Post by spiral on Mar 20, 2019 15:35:20 GMT -5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROLOGUE | THE BEGINNING IS THE END |
1 | SAZERAC BAR |
2 | ONE SHELL SQUARE |
INTERLUDE | THE MUSIC TEACHER |
PLAYBILL
SYNOPSIS
A music teacher in Italy receives a job offer.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
MICHAEL PARKS as THE MUSIC TEACHER
MUSIC CREDITS
LIEBESTRAUM NO. 3
COMPOSED by FRANK LISZT
COMPOSED by FRANK LISZT
INTERLUDE
THE MUSIC TEACHER
How many human eyes…had snatched glimpses of their secret anatomies, down the passage of years?
— Clive Barker, Books of Blood
ADRIATIC COAST, BARI, ITALY—The music teacher polished his black-framed spectacles while his eight-year-old student butchered Franz Liszt on the Fazioli grand piano. A particularly difficult run proved too much for her fumbling fingers and after five attempts she finally conceded by smashing her hands on the keys.
He scolded her for the lack of respect for the instrument. “You must relax,” he explained, sitting down on the bench next to her. He held his hands over the keys to demonstrate. “Your fingers are too stiff and your thumbs are too heavy. See mine? Soft, gentle on the keys.” He started the same run that had given her such difficulty. “And keep your back straight. Never slouch. It will make your arms feel heavy and your wrists hurt from the angle.”
A steady hum-hum drew his attention to the phone clipped to his belt. “I have to take this,” he said with a smile and excused himself to the next room. The piano played quietly behind him as he flips the phone open. On the screen a message loaded from an unlisted number. Call the office. He snapped the phone shut and looked back to his student who was showing a marked improvement in her command of the instrument. “Much better. Light fingers, but confident. Continue working. I’ll return in a moment.”
The smile faded and the lines on his fifty-year-old face smoothed out as he slid the door closed to his study. On the desk a black notebook sat open with a command prompt on the screen. CONNECTION PENDING flashed in Cyrillic.
He clicked.
VOICE PRINT REQUIRED.
His Italian gave way to to Russian , specifically a dialect of the Volga River region. “Vse chto podnimayetsya dolzhno skhodit'sya.” Everything that rises must converge.
ACCEPTED. SECURE MESSAGE LOADING...
The blinking cursor paused for a moment, waiting for the info-packets to run through his decryption software. The teacher sat down in the chair, loosened his bow tie and released his shirt's top button. The command prompt minimized to the background and loaded a simple GUI with the Russian coat of arms ghosted in the background. A window expanded and displayed his briefing.
ACTIVATION CODE: VERDICT.
ARM FOR IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT.
37°30'46.1"N 127°06'08.9"E
ARM FOR IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT.
37°30'46.1"N 127°06'08.9"E
SUBJECT EN ROUTE TO LOCATION VIA KOREAN AIR FLIGHT 611.
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AT INCHEON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS 1452 HOURS, GMT.
ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AT INCHEON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS 1452 HOURS, GMT.
He entered a key code into the electronic lock of the lower desk drawer and slid it out. On the top tray was a beat-up passport, an Italian driver's license, and a credit card, all of them issued under the name Marco Cattaneo.
SUBJECT WILL BE STAYING AT THE SIGNIEL SEOUL HOTEL.
WE HAVE RESERVED THE ROOM ACROSS THE HALL.
THE KEY CARD WILL BE IN AN ENVELOPE HELD AT THE FRONT DESK FOR THE NAME RAMSTAD
WE HAVE RESERVED THE ROOM ACROSS THE HALL.
THE KEY CARD WILL BE IN AN ENVELOPE HELD AT THE FRONT DESK FOR THE NAME RAMSTAD
INFILTRATE THE HOTEL.
ENGAGE THE SUBJECT.
TERMINATE ON SIGHT.
ENGAGE THE SUBJECT.
TERMINATE ON SIGHT.
UPLOADING DOSSIER TO YOUR TERMINAL NOW.
In the soft, blue glow from the computer screen, he removed the top tray from the strongbox and, after setting it aside, stared down into the deep bottom. Stacks of euros, a well-maintained two-tone Ruger KP90, several ammo clips and six more passports, each issued by a different country with different names and all with matching national identification. He transferred two thousand euros, the gun, two clips and the South African passport from the strongbox to the desk and then replaced the top tray and pushed the drawer shut. He was putting everything in a small black tote bag when the notebook screen went black, leaving only the text Data upload complete. Connection terminated.