Downtown Los Angeles is a ghost-town at night.
Occupied by a few stray souls and the echoes of the day's proceedings.
Amidst the steel giants, I walked.
I walked to the intersection I was told to arrive at, clutching my cellular phone, staring up at the dark night sky and the ominous figures looming above me.
I checked my watch--10:55pm.
Dead silence, except the dull hum of electricity pulsing through things here and there, or the swoosh of a passing car every now and then.
Standing at the deserted street-corner, I looked around, expecting to see more figures emerge from the darkness to join me in my waiting.
But nobody came.
11:00pm. The phone rang. I picked up.
A distorted voice read me the directions:
Cross the street, two blocks west, one block north, white building. Wear the mask.
And they hung up...
Placing my cellphone back in my pocket, I held up the white mask I was holding in my other hand.
The white mask that was cut off just below the upper-lip.
I put it on, assuming the persona, and began to walk.
A few minutes later and I was at the building. The glass doors slid open smoothly as I walked into the marble-imbued lobby.
An elevator waited at the opposite end of the room, guarded by two tall men in suits donning the same mask as myself. The elevator doors opened as I approached.
I stepped inside and turned about-face, noticing another suited-man standing by the elevator panel. He pressed one of the many buttons, the one for the 44th floor.
No sooner had I stepped into the elevator was I stepping out into a long hallway lined with many doors. I looked at the man in the elevator, who pointed to the one at the very end.
The anticipation was too much to bear. I approached the door, reached out, turned the handle, stepped into the room beyond...
...and there they were.
I immediately knew at that the individuals sitting in that room could be none other than Bridget Fischer, Madeline Khan, and several other members of their staff: all wearing the same style of mask.
I also made note of three other mask-wearing people sitting in the room, who I believe were fellow Los Angeles operatives. I realized why I had not seen any of them out on the street--they had all been given separate start locations, and were called in at different intervals. It would draw too much attention if we all congregated in one place and moved as a group.
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[Now, I've been strictly forbidden to disclose any details of what was said and done in the meeting, under penalty of immediate expulsion from Neurocam. I'm sorry. However, I can say that it was quite an experience]
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On the way out of the room, we all stood up to shook hands and bid each other farewell. I felt something pressed against my palm when shaking hands with one of Bridget's unnamed staff-members, who simply nodded to me and went on to shake someone else's hand. I understood, and quickly pocketed the small piece of paper.
So everyone went their separate ways--Bridget and her staff were in a hurry to be on the move to their next location: Borderlands Laboratories.
The other operatives and I were instructed to disperse in a descrete manner, preferably one at a time.
Down the hall, descend in the elevator, back through the doors, and out onto the street.
I kept walking and paused, only to look back for a second, a slight grin spreading across my face.
And then I left.
