An Evening With Eva

Episode 49

Two weeks had passed. Sophia had been
keeping tabs on the activities of GhostCorp.

The General had ordered her to oversee affairs
till he got back from sabbatical. She worked
tirelessly, looking for clues and tracking every
bit of intel she got from BeeHive. The Colonel
seemed to be in no hurry. It had been sixteen
days and he had not made a move yet. He
had not left his supposed hideout. She could
wait him out. She had all the time in the
world. It was Sean and Eva that concerned
her. They had been highly trained. They had
risen through the ranks faster than anyone in
the history of the Corporation. They most
disturbing issue was the fact that they already
knew too much.

Sophia stepped into her room after spending
the whole day in the fortress, tightening the
security, updating the firewalls and creating
new anonymous drifters. Exhausted after a
tedious day, she didn’t bother with the usual
routine bath and Jacuzzi. She just kicked off
her loafers and lay on the bed face down. Just
then her phone rang. She grudgingly went to
her bag that was on the bedside table and
took out the phone. She opened the message
that came in. It was from Bee Hive.

“Targets found.”

The location of Sean and Eva had been
identified. That was the best news she had
heard in a while. She got up at the speed of
light and went back to the fortress. She
entered the mission room and waited for the
door to shut behind her. The room was very
dark. She brought her palm to her face. She
could not see a thing. She waited a few
seconds, straining her sharp ears and listening
for any foreign sounds. At this time her eyes
had acclimatized to the darkness and she
could now see the outline of her fingers. When
she was satisfied that she was alone, she
snapped her fingers and said audibly:
“It’s a lovely day.”

“Password accepted. Welcome Agent S.” An
electronic voice replied.

The huge room came to life. The previously
dimmed lights gradually came on. There were
three huge 60-inch touch screen computers on
each wall.

Sophia folded her arms across her chest and
moved to the screen to her left.

“What do we have Ope?” Sophia asked.

A small box appeared at the top corner of the
screen showing a video of Ope in his tiny
office. There were cans of soda scattered
across his table. The remaining part of the
screen changed, now showing a map.

“Good evening ma’am. Sorry to drag you out
at this time.” Ope replied smiling.

“Save the pleasantries Ope and cut to the
chase. What do you have for me?” Sophia said
curtly.

“Eva got careless. We intercepted an online
payment she made for a ticket to the premier
of a movie at the Galleria. She used her
mother’s maiden name during the transaction
and a Master Card that she had not used in
four years. Our Saturn-Extreme 145 satellite
got the hit and intercepted the server,
declining her request. She tried several times
giving us the needed time to scrutinize details
and complete tracking. On the fifth try, we
were able to get her location.” Ope replied.

“Where is she?” Sophia asked.

“Our coordinates indicate that she is on the
outskirts of the state. Abule Egba to be
precise. However, I have a strong feeling that
she is not alone.” Ope replied.

“Leave the feeling to me agent. Anything else I
need to know?” Sophia asked.

“Asides the information on the movie
premiere, I have nothing new to tell ma’am”
Ope answered.

“Tell me about the Premiere.” Sophia said.

“Please look to the screen behind you.” Ope
answered.

Sophia obeyed and turned. On the screen there
were images of the Galleria and the Cinema
section of the building. Ope showed her the
exits, the viewing rooms, the reception and the
red carpet area. He suggested possible
vantage posts and also explained the possible
movement of people in the cinema. They went
through it a few times together. When Sophia
had memorized it all, she asked Ope about the
possibility of an assault while she’s mobile.

“I had thought about that option too but it is
too complicated. We do not know how much
help she has and how many people she would
be with. I strongly suggest we move cautiously
and approach with tact.” Ope advised.

Sophia thought about what Ope had said for a
few minutes and agreed with him. It would be
foolish to act hastily without knowing what
the odds were. She nodded.

“Thank you Ope. Good Job. I will contact you
with the details as soon as I am done.” She
said.

Ope’s image disappeared and the screen went white. Sophia tapped the screen twice and a touchpad appeared. She had to reconfigure and change the codes, passwords and settingsas she had just used them. She made sure that there was always a different code for each day and always tweaked the settings.

When she was done, she shut down the
computers manually and left the mission
room.

---

The Colonel was seriously studying a tracking
device he held on his left hand while Eva sat
beside him, trying to get tickets for the movie
premiere. Sean sat across the room, checking
the .45 automatic pistol he loved to carry
around. He cleaned the cartridges with a white
rag, watching the Colonel closely.

“The card is not working. The portal is
rejecting it.” Eva said to the Colonel
complaining.

“The portal is not rejecting it. Someone from
GhostCorp has intercepted the signal and is
now tracking your card.” The Colonel said.

“D–n! I need to stop now!” Eva panicked.

“No girl. Don’t stop. That is the plan. We need
to let them think we have been careless. Let
them track you. I am monitoring the
intercepting signals from here too. If they get
to you, we get to them. Keep going Eva.” The
Colonel said with authority.

Eva looked back at Sean seeking for
reassurance. Sean laughed and nodded at her.

She tried again and again until she was
allowed to get it.

Just then the device in the Colonel’s hand
beeped.

“They’ve got us. But we got them first.” The
Colonel said.