Stake-Out!
((Because you asked so nicely ... I hadn't realized it'd been two months since I worked with this last. We're actually coming in on the end of Episode 1. Here's a short-ish update. I'm stuck at the office with no car, so I may end up writing some more!))
Nanoteknowledgies Inc. had a smallish, single-story office in a local industrial park. All of the buildings in the area were low and utilitarian, brick or corrugated steel, with plate glass windows in varying states of cleanliness. All of the buildings had a series of shared parking areas; clear-cut, flat concrete, with manicured lawn in the medians and the occasional skinny, lonely tree. There wasn’t much in the way of area to hide, especially for a white van with five agents inside. Sam had done the best he could, and parked in a group of vehicles as far away from Nanoteknowledgies Inc. as they were able to manage and maintain a clear line of sight to the front. Nathan had cunningly rigged up one of their digital video cameras to point out the windshield, mostly hidden beneath a half-folded newspaper, with a good view of the office’s front (and only) entrance.
All of them sat in various states of discomfort, huddled in the rear of the van out of casual sight. Their cover wouldn’t withstand prolonged scrutiny … but no-one was really expecting them. Right? Nathan and Sam watched a small TV monitor hooked to the DVCam on the dashboard, zooming in and out with a corded remote. They’d been there for the better part of the day, had even been brave enough to leave some time after noon for lunch, and absolutely nothing seemed out of place. Only two people had entered or left the building, barring the lunch exodus, all day; certainly nothing suspicious.
“I really have to pee.” Georgie said.
“And I told you not to get the Big Gulp.” Kyong replied.
“But dude, how often do you see a 7-11 anymore?” Georgie said. She huffed and squirmed around. “I’m starting to agree with Olie: Let’s just come back tonight, break in, grab Bauer’s stuff and be done with it.”
“Shh.” Nathan hissed. He was peering intently at the monitor, zooming in on the Nanoteknowledgies front door. Something was happening.
“Pft.” Georgie sniffed.
Two men in black suits walked up to the nondescript entrance and went inside. Quick. Simple.
Kyong, however, recognized them.
“They are the men who attacked us yesterday.” She said, simply.
“And they just went inside. See? Stake-outs pay out.” Sam said over his shoulder.
“Cool. Now let’s go back to the 7-11 so I can PEE.” Georgie demanded.
“Well, now we need to see when they come out. Or if the whole building turns to sand and blows away on the wind.” Sam said, and held up a quieting finger.
“Riiiight.” Georgie replied.
They had little wait, however, as “Agents” Ferris and Oric exited the building within fifteen minutes. They walked calmly to a nearby black sedan, got in, and drove away.
“Ooo. Even more exciting than their entrance. Now, outta my way!” Georgie said. She flung open the door of the van before anyone could protest and sprinted for a nearby Cable TV office.
“There goes our cover.” Nathan said.
”I think we have enough, though.” Sam said. “We know the ‘Agents’ are still poking around. That means there’s probably something unfinished, and that it’s in that office.”
”They might have already taken it.” Kyong said. “Nanorobots could be carried in any small container, and scientific data could be stored on a zip disk in their pocket. We’d never know. Everything could be gone already.”
”We’ll just have to see. We’ll come back tonight … Nathan can ‘investigate’ inside, see if there’s anything left hinting at what Bauer was working on.”
”Good.” Ollie added. “I was hoping I’d get to use those nightvision goggles again before we had to return them.”