>The firing range was deeper into the already subterranean part of the >structure they were in. The quartermaster asked if they needed any rounds. >They did not, and Josh seemed pleased. As they both drew their weapons, >Agent Lee drew her .38 snub-nose special. Reaper drew out something a >little more powerful. The automatic pistol gleamed, even in the fluorescent >lighting of the armory.
Vanessa took a look at the pistol in his hand, and wondered if he was really good at it. She had tried it out once, not so many years ago, and had found it uncomfortable in her small hands, too uncomfortable for her liking. The .38 was still her favourite, even though she knew that it would not be suitable for all occasions.
>He checked the weapon quickly and thoroughly, >ejecting the cartridge, ensuring its was well-stocked and the chamber of >the gun was empty, he clicked it back into place and filled the chamber >with a tell-tale 'click-click'.
>"That's certainly some weapon, Jim. Question is, what can you hit with it?"
>Almost before the question had been asked, Jim spun from his position of >back-to-target and fired of 2 rounds. As they brought the target forward, >the results were plain. One in the center of the forehead, one in the >heart. It was clear that when Reaper shot something, it stayed shot. >Vanessa and even Josh looked impressed.
>"Been practicing," said Vanessa, smiling. "I like to keep my hand in," said >Reaper.
>"Now I know another reason why your instructors recommended Tactical >Operations. "
Damn, Vanessa thought. Now I know why they grouped the two of us together. Before her training at the main FBI branch was over, her instructor had asked her to go into his office. Inside, he had asked her about her interest, her love, and her choice between tactical operations and computers. She had told him that she would prefer to go into tactical operations, despite her lack of real life experience, but would not go against him if he thought that she should be posted to the desk-bound computer field.
"How about you, Vanessa? Going to show us your stuff?" Josh added, breaking her out of her thoughts.
She gave a little smile, nervous, or maybe, shy. She then off the safety of her fun and positioned herself, and squeezed off 4 rounds, two at one go, pausing for one tenth of a second before the second 2 rounds. To readjust her aim if the target was moving away from his original position, her friend had explained the need for the pause when she was being taught last time.
Her 4 rounds of bullets all met together, forming a nearly perfect hole over the heart of her target.
"No shoots at the head?" Josh asked.
"Too messy," she said, imagining a head exploding into pieces. "And it will certainly frightened the civilians if they are around. "
"But at times, it may be necessary," he told her.
Vanessa did not really know what was meant by necessary, but she nodded her head.
>"You two are pretty good. Still, the day's not over yet," Josh smiled. >"Let's go back to Classroom C. There's something I want to show you."
>Intrigued, they followed Josh back through those most secret of corridors.
Back in the classroom, Josh settled in his position earlier in the day, facing the 2 agents.
"One thing I had to tell you two is that joining the X-files is not a bed of roses. If anyone had said that the Marines, or the Air Force, or anywhere else was murky, they obviously had not been in the X-files before. Before the year is out, alot of strange things will happen to you, most of it which you will like at all. " Josh paused for a while, before he took out a large glossy picture from a manila envelope, and passed it to the 2 agents.
"Carolyn," he explained. "She is, was, my supervisor. If everything is all right, today she will be the one here, instead of me, if everything is all right. But the truth is, she disappeared without a trace, and was never found. We never knew if she was dead or alive. "
Reaper and Vanessa looked at him, understanding the message that he was trying to pass to them, and seeing the grief in his eyes.
Josh paused for a while, looked at his watch, and then at the agents.
"Lunch time," he said, smiling, the sadness gone. "We would have a simple lunch at the small cafeteria downstairs, and then continue with our programmes in the afternoon. "
As the 3 of them exited from the classroom, they found Fred Barnes, Reaper's saviour, outside.
"Yes?" Josh asked.
Barnes whispered into his supervisor's ears, and Josh nodded his head seriously. He then turned to his companions.
"I'm sorry, but something urgent cropped up, and I am afraid that we would not be able to continue our schedule as planned. We will have to continue tommorrow. There are still a few more things that I had to go over with you. Will it be okay if we meet at Classroom C at the same time tomorrow? " he asked the agents?
They both said yes.
"Great, I will see you tomorrow then. Meanwhile, take care." With that, Josh and Fred walked away.
Reaper and Lee were left alone.
"Lunch?" Reaper asked.
"Here?"
"Have to be here. I am too weak from hunger to go anywhere else. " Both of them laughed.
They found the cafeteria on their own, and was dismayed to find only a small selection of food, and there did not seem to have anything big enough to fill Reaper's stomach. Both agents ordered a sandwich each. Vanessa had coke, while Reaper ordered coffee.
They sat down in a corner.
"Strange that this place is empty," Vanessa commented.
"I don't think that this is their regular haunt. I heard that there is a place, called Hoover's Grove or something, that they preferred. This is just for the hungry people, I guess. "
The amount of food being small, both of them finished it within 2 minutes.
"Let's go, "Vanessa said, as she stood up and got ready to leave.
Reaper was about to do the same when something struck him.
"My car keys!"
"What?"
"I believed Barnes still had it. Damn," he swore. Now he would have to look for the man in the maze of corridors and offices. "Look, I have to go. See you tommorrow." With that, Reaper disappeared.
THere was nothing much for Vanessa to do, and so she decided to drive back to her apartment and do some more unpacking. Alone, with only the clicking sound of her heels for company, she made her way to the car park, and saw a present placed in front of the window of her car.
A huge bouquet of roses, the largest bouquet she had seen in her life.
"Oh my," she said to herself as she increased her pace and walked towards it. She stopped in front of the roses, and looked around. There was no one around. Using her right hand, she picked up the bouquet. Roses wrapped in a metallic foil type of material. No cards, no -
A surge of electric current ran through her body.
Vanessa felt as if she was losing touch with her surroundings. Suddenly she felt weak, as if all of her joints were separated from their counterparts. Without anything to support herself, she collapsed onto the floor. As as she was to slip into darkness, she saw a vehicle coming, and screeched to a stop about ten feet away. The back doors of the car opened and two men came out, walking towards her.
The Honda, she thought, as she lost conscious.
-----
Reaper swore. He was unable to find Barnes. He was not in Director Josh's office, and not in Classroom C either. The corridors were empty, and there was no one to ask for directions. He decided to forget it. Maybe if he ran fast enough, he could get a ride from Agent Lee. What he did not expect when he reached the car park was to see Agent Lee about to be kidnapped.
Two men were trying to lift her.
"FBI! Freeze!" Reaper shouted from across the car park. The two men looked up, dropped their victim onto the floor, and stared at Reaper. One of them drew out a gun. Reaper did the same.
"Get in," the driver of the Japanese vehicle shouted. "We don't want this man." The two kidnappers obeyed immediately, ran back to the car, and drove. Reaper gave chase, but he was not able to catch up with the car. He ran back to Vanessa.
He tried to feel for her pulse, found it, and heave a sigh of relief. He did not know how long it was, but then Vanessa finally opened her eyes, and looked at him.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Something. Maybe its related to what happened to me. " Reaper explained as he helped Vanessa into a standing position. Her legs almost buckled under her own weight, and she had to lean against her car for support.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
"I will explain later. First, I have to bring you to a hospital. "
"I am all right, " she insisted, "no hospital. I just want to go home."
"I will drive you home then,"he offered. "What about the roses?" Reaper bent down to retrieve.
"Don't!" Vanessa warned him in time. "Something from there produced a electric current when I touched it," she explained.
"Evidence then," he said as he picked it up using his coat and threw it onto the floor of the car. "We will show this to Josh tomorrow. "
As Jim drove Vanessa home, he told her what happened to him earlier in the morning, and his suspicion that both their kidnapping might by staged by the same person. And she told him about seeing the same car that morning.
"Occupational hazard, " she commented just as they reached their destination.
Vanessa lived in a rented apartment situated on the top floor. The moment they entered it, Reaper found it too dark. Well, he thought that it was too dark before Vanessa opened the windows and the large folding door that separated the living room from the balcony anyway. After she did that, the whole house was filled with sunshine.
"What do you want to drink?" she asked.
"Coffee will be fine." Reaper told her.
As Vanessa made coffee, he looked around. The apartment was not large, with a kitchen just big enough for a stove, sink and a table. One corner of the living room was partitioned off by a glass painting to act as a bedroom. The living room consisted of a simple table set, with sandbags as seats. There was a television in one corner, with a easel beside it. All around the house, he saw paintings hung up, photo frames without pictures. There were also several unopened boxes on the floor. He put the bouquet of roses on the table, and walked towards a painting of a night scene. It was the scene of a waterfront, with a brightly lit bridge that spanned across the water. On the other side of the water was a white-washed building with a clock tower topped with a round dome. Signed on the bottom right hand corner was the name 'Vanessa Lee' in her small, cursive handwriting.
"Like it?" he heard her voice asked from behind.
"Nice," he said, not really trusting himself to comment on a art piece. "You painted it right? Where is this place?"
"World Trade Center, Singapore, facing Sentosa Island," she told him.
The first thing that came into his mind was Michael Fay. She smiled, as if knowing what he was thinking.
"Your coffee," she pointed to the steaming cup of liquid she had placed on the table. Both of them went back to the table, and began to inspect the bouquet.
It was not as difficult to find the source of the electric current as they thought. It was a little black box, hidden among the thorns.
"Probably activated by remote control, or timer. Most probably the former. The wrapper acts as the conductor and leads the current to you as you touched it." Reaper said as he handled the culprit with a cloth folded several layers to insulate against the current, if any.
"But why? We just started."
"There is never a reason for everything. Tomorrow, we will show this to Josh. Maybe he will have a better idea of whys," Reaper suggested. " I proposed that you kept everything today, and passed all of them to Josh. For fingerprints, if anything. "
Vanessa nodded. Her whole body was still numb, and a sleep was what she wanted most at this time. Reaper noticed her tiredness too, and decided to leave.
"Just be careful when you are alone, and when you are not."
" I will, and thanks for driving me back," Vanessa thanked him as she closed the door. She then locked the door, went to bed, and promptly fell asleep. She was too tired to think of anything else.
================ NRPG =======================================================
Peter, you give Vanessa a .38. Now you will have to have explained to me what you know about the gun 8P 8P ;P I don't know anything about guns!!!
Sincerely, Lee Sau Woon aka Agent Vanessa Lee