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03 Silence
The doll sits in the corner obediently, patiently. They've made sure to keep her away from water. The dossier had a note about that.
She's a strange thing, this one. Her eyes are a little more vacant than the other dolls, her movements just a little less confident. But there's something sharp about her, something a little off.
AV921 watches her keenly. She hasn't moved in an hour, hasn't said a word. Just sat there with her head bowed and her hands on her lap as they wait for transit to come pick her up. The dossier had a page on her partner—with the word 'caution' thrown in several times—but so far, he's been a no show. Not surprising. No contractor would bother with the trouble of retrieving a doll. Other than AV921's employer, of course, who insisted on bringing in the big guns for this small job.
That's why there's a ridiculous amount of security patrolling the building. That's why AV921 has been hired in the first place.
That's why whoever this doll's partner is would never dream of rescuing her.
AV921 glances at his watch and frowns. Transit is late. Outside, though, things are quiet, the perimeter is secure. He imagines he hears a swish of something in the hallway, and a soft sigh of the floorboards. It's nothing. Probably a bird. But AV921 moves to check just the same. His hand is on the doorknob, ready to turn, when he catches the doll lift her head.
He gets a strange chill prickling the back of his neck. Her voice is wispy, soft. And eerily calm.
"Hei," she says.
And then the lights go out.