Monday 10 September 2007

Short: Assignment

"The rain ceases for no man.. It pours out from the heavens like a torrent of crystal, unrelenting.. & paying no heed to the command of kings, rulers or the governments of this world.." the man muttered to himself as he stood perched on the side of a roof spire, high above the skyline of Quaternion city. He was a mercenary once but fate had led his services toward a much more ideologically-motivated group. He never imagined his journey would have brought him this far. Being hated, loathed and despised by society out of a preconceived notion that the Freemen's agendas were politically motivated out of the desire for terror & to make innocent peoples' lives worse rather than better. The influences of JUDGE shielded the populous from the truth & it's hold on media, communication & public opinion filled every corner of the city with hate-filled propaganda directed at thwarting the Freemen's activities..

The man lifted his arm and used his glove to wipe the rain from off his brow so that he could get a good look at his target; a senior official of JUDGE's Advanced Technology Group (ATG), Emmet Lieberman. Lieberman convened at the Harper Hotel once a quarter, meeting with other ATG officials to discuss projects & new developments the organization had planned for the the next period. Emmet was the vice chairman of the board of directors for the group & his main responsibilities lay in the production of advanced weapons & technology research. It was clear that his loss would prove a major blow against the ATG & JUDGE & would severely slow down the roll out of new anti-personnel Security Assault Suits they'd been piloting. The first few tests proved concerning when the first security squad equipped with them in the field incurred a malfunction in one of the units which concluded in several civilian casualties & the death of the pilot. As a precautionary measure the units were brought back in & all major deployment postponed until the defects had been identified & corrected.

With his eyes fixed firmly down the barrel of his rifle the mercenary lined up his aim towards the hotel window where Mr Lieberman stood inside, facing a table full of businessmen. The shooter took a deep breath, pulled down the pressure release vent & flipped off the safety before pressing his finger firmly on the trigger..

A split second.. A single shot..

In a flash the bolt was sent racing across the skyline, a mile distance became a mere meter in an instant.. As the shot pierced the 4 inch thick reinforced glass window the entire pane erupted in a shower of fragments.. With no time to react the room was filled with debris & blood as every member of the table was forced out of their chairs by the array of shards colliding with them all over.. As they came to their sense & realized what had happened, panic & hysteria set in as they leapt out of their seats, scurrying to and fro, frantically ducking out of sight of the possible shooter & making for the fire escape.. An alarm sounded & screams & wails could be heard as security beacons were raised & guards on sight rushed up the stairs & lift in the hopes of discovering the cause of the commotion. As the dust & debris settled the room was still.. Lifeless & empty save but one silent, mortal body, draped face-flat across the table in a pool of blood..