waltz
in during business hours, he probably won't even
see me. This way, he'll get a good idea about my
abilities. It's the only way we'll get him to
trust me."

"Well, it's your operation. But remember,
I'm only here for backup."

"Don't worry. I can handle this."

'I hope,' she added silently.

---

'Me and my big mouth!' Serena thought to
herself later that night as she assessed the
situation. Clothed in a form-fitting black
jumpsuit, she was crouched in the shadow of the ten-
foot high wall she had scaled only minutes earlier.

Gradually, Serena crept closer to the edge of
the forested area, toward Cheng's house, slipping
silently from behind one tree to the next. She
paused behind the last row of trees. A vast, open,
lawn area was between her and the house. She
pulled off the night-vision goggles and tucked them
into one of the many pockets in her black cargo
pants. The resulting landscape changed from an
eerily, glowing, neon green to its regular coloring.
The house in front of Serena was brightly lit,
making the use of the goggles impossible since
everything would only show up in a uniformly
blinding, bright green.

Serena studied each guard as they performed
their patrol around the premises. If she timed
things correctly, she would only ever have to worry
about one guard at a time. There were a total of
three guards making their rounds outside, plus one
in the gatehouse at the entrance of the drive, and
six more inside the house who would come running
out if she got caught or set off the alarm.

Her heart started to pulse at an irregular
beat, and she began to sweat in the brisk night air.
Even though Amara was stationed in the bushes on
the other side of the wall, ready to come to the
rescue if anything should happen, Serena knew that
she wouldn't get a second chance to succeed -
everything counted on her not getting caught. She
had to prove herself to Cheng if she wanted him to
hire her. Not only that, but she wanted to prove
to the Project, and even more to herself, that she
could do this. After all, what had she been
training for the last two years?

'This is it,' she told herself. 'There's no
going back. You can do this.'

Just as one of the guards moved out of sight
around the other side of the house and before the
next guard came into view, Serena broke into a
sprint towards the house. There was a young maple
tree approximately two and a half meters away from
the side of the house. Flowering rhododendron
bushes surrounded the base of the tree. It was
for these that Serena aimed in her full-out sprint.

...5...4...3...2...1.

When her mental count reached "one," Serena
tucked into a roll that brought her onto the balls
of her feet crouched behind the bushes, just as the
next guard appeared from behind the other side of
the house.

She took a few seconds to struggle to regain
her breath. Her heart was palpitating almost
audibly. She had made it through the first stage
of her plan. Now, as her breathing returned to
normal, Serena carefully peered through the
branches of the bushes. The leaves of the
rhododendron were very slightly curled from the
cool temperatures, making it easy for her to
observe the guard closest to her without being
seen.

While she watched, the guard in front of her
paused in his patrol to light a cigarette.
Glancing up after taking a drag, he seemed to stare
directly at the spot where Serena was crouched
behind the bushes. As the guard continued to stare
straight at her, a nervous sweat broke out anew all
over her body. Had he seen her? Serena could only
send up a silent prayer that her presence hadn't
been detected.

To her intense relief, the guard merely took
another long drag at his cigarette and continued
his patrol. She knew she only had roughly 30
seconds to make it far enough up the tree to be
invisible from the ground. As soon as this guard
was out of sight, Serena grabbed the branch lowest
to the ground and used it to pull herself up by
walking up the tree trunk. Once she was in a
sitting position on the first branch, she quickly
straightened up and stood to grasp the next branch.
Swinging up from branch to branch, Serena was well
into the tree's leafy canopy by the time the third
guard passed into her view.

Now climbing more cautiously, she tried not
to disturb the branches and make noise. Her dark
clothing was doing most of the work of concealing
her presence. Serena moved patiently, making sure
she had a firm and steady grip before moving to the
next branch. It wasn't until the cigarette-smoking
guard passed once more into view that she had
reached her goal.

She stood on a branch that was level with the
roof of the house. At this altitude, the tree
swayed violently in the evening air currents, and
it became increasingly difficult to maintain her
balance despite all her martial arts training. If
she tried to climb any higher, experience told her
that those branches might not support her weight.

Steadying herself with one of the breathing
exercises she had been taught, Serena prepared for
the jump.

"Have you secured the gala location yet?"
Cheng asked Dean, his chief bodyguard and head of
security. Sitting forward in his high-backed,
leather office chair he fixed Dean with penetrating
glance. His office was comfortable, but Spartan.
Its primary feature was a heavy desk, upon which
various papers were scattered around a large
computer.

"No, sir. I plan to take our team to scout
the area the day after tomorrow."

Standing at attention on the other side of
Cheng's desk, the low lighting in Cheng's office
accentuated the bodyguard's hulking build. As
chief bodyguard, Dean couldn't let himself appear
smaller than the other guards. His pride was at
stake.

"Hm. Very well. I'll expect a report when
you've finished. That's all for now. Make sure
I'm not disturbed for the rest of the evening."
Cheng negligently dismissed his bodyguard and
returned his attention to the computer screen in
front of him.

"Yes, boss." Dean executed a sketchy bow and
retreated to his own office on the floor below.

Amara hated waiting.

Waiting was quite possibly the most
unpleasant part of her job. Here she was, crouched
in the obscurity of several close bushes next to
the wall that surrounded Cheng's property, unable
to do anything about the mission except wait and
worry - worry about what was happening, worry about
what wasn't happening, worry about Serena...

How was Serena doing? Had she made it into
the house? Had she perhaps been caught even though
no obvious alarms had gone off? Was there a trap
waiting for Serena inside the house?

The Project had given them blueprints of
Cheng's house, and they had scouted out the
surrounding areas. She and Serena had studied the
layout tirelessly until they had it memorized.
Amara only hoped that it was accurate. Nothing
spoiled a mission like bad intel. There was no way
of knowing, of course, until Serena went into the
house, so they just had to hope for the best and
trust that the Project had gotten the most up-to-
date information.

What was taking so long?

The passage of time was a funny thing. Even
though she had the luxury of wearing a watch, time
never seemed to pass the way it should. It
expanded and compressed with alarmingly little
frame of reference. When Amara was sure that
several hours had passed since beginning her wait,
her watch told her that it had really only been
several minutes.

Amara had no way of knowing how Serena was
faring. Serena was supposed to call using their
watch-communicators once she was successfully
inside the house. Until then, Amara could do
nothing but wait, and wait, and wait...

And so, with all the training and experience
she had, Amara was reduced to crouching in the
uncomfortably prickly bushes and enduring the
persistent bites of the mosquitoes that had come to
feast on her blood.

"Damn!" she swore mentally as another bite
began to swell up and itch like crazy.

Amara hated waiting.

Serena was in the tree, a meter and a half
away from the roof of Cheng's house. She swung
herself from a tree branch, each forward motion
bringing her closer and closer to the rooftop. The
bark of the tree scraped her sweat-slicked palms
uncomfortably. She didn't figure she could hold on
much longer, and she was about as close to the roof
as she was going to get anyway. On the next
forward swing, just as the arc of her body had
reached the apex of the swaying motion, Serena let
go.

She was falling, falling...

Closer and closer to the roof's edge...

But Serena had misjudged the distance. She
wasn't going to make it. In a last ditch attempt,
Serena made a grab for a satellite antenna sticking
outward just below the eaves and caught it. She
hung there for a brief moment, but was quickly
jolted as the satellite dish began to come loose
from the wall. It just wasn't strong enough to
support her whole weight.

Serena knew she didn't have much time before
it broke off completely and plunged her to her
death two stories below. She was suddenly glad for
all the upper body training she had done as she
used it to pull herself up. Just when she had
secured a hold on the roof, she felt the antenna
come loose in her hand. She let it dangle loosely
from the connecting wires, and clambered onto the
roof.

Communicating the latest business figures in
a conference call with his superiors in Hong Kong,
Cheng was suddenly treated to a dial tone when the
connection suddenly went dead.

"What?? What's going on here?!"

He pressed the hang-up button repeatedly to
no avail. His superiors were going to have a fit
about the interrupted. God forbid that they would
think he hung up on them. Regardless, they would
demand an explanation and probably an investigation
to make certain that this wasn't the RCMP or the
FBI tapping into their calls. A simple
disconnection could potentially cause him a lot of
problems.

When he could not get his superiors back on
the line himself, Cheng was forced out of his
office. He strode angrily down the hall, searching
for a solution and promising punishment for those
responsible.

Three guards were lounging on couches in
front of the mammoth television set in various
states of relaxation. They stuffed their faces
with junk food and argued amongst themselves loudly,
predicting the outcome of the titanic battle that
was about to be broadcast from Las Vegas.

"Where's Tom? He's gonna miss the fight. I
thought he wanted to see all the action."

"I think he's in the washroom. Didn't he say
that Holyfield would win in a TKO? Well, he's
wrong about that. It's gonna be Lewis or nuthin'
baby!"

Suddenly, Tom wasn't the only one who was
going to miss the fight.

"Hey!" one of the guards exclaimed as the
television was reduced to showing only static.

"What's going on here, Marcus? We're gonna
miss the match!"

Another guard went to the side of the 65"
flatscreen television and punched the side in a
Neanderthalian attempt to restore the picture.

"Yo, Dean!" Marcus hollered into the next
room. "There's something wrong with the satellite."

Dean's bulky form emerged from his office and
came to stand with the others around the
malfunctioning television. "What's the matter?" he
grunted.

"The satellite must be out," replied one of
the guards, succeeding only at stating the obvious.

"We're gonna miss the match, Dean. It's
Lennox Lewis versus Evander Holyfield! The
heavyweight match of the century, and our TV goes
out! Can you believe this?!?" Marcus exclaimed
indignantly.

Dean gave the top of the television a bang
with his fist, frowning when the picture continued
to display only snow.

"I already tried that," complained the
Neanderthal.

It was thus that Cheng found them: four
hulking brutes standing stupidly, staring at the
static, muttering to each other about what they
were going to do. "What's going on here," Cheng
frowned.

"Sorry, Mr. Cheng. There's something wrong
with the satellite," Dean reported.

Cheng's eyes hardened, and the temperature of
his voice dropped below zero as he replied, "What?!"

Meanwhile, on the roof, Serena had managed to
make her way over to the only skylight. It
overlooked a small bathroom at an oblique angle.
She cautiously peered in. Inside, she saw a large
man sitting on the toilet.

'Must be one of the guards,' she thought with
amusement.

Cheng's brows drew together in consternation.
"You!" he said pointing at Dean. "Come with me.
The rest of you, secure the perimeter."

Dean followed Cheng into the next room, while
the other guards groused about missing the fight
and slowly made their way downstairs.

Inside Dean's office, Cheng ordered him to
check all their security measures.

"Sir, it's probably nothing. No need to get
upset about a little satellite disruption," Dean
tried to reassure Cheng.

"Idiot! Do you know what kind of trouble
this is going to cause with Hong Kong? I was on an
important conference call with them when the
satellite cut out. Now make sure our security
hasn't been compromised!"

Serena had been waiting for several minutes
to see if the guard would leave, but she was no
longer amused. Here he was, still sitting on the
toilet, calmly flipping through a magazine with no
concern for someone who might want to use the
washroom skylight to break into the house. No
consideration. No consideration at all.

Well, she couldn't wait any longer. Every
second she stayed on the roof was a second that
increased the risk of discovery. She would just
have to go in and deal with the guy on the toilet.

Luckily, she could angle herself on the same
side of the skylight as the guard so that she was
out of his line of sight. Crouching next to the
skylight, Serena pulled a laser glasscutter from
one of her cargo pockets. It was a good thing that
the Project was equipped with the most advanced
technology. A traditional glasscutter would have
made enough noise to alert the man on the toilet.
Serena blessed the silence of the laser as she
worked at cutting a hole in the skylight. Sweat
beaded on her brow while she concentrated. Soon,
the circular piece of glass came free, and she
pulled it up onto the roof.

Serena checked one last time to see if the
guard was paying attention before silently lowering
herself down through the hole. Three feet from the
floor, she let go of the window-ledge and dropped.

From her low crouch, she could tell that the
guard still hadn't noticed her presence. She stood
up slowly and drew her Beretta. Aiming it at the
oblivious guard, she stalked toward him. She
stopped directly in front of him, but he still had
yet to look up from his magazine.

"Ahem," Serena cleared her throat and said
sweetly, "Pass the toilet paper please."

Tom's head finally whipped up. He looked up
directly into the barrel of her gun, his eyes
almost crossing as they focused on it. Serena had
a hard time keeping herself from laughing at the
expression on his face.

Before he could regain the use of what little
wits he had, she rapped him smartly on the head
with the butt of her pistol. He slid to the floor
unconscious with his pants around his ankles.

Serena debated the situation before her.
Training dictated that you should only ever leave
an enemy behind you if he or she has been
incapacitated. But she was reluctant to touch him
at all - he was half-naked, and besides...
Stupidity might be catching.

Her training won out, however, and she bent
to shove a large wad of toilet paper in his mouth
and tie his hands behind his back with a long spool
of dental floss, winding it around his wrists
several times. That stuff was near unbreakable.

That done, Serena flipped open the cover of
her watch and called through the video-screen to
Amara.

"I'm in," she told her partner.

Amara's relieved face appeared to
congratulate her. "Nice work. Now all you have to
do is convince Cheng to hire you as his bodyguard.
I'll stick around for another fifteen minutes if
you need me. Otherwise, I'll see you in a couple
of days. Good luck!"

The view-screen fizzled out, and Serena
flipped the cover shut. She then pressed her ear
against the crack of the door, trying to hear what
was happening outside. After several seconds of
hearing nothing but silence, she opened the door
slightly and peered out. The coast was clear.
Locking the bathroom closed behind her, Serena slid
out into the hallway and made her way through the
house.

As they strode into Cheng's office, Dean
spoke into his handheld radio, "Everybody, report
in."

"Perimeter 1. All clear."

"Perimeter 2. Clear."

"Perimeter 3. Nothing here."

"Gatehouse. No signs of anything unusual."

"See, boss?" Dean said a little petulantly.
"I told you, it's nothing to worry about. Probably
just a cat or something. We'll get the cable
people to come fix it tomorrow. The guys will just
have to miss the boxing match."

Alan Cheng spoke in a low but fierce voice.
"I don't care if they miss a stupid TV show! You
just find out exactly what happened to knock out
the satellite, and you find out NOW!"

"Yes, bo-" the guard was in the process of
saying, when he bit off an exclamation of surprise.

The comfortable leather chair behind Cheng's
desk suddenly swiveled around, revealing a slim
blonde whose long hair was tied in a sleek knot at
the crown of her head and hung down past her
shoulders.

"Am I interrupting something?" Serena asked
softly with a gamine smile.

---
AN: Whew! It took me forever, but I finally
finished this long, long chapter. Immeasurable
thanks go out to my wonderful editor, Syrinx. If
you haven't already, go check out her suspenseful
mystery, "The Mousetrap."

Thank you for leaving a review!

Next chapter: Serena gets closer to Alan, but how
close is too close?

Aglaia