Karma looked at his watch. It was 7:30 a.m. There was no time like the present. He only had a few minutes until Freeman busted him on his plan. Karma walked back to the Armory and looked at Jynx. She was sitting in a chair with her back to the door. He kicked the back of her chair and said, "Hey, are you ready to go?"
Jynx turned around and looked up at him, "Go? Go where?"
"Go to work. Get out in the field. Do the whole espionage thing. All recruits get paired with an agent and you are coming with me. Chop, chop."
Jynx was confused but she stood up and said, "Umm, I thought Freeman said I was paired with Virgo."
"Virgo's dead. You are my recruit now." Karma looked at her bare feet and said, "You are going to need your things and probably some shoes."
Jynx looked at her feet then walked to the counter and put her socks and sneakers on. Karma watched as she got her stuff ready. She looked back at Karma and asked, "I am still a bit confused, does Freeman know about this?"
Karma shook his head, "No, that is why we are on a limited time pan here." I am switching recruits and you are coming with me. Unless you really enjoy cleaning weapons? If that is true you can stay here for the next 6 months for all I care."
Jynx finally understood. Karma was switching partners without permission. She weighed her options for a whole two seconds then ran out to the sleeping area and grabbed her bag off the cot. Jynx looked at the guns in the Armory and asked, "Alright spymaster. Which one should I bring?"
Karma looked at her and said, "Spymaster? No thank you. As for the guns, none. You will be handling a pair of binoculars for this mission. Plus, since you are a recruit, we have to make sure you can handle yourself first before we send you out with a rocket launcher. This is some basic spy stuff. I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you. Are you ready to go?"
Karma left the Armory as Jynx followed him. He looked to the Intel Room as he walked by. Freeman was still on the phone. Opal was still reading over the material. That's good. Once at the end of the hallway, Karma opened the door to the equipment room. As usual the equipment was stored all over the place. A high level of organization was clearly not a priority. Karma pointed to the storage shelves and said, "We need two cameras with film, two tripods, and at least one telescope." Karma pulled some luggage out of the closest. And opened it up. He said, "The tripods go in with the telescope. We will put the cameras in our personal bags. You know why?"
Jynx thought for a second then said, "So we look like tourists?"
Karma nodded as he put the telescope into the luggage, then he said, "Yes, if we carry the tripods and telescopes, we are spies. But if we are caught with cameras, we are tourists." Karma opened a drawer and rooted around until he found the lockpicking kits. He took two of them and hid them in his personal bag. Once everything was packed up, they carried the luggage to the garage. Karma looked at the black Lincoln Town Car. Where are all the nice cars? He walked over to the Lincoln Town Car and opened the trunk. With one motion he tossed the luggage in the back of the car and said, "Get in."
With the roar of the engine, Karma started the car while Jynx jumped into the passenger seat. She seemed genuinely excited as she said, "You drive, I shoot." She smiled as she pointed finger guns at him. Karma thought, oh my god, she has the mind of a child. He slammed his foot onto the accelerator as he drove the car out of the garage and sped down the road.
Karma was quick to dismiss this attitude, "Don't do that. You don't make finger guns to a person ACTUALLY carrying a gun. It is considered a threatening action. You know what, right now I am making you some ground rules. Rules for you to remember. Just three rules. That's it. I would tell you to write them down, but I didn't bring along any crayons."
Jynx threw a fake smile at him and said, "Oh, you're funny." Jynx turned sideways to listen to him. "Okay, hit me with your super important rules."
Karma drove out of the garage and down the alleyway. Then he said, "Rule number one, no James Bond references. No references to fast cars or fighting in business suits. This is not a movie. No spy would use the same code name for 20 years and still be able to walk the streets without getting shot. That's just stupid. If he was a real person, he would be the most well-known spy in the industry. It is a walking contradiction."
Jynx nodded and said, "Okay, no Bond references."
"Good, rule number two. No finger guns. Finger guns are reserved for high school students and poorly written sitcoms."
Jynx waited, then finally asked, "Okay, what is rule number three?"
Karma smiled and said, "Rule number three is... This is espionage. We break all the rules. We steal. We kill. We break the law. The laws apply to everyone, but if we follow the law then we can't do our job. Understand?"
"So, the rules are… No bond references, no finger guns, and break all the rules." Jynx almost immediately pulled out a finger gun and pointed it at Karma.
Karma rolled his eyes, "It has only been five minutes. Don't make me regret taking you on as my recruit."
"Why did you take me on as a recruit?" Jynx crossed her arm, "What is the excuse you are going to give Freeman when he finds out I am gone?"
"Virgo was a friend. We worked together for years. We shared a lot of laughs. I could always count on her to tell me the truth, even when I didn't want to hear it." Karma paused for a moment, reflecting on Virgo's memories. He shook it off and continued, "If Freeman thought you were a good match for her, then maybe I can tolerate you too."
"She was that good of a friend?"
"Yes," Karma quickly changed the subject. "Enough about me. Why did you become an agent?"
Jynx turned sideways in the seat and said, "Oh that is a story in itself. Do you want the long version or the short version?"
Karma answered her, "Short. In fact, if you can cut it down to 3 words or less, I would be happy."
Jynx thought for a second, then she said, "Military, Medical, Money. How is that for the short version?"
Karma shrugged and said, "Good enough, I guess. Everyone has their reason for joining."
Jynx responded, "Your turn. Why did you join?"
Karma returned the question, "Do you want the long version or the short version?"
"Long. I want the full story of your life. Including childhood phobias." Jynx said with a smile.
Karma shook his head and said, "No can do. People like me don't have stories or phobias. It just lies on top of lies. If you are lucky someday the government will declassify everything Mirage has done, then Hollywood can make a movie out of it. You will be played by some unknown actress on her rise to stardom. She will get more recognition than you ever will."
Jynx didn't respond, she reached over and turned the radio on. The radio began blaring gibberish as she changed stations. Eventually she stopped at a station playing music. Before the music could be recognized Karma pushed the power button to turn it off. "No radio, we are starting your training right now."
Jynx sighed with frustration, then she said, "We can't listen to music while we train?"
"No, you can't listen and learn at the same time. Your brain is a simple device." Karma made a left turn and said, "There should be a map in the glove compartment. That is your training aid."
Jynx opened the glove box and looked at the map. Then she said, "How am I supposed to train with this? Do you need me to navigate?"
He said, "No, I have been there before. Graz, Austria. You can read the map. Know it. Love it. 90% of this job is being in the right time at the right location. If you know the town, the streets, the layout, you are at an advantage. No one can corner you in a town that you know inside and out. Understand?"
Jynx read the map for a second then replied, "I guess so, how long have you been an Agent?"
Without taking his eyes off the road he said, "10 years going on 11. By the way, we don't say the word Agent while we are outside of HQ. That is what the code names are for. If someone hears you say Agent, they already know you are a spy or worse."
Jynx sarcastically said, "Yes, you are right. Karma is a perfectly normal Hungarian name. No one would think you are a spy with a name like that."
Jynx nodded, "We should make up new code names for each other."
Karma nodded and said, "We already have code names, but sure, why not?" I will call you, Walkie Talkie."
Jynx gave him a look and then said, "How about I call you… Old man?"
"Ouch, that's fine with me. I will start calling you Toddler."
Jynx looked back to the map and asked, "Was Virgo as much of a pain in the ass as you? Did I just trade up or down?"
Karma didn't say anything for a moment. Then, without taking his eyes off the road, he said, "You traded down. Virgo was a saint… And a damn good friend."
Jynx instantly realized she shouldn't have brought up Virgo. Clearly Karma and Virgo were close. She said, "Sorry," then she looked back at the map and measured the distance in her mind, "It's only a few hundred miles from here to Graz?"
Karma nodded and said, "It's not very often that we can drive to job sites like this. Freeman doesn't provide itinerary for flights. Luckily, Graz is only 300 miles away. We don't have to charter a plane or hide our telescopes in our luggage." Karma's mind still lingered on Virgo. He looked at Jynx and said, "Read the map, I will quiz you on it in a bit."
Jynx nodded and looked at the map and said, "Oh, quizzes, this is the life of danger I was hoping for."
Karma wasn't actually going to quiz her. He just wanted to end the conversation. He thought about the last time he and Virgo talked. What did they talk about? He couldn't remember. Sad. Back in the moment, Karma focused on the road. It was a long drive. If they were lucky they would make it there by noon.
Minutes turned into hours. They were approaching the border soon. Jynx eventually stopped reading the map and looked out at the landscape. Karma looked at her as she gazed into the wild unknown. She had clearly never traveled much before. She noticed the flashing lines and cars ahead. Jynx looked at Karma and asked, "What is going on?"
"Border crossing." Karma reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet and passport. Then he said, "I hope you have your passport." Jynx opened her bag and pulled out her passport. She handed it to Karma as they approached the guards. The Border Guards were armed with AK47s. Ready for anything. Karma pulled the vehicle up to the guard shack and rolled down the window. He said in broken German, "Hello, we come to Austria?" He held two passports out the window.
They made small talk for a moment then the guard handed the passports back. Karma smiled and drove away. Border crossing was less painful than going through Customs at the airport. As long as you have a good story that is. Karma handed Jynx's passport back and said, "We pay a fortune for our fake IDs. I don't think they even question it as long as they look good."
Jynx asked, "What happens when they think your ID is fake?"
"Strip searching, beatings, questioning, nothing good." Karma said as he drove away from the border. "The best thing you can use against them is a solid story. If you and I get questioned, they will question us separately. We have to use the same story."
"So, do we have a story? Like a cover story if people question us?" Jynx asked.
Karma bobbed his head left and right, "Not really. We didn't have time to think of one. If they asked, I was going to say you are my estranged niece."
"Well, that is a shitty cover story. Anyone with half a brain would know better." Jynx opened her passport and pointed to the age. "My passport says I am 26 years old. What is a 26-year-old doing hanging out with her uncle?"
Karma agreed, "Yeah, it was the best I could think of on the spot. Besides, you don't look 26. Maybe Freeman thought it was more believable?"
It really lit a fire under Jynx. She fired back, "Listen to you judging MY age, old man. I bet yours says 45 or something like that?"
Karma shook his head, "If you attempt to call me an old man to hurt my feelings, you should know I don't have any feelings. Freeman usually adds a few years, so your passport stays relevant longer. The older you get the less likely you are to have a brand new, clean passport."
Jynx did the math in her head then asked, "I can put the pieces together to figure out how old you are. Hypothetically let's say you started when you were about 22 to 25 years old? You already told me that you have been doing this for 10 years. So, if my math is correct then you are an old man. Right Spymaster?"
Karma rolled his eyes. Then he said, "I am not NOR have ever been considered a master of spies. So, you can do me a favor and stop with the "spymaster" title. It's not an actual title and it sounds dumb."
Jynx was clearly enjoying annoying him, she asked, "You fit the title so well though. Apex said that you were an asshole, but he didn't know anyone who had been in this business for as long as you have. How did you get into the business?"
"I am a veteran." Karma said without taking his eyes off the road. "They were looking for people skilled with guns. Here I am."
Jynx was surprised. She said, "So you were in the military for 4 years, that is the standard. So, you left at age 22 or so. That would make you 32 right now. How close am I?" Karma did not respond. He kept driving hoping that she would just stop talking. Jynx did not. She said, "We kind of have the same story... kind of. I have been shooting guns since I was 4 years old. The military was a logical choice. That's how they picked me for Armory duty. While I was there, I heard stories about you. Sidewinder, Apex, everyone had a story about Baker/Karma."
Karma nodded, "We all have stories about each other. I have worked with some of these clowns for a long time. Each one is different and better for some jobs than others. Let's take Apex as an example. He's all business, no fun. He has eyes on the back of his head. His favorite weapon is his fist. He never found a face he didn't want to punch. He is the one to send on the dangerous missions. They are also the ones he prefers."
"Yeah," Jynx confirmed, "I kind of got that feeling from him. He kind of reminds me of you but more… angrier."
Karma agreed, "Freeman says he has a Latin temper. Kind of funny because if I acted that way, people would just say I was an asshole. It's even harder to imagine him taking on a recruit."
Karma thought about the team then said, "Sidewinder is the polar opposite. He loves the easy mission and coming back to tell everyone how great he did. He is kind of full of himself. His favorite weapon is charisma. If his job is to steal files from someone's office, he hits on the secretary and takes her home at the end of the day. He puts her into a sex coma then steals her keys. He makes a copy and the keys and steals the information the next day."
Jynx seemed shocked, "Wow, that is some dedication to the job. I talked to him while I was cleaning weapons in the armory. Sidewinder and Encore have been partners for over a month. If Sidewinder teaches Encore everything he knows, then we will have 2 playboys running around HQ."
"Yeah, if he does it will be a total nightmare. Too much ego, not enough space to hold their massive heads." Karma drove past the sign that read Graz 50 miles. Then he said, "Indigo is a different story. Her father was shot in Berlin. So, she has a special hatred for the Soviets. She is a people person. Great for interrogation and intel collection. If she had a favorite weapon, it would be the hot poker. Give her five minutes of questioning anyone and she will have right answers. On the downside, she has a soft spot for women and children."
"You make it sound like that is a weakness."
"In this business, it is." Karma confirmed, "Despite what anyone tells you, remember everyone is expendable. The Government sees you as expendable. When it comes down to the wire, even Freeman sees you as expendable. If an agent is caught by Exstrusis Agents or worse, Agent Death himself… You're dead. The mission always comes first. Safety comes second. Always. You have to be able to do the right thing."
Jynx didn't say anything to that. It was a lot to take in. Karma could remember the day he realized the intel you gathered was worth more than your life. But that is the name of the business. It has its perks and its weaknesses. After a few minutes, Karma broke the silence by saying, "Sorry, this might be a lot to take in on the first day. I have known the crew for a long time, and I just wanted to give you some background."
She nodded, "Yeah, Indigo and Sidewinder told me about you too." Jynx thought for a second and said, "Let me think… Indigo said Freeman is your long-lost brother. Sidewinder said he witnessed you kill three people with a single shot." Then Jynx added sarcastically, "And… and I think Sidewinder mentioned that you slept with Apex's sister." Jynx looked at him with a smirk.
Still driving, Karma changed lanes and said, "Allow me to kill the rumor mill before they get out of hand. Freeman and I are not brothers, Sidewinder saw nothing at all…" Karma was silent for a moment. Then he said, "and Apex's sister and I are just friends."
Jynx smiled and said, "Well, I don't want to break rule number one, so I will just say for the first time since I met you, you are starting to sound like a certain someone who plays in his own self-titled movies."
Karma looked at her. He looked back at the road and said, "I'll be damned. This is the first time I have seen you smile since we met. I was starting to wonder if you had the ability."
Her smile grew bigger as she said, "Don't get used to it. I am still mad at you for stealing my job."
After hearing this again, Karma grew frustrated, "Nobody stole anything. Jobs are assigned by the handler. Your job was handed down to me before I even left Boston. By the time you get a few years under your belt, you will forget 90% of the boring surveillance jobs."
Jynx started a new line of questioning, "What were you doing in Boston?"
Karma sharply replied, "Recovering from getting shot in Operation Bagman. If it was important, I am sure someone would have told you about it by now."
"Why Boston though?" Jynx asked, "Is that where you are from?"
"No, Freeman doesn't know where I am from. But he thinks Boston is near my family, so he sends me to Boston." Karma replied. He was ready for the conversation to be over.
Jynx had more questions, "Why don't you just change it to your actual home? Maybe tell Freeman the truth?"
Freeman looked at the map still in her hand. Then he said, "Do you see my face? My face right now?"
"Yes."
"That's the problem," Karma pointed to the map and said, "You are focusing on me and not on the map. How many miles are there until we are in Graz?"
Jynx looked at the map and said, "I have no idea."
"You had better get an idea." Karma pointed at the mountains in the distance. Then he said, "I want to know how to get to Graz. If the car died right here, right now. How many miles would we have to walk? This is training. Get to training."
They continued to have light conversations as they drove. Within another hour they arrived at their destination. Graz, Austria. Jynx's head was on a swivel. She had never been to this town before. Foreign culture, trollies in the street. Even Karma admired the fine architecture of the larger buildings. Karma looked at Jynx as she was taking it all in. Then he said, "Good job, you look and act just like a tourist." Jynx threw a funny face but didn't respond to him. She didn't want to ruin the moment.
Karma pulled over at a store and grabbed his wallet. He handed Jynx a hundred dollars and said, "This is your first task. Go get us some food. Something that will last us a few days. Do you think you can do that?" Jynx took the money with a smile and a wink. She jumped out of the car and ran into the store. Karma just watched as she left. Her enthusiasm was a nice change of pace. He had been burned out for so long it was good to see someone who had the energy for the business. Freeman wouldn't be too happy that he took Jynx instead of Opal. But it was too late to worry about it now.
5 minutes passed by as Karma waited. Then 10 minutes. How much was she buying? Jynx returned to the car with a single bag of food. Karma waited until she was in the car and the door was closed to say, "Did you get lost?"
"Yes, actually." Jynx put the food down as she put her seatbelt on. Then she said, "These stores are completely different to the ones in the U.S. Did you know that Lays potato chips are called Walkers here? Isn't that strange? Everything is renamed. It's like a new world or something."
Karma was less excited than she was. Then he said, "You will get used to it. Put the food in your personal bag, mine is almost full."
Karma drove the car downtown to the business district. The beautiful streets quickly turned grimy. Stopping at an intersection, Jynx spotted a prostitute on the street corner. "I am not sure if this is the part of town tourists would hang out."
Karma looked around and said, "It's not, but the job is close by." He drove through the intersection and looked at the building. Without looking, Karma reached down to the middle of the console and handed Jynx a pair of sunglasses. "Put these on. We are getting ready to drive by the place."
Jynx put the glasses on and looked at Karma. She anxiously asked, "Which one is it?"
Karma did not take his eyes off the road, and he said, "Don't turn your head. Watch the road. Then look with your eyes, not with your head. Up ahead another half a block, do you see the ugly brown building on the left?"
Jynx didn't say anything for a second then said, "I see it. It is not much of a fancy building. What kind of evil activity is going on there?"
"That's what we are here to find out." Karma turned right at the intersection before the target building. He pulled into the back alley and parked. "The buildings across from there have a few empty floors that we can use. I am sure you read all that in the mission report. Right?" Jynx nodded but didn't say anything.
Karma got out of the car and grabbed his personal bag. The second building is from the end of the block. He looked left and right for witnesses as he walked over to the service entrance. Jynx was right behind him. He pushed on the door. Locked. Karma took off his bag and pulled out one of his lock picking kits. Jynx watched him while also keeping an eye out. Within a few seconds, he picked the lock and walked into the building like he owned the place. He turned back to Jynx and said, "I will clear the way. You grab the gear. Meet me on the 3rd floor."
The bottom floor has some boxes and construction equipment lining the walls. There were no people though. This was a good sign. To the left, Karma spotted the stairs. Climbing the stairway, he passed by some civilians. They were clearly employees or something, they didn't pay him any mind. Finally on the 3rd floor he tried the door. Locked again. Such high security around here. He waited for the coast to clear, then he pulled out the lockpick and went to work on the door. Once again, the lock was an easy pick as he entered the long hallway. He took off one of his shoes and left it jammed in the door to prevent it from locking again. He walked down the hallway until he found the perfect room. Walking into the room he noted that there was a desk and chair already set up. Without touching the blinds, he looked out the window. The target building was lined up perfectly across the street. He could see the whole front of the building. Not a bad setup.
Suddenly he heard a noise from the hallway. He walked back to see Jynx struggle with her bag and luggage. He walked back to the door and asked, "Did anyone see you?"
"Yeah, I am pretty sure," Jynx was out of breath, "Someone looked at me funny, but I didn't say anything." She reached out to hand Karma the luggage. Karma did not take it from her. He instead picked up his shoe and put it back on.
Karma pointed towards the room. Jynx was still trying to hand him the luggage as she said, "Are you not going to carry anything?"
"Oh no," Karma said with a smile, "I am the expert. I picked the locks. You are the trainee. You carry the heavy shit. If you were doing this job by yourself, do you think the doorman is going to carry your bags for you? You have to learn how to depend on yourself." Karma walked back to the room while Jynx stared at him with killer eyes. She struggled to carry the bag the rest of the way. Karma even opened the door for her as she walked in.
She put the luggage on the desk and sat down to catch her breath. She took a moment then said, "Holy shit, if I knew we were going to the 3rd floor I would have said to leave the heavy stuff behind."
Karma didn't say anything about this. He just walked over and opened the luggage. He pulled out the two tripods. With the pull of a lever and a little bit of set up, he placed the pair by the window. He returned to the luggage and grabbed the telescope. Within a few minutes he had the telescope set up and focused. Karma looked through the telescope to see the front door of the building. He then looked through the camera on the second tripod and made sure it was ready for pictures. Finally, he looked back at Jynx and said, "This is it. Everything is set up. Now the fun part begins."
At this point Jynx was fully recovered from her long haul, she stood up and said, "Awesome. What is the fun part?"
"Come over here." Karma stepped away from the window. Jynx walked over and stepped between him and the telescope. He said, "Look through the scope and wait for someone to walk into the building." Jynx looked into the scope and waited.
"This is fun." Jynx said as she looked through the telescope. 10, maybe 15 seconds went by. Then Jynx asked, "How long are we doing this for?"
Karma walked over and sat in the office chair and said, "Three days."
"Three freakin days!" Jynx exclaimed as she looked away from the telescope.
Karma pointed to the telescope and said, "Yes, keep watching the building. Three days were mentioned in the mission briefing. Didn't you read it?"
"Actually, no. After Freeman told me he was going to hand the mission over to Baker, I figured there was no reason to read it if someone else was taking over the mission." Jynx remarked as she looked back through the telescope. "This is going to be really boring."
"Yes, it is. I would say this business is 99.99% pure boredom and 0.01% chaos. It's a lot like war." Karma pulled a small blanket out of his personal bag. Then he said, "But most people only see the exciting parts on TV. Spies jumping through windows. Shooting thousands of bad guys. Right?"
Jynx nodded slightly while looking through the telescope and she said, "Rule number one." Then her face lit up. She said, "Someone is coming out of the building! He is wearing a long coat. What should I do?"
Karma nodded and said, "Press the red button on the camera."
Jynx reached over to the second tripod and pressed the button on the camera. With a mechanical whirling, the camera made two audible clicks several seconds apart. The camera just took two pictures. Jynx said, "There was no flash. Is that right? Did I do it right?"
Karma nodded again, "Yes, good job. You don't want flashing photography from the building across the street. That would give away our location. You are one step closer to being an amazing Agent." He pushed the rolling chair back to a corner and covered himself with the blanket.
Jynx looked at him and asked, "What do you think you are doing? You can't just leave me here doing this all by myself."
"Yes, I can. You already know everything you need to do. Wait for someone to walk in or out of the building. Take pictures. Repeat. This is a surveillance job." Karma kicked off his shoes and made himself comfortable. Then he said, "I stayed up all night reading up on Agent Death and the Exstrusis Program. It works out. You can watch the building during the day while I watch it at night."
Jynx looked over at him. She asked, "What do we do if we need to go to the bathroom?"
"You just go. It's probably down the hallway." Karma said as he pulled his hat down over his eyes. It might have seemed unfair to make Jynx take the first shift, but this was training. In normal operations you can't expect an agent to stay up for three days watching a building. Karma looked at his watch. It was 1:30pm. Then he said, "Just give me like 5 hours or so." With those final words, Jynx started the job while Karma drifted off to sleep.