Danger Money

Danger Money

Published by John Van Stry

Copyright 2011 John Van Stry

Copyright John Van Stry 2011

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1

I slowly crawled forward another inch as the sentry's eyes looked the other way, freezing once more as he turned my way again. I had been stalking this sentry for nearly four hours now, since he had relieved the previous watch. I had stalked that one for four hours, as well as the one before that.

In all that time I had covered ninety two of the one hundred yards of killing field that surrounded the complex. I had bypassed three separate sensor systems, passing the last only an hour, and two feet, ago. Progress had gotten slower as I neared my goal. My light bending camouflage suit was good at a distance, but close up it would not easily withstand scrutiny. At least it was still dark and still raining. The scheduled late night rain storm was my biggest element of risk, if I was still in the field when it stopped, at this distance even these third rate sentries would be able to pick me up with their infra-red goggles, light suit or no.

The guards changed on time. It was another mistake, just like the regularly scheduled rain, changing the guards at regular intervals, but then nothing should be able to come through the field anyway. I was ready for it of course, and quietly slipped over the last eight yards of ground in a single flowing leap, passing behind the guards as they both turned away to log the shift change on their terminal.

I hit the ground rolling, bringing up with a thud against one of the concrete walls of an outbuilding. I quickly made for the shadows in case the guards came to investigate the noise. Muscles that had till now been held stiff, painfully protesting the quick movements every inch of the way.

Either they didn't hear it, or more likely they figured anything behind them wasn't a threat. In any case nobody came looking for me, so I continued to thread my way deeper into the compound.

The path was easier now. I had studied the route from a satellite reconnaissance photo, and our sources had said there were very few safeguards once the field had been passed. It only took me an hour to cover the distance from the outer wall to the inner city. I was quickly tiring from the efforts I had put forth so far, and was getting hungry too.

I spent another hour in the pre-dawn light searching for a safe place to hide and sleep the day away. The two places I had picked from the recon photo turned out to be too risky looking, but I did find a safe spot in an electrical sub-station. Sliding by the high tension wires made my fur stand up, but as the only way in was to pass within inches of twenty thousand volts, I felt I would be safe.

Once inside the vent ducts I quickly stretched out my aching limbs and then finished off the meager rations I had been able to bring in. The sensitivity of the alarms out on the field had dictated bringing very little, and none of it made from metal. After resting I would have to go see about 'procuring' some weapons more lethal than my claws or the twelve inch composite knife I had.

Curling up I quickly fell asleep.

I awoke quickly, as usual, and I knew where I was. I felt rested, if somewhat cramped, and after working out the kinks in the limited space, I crawled over to the entrance. It looked to be around
four PM
or so. I still had a lot of time yet before darkness, so I took my time putting my light suit on and getting out of my hide-a-way. The substation was deserted, not surprising as it looked completely automated, so I carefully made my way to the roof of the one small structure there and looked around. Keeping a low profile I surveyed the resort through the small monocular I'd been able to bring.

It was a very exclusive and expensive one, the servants being either Human, or female Animorphs. Quite a few of the former were obviously pleasure workers, even the males. All of the later were obviously so.

I could see a few of the guests lounging about or frolicking with their friends and the resort staff. I didn't see anything that looked sick or too perverted, but I wasn't naive enough to think that it didn't go on. It was probably just kept out of sight.

I could not see my target however, but that wasn't a problem yet. I still needed weapons before I could deal with that.

The resort complex was huge, covering over 1200 hundred acres of remote real estate. Other than the two heli-ports, there was only one road in. And while security was unobtrusive, it was still there. If I was seen anywhere, I would be killed instantly.

Not that there weren't any male Animorphs inside the resort complex, but I was positive that there weren't any male Leopards. The people who ran this place weren't going to chance having any of the more combative species inside. That's why the sentries were all human. I doubted I'd even see a female cat of any large breed in here for that matter.

While I waited for the sun to set I plotted on how I would get some food for my growling stomach. I also made note of the locations of the security points that stood out to my training, I then tried to figure out where the ones that weren't so obvious might be. By darkness I was ready.

Some might think it foolish to explore while the guests and staff were still about, actually their noise and activities would cover for my own. Getting to a water fountain and refilling my canteen was easy. Causing one of the serving girls to slip and drop her food was slightly more difficult, but not very.

No one noticed of course when the pile of steaks disappeared from the trash can, except maybe my complaining stomach.

I spent the next four hours comfortably in a tree on the edge of one of the restaurants and kept watch for my target. I could also see the entrance to one of the guard posts, hidden though it was. How to get a weapon and not have its disappearance noted immediately was going to be sticky.

But time would tell.

At about one in the morning local time I became instantly wide awake as my target entered the restaurant, passing through it to the bar. Using my monocular I tracked him carefully, he was in the company of a very attractive Human lady, obviously not staff, with an attendant female Skunk morph who just as obviously was. One of his two ever present bodyguards was there, and that in and of itself was a nasty surprise. The resort usually did not allow guests to bring their own security. As this bodyguard was packed with more cyberware than the usual norm, even for a bodyguard, it was doubly surprising.

I desperately hoped that they had only allowed him the one.

I watched as they drank and danced, and did all those things Humans claim are fun. Never having done most of them myself, I really wouldn't know. When they finally left I watched the windows and waited.

The lights on ten rooms came on after he left. But the real payoff came an hour later when he and his lady came out onto the balcony of his twenty-third floor suite. As I'm not much of a voyeur, and they weren't wearing any clothing, I didn't watch their love play. But turned my attention to more serious matters instead: Weapons. I would need one if I was going to get by that bodyguard and survive this assignment.

I slid down the tree and prowled around the building for a while. I even climbed up the outside of the building to the 10th floor where the suites started so I could check the floor plan. It was late and I was undisturbed in my prowling.

My first break came when I found the floor's equipment cabinet. My second came when I was able to locate the security feeds. Using a few things I found in the cabinet and some other items I'd scavenged from the empty rooms I cross wired it into the building's management system and was soon displaying feeds from all the floors on the maintenance monitor.

That my target had disabled the cameras in his private quarters did not surprise me. But that the ones in his bodyguard's quarters were still active did. I guess they wanted to keep an eye on the muscle.I lit up the phone's light for a brief instant to make sure that what I was seeing was live and not a recording. Once I was sure of that I started planning.

It took me some time, but I was eventually able to find the trouble spots in the security system. One’s as complicated as this building's usually had a few. From the computer log I could tell they wouldn't stay that way for long, so I checked my watch and waited. By
noon
of the next day, all but one of the trouble spots had been fixed as the repair crew faded into obscurity and the Guests started waking up.  By six four new trouble spots had occurred naturally, and three more of my own devising. Two of those would help in my plan. The third was just for luck.

I waited until night was well established before I went up to my quarry's room; I had made sure they were out at that point. Once there I ordered a nice meal on the room's service. It was automated, so nobody would see me.

Of course I had added a bug to the system so that every twenty minutes the order would be repeated. This error was reported by the maintenance computer after the third order, and I suspected they would dispatch a repairman instantly. After all, it wouldn't do to have a paying guest's room overflowing with food.

I was waiting behind the door when the repairman came in the room and I broke his neck before he even saw me. I then fixed the problem and hid his body, taking the uniform, coveralls, hat, and the silenced forty caliber he was carrying. I had noticed earlier that the repair crews were also part of the security forces, another part of the unobtrusive security.

About this time I arranged for a few of the cameras on the floor to go out. That left me with a few more open spaces, including that of the muscle's room. I keyed an affirmative on the Tech's wrist coder when the maintenance report came in. With any luck he wouldn't be missed till sunrise.

Letting myself into the bodyguard's room I put a strong sedative in his toothpaste. I had noticed that he brushed his teeth while watching the security cam. I then ate some more of the food I had ordered, 'fixed' the camera, went back out into the hallway, and waited in the maintenance closet.

While I waited I rigged the tech's pocket computer to send out test pulses at random times. This would hopefully fool the computer into thinking that the tech was hard at work.

Eventually my target did show up again with his girl. I waited till the bodyguard brushed his teeth then killed the camera again. I was in his room shortly after the drug took affect. It wouldn't last long, but in this case, long enough.

I shot the bodyguard once in the head point blank as I passed through the room. His body tensed briefly, and as he died I could smell his bowels releasing before I had left the room. That's the down side of having a sensitive nose I guess.

The adjoining door to my target's room was locked, but a hard kick was all that it took to get inside.

"What is the meaning of this!?" was all he got out as I shot him in the head.

I shot the woman just as she inhaled to scream. I felt sorry for her, but not enough to risk my life by letting her live. I spent a few minutes pouring alcohol from the small bar in the room over everything that would burn. Making a crude fuse from a cigar of some sort that I found there, I then left the room.

I stopped just inside the door leading to the suite’s hallway. Reaching into my small belt pack I pulled out a plastic envelope containing a spent injector. Carefully ripping the plastic I let the injector fall to the floor without touching it. A good forensics team might find it after the fire, then again maybe not. But you never want to be obvious when planting evidence.

Odds were the first firefighter thru the door would crush it underfoot. If he was smart and stopped to grab it, he'd probably get a raise. I left the room then, and quickly made for the maintenance lift.

I had to duck and dodge several times. It was late and the maintenance crews were starting to show. Unable to get an empty lift I had to force open the doors and climb down one of the shafts instead. With all of the delays involved I was still in the shaft when the fire alarms went off. I changed my plans then and made for the basement instead of the second floor exit I had planned earlier.

The fire alarm triggered the simple bombs I had left in the closet I had been using. They weren't very big, they just helped to destroy evidence and create confusion. And of course cut power to the building. The emergency lights came on then, everywhere but the basement that is.

That had been the break I had made for luck. It was dark in the basement, confused too. Nobody noticed just what was wearing the maintenance uniform, they just figured I worked there and ignored me as they tried to evacuate the building.

Of course my yelling "Fire!" didn't help much either I guess.

I followed one group down an accessway to another building. Letting them get ahead of me before we came into the lighted basement of the next building. I kept tripping all the pull stations I saw to help spread the confusion. Then going down another tunnel I went up the
first street
access I saw.