Partners by Jaina Erin
	A slim brown-haired woman hurried through the night, dodging and avoiding any main roads or heavily populated sidewalks. It took a while in the deepening gloom to find the building she was looking for. Finally she located the door and crossed the street to test it. It was locked, but she had anticipated that. She pulled a small tool from her belt, then glanced around. She saw no one else in the empty street. Using one of the skills that had gotten her into the Agency, she opened the door easily in just a few minutes. She slipped in, turning to take a final glance at the deserted street. Ready for anything, she shut the door and made her way down the hall. The hall was floored with concrete, and when she reached the end she began to climb a set of stairs, yellow carpeting underfoot and orange flowered wallpaper on the walls. She crept down the remainder of the next hall, pausing long enough to make sure no one was in it before she did so, to a set of double doors. She tested them, her tools ready again just in case, but they were unlocked. Before proceeding she briefly recalled the map that all the operatives had memorized. After returning the lock pick to her belt, she carefully edged the right door open a little. The guard on the other side was right where he belonged- investigating an unusual alarm that had been triggered several floors above them, on the other side of the building. She allowed herself a grin as she pressed herself against the left door, then silently started to climb the four foot wide stairs- counting each in her mind until she reached fifteen, and the top. Upon reaching a balcony, she walked over to the finely polished wooden railing. Looking from her vantage point over the crowded party floor below, she spied her teammates. One, the latest addition to their group, was dancing in an expensive green silk ball gown that complimented her slim figure. Her partner, with whom she'd been paired nearly a year ago, was busy talking to several other men. Watching him carefully and concentrating on his actions, she pulled up a tight black sleeve and tapped a button on her watch. If this worked, she recalled from the briefing, his watch would start beeping abnormally. Thankfully it did, and he glanced down at it. After stopping his watch's beeping he scanned the left balcony, where she waited. Their eyes met for a split second, and then he turned his attention back to his companions. After a few minutes he excused himself, and began pushing through the crowd. As he neared the stairs someone stopped him and seemed to ask him a few questions. She sighed impatiently, hoping this person would move on quickly so they could finish this mission. Patience was not one of her virtues. Finally her partner headed to the stairs, slowly and casually. She left the railing in case someone was watching him climb, and waited against the wall. When he reached the balcony she beckoned needlessly to him. "Well?" she asked impatiently. "I have my part," he said as he reached into his right hand trousers pocket and fished out a large brass key. "You?" "I'm set," she replied, taking the key and slipping it into one of the assorted pouches on her belt. "We leave in half an hour. Wait near the corner of Baker and State streets. Good luck." With that he turned and headed back down to the party. "You too." She waited patiently, more so than she felt, until he was back to the party. When he was gone she turned and walked down the balcony, following her mental map. Five doors down from the balcony stairs was an English oak door, which was locked. She again pulled out her lockpick and used her skills to force the door open. The door swung ajar to reveal a hardwood-floored hall, with dark green wallpaper lining the walls. Seven doors down was a cherry door. Once through this she proceeded past three more doors into another hall, which had the same green wall paper but was lined with a flowery green carpet. There was but one door at the end. Pausing briefly to consult her mental map one last time, she retrieved the large brass key. She turned the key over in her hand thoughtfully, then unlocked the door. She stepped into a well-furnished office, letting the door shut softly behind her. What appeared to be mahogany bookshelves lined the walls in several spots, including between two tall, maroon, heavily curtianed windows. Busts of 'great' men filled the empty spots on the shelves, which were full of classics. The office was flooded with a thick dark red carpet, and a chandelier hung right above a massive mahogany desk which dominated the room. Everything in the room seemed to focus on that desk including, at the moment, her. She took her gloved hand from the brass door handle and walked over to the desk. She slid into a comfortable plush leather chair and glanced at her watch; exactly twenty minutes remained. She sifted through the drawers in front of her, but while the drawers had many things in them, she couldn't find the one item she was looking for. The possibility that the file wasn't there suddenly grew on her. She pushed the idea from her head and slouched back in her chair- thinking like that would get her nowhere. The strip between the wide pencil drawer and the desktop caught her eye, and she sat up abruptly. Gently she tapped what she thought was a hidden panel. So it is, she thought as she pried at it carefully. It gave, sliding out to reveal a long, thin drawer. Her self-confident smile returned as she pulled the drawer out and set it on top of the desk. Sifting through it, she quickly located the file and pulled it loose from the other papers in the drawer. After verifying the contents she set the folder on the desktop. From one of the pouches on her belt she pulled a small camera. She clicked it on and set it, then began taking pictures from various angles of the items in the folder. Another glance at her watch told her only thirteen minutes remained of her former half hour. Grimacing, she replaced the drawer. After filling the film, she shut off the camera, and pushed it back into its pouch. She stood up and scanned the room, making sure everything was as she found it. Satisfied, she walked over to the door, briefly entertaining the idea of purchasing such a carpet for her apartment, in a different color of course. Opening the door a crack she caught a brief glimpse of at least two people coming down the hall. Cursing under her breath she quickly shut the door, holding the handle to stop the click. Quietly she pressed herself against the wall. She pulled her handgun from its holster and cocked it. The door handle turned and her mouth became a tight line either from frusration, anger, or fear. Perhaps it was even a combination of the three. The door swung open as if someone was leaning against it, and a body fell into the room. The man was in the typical uniform that the guards wore. She nudged his body gently with a foot and stepped around the door. Not sure what to expect, she kept her gun up and ready. Her eyeline inching around the wood edge, she relaxed slightly as her grin began to return. She watched her partner knock out the other guard. "Nice work. Where's...?" she began. "Dead." He flatly interrupted. "Let's go." She nodded and tucked her gun away before kneeling over the man in the doorway. After she got a good grip on him she dragged him across the carpet to a closet in the office. The man was heavy, and fitting him into the closet was difficult, but she finally managed it by folding him into a sitting position and using her shoulder as leaverage. Her companion stuffed the other guard in and shut the door. There was no lock on the door, but she didn't have time to worry about that and the unconcious men. Soon the agents would be out of here. He left first, and she followed, locking the office door behind her. Hurrying down the halls together, she made a list of questions she would ask him when they had the time. When they came to the last hall she took two steps toward the stairs, then stopped. He saw them too; seven guards were walking up the stairs. Checking her mental map she headed toward the fire escape, sensing that her partner was following closely, sharing the same idea. The agents rushed down the steps two at a time then came back up just as fast. Coming up the fire escape were several more guards, guns drawn. They climbed rapidly, and she was once again thankful for all the time the Agency had spent drilling her in fitness. They stopped to catch their breath near a window, and he whispered that there were people coming down too. He glanced from the window to her, and back at the window, a plan forming in his mind, and reflecting on his face. He opened the window and looked out, then quickly and nimbly climbed out onto a thin ledge that ran along the side of the building. She quickly followed him, and they tested all the windows as they went along They finally found one that was ajar. He climbed in quickly, and led the way down the hall. After another brief sprint they reached the stairs she'd used earlier to enter the building. The pair ran down the concrete hall, their footsteps echoing as they went, into the cool night air, both breathing heavily after the chase. Checking her watch she noticed that almost 45 minutes had passed since she first entered the building. He led the way on to where their rental car had been parked, but suddenly stopped short in the alley entrance. She nearly ran into him before seeing the reason he'd stopped- there, in the alley, and going through the car and surrounding area, were more of the familiar guards. Cursing softly he crossed the street with her on his heels. After walking about ten blocks they hailed a taxi to take them back to the hotel. No one stopped the taxi on the way back. After paying the driver they hurried up to her room. Upon entering he hit the light switch as she pulled the shades down. She then tossed her camera and gun on the bed and headed for the bathroom. She emerged a short while later in a navy blue business suit, black, sensible, low heeled shoes and small earrings that were barely noticeable beneath her long flowing hair. She donned a black jacket as well. Her previously brown hair was now it's natural reddish color, and her once hazel eyes were now their normal dark green. She tossed the balled-up outfit she had been wearing into the bottom drawer of the hotel room's dresser, and emptied the pouches of the belt. She took the camera off the bed and removed it's film before placing it in one of the pouches, the brass key into another. She stuffed the belt in with the outfit, and shut the drawer. She stood and streched, slipped the gun into her purse also checking to see that another camera was in it. Just then her partner returned from a side room carrying his suitcase. He too had changed, from his tuxedo into a business suit. She tossed him the film which he neatly caught and slipped into one of the coat pockets. "Are you sure she's dead?" she asked, zipping her suitcase shut. "Positive. She took a bullet to the chest, and the shooter was rather accurate." He reopened the door and held it. "Will they be able to identify her?" She headed to the door. "I left her travel ID." "Ok. Travel arrangments?" She flipped the light switch off as she walked out the door. "I've booked us a plane to England. It leaves in half an hour." He shut the door behind them. "So, what exactly happened after you went downstairs?" She started slowly down the hall, looking at him curiously out of the corner of her eye. "I waited fifteen minutes, then according to plan tried to leave. On my way to the door the guards stopped me, saying that someone wanted a word with me. I went with them, and they took me upstairs. They tried to get her upstairs too, but she panicked, broke loose and started running off. One of the guards calmly pulled a gun and shot her just out of the sight of the crowd. The others started leading me up to where I knew you were, and at the most opportune moment I lashed out. Which was when you showed up." He caught up and walked alongside her as he explained, in his calm, confident voice. They checked out and took a taxi to the airport. After liftoff a flight attendant came over and asked if she could help them in any way. She asked if she could use her modem, which the attendant confirmed she could. When the attendant left she started up her laptop and accessed her email account, finding nothing new but a single note reading urgent. Clicking on it she shook her head in amazement at how fast word can travel. It was brief, six words, but enough to get her to laugh, as well as instruct them both on their next course of action. Her partner, always one for a good laugh, turned to stare at her. "What?" "A note from HQ. It reads 'Congratulations. Call when you get home.'" She deleted the message. "Well James, we did it," she said smiling with both relief and satisfaction. "We haven't done anything until we get home, Jessica," he replied, not seeing what she found so humorous. James Pierce leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Jessica Spencer stiffled a yawn and shut down the laptop. She then settled in to enjoy the flight until she too fell asleep.