The big, bright, harvest moon hung low over the abandoned warehouse, casting a shadow over the lifeless street as Constance and Someone observed from a nearby rooftop.
“What a place to meet,” the former whispered, trying to lighten the mood, but the latter did not respond. This was their very first mission together as partners and Someone’s countenance towards Constance seemed to scream ‘absolutely annoyed’ from the very start. The plane ride over was quite awkward-- the hotel even more so. He was definitely a book shut tight, locked up with a key. To Constance, that meant a puzzle unsolved and she was determined to uncover every last secret he was hiding.
“So… are we going in?” she asked, but he only shushed her and kept his eyes tightly focused on the building in question.
“Thrill of the hunt, am I right?” she laughed pathetically, glancing over at him in sheer boredom.
Just then, the soft glow of candlelight illuminated one of the basement windows.
“The meeting has officially begun,” Someone said quietly, leaping up from his crouched position and heading over to the edge of the building they were perched upon. Constance hastily followed suit when Someone suddenly turned on his heels.
“Where are you going?” he huffed.
“With you? Duh,” she whispered back, rolling her eyes.
“I don’t need anybody babysitting me,” he said, turning back to the edge.
“I’m not babysitting you,” Constance said, “I’m your partner and I’m here to help you.”
“I told you. I don’t do partners,” Someone said dismissively, attaching his harness to begin descent.
“Like it or not, that’s exactly what I am,” Constance said, lowering down beside him, “You’re stuck with me. No more solo missions for you, bud.”
“You are NOT my partner,” Someone protested, coming to a halt, “As I’ve said multiple times, you are only an obligatory associate.”
“Whatever you call me, I’m going with you,” Constance said sternly.
“Okay. Look,” Someone exhaled in frustration, “If you really want to ‘help’, I suggest you stay back and keep watch from up there.”
“Keep watch for what, exactly? Clouds passing over the moon?” Constance scoffed, “I’m not some dummy you can just stick on ‘watcher duty’ no questions asked.”
“I didn’t say that,” Someone explained calmly, “It’s just… I know exactly what I’m doing here, but, if you make one mistake, it could ruin everything and put us both in grave danger.”
“So, you think I’m going to mess you up,” Constance said, quite offended.
“....perhaps...” Someone hesitated.
“For your information, hotshot, I’m no newbie,” Constance said defensively, “I’ve been part of this program longer than you have. I’m not going to get in your way, okay? As long as we communicate with each other, I’m sure it will all blow over smoothly.”
Someone only grunted and resumed scaling down the wall.
~~~
Concealed by the cloak of night, the two swiftly tiptoed over to the warehouse and identified a busted first-floor window to climb through. Someone immediately hoisted himself up, but Constance yanked him back abruptly before spraying a light mist into the opening.
“And what exactly was that supposed to be?” Someone asked in annoyance.
“Making sure there aren’t any hidden lasers?!” Constance whispered back harshly, “You can’t always jump into every situation headfirst, you know.”
“Says who?” Someone retorted, “It’s been working for me my entire life.”
“Sure it has,” Constance mumbled under her breath.
“And you didn’t even find any lasers, did you?” Someone continued grudgingly, pulling himself in through the broken window as Constance followed in silence, “That was a complete and utter waste of precious time.”
Together, they landed in a small room covered in graffiti. Someone began walking around, skimming his hand against the vandalized walls as if inspecting ancient runes. Constance ignored his strange behavior and decided to follow her ears instead, which lead her to a slotted vent cover in the floor.
“Hey!” she called quietly, drawing a recording device from her pocket, “If you listen closely, you can hear them plotting.”
“Perfect,” Someone smiled, gently pushing her aside and kneeling before the grate, “Our way in.”
“Way in?!” Constance gasped as he unscrewed and removed the cover, “What the heck are you doing?!”
“Our mission,” he replied casually, “Stopping them.”
“Stopping them?! What do you mean, stopping them?! We were only assigned to get deets on their scheme, which can clearly be done entirely from this room,” she murmured, “We don’t need a ‘way in’ anywhere. Let’s just record them and get the info back to HQ.”
“And let the next guys have a blast taking them down after we’ve done all the work?” Someone laughed, “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Fun?” she asked in disbelief.
“You don’t have to come along,” he winked, “Just stay here and keep watch.”
“Someone!” she whispered harshly as he disappeared into the hollow duct. With a deep sigh, she reluctantly crawled in after him.
~~~
The old, dark tunnels were filled with cobwebs, dust, mold spores, and bone-chilling drafts that made the sheet metal cold as ice. Constance fought hard not to cough, sneeze, or shiver. She could hardly see anything, but she heard the whispers growing louder and the subtle creaking of the panels as Someone crawled forward.
Suddenly, the working gave way, and the section of tunnel that held Someone bent downwards causing him to slide out onto the floor below. Constance quickly spread out her hands and feet to stop herself from tumbling out after him. From here, she watched wide-eyed as he popped up with his hands in surrender at the sound of cocking guns. She surmised he had fallen into a room full of guards. As she pondered what to do, Someone and the four guards had begun fighting each other in a wild dance. Someone was quick and clever, knocking the firearms away, delivering swift blows, and dodging forceful attacks.
Soon, one of the men managed to recover his weapon which prompted Someone to pause and throw up his hands again. The agent backed up so that his captor stood directly under the angled duct, a perfect chance for Constance to slide in. Drawing her blade, she swiftly accelerated down the hatch and landed upon the unexpecting fiend’s back. The gunman yelled in surprise, sending a round of bullets through rotting drywall and rusted pipes before falling to the cement floor. Constance lept up and brushed herself off with a cough as the newly ruptured lines filled the room with steam and the scent of gas.
“Thanks for the assist,” Someone smirked, heading towards the door at the end of the hall.
“Where are you going?” she asked, sheathing her knife, “They’re onto us and we’ve got to get out of here!”
“We can’t leave now,” Someone smiled, bracing himself to kick in the door, “We haven’t even crashed the party yet.”
“The party is over. The gunfire must have alerted them that something was wrong because I don’t hear them anymore,” Constance warned, “They’re probably making a clean getaway as we speak.”
“Or, they could be playing a little game of hide and go seek,” Someone jested, drawing his leg back, “I suppose there’s only one way to find out.”
“Wait! Someone, NO!” Constance gasped too late.
As soon as the door flung inward, the two beheld the empty room and the candle that sat upon the table at the center of it. Within seconds, the open flame caught onto the lingering gas and combusted.
~~~
As Constance came to, her chest heaved, her heart pounded in her ears, and a sharp pain panged through her body. Straining, she craned her neck to find herself pinned down with cinderblock and heavy slabs of stone. It felt as if a ghastly pair of fangs had pierced her side, spilling crimson blood onto the black fabric of her tactical suit.
“Someone?!” she cried in a hoarse, shaky voice as she attempted to claw her way out of the rubble, “SOMEONE...!?”
