{Answer to a challenge issued by
Cin, a person who hates to answer her own challenges! -- in any modern day
M7/AU write a story that includes the words: bullet proof vest, a fire escape,
windshield wipers, a laser printer and White-Out.}
ATF Universe
Vin slipped the bulletproof vest on and fastened the Velcro on
the sides to make it a snug fit. He flexed his shoulders to assure it was
tight, but as comfortable as it was going to get. He really hated wearing the
bulky garment, but he realized how dangerous the people he was going up against
were. And he was doing this alone as a favor to someone, so going on this
mission without a backup he was going to be as careful as possible.
He leaned over and checked his
backup weapon. The slim .380 was tucked securely into his ankle holster. The
Sig was secure in the holster on his thigh, strapped over his black BDUs.
Sliding his hands into the black half-finger gloves, he closed the wrist straps
over the cuffs of his long-sleeve black T-shirt. Completing his outfit, he
covered his sandy brown hair with a black knit cap.
Finally, picking up the last of his
equipment from the drawer of his desk, he slid it into one of the cargo pockets
on his BDUs. After one last check of the address, he folded the piece of paper,
slipping it into a pocket on his vest, and headed out.
The darkness of the night helped
conceal the slim dark clad man in his mission. The dark storm clouds that were
gathering assured no bright moon or canopy of stars would inadvertently reveal
him in a ray of light. Invisibility and stealth were essential for him to
complete his mission.
As he drove the jeep towards his
first target, a fine misting rain started falling. Silently he cursed as he
turned on the windshield wipers. He didn't mind the dark clouds, welcomed them
in fact. Rain he could do without. He didn't know if this favor was worth
getting a drenching if it started raining heavier. Sighing he knew it wouldn't
matter; he owed this person a lot, so he would see this mission through.
It didn't take long to drive to his
intended destination. He stopped down the street, hiding the jeep in an
alleyway out of sight of his goal. Thankfully the rain stopped as he sprinted
through the shadows to the side of the stylish townhouse. Checking around the
property, he assured himself that the information they had was correct; no one
appeared to be at home. The vehicle was gone, and he had the confirmation the
target was elsewhere tonight, being kept busy as all his targets were. He took
a few minutes to disable the alarm, another hidden talent few knew about.
Returning to the side of the
townhouse he stretched up and pulled down the ladder of the fire escape
attached to the side of the building. Moving as silent as a cat, he scampered
up the metal ladder to the second story. With the skills he knew, it was best
some people didn't know how he had quickly made entry into the window.
Once inside, he pulled a small pen
light from one of the pockets on his pants. He quickly flicked the thin beam
over the interior of the room. It was apparent this was a home office, which he
knew it would be from the various blueprints he had studied. A desk sat near
the window with a computer monitor on top. Various file cabinets lined one wall
and another low table along another wall held a variety of small office
equipment.
Moving quickly to the filing
cabinets he located the correct one and put his hidden skills to use once more.
Flipping through the files, he finally came to the one containing the softbound
book he wanted.
He took it over to the small
worktable. He glanced at the index then turned to the page he needed. Carefully
he removed the spiral binder and removed the page. Pulling a chair over he sat
down and pulled the small bottle out of his pants pocket. Holding the pen light
in his mouth, he shook the bottle of White-out. Opening it, he bent carefully
to his task. In a matter of moments he had the section erased.
Blowing on the paper to hasten its
drying, he carried it over to the small laser printer on one end of the table.
Turning the machine on he waited impatiently for it to warm up as he quickly
glanced at his watch. If all went as easy as this he should have enough time to
complete all of his assignments.
The machine's copy light finally
flashed green that it was ready. He placed the paper on the glass surface and
made his copy. Checking it over, he was satisfied with its appearance. It
looked just like the original no telltale of tampering; lucky that particular
rule fell at the end of the page. He set the copy number to twenty and pushed
the button for the extra copies. He didn't want to take a chance that there
were no copiers at the other sites he had to visit this night.
He took the page back over to the
book. Looking around he spotted the special hole
puncher and used it to punch holes in the page. He then inserted the page in
the proper place and carefully replaced the binder. Taking the finished product
he returned it to the file cabinet and placed it back in its proper place.
Closing and locking the file cabinet back, he pulled a rag from another pocket
and wiped the cabinet down.
The copier was done so he gathered
all the papers and turned the machine off, taking the time to wipe it down
also. He found the blank paper, and refilled it with the exact number of pages
he made, so it appeared the machine was still unused. He then took the pages
over to the table and punched holes in them. Taking the hole
punch, he carefully removed the back and took out all the scrap paper from the
hole's remains and dumped them in one of his pockets, checking carefully to
make sure he hadn't spilled any. He wiped the hole
punch down and returned it to its proper place.
He checked the work area over,
wiping off the table surface. He made sure the chair was returned the way he
found it. Returning the small bottle to his pocket he checked to make sure all
was in order before his departure.
Picking up the original page, he
chuckled as he folded it and secured it in a pocket. He gathered the rest of
the pages, handling them carefully, he secured and
locked the window, just before wiping down the surfaces he thought he'd
touched. His exit would be through the front door this time to insure all
portals were locked, as they should be.
Quickly making his exit, he
reconnected the alarm, made sure the fire escape
ladder was up and moved off toward his jeep. Sliding into the front seat he set
the papers carefully on the passenger seat beside him. Sighing heavily and
letting his head fall back against the backrest, he took a moment for himself.
Taking a deep breath, he once again
reached into the pocket on his vest and pulled out the folded sheet of paper
with the list of addresses on it. He pulled out a pen from the same pocket and
crossed off Brate's name. Checking the address for
the next target on the list, he replaced it then inserted the key to start the
jeep.
Once again he shook his head. He
would never understand these women. Always trying to best one
another. They had led him and his friends on some wild adventures, that was for sure. He didn't understand why it was important that
Cin wanted the section removed from the Fan Fiction Writers' Guidelines that
stated if a writer issued a story challenge, that writer had to participate in
the challenge. He just knew he owed her a favor and was more than willing to
help. Especially when she mentioned the payment.
As he pulled the jeep onto the
street and headed to the next destination he smiled. Yep, getting the chocolate
stash she wasn't allowed to have over Lent was going to be very sweet indeed.
He only hoped the writers did not find out about his activities, else he and
all his alternate selves would pay dearly for his actions tonight. He shook his
head as a shiver went down his spine as he thought, **Yep these women sure did
know how to torture a feller**.
Feedback to cinbg@yahoo.com