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Manors Maketh Man: Part 1
Posted By: S7N<n.j.r.jones@brighton.ac.uk>
Date: 5 December 2003, 2:35 PM
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Manors Maketh Man
"It's Naval Intelligence. Classified information. You're not even supposed to know I'm here, I wasn't supposed to make contact with you. It was just blind luck. I'm in trouble, you're not."
- Lieutenant Bradley Manors, Office of Naval Intelligence
Section 3
Nighttime. Many say it is the best time to attack. Many believe that the enemy will be weary, tired, maybe even exhausted. This could not be further from the truth. Nighttime is when the enemy are at their most vigilant, their most aware. But, if there is no other option but to attack at night, all advantages must be taken to ensure it must be done right.
And that was why the dark figure atop one of the Planetary Government buildings in New Washington was perfectly hidden, blending in with the black sea around him. The suit that he wore gave off no light, nor did the rifle slung across his back, or the pistols at his side. He just sat there, perched upon high like an eagle. Waiting for its prey. Knowing that he was unseen by anyone or anything.
Yet he was seen. Somebody knew he was there. In fact, there were two separate somebody's that knew he was there. There were the ones that wanted him to be there. And then there were the ones that didn't want him to be there.
Alarms had been going off inside the government building for a while, and it wasn't until now that a threat was nearing the dark shadow. It was not a loud alarm, just enough for a select few people, those that didn't want him to be there, to hear. If they did not speak of the alarm, nobody except them would be in the knowledge of it, and that was how they wanted it kept. If another select few people found out why the shadow was on the roof, the first select few people would be in a tight situation, as would the people who wanted him to be there.
So it was imperative that those that did not know, would never know. And those that knew did their best to keep it that way.
To say that the dark figure sensed the guards coming up the stairwell to the lift would be liked saying that he was not of human species. It would be more appropriate to say that, from intensive training and solid briefing he knew what was coming.
A door twenty metres away creaked open, suddenly filling the rooftop with a streak of light. Four men passed through the door, weapons drawn and flashlights probing the darkness. The door closed behind them, plunging the roof back into darkness, except for those areas traced by the flashlights.
It took a few sweeps over the dark figure before they realised he was actually there, but the moment they cast their lights back to that spot, he was gone. A few curses were emitted and they went back to searching.
Again they found him, but lost him. And then a third time, but it wasn't until the fourth time that he didn't move. He simply stood there. And it was at that moment that the guards noticed there were only three of them now. In puzzlement, they turned to each other, once again losing sight of the figure.
This time the flashlights searched for a second person; their downed comrade, as well as trying to find the dark figure. But when they found the unconscious body of their partner, they then realised that there were now only two of them casting light across the dark rooftop.
Waking the downed guard proved futile, and the two men continued to cast their lights across the large area. At one point, one of the guards thought he caught a glimpse of movement, but before he could react to it, he was on the ground in a state of deep unconsciousness.
The last guard, desperately trying to find a way out of this predicament, didn't notice a dark shadow drop behind him. He didn't notice the arm twist round from his back, silently. And he didn't notice the sharp twist of his neck, snapping it cleanly and killing him instantly, until it was too late.
And before the body had hit the ground, the dark figure had made it through the door and into the building, heading exactly where those that knew about him either wanted or didn't want him to go. He melted into the shadows of the stairwell, waiting for any sign of reinforcements. None came, and he made his way down silently, avoiding surveillance cameras as he went. After several flights of stairs, a green light winked on in his mask's HUD, and a "ping" echoed around his ears, heard only by him. He had reached the floor he needed.
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