Karma looked at his watch. It was past midnight, 12:25 a.m. and now July 11th. A few more minutes of driving later Karma parked the car near an old pastry building. Both him and Jynx got out of the car. Jynx looked at the old building and said, "This is it? Our safe house is an old donut store?"
"Relax, it's a safe house, not a five-star hotel. The concept is to be invisible. No one is looking for us in this old building." Karma grabbed both his and her personal bags out of the back. Then he added, "Unless you'd rather sleep in the car?"
Jynx did not comment. She followed him to the back door. He typed in the keypad combination and opened the large metal door. Flipping on the light switch, Jynx could see the living accommodations. While the rest of the building was boarded up, the kitchen area had been converted into a living space. The large dual kitchen sinks were still there and usable. There was a phone attached to the wall, a single twin bed on a frame, and a few blankets folded up on the end of the mattress. Jynx commented, "Well it is better than sleeping in the car. Barely." Karma closed the door and armed the security system. He leaned a large metal rod against the door as an extra precaution. From the large number of marks on the door, Jynx could tell this was common practice.
Karma looked down at her leg. Then he walked over to the bed and put the bags down on the ground. He pointed at the bed and said, "Sit down, I will get the first aid kit."
Jynx walked over to the bed and sat down. She rotated her leg to see her wound. Karma pulled the first aid kit off the wall and came back to the bed. He opened the kit and pulled out the alcohol and gauze. He rotated her leg to look at the wound. It was minor, it was a scratch with a small trail of blood running down to her knee about 2 inches. Karma put the alcohol on the gauze and said, "Certainly not life threatening. Too bad you were wearing shorts. You could have avoided this."
Before Jynx could answer, Karma put alcohol-covered gauzes on her wound. Jynx immediately screamed, then swore. She caught her breath and said, "Oh you could have warned me."
"Na, that makes it worse." Karma held the gauzes in place and said, "Here, hold this." When she reached over and held the gauze, he put the medical supplies away and put it back on the wall mount. He turned back to her and said, "I don't know who restocks these first aid kits, but they are a lifesaver. We even have a field surgery kit in the closet. For life-threatening stuff... and the bad times." Jynx did not say anything. The pain was still overloading her brain.
Karma sat down and started to flip through the pages of the black book. Then he said, "I wonder what dark secrets Tobias is hiding in here." A few pages later Karma found what he was looking for. He stood up and walked over to the phone mounted to the wall. He picked up the phone, dialed a number, and waited. Soon enough someone picked up and Karma said, "Kilo bravo one niner."
Freeman's voice was on the other side. He said, "What's new? You said that you were on your way back to HQ."
Karma explained, "We are currently at the Delta 24 safe house. We were headed back to HQ but then we ran into our old friend Tobias Wagner. You remember him, right?"
"Yeah, I remember that snake, and as I recall you and he were not the best of friends." Freeman kind of laughed as he said that.
"We didn't exactly patch things up tonight. We stole his little black book with a ton of information in it. More than a few years of dates and locations. The last page entry has an address in Koper, Slovenia. 12100 South line Street. Is that a location we have for any hot activity?"
"One second." Freeman put the phone down and was gone for several minutes then he returned and said, "Negative. That's a new location."
Karma continued, "This little book is full of locations. Secret locations of ours… and others. A few years of Tobias's information games. He probably kept the dates and addresses as a form of insurance. Just in case he needed some leverage in a bad situation. How far away is Koper from here?"
Freeman looked at the map and said, "About three to four hours. Why? What are you thinking?"
"Just curious. The most recent date in his book is written right next to this address. I figured we would stop by and take a look around. After all, we already have the surveillance equipment in the car."
"Sounds good to me. But if you drive this operation any further off the tracks, I will have to recall you. I don't want you teaching Jynx any freelance bull-shittery that you are always pulling. Just do the job and come home."
Karma smiled. It was good to be recognized for all his hard bull-shittery. Then he said, "What? Do you think I might be a bad influence? By the way, how is Opal? Is she helping out around the shop?"
Freeman quickly replied, "No." then there was a long silence. Freeman said, "You did this to me." The line went dead after that. Karma hung up the phone and tossed the book over to Jynx.
Karma went to the bathroom and opened the door. He looked back at Jynx and said, "Bathroom is here if you need it." He went inside and washed his hands in the sink. He splashed some water on his face. He had not had a shower in a few days. Better to do something about that, he thought. He grabbed a towel from the rack and returned to the living area. He pointed at the bathroom and said, "No showers here. We have a modified version. I can show you how to use it." Karma walked over to where the stove used to be. He reached up to the emergency sprinklers. With the turn of the lever, the sprinklers activated, creating a makeshift shower.
Jynx nodded, showing very little emotion. She said, "You know when I first got offered the job he said great pay, great benefits, free housing. I didn't realize free housing meant I was going to be showing up in the kitchen."
Karma laughed, "Yeah, well it's not the way anyone would choose to live. But safe houses come, and safe houses go. You can't be too picky when it comes to where you lay your head. If you complain too much, I won't show you the most important part."
"By all means," Jynx stopped holding the gauze to her leg and stood up. She asked, "What is the most important part?"
Karma pointed to the electrical dial attached to the wall. Then he said, "The hot water heater still works in this building. If you don't turn this dial up to ten or eleven you won't be getting any."
"Good to know," Jynx sat back down then said, "I think I will wait until morning to take a shower. This wound needs some time to heal."
Karma turned the water on and activated the warm water dial. Then he walked over to the bed and opened his personal bag. He pulled out his spare clothes and went back to the shower. There was no shower curtain. But the island countertop in the middle of the room was high enough to provide a little privacy. He proceeded to take off his bomber jacket and gun holster, and took his shirt off in front of the shower. Jynx looked away and shouted, "What are you doing?!"
Karma looked at her and said, "It's called taking a shower. This is a one-man safe house. It was never built for privacy. Don't worry, as long as you stay seated, the kitchen countertop is tall enough to spare your innocent eyes. Karma took the rest of his clothes off and stepped in the warm shower water. Karma noticed that Jynx was trying hard to look anywhere but in his direction. It was quite humorous to him.
Jynx fumbled with her bag to avoid making eye contact with him. Then she said, "I know right now might be an odd time, but do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"No, I don't mind." Karma said as he soaped himself up. "It is perfectly normal for me to carry on a full-blown conversation while in the shower. Ask away."
"You seem pretty comfortable being naked around strangers. How many girls have you bedded in these safe houses?"
"Zero."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. Come on, look around you. There is a single twin bed and a kitchen shower… You think there are any classy girls that would come to this run-down shack to hook up with a spy?"
"I guess you are right about that. Okay, how often do you get to go home?"
"Define home? In this business I consider HQ home."
"I mean, home like, back home to see family."
Karma didn't say anything for a moment then said, "Never."
"Never?"
"Never. Next question."
"Of all the stuff they taught us in training, what is the most important?"
"Probably the part about blending in. Become the same as every man and woman around you. When you become nobody then you are truly invisible."
Karma could tell Jynx was becoming more comfortable with the situation. Her questions started to become bolder. She asked, "How many people have you killed while out on a mission?"
"I don't keep count. But if I do shoot someone it's all in the name of self-preservation or just good business."
"Really? Good business?" Jynx saw the scars on his upper body. Karma had several healed over wounds. She asked, "How many scars do you have?"
"Mental or physical?" Karma immediately changed his mind and said, "You know what don't answer that, I have too many to count."
Jynx smiled and said, "My dad says every scar has a story behind it... Can you believe that is why I joined Mirage?"
"You joined for scars?"
"No, Stories. My dad always had the greatest stories of his military days. Shooting rocket launchers, jumping out of planes, and being a hero. I wanted some stories to rival his. Maybe some scars to go along with them." Jynx trailed off. Then she said, "Is it silly to join the military to impress your dad?"
"It's not my place to pass judgment. If you want scars you don't have to jump out of airplanes to get them."
Jynx returned to asking questions, "What is your favorite part about being a spy?"
"The fancy safe houses, the laid-back work environments, and of course the training of new recruits. Man, such fun." Karma said with a sarcastic smile.
"Okay, what is your next favorite part?"
Then Karma added, "Well, I enjoy the chance of getting shot daily. Oh yeah, we can't forget the radioactive fallout of Chernobyl that we take the chance of breathing every day. Guaranteed to give you cancer by your 50s or 60s. That's good too."
Jynx gave him a squinty eye look. Then she asked, "Okay, are you going to take my questions seriously or are you just going to be sarcastic the whole time?"
Karma looked at Jynx. She was still waiting for him to answer. Either that or she just enjoyed looking at his naked upper body. He thought about it for a second. Then he said, "My favorite part is being able to write your own passports. Change your name to whatever you want. Being someone else for a day. You can literally become someone else and make up your own story."
Jynx turned her head to one side and said, "So that's it? Most people retire after five years or so, but you have stuck it out for ten years just because you like to change your name? There has to be more to that?"
Karma turned off the water and grabbed the towel. "Nope, sorry."
Jynx wasn't happy with the answer, "Oh come on, there has to be something else you like? Living on the edge? The guns? The money? What is it?"
Karma finished drying himself off as he said, "Nope. Well, the money is nice. Can't really complain. Why? Why did you join up?"
"Don't turn the question back on me. You haven't answered me yet. I need to know. If you don't answer me truthfully, I will just ask Freeman."
"Ha, you say that as if he would know. Technically, I am his senior. He wouldn't even know where to begin with that question." Karma wrapped the towel around his waist and walked around the counter. Then he finished by saying, "Freeman joined because of a girl. He won't tell you this, but he was an asset at one time." Karma picked up his fresh clothes out of his bag and walked toward the bathroom. "Any more questions?"
Jynx wasn't ready to quit, she asked, "Yeah, where did you get that scar?" She pointed to his shoulder.
"Ukraine, two months ago. Operation Bagman. You heard about it in our briefing."
"Did it hurt?"
"Typically, a piece of lead flying through your body at 2,000 feet per second doesn't feel very good. But this time it was rather pleasant." Karma's patience for all these questions was starting to wear thin. But he persisted as he said, "You get one last question, then I am going to sleep."
Jynx looked at Karma and then to the bed, then back to Karma and asked, "Ummm, I might be jumping the gun here but... I noticed that there is only one bed..."
"Yup." Karma shut the door to the bathroom and smiled. He proceeded to put on his new clothes. A clean pair of jeans and a blue shirt. He didn't put on his weapon holster or his bomber jacket. He opened the door and saw Jynx still sitting on the bed.
She was looking at her leg wound. She asked, "Does it look bad?"
"No worries, it will be all healed up and gone in a few days." Karma looked at the bed and said, "So... you want the wall side or the fall-off side?"
Jynx smiled but in an awkward way. Karma didn't say anything. He just walked over to the closet and opened the door. Without turning on a light he grabbed a second mattress and pulled it out into the room. He threw it down near the wall and put his weapon holster down on his bomber jacket next to the mattress. Jynx grabbed half the blankets and tossed them to him with a smile. Karma unfolded the blanket and covered himself up. He looked at her and said, "When you are ready to sleep, turn the light off."
Jynx took the rest of the blankets and set up her bed. She kicked off her shoes, walked over, and turned the light off. She fumbled walking back to the bed then she laid down and covered up.
For a few minutes, they both laid there in the silence and darkness. Jynx asked, "Hey Karma?"
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you, what is your real name?"
"I don't know. I have had too many fake names to remember the real ones. Why do you ask?"
"I think you look like a Paul."
"I think you look like a Barbara. I am going to call you Barbara from now on."
Jynx didn't say anything for a moment then she asked again, "Hey Karma?"
"Barbara, we have to get up early. Can you ask questions tomorrow?" Jynx did not say anything else. After a few more minutes Karma felt the weight of the day pulling him to sleep. And sleep became him.
*
He slept well. No dreams of the past. That's the best way to sleep. Karma woke up to the sound of running water. Mild panic flooded his mind. Did he leave the shower on? He rolled over to see Jynx was missing from her bed. He sat up and looked in the kitchen. Jynx was taking a shower. Karma relaxed. She had placed a cardboard box on the countertop for her own privacy. Hey, whatever works. Karma kicked off the blankets and rubbed his face. Then he said, "Good morning."
Jynx let out a short scream. Then she said, "Sorry, I thought you were asleep."
Karma laid back down on the bed and said, "I was. But with an alarm clock like that, how could I sleep?" Karma looked at his watch. It was 7am. Time to get going. After another minute or two the sound of water stopped. Jynx got dressed in the shower area and walked back to the beds. Karma noticed she was now wearing the same baggy jogging pants and a simple yellow tank top that she had on at the club. He commented, "Not wearing short jeans today?"
Jynx was using the towel to dry her hair as she responded, "Umm, no. I only brought two changes of clothes. I destroyed my jeans yesterday, so I guess I will have 2 shirts and one pair of pants for the next 10 years."
Karma sat up again and said, "Wow, I like your dedication. It's your first week in the business and you are already planning to be in for 10 years. Don't worry about the clothes. We will stop by someplace and get you some new ones."
"What? Shopping spree?" Jynx smiled and said, "I thought we were all about guns and thievery?"
"I wish everything was that simple." Karma stood up and grabbed his blankets. He folded them up and put them back on the mattress. Then he said, "I think that is the answer you were looking for last night. The best part of the business is that they provide you with the money to buy anything you want. With the catch that you can't really buy ANYTHING you want."
Jynx put her things back in her personal bag and said, "Why can't you? If the pay is good, why not?"
Karma shot her a funny look then he said, "Sure, you can. You can buy a house in the nicest part of town. Whatever you want. You will rarely get to see that house. If you are lucky, you can stay there once or twice a year. After that, you are going to have to pay for all the upkeep and problems that houses have… By the time you get out you will have dumped a few hundred thousand dollars into a house you have lived in for only a month. It's probably just easier to hang on to the money and use it when you get out." Jynx watched as he put the spare mattress back in the closet. Karma came back and said, "This job takes 100% of you. Like Virgo. Think about all the money she had stored away. You make great money, but you have to live long enough to spend it."
Jynx did not respond. He was right. The best part of the job was the money you couldn't spend. Karma grabbed his personal bag and walked over to the door. He released the bar and disabled the security system then he said, "Let's go."
Back in the car, they drove to the commercial side of town. Shops and restaurants filled the area. Karma looked for a store to get some new clothes. He looked at Jynx and said, "What kind of clothes do you like to wear?"
Jynx thought about it and said, "I like sporty stuff. Summer apparel, if you know what I mean."
"That's fine if you want to draw a lot of attention to yourself." Karma said as he pulled the car to the side of the street. "But most of the time you want to appear… boring. Forgettable. I am not sure if you have ever bought clothes that help you blend in rather than stand out. You are already pretty, so you will turn enough heads to begin with. This is your opportunity to buy some ugly clothes."
He pointed out the clothing store as Jynx said, "Did you just say I am pretty?" Karma was a bit embarrassed, but he didn't say anything. Jynx smiled and looked at the store. Then she looked back and said, "Buy ugly clothes? Well, there is a first time for everything. Are you coming in with me?"
Karma shook his head and said, "No, I will be buying us some breakfast that we can eat on the road. We meet back at the car in 20 minutes, deal?" With that he handed her a hundred-dollar bill.
Jynx took the money, got out of the car, and replied, "20 minutes, you do realize that women can spend all day buying clothes, right?"
Karma looked at his watch and said, "You're right. 25 minutes. Hurry."
They went their separate ways. Karma bought two meals worth of bread, ham, cheese, and jams. Back in the car he combined the food to make a nice ham and cheese biscuit. It wasn't bad at all. 30 minutes passed. Karma got a foreboding feeling that something was wrong. He had to remind himself that this was a shopping mission, not a regular mission. His brain was so hard wired to the job that everything felt like a live or death situation.
A few minutes later Jynx came out of the store with several bags of clothes. Oh boy, Karma thought. She put the bags in the back and said, "Sorry, I was close to the 25-minute mark?"
"Not quite. Did you buy a full change out of your wardrobe?" Karma looked over the bag with amazement. Rather than sit up front, Jynx sat in the back of the car as she said, "They had some really good stuff in there. It was hard to say no to…" She saw the disappointment on Karma's face. Then she finished her sentence with, "…these bland colors."
Karma sighed then asked, "Are you planning to sit in the back, so I feel like a taxi driver?"
She said, "Umm, no. I was going to change my clothes back here if that is alright?" Karma turned back to the steering wheel and started the car. He drove out of the parking stall and down the road. Jynx said, "You don't know how hard it was to buy boring clothing. There were so many eye-catching colors that I could wear back home. It was like trying to un-train my brain."
"You have a lot of un-training to do." Karma grabbed the bag and said, "Here is your breakfast. Bread, ham, cheese, and some other stuff." He looked to the back seat as he handed the bag to her. This was a mistake. She was already in the middle of changing her clothes. For a brief second, he saw her shirtless with a white bra on. His attention was short, he quickly looked back to the road pretending that he didn't see anything.
Jynx took the bag and said, "Thanks." She put on a faded green sweatshirt and asked, "Is it common for male and female agents to work together?"
"Yes, actually." Karma was still flustered by his mistake. "Well, we all work together on missions but as far as trainer and trainee, no. There are some things that only female agents can teach other female agents. The only reason we were paired together was because there was no other option available."
Jynx finished changing and looked in the bag of food. She said, "I never got to meet Virgo. She was away the whole time I was at HQ. Can you tell me about her?"
Karma thought about it for a second and said, "What do you want me to say? She was the best agent I ever worked with. A damn good shot and an even better liar. She could talk her way straight into the White House and walk off with the President's tie without lifting a finger. We worked fifteen… maybe even sixteen operations together. One of which she saved all our lives. She was exceptional in every way."
"Wow." Jynx said with food in her mouth. "Sounds like she was your dream girl."
Karma shook his head, "I wish… I wasn't her type."
"What do you mean by that?"
"She was a lesbian." Karma said while looking at Jynx in the rearview mirror.
Jynx almost spits out her food. Then when her mouth was clear she said, "Oh. That's nice."
Karma smiled, "That's probably why she was so fun to hang out with. She was a good agent, and a better friend." Karma got a little bit choked up thinking about her.
Jynx realized she shouldn't have asked. She reached up and touched Karma on the shoulder and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up sad memories."
"It's fine." Karma stopped talking. There wasn't anything left to say anyways. Jynx finished her food and climbed from the back seat up to the front seat. Karma took note of her new outfit. Blue jeans, and a faded green sweater.
Jynx saw him looking at her clothes and said, "What do you think? Am I boring enough?" Then she exclaimed, "Oh I forgot!" She leaned back to the back seat and grabbed something out of one of the bags. Then sat back down in the front and handed it to Karma. She said, "I bought you this."
Karma was confused, "You bought me a new baseball hat? What was wrong with my old hat?"
"You can't wear a bright red baseball cap when you are a secret agent. This one is gray and boring." She leaned over and put the hat on his head. Then she sat back on her side of the car. "Perfect. You could blend in anywhere with that hat. You are so boring I can't even see you now."
"Cute." Karma said with a little smirk. After a minute or so of silence Karma turned on the radio and listened to music. It was in another language, but it was something to listen to. They had a long drive ahead of them.
They drove to Koper, Slovenia. The border crossing was more forgiving this time. Afterwards, Jynx climbed into the backseat and folded up her clothes to fit in her personal bag. It was not an easy fit. Some of the clothes had to stay out. She organized her things and climbed back to the front seat. He watched as Jynx looked at the scenery. It was beautiful. Mountainous peaks to grassy fields, trees, and farmland for as far as the eye could see. The landscape was like nothing she had seen before. Eventually they came across a rest area. Karma stopped for petrol.
While Karma was filling up the tank, Jynx came over and leaned against the vehicle and said, "I could live in a place like this. Isn't it beautiful?"
Karma looked at the majestic mountains in the distance and said, "Yes, it is. Let's keep it that way."
"Keep it that way?" Jynx was confused. Karma offered no explanation as he topped off the tank and paid the store clerk. When he got back in the car Jynx joined him as she asked, "What exactly did you mean by that?"
"40 years ago, this land was ravaged. All the fighting and bloodshed. You can still see dead tanks that weigh 140 tons. No one can move them. So, they sit and rust. These are the traces of World War 2. The Cold War is World War 3 just waiting to happen. But if we don't do our jobs then Europe will fall into war again. If Europe falls into war, the United States will be right behind them." Karma started the car and drove away from the rest area. Then he finished by saying, "If you even need a reason to do your job… remember this place. Remember what it looked like 40 years ago."
Jynx had no words. This was the harsh truth. All spies, friendly and enemy, work for their homeland. Some work to overtake Europe, while others work to free it. The Cold War was a war of information. Jynx thought about the truth of their job. She had a lot of time to think about it.
By 2:30pm they were in Koper. It was a port town, so it had a lot of business. They drove down the streets near the port. Jynx looked over the map and pointed out the street they were looking for. Once they were further downtown, she pointed at the intersection and said, "There it is, 12100 South line Street. That is the building on the corner."
Karma reached over and pushed her hand back down, "Don't point. This is just like the last time when we were doing surveillance." Karma looked at the three-story stone building. It had a large sign in front of the building that read, VELIKA BANKA. The windows were very sturdy and were probably alarmed. The building itself was not in an ideal spot. He asked Jynx, "I know this is a ridiculous question even before I ask it, but how is your Slovenian?" Jynx just laughed. Karma replied, "That's what I thought. Well, let me be the first to tell you that Banka is probably Slovenian for Bank."
Karma parked the car down the street and got out. He looked around the area for an angle. They needed something to work with. Jynx got out and leaned against the car. She asked, "What's the plan? Or do we even have one?"
"The plan. Yes." Karma said as he looked around. The location across from the bank was a single-story building that was unfortunately occupied. On the other corner there was a coffee shop that was also single-story. "We need a place to set up camp. A place with windows facing the target location."
Jynx turned around and looked at the buildings nearby then asked, "Why don't we just watch from the car?"
"That's a great idea. Two people sitting in a car with telescopes and cameras watching a bank. That won't turn any heads. We wouldn't last an hour. Someone would call the police on us. Then we would be taken into custody and our job would be for nothing."
"Okay, okay, it was just an idea. How else are we going to get set up?"
Karma looked across the street and said, "There." He nodded in the direction of the sewing shop. He grabbed his personal bag from the car and said, "Come on. Let's get to work."
Jynx followed him as she walked across the road. She asked, "How is this going to work? Do you even know how to sew?"
"Actually yes, but that is not the point." Karma took Jynx's hand as he made it to the other side of the street. Then he said, "These old city buildings have small single bedroom apartments in the upper loft. They used to be reserved for the owners, but the owners get married and have kids. They can't live in a one-bedroom apartment with any entire family. They move out and rent the loft room to turn a profit."
"So, we are going to rent an apartment?" Jynx questioned him.
"No, we are not. You are." Karma stopped at the door to the sewing shop.
"Wait, why me?"
"Training purposes." He pointed to the sign and said, "You see that sign? It says, "apartment for rent." He opened his personal bag and pulled out some money. Then he said, "Tell them that you are renting it for a few months, and you are paying in cash. Any other details you can make up? Okay?"
Jynx instantly became nervous as she said, "You know I don't speak the language, right?"
Karma handed her the money and said, "This is the language. You can do this. This is way easier than dressing up and stealing someone's wallet. You did that yesterday without any effort."
"You're right." Jynx said to convince herself. She looked at her reflection in the glass and asked, "How do I look?"
Karma looked at her light green sweatshirt and said, "You look amazing as always. But it's not your looks that count. Use your personality. It is your greatest weapon. It's this." Karma said as he pointed to her forehead.
Jynx smiled, "Okay. I wish I had your confidence." With that she walked into the sewing shop. Karma watched her from out of sight. She exchanged words with the person at the counter. The language barrier was present. Jynx pointed to the ceiling. The man behind the counter nodded and left the room. He returned with a younger man. Probably his son. Jynx and the son exchanged words. Maybe the son spoke English better than the father did. Jynx put one hand behind her back and gave Karma a thumbs up. Good news. Jynx and the sewing family walked over to the door to the back room. Jynx looked back with a smile. Karma gave her a thumbs up.
Meanwhile, Jynx was getting a tour of the loft. Karma left the sewing shop and walked down to the hardware store. He entered the store and bought some duct tape and rope. Tools of the trade. After that he returned to the car and waited.
After a solid 30 minutes, Jynx finally returned. She was very excited. She hopped in the car and said, "I did it! I told them I was a college student from Minnesota, and I was traveling abroad for a few months after graduating college."
"That's pretty good. Is there an easy way to get in the loft?"
Jynx pulled the keys out of her pocket and waved them in front of Karma's face. Then she said, "The younger kid had to translate because his dad didn't speak English. But the dad said that there is a stairwell in the back that I have the key to. He also said he looked forward to seeing me around and his younger son said that he loved my hair."
Karma was less than excited. Then he said, "What a nice dad. It sounds like the dad was setting his son up for a date." Karma drove the car around to the back of the shop. They unloaded the car and looked at the stairwell. It was little more than a fire escape but that's all that they needed. Karma looked at Jynx as she got out of the car and asked, "I just remembered you have a problem with heights. How is the climb up?"
Jynx gave the so/so signal with her hand and said, "Sketchy. It's an old stairwell."
Karma took the keys and unlocked the gate to the stairs. After a short climb, he made it to the apartment. Very small. There was a phone attached to the wall, but it did not work. Most importantly there was a slanted wall with windows facing out to the street. Perfect. He looked at Jynx and said, "I think this will work."
Jynx looked out the window and asked, "Umm, I hate to ruin your hopes and dreams here, but this window faces the wrong way. This window faces south while we need to see west. Isn't that a problem?"
Karma shook his head and said, "Nope, I have that already figured out."
A few minutes later, with their combined effort, they hauled all the stuff in the car to the loft apartment. Karma climbed out the window and set up the equipment near the top of the slope. The angle was a little funky, so the rope and duct tape held the tripod in place. Other than that, the equipment was ready to go. Karma looked through the telescope to see the Bank. It was slightly out of calibration, but was able to get the picture clear with a few adjustments. Jynx was sitting there waiting. Karma looked away from the telescope for a second and said, "You did such a good job getting us to this place, how about some more training?"
Jynx made a face then she retorted, "Ready for anything, I guess."
Karma cut her off, "Good, you have a new mission. This is of the highest training importance. Are you ready?" Jynx nodded. Karma reached in his pocket and handed her 50 Euros, then continued, "Use your fake ID, go to the bank, and open a new account. Bonus tip: Don't use U.S. dollars."
Jynx was confused. "Why? What kind of training is that?"
Karma shook his head, "I am not going to explain it. I want you to figure it out. Understand?"
Jynx nodded and climbed back into the window. After a few seconds she returned and asked, "How much should I deposit?"
Once again, Karma shook his head, "I am not going to explain it. You know what to do right?" Jynx nodded and left the apartment. She seemed a little confused, but Karma had good reason.
Once she was gone, he calibrated the telescope and camera to take clear pictures of the bank. He looked through the telescope to see into the bank. Sure, enough Jynx was there. She was standing at the counter talking to the clerk. Karma leaned over to the camera and put in a new roll of film. New roll for a new location. He angled it and set up the focus. Once it was in focus, he zoomed in on Jynx and took her picture. Then he waited for her to turn left, then he took another, and another. As she came out of the bank, he took another picture.
Suddenly Karma realized what he had just done. He had just wasted six pictures, 20% of a roll of film, taking pictures of his own recruit. Someone that he sees non-stop all day long. Eventually when they got back to HQ, they would develop this roll of film and Jynx would see what he had done. He would have to explain why he took so many pictures of her. That would be awkward.