Page 12 - Demo

2030-JONE
man out had already started cutting a hole in the fence that denied them entry to their target. Muffled sounds of the fence being cut could scarcely be heard in the night. The cutter pulled the fence aside and all three men disappeared through the orifice. Communi- cations were limited to hand and arm signals as the team moved in a staggered file formation. The only negligible evidence of their coming was the slowing of the cricket’s sound as they moved into the area. To the casual listener, there was no sound at all. Bathed in sweat, the security team reached the rear of their destination. They spread out around the three-story building at an angle across the street from the mark at 1010 Boxwood Street. The lead figure con- tinued past the building and took up a security position on its far side facing north. The trail figure moved to a security position on the near side of the building facing north while the middle figure moved directly behind the building. The center figure moved into position near the area where the drain was affixed. His nickname was Sky and as team sniper he was busy securing his weapon prior to hump- ing the building, as he called it.
He thought about that nickname often as he wiped sweat before the climb, wishing he could slice off just enough of his body to prevent the sweating. He smiled to himself dismissing the notion as stupid. Like the rest of his group, Sky was also clad in black with mega pockets full of ammo, explosives, or some mission-essential device. This was the worst time for a black mask, but he knew it was necessary. It also eliminated turning a cap he didn’t have. He was ready to hump. A few of his buddies had always asked him why he called it humping the building instead of climbing.
“Because you get as tired as sex makes you with about as much satisfaction,” was the reply.
Sky started up the building confident the stable thick pipe would hold his weight with no weak links. He grabbed at the pipe, pulled at it from left, right and rear; it felt good. He put dark chalk on his hands extra thick, since the sweat was interfer- ing with the chalk’s ability to adhere to his body. It was better
The Reaction Factor 11