Chapter 4

The air was bracing and slightly chilly as Jack made his way down the street. He walked at a moderate pace. Not too slow, not too fast. He blended into the crowd, going at a speed that allowed him to become just another face without standing out. A light smile decorated his face as he thought back to his training from The Company. Those guys were absolutely merciless and expected recruits to be quick on the uptake, or they would be wear them down physically and mentally until they gave up on their own accord. It was a spartan training regimen that helped create smart and effective counter-intelligence agents.

The first time he had participated in the exercise had also been one of the first times he and his classmates had gotten out of The Farm. They were training with the instructors on how to properly tail a target, spotting a tail and shaking it off. They had yet to take the requisite defensive driving course, so they had to stick to walking. It had been a cold day in Williamsburg as they were pacing up and down the street trying to spot their target. He had been one of the first ones to spot him and had quickly followed to where the target was supposed to be going. The problem was that he had followed the target with such gusto that he had also been the first one to be spotted.

The target had walked into an alley quite naturally and Jack had followed him, convinced that he would win the challenge and prove himself. He entered the alley and smoothly drew his pistol that he had concealed in his waistband. What he saw as he brought it up to his eyes, was emptiness. The target had simply vanished. Confused but vigilant, Jack stepped forward and started making his way through the alley. Trash was strewn across the floor and garbage cans lay rolled over, their contents littering their vicinity, giving off an unbearable stench. He started to slowly and methodically look through the numerous cover options available to try and find the target. He was clearing out the second to last spot when a sudden noise came from the spot in front. Startled, Jack quickly backed up a couple paces and tried to circle around to not be surprised by a weapon. A brown blur darted out between two trashcans opposite almost causing Jack to fire. He quickly realized that the noisemaker had been a brown alley cat. Chuckling, he said to the cat “You scared me there, kitty”. Right as he finished, two sharp cracks issued from behind him. Pain overcame his other senses as the Simu-Rounds hit him square in the back.

He dropped to the ground and swiveled back to see the target standing with his gun pointing at him. “Tell me where you made your mistakes” the old man he was supposed to be tailing asked him. Still in pain, Jack glared at the man square in his eyes and all he could see was an icy, piercing coldness. The ruthless gaze that seemed to tell him about the sheer number of men who had died at the old man’s hands. “What? Cat got your tongue boy?” the old man sneered as he spoke. Composing himself and burying his anger, Jack replied “I let myself get distracted”. “That’s not all you did boy. Hellen Keller could probably know you were following her with how stupidly you went about it. Remember, this isn’t a job for Boy Scouts. The men you’ll be chasing after and who’ll chase after you will not give you a fair chance. They will do everything to kill you, so you have to be ready to do anything to survive. Life isn’t fair. If you wanted honor, you should’ve stayed in the Army.” “Give me another chance, I know I can get it right”, Jack spoke with unwavering determination. “Don’t worry boy. You’ll get several chances, but if you don’t improve, I will personally make your life a living hell until you quit. Understand?” Yes, sir” Jack replied. He was confident that he would get it right the next time.

The brief memory was interrupted by the sound of his stomach grumbling in protest. Slowing down his pace, Jack took out his smartphone and started looking for a restaurant or café near Tiergarten. Searching on Google, he came across a café called Café am Neuen See. It was in the heart of Tiergarten and had some nice seating options by the lake. Convenient Jack thought as he looked up the directions. If it was in the heart of the park, he could stroll around a bit and cover some possible meeting locations before having dinner.

He started on his way to Tiergarten and decided to start at the southwestern end and work his way up. The reason he chose to do so was because people like al Qatani and Cleft obsessed about their security and safety. It was to be expected when they worked in such a dangerous and oftentimes lethal career. At the same time, they were also people who reveled in luxury. Al Qatani was particularly known for his fondness of the finer things in life. Whether it was booze, cars, planes, the man splurged on getting the best there was. Given this information, he would never give up such comforts to walk a couple kilometers to the meeting location, no matter how important it was. He would most likely either meet near one of the corners with direct access to the roads for proper transportation, or he would opt for something that allows him to drive to the meeting point and make a quick exit if necessary.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

With these points in mind, Jack started to slowly map possible escape routes out on the park directory he was looking at. Taking a quick picture, he started to walk down one of the main footpaths and while doing so, he was using the phone’s stylus to draw his route. Finishing his first route, he made his way back to the entrance using a different route that had direct access to the main road. He repeated this a third time, taking a completely different route that could accommodate cars. Walking back the third time, he decided that it was time for dinner. Following the signs, he made his way towards the café in Tiergarten and arrived in 15 minutes. Looking at the bustling crowd in the restaurant and around the lake, it seemed to be popular with the locals.

Entering the restaurant, he headed towards the front desk. Smiling, he asked in fluent, slightly accented German for a table. The lady behind the desk looked at Jack in surprise. She could tell that he was a tourist, by his clothes and overall demeanor, but when he started speaking in German, she started to doubt her first guess. Maybe he was visiting from a different part of Germany? Despite her internal conflict, she gave a polite and courteous smile telling Jack that there was a ten-minute wait. Jack didn’t mind, and told her that he would wait for a table inside. Outside felt too exposed and he never liked being out in the open. It would be all too simple for a good sniper to get him from a distance and avoid any civilian casualties, if he even cared about that. Inside, while requiring him to be a lot quicker to react should something happen, gave him a slight semblance of safety from immediately dying.

Shortly afterwards, a waitress called his name and asked him to follow her to the table. He followed her to a little secluded booth in the back. With all the couples around him, Jack guessed that this was probably an area meant to seat couples to have their romantic dinners. The candle lights and slightly dark surroundings made for a pleasant atmosphere that inhibited close conversation. The hushed whispers and clinks of utensils invaded his ears as they went from the raucous front area to this one. The waitress stopped and looked back at Jack, indicating that this was his table. Sitting down, he heard the waitress introducing herself. “My name is Gisella and I will be your server for this evening. Is this your first time here?” “How could you tell?”, Jack asked her. “The way you looked around when you were walking with me. Drinking in all the sights and sounds. Only first timers would do that.” “You got me there, Jack ruefully smiled. His training at The Company had been drilled into his head and there was no changing that. The moment he had walked in, he had started to map his options for egress and on the walk to the couples seating area, he had been on the lookout for possible hostiles. “Would you like anything to drink?” Gisella asked him. “Just some orange juice” he replied. “One orange juice”, she mumbled to herself while writing down his order on her notepad. “I’ll get that for you right now. If you have any questions about the menu, just let me know”. “Thank you”, Jack said as he smiled at her. He watched as she made her way into the crowd of restaurant goers and entered the kitchen. How to proceed? He mulled over this question while waiting for his orange juice. He had walked 3 routes and would walk a fourth on his way back, but the sheer size of the park made it impossible for him to map out every single route that was possible. He could simply look at a satellite image, but a satellite image couldn’t capture the minute details of the terrain that would be necessary to have when planning his infil and exfil. As he was thinking, he noticed Gisella walking back to him with a glass of orange juice on a tray she held. Looking at her, Jack had an epiphany. Who would know the terrain better than someone who walked through park every day? Making a split-second decision, he collected himself and gave a warm smile in her direction. Time to turn on the charm.