Mission Info:

Ringo sat along the edge of an alleyway, slumped into a ball with his trench coat wrapped around him. To people passing by he looked homeless and poor. This was the appearance he wanted to project as he held a stakeout of the two guards across the street guarding a well lit iron gate. He had been there for the past two hours and not much had happened. The night got darker and darker as time passed without so much as a hint to when the guards might get off their shift. A few times the two had left their posts at each side of the gate to converse in the middle, leaning against the gate as they talked about random things.

Ringo tried to keep himself interested in the things they talked about but could only take so much of listening to how the weather was the best they had in weeks, how awful the rainstorm was a few nights ago and how one of the other guards that had patrolled the grounds that same night had come down with pneumonia and was hospitalized the next day. The two would then switch from past guard duties to who had the worst guard shift. Each guard had a new story to top the other’s and eventually they came to the conclusion that both of them had suffered the worst and were equally the best two guards of the house. And then it was after these topics had past that the conversation came to a much more interesting topic, one that perked Ringo from his slumped position as he strained to hear it all clearly.

“Say, why do we keep getting posted for outdoor guard duty?” One guard asked the other. “Not that I’m complaining about it, tonight is a fine night to be out, but I’m tired of always watching the gate and every time I’ve asked to be posted somewhere else, the boss just keeps waving me off like I’m some fool.”

The other guard grunted in approval. “I know what you mean, Guro, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. We’re just good at what we do and switching things up would only mean someone with less experience would be watching the front gate. A rookie could make a mistake.”

“Yeah, but still,” Guro continued, still unsatisfied by his friend’s answer. “Don’t you ever wonder about the study? I mean, we’ve been here the longest of all the guards here yet the boss hasn’t trusted us with guarding that? Don’t you think that’s odd, Taichi?”

“Look, the front gate is just as important as the study. Without us, anyone could get right in to the boss’s mansion.”

“Hah,” Guro scoffed. “You haven’t heard about the study have you? The rumors that the guards have been saying about what’s in there, about why it’s so important to guard with four men outside of it?”

“No and I don’t really care for rumors. Besides, we got the key cards to get inside. That’s a lot of trust right there, not all the guards have the key cards to get in to the boss’s place anyways.”

Guro only nodded and then checked his watch. “Shift’s over, see you tomorrow then, Taichi.” The two guards parted and walked down the street in opposite directions. Ringo made his move, getting up quickly from the alleyway and following Taichi. It took a few times of walking by lamp posts for Ringo to spot the key card dangling from Taichi’s waist. It was in the perfect position, resting on his back belt buckle on his right side. Rolling his feet to quietly approach Taichi from behind, Ringo slowly pulled the key card away from the belt buckle before cutting the string with his trench knife. The cut was quick and quiet. Ringo stopped walking, letting Taichi slowly drift off and away while he pocketed the key card for himself.

The night had just become very interesting indeed.

Post WC: 685
Mission WC: 685/600 -DONE-