Testing the Waters

Subject: Testing the Waters Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:03 pm

Remaining in my seat after the man leaves, I wait until he is gone to reach for the cell phone he had left on the table. The information for my test mission was stored inside. I didn't feel comfortable going over it in the saloon so I left a couple bills on the table and headed for the front door. The trip back to East City was spent on public transportation, with another one of Jinto's operatives seated a few rows behind me so it wasn't the best place to familiarize myself with the information either. I decided that the apartment would be my safest bet. Breaking away from Jinto wasn't going to be as easy as I would hope. He had dropped untold amounts of money and effort into making me the man... or machine that I am today. He sometimes thought of me as his own personal super soldier or something like that. I didn't think he would let me just take my new parts and walk away without any hassle so I have to be careful about what I do and what he can find out about until the time is right and I actually have some form of plan for what is to come. Keeping the phone safely hidden in the pocket of my overcoat until I make it through my apartment front door, I finally pull it out and begin to read through the information while I move around the kitchen and throw together a small lunch.
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Subject: Re: Testing the Waters Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:49 pm

The information file was put together very well. It told me everything I needed to know. There was a detailed description of the package itself; black leather bound box, ten inches by six inches, two inches deep, silver keyhole on the front and hinge brackets on the back. Since it was roughly the size of Trinity's wooden jewelry box I would test out a few bags to see which would be the better fit to carry it in. There was no mention of the contents, but of course they weren't what was really important to me, my job was to get it back and that is what I would be certain to do.

The facts about the man responsible were there and almost as detailed as the ones pertaining to the package itself. The culprit's name and known addresses as well as local haunts were all listed neatly below his name and physical information. The guy wasn't your average joe schmo but he shouldn't be too difficult to subdue. The hardest part was most likely going to be keeping him alive until I could deliver him to the company. With the information all filed neatly away in my mind, I went on to find a bag that I could transport the package safely and discreetly. Trinity's black backpack would do nicely, hopefully the package didn't contain anything that would suffer from being tilted or flipped.

With a bag and all the facts needed, I sat down to map out the plan of attack. I didn't want to seek out the man at home or during the day. It would be easier to lie in wait in an alley somewhere and catch him off guard as he is walking by. Paying close attention to his usual haunts, I find three bars on the list. I would stop in at each establishment tonight to see if I could find him and then finalize the plan from there.
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Subject: Re: Testing the Waters Fri Jun 12, 2009 1:33 am

The remainder of the afternoon was spent finishing up my daily work for Jinto. I had to deliver the day’s payments to him by the end of the business day and since I wasn’t sure this opportunity with Mr. Prince would pan out, I couldn’t afford to mess things up with my current employer just yet. Jinto didn’t seem to suspect anything when I arrived to drop off the payments, in fact, our interaction was pretty much like it was any other day. When business was finished, I was released for the evening and left him with a story about getting home for dinner to try Trinity’s newest culinary experiment. The last thing I heard as I pulled the door shut behind me was Jinto wishing me good luck and reminding me that pepto bismol worked wonders.

Now that I was free for the night, and my sister would safely be in the company of her police officer boyfriend, there was nothing to stop me from setting the first stage of my plan into motion. One last stop by the apartment would allow me to change out of my work attire, take a shower, and dress in more bar appropriate threads. After the shower, I slip on a white undershirt and the silk button up thing that Trinity gave me for my last birthday. I hadn’t found an occasion to wear it yet so I figured now was as good a time as any. Since the shirt was mainly dark colors with lighter accents, I paired it with a fresh pair of black slacks then turned to the mirror to see if I passed my own personal test. Squeaking by with flying colors, I grab my stuff and head for the door before Trin and Ingel popped in and had a chance to delay my exit.

The first bar on the list was here in East City so I would stop in there to get a feel for the place before the after work crowds started coming out in full force. I’d been in here a few times before, mainly when I had to find debtors who didn’t want to pay. By the look in the eyes of the bartender and bouncer, I could tell they still remembered me from those times and were already calculating how much damaged or clean up they would have to deal with in my wake. Shaking my head and putting a hand to my empty waist, I attempt to let them know that I am only here tonight as a simple customer. The message was received loud and clear because they visibly relaxed and went about their business. Sliding in to one side of the farthest corner booth, I made sure that I had a clear view of the door. I would hang out in here for a little while to see if the culprit showed up for happy hour. If he didn’t come in soon, I would head to one of the other locations.

The waitress took good care of me for the first hour, making sure my beer never went completely empty and always asking if I wanted any food or peanuts to go with my drinks. Thank goodness I was sipping slowly because had I been downing them, I might be a little tipsy by now, even with the technological advancements I had been blessed or cursed with, depending on how you look at it. About half way through happy hour, I caught a lucky break. The man I was looking for sauntered right through the door with a messenger bag slung over one shoulder. Oh wouldn’t it be killer if the package was inside that bag? That would be the perfect end to my already good day.
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Subject: Re: Testing the Waters Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:21 pm

Since the target had just arrived, I knew I would be sitting here for a while longer so I ordered another drink and nursed it slowly. Thanks to the side effects of being turned into the bionic man, I could easily hear the man’s private conversations without giving myself away. From the sound of his words, he was trying to find a buyer for whatever he had in the bag. Since I didn’t know what the package in question was holding, I had no idea if it was the same one. I would find out soon enough. If need be, we would make a stop by his apartment to pick up what I need before I take him in. As time wore on and the level of my beer dipped lower and lower in the glass, it became painfully obvious that the target was failing miserably in drumming up interest for what he was trying to unload in this place. That’s when he mentioned moving on and checking out somewhere a bit more upscale. This would be the perfect opening for my plan. He had run a tab so he was forced to wait for the bartender to find time to settle up with him. I had of course paid cash and was free to walk out at any time, which is exactly what I took this opportunity to do. Leaving a tip for the waitress under my empty glass, I slide out of the booth and head for the door. Since he’d mentioned moving uptown in his search for a buyer, I assumed he would take a right out of the bar. The alley right beside the establishment was dimly lit and occupied by a number of the city’s less fortunate souls so I moved on to the next. Here I found an abundance of shadows and no signs of life. This would do nicely. Slipping into the shadows at the alley mouth, I push my back flush with the brick wall and waited for the man to exit the bar. I would hear him the second he walked out, again thanks to the heightened senses that come with this new and improved body.

It didn’t take long for me to pick up the sound of the door opening and his familiar breathing to break the silence of the night. He turned to the right and began to stroll along the sidewalk. When he passed the first alley, one of the bums whispered a plea for loose change but the lack of rustling told me that he hadn’t even bothered to crawl out from under his newspaper blanket. The target cursed at the homeless man and sped up his gait as he continued on his way toward where I waited. As he moved closer, the echoes of his feet on the cement joined my heartbeat in a steady rhythm. I caught my first glimpse of him in the form of his arm and the bag hanging from it. This was a good sign, the bag would be on the far side of his body so I could make contact without compromising the package if it was truly contained inside. My initial idea was to stun the man, it would be the easiest way to subdue him long enough for me to check the bag and finalize my plan from there. The only drawback to this idea was the fact that my shock melee was just that, a melee attack. I would have to make physical contact with him and send the shock through that. He was roughly ten feet from me, just approaching the edge of the alley. I only had a few seconds to decide if I was going to come out with a punch or some type of hold. If I punched him, I ran the risk of moving him farther out onto the sidewalk. With a hold, I could pull him back here into the darkness while administering the stun to quiet him. It would only hold for a moment or two depending on how affected he was by the alcohol so I would have to work quickly. I didn’t pack any cuffs or zip ties, I would have to remember those in the future, they would make this much easier. Until now, I was always prepared. My normal customers only needed the sight of my blade and the knowledge that I could use it to keep them in line for the most part, but now I was without the katana and forced to rely on my special capabilities.

Just before he passed the alley completely, I stepped out soundlessly and slipped one arm around his neck from behind. Shocking him through the choke hold, I drag his dazed body back into the alley and go right for the bag. I could already tell that he was trying to rouse himself and fight off the stun, but I had a few more seconds left before I would have to hit him again. Flipping the bag’s flap over, I jerk the zipper open and look inside. Even in the darkness of the alley, I could see that the box in my hands was the same one described in the mission information. Tossing his bag farther into the sewage strewn alley, I slip the box into the bag I had brought and turn my attention to the culprit. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to take things that don’t belong to you? You should know better than to try and sell someone else’s property, but since you don’t, I’m going to have to take you to a place where they will gladly teach you that little lesson. The stun is wearing off now. Stand up and don’t make a sound. If you come quietly without a fight, I might drop you off uninjured, but if you piss me off I will make sure you are delivered missing some part of your body.” My threat seemed to work for now, but I knew he would try and fight me or make an escape at some point during the trip. I was ready for that. His eyes were wide and alert, the dazed effect having fully worn off by now, but he wasn’t speaking, only watching me closely. “Before we go, I want to show you what will happen if you try to run from me. Watch the dumpster at the far end of the alley.” Pointing a finger toward the alley wall, I form a missile of sorts from muscle and bone with energy imbedded into it and shoot it from the skin between the pointing finger and the one next to it. I didn’t want him to think this attack only worked in a straight line, hence the aiming at the wall and not the dumpster itself. Mentally controlling the missile, I direct it down the alley to its intended target. The man’s face froze in fear as the missile made contact and left a smoldering hole in the sheet metal siding of the trash receptacle. “That will be you if you run. Now let’s go.”

Twisting his right arm behind his body, I guide him from the alley. Since the delivery point is on this same side of town, I didn’t feel that a cab or public transportation would be necessary. We could just take a nice, brisk walk to our destination. Since I needed both hands free to hold the guy’s arm and my bag, I access the cell phone information via the innercomm link. I wasn’t familiar with the address listed but I had a gps application on my personal cell phone that I could access as well. By the time I had led the culprit a few blocks, I knew exactly where we were headed and how we would get there while avoiding the main streets. I didn’t want some bored beat cop to roll by and see me twisting this guys arm so we would stick to the back streets and alleys to get to the delivery point.

When we were almost there, the man had apparently grown a pair of balls and decided to try and fight his way from my grasp. A swift jab to his kidney complete with a shock made him think twice. His body went rigid and then limp so the last block or so was covered by me all but carrying his dead weight. Knocking on the door, a man I didn’t recognize opened it and took the culprit from me. Then another man replaced the first in the doorway and asked for the package. I pulled the box from the bag and handed it over as instructed. I was thanked and permitted to leave the rest to them so I turned around and headed for home without another thought as to what would happen to the thief.
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Subject: Re: Testing the Waters Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:14 pm

Updated Surreal.

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