The Danger Signal

I was standing on my doorstep trying to find my keys in the torrenting rain that had been pouring for at least an hour and a half. I thought that I'd placed them in my pocket, but they weren't there. Out of desperation I kneel on the soaking-wet concrete of my doorstep, and search through my bag, swearing and cursing out of frustration. After ten minutes of searching and getting another drenching, I finally find them.

I'd only just stood up when I heard a loud whirr! above my head. It was dark, but when I looked up I could make out three red lights staring at me. I stared at them in frustration, though I remained silent as I had no idea what it was. All I knew is that it appeared to be watching me. Suddenly, it spoke to me."

"A package for Miss Julie Thomas."

I heard a hatchet open, and it dropped a medium-sized box on my doorstep; then it flashed a camera at me and flew away with no other explanation as to what was inside the box, or why it had just been delivered to my doorstep.

I finally manage to unlock my door. I switch on the light and carry the package into the kitchen placing it on the table. I am puzzled because I wasn't expecting a delivery today, and I am sure that the package had been delivered to me by a drone. I'd heard on the news last week that the government intended to use drones to deliver packages in the future, but that wasn't supposed to happen for another three years.

I poured myself a fresh, hot cup of coffee; it was the least I could do since I had entered my house soaking wet, and freezing cold. I then proceed to examine the box.

The medium-sized box was plain brown. There was no indication as to who sent it, or where it had been sent from. It didn't feel very heavy. I opened it cautiously; the only way to find out what was inside was to open it!

Inside the box was a small, leather, black box which had a note attached to it.

It read,

"Take this to the Town Hall. Do NOT open."

The note wasn't signed.

I had no idea what was inside the black box,

A gun? A bomb, maybe?

What if someone was trying to hijack the Town Hall?

I wasn't sure whether I should take it, but then I found another note at the bottom of the box,

"If you do not comply, we will kill you."

I threw the box down on the table.

"Could this be terrorists? Robbers?"

Whoever they were, they didn't sound like the kind of people one messed with. My first thought was that I should call the police and explain tonight's events, however; they would never believe me.

I decided that I should accept the mission; I knew this was going to be dangerous, and that weapons were needed. Luckily, I had worked as a spy five years ago, chasing dangerous criminals and I had a secret stash of guns, balaclavas, bulletproof jackets, and trousers hidden in my wardrobe.

I had to find out who was behind this mission; I had to become a spy again, though this time I worked for nobody but myself.

I decided not to worry about it too much tonight, and take myself to bed.

***

The next morning, I woke up at 7:30 A.M. sharp. I drank my coffee as I'd never seen coffee before. I proceeded to change into my spy gear. I decided that I should wear my spy gloves. These were no ordinary gloves; should the police turn up or examine the package that I was about to deliver, they wouldn't pick up my DNA from the gloves.

I drove like a lunatic all the way down to Arunhirst Square. When I got there, I parked the car in the Town Hall car park so sharply, that I almost hit another car in the process.

"Fuck!" I cried out loud.

I dash madly through the other parked cars, making my way to the entrance at the front of the Town Hall. To my surprise, the door was locked which was unusual because it was 9 A.M. when I got there, and the doors should have been opened by now.

I hear shouting coming from inside.

"Don't move, or everybody dies."

I have no idea who is speaking.

I can't look through the doors because they are all made of glass; if I look inside and the men turn around and see me, I might get people killed. I need to find out more about what is going on inside, too swift an entrance might cause the men to pull the trigger.

I need to think fast!

I shimmy with my back against the walls of the Townhall. If I can get to the high-side windows, I may be able to take a peek inside without causing any further commotion. There is a door at the back of the Town hall; if it is unlocked, I should be able to get in and deal with the situation safely.

Bang! bang! bang!

A gunshot fires inside, followed by the eruption of loud screaming.

I manage to shimmy up the pipe, leading to the high windows. I clamp my legs around the pipe so that I am half-sitting around it, and so that only my eyes look through the window. A man is pointing a gun at the ceiling, he has shot a lightbulb; though he hasn't shot any people yet.

"I SAID, NOBODY MOVE!" the man shouts.

The man is extremely agitated. I look around to see how many men are in there. There are two more. One has a gun, and another is sitting in a corner shaking.

I guess the man sitting in the corner is a civilian, whilst the other man must be an accomplice.

I hold on for five minutes more before making my move. I then shimmy down the pipe, and I crouch-land on the pavement at the side of the back door; taking care to be very quiet because if I get caught, I am aware that blood will be spilled.

The back door is locked, though it is old and quite loose. I know I am going to have to boot it open in order to get inside; though I must be careful not to agitate the men further. I do a spin-kick at the door, knocking it off its hinges. It makes a slight noise which distracts the men for a while, forcing them to turn my way.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man who was threatening the people asks.

"I have a box to deliver. Let them go, and you can have it." I tell him.

He looks at me and sniggers.

By now, my spy instincts kick in. I have to use a little manipulation in order to get this stubborn asshole to comply.

It dawns on me fast, that these idiots sent the package.

They must have known who I was in order to send me it.

"Okay, you can either let them go, or I can hand this to the police!" I tell them, holding the black box in the air.

This riles them.

The accomplice attempts to attack me. I still have a lot of super-strength that I gained from my previous work as a spy, and I instinctively enter defense mode. He attempts to headbutt me in the stomach, but I spin him onto his back, and he lands flat on the floor writhing in agony.

I keep leader-guy distracted.

"So, do you want this box, or not?" I ask, in the hopes of causing another distraction.

I realize that there are five hostages in the building, including the civilian that I saw through the window who is now standing up. Leader-guy hasn't taken his eyes away from me, so I drop the box by my feet in order to grab his attention, and nod to the crowd to go out of the broken door.

Leader-guy tries to grab the box, and as he does; I grab his wrists and bend them back, pulling hard. He pulls back.

"Bitch! That hurt," he shouts at me.

"Oh! Was I supposed to make it better?" I ask him, sarcastically.

I manage to flip the box with my feet, and it lands straight in my hands.

I hear a commotion coming from the direction of the back door.

"ONE MORE MOVE, AND I'LL SHOVE THIS THING STRAIGHT IN YOUR FACE!" A booming voice shouts.

I boot leader-guy straight in the face, forcing him into a pile of dirty stackers in a corner of the reception.

"Gotta run!" I tell him, before diving like a bullet towards the back door.

***

When I get to the back door, Leader-guy's accomplice is holding a woman in the air by her throat.

"Let her go!" I command, taking the small gun I had brought with me from my pocket.

The accomplice looks at me in amazement.

"Now, now, Julie! You don't want to do that, do you?" He tells me.

"And, tell me why I wouldn't?" I ask him while throwing a look of fire straight into his eyes.

"I told you; you only get the box, if you let them go!" I tell him.

I'm feeling the fire burning inside myself now. I have no idea who these guys are, and I have no idea how they know me.

One thing is for sure; they are not getting that box, and I am going to kick their asses and get these hostages out!

The woman screams,

"Help me, please!"

I look at not so macho-guy in the eye, and I give him an ultimatum.

"You either let her go and get the box, or I shoot!" I firmly tell him.

He lets the woman go, and I throw the box into a corner of the room. I know I'm taking a major risk here; though it is the only way he will let go of her. As soon as he starts moving in the direction of the box, I nod at the woman and tell her to go. I then cartwheel across the room at lightning speed, landing on my feet in front of macho guy who is holding the box in the air, smiling in victory.

I backflip and sweep the box under my arm. I then stand and smirk at him. The reception area of the Town Hall is clear now, so I can start my next plan which is;

to get them away from the Town Hall, and to the police station.

I throw a crate at them for distraction, then I run at lightning speed out of the building. Once out of the building, I shimmy to the rooftop of the Town Hall, jumping from building to building. I hear guns below and muffled shouting.

"You bunch of dumb-assed pricks! As if pistols will reach me up here," I whisper to myself.

Everything goes quiet on the ground, so when I hit my next building which is close to the police station, I shimmy down a pipe back to the ground. The men catch up to me, but I send them on a wild goose chase.

I jump and step over cars, twist into alleyways, and hide in bins. At one point, they get close enough to hit me with their flimsy pistols; but I duck to avoid being hit. The men see me, and they try chasing me all the way to the police station. One of them manages to hide in an alleyway and corners me. However; I manage to give him one hard headbutt which tumbles him to the floor, then I run again. I can hear leader guy's footsteps behind me, and macho man lifts himself off the floor. They both lock me in a corner again, I shake my head; then grabbing the sides of their heads, I bang them together.

Once I get them out of sight, I run in the direction of the police station. Both men have cars now and they follow me; though they park on a side road away from the station, thinking that they won't get caught.

I manage to get the box to reception and I hand it in, explaining what has happened. They open the box. Inside is a golden gun and a knife, plus a wallet with over $20,0000 dollars in it. They then discover a small black packet containing wires.

"These men were building a bomb. They were planning to blow up the Townhall!" Detective Jordan tells me.

"I have no idea how they got a drone to deliver it, as they are not in use yet; but looking at that expensive gun and knife, and the money, it looks like they have already committed theft and burglary," he continues.

"They parked down a side street. I tried to get them to follow me, and I have no idea who they are, or whether they are still parked on that street. I can assist you in catching them though. You get your cars, and I'll lead them to you," I tell the detective.

We agree to the plan.

I locate the men. They must have realized they were close to the police station as they parked on an opposite side road.

I make sure they know I am there on purpose. I kick a can and throw a brick through their car window, then I provoke them to chase me following the direction of the police cars.

I lead them directly to the police.

There were two police cars, and they flash to let me know that they had seen us. They sandwich the men between the two cars, while I pin them both over the bonnet. Detective Jordan, along with his colleague, detective Jackson identified the criminals, then cuffed them.

"Jamie Lee Watts and Alec Carl Micheals. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft, burglary, and hostage. You do not have to say anything, and anything you do say may be used in evidence against you."

"I'll get you for this!" Jamie and Alec chorused.

"Of course, you will!" I said, sarcastically, as I watched them both get taken away.

***

The police commended me on my efforts, and I got a medal plus my spy job back. I have never been caught in anything so absurd in all my time working as a spy. However; I was excited to have my job back, and I couldn't help but hope more jobs like this came up in the future, even though I had never asked for tonight's job in the first place!

Jamie and Alec were sentenced to prison for 15 years, and they were made to pay the money back, plus $20,000 in compensation to the hostages and $5000 in damages to repair the town hall.

It had been an eventful night and all I wanted tonight, was a hot bath, warm food and drink; and a good night's rest.

I start work in a few days' time, and who knows what that might bring. Maybe I'll land another criminal drone job!

I hope so because that would be fun, and I can handle fun!

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