Chapter 31: Grieselda

The Etaf building was much like Grieselda’s apartment building just across the street. It had the same hallways, decorated with the same vulgar schoolboy graffiti. The same electronic doors which had reverted to manual operation after years of no maintenance. And the same musty smell caused by little to zero ventilation.

She stopped before apartment 77D, the captain’s apartment. He'd given her an important task to complete but that would have to wait.

‘The assignment always comes first.’

Although she preferred watching him 24/7. Letting him going off on his own had its perks. Meant his apartment was vacant and she had time to investigate.

Grieselda traced a gloved hand over the door’s electronic lock. The lock had a card slot for key-card verification, a keypad for password verification, small speaker for voice verification and a handprint scanner for DNA verification.

‘A four step verification lock.’

Not even lunar bank vaults went that far.

She put her ear to the silver door and gently knocked on it. The solid ring of thick steel echoed back at her.

‘Reinforced steel door.’

She eyed the edges of the door emitting a faint red glow.

‘Trigger sensors.’

No one was getting into this apartment without the captain’s permission. She wasn’t trying to either, without a warrant that would be illegal. She had simply wanted to assess whether he was hiding something here or not.

‘And by the looks of these defences he must have a lot to hide.’

She whipped out a virtual scanner, set the parameters and aimed it at the apartment. It beamed on, cast numerous laser lines over the door and walls.

‘Let’s see what you’re hiding in there.’

A virtual scanner used low frequency laser light that could phase through walls and map out the inside of any structure and materialize it as miniature virtual replica over the scanner. It struggled with complex and obtuse objects but otherwise it would expose the basic layout of any structure, the general shape of items inside and expose any hidden compartments, built in safes etc.

None of the above happened for Grieselda.

The laser lines reflected off the door and walls of the apartment, throwing laser lines back at her at odd angles.

‘Is it broken?’

She’d flunked advanced electronics so if it was damaged, there was only one thing she could do about it. Perform an ancient technique that had served the countless technological novices well over the centuries.

Grieselda switched the virtual scanner off and on again. The laser lines beamed onto the apartment and reflected back at her again.

“Shit!”

‘Either this thing is broken or his apartment must be layered with laser reflectors or something.’

She leaned more to the latter. It felt like something the captain would do. He was cautious like that.

She glared at apartment 77D.

‘Now I really have to know what’s inside.’

One didn’t set up these kinds of defences to keep out petty thieves.

There was a soul wrenching screech as the rusted door of apartment 78D was forced open.

Grieselda flicked off the virtual scanner and moved her hand behind her back to quickly conceal it.

A short dark skinned woman dragged her feet out of the neighbouring apartment. She wore grey short shorts, simple white vest, plain-white tube socks and bunny slippers like she’d been lounging around. She wasn’t wearing any make up but the way she had her long honey brown hair covering one eye was maxing out her cuteness factor. She was trying to seem casual but still wanted to impress. Her timely exit wasn’t coincidence, this was an ambush.

‘But it wasn’t meant for me.’

“Hey, you’re home early—” The shorty paused when she noticed it wasn’t the captain and immediately threw an arm behind her back.

‘What just happened?’

They stood silence for a while, both with their hands behind their backs. Grieselda was clutching her scanner and she reckoned the short woman had a firearm within her grasp.

Sure only tenants and registered guests were allowed past the reception area. So sure, Grieselda was technically trespassing. True she had hacked her way into the elevator because she didn’t have a key-card. No doubt she looked like she was clutching a weapon. And maybe her disguise – pink wig, large purple glasses and a psychedelic scarf – made her look suspicious. Not to mention Hillbrow was a crime infested neighbourhood so residents needed to be always alert.

But for shorty to take in all that information in a single moment and decisively reach for her weapon. Even the fact she kept a weapon on her at all times, spoke volumes of her character.

‘She’s no regular Jane.’

Her ambush suggested a familiarity with the captain.

‘Perhaps another of his partners in crime.’

“What are you doing here?” The shorty eventually said.

“Visiting a friend.”

The short woman glanced at the captain’s apartment door then back to her. “He doesn’t have friends.”

She spoke as if this was undisputable fact and nothing Grieselda said would change her mind.

“You’re right,” Grieselda said. “We’re more than friends.”

The short woman tensed.

‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have said that.’

Especially if she was conversing with a trigger happy chappy but being undercover required speaking out your ass in high pressure situations.

“You’re lying,” the shorty said.

“I’m not. He visits my place of work often. So I thought I’d visit him for a change.”

The short woman’s hard expression cracked a bit. She found her answer plausible.

‘She’s familiar with the captain’s brothel addiction otherwise she wouldn’t have understood. She’s either a confidant or she’s working with the captain.’

“Where’s your visitors pass?”

“There wasn’t anyone at reception when I arrived.”

The short woman’s shoulder muscles twitched, she was tightening the grip on her weapon.

‘She didn’t like that answer. She catches me in another lie it might be my last.’

The threat of the non-existent gun Grieselda was grasping also kept shorty at bay.

‘But for how much longer.’

“How did you get up here?” Shorty asked.

Whatever she answered was unlikely to satisfy the short woman.

‘So we deflect.’

“Look, I don’t know who you are or what your beef is. And I didn’t come here to be interrogated. Since he isn’t home I’ll be on my way.”

“You make any sudden moves and it might be your last,” shorty said. “I’m well within my rights since your trespassing.”

‘Deflection is a no-go, what about a bluff.’

“Then you’ll have to explain to him all about how you killed his favourite girl, jealous much.”

‘Show me what you truly are…concerned neighbour, partner or minion.’

Even when faced with mortal danger her inspectoral instincts never switched off. Mentor had trained her too well. And despite her subpar academic record she had intuition and you couldn’t study that in a book.

A flicker of hesitation streaked shorty’s face.

‘Ah minion, bluff on.’

“Perhaps you should cap me lest I tell him all about how rude you were to me.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you tell him,” the short woman snapped. “Slowly move your hand from your gun and get the fuck out of here and don’t come back unless he’s with you. You fucking whore.”

The feigned bravado even when taking a loss all but confirmed her status.

‘Minion, minion, minion all day long.’

Grieselda tucked the scanner behind her pants. Cautiously revealed her hand and slowly backed away not bothering to suppress her triumphant smile.

She rounded a corner disappearing from shorty’s view and her expression immediately darkened.

‘The captain’s operation is much bigger than I imagined.’

Not only was the captain’s apartment impenetrable, he had a minion guarding it for good measure. Now more than ever she was sure she needed to search apartment 77D.

‘It might contain the evidence I need to close this assignment.