The Perfectionist

Finally, I'd managed to cut through the mesh that was the second line of defence into the secret comms cabin. The dark side of my life was pushing me forwards despite the anxiety of being in places as clandestine as this. The cabin's alarms went directly back to the Guardroom, their Special Forces on hand to deal with foreign predators. Like me. My nerves were prancing inside me but I needed to pause for breath to stop my hands from shaking as the mesh came down. I reached for the little tool bag, dragging it along behind me as I slid through the hatch and into the full void that was now exposed. I tried to stop the fear from owning me in the semi-darkness. The data racks were laid out in neat rows overhead, humming and chattering as millions of bytes of data flowed through the copper and fibre optics back to the main server room in Paris. I should not be here. Why did I always take the jobs that Turtle gave me? My stomach churned at my life's many regrets. I was on my own, there was no-one else. It had to be me. The adrenalin swelled inside me, still bounding to be let out. It had to me because I wanted it to be me, needed it in fact. This was my life's purpose but I could have bitten off too much this time. This one was difficult. After all these years was I actually scared? The churning stopped. I would not be afraid. The power of the decision came to me in a surge, taking over my everyday persona and linking arms with the dark animal within me. Blossom was gone for tonight, my skin merely riding my animal's strength until it had served it purpose. Hands not shaking now, I brought the little compact mirror in the pink jewelled case out of the tool bag. How pretty it looked, sparkling in the half light. Pushing the jewels in the 3 and 9 o'clock positions I felt a clunk inside the case. The magnet was on. I reached through the next gap to position the mirror carefully over the top of the detector beam position. The laser wasn't visible but I had been memorising the plans for months and knew almost by instinct where it was. The drawings had been delivered to Turtle as soon as the British built cabin was finished and he had saved them for a special occasion. Like this one. He needed information and I needed to get it for him. A perfect partnership. Once attached to the wall, the scanner sprung out of the top of the mirror, its arm winding out for it to take a look around the room. The detector beam below it would glow handsomely for the scanner to see, all I could do was sit and wait. My body pulsed with trepidation. I watched the scanner finding its target. The mirror was to snap into place, reflecting the beam seemlessly to its partner, hiding my presence in the void underneath the darkened cabin, or … well, I wasn't going to think about 'or'. The French didn't take kindly to intruders in their secret data communications. Without thinking, I reached into my holster and checked the little pistol sitting patiently there. Although I knew, I felt compelled to make sure I was ready just in case 'Or' scenarios came about. The few seconds it took was enough to tell me that the mirror had done its job, fooling the laser into a false sense of security. Security I was now ready to pull apart.