Management Makes the Decision

Previous Chapter: Man with a Thousand Faces

At the appointed time, I make my way to the restaurant. I do my usual walkabout and see Isabel and Tessa in a window. After exchanging signs that everything is as expected, I head in to join them. 

"Finally!” Isabel says, “They’ve made a decision. They want it done, the sooner the better."

"OK.” I say, “I’ve done several circuits around the place. While I’m only seeing the one small window; it’s solid. We need to know when he goes out so we can set up for his return. A situation like the one when we first met is perfect, in the middle of the darkest night when everyone is asleep. It may be a little tedious to wait, but when it happens, we should have a comfortable amount of prep time."

"I’ll take the first watch." Tessa says, "How should we keep in touch?"

"I have extra goodies I picked up from my contact. They’re disguised as phones, but are spread spectrum and encrypted. I’ll put some repeaters around so we can use very low power. That should make it nearly impossible to triangulate even if they do get suspicious. Used with earpieces, no one should give you a second look. They have limited range, close to line-of-sight, so will only work in selected areas. By the way, I’d like to have these back. They’re damned expensive and, to my knowledge, not yet used by the various Three-Letter Acronyms. I would like to keep it that way for as long as possible."

I hand the phones to them along with the ear pieces and they play with them. They look very close to the ”real thing.”

"You can use these things to send text messages if you like. They don’t have speakers, so they can't make any noise, but they will vibrate. Don't put them next to anything that will rattle.”

I continue, "This evening, I’ll go back to that house and make some better arrangements with the security there, so I can get in and out quickly and easily. I’ll also snoop around to find out what the situation is inside."

"These are great," Isabel says, "Let's plan on a sitrep each hour. I like the text idea, let's agree on some duress phrases."

We discuss this and other code words we’ll use. About this time, our dinner arrives and the conversation drifts to the irrelevant. Tessa and I continue our conversation about movies. It seems that Isabel is not as much of a fan as we are and isn't that interested. Her beautiful face has a slightly pensive look. The burdens of being a boss I guess. 

Things are dull, if hectic, over the next couple of days. The target is well known to rarely leave his compound; people come to him. He does sometimes go out during the day, but we want to do this at night, so we wait. We don't see much of one another during this time. Just texting sitreps and very occasionally voice. This part is dull, yet exciting in anticipation. The main issue is not allowing yourself to get bored or careless. I’m not worried about either, since I’ve seen them in action. 

Finally, on the fourth day, we find the target heading out late in the afternoon. This is the same pattern he used when he went to that restaurant. Indeed, he seems to be meeting someone in yet another one. We discuss it and decide this is probably the event we’ve been looking for. We’ll assume so and set up appropriately. I’ve rigged things so I can bypass the security at my chosen location with the push of a button. The older couple that live there are relatively early to bed (about ten) and sound sleepers. Tessa and Isabel know what to do. All we need is time to go by so we can put the plan into action. Since the target's chosen restaurant is off my route that has the repeaters, we decide on a little gamble and are not going to watch him. We each make our own arrangements to get ready. About midnight I head out to my perch.

I have an infrared screen that has a visible pattern that looks exactly like the tile roof. Basically I’ve visually increased the roofline about a foot. It’ll take a very good eye indeed to notice anything has changed. Even with a detailed scan. Given the behavior of the security to this point, I’m confident that this will not be the case. This time I have to haul my rifle and suppressor up to the roof. It’s about one-thirty when I’m all set up, nothing but waiting for the target to get back.

There are several false alarms as cars looking like the target's drive by the entrance, but don't go in. Finally, about four AM, the target comes home. I start tensing and relaxing muscles grown cold from lying on the roof. My rifle’s set and I’m watching very closely. I tell Isabel and Tessa that they need to get ready. The car winds its way up the drive and stops. The target gets out of the car. I say “now” and take my shot. The target’s head is hit center mass. I’m certain it’s fatal. You can almost die from hydrostatic shock if this bullet hits your hand. The trick now is for me to get away before the security figures out where the bullet came from.

Flash! Boom! Isabel and Tessa tossed flashbangs over the wall at either side of the compound. They went off almost exactly the same time I took the shot. This should provide confusion for the guards and even more chaos after the women toss a couple other flashbangs. They leave to our rendezvous location. I want to observe for another half minute or so. The guards are gathered around the target. They’re looking in all directions, nothing systematic. They’re not doing any CPR or making any other lifesaving efforts. Professionals wouldn’t bother with the target’s head wound. I feel sure that they’re not yet focused on my direction. I slither back from the edge of the roof with my equipment. Carefully removing my “roof extender,” I slide farther down. Gathering my stuff into its carrying case, I work my way to the edge of the roof. I pause to listen if the couple have stirred. They’re oblivious. I get to the gate, re-enabling the security as I go and removing any traces of my presence. I’m picked up at the gate and re-enable the final camera as we drive away. Only by looking at every street camera from every house, and noting that this is the one location where this car is not seen, would anyone get suspicious. Even then, they would need to trace the movement of the car all throughout town to rebuild what’s gone on and we’ll be long gone by then.

Isabel and I head out of town in the car, having prepped to leave already. Tessa will monitor things to confirm the kill while Isabel and I take care of _my_ “extra services.” With the job now done, I can relax and re-enable my sex drive. Hopefully Isabel is looking forward to this as much as I am.