Monday, September 14
God Shall Tread: Part 2 – Hairball
"Go, go, go!" shouted Hammer to the pilot.
Jim-Bean and Hammer were already on a plane to Berne. They planned to have eyes on the ground before he got there. They were both exhausted – SPIDER transit outside the U.S. was considerably less luxurious than within America. And given that SPIDER transit was awful to begin with, it meant they were nauseous and exhausted from the endless turbulence required to cross the Atlantic Ocean in record time.
There was no way Emery could pull off wearing a wire. He was too jumpy, too nervous, and simply too clueless to act as their mole. The only way to do it right was to stick to Emery's original plan and maintain his ignorance.
The COCKTAIL worked well. Emery's memory was completely wiped. He didn't remember where he was. In fact, the Majestic boys were a little concerned he might remember nothing at all, given the sudden decision to dope Emery up. But it worked like a charm.
Everything was bugged. The phone, the gold nuggets, even Emery himself. They injected at tracker in his bloodstream.
"All trackers are functioning," said the pilot. They were already in the air before Emery had arrived at the airport. The staff was paid well to delay Emery as much as possible, but it seemed Hunt Electronics paid even better.
No matter, they were still one step ahead of HE. "We need to know his destination," said Hammer. "Wherever he lands, we need eyes on Emery as soon as he steps out of the plane."
"Copy that," replied the Majestic agent on the comm.
They watched the tracking devices on a monitor in the jet. They beepered a comforting staccato with every mile Emery's plane covered.
"Do you think this is going to work?"
"Why shouldn't it?" asked Hammer. "HE is still going to get its shipment."
Jim-Bean looked uncomfortable. "I don't know, it's just that…"
"Don't tell me you've chosen this moment to develop a conscience."
Jim-Bean laughed. "That's not what I mean. I'm just not sure Emery's the type to blow his money on booze and hookers."
"He's greedy," said Hammer. "Greedy people just get worse over time."
"Maybe," said Jim-Bean. "I guess it tells us a lot about the character of a man, huh? They'll probably kill him when he gets there."
"That's why we have to get there first. We'll be ready to take them out. HE just cares about the equipment," said Hammer. "Once they get that back, he's as good as—"
The monitor beeped urgently.
The tracking devices were scattering. They beeped once, twice, radiating outwards from the plane in a circle, thousands of miles above ground. Then they disappeared entirely.
Hammer and Jim-Bean stared at the screen, dumbfounded. more
Labels: d20 modern
posted by Mike Tresca at
12:36 PM
Want more? Please consider contributing to my Patreon; Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and the web; buy my books: The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games, The Well of Stars, and Awfully Familiar.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home