| From: | Ratinac, Rand (NSW) RRatinac@*****.redcross.org.au |
|---|---|
| Subject: | First Run |
| Date: | Fri, 10 Mar 2000 12:10:14 +1100 |
>>>>>[ Parking his Ford Americar, Void reached across and grabbed the big
duffle bag that sat on the seat beside him. He hopped out, slamming the door
behind him and depressed a button on the keyring that both locked the doors
and armed the security system.
He glanced around. The alleyway was empty. Perfect. This was the best place
to take the shot from, after all. Slinging the bag on his shoulder, he
walked around the corner to the rear of the building. Turning again, he kept
walking - up the side of the building. The tattered concrete of the old
apartment block crunched beneath his feet as he strode up the wall.
It was only a matter of twenty seconds to reach the top of the five storey
building. Walking swiftly across the sticky, black roof, he approached the
far corner, which faced out into the intersection of 42nd and June. He
quickly glanced at his watch. 08:55:27. Plenty of time.
Lowering the bag to the roof, he crouched down and unzipped it. A long,
sleek rifle emerged from the padding. He reached back in again, drawing out
a heavy silencer and began to screw it on. People always thought he was
crazy to carry a rifle that didn't break down, but he loved his Walther. It
was so much more stable than a cruddy Ranger Arms or the like.
With the rifle prepared, he brought it up to a ready position and settled in
to wait.
.....
Aurora had been right. The target emerged from the gym at precisely 0900.
Bringing the rifle scope up to his eye, Void studied the target for a
second. Like him, the target was an elf - tall and lean. Brown hair and eyes
and a tell-tale crescent scar on the left temple. Nice suit.
Taking a deep breath, Void paused, then eased half out. He focused in on the
scar and smiled. It was almost like a bullseye. The trigger depressed
without thought and the rifle hissed in his ear.
The target's head snapped around like a whip and he dropped like a stone.
Void growled to himself as blood sprayed from the impact site, where the
skin had split. He'd missed the scar by about an inch.
Void lowered his rifle and began to unscrew the silencer. As the target hit
the ground, a blue SAAB Dynamit drove around the corner and stopped in front
of the gym. Two men leapt out and raced towards the target. One was short
and skinny, with dirty blond hair and a datajack. The second was somewhat
taller, but also slim. His hair was platinum-blond and he wore the garb of a
mage. The silencer went away as the two men hefted the unconscious target
and began to carry him back to the car. By the time the target was inside,
so was the rifle. Void zipped up the bag and slung it onto his shoulder as
the two men hopped into the Dynamit and drove away - fast.
Carefully, he surveyed the scene one last time. People were sitting, or
standing, or walking - just going about their normal business. Very few of
them even seemed to notice anything had gone down and those that had were
frozen, stunned, still trying to comprehend the events. Void's eyes flicked
past a sidewalk cafe halfway down the block, then darted back. Seated at a
table out front, her hands wrapped around a small cup, was a tiny,
auburn-haired girl - no more than a teenager. There was something about her
- her preternatural calm; the way she watched the Dynamit flee the scene
with no alarm; the minute, relaxed smile on her face - that told him she was
in on it. "Aurora?" he murmured.
As he stood, the teenager glanced upwards. Their eyes met and she smiled,
then looked away again. Void turned and strode away without a backward
glance. Reaching the far side of the building again, he stepped off and
dropped.
He landed easily, his feet and one hand absorbing the impact, then walked
unhurriedly back to his car. A tap of the remote deactivated the security
system and opened the driver's side door for him. He swung inside,
depositing his duffle bag and closing the door behind him. As he started the
car up, he looked at his watch again. 09:01:19. Not bad. ]<<<<<
-- Void <09:01:20/03-09-61>
