Flight of Fancy

Dawson was given new orders. They were to install cameras throughout the property of David’s family, preferably in the house as well. They had all the right documents, so even if the family discovered the tiny cameras by any chance, there would be no repercussions.

Dawson was so eager to finally get back to work that he was already working on a plan. First, they would go in at night and install cameras all over the property, hopefully without being seen or caught. Then they would watch the camera stream and when the entire family is out, they would place cameras in the house itself. It was doable and Dawson had already called his team to his room to tell them about their new mission.

There was a knock on his door.

“Come in,” he said.

All three of them entered the room and waited for their orders.

“We’ve been given new orders,” explained Dawson. “We are to install cameras all over the property of David’s parents – anywhere and everywhere. We are not sparing any costs, so we need to cover the entire area. For the time being, we will only observe the property, however once the family is out of the house, we will put cameras in the house as well. They’re bound to go out after dark. It is practically Winter, after all. We’re going in tonight, about 3 in the morning local time, under cover of night. You three coordinate amongst yourself which parts of the property you will cover, so you don’t get in each other’s way. We will park down by their forest and you three make your way up toward the house. If you get caught, just tell them you’re doing another search of the property. If they want to see the papers, I will bring them. However, I would rather that you didn’t get caught, so be extra careful. Once the mission is complete, make your way back to the vehicle and we will make our way back home to start the surveillance. I don’t need to emphasise that camouflage gear is not optional.”

The team nodded, which concluded the meeting.

“Are there any questions?” asked Dawson, already knowing the answer. The agents merely shook their heads.

“Okay,” said Dawson. “Go and coordinate the plan between yourselves and we will meet in my room at three in the morning.”

The team acknowledged his orders and quietly left his room. Although he wouldn’t be doing much, it was good to be back in the helm, once again doing something productive.

His team arrived at his room at 2:55AM. There wasn’t a single moment in their mission when the agents were waning or showing signs of fatigue. They were the consummate professionals, almost to a degree where Dawson felt they might actually be robots. The only worry in his mind was Jane Kemp. She was a bit too clever for his liking and he would need to keep an eye on her.

She probably knows her place.

It was likely that her experience had given her the advantage in certain areas, however Dawson was fairly certain she wouldn’t overstep her boundaries. Just in case, he would keep a closer watch to see if she posed any real threat to him.

As the agents piled around him, waiting for him to tell them what to do like good robots, Dawson had a feeling of being at the right place, like this was what he was destined to do.

I am a leader of men.

While others craved to merely follow, he was designed to give orders. While the irony that he was also following orders wasn’t completely lost on him, he explained it to himself that it was just the pecking order and one day he would be nearer to the top and wouldn’t answer to anyone.

“Have you done all the preparations?” he asked his team. They all nodded and that was all he needed. They were a well-oiled machine and there wasn’t any time to go over it again. There was no reason to mistrust them.

“Alright then, let’s go,” he said and the team followed him downstairs and into the car.

They drove their standard route and down the treacherous field full of holes, however Laura made it all look effortless, especially considering she wasn’t using her headlights. She parked the car and the team scattered out of the car, reading rearing to go.

“You know what you have to do,” said Dawson. “I’ll stay here and observe you on the computer. You all have your earpieces, so if I see something you happen to miss, I’ll let you know, or in case one of you needs backup. Okay, off you go.”

They each went their own way in the dark. They were equipped with thermal goggles and the best equipment their agency had at their disposal.

There shouldn’t be any problems.

Dawson sat down in the front seat and flipped the laptop open. He turned on the camera feed from the cameras on the agents’ heads. He could switch from normal vision to thermal vision. He was observing all three at the same time. There didn’t appear to be any difficulties yet. Jane was going around the other side of the field now, past the apple trees and to the large piggery. Glenn, on the other hand, was heading toward the cowshed on the opposite side with Jane closely at his heels. He couldn’t believe how little noise they were making. The cameras had microphones in them and they could pick up the lightest murmur, yet Dawson could hardly hear anything, perhaps only the lightest rustling of the agents’ shoes on the grass. As Glenn and Laura were approaching the buildings, Glenn headed for the cowshed, while Laura went to the barn and around the house. Dawson was mesmerised by their movements.

It’s like poetry in motion.

Jane was now approaching the piggery and Dawson could pick up a heat signature ahead of her. He was looking at it for a while, switching from normal to thermal vision, then finally deciding that it was a dog.

This could be tricky.

David’s family did have a rather big terrier dog and they were known as being quite a protective breed. There was no way of telling if this was the family dog, as it seemed to be normal in this country to let their dogs roam free, especially in the more rural areas.

Fucking savages!

Looking at the camera, it was clear that the dog was in front of her, not retreating, but rather considering its options. Jane had drawn her gun.

“We don’t want any attention, Jane,” he whispered into the microphone and Jane holstered the gun again, taking out a large military knife instead. The piggery was rather close to the house, so any noise might be heard by the family. Dawson could call for backup, but he enjoyed seeing Jane in trouble, especially because she posed somewhat of a threat to him.

It might not even be bad if she got killed by the dog.

He didn’t believe that would happen. Jane was too capable for that, but it would remove a thorn in his side. Still, he wasn’t sure she was truly doing anything to jeopardise his position and he needed all the agents he had.

Jane was now approaching the dog, ready for combat. She wasn’t trying to go around, but was instead headed straight for the beast.

Here it comes.

As she approached the terrier, she didn’t even flinch. The dog sniffed her, wagged its tail and remained in place. As Jane was moving away from it, she kept her sight on it, in case it decided to jump her from behind. The dog, however, didn’t seem to interested and after looking at Jane for a while moved away into another direction.

Good.

Even if getting rid of Jane would have been good for his ego, it wouldn’t be good for the overall mission and it wouldn’t look good on the report.

He now watched Glenn and Laura, checking if they were doing okay. There seemed to be no problems and he just let them get on with it.

“Be careful of a large dog roaming the premises,” he whispered to all three of them. “It seems to be harmless, but just watch your backs.”

That would keep them on guard and would avoid any nasty accident or waking up the family, which seemed blissfully unaware of their presence. The agents had apparently finished with their plan and were heading back. Dawson was checking on the agents’ cameras for any sign of the dog.

Nothing.

He also switched on the newly set up surveillance system on the premises and could see no sign of the beast that had been in Jane’s way. It was nowhere to be seen. It was probably some other farmer’s dog which had come here on its nightly stroll.

The agents were now returning to the car, still moving around their axis in case a potential foe was coming from any direction. Once they were by the car, they opened the doors and sat in their usual seats, saying nothing. Laura started the car gently and they headed back to the hotel for a much deserved rest. It was 3:35AM.