ICE CUBE__MORGAN WILSON

He didn’t move, his body motionless like that of a statue. He had trained himself to remain deadly still. His posture though is relaxed, and gave the impression of a content tourist, perhaps drifting in his mind. But his mind is anything but “drifting.” His job is to listen, learn, and report back. Once his report was made, an agent was sent to take care of the situation while he moved onto his next assignment. He is a new type of intelligence operative. His code name, Frost. His alias, David. And to everyone who does not have the highest security clearance, he’s dead. Just another star on the wall in Langley. Not that David minds, no, he’s indifferent to the reality of the loneliness. (At least he’s told himself that so many times that he believes it to be true.) No family, no friends, a dangerous profession, yes, he certainly is better off alone.

His target is the bar tender. An older man, the hunch in his posture shows his inability to sit correctly in a chair. David’s superior told him of the bar tender’s suspicious bank transfers, calls, and recent travels. To any other ordinary citizen the bar tender was just simply the bar tender. But David’s been watching him for some time now, and he can see through the innocent façade the man wears. The USP .45 and the CM901 stashed under the cash register - unseen to the unobservant eye, the brand new silver locks on the doors while the rest of the bar begins to show signs of its growing age, the way the employees kept a watchful eye on the door, David could see it all. With a quick look at his 88 Rue Du Rhone watch, the bar tender disappears into his back room, no doubt to leave for the day. David remains where he is however, not thinking twice about his decision to stay in his seat and not follow his target. That kind of field work isn’t his specialty. He was much better at hiding in plain sight and listening than participating in the physically demanding field work. Besides, he had found what he was looking for.

Making a mental note to submit a report later, David let his mind wander slightly. It was a bit hot in the bar for his liking, but the scotch (what year the scotch was remained a mystery to him, but it must have been old due to its fine taste but damn expensive price) kept the temperature down. David had always been fond of Finland, enjoying the rush of Helsinki and the calmness of Muonio. Before joining the agency, David had travelled the world, enjoying staying in a new place for a few days before moving on. It has been far too long since David has returned to Finland, but being back made him feel like he never left. No matter where his aliases were from, David was, and will always remain, Finnish at heart.

Copyright 2014 H.Dolan