0500 hours Day 1
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She could not sleep.
Tried as she did, all Vanessa was able to do was to toss and turn in her bed, which she had been doing since she went to bed earlier that morning. She thought of calling Chris, but a glance at the clock stopped that.
He needed his sleep, she thought. Christopher Starling, her new-found old-friend, had finished a 12-hour shift at ER, then rushed down to meet her for a dinner at a posh Italian restaurant. All plans for the night were gone the moment she saw him, all hagged and tired, dark rings under his barely-opened eyes. So there goes the posh Italian restaurant, as she drove him to his house, and they had home-cooked pasta instead.
Its still Italian, they joked.
After dinner, they talked for a while, before he went to bed, tired out with a class at 8am the next morning at a local college which he was helping out as a favour to a friend.
It was kind of a strange relationship between the two of them. Somehow, perhaps due to their busy schedules, they had skipped the honeymoon stage and zoomed straight into the we-are-so-busy-we-can-only-commit-a-few-hours-per-week-to-each-other lifestyle. Not that any one of them resented it. They had simply too much to do than to spend time gazing into each other's eyes. It was more of a old-friend relationship than anything else.
Vanessa sat up on her bed, and swinged her legs down onto the cold floor. Barefooted, she walked to her 'living room', switched on all the lights, and started mixing some colours.
She knew that artificial lighting was not good for painting (the easy access to natural light was one of the reasons whey she rented this apartment), but there was something in her mind and she wanted to get it out.
Red. Mixed with a tint of black to darken the already dark red.
"And he said something like 'Afterall, I was born'," Zenya's voice echoed in her head. She had said that about Ted Cross when they were discussing the case. A fertility ritual for a childless couple.
Red, prussian blue. Thick dark purple. Add some white to form contrasting whirls on the colour.
A white piece of drawing paper was already on the easel, and she started to cover the background with purple-white combination, turning her brush in circular strokes, forming rings and rings of darkness intersecting with light.
Six characoal brown figurines outline, almost blending into the background. Old stories. A blood red figure, as faceless as the rest, nearer to the front. A recent dead.
And in the centre of the piece of paper, a woman, with brown hair, fair face, expressionless. In her arms, she hold a baby.
Vanessa took a long look at her finished product before she realised what was she painting.
Oh my god. Its Rebecca, she thought.
0800hours day1
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8 o'clock, and Vanessa walked into the office in a white top and dark blue pants, with her hair tied into a bun. She was on time, but then nobody else was there except for Jim and a stranger.
"Vanessa!" Jim waved her over, and then looked straight at her face.
"You don't look as if you had a great night."
"Some leftovers from the previous case," she replied vaguely.
"Same here. Let me introduce. Martin Reed. Martin, this is Special Agent Vanessa Lee."
Vanessa shook hands with the newcomer.
"Welcome aboard," she said.
"Thank you, Agent Lee. Hope that I will have much chance to learn from you."
She gave a laugh.
"Please call me Vanessa. "
"I'm Martin then," the new agent replied.
"Where's everybody else?" Vanessa asked Jim. He shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm going to practise my shooting. Anyone interested in coming along?"
Both men shook their head.
"Its alright. Just tell them to call my phone if the need arises." With that, she left the room.
As it was early, the shooting range was empty except for a man at the corner. They greeted each other a slight nod of acknowledgement, and Vanessa proceed to get more ammunition for her gun.
"You having bullets for tea break?" The person in charge asked her.
"Just practising. I don't like the idea of my target escaping." She explained as she gave her gun a final check, before walking into a booth far in the corner, and started practising her skills. Barely 20 minutes passed by when her cellphone rang.
"Vanessa."
"Vanessa. Jim here. We just received a call from Chief. Mission Impossible. Go back, packed, and meet us ASAP at the airport."
"What's up?"
"I don't know. Chief sounded quite secretive about it."
"I'll be there. See you later, Jim. "
"Seeya."
She ended the connection, and shot until her gun was empty of its bullets before she left Station X for home.
Regards,
Lee Sau Woon aka Vanessa Lee