Into the obscure: Ambiguity (03)

Into the obscure: Ambiguity
Chapter 03: Back on the field

19th June 2022
Objective: Mission Tarde. Retrieve confidential information from NWO target
Agent Aurora location: São Paulo international airport, Brazil
“Opera speaking. Have you got inside the airport? Over,” Lea asked her earpiece from under her black hood. She sat outside against the fencing around the airstrip. A soft breeze came by in the darkness.
“Lichten here. Affirmative, we are in the check-in room. Holy there’s a lot of people here!”
“Got you scared?” Dawn replied comically. The two were standing in front of a screen with the inbound arrivals.
“Target’s gonna land in a couple of minutes. Notify us if a plane from… Iberia linas airas de Espana arrives…”
“It’s Líneas Aéreas de España,” Lea replied.
“Whatever, didn’t take Spanish classes in high school…” Dawn told her.
“What then? French? To talk with Arnaud, heh!” Josef replied.
“The mere fact you thought about me voluntarily speaking to him is considerably reducing your safety guarantees…” Josef gulped. “Ehem, you have the description of the target?”
“According to our information, it’s an average-in-length man, wearing a grey suit, and his only luggage should be a briefcase…”
“Quite vague…”
“You should look for suspicious behaviour instead. Searching around, perhaps secretly communicating via an earpiece or arm-radio.”
“Understood, keep us notified for the plane…”
Lenora took a small pair of binoculars from her backpack and started observing incoming lights.
In the meantime, Josef and Dawn were waiting inside the airport.
“Aurora?” Josef asked on a low tone.
“Using our codenames could be just a bit more suspicious than our real names, you agree?” Dawn answered. Josef gulped.
“Do you ever wonder if people… like, see, what we are?”
Dawn glanced at him from the corner of her eye, then back at the screen to the roof.
“Have you ever observed someone, secretly?”
“Y-yeah, more or less… Back in high school, this girl who I kinda l—”
“Did she notice you observing her?” Dawn said, interrupting her colleague.
“N-no, I believe. She wouldn’t even glance in my direction… I was kinda an outcast…”
“Makes us two…”
Josef looked down at his clothes. “Do you believe they, might see, our undercover protection, or equipment?”
Dawn now also looked at her clothes. Her burgundy-coloured vest’s zipper was half opened, and she noticed a part of her special body protection. She closed the zip.
“As long as they don’t come touch my torso, they won’t feel the handgun… Would require much cleverness…” She softly replied.
Dawn felt her belt where her knife holster was. She pulled her vest to cover it up even more.
“Opera speaking! Las letras are blown down. I repeat—”
“We understood, Lenora. At what terminal is it landing?”
“Ehm, it just landed… It’s slowing down, and, turning! The only empty place is terminal 3. It’s going that way.”
“Good, head back to the entrance of the airport where you can see everyone go in and out. Stay hidden.”
“Yes Aurora. Opera out!”
“Just say Dawn, when it’s us…” Lea grinned at Dawn’s comment, and broke the radio link after moving positions.
“Terminal 3 and the luggage claim area is that way,” Joe pointed at it. The two headed in that direction.
The duo passed by a coffee bar and jewellery store before turning around a corner, leading to terminal 3.
But on the end of the hall stood a guard. He started looking at the two.
“Você não pode passar aqui. Por favor, volte atrás,” he ordered. The two stood still for a moment and turned around again.
“Lea, what the hell was he telling us?” Dawn whispered to her earpiece.
“I speak Spanish, not Portuguese. And probably that you can’t pass. You’ll have to find another way.”
“Can’t we just wait here?” Josef asked.
“A bit boring, don’t you agree? Lea, you got a solution?”
“I have the technical maps of the airport… All around the place are maintenance stairs. Find one, get to the roof and there should be another one leading you to the luggage claim area.”
“Understood, let’s move,” Dawn finished, and the two ran back to the check-in room.
There was another hallway going to other parts of the airport.
“Dawn, there,” Josef whispered while pointing at a door with a stairs logo on it.
“escadas de manutenção. Apenas pessoal autorizado. Gotta be it…” Josef added.
The two glanced around them, and when no tourists were passing by, they vanished behind the door.
“We’re in,” Dawn informed.
The duo ran up the concrete stairway. The lights were flickering, making them miss some steps occasionally. But it wouldn’t slow them down too much, as they reached the roof.
“Arh, this door is locked,” Josef complained, wringing the door handle. He looked at Dawn, both nodded at the same time and bumped against the door, opening it by force.
They saw the dark sky with the stars. Dawn looked up while Josef was analysing the rooftop.
Never saw the sky on the southern part of earth. Looks so much better with the Milky Way!
“Dawn! Hurry! I found the other stairway!” Josef whispered loudly. Dawn snapped back to reality and regrouped with him.
“Guys, the plane just started to unload all the luggage,” Lenora told them.
“On time. We just arrived at the other side,” Dawn replied. Back on the ground level, she carefully opened the door and peeked through it. No one was looking, and the two rushed out.
Dawn and Joe were in the luggage claiming area. A mass of people stood around the baggage carousel, waiting for their belongings to come by.
“Go to the hall with the guard and stay there if you see someone suspicious pass by. Low profile on this, okay? Alert me if necessary…” Dawn explained. Josef nodded and the two split up.
Dawn delicately strolled through the mob. Target, target. Not here, other side then? Gotta look out for luggage too… Hopefully Joe does his job. I’m sure he does…
Her inner monologue distracted Dawn from reality and didn’t notice running straight into someone, until she felt his complaint.
“Ah! ¿Qué pasó? ¿Quien es esta?” He mumbled while turning around. Dawn looked at him, then back at his clothing.
Average height… Grey suit… Side fringe haircut… And what’s that in his hand? Dawn examined it. The briefcase!
“¿Bien? ¿No vas a pedir disculpas?” The man insisted, crossing his arms. Dawn coldly stared at the man.
“He asks for an apology. Just say, lo, siento. Got it? Lo, siento,” Lea whispered in the earpiece, hearing the conversation.
“Eh, ehm, lo, lo, sorry?” Lea sighed in the radio.
The man shrugged hearing her, but his hostile face went back to neutral.
“Ah, una Americana. I recognise your accent.”
Should I, reply, or will he walk off on his own? Unfortunately, the man stayed.
“Y-yeah, from DC. The capital…” Dawn added. She looked at the man. He was expecting more. Sigh, why is he staring like that? Did he notice my earpiece? It should be pretty well hidden…
“I’m Gabrielo Anome, businessman from Spain, as you probably heard.”
Dawn felt unsure about what to do, but didn’t allow it to show up. “I’m… D-Deborah?”
“Encantada, Débora,” Gabrielo replied. He then took a quick look at his watch. Dawn was stiffening of the awkwardness more than the tension.
“Disculpe Débora, but I have to leave. Adiós and good vacations to you!”
Dawn lifted her arm halfway up to wave, but Gabrielo had already turned around. Unfortunately for you, I’m not here to sun on the beaches…
Gabrielo passed by Josef and left in a crowd of people. Dawn ran to her colleague.
“Deborah? Was that the first name you came up with?”
“Please, back to business Joe. We just follow him.”
Both nodded to each other and infiltrated the leaving mob, passing by the guard unnoticed, in direction of the check-in room.
“Where is he?” Dawn asked herself, looking around.
“Guys, a grey-suited man just passed by here,” Lea announced.
“Did he have a side fringe hairstyle? Black-coloured?” Dawn asked.
“Yes! He just stepped into a taxi. Let me quickly…” Lenora took a tablet and pressed on it. “Intercepted the GPS signal. I can follow it on my device.”
Slightly later, the three regrouped in the provided vehicle for the mission. From a distance, they followed the red dot on their digital map.
The target went into a part of the city. Only a couple of street lamps and light from apartment windows illuminated the streets.
“He stopped moving!” Josef noticed on his phone.
“He probably got dropped off somewhere in that street…” Dawn mumbled.
Lenora turned the car to the right and entered another street with mostly dirty apartment blocks around. In front of them was a car that turned and drove past them.
“That’s the taxi from earlier!” Lea recognised it. Dawn looked in front of her. She saw a silhouette enter one apartment block.
“It was probably him… I saw where he entered. Park the car…” She ordered.
Not too long after, the three stepped out and observed the blocks.
“We’ll have to search through all the housings,” Dawn mumbled, and she went to the car boot, bringing with her three belts back.
“Newest grappling hook belts. Much less bulky than the ones before. Handy to climb, but I see a potential weapon too… Ehem,” she explained, while distributing them, “Josef, you’ll go from the outside. Lea and I will check from the inside.”
“So why do we two need those belts?” Lea asked.
Dawn wasn’t looking at her. She just elevated her chin. “I, have a bad feeling…”
“She hopes to use it on someone, as a weapon…” Josef comically whispered back. Dawn grinned for a moment.
Lea didn’t insist and followed her colleague inside the building. Both started climbing up the stairs.
As Lea stayed on the lower part, Dawn went halfway up the stairs to split the search in half.
“Already found something?” She whispered through her earpiece. Dawn stiffened when a resident walked by, but he ignored her.
“Checked one via an open window. Wasn’t the right home,” Josef replied.
“I pick-locked one door and searched around, but it was all dark and I heard people sleeping. No briefcase either…” Lea added.
“We gotta check all of them! Soon or late we’ll find the briefcase and our target. Break in at any cost, our mission is really important…”
Time passed and Dawn had checked another habitat. She sighed as she subtly put the door ajar. Still a couple to go… Ugh, you fucking Spaniard…
Dawn went to the next door, but this one was already open. She peeked inside, seeing a small hall leading to a kitchen. She also heard a shower.
Time to search around… She thought, sneaking through the hall. She passed by a door frame with view on the living room. No briefcase there, so Dawn continued to the kitchen.
There, on a square table… The briefcase!
From the outside, Josef was climbing up the wall, checking all the windows.
“Lea, there’s a briefcase here!” He whispered, looking through a window.
“Really, where?”
“It’s here, on a table in the entry hall of this apartment,” Josef looked down for a moment, “fifth floor…”
Lea arrived at the right door and pick-locked it. “It’s so easy with these rusty locks…”
“Do you see it?” Josef asked. Lea looked in the hall and noticed the table with the briefcase, past the opening for the living room. The lights were on.
“I hear some voices,” she whispered, looking around.
Dawn forgot to communicate and slowly went towards the kitchen table, for her own briefcase. Hopefully the guy continues showering…*
Dawn approached, and grabbed the briefcase. I’ll open it later… Let’s go back now. “Guys, I g—”
In her eye corner, Dawn noticed a person, standing in another door frame. She slowly turned around and faced Gabrielo again. He was pointing a gun at her.
“Deborah, how unfortunate…” Gabrielo made a movement with his pistol, ordering her to put the briefcase back down.
Dawn obeyed without losing eye-contact. She stared at him with a cold look, trying to control her inner panic.
Got yourself in a situation here. Do it solo is your motto, doesn’t always pay off. Will it have to cost your life to realise it?
“I knew something felt raro when we met. You work for the WSC, si?”
Dawn remained silent and continued glaring at her opponent. Gabrielo then swung his gun against her face.
“¡Respuesta! Answer!”
Dawn’s nose started to bleed. She rubbed it from the pain and looked down at the drops, falling in between her shoes.
“Why else would I be here for? The cleaning?”
Gabrielo was ready to shoot and grinned. He aimed again.
“So patético, getting caught like that! I had higher expectations. The WSC isn’t what it was…”
Dawn stared at his forehead and avoided eye-contact. She still held her hands up. I gotta find a way out, but the situation isn’t particularly in my favour. I’m trapped like a rat in a gutter. But rats find ways out, right?
But it seems this guy is more, a talkative type of person… It’s up to you Dawn, small-talk, or die! And I’d still like to do a couple of things before I start rotting in a wooden box…
“So, your suspicion… How did you, find out?” Gabrielo raised an eyebrow.
Lenora was slowly walking to her target. Josef tried to open the window silently to join her.
“Go contact Dawn instead of trying to get here,” Lea whispered via her radio.
“Hmm, okay. Stay wary.”
“I am, and I don’t think there’s anybody—”
Just as Lea passed by the opening in the wall, she slowly turned her head around to see, a large table with little plastic packages—
“Dawn, do you copy?”
And half-a-dozen of men sitting around it. All looked in confusion at her.
“We found the briefcase. Dawn ans— L-Lea?” Josef, saw his friend immobilize in the hall.
“Ela deve ser da polícia, atire nela!” One shouted. They all pulled their handguns and started aiming. Lea snatched the briefcase off the table and jumped away, merely getting hit.
Two stages above, Dawn was still holding it out, but Gabrielo became impatient.
Still cool, but he’s overheating. Dawn, you better pull a ‘now or never’ action…
“Now, any final words, Deborah? I’ve had en—” Suddenly the two heard the gunshots from downstairs. Gabrielo looked confused, not paying attention to Dawn for a slight moment.
My final words? Haven’t thought about them yet. Not ready to die!
Dawn pushed Gabrielo’s arm away and hit his knee, making him bump against the wall. He let his weapon fall.
“Dawn, Dawn! We gotta leave! We’re in danger! Aah!” Lea shouted.
“Lea!” Josef shouted again. Dawn’s ear hurt and pressed on the earpiece.
A trap? Are they cornering us? Time to leave…
“I’m coming!” She replied.
Dawn grabbed the briefcase and rushed through the hall. Gabrielo tried to get up again. He took his gun and shot across the hall.
“Ashh, damn shoulder!” Dawn said. She stumbled over the welcome carpet and bit on her lip from the pain.
She turned around on her back and saw Gabrielo aim again. He shot, but Dawn absorbed the bullet with the briefcase. She quickly crawled out and closed the door.
“Ela está descendo as escadas!” A voice screamed. Dawn looked down over the railing and saw several armed men aiming for her teammate.
Think fast Dawn. No! Act fast! Now!
Dawn touched her shoulder. Blood on her fingers. She looked up and activated her grappling belt. It attached itself to another railing, and she jumped down.
Under her were again shots, followed by a scream.
“Aaaash, mierda!” Lenora got hit in the leg and fell down a part of the stairs.
The gang members wanted to approach her, but then heard a loud whistling from above. One looked up and got shot in between the eyes. Dawn was emptying her handgun clip on them.
Hard to aim with that shoulder. She thought.
One other enemy was shot dead while the rest were forced back in the nearest habitat. Lea had time to crawl back up.
“Joe, get the car! Lea, jump and hang on to me!” Dawn ordered.
“What? That railing won’t hold it!” Lea replied. Dawn looked annoyed.
“Lea just ju—”
Gabrielo appeared from above again and released a shot. Dawn pushed herself around. Lea crawled on the railing and was ready to jump.
“Raagh! Bastardas patéticas!” He wanted to shoot, but had to recharge. Dawn looked at Lea.
“Come on! Jump!” And without further hesitation, Lenora pushed through her pain and grabbed herself around Dawn. The grappling hook went down much faster until they hit the floor. The hook retracted automatically.
Above them, the gang members appeared again and saw Gabrielo with a weapon.
“Ele também deve ser da polícia! Atire nele!” One shouted, and all sprayed on him. Gabrielo fell dead instantly.
Dawn put Lea’s arm around her neck and dragged her out, determined to stay alive. Josef had arrived with their vehicle, right in front of the entrance, and he rushed over to help.
“Take care of her! We gotta leave now!” She ordered, getting behind the driver’s seat.
“Dawn you’re more wounded! Your nose, and shoulder!”
Dawn turned the car around. She saw gang members arrive downstairs.
“Crouch, now!” And the shots started to hit the car. A mirror and two windows got hit. Josef pushed Lea down and covered her back. Dawn drove at full-speed away. The gunshots quickly disappeared.
All left a big sigh of relief. Dawn looked in the mirror to her colleagues in the back.
“Welp, we got out alive, with the briefcase…” She grinned sardonically.
Josef smiled too. Lenora wanted to, but her leg started to hurt more.
“Contact the HQ for the evac site. Gotta help Lea’s leg,” Dawn ordered.
“Danger is gone now, I can drive. You’re wounded too,” Joe replied.
Dawn looked at her vest. A whole part turned into a darker shade of red. Her nose stopped bleeding, and the adrenaline made her feel no pain.
Guess I’ll have to clean this myself, like how you told me, mama.
Dawn was focussed on driving and accidentally ignored Josef’s proposition. He took his special phone and switched frequencies.
The location was sent and Dawn went straight to it. A little plain to the North-East of the city. The evac helicopter was already there when they arrived. A couple of WSC soldiers arrived towards them.
The present medic applied a temporary bandage around Lea’s leg. She wanted to treat Dawn too, but was told she didn’t feel the immediate need for aid.
Afterwards, the trio got in the evac heli. It got up quickly and flew over São Paulo. Dawn glanced outside.
Adios, Gabrielo. Yours sincerely, Deborah…
Dawn had the briefcase on her lap, and then realised Lenora had one too. She raised an eyebrow.
“You found that one in the gang’s place?” Lea nodded. She opened the case and was startled by what she saw. It was filled with dollars.
“Look at all that money!” Josef exclaimed.
“Illegally made with drugs-selling…” Lea added after closing it again. “I, failed, again. I completely jeopardised this operation!”
Lenora looked down and rested her head in her hands on her knees. Josef kindly tapped her back. Dawn, who was sitting in front of them, felt a bit awkward.
It didn’t help that Josef was actively trying to search eye-contact with her, forcing her to say something.
Aah, I feel he’s observing me, from the corners of my eyes! You’re so sadistic Joe… Dawn looked back with a dead stare.
“As long as the mission is completed, it doesn’t matter who did what. We, completed it as a team. A team of fri—”
Dawn was hesitating. Josef nodded, telling her to continue. Lea looked up too.
“A team of… frighteningly, competent, us, ehh, operators!” Dawn forced a smile.
Josef promptly moved his eyebrows up and down. Lenora was satisfied and sat right again, with a smile also. Dawn sighed.
“Not the best at, speeches, or, talking… Ever told you, of my high-school proclamation speech fiasco?” Dawn’s colleagues nodded no. She grinned slightly.