Eleven New Captions

 

Eighth Dance

‘Why, why, why, did I say yes?’  Because you thought you’d be in some exotic location slinking around a

casino in a sexy evening gown, men falling from your fingers or on a beach, the sun tanning your bikini

body while some pool boy brought you a drink while you targeted your prey, that’s why!’ she answered,

her face in a frown as she flicked yet another bug from her pants leg just as the bus heaved into the air

from hitting another pothole.  

The air on the best was still and heavy, just like the jungle outside.  The road, a dirt track cut from the forest that wanted it back zigged and twisted about, avoiding swamps and soft ground, the occasional branch coming inside the bus, smacking a passenger before being pulled back out again.  The more aware passengers two or three rows back ducked their bodies into the crash position to avoid a repeat performance, except one and Nokthai Ranida, Force’s Trade Agreements Manager had put herself directly opposite of.

‘You need to watch for the signs,’ she said with a small smile, just as a leaf smacked into him.

He made a frustrated face that bordered on mad. 

‘Seriously, just watch the people in front of you and react.  The poor bastard in the front seat has no chance.  He’ll know better the next time,’ she explained, not letting the face get to her.  ‘You seem to be a fish out of water here?’ she asked.

‘Yes, but so must you, even more so,’ he said, his eyes scanning about the small bus.  ‘Your the only woman here and you’ll be the only one when we get to the camp.’ he added.  

‘If that is supposed to make me nervous or afraid then you’ll have to do better than that.  Nokthai Ranida, but you can call me Nok.  I’m with The World Geographic Report, here on the invitation of Unesco, to report on how the mine is affecting local peoples and their environment,’ she explained, holding out her hand.  

‘Pavel Olesky, Accounting Project Manager for the mine.  We picked our seats well, opposite sides of the aisle,’ he said.

‘You shouldn’t think of it like that, I’m more than capable of separating work and non work relationships, besides, your company has a good reputation for responsibility, let’s not get off on a bad foot, it's more fun to be optimistic.  Duck!’ she added and he did.

‘There see, you’re getting into it now, well part of it.’ Nok said in such a way that he had to ask the questions she wanted him to.

‘What do you mean, part of it?’

‘Accounting Project Manager, out here?  Who needs that?  You could just as effectively be counting and costing back in a nice air conditioned office where the only worry is where you're making reservations for dinner rather than wondering if you’ll be dinner for something,’  Nok explained with a slightly devilish smile.  ‘You must have really pissed some people off?’  ‘I’m used to this, been all over the world, but you, no, maybe camping as a kid, but you most definitely do not belong out here.’  Just then a leaf smacked him and she laughed.  ‘See.’

He looked annoyed, maybe because of the leaf and its great time, but Nok suspected she’d hit a nerve with her comment about pissing people off, which was her intention, to see if he knew something was up, apparently he didn’t, now maybe he did.

‘Seriously, don’t go out by yourself, keep your head and eyes on a swivel, always have a gun and knife with you and never, ever wander off any path into the jungle,’ Nok explained in a serious flat tone.

They talked for the next hour as the bus snaked about the bush road, up hills and along before a slow twisting decent brought them down into a deep valley, the final obstacle a river and a bridge that looked not up to the task, but they made it across, just, the bus sinking in the middle from the strain.  Then around a corner and into a massive clearing that was getting bigger as tree cutting excavators and skidders worked about the periphery like so many ants.  The bus ground to a halt in front of a portable modular office 

‘Not to worry, sure it has a working fan of some description,’ Nok said as they stepped off the bus and looked about.  ‘Cheer up, being a big wig and all I’m sure you have your own little slice of heaven over there.  I know I do, being the only woman as you pointed out,’ Nok smiled as he looked at the housing for the workers.

She gave him a touch of her duffle, he followed her into the office where they were greeted by the Site Manager who Nok took an instant dislike to in spite of his welcoming manner, she knew phoney when she saw it.  She was fine; it was his obsequious pandering to Pavel that tarred him.  Nok knew instantly who the TRIDENT operative assigned to finish Pavel was, the only question she had was, how many more were there?

They did the perfunctory paper signings and chit chat then were taken to their quarters across the way dodging the potholes filled with water.   

‘I’m over here with the hoi polloi, you’re that way with the upper crust,’ Nok smiled at him and he smiled back.  ‘See you later and remember what I said, nowhere outside the compound area without personal protection and no, think the other kind,’ she added to a bonus smile.  

‘Nok found her place, just what she expected it to be.  ‘The inside of a tin can, a bed and bathroom and just enough space to let you know there wasn’t enough.  She unpacked her clothes, then plopped her three camera cases on the bed.

She unpacked one of her camera boxes and several lenses before pulling the top layer off each case revealing what she really wanted.  

H&K MP5 .22 LR Rifle

Beretta M9                                                                                                           

XAR Invicta Folding Automatic Rifle 

'Girls best friends,’ she said.  Nok took the 9mm, loaded a clip, checked the safety, pulled the slide back to chamber a round then released the magazine.  She added another round then slid the magazine back in and tucked the pistol under her pillow.  

^^^

Nok took her tray, looked about at the sea of eager eyes, then moved to a table where Pavel was sitting,

much to the disappointment of all the aforementioned eyes.

‘Not even one day and you’re already the most popular person in camp,’ he noted.

‘Not an honour I’m seeking, but not unexpected and not the first time,’ she replied.

‘Quiet the ego,’ he added smartly.

‘Hardly!  When you’ve been as many places as I’ve been, isolated camps in what once was pristine wilderness, with men who haven’t seen the opposite sex in who knows how many months, well any female would be the mostly popular person in camp.  The trick is making sure they all know the limits,’ Nok explained.

‘And if they don’t?’ he asked quizzically.

Nok made a motion with her eyes and he looked over the small table and down where he saw the butt of her Beretta.  ‘You should count yourself lucky, you just got the view they all wanted.  Now all those guys hate your guts.  Looks like I’ll be your only friend here.’

Pavel looked about and from the looks he wasn’t sure she was wrong. 

‘I warned you to carry a piece.  You need to listen to me.  Accidents happen all the time in locations like this and nothing is ever done about it.  Multinationals like this have all the politicians from the local to the national in their collective back pockets.’

‘I’m just an accountant, nothing is going to happen to me in an office.  If anything you should be the one I’m concerned about, out there in the jungle all alone, anything could happen,’ Pavel said bluntly. 

‘So you're concerned about me, that's sweet, but I’m a big girl, nothing has happened so far and nothing will.  I carry protection,’ Nok smiled, one arm moving as she tapped the hilt of her Beretta.  ‘Speaking of which, I have a vehicle waiting for me.  I’m going to have a look around the area, pictures don’t take themselves,’ Nok smiled then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek unexpectedly.  ‘Now they hate you more!  Have a great day.’

Nok picked up the keys to the Suzuki Samurai at the main office and headed out, the crude hand drawn map the office provided serving as a guide.   For the first part she saw what she expected to, a bulldozed landscape, devoid of trees and greenery in favour of a mix of black and grey dirt, holes filled with water and a sense of desolation.  She stopped, took a few pictures then drove on making a turn down a clearing and deep into the jungle.  Here and there piles of dirt and rock were pushed to one side and piled up indicating test drill holes.  The air was hot and oppressive, the landscape lush and green, she had the sense of eyes watching her from the impenetrable edges of the forest, it kept her sharp.  The path ended, Nok turned the four wheeler around and retraced coming back into bleakness.  She continued about getting further away from the camp until it was gone behind a hill, she stopped and got out with her camera.  

She took more pictures, then turned the command control dial several positions and looked again through the viewfinder as she panned the landscape.

‘Thought so,’ she smiled.  

Nok drove to the first point her infrared camera sensor had picked up. To human eyes it just looked like a wall of green and pushed over and about trees, but her camera sensed a cool zone when compared with a section just a few feet away.  The FORCE woman slung her back over her shoulders and chose the best way into the space, picking up a sturdy branch to act as a walking pole.  She found exactly what she expected, a path or more precisely a track that had grown over, it was not on the map and Nok suspected there were more of them, but first to hand, this one needed exploring.  

Pulling her Beretta free, Nok flicked off the safety and started down the path, her eyes darting about for any movement through the undergrowth.  She checked her watch ten minutes into the journey, then moved on until she heard water running, the path however went sharply right and down hill in a twisting switchback path.  She used the stick as a brace while she descended.  The ground began to level out, she felt a cool wet breeze and increased sunlight filled the way ahead, then she came into the clearing and looked around in shock.  

‘Fuckng bastards!’, she said out loud, her voice echoing around the massive horseshoe shaped cavern.  All the ground for hundreds of metres in a 180 degree radius before her was bare, dead, all the soil blasted away, anything with any life giving nutrients was gone, just ugly bone grey walls all the way up to where she’d come from.  ‘Hydraulic mining!’ she said.  ‘God knows how many of these there are all over the place and what damage has been done to the river above,’ she thought, then whirled about in a flash her pistol pointed directly at a man 20 feet behind her.  Nok immediately holstered the weapon, put her palms together at her chest and gave a small bow before offering an apology.  She tried standard Thai, then switched to a dialect she knew, but was slow with, the man smiled and returned the greeting.  

They exchanged names, his name was Chavay, a member of the Kuy people. Nok assured him she was not with the ‘mining people’ as he called them, then explained who she was, well, her cover story, to him, which he seemed to accept.  They walked back up the hill, Nok asking slow and halting questions about what was going on.  Chavay explained that there were many, many of these pits all along the river on both sides and he offered Nok a chance to see them as he led her toward the water she’d heard before.  

‘This used to be a fast running river, deep enough for our flat boats, good fishing, now you see what it has become,’ he told her as they came to the near the water's edge, his hand out to stop her getting too close, a warning Nok did not need, she knew what to expect.  He pulled the long push pole from the soft ground and smacked the water on either side of his boat before they entered.

‘It never used to be this way, now the jora khee are everywhere on the river,  Because the mine people slowed the river with rocks and dirt they lurk in every pool and still area waiting to attack us,’ Chavay explained as he pushed off from the shore.  Nok took pictures of the destruction, huge rocks dumped into the river and loose soil deposits stopped the flow, behind, beside and in front of them large pools of still water lay, several with still predators waiting for a meal.  Nok pulled out her Beretta and flicked off the safety once more, Chavay gave a wise nod and a smile as he pushed them along, his eyes glancing down, Nok followed them and smiled back, returned the pistol to its holster and picked up the metal pole.  

‘The fish are harder to find and more dangerous to catch, you can easily be pulled into the water.  If one gets too close I trust you know what to do.  They do make good eating, but you have to be accurate or you may end up being the fish,’ he smiled.  

Chavay showed Nok six more hydraulic cuts before the river became too shallow for the boat.

‘What about around the bend?’ Nok asked.

‘Never go there, not worth the effort to walk.  I spend most of the day trying to feed my family, so I go where I know the food is.’

They headed back down the river, Nok had noticed earlier he didn’t have a lot in his cool box and had spent a great deal of his day with her.  She picked up the spear and stuck the motion a blur, there was thrashing of water, Nok getting a little before she leaned back and pulled a crocodile into the boat, her foot pressed down hard on the tip of the snout as she twisted the spear point about.  A few circles of duct tape around the snout and she found another, this one much larger.  Chavay ran the boat up on shore as Nok drove the spear point in deeper, her body twisting as she did.  A few well placed shots from the Beretta ensure final success.

‘No need for tape.  Thank you Nok,’ he said as they pushed and heaved to get the monster into the boat. 

She grabbed the large pole and smacked the bank, he was impressed she knew exactly where they had left from.  

‘How far down the river is your village?’ she asked from the shore.  

‘About two kilometres,’ he answered.  ‘You are welcome anytime.  A provider of food is always a blessing.’

‘I may just take you up on that.  Tell me is there a road or path out of your village that connects with the district capital.’

‘There is a path, but it's only for the very experienced and sometimes it's too much for even them.  The river is the best way, some rapids, nothing you couldn’t handle, about 2 days, if you have need of it,’ Chavay answered ,his voice concerned.

‘I promise not to involve you or anyone else in your village,’ Nok replied.

After a few seconds he answered.  ‘I think your involvement would be welcome.  Be careful on the way back.  These miners have left a swamp on some of the property you came from, the jora khee can smell a meal and will hide in those pools waiting for a fool to get too close.  They are much faster than people expect.  Take care.’ he answered and pushed away from the bank.

Nok watched him disappear around the bend then she did the same into the jungle emerging at her vehicle she decided she had enough time to continue along the perimeter.  Nok positioned her infrared

camera and started to drive.  

The wasteland driving did not much appeal, but that was not the purpose of the driving, then as she summited a small dirt hill the purpose changed completely.  At first she thought it was just a boulder upturned in the middle of a large pool of water, but her binoculars confirmed something else, Pavel.

Nok went as quickly as the terrain would allow before slowly driving into the water, up past the tires and nearly to the tops of the doors she yelled to him.

‘I’m coming right by, jump as I pass and don’t miss!’ she yelled. Nok pulled her Beretta and shot at either side of him, the water thrashed white and roiled.  The spy hit the gas, the snorkel engaged, he jumped, landed hard in the back seat while the Samurai rolled out the other side and onto dry land.  Nok opened the doors and the water flooded out.  Pavel somehow managed the gate.  She drove them away behind a hill and stopped then turned on him.

‘What did I tell you!’ she yelled.

‘Never, never..’ he started to say between pants for breath, she finished it.

‘Never go out alone!  That’s right!  And always have a gun.  Where the fuck is yours!’ then slapped him hard across the face.  ‘Well?’

‘They told me I didn’t need one, just a simple audit count of a supply trailer.  They even offered to drive me out to it and wait.

‘So this is how they planned to kill you, not many worse ways I can think of,’ Nok concluded.

‘I…’ he started.

‘Let me fill it in, you know this may work to our advantage, but that’s on me.  Pavel, listen to me, you’re a bean counter, a bean counter!  Do you even know how to use a gun?  No, I thought so, then why were you sent here.  Anyone can count widgets, your company doesn’t need you to do it, but, here you are.  You know I can think of no better place to get rid of someone with no evidence left over whatsoever and if I’d been thirty seconds later than I was that would be the case and in fact that is going to be the case.  Pavel, I need you to listen to me, I'm not with The World Geographic Report, I work for an agency known as FORCE, what you don’t know is somewhere, somehow, you’ve seen data that you never should have, data you may not even think is important.’

‘Then why try and kill me if I don’t know how important it is?’ he stammered.  Nok was seeing he was beginning to lose his composure.  

‘Because you saw it and in this line of work, chance is always eliminated and this time chance is you Pavel,’ Nok said.  ‘But,’ she added, then clasped her hands about his cheeks and looked him in the eye.  ‘You have me and maybe just maybe, my covers still intact,’ she explained then kissed him.  He was surprised, even shocked, his lips didn’t move for a few seconds, a less experienced woman would have panicked and broken the embrace, but Nok patiently waited for him to respond and he did.  ‘It's said you can tell if a kiss is sincere or not and that certainly felt very sincere, speaking just for me,’ Nok smiled and he nodded.

‘I’m going to go back to camp, I know nothing of your whereabouts, I suspect I’ll be told nothing.  I’m taking you to a safe point I found earlier today.  You’ll have to spend the night, but it's dry, high elevation and you can have a fire and I have some supplies to give you and this,’ she said putting the gun in his hand.  Don’t worry, I’ll show you how it works.  You spend the night there, I’ll join you in the morning or before depending on how things go, tonight.  Now if I don’t make it, there’s a path that leads to a river, get yourself a long branch and smack the shore and water about you as you get close.  When you see a man come up the river in a boat, yell my name and somehow make him understand that you need to get to the district capital.  When you get there call this number, give my name and this code.  You’ll be picked up and safe, understand?’

‘Yes, but.’ he started.

‘No buts, this what I do.  The mission is the success and there’s work to do back in the camp.’

Nok drove him to the place, ensured he was ok then headed back to the camp.  She arrived outside the main office just as the sky was starting to darken and walked inside straight into the office of the camp manager, the man with the phoney greeting from yesterday, Pinalto Moralez.  She smiled from outside the glass door and mentioned to enter, Nok knew he’d agree, his eyes had never left her when they’d met.  She walked in, closed the door, placed her pistol on the desk and sat down looking at him.

‘You guys would screw up a one car funeral!  Even I didn’t think TRIDENT was this incompetent but judging from how badly this mine is, you are.  I took care of your mess, start the paperwork, but let me see it before you send it. I don't want my introduction tainted but what I’ve seen here.  

‘What are you talking about Miss?’ started to say trying to make it sound believable.  

‘It’s getting on in the day, I’m dirty, tired and hungry, I don’t have time for games. It would do us best if you didn’t.  My name as you know is Nokthai Ranida, I’m not with The World Geographic Report, I’m a FORCE Agent and as I already mentioned, dirty, tired and hungry, what I should have added as disillusioned, but we’re coming to that.  Pavel Olesky was sent here to be executed, I know you know that, I knew it also, how?  Because FORCE had the Intel, only they foolishly trusted me to decode it, so I did, just not correctly.  Somewhere in Bergen, a FORCE agent is just starting to suspect that.  Why, because this is my ticket out of the Cubical Cage I was placed in after somehow not making the grade in training and never getting a real answer as to why.  I can be an excellent operative, especially from the inside, that’s my motivation, revenge, well that and 30 million TRIDENT pays me for all the other Intel I have on certain matters of interest.’

Pinalto looked at the pistol on the desk.

‘Go ahead, check the weapon, you’ll find six missing.  I put them into Pavel after whoever you assigned to leave him as crocodile bait screwed up.  Over smooth terrain, those buggers can run, but uneven and soft, a person easily outpaces them.  I was just coming back when I saw him waving frantically at me.  You know what you can’t outrun is a bullet, one always catches up to you, four a dead certainty, very dead.  I’m sure the croc’s have eaten all of him by now.  Birds will get the rest and the rain will wash away anything else.  You're welcome Pinalto.’

‘All bullshit!’ he said.

‘Really, you saw him.  It’s dark outside, if I didn’t do it then rest assured something out there in the dark will do it for us.  He’s not coming back ever.  Some days luck just can’t be avoided and today, Pinalto, luck just smacked you in the face and you don’t even have the brains to understand that.  I just pulled your ass and all your other parts from the jaws of defeat and gave you victory, you’re the hero of this tale and best yet, you get to tell your bosses that and the added Atta Boy of me.  Someone’s going to get a nice year end bonus I think,’ Nok smiled.

He couldn’t argue with that, but he also couldn’t be sure, not just yet anyway.

‘I would like to wait until morning to check things out, to see if your fantastic tale is true, if it is then it’s great from both of us, if not, well, the croc’s will still be hungry,' he said looking at Nok.

‘I’m not much, one or two bites, but I suppose that would be the smart thing to do.  Of course you know now you can’t let me out of your sight all night.  What if I am lying and instead of killing Pavel I actually helped him escape and then I disappear as well, vanish into the night.  That might not look too good, well for you, anyway and I know for a fact, being formally from the opposite side that TRIDENT doesn’t take failure well.  You could never blame a guard for me escaping, they’d say it was your fault, you're in charge.  So it's you and me all night then, for better or, well, let’s hope it's better.   I’m going to my room now, you can follow me or you can watch me on the camera then come over. It all depends on how many people you want to know about it.  Of course, that could lead to other issues.  It’s never easy being at the top is it.  Well, one thing you can be sure of, you’ll not be sleeping with the enemy,’ Nok smiled and patted the gun.  ‘You can keep that as a sign of trust, but, when you come, come fully loaded.’

She walked across the space between the office and the billets knowing it had worked fully.  Men with Pinalto’s personality like to talk tough, but when a strong woman comes along, confident and smart with all the answers it backs them off quickly, but it also arouses them in the extreme.  ‘Right now he’s thinking of how he’ll shut me up in bed with his skills, men!’ she scoffed. ‘They never will understand everything that they think makes them great lovers a woman has quietly and subtly guided them into doing.  You’re good lovers because of us,’ she added.  ‘Let’s hope you’ve learned a few things in the past. Pinalto, otherwise this will be very boring.’

 

‘You’re finally here, I was beginning to think you’d stood me up?  How did the last minute checking up on me go?’ Nok smiled.

‘You seem to wear many hats.  We can’t confirm the FORCE credentials of course, you not being a field agent you don’t appear in any database, but you do work for The World Geographic Report on a contract basis with numerous articles from around the world and a stunning portfolio of pictures.  That would provide you with the perfect cover as a FORCE Agent, a cover you never appear to have used, until now,’ Pinalto explained while he entered the room and sat down, a bottle in his hand.  

‘I explained that already.  I think I still have something to offer and if my talents aren’t or won’t be recognized by one side, then perhaps they will be by the other,’ Nok noted.

‘I see ethics are not in play here?’ he noted as he poured drinks.

‘It's just opposite sides of the same coin.  FORCE bends the bar when it suits them, it's just that they get to say it's for the greater good and well who’s to say what that is.  I prefer to look at it as a career move, a position that better matches my skill set or should I say skill sets, I’m a rather versatile woman,’ Nok smiled as she slipped herself into his lap, her legs straddling him.  

‘I see you took my advice,’ she added, feeling her former gun against her inner thigh. ‘High calibre, indeed!’

‘You can say what you want but I still don’t trust you,’ he smiled as he pulled the pistol from his pants.

‘But you’re still willing,’ Nok quizzed.  ‘I have to admire that in some way, it also ensures a good performance from me, not that it was ever in doubt.  ‘Well, one weapon is unholstered, let's free the other,’ he hands undoing and slipping into his pants.  A few insistent laps of hands and he was there.  ‘Fully cocked, lets hope you don’t have a hair trigger?  I like to go several rounds before reloading.’

Nok didn’t give him time to answer, her tongue was inside his mouth and darting about while her hands cupped the side of his pants and pulled down, he arching up to help her.  Her lace panties bumped and rubbed against his stem, the design and her motion guaranteed to stimulate him fully into her spell.  His hands swept up her sides, seizing and pulling her lace top up and other her willing obliging extended arms that upon freedom snaked around his neck as her hips lifted in his lap and he pulled them down.

‘They rip easily, tear them off of me, I’m more than ready and very willing to surround you,’ she breathed hotly in his ear.  

She felt the torn fabric caress then leave her hips.  Nok swirled above his tip, just wetting it with her lips then pulling forward and into a downward thrust when she stopped and smiled.  

‘A girl can always tell when a kiss is sincere or not. I’ve always had a love of sixties spy movies and the gadgets they came up with for them,’ Nok smiled as she pushed him away, watching his body slump in the chair from over her shoulder as she picked up her camera from off the shelf across the room.  I had this modified, just like in The Silencers, only this one fires two paralysing darts, good for many hours.  I activated them with special contacts I’m wearing, a simple blink into the lens fires them.  ‘You’re kisses were never sincere.’

You can take the rest of the night off, I’ll take over from here,’ she explained while pulling out the three steel photography cases from under the bed.  She opened and removed the top layer containing her camera’s.  ‘Now this is the good stuff!’ she smiled, pulling out the H &  K and the XAR Invicta.  ‘First things first,’ Nok said to herself as she opened a dresser drawer, pulling out a pair of black leggings and matching top.  He watched helplessly as she enveloped her nude body in the second skin.  She then pulled out a series of Thermite Grenades and slipped them

into loops sewn into her leggings until they surrounded her hips.  Nok slipped the XAR over her shoulder, grabbed the H&K, inserted a mag and charged the weapon.  She inserted spare magazines into pockets on her shoulders and leggings.  Finally she picked up the Beretta at Pinalto’s side, screwed in a suppressor and she was ready to go, except for one final thing.

‘I’m sorry we didn’t get to enjoy each other, but business is business, you and I both know that, but that still doesn’t make things easier.  Maybe this will,’ Nok smiled and kissed him deeply while she slipped a Thermite grenade under the bed and activated the silent timer.  He didn’t even notice, too busy enjoying her sweet tasting mouth.  ‘Oh, you don’t mind if I borrow your passcard and computer access card, do you?’  she said, taking them from around his neck before she was gone in a flash, outside and into the dark against the building.  

Nok waited for a few workers to go by on their way back to their lodgings before she darted across the murky road coming up against the vehicle compound that she quickly accessed with a swipe of his card quickly planting a few grenades in strategic places before exiting and moving onto the main Adm Office which she knew would have several night staff inside.  The spy switched off the safety on the Beretta, swiped the card and walked in.  She smiled, raised the pistol and put a hole the first man’s head, then moved down a hallway checking doors as she went.  The last door was the communication and computer room.  A swipe and she was inside, then hum and a person typing on a screen masking her entry.  Keys flashed across a keyboard before a head thumped against it, bounced up and slid off a chair to the floor, Nok left as silently as she entered and hurried to Pinalto’s office.  She reached inside her top and pulled out a chain with a thumb drive attached.  She needed to do nothing else once it was plugged in, the internal program would access and copy everything on the computer and any harddrives it had access to.

She did have time to establish a connection with an online casino game site, on FORCE ran and gave them the perfect backdoor into any systems connected to it.  While the downloads and FORCE’s hackers were at work she planted several more grenades about the place.  

Twenty minutes later her USB stopped flashing, she removed it and several minutes later the casino game exited, her notification FORCE had what it wanted, it was time to go.  She slipped outside, unfortunately several guards silently turned the corner right in front of her.  Nok managed to shot one in the knee, her fell forward toward her, the spy using his sleeping form as a springboard to first, vault off his shoulder using two steps forward, a jump, a push off from his shoulders as she spun in the air, her legs scissoring the second guard as she fell forward pulling him with her and over her as they fell she coming up with her legs wrapping around his neck.  The Beretta fired once into the back of the other guard's head exploding out the front!  Unfortunately, his screaming had alerted others.  Nok arched up her hips, off the ground and snap twisted them, a satisfying and fatal snap filling the air.  He quivered for a few seconds and went still, by that time she was on her feet and headed for the vehicle compound, a quick swipe opened the doors, she turned and fired her pistol and the closests ongoing guards until it was empty.  Nok dropped the weapon, the H&K finished the others.  She started up the Samurai and wheeled out of the compound.  A few guards bounced off the vehicle, the others cut down by her shifting fire, the submachine gun swinging from side to side as she dispatched them.  In between so tossed grenades towards the lodgings before driving away into the darkness which did not last for long.  The sky lit up behind her, orange, angry with red tinges and yellow bolts shooting through it before all of that was enveloped in a blue ball many metres high.  Nok gripped the wheel tight and held on as the shock wave hit and pushed her hard forward in the seat, she fought to keep the vehicle from turning hard and tipping over.  There followed other explosions as the initial ones set off the others, by that time the spy was far enough away that all she felt was a hard push of hot air on the back of her neck and the light.  

She reached Pavel about fifteen minutes later, his small fire a guide in the darkness ahead, behind the sky was orange and red, the occasional explosion of some compressed gas adding different hues to the mix.  

‘Here, put this on your head,’ she said, doing the same and switching on the light, he did the same.

‘Are you alright? he asked. 

‘Never better,’ Nok answered, handing him the H&K.  ‘This is a safety, on/off,’ she said, flicking it off.  This is the select fire switch, leave it as it is.  When the magazine is empty, press here to release it.  Take a new magazine, insert, pull the charging bolt here to chamber a round and you’re ready to go.  Site the weapon from back to front on the target, here and here,’ she pointed.  ‘Always point the weapon away from you and me when reloading and keep your finger off the trigger, got it?’

‘Yes,’ he said in a nervous and none to certain voice.

‘Just do your best.  I don’t think anyone is coming after us, but that’s only one danger, that is the other,’ Nok said pointing to the jungle.  ‘Remember what I told you before?’

‘Always stick to the path and never go alone,’ he said.

‘Nok smiled then suddenly kissed him and he her.

‘Now that’s sincere,’ she smiled, and took his hand to lead the way.

10 New Captions

 

Ten New Captions

 

Seventh Dance

‘Even the building looks dull,’ Julie Low sighed as she walked inside the lobby, a drab series of brown tile

shades only reinforced her statement, not even a few potted plants could help the dullness lift.  ‘I suppose

it's the perfect cover, after all an assassin would probably die of boredom before getting to their target or

have trouble finding them in all the drab colour schemes she saw walking about.  ‘Someone needs to tell

these people there are other colours beside earth ones,’ she thought.  

'I wonder if his colleagues even suspect what he does on the side.  Probably not, to keep this well hidden he must be good or he has something so that balances the ledger, perhaps even tilts it in his favour.  Accounting humour 101,’ she added as the elevator opened and she got on with other people, each participant either punching their floor number as they passed in or asking for someone to do it. She was first in and at the back asked for a number, her eyes scanning about.  ‘Always be aware.’  She remembered that from her training and updates to it, but this was her first real mission, she was both nervous and thrilled, not a good combination.  

Off at the 16th floor she turned left and headed down the hall passing, what else, brown wood doors along the way on either side.  ‘This whole place is a 1950’s time capsule, frozen in amber, if the amber was brown.’

She reached the door, Halloway/Greting and Partners, Chartered Accounts.  She pulled it open and inside entered the reception area, again in need of an update to something from this century and greeted the receptionist with her fake name.  Sarah Highland, Bering Sea Containers, I have an appointment with Mr. Rawson,’ she said with a smile on her face that gave the area a much needed boost of light.  

The receptionist, an older woman in her late 50’s or early 60’s picked up the phone then carefully entered the extension as she eyed the woman.  

‘He’ll be out in a moment, have a seat if you wish,’ she answered in a flat voice.  

She decided to stand, but picked her spot, away from the door so when he appeared he got the complete picture as would she.  His eyes met the backside of her tight black leather pants, his greeting turned her around, but she did it slowly for his benefit.  She could tell instantly he was not disappointed and neither was she at what she looked at.  He was younger than her by some, fit with a handsome but not hard chiselled face, brown eyes, what she called autumnal coloured brown hair with dashes of lighter hues mixed, a little above six feet in height.  She smiled as he called her name, her hand forward for a firm and pleasant handshake. From there she was taken inside the office and guided to a corner office, smaller than she expected, but still a corner office.  She took note of his mannerisms as they went, polite, respectful, easy conversation and excellent manners as he let her enter first and held her chair for her.  Some people might have found it old-fashioned, even patriarchal, but she took it as good manners and nothing else.  

‘Good to put a face to a voice, I’m sorry I always find this part a little awkward, what do you prefer as an honourific?’ he asked.

‘You can call me Sarah if you want or should you feel it's too soon for that, Miss Highland.  Now it's my turn to ask that same question.’

‘I’m the informal type, Ramsey will be fine,’ he smiled.

‘Then it's only fair you call me Sarah.  There awkwardness out of the way,’ she smiled and looked about the room.  Diplomas and certificates of specialisation in certain areas filled the wall behind him along a few football pictures.  ‘You played football?’ she asked, getting up to look at the pictures closer as she walked around his desk.

‘Many years ago, wrecked my knee, that was it. Anyway it allowed me to pursue my dream of becoming an accountant rather than just another footballer,’ he laughed.  

‘Manchester United’s loss is my gain.  Never would have found you if you’d gone on to fame and fortune.  Funny how things turn out, what looks like disappointment turns into an opportunity. I suppose in some instances the other way round could be true as well,’ she said, staring at him in the team picture.  ‘Two way number 9, in behind the striker,’ she added, giving the picture then him a look.

‘How did you guess that?’ Ramsey asked,  surprise and something else in his voice.  

‘Your size, physique, demeanour, you understand the game, football and life.  You took a disappointment and made something of it, shows you understand attack and defence and how one can turn into the other.  You still play I suspect, Sunday League mostly for fitness.  I bet you can run  circles around the others, all midfielders have incredible stamina,’ she added then returned to her seat.  ‘I trust you have time to review the files and come up with a plan based on requirements we need,’ she said sitting down, one leather leg smoothly crossing over the other.  

He recovered quickly from the distraction and they dove into the business plan.  She was impressed with his analysis and suggestions, all of it would save the fake company a great deal of money.  Some of it was just this side of the law, but never over it.  His understanding of each country's tax laws, their trade partnership agreements, rules for capital expenditures, deferments and other areas was extremely impressive.  

‘I can see why you come highly recommended.  Your name should be on that door outside,’ she complimented.

‘Titles are not important to me,’ he responded. 

He’d said it for a reason, he wanted her to say the obvious question, she didn’t.  Instead she counter attacked.

‘You know what’s important to me? She said and waited until she knew it was off footed.  ‘Lunch. I passed a nice looking pub at the corner.  The Waterman, we should have lunch, say in an hour, meet me there.  I need to check in with my office, who knows, you may have to revise your plans.  The business plans I mean,’ she added looking embarrassed as was the goal.  

^^^

He found her in the crowded lunch time pub, their table in the back.  

‘I was right, I have some more data for you,’ she said, opening her hand.

‘No, no, I need to look at this here,’ she said.  ‘Plug it in and have a look.  I’ll get you a drink, I think you’ll need it.’

Ramsey read it all through, his face turning from red to white over the course of time.  He finished and pulled the stick out.

‘Now have a big drink and we can talk before you decide to run away.  But, I will warn you there is no place to run.  Oh, you can keep the stick, we have copies,’ she smiled.  

‘I suppose you’re here to kill me?’ he said, looking nervous.

‘If I was I wouldn’t be here, with all these people.  No, you really are confused, take another sip and I’ll explain, but if you decide to run, fine, just don’t go back to the office, she’ll be waiting, mostly because of me I’m sure.  

‘Whose she, Sarah?’ he asked, still not sure of his course of action.

‘My name is really Julie Low, honest.  Frankly I don’t know why the cover nobody knows me really.’

‘Don’t all spies have cover names for certain missions?’ he inquired.

‘Maybe, but I’m not a spy.  I mean I’ve been trained as one, have all the tools and tricks of the trade, but no, sorry to disappoint, I’m a tax specialist, like you.  I work for FORCE, but I assume you surmised that.  MBA in Finance, London School of Economics.  But, back to your question.  Your receptionist of course.  Bet she’s a temp, probably showed up in the last few days, flashes about the place, mostly your office, lots of trips the open door leans in when talking,’ Julie explained in a ticking off the boxes kind of way.

How do you know all this?’ he stammered.

‘Easy, I’m a Tax Specialist,’ she laughed.  ‘Seriously, It takes one to know one and that woman is way too attractive to be anything else.  Women like that aren’t temp receptionists, their way up the food chain from that and she’s lined you as her latest prey.  It’s lucky for you I showed up.  Another tigress in the jungle makes her work all the more difficult,’ Julie explained with a smile on her face.

‘Why not send a young beautiful woman, like in all the spy movies,’ he asked, 

Julie considered him for the moment thinking he might actually want that, like he was excited by the prospect.

‘Hate to disappoint you, but one, you're not James Bond or Matt Helm or even Maxwell Smart.  You're not a high value target in terms of that type of agent, who may have a harder time getting to you because and I know this is strange, but you might start to think what’s this young girl doing chasing me around, what does she want?  Your radar goes up, you get defensive and things don’t go to plan,  So, instead, they send an older woman, confident, she lets you know, in her own experienced way that only an older woman can do, that she’s fine financially, she just does this to keep active.  Maybe she mentions she does yoga, turns her ankle, wears age appropriate but still sexy clothing.  With her experience, she’s not even trying and she has you hooked, the rest is simple.  You think, well she can’t get pregnant, she has money, she knows her way around, why not.  The end result is you’re dead by whatever means she decides.  Older agents are older for a reason, they always win.  Tell me none or part of what I just said hasn’t happened?   

She waited.  ‘I take it your silence means I’m right.  

‘I did everything they asked, kept all the records and my tracks covered.  Before you ask, it was for the money, nothing else,’ he explained.

‘It sure wasn’t spent on clothes, that’s certain,’ Julie said.  ‘Anyway, that’s all out the window, she’s on to you now and if she is so will be others after she tells.  I’m afraid my cover blew it, she spotted me a mile away.  And before you ask, the simple answer is, it takes one to know one.  Anyway, you’ve been handed the Sir Alex extra time bonus, what do you want to do?  I’m just here to help or not, the choice is yours.’

‘There is no choice,’ he said.  

‘Not if you want to live,’ Julie answered.  ‘Now I assume you have all the records either on your laptop or stored in the cloud,’ she asked next and when he acknowledged she came round and slid next to him in the booth.  ‘Let’s get started then.

^^^

‘Our flight doesn’t leave until the morning.  I booked a hotel for the night,’ Julie said looking up from her phone.  ‘I just booked us a black cab, it will be here in a few minutes so drink up.’

‘We need to stop at my place so I can get some things.’

‘Not a chance sweetie, you’re a target now, not just from her, but others now that she will have alerted.  ‘Your in territory you don’t understand, lucky for you I do.  Let’s go.’

They were silent on the cab ride, not because she wanted to be, but because he was upset about not getting his way.  He still won’t come round even after she told him he would get all new clothes and when things settled down FORCE would recover his personal items.  

‘Why don’t you take a shower, maybe it will improve your mood?  I’ll make us something to eat, the fridge is fully stocked and a drink if you like.  Go on, you can be mad at me all you want, 

that’s ok, I can understand it, but if we’re going to share one of those beds or depending on your stamina,

both, then I want you clean.  Oh, did I forget to mention the perks,’ Julie said coyly, putting down a bottle

coming round the breakfast bar and slipping into his arms.  ‘I told you earlier I was fully trained,’ she

smiled then took his mouth, her tongue toying and teasing inside as her head turned side to side just

long enough to feel his interest swelling below.  

‘I won't be long,’ he said in an anxious voice

‘It appears my kiss steamed your lips open or was it my tongue?’ she smiled, pulling his ear to her lips. ‘No you won’t long, no man ever is in my mouth,’ her hot breath scolding him as her tongue flicked about.  

He emerged even quicker than she expected wearing one of the bathrobes the hotel provided, she was next a trailing hand across his hips snagged for a second on his protruding member, she gave it a little extra attention as she walked by, picked up her bag and disappeared.  

Julie took her time, she wanted to be perfect and part of her just wanted to tease him a little. When she finally emerged and leaned against the frame his eyes lit up, he got up from the edge of the bed, opened his robe and moved toward her,

‘Easy there tiger, we have all night,’ she hummed, slinking into his arms, hers about his neck allowing

her to pull him close.  ‘I see no encouragement is needed,’ she smiled and added. ‘Well, maybe a little,’

as they kissed, their bodies coming together even more, Julie tilting and swirling her paradise about his

stem, making it even stiffer if that was possible, before she pulled away.  ‘Where is that drink, we should

toast our victory before we celebrate,’ she teased as turned her back on him and walked to the breakfast

bar, her ass shishing as she went.

‘Oh, I see, this was supposed to be a threesome all along.  Well count me in, you know what they say, two's company, three’s much more fun,’ Julie smiled as she looked at the receptionist by the suite's door. 

‘I’d ask how you found us but I don’t ask questions I know the answers to. Pity, we could have had a wonderful time together sweetie,’ she said, kissing him once more.  ‘Almost as good a time as I had last night,’ Julie said as she slipped her arms off him and walked over to the woman. 

‘I couldn’t have said it better myself,’ the receptionist said as they exchanged a light kiss.  ‘He looks a little confused,’ she added.

‘No doubt.  You see, Ramsey, Miss Stirling and I met several days ago.  Remember when I told you it takes one to know one.  She’s a retired agent, and older woman, remember I said that also.  Not a happy retirement either, especially when you're told at 50 you no longer have it for the field or the bedroom and are let go.  She takes contracts for a fee now, certain agencies use her talents when they don’t want to risk their own talent or don’t think it's worth their time to.  Personally, I think it's time very well spent.  She was contracted to terminate you, a task easily accomplished as you can see by my actions.  Don’t worry sweetie you’ll be able to move in a while.  My bodice is rather scratchy, a few simple rubs about your manhood injected my paralysing serum.  Anyway, I proposed an alternative, one that pays so much better.  We each get the data, Miriam, Miss Sterling has already negotiated a bonus deal for that from Trident on top of her fee for you.  But as an added bonus, she has drained all your bank accounts, both here and offshore.’

Julie walked over and took the second drink and brought it back to Miriam as they clinked glasses and took a sip.  

‘Would you unzip me please,’ Miriam requested.  

Julie took the drinks, set them done and moved behind the woman then slowly unzipped her dress as they stared at him.

‘You believed everything I told you, that was a foolish mistake.  I’d been here a few days before, been to your office, met Miriam, we each knew the other instantly, met and came up with this plan.  She told me she didn’t trust you even of your plan to run off with her and all the money from the offshore accounts.  She knew that would be her death sentence.  We just replaced your plan with ours, so instead of you two killing me, well,  the death sentence remains; it's just been transferred to you instead of her, which you planned all along. When I met you I didn’t trust you either.  Money over title, who wants that, one brings the other without all the hard work all the time.  Then when I described all the tricks Miriam would play to get you wrapped around her finger you never looked embarrassed or incredulous like most men would have.  You much too willingly gave up your phone, allowing me not only access to the files I needed, but I suspected you had planted a tracking program in your phone to contact Miriam to let her know our location.  Congratulations, it worked,’ Julie said as she finished with the zipper and pulled it off the shoulders where Miriam took over and slid it off.

‘My, my, why did they ever let you retire?’ she breathed, giving a soft kiss to the shoulder before leaving to put on her clothes.

‘Goodbye sweetie,’ Julie said, giving him a soft kiss.  Don’t worry you're in deadly hands among other parts.