A day of pure humidity and sheets of thick rain greeted
the woman in the dark coat as she stepped out onto the roof of the agricultural building. The floor was cement, but the walls and domed ceiling were made up of thousands of panels of glass. Her heels clicked sharply as she took a few slow steps out into the room, which must have been a hundred feet high and a thousand long. She couldn't even see the end--a sort of mist clouded her vision. She assumed it must've been from the plants. She was there, on that day, to do something the S.I.A. had been anticipating for a while. The cloning of the trees that were scattered throughout the rooftop greenhouse. Annie MgGarthon, the head of M.I.G.4, and the most prized chain commander in the last decade, was to be doing the most important job the S.I.A. currently had on its books.
Annie walked a bit more, until she came to the thick white trunk of a large tree that extended up into the heights of the greenhouse to a point where it nearly disappeared from her view. She knew immediately that this tree was perfect for climbing. She decided she would take her sample from the top. She had already wended her way through seventeen floors of the building without being caught--why not take a risk? She slipped her shoes off, and her socks after that. She eyed the nearest branch, and hopped three times to get her momentum going before she leaped as high as the could and wrapped her arms around it. She swung one leg up, then the other, and rotated herself until she was resting on top of the limb. From there on up, her ascent was as easy as climbing a ladder.
Annie stopped on a particularly wide branch, legs wrapped around it under her and feet locked together to keep her from slipping off of the branch and falling to her death. She unbuttoned her coat, which remained, for the most part, clean, and withdrew a syringe and a pocket knife from one of the inside pockets. She used the knife to shave off a spot of bark, and reveal the soft wood of the inside of the tree. After this, she uncapped the syringe, and stabbed it roughly yet properly into the tree. She pulled the plunger back, and watched as a brownish-black liquid substance filled up the plastic. "Yes, quite well," she muttered to herself, rather pleased.
DANGER!The sound escaped from Annie's mouth, a warning from her internal computer system; Otherwise known as Elise.
That's plenty, it's plenty, there's danger, leave!Annie's hand covered her mouth. This always happened. Elise's operating and logic systems were incredibly flawed. "Shut up, Elise, shut up, you'll get us caught," she hissed.
Too bad love is just a game.
But, I've had too much fun playing to quit now.
Maybe I'm addicted.
I don't think I care.
My tokens are all across the board...
And I'm winning.
>The Loveless Victor<