Angel eyes


PROLOGUE


The year is 2030. After four raging world wars, the nations all over had again had converged on a peace treaty. Third nuclear war and the following fourth non-nuclear war had left several nations bereaved of their prestige as well as their political and economic prowess. However an international chain of law keepers had been associated to maintain peace all over the world…not very different from the 20th century United Nations in functionality but consisting of fewer members now. It was allied to all the security and intelligence agencies of the world. Even the secret societies came together when a call of international danger was heralded.

Section 9,the Japanese secret society which was under the leadership of Kushanagi aka Major also joined the latest meeting which was called for in Berlin.

After the fourth world war the city of Berlin had been reinstated as the German national capital.


Angel Eyes

As the owner of the meat shop prepared to close down his shop for the day, he couldn’t help notice a dog barking away madly at his windows. However, he did not pay the dog any attention and went about his business. Well, he couldn’t see what the dog had seen so his unwary behaviour was only expected.

Here I am, Batou, senior operative of the all so famous Section 9, being barked at by a stray dog. Hooh, it is cold, very cold. These blasted European winters are damned cold. Even with my thermal sensors turned down to a minimum I am feeling the chill inside. Even though I have my optical camouflage operational I can’t seem to loose the dog. The falling snow doesn’t help either…

Even as I was cursing my luck for bringing me here a message the Major flashed on my retinal screen. “Batou is everything fine there?” I explained to the dog and the snow and the stupid stakeout were melting my brain. Apart from that everything else was just fine (sic). “Am going to bail from here now.” I ended the link.

I moved to the City Central Park and was soon atop an angel’s statue. I surveyed the streets below from my stance forty feet above the ground. A Christmas shoppers, a few night time revellers, a couple of laughing and playing children, a young girl in a wheelchair and finally my gaze fell upon the madly barking dog. No, not the dog again. Damn it. I activated my optical camouflage immediately, like that seemed to help. The girl in the wheelchair approached the dog and began caressing the dog. The dog calmed down and left the park for some alley. As I heaved a sigh of relief and looked down again I felt all my senses jarred for a moment. The girl was staring up. And she wasn’t just looking anywhere else but straight at me, at my face into my eyes. She didn’t even blink, not once.

As I came to my senses I checked my arms. Could she see me? And as for the useless optical camouflage it was still operational. After about a minute she left, wheeled by an old lady.

Barking dogs and staring people. What else do we need in a stakeout? I hate stakeouts. I really do. The only comforting thought that came to my mind at the moment was that we had only two more days of lookout left. After that we head home. Only why were we here again, oh yes. How could I forget? It was only a couple of weeks back.

A couple of weeks backs the secret societies around the world had converged for an urgent meeting right here in Berlin. There were all sorts of secret agents from every country. The Major and I were the representatives of Section 9. There was a situation with a man called Angelica. He was allegedly believed to have been involved in bombing incidents all over Europe wherever there was a peace treaty meet in the past five years. Until recently Intel on this character was limited to only a little over his name. However recently in a routine prosthetic body exchange program surgeons accidentally stumbled on the memory modules in the brain of one of their patients. These memory modules contained detailed information about the of the bombing targets and the modus operandi employed. Further they discovered detailed reports of the prosthetic bodies used by the person in question over the recent years. Security IR cameras have confirmed that at least one of the bodies had been spotted at each of the bombing sites either before or after the incidents. Another Intel report has suggested that each of the bodies have been spotted in the Berlin railway station without fail prior to the bombings. The security cameras at the station have confirmed these reports. The bombing were carried out on February 20,2029; November 21, 2029and march 29,2030 and he was spotted here on February 18,2029; November 19,2029 and March 29,2030. Another peace meet is about to be held in 2 days time in Glasgow. So it was of immediate need to capture this man before any more lives are lost. Though security has been tightened in Glasgow it was thought needful to arrange a stakeout in Berlin too.

I was awoken out of my reverie by a message that flashed on my retina. Chief Aramaki was conducting a report reading at that time. “D1 report”, he called. Shinohara responded from the railway station. “Nothing. I have got nothing.” He replied. “Report D2”. At this Ishikawa replied from across the city atop a billboard “Negative chief, I am just freezing here”. “D3 report”. The Major reported from outside the cathedral in the East of the city “Still nothing. Nothing to report as of yet.”
“Report D4”…”Report D4”…”Are you there D4. Respond D4.” I started for a moment but I responded before all hell broke loose. “Nothing here Chief…only barking dogs here and…nothing else.” Something irked me about the girl in the wheelchair but I dismissed it as a figment of my imagination.


Next morning, I decided to take a break and went down the park below. I purchased a local daily. I read through the newspaper and was amused to find an article about a transparent ghost scaring people at the railway station. At least Shinohara could pass his time in a more funny way. Suddenly a feeling that you get when someone unwanted observes you, engulfed me. I looked around and instantly the alarm bells started ringing in my head. The girl from yesterday evening was back and was looking at as intently as yesterday. Had she recognised me? Not that it mattered but this was supposed to be a low profile mission and an wanted foreigner could lead to serious rumours and ultimate failure of this mission. Immediately I dug back into my newspaper. Though she uneventfully left the park she could never leave my head. What was the matter with her? I had to find out.


As soon I got my chance I activated my stealth mode and began to tail her. My footprints showed up soiling the virgin snow in the park but I did not care. As soon I was out of the park I followed her from a height. From roof to roof I never left her out of my sight. Finally she reached a small church and entered it. I followed suit. However I remained atop a pillar. She was saying something…a prayer probably. Normally I don’t eavesdrop into others praying but this time my curiosity got better of me. So I tried to get close enough to her words. But as soon as I was close enough she stopped and turned around suddenly catching me totally unawares. I was saved only by my camouflage. I held my breath and focussed on her eyes, which were trying to focus on the source of the commotion in vain. Unable to find me she spoke “Who is there? Is anyone out there? Anyone? A pigeon flew past me above her head. Looking dejected she resumed her prayers. I resumed my breathing. Oh my goodness. She must be having a great intuition. Now what was she saying. “Dad where are you? I received your letter two weeks ago. I have been coming to the church everyday since. Where are you daddy? I will come back again later.” She left the church after my church and I resumed my sleuthing.


This time it led me to a home for helpless children. I waited on a nearby rooftop. A few minutes later she emerged from into a first floor room. She activated her computer by means of a voice command for he didn’t touch it. Suddenly there was call from downstairs. “Teresa dear could you come downstairs for a moment”. This was my chance. I sneaked in through the open window. I chanced a look at the computer. The mail inbox was still open. I replayed the latest message. “ I will meet you in a couple of weeks. Take care”. It went on something like this. That didn’t help me much though. I rummaged in the drawers. In the third drawer I recovered a diary. This seemed a bit more promising. Sorry girl, I have to just go through this personal stuff, I apologized to her profusely in my heart and began riffling through the pages.


The handwriting was barely legible. I had to strain my eyes to the fullest to understand a couple of worlds only. I reached an entry and paused to read it through.

Feb 1,2029
Today I met daddy in the church. Daddy gave me a present, a cashmere sweater. I am so happy.

A few entries later …
Nov 20th, 2029
Daddy again in the church and gave me an early Christmas present. A pair of mittens.
They go well with the sweater daddy gave me earlier.

March 27th, 2030
Daddy came a new body today. But I recognised him when as he answered my secret question.

Secret question, what secret question? I searched the entire diary for some answers until I reached the last page where something was hurriedly scribbled. Daddy may sometimes come in a new body so I will not identify him. Then I will ask him the secret question; what will angel do today? And he would reply; Angel would let the feathers fall.

Got him, I lifted my gaze in humdrum manner up to the window. So Angel was in my pocket. The stakeout would be over soon. Girl, look what you have gotten into. Your father is a bad man. A very bad man. Angelica, I am coming for you. I spotted the angel’s statue in the park from the window. So she must have spotted me from here sometime. The puzzle pieces were eventually falling into place. Angelica was after all a father who came to meet his child before every bombing attempt not knowing if he could meet her later. And he would come this time too, I was sure of that.

That night I decided to keep watch over the church. When reporting time came Aramaki asked, “D4, what is your position now? Why did you move?” I replied “I am at the rooftop of a church right now. There were to many dogs at they previous spot and they spotted me through the camouflage. In between this the Major said, “D4 keep me posted on any further shifting of position. Is that understood?” “Roger ma’am” I replied.

A tranquillity descended upon the streets as the snow piled up. I moved into the church and remained perched atop a pillar. As my chronometer registered the time as seven twenty three a man discreetly entered the church holding a gift-wrapped package. As his face came out of the shadows I recognized him at once. Angelica. As he reached the front rows and knelt down in front of the altar I activated my optical camouflage and silently descended upon the floor. As I approached from the behind he started and cried out “what, who is there?” But I already had him on the floor face down and hands behind his back.

I angrily spat out at him “you caused all those bombing killing all those innocent children and people and you still have the guts to come and visit your own daughter in the house of God. Playing the good daddy were you?” At this he calmed down and spoke to me “ you, you know my daughter. Please don’t tell hr about me. And please give her these gifts. She really wanted these for a long time.” he indicated the gifts strewn on the floor. As I considered those for a second, he overthrew me and dashed for the exit.

As I drew my handgun, he was hit hard by something in the air and fell down heavily on the floor. I punctured his limbs with my weapon. Having made sure he did not have any chance of escaping I went into the shadows to inspect what was it that he collided with. The Major emerged from within the shadows after deactivating her camouflage. As I fumbled for words “But how did you know? How come you are here?” She attached a memory-extracting device to Angelica’s neural implants and began extracting his persona from the damaged prosthetic body. Presently she was saying to me “I tapped into your optical receptors when you changed your positions. Showing him some mercy were you?” As I began to answer her, the church door opened again. Both of us had our guns out in a second. It was the girl in the wheelchair. Slowly we holstered our weapons. Slowly, she approached us. Sensing something amiss she cried out “Daddy, Daddy is that you?”

She stopped her wheelchair and tried to get up flailing her arms in the air helplessly. “Is that you, Daddy?” she cried out again. Receiving no answer from the cold night she ventured on towards us. Tears were rolling down her eyes but she was not looking at us, although we were in plain sight. Suddenly a realization hit me as she repeated yet again “where are you Daddy?” Oh my God, she was blind. She had been blind the whole time. As I downed this shocking truth, she managed a few trembling steps towards me holding the armrests of the church seats. She stumbled on Angelica’s now useless legs and fell into my hands. “Daddy, Daddy is that you, daddy? Tell me Daddy, what will Angel do today?” She asked again “Tell me Daddy, what will Angel do today?”

I looked away from those pitiful eyes and could only say “Angel… Angel is not going anywhere anymore”….