Karma looked at his watch. 11:54 a.m. It was getting close to the hottest part of the day. Back outside in the van, Karma and Jynx sat waiting for the building to warm up. It was reaching that hot part of the day. The workers inside would be opening windows soon enough. Jynx sat there in the passenger seat. She seemed to be focused on the mission for now. They hadn't talked much since their exchange in the hotel. Karma looked back in the van and said, "We need to get into uniform." He climbed in the back and took off his nice business suit.
Like a light switch, Jynx was back to her old playful self. She turned herself to sit sideways in the seat and said, "Don't get it dirty. It's a nice suit."
"That it is." Karma said as he removed his jacket. He started to unbutton his shirt, but he noticed Jynx was still watching him. He paused for a moment and asked, "What are you doing? Are you just going to sit there and watch me change?"
"What?" Jynx said with a sheepish smile, "You have seen me naked. What's the big deal?"
"Someone should keep an eye on the building. And just to clarify, what I saw was out of the corner of my eye. It was an accident. I wasn't blatantly watching you run around without clothes on." Jynx did not look away. Karma removed his shirt and started to unzip his pants. He looked back at Jynx. She still didn't look away. Then he said, "I guess if it doesn't bother you then it doesn't bother me." He stripped down to his boxers and put on the coveralls. Jynx watched the whole time. Apparently, there was no reason to be timid. The coveralls were dirty and there was a small hole in one of the knees. But that was fine. They looked well used. Karma grabbed a pair of work boots and put them on. After that he was only missing one thing. On the top shelf he found a yellow hard hat. He moved back up to the driver's seat and playfully put it on Jynx's head. Jynx laughed as she took the hat off. Karma sat down in the driver's seat and asked, "Did you watch the building at all or did you just enjoy the show?"
Jynx smiled and said, "Yes, I watched the building the whole time. Good news, it hasn't gone anywhere." Then she took the hard hat and put it on Karma's head. With a smile, she started to unbutton her business dress as she said, "I sure hope we have coveralls in my size." She smiled at Karma and stood up. She stepped into the back of the van.
Karma checked the surrounding area. Watching for pedestrians that seemed out of place. The streets were calm. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. His focus was splinted as he listened to Jynx removing her clothing. He wanted to look back at her but resisted with every ounce of willpower that he had. Eventually he caved as his eyes found the rearview mirror. She had been watching him, waiting for his attention. Her eyes met his in the rearview mirror. She smiled at him. She knew what she was doing. Karma took note of the impressive curvature of her figure. Karma knew this was wrong. He should have been watching for trouble, but his eyes were locked in the mirror.
After a minute or so she returned to the front seat wearing coveralls, boots, and a yellow hat. Once she was seated, she returned the question, "Did you watch the building at all or did you just enjoy the show?"
He did enjoy it. But Karma didn't want to come out and say that. He attempted to maintain his cool, by saying, "Let's just say, you make watching the building VERY difficult."
Jynx jokingly responded, "Sorry, I would hate for you to break your professional composure." Jynx fixed her hair by wrapping it around until it was in a ponytail. Then she shoved it under her hard hat. "How do I look?"
Karma looked her over and said, "Very professional. The downside is that you are too pretty. When I walk in the room people forget about me almost instantly. My scruffy hair, simple clothing, there is nothing about me that stands out. When you walk in the room every guy takes note of the pretty electrician girl. Even the females remember you as the pretty face that their boyfriend looked at. Later on, they will yell at their boyfriends for looking at you. They will remember you for days. Weeks even."
Jynx turned the rearview mirror and looked at herself, then she asked, "Okay, so what can I do about that?"
Karma looked around but remembered that his personal bag was in the other vehicle. Then he looked in the back of the van and said, "Normally I have some sunglasses or something that works for a disguise. However, in this situation the best thing we can use is dirt." Karma reached back to the shelf and wiped his hands on them. The shelves had not been cleaned in a long time so there was plenty of dust on them. He took his now dust covered hands and wiped them on Jynx's face. He wiped dirt on her left cheek, then right. He even added some to her neck. She did not resist or pull away. When he was done, he put a little speck of dirt on her nose too. Karma pulled back and looked at her. He frowned and said, "That might be a bit too much."
Jynx looked in the rearview mirror again and said in shock, "Holy crap, you made me look like a coal miner! This will definitely make me stand out." She wiped off some of the excess dirt and made it look more believable. She turned to the shelf and picked up some dirt on her hands. She reached over to Karma's face and started to apply dirt. After all, he had done it to her. It was only fair that he let her dirty up his face.
After a few minutes, she was done. Jynx sat back down and she said, "All done, now we both look horrible."
Karma checked the building. He saw exactly what he was hoping for. Without pointing he said, "Check it out. The second and fourth floor have open windows. It is starting to heat up there. We only need to wait a few more minutes."
Jynx looked at the building and said, "More waiting? Cool, I can pick your brain some more."
"Please, no more brain picking." Karma put his arm on the driver's side window. Then he said, "I enjoy your brain picking as much as you enjoy my training."
Jynx jumped on the opportunity as she said, "Okay no brain picking. How about you train me? Teach me the way, oh Spymaster."
Karma turned sideways to face her. The van had very little extra space so his knees and hers were touching. Karma said, "Every good agent knows how to carry and conceal weapons, but the best one can hide anything in plain sight. Like the way I hide that paper in your ear."
With a confused look, Jynx reached up to her ear and felt for any paper. Then she said, "What paper?" Karma reached up to her ear and when he pulled his hand away, he was holding a small piece of paper. Jynx looked at it with confusion and asked, "What is this? You know magic tricks now too? How did you do that?"
Karma smiled and removed his watch. He said, "The watch has a hidden compartment. It can hold quite a lot in that small space, but paper seems to fit in it the best."
Jynx took the watch and opened and closed the hidden compartment several times. Then she said, "Cleaver. What is the paper you keep in here?"
Karma unfolded the paper and looked it over. Then he said, "It's a note to Freeman. Just information on what to do with my body when I die. Also, various other information like my bank account numbers and locations of hidden stashes. You know spy stuff."
Jynx's happy expression faded, and she asked, "You carry that in your watch? You carry around your last requests, basically your Will?"
Karma took the watch back from her and sealed the paper back inside. Then he said, "This is not a business that thrives on amazing healthcare or benefits. Anyone can die, any time, any day. If you abandon your money in a Swiss Bank account after a certain number of years, they will close your account. If they can't find you, then they can do whatever they want with your money. So, making sure you have some information saved somewhere is important. Freeman can hand my money to someone that needs it. Or use it to move HQ to a safer location."
Jynx watched as Karma's face slowly changed. He was always hiding behind his spymaster persona. So strong, so cool, so tough. He was a battle-hardened teacher who showed no emotion and cared only for the completion of the mission. Now Jynx could see the cracks in his defense. Despite teaching her not to care about a fallen comrade, he did care. So much that he carried around a paper with his last wishes. And those wishes were to help Freeman with some extra money. For the first time, Jynx saw him in a new light. Jynx's face flashed back to a smile as she said, "Well, I guess you're right. Looks like I need a watch then. Is it hard to find watches with hidden compartments?"
Karma snapped back at the conversation. "Umm, yeah. It's not something that people carry in department stores. Women have lots of things they carry around in their purses that are considered commonplace. We can get you something, like a hollowed-out lipstick container. Or a makeup kit of some kind."
Jynx looked up at the building and said, "Would you look at that? How many windows are open now?"
Karma looked at his watch. 12:31 p.m. Then he looked up at the building and replied, "Quite a few. I would say they are ready for some air conditioning. Are you ready?"
"I was born ready, boss." Jynx turned her legs to face the front of the vehicle. Then she said, "Okay, we are here for Marx. or information on Marx. Right?"
Karma started the engine and answered, "Yes. The mid 40s female, about 5ft 3inches tall. Brown hair, brown eyes. If she is here, she will be hidden in one of the back offices. Out of sight, out of mind kind of thing." Karma pulled out of the parking space and drove toward the building. He glanced back at Jynx and said, "My Czech is pretty good so let me do all the talking. Just one mistake is all that it takes for someone to see through your cover. If anyone asks you anything at all, your response is "Ano". Got it?"
"Sure. What does Ano mean?"
"It means yes. You are my personal Yes man… or woman." Karma parked near the building and got out. He took off his hat and looked at the building. He waved to the security guards and shouted, "Hey boys. We got a call that your AC is busted?" He walked to the sliding door and pulled out his toolbox. Jynx was there and she grabbed a set of gages and another gray box that had a handle on it. They walked together toward the front doors.
The guard shouted back to Karma, "Where have you been? It's like 30 degrees here. The vents have been blowing hot air for hours."
Karma smiled and joked with the guard, "Sorry friend, we just got the call a little bit ago. We loaded up all the tools we needed and got here as quickly as we could. I thought you would be happy to see us?"
The guard looked at Jynx and asked, "Who is the girl?"
Karma put his arm around Jynx and said, "This is Teresa, she is my apprentice, learning the trade. Plus, I have a bad back, so she carries the heavy stuff for me."
The guard nodded and grabbed the keys from his belt and handed them to another guard. Then he said, "Take them around to the service elevator." The guard turned back to Karma and said, "The elevator doesn't go all the way up. He will escort you to the 9th floor." Karma nodded and followed the Security Guard. Inside the room the temperature was pretty hot. Several employees were loosening their collars to cool off.
Near the back of the building, behind a secure door was a service elevator. With a turn of the key the Guard unlocked the door and stepped inside. He commented, "It's not any cooler in these elevators that's for sure." Karma and Jynx followed him onto the elevator. The Security Guard pressed 9 on the number pad and the doors closed shortly after that.
Karma asked, "Will you be escorting us all the way? Or just to the 9th floor?"
"All the way," The Guard answered, "You need a key to use the elevator and we can't just hand them out to everyone."
Karma nodded in agreement. After a solid 20 seconds, the elevator dinged as the doors opened. The Guard said, "Here you go. The stairwell is to the left…" He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Karma pulled out a wrench from the tool bag and cracked it over the Guard's head. Without a word the Guard dropped the keys and fell to the ground. He was out.
Jynx was shocked but quickly recovered this time. She said, "I had a feeling that was coming."
Karma grabbed the keys off the floor and said, "You aim for the crown of the head. If you aim too low, you could crack their skulls by accident and kill them." Karma picked up the Guard's leg and drug his body off the elevator. He took the Guard's radio and left him lying on the concrete floor.
Jynx listened and watched as he did this, then she asked, "At least you didn't shoot him."
"I can't," Karma stepped back in the elevator and pressed four on the number pad. Then he said, "You have my gun in the box you are carrying." The doors shut and the elevator started moving again. Karma looked at Jynx and said, "We check level four then we take the stairs to level three. Remember, mid 40s female, 5ft 3inches tall. Brown hair, brown eyes. Got it?"
Jynx didn't get the chance to answer. The doors opened and Karma stepped onto the fourth floor. A nearby worker said in Czech, "Oh thank goodness, are you guys here to fix the air?"
Karma nodded and said in Czech, "Yes we are. Where is the thermostat located on this floor?" The helpful worker pointed it out for them. Karma thanked him and walked over to the thermostat with Jynx shortly behind him. Karma looked around as he walked. There were a lot of officer workers, but he could not spot Marx among them. Approaching the thermostat, he leaned in to Jynx and whispered, "Service this thermostat while I check the back offices."
Jynx put her tools down and asked, "What do you want me to do with it?"
Karma shrugged and answered, "I don't know, unpack the gear and make it look good. Remember you are a real electrician. Act like you belong, and no one will question you." With that said, Karma walked toward the back. He kept his head on a swivel looking left and right as he walked. He checked the offices one by one. Nothing. Marx is not here on this floor. Karma looked back at Jynx as she looked at him. He signaled to her to come his way. Jynx picked up the toolbox and walked over to his location. Karma whispered, "Nothing. Let's check the next floor."
They walked down the stairs as three employees were on their way up. Karma looked them over. Two of them were male, and the one female was not Marx. However, Karma did something odd. The third employee was wearing a black coat. That was extremely odd for it to be as hot as this building was. As Karma passed him, he looked him over. Long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, goatee, and a face like pure stone. Karma recognized him instantly. It was the Hitman. Karma's blood boiled. Karma and Jynx continued to walk down the stairs. As they left the stairwell the Hitman turned around to look at them. Karma noticed him out of the corner of his eye. Damn it. Once they were out of sight, Karma leaned over to Jynx and said, "I think we have been had."
Jynx whispered back, "What?! How?"
"The Hitman from Boston is here. The one that shot Major. We just passed him on the stairwell." Karma looked back to see if the Hitman was following them. Then he said, "Search quickly. We are running out of time." Jynx and Karma split up and searched the area. Karma walked around quickly looking for someone, anyone, but most of the employees were gone. There was one lady sitting at her desk eating a sandwich. Karma approached her with his best smile he said in Czech, "How is it going? Where is everyone today?"
"This is our lunch time." the lady replied. "Most people left to get out of the heat. Are you here to fix the air?"
Karma smiled again and said, "Yes we should have it fixed here in a minute. Enjoy your lunch." He walked away from the lady checking the stairwell. Karma watched for the Hitman. As he did this, Karma walked around the office area. Jynx was nowhere to be found. He had lost her. Moments of panic flooded over him. Had the Hitman killed her already? Suddenly he saw a cracked door. Possibly leading to an office. He pushed the door open to reveal a filing room. Wall to wall filing cabinets. Around one of the corners Karma saw a yellow hard hat on the ground. Relieved, he shut the door behind him. Then he whispered loudly, "Jynx."
Jynx's head popped up from behind the filing cabinet. "Don't scare me like that. I thought you were the Hitman."
Karma walked over to the files Jynx was holding in her hands. "What do you have there?"
Jynx handed the files to Karma and said, "I don't know. They look important, but I can't read any of them. I can't read Czech."
Karma looked over the documents. He said they are not in Czech. They are written in East Slavic. This business is owned but the Soviets remember." Karma turned to face the door just in case someone came knocking. Karma quickly read the pages. Then he said, "These are billing invoices. Look at the money flowing through this place." He flipped through the pages. "These are all billing invoices. How many files are there?" Jynx opened the cabinet revealing a full drawer of files. Karma looked over them. Then he looked at Jynx and said, "This is good. This is practically a gold mine. Freeman would kill to get all this information. How many do you think we can carry?"
Jynx grabbed a handful and said, "Not very many if we are still trying to blend in. We are still wearing coveralls." Just then someone walked by the filing room door and Karma grabbed Jynx's hand and pulled her to the ground. Karma peeked around the cabinets to make sure it was safe. Luckily, there was no one.
Karma looked at Jynx and said, "Okay, this is the new plan. We are going to take as many files as we can, stuff them into our toolboxes, and get out of here." Jynx pulled the toolbox over and started stuffing files into it. Karma looked around for the other toolbox. The gray toolbox. It was not here. He asked, "Umm, Jynx? Where is the other toolbox?"
"It's upstairs."
"WHAT?!" Karma accidentally raised his voice. He looked back at the door and then he lowered his voice and asked, "That one has my pistol in it! We are completely unarmed right now."
Jynx blinked a few times then said, "I am always unarmed. But that is beside the point. What are we going to do? Go back upstairs and get it?"
Karma thought about it for a second, then he said, "We go upstairs and get my pistol, get the gray case, and fill it up with files and leave with a ton of files. Or we can run with what we have right now." Karma thought again then looked at the door. He looked at Jynx then he said, "I say we go now. It is too much of a risk to go back upstairs." Karma waited as Jynx unloaded all the tools and filled the toolbox completely full of files. He stood up and walked toward the door. He slowly opened the door to see if anyone was outside. There was no one. Karma motioned for Jynx to join him, but as he did, the Hitman walked into view. The Hitman turned around and walked back toward the elevator. For a second, Karma thought maybe he was leaving. But then he was back again. Karma's heart sank. The Hitman patrolled the hallway near the stairs and elevators. He knew they were still here.
Karma whispered to Jynx, "Don't panic. The Hitman is here. On this floor. He is looking for us."
Jynx wiped her face with her hand, then she said, "Don't panic AND the rest of those words really don't go together well."
Karma shook his head and said, "No they don't. Sorry."
Karma looked at his watch. It was 1:05 p.m. Karma continued to watch from the crack in the door. Eventually, Hitman stopped coming by. It had been several minutes since he had seen him. Karma quickly opened the door and darted into one of the cubicles. He popped his head up looking for the Hitman. Karma did 360 of the room. Several workers had returned from lunch, but the Hitman was nowhere to be seen. Karma motioned for Jynx to join him in the cubical. She darted across the hallway into his arms. They both crouched down.
Karma whispered, "Okay, the Hitman is gone. But he could also be waiting downstairs. So, this is the plan. We walk together toward the stairs. We go downstairs. If the Hitman attacks us. You run. Not like you want to win the Olympics. You run like your life depends on it. Because it does."
Jynx was shaking but she nodded. Then she asked, "What about you? What if the Hitman shoots you? What if…"
Karma put his hand over her mouth to silence her. Then he said, "You know what you have to do." Karma removed his hand from her mouth and grabbed a pen from the desk. He looked around again for the Hitman then he took Jynx's hand and wrote on her palm. Bravo Kilo one niner. Karma said, "When you get out of here you call Freeman and give him this password. You tell him everything in those files."
Jynx was starting to tear up as she said, "I can't read the files. Maybe you should carry them…"
Karma shook his head and said, "No, if the Hitman is still here, and I think he is, I will distract him so you can escape. You HAVE to do this Jynx." Karma pointed to the files then he said, "Thousands of lives. Right here. Don't let them down." Jynx could no longer hold back her tears at this point. She hugged Karma and cried for a few seconds. One of the workers walked by and gave them a strange look. Karma pulled her away and said, "We are running out of time, we have to go now. Are you ready?" Jynx shook her head no, but Karma pulled her to her feet anyways.
They walked toward the stairs. Karma in front of Jynx. Karma looked around for an improvised weapon. But there was nothing nearby. Just as they were ten feet away from the stairwell door, Karma did another 360 checks of the room. Still nothing. Karma stood to the left of the door and signaled to Jynx. She nodded back but before he could push the door to the stairwell open, the door opened. It was the Hitman, returning to the room looking for them. He turned his head to see Karma and Jynx leaning against the wall. In an instant, the Hitman and Karma locked eyes. It was only a second, but it felt like an eternity. Just like when they locked eyes in Boston.
The Hitman raised his hand and pulled a pistol from his jacket. Karma wasted no time allowing him to pull a gun. With a quick lunge, Karma tackled the Hitman to the ground. They both landed with a thud, but the Hitman was determined to get his Makarov. He pulled the pistol and attempted to point it at Karma. It's not going to happen. Karma was ready for the struggle. He grabbed the pistol and used his leverage to point it away from his body. Karma used his free hand to eject the magazine from the pistol. The mag was out, but there was still a round in the chamber. The Hitman used his free arm to punch Karma in the face. He hit hard but Karma was focused.
For a quick moment Karma looked back at Jynx. She was still standing against the wall, frozen in place. Karma and the Hitman had only been fighting for a few seconds, but she should have done something by now. Karma shouted to her, "RUN!"
The Hitman responded to this, he attempted to point the gun at Jynx. Absolutely not. Karma once again used his arms to lever the pistol away from her. He pushed the barrel toward the wall. Once it was pointed away, Karma put his finger over the Hitman's finger, forcing him to fire into the wall. The shot was loud and made his ear ring. But now Makarov has been completely unloaded. The Hitman released the gun and punched Karma with a right hook. Karma saw stars and rolled away from the second punch.
Karma and the Hitman both stood up at the same time. Surveying the area, Karma noted that several officer workers were now watching them. But more importantly Jynx and the toolbox of files were gone. She left. She did the right thing. If this was a test, she just passed.
While walking toward Karma, the Hitman popped his knuckles and said in broken English, "Call your girl. Tell her to come back, or you're dead. You hear me? You're DEAD!"
Karma shook his head and said, "Everyone dies. Today it's your turn." Karma used the Hitman's pistol to break the glass and pulled the fire alarm. The sprinkler system activated dumping gallons of water all over the office building. While these officer workers panicked, the Hitman was unimpressed. With a few quick steps he charged Karma.
Karma blocked the first punch but not the second. He reeled back from the blow as the Hitman kicked him through a glass window. Karma landed on someone's desk covered in glass and sprinkler water.
The Hitman was strong and clearly a good fighter. Karma needed a weapon. He took a deep breath to recover from that kick. He turned around and saw a coffee mug that said, Miluji svoji praci. Meaning, I love my job (in Czech). Karma couldn't agree more. As the Hitman stepped through the broken glass frame to attack him again, Karma grabbed the mug and slammed it into his face. The coffee cup shattered into a million pieces.
The two men exchanged blows for a while as the officer workers ran to the exits. Eventually Karma backed away. The Hitman was now bleeding from the face. Karma had his own wounds from falling through that glass window. The Hitman was bigger and clearly a more experienced fighter. Karma knew he had to stick and move. He couldn't hope to duke it out with a big guy. He needed to take his time, staying away from his strikes, waiting for an opening, and landing a few hard shots.
Karma removed his watch. He wrapped the leather strap in his clenched fist and turned the metal timepiece into a knuckle duster. He ran at the Hitman to close the gap between them. Karma landed a few blows, but the Hitman struck back. Karma saw stars again as he fell to the ground. The Hitman kicked him in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. Karma was down. Best case scenario: Karma could have worn him down. Worst case scenario he was going to die. That wasn't looking so bad either. Karma was exhausted.
The Hitman laughed as he stood over Karma. Then he said, "Weak. You fight like American dog shit." The Hitman wiped the blood out of his eyes and walked over to pick up the unloaded Makarov. Then he walked over to the magazine by the stairwell door. The Hitman was looking for the magazine but the water and debris from the fight made it difficult to find. Then he said, "I should have done this in Boston."
Karma had to make a move. He only had a few precious seconds until the Hitman found the magazine and loaded the gun. After that it would be all over. His watch and makeshift knuckle duster had broken. Karma tried to stand but his body was failing him. Instead, he grabbed a rolling chair and threw it in the Hitman's direction. The Hitman stepped out of the way as the chair tumbled by. Then he laughed again, "You still have some fight left in you?" He once again wiped the blood out of his eyes and walked over to Karma kicking him over onto his back. Then the Hitman smiled and said, "You're not worth the bullets." With that said, the Hitman put his foot on Karma's throat. Karma used his hands to try and push back against his foot, but the Hitman shifted his weight to apply more pressure.
Karma couldn't breathe. This was it. He always knew someday he would meet his match. He thought he would die by a bullet, not the heel of someone's boot. Once again, the Hitman laughed as he slowly choked the life out of Karma. It's over.
Then Karma heard the sound. The muffled sound of gunshots. The Hitman groaned in pain and arched his back. He held one hand to his chest. Karma heard another muffled sound of gunshots. Then another. And another. The Hitman fell to the ground twitching in a pool of his own blood. Karma focused on breathing. Within a few seconds, Jynx was by his side. She put his silenced Model 59 down and said, "Oh my god, are you okay?"
Karma's lips moved but no words came out. He was still catching his breath. Jynx helped him up. His legs were shaky but with her help he stood up. Together they walked past the dead Hitman over to the exit. In the stairwell the water from the sprinkler was starting to run down the stairs like a waterfall.
Karma recovered a bit as he finally found the words, "Nice shot."
Jynx was happy to hear him talk. She replied, "Thanks, are you okay?"
Karma nodded, "Yeah, I had him right where I wanted him." Hearing him joke gave her comfort that he was going to be okay. Down the stairs on the second floor Jynx stopped to pick up the toolbox full of files. It was at this point Karma realized what had happened.
When the fight started Jynx ran down to the second floor and dropped off the files. Then she ran back up to the fourth floor and recovered Karma's silenced pistol. Then back to the third floor to shoot the Hitman dead. Karma looked at Jynx. She could have run away like he told her to. But she didn't. She failed the hardest test Karma had put her up to, and in the end she saved his life. Oh, the irony.
Finally, down on the first floor, the fire department was arriving at the front doors. Jynx and Karma slipped out of the back without being noticed. They walked over to the parking garage where the Land Cruiser was waiting for them. Karma climbed in the back while Jynx put the toolbox in the passenger seat. Jynx checked on him one last time then climbed into the driver's seat and drove off. Karma didn't question any of it. He had enough fun for one day. It was time for some rest.