The Curious Case of the Two Dirk Gentlys

50: Smoke and Mirrors

The lack of guards on the right corridor was disturbing. It was almost the inverse of the outside. While the outside saw an increase in security the security on the inside had all but vanished. There were more people on the base for certain. Not even a government department as undesirable as Blackwing was that understaffed, not even at night. There was only one explanation, everyone was hiding.

A single man scurried out of a side office clutching a clipboard. The alarms seemed to panic him until he spotted Farah and Mona. At that point he instantly relaxed. A smile spread across his face and stood calmly against the wall. Clearly the alarms didn't worry him anymore.

"Hey, Johnson. Who's your fr-" Before he could finish his sentence Farah pounced like a wild animal. She pinned him against the wall by his shoulders as he weakly kicked in an attempt to break free. There was no time to give a verbal reaction, Farah had moved far too suddenly. All he could manage was a yelp of shock.

"Who are you? What's your rank? How many more of you are in there?" Farah interrogated.

"Johnson, what's going on?" The man struggled to ask. He used the little autonomy he still had to turn his head towards Mona who stood loyally by Farah's side.

"Johnson? Who's-" Mona caught herself as she remembered her disguise. She was so used to changing her appearance that she barely registered it anymore. "Right, I'm Johnson."

"Yes...you are." The man smiled uncomfortably.

"Well urr..." Mona looked the man up and down in search of a clue to his identity. It wasn't long before she noticed a badge reading 'Jacob Enderson'. "Well Enderson, this is one of our new project. Project...Firefox."

"Firefox? Like the web browser?" Asked Enderson.

"Yep, like the web browser." Mona nodded.

"Could you maybe ask her to put me down?" Mona listened to Enderson's request and tapped Farah lightly on the shoulder. She grumbled and let up, allowing the man to drop safely to his feet. She stepped back a little, letting him breath. "Thank you. Why do they always bring in the aggressive ones? I thought the boss didn't want any new projects anyway."

"He must have changed his mind." She shrugged.

"This was Priest's idea wasn't it?" He scowled.

"Well..."

"I hate that man." He mumbled.

"Yeah...hey Enderson could you do me a favour? Could you maybe duck back into that office and lock the door? Just stay in there until the alarms stop." Mona smiled sweetly.

"Shouldn't we find the intruders?" Asked Enderson.

"It's okay. I've got it. Just back in there and get rid of that clipboard. Get rid of all your work stuff."

"But-"

"Trust me, I've just talked to Adams. You don't need it anymore." She assured. "We're going digital." She quickly added.

"O-okay." Enderson slipped back behind the door. It clicked behind him as he activated the lock mechanism. He might not be comfortable in there but at least he'd be safe.

"Do you think he bought all that?" Asked Mona.

"Probably not. He likely thinks you're a traitor. We should keep moving and..." Farah's voice trailed off. She looked around wildly, sniffing the empty air like an alerted police dog. "Do you smell smoke?"