The Woman in Copper part 1

Chapter 5
The Woman in Copper

Faint thunder rumbled in the distance as a cold wind swept through the city, rain patiently brewing in the sky.

Crowds lifted signs of protest and chanted, while deafening police sirens echoed through the streets.

Felix stood atop a rooftop. Through the rifle's scope, he watched a hooded man rise from a diner table and walk away. Pressing on his earpiece, he mumbled, "He's on the move."

The diner door jingled as it opened, and letting the warm light spill out Maria followed, wearing a black jacket with a pizza print on its center, her lower face hidden by a fabric mask.

With a hop in her step, she rushed through river of bodies, setting her sights on the hooded man who walked opposite of the crowd. Under the hood, the man was visibly bald. There was a bar-code where his left eyebrow have should been.

"V.V, come in. Do you read me?" Felix murmured through the earpiece.

Maria was shoved back and forth through the parades of people pushing against her. "I'm here, but I can't get too close. It's too… people-y."

"I knew you I should've gone with you."

"Why so we could both lose track of him?" She paused to sigh, glancing at the signs they were holding up, written in red.

Down with oppression. Down with the new president.

We deserve housing! We deserve safety!

We survived the Sun. We'll survive this, too.

"What's even going on, why's there so many… ugh?"

"The protesters don't like their new president." He answered as he looked at the writing on the protest signs. "Refugees refuse to give up their freedom."

"Refugees, huh? Fallen Sun survivors?"

Felix gulped, uncomfortable, "Yeah…"

"So civil unrest, money being funneled, looting and rioting, and blame being pinned over bad actors. Will war break loose here, too?"

"Who knows. The Director hates war, so it'll be our job to prevent that."

"So what? Will the Golden Lion swoop in, and seize control from the clutches of the big bad government? Or just take out a couple of war-hungry politicians that use fear to control the population?" Maria snidely questioned.

"You done?"

"Hmph." She scoffed. "Visual on the target?"

"Forty, forty five, right ahead of you."

"Well…?"

"Well, what?"

"You have your finger on the trigger don't you?"

"I can't exactly just shoot him."

"Why not? There's a huge protest. Cops and civilians. They would literally be blame it on stray gunfire. Have the agency pull it's smoke and mirrors." She smirked.

"What are you gonna do, grab the key from his corpse in the middle of the streets?"

"Yes?"

"Marie…"

"Well, can't you do anything, Blue Phantom? Is there a code for this situation, something in the manual?"

Felix paused, remembering only a pale white room, and a glass wall that separated him from the watchful eyes of the scientists.

With a brief pause, he answered, "Not really. I don't remember much. I only really knew how to fight."

"And yet you're not even good at tha—"

"Shut your word-hole." His blue eye twitched, "We're supposed to take him in for questioning. Just try to get him somewhere secluded. I don't need unnecessary casualties."

As the two conversed, the bar-coded man glanced behind him, and quickened his pace.

"Yeah, pretty sure the guy has noticed my presence." Maria reported as she tried to match his movements. "Just shoot him on the shoulder."

"We just need the key; we don't need to cause a panic."

"Maybe a panic is what we need." She replied coldly.

"And risk getting on the chief's nerves—?"

While the two of them bickered, a line of white light pierced through a building in the distance and into the dark skies, followed by an explosion.

Screams quickly filled the air as the crowds grew chaotic with fear. But while the two agents were distracted by the explosion, their hooded target sprinted through the panic.

"What was that?" Felix mumbled.

"You tell me, you're the one with the scope." Maria responded as she struggled against the hordes of panicking people.

"Something definitely exploded." He remarked.

"Thanks, Sherlock. Still got a visual on the target?"

Felix looked back through the scope and scoured once again for their target, "Where did he—?"

"He might've gone into one of the buildings. Check the windows." Maria sprinted ahead.

Felix scanned the further buildings, glancing through every door and window and between the dozens of heads running opposite Maria's direction. Until he saw the target running into an underground path, "There he is, headed to the parking lot ahead of you. No visual inside, exercise caution."

"Got it." She quickly sprinted ahead to the indoor parking lot, but inside, she found several armed guards surrounding her target.

"Oh… fuck." She muttered before jumping behind the pillar.

"V.V, come in." Felix heard loud static noise, followed by silence, "Marie!"

Felix pulled out his grappling hook, but as he took a step on the ledge to head to her.

Static filled his earpiece, and the chief's voice cut in; "HQ to Blue Phantom, we picked up a disturbance up North, status report?"

"Chief? Ahem…" He cleared his throat, "Blue Phantom to HQ, there was an explosion about ten blocks North from here, in a building by the pier."

"Survey the situation. Capture anyone suspicious. Evacuate and assist any wounded and seek potential witnesses."

Felix glanced back at the burning building, "But sir, what if it were a diversion? And what about—"

"I'm not asking for your input, agent Blue Phantom. Just follow orders."

"... Understood."

As he heeded the words from headquarters, Maria found herself in the midst of a small group of armed men. Five in total, who met with her target.

"Don't worry, Venom Vanguard isn't an Elite Agent for nothing. I'll send a robin to pick up your rifle." Headquarters remarked.

Felix's eyes sharpened, "Understood."

He looked one last time towards Maria's direction, his foot halfway off the ledge, before aiming his grappling hook above the buildings, towards the pillar of smoke.

~