Tracker's Paradox

"I've got him. He's two blocks down sitting down at a café table waiting..
I'm switching camera positions to get a better view. How is the feed at your end?" a female voice asks.

"It's steady at 5 mb per second."
"I'm getting slight interference at the new camera. This DOT camera should have been already serviced.. figures they would fall behind schedule. " A male voice responded.


"Don't worry about it, I've already compensated for the static on this end. What is the foot traffic looking like where you are?" F

"Right now it's light. The thermal sight is showing low thermal activity for the area. All of the cars in the area have been parked for a while and there is no real evidence of people preparing to leave their offices. Looks like we missed the 'lunch hour rush'." M

"Good. Is there any difference in what you see and what was shown on the LAS [Low Altitude Satellite] pics. ?" F

"No. They did a good job this time of giving us an accurate picture of the area. Apparently we are moving up in the world." The male voice laughs.

"Don't count on it. We're still cannon fodder to them." The female voice laughs.

"Can you zoom in on the bag that's next to him?" the female voice asks.

"Hold on.. There. It looks like a shopping bag from the clothing store down the street. It's hard to tell what's inside, but it looks like clothing mixed in with the package. What exactly did he take?" the male voice responds.

"I've only been told by the handler that it's software the company wants back. It's best that we don't speculate any further." F

"Right.. With my cut of the pay it might be worth more to take it for myself..
Hold on, the target is approaching. She's pretty young to be working for the other side. What does the scanner say about her?"
M

"Nothing... She's not registered with any governmental agency, even DMV. If she's young enough her files would be sealed to prevent identity theft. " F

"That means she can't be older than 15!? Wouldn't her school have records of her?" M

"I can't access them. The records are on isolated systems. We would need to be physically at the school to link the network to the Net." She responded in a frustrated voice.

"If she's as young as that then it's possible that there is an emotional link between the two. I can't see someone sending their daughter to go meet a stranger, she could appear to be too uncomfortable and blow the whole thing. But if it was "Uncle John" she was meeting then it would be as normal as talking to her folks." The male voice offered.

"She's coming over... She kissed him!?! What the hell!!!" M

"They appear to be closer than just family relations..." F

"ok.. What is it with older men and young women?.... She's sitting down. I'm trying to focus the audio now. I'm picking up too much background noise from a nearby delivery truck. I'm trying to compensate now. No luck. It looks like we won't have time for audio, they are making the exchange now. " M

"They have been captured making the exchange. It's confirmed the package is inside. " F

"Are you sure?" M

"Yes. The raised emblem on the package has left an imprint on the bag. I was told they chose that emblem so it would be easy to recognize." F

"She's getting up to leave. I'll split the feed between the DOT camera and my optic sight. Looks like he's leaving as well, which one should I follow?" M

"Follow the girl, the old man will have to return to the office or he'll raise suspicion." F

"Looks like the girl is heading towards the park, I'll have to change location in order to keep an eye on her." M

"No need. I was just told that another team will follow her from here. We need to report back to our handler with the information we gathered." F

"When was another team hired?" M

"I don't know. I was told we had total domain over the operation." F

" `WHAM' HOLY S `WHAM' 'SSSSSSH' A AUTOTRAM JUST JUMPED IT'S TRACKS!!! THE OLD MAN IS DEAD. I REPEAT THE OLD MAN IS DEAD!" M

"Can you get a visual on what is going on?" F

"HOLD ON. I'M GETTING THE SIGHT INTO POSITON NOW." the male voice responds almost out of breath.




".....I have visual now. It's confirmed... the old man is dead. The tram over sped and jumped it's tracks just as the old man was waiting to cross the street.... Thermal sights are showing several people trapped in the cars the tram crashed into before stopping.... Two people are dieing, their thermal signatures are fading. Christ, it looks like it's going to be a full count in
five minutes, the last person is barely holding on. If I had my rifle I could end this." the male voice states emphatically.

"As much as I agree with you, we can't break cover. Emergency personnel have already be dispatched to the area. Their ETA is 3 minutes. We can't get involved or they will spend some of that time trying to get us out of the way instead of helping to save that person." F

"You mean that we can't break cover because we may end up having to answer too many questions..... Fine... Let's get out of here, I've seen enough. I'll meet you in the usual location." M

"Agreed. Give me........." F

"Sarah? SARAH? Your breaking up. What the f......" M
______________________________________________________________________
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"That was their last transmission"

"Are you sure they have been disposed of?"

"Positive. I've got pictures of their remains if you want to see."

"No thanks. What of the girl?"

"We picked her up just a little while ago. She still doesn't know the full story. She still thinks she was helping 'some old guy' live out a little sexual fantasy."

"Good. The old man had a weakness for young girls. It seems fitting that this was his undoing."

"How old was his daughter when he molested her?"

"According to the divorce papers, about the same age. His wife only found out the truth during the trial. Sadly, she originally left him because she thought he was having an affair."

"Huh. Oh well. We don't have to worry about clean up, the whole event looks too much like an accident and all parties involved are either taken care of or company personnel. Do we need to worry about the disk?"

"No, the data never left the mainframe. The whole data transfer was a 'non-event'."

Two individuals leave the room as it darkens. It's back to business as usual.