Day 1 1700 hours
By the time Jordan drove up the driveway to Knight's Rest, it was nearly 5pm. Vanessa was all tired from the bumpy car ride, and was the first person to get out of the car, stretching herself the moment she had space.
"Awwwwwwwww! I don't believe this!" Jordan and Tom, who were still in the car, heard.
Jordan quickly got out of the car, his gun ready.
"What's wrong?" He asked his fellow agent, anxiety in his voice.
"I don't believe this!" She repeated again, and stretch her finger at a landmark in front of them. Jordan looked, and saw a park, with a huge pond in the middle, and remembering Tom's statement about the device not working when its near water.
He looked at Vanessa again, seeing the disappointment on her face. Suddenly, it struck him as very funny, as if Vanessa was a teenager who was just being told by her father that she was forbidden to attend the school's prom with the most popular guy in school. He laughed.
Vanessa looked at him, not understanding.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
He told her.
"And the rest of us had not try that thing yet." She stated.
"We can still try," Tom's voice said behind them.
"Tom, you are not supposed to come out till we clear the area."
"Come on, Jordan. If they wana kill us, they would have shoot when the two of you are discussing about whether daughter dearest was supposed to attend prom."
"Jordan!" A female voice shouted from behind. The trio looked back and saw Zenya with a worried face walking towards them. "What took you so long?"
"Sorry. The traffic was heavy on Route 2. Everything's alright?"
"Not really."
"What happen?"
"Come on in, and I'll explain. No use standing here like ducks waiting to be shot." She said, gesturing for them to follow her into the motel.
As they walked to the third floor where their rooms were, Zenya explained.
"Its Martin."
"What's wrong?" Vanessa asked. "He got injured?"
"He just received some bad news. His girlfriend was missing in Israel. Feared dead. He took it pretty hard."
"What is she doing there?"
Zenya shrugged her shoulders.
"Leo had asked him to take a rest. The rest of us are in the next room, with the connecting door open." She added, as they stopped outside a door labelled 229. Zenya knocked.
"Guys. Its me, Zenya. Open up."
Sounds of blots being pulled back, and the door opened with a firm swing to show Jim and his gun.
"Come on in." He said.
The four of them walked into the small room, and saw Leo seated the lower deck of a double decker bed. Vanessa took a casual glance out of the window, and saw the pond again.
Awwww, she thought.
Jim leaned against the door, while Tom and Jordan sat on the only two seats available. Zenya settled on her well-warmed position beside Leo.
Vanessa looked around, saw practically no space for her to sit, and climbed up to the upper deck of the beds. Jim looked at her with raised eyebrows, but said nothing.
"Martin is next door, asleep." Leo said as a way of beginning, pointing towards the half-opened door connecting the two rooms.
"Let him rest while he can." Jordan told him. "So bring us updated."
The different groups took turns to inform one another of the recent happenings.
"Between us, we almost take out all survillence cars in this city," Leo joked.
"Two groups. Any idea who they are?" Zenya asked no one in particular.
"At least two groups. And I had no idea whatsoever yet." Jordan told them, stressing on the last word.
"Yet," Zenya echoed.
"I received a phonecall from a lady just now. She wanted to meet me tonight."
"Washington or stateless?" Jim asked.
No one knew the answer.
Just then, the group heard some noise from next door, and Martin soon appear at the door, his face streaked with dried tears.
As is knowing what a sight he presented, he wiped his face with his hands, and tried a smile.
"Hi. So everyone is here. Did I miss out anything?"
Zenya stood up, went over to him, and gave him a hug.
"I heard about it." She explained the hug when she released him. "You okay?"
"Yeah sure. I'm fine. " He said, as he allowed himself to be lead by her to her old position and sat down. Zenya joined Vanessa on the top.
They brought Martin up-to-date, and as usual, he was all eager the moment any modern technology was mentioned.
"Can I try it?" He asked, his curiousity arose despite the grief he was feeling.
Tom looked at Jordan, and the latter nodded.
They drew the curtains shut, and Tom set up the device.
"See anything?"
Martin frowned as the rest of the group, including the two ladies, crowd around him, all eager to see the results.
"Anything?" Vanessa asked.
Martin frowned deeper, confusion of his voice.
"I'm afraid not. There is something in front, something like bright sparks, keep moving. Like a TV with static. Is that what I'm supposed to see?"
"Damn!" Tom said as he pulled the probes out with abit too much force.
"The pond." Vanessa was clearly disappointed. "Next time, can we have lodgings without ponds?"
The rest of the fellow agents looked at her as if she sprouted eyes on top of her head, not understanding where her intense hatred of water came from, and Jordan had to explain the adverse reaction of the device towards water.
"Yeah, next time, Vanessa, you get a motel with water, and I show you a device that is 'allergic' to bricks and cement." Leo told her.
Vanessa glared at him for half a second, before she realised that he was joking, and smiled.
"So what's next?" Jim asked. "Dinner? Then a blind date with the mysterious lady?"
Regards,
Lee Sau Woon aka SA2 Vanessa Lee