Crimson Missions

Crimson Missions

Chapter one: Disappoint

Surrounded by glass on all four walls she sat unmoving until the lights flared on in her cell. In walked a man decked from head to foot in black.

A head of missions.

There were no formalities, there was no eye contact. The same as always, no E7 had that right.

“This is your mission Ruby; you are to get to this box from the place indicated inside this envelope. You mustn’t be seen, or heard. This box is crucial to the mission do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Get in and get out. You and Eric are on this mission together. Don’t disappoint.”

Despite hearing her partner’s identity she nodded again.
She didn’t intend to.

Handing her an envelope with information, she was alone again as he walked out the same iron doors he came. The little manila envelope in her hand held the thing she would risk her life for. She tore it open. Inside the photograph of an old man immediately became imprinted in her system along with the Club behind him. The neon sign read out “The Red Robin”. The tiny complex above was sticking out like a sore thumb. There, that was where her target lay. She didn’t know what was inside the box; she didn’t even know the man. But none of that mattered.

Only the mission mattered.

---

“You got some ID?”

The petite fingers flashed a card in front of the bouncer’s eyes and he let her by, unclipping the red rope to the entrance. His eyes followed her in her red flowing dress that hugged her every curve.

The blaring lights and music echoed around her. Drunken couples waved glasses dancing to the beat. Her irises briefly lingered on the exits blinking at every one.

Click.

The barrette that lay in her hair opened and closed in a millisecond. Not one person around her noticed in the changing lights of the Robin. A rainbow of sound and light, she might as well have been invisible.

*Are you getting all this?*

+ Yes. Keep your guard; I see some shady characters by the DJ. +

*I can handle myself Eric. You’re forgetting who you’re talking to.*

The exits were all fairly simple; windows in the far corner by the bar were the most secluded. And the door with the glittering exit sign on the far end stood out like a beacon. In a crowd of panicking drunks one woman in red heels would slip away without suspicion if all went well. There was a stairwell leading up to the apartment complex where she needed to be. The only problem was the nearly seven foot tall guard blocking her path.

+The only way into the complex is through that stairwell. There’s too much security around the outside of the building. Your best bet is getting past the one. +

*There aren’t any escape ladders on the side of the building?*

+...No. I just scanned the area. Camera’s at every window. +

*Lovely.*

“Hey there sugar you wanna dance?”

A hand grabbed at her shoulder from behind.
She turned smiling, at the man whose hand now rested on her shoulder.

*His hand is touching me...*

Her fingers flexed, and the rings on her fingers buzzed to life, static pulsating through them.

+ Just keep your cool Ruby, focus on the plan. Use him. +

Her fingers relaxed again as she forced her temper to simmer.

*Right.*

She needed a way into the rooms upstairs without raising suspicion. In a crowded Club with hundreds of dancers she could sneak away in a trice if she had reason. There was only one way and though she loathed it, she had to.

Her sparkling smile never faltered as she serenely slipped her shoulder away from his touch as she turned. She curved the inside of her hand at his neck and pulled him to her face. Bating her eyelashes she giggled idiotically and kissed his lips. She watched his dumbfounded face slowly twisted into a smile.

*Fowl. Disgusting. Booze breathe...*

But it worked.

+Brilliant. +

She walked through the crowd of onlookers and smiled sweetly, purposefully at the guard blocking the entryway. He looked from her to the man and watched as her pawn planted a small wad of cash discreetly into his palm.

His bulky body moved to the side, a smirk on his face.

“You kids have fun.”

As the door swung closed behind them and the music became a dull pulsing the farther they walked her own smile grew to match the guards.

*I’m in.*

In front of her a golden carpet gleamed inside that cut off at another door that could only lead to the apartment.

“So sugar where shall we...”

His voice trailed off as she turned and wrapped her hand around the side of his face, leaning in closer. She lifted her hand to the side of her ear and pressed the back holding her breath as the white haze sprayed directly into his lungs. His arms slipped from her hips and she stepped back letting him crumble onto the floor.

*Goodnight sugar.*

Stepping over him she took off her heels and let her red dress fall. Underneath she was covered by a black suit with pockets at her sides holding every toy she would ever need to keep her invisible.

*Where to now?*

+ Just follow the yellow brick road sugar. +

*Say that again and you won’t have teeth after this mission is over.*

He heard him chuckle in her head.

"Ruby, you know the mission rules."

"I do, and I also know its about time I broke them."

She squeezed her eyes shut, cutting off contact.

*I’m done with you.*

She grabbed the door but it was locked.
She grinned realizing she had found her first challenge.

*Amateurs...*

Her hand dived in her pocket and flipped out a miniature pocket knife and slid it through the crack that ran along the side of the door. Her grin once again appeared on her face hearing the bolt click open.

* Too easy. *

The door creaked open and she poked her head inside. The door lead into a hallway...a hallway she couldn’t see the end to.
Her footsteps tiptoed lightly on the hardwood floor, any little slipup and discovery was immanent. Irika spread her fingers out blindly feeling her way through the empty space.

The farther into the hallway she got the darker it became.
He fingers glided along the walls until they collided with something edgy and rough on her skin. Capturing what felt like a handle in her grasp she started to pull it open. She brought her fingers to an abrupt stop feeling the buzz of an electric current.
Flexing her fingers again the static buzzed from her rings and the two forces canceled each other out.

One more door gone.

Her eyes scanned the room and settled on trivial things, a lamp, an old rug, and an old pinball machine. It seemed normal enough, just another dingy apartment.

*How stupid does he think I really am?*

Pulling down her shades from her head the room was suddenly like it was in a black and white film. Numbers flickered past the screen pointing out frequencies and dangers. Her grin faded into a low frown. This wasn’t going to be as simplistic as she had hoped.

*Well well well, it seems the old man has a few tricks up his sleeves.*

The pinball game was rigged to shoot darts from the coin slot the second she passed through the door, poisoned no doubt. The floor had ultra sensitive sensors lined around it; even a fly landing on it would trigger the pinball machine. And that lamp, the inside of the shade had a hidden motion detector and a minuscule camera to film her every move.

*An awful lot of protection for some old geezer...*

She pulled out a small tube from within her pockets and pulled at the cap with her teeth. Biting at the cap with her teeth she shook it and it glowed instantly to a fluorescent purple. There were weak spots along the ceiling- areas the camera couldn’t reach. Her eyes trailed along the ceiling and calculated how sturdy it was. She pulled out a grappling hook from her breast pocket and fingered it in her palm. With the hook attached to the roof, the floor sensors could be just as easily avoided. If it would hold her weight that is…

The danger warnings blared in her head. She blinked and all noise ceased to exist.

Hopefully she wouldn’t disappoint.


This is not finished it is just the first chapter, I will add more later*