fixed only with a used unsharpened pencil, and her loose grey hoodie covering a dark blue torn-out pair of jeans, that she had spent countless hours in this room with minimal human contact. It was also obvious from her bloodshot red eyes and her three empty coffee mugs that she had barely rested in days. The security console opposing her formed a wide U letter, and with all those bright flickering rectangular screens, it looked as if the eyes of a mechanical giant housefly were menacingly staring back at her worn-out face.
Schuster broke into the room without even a courtesy knock. He was still high on the earlier small advances they had jointly made in the case. Not to mention lacking the caution of the common man: his official high rank permitted him an all-access clearance to everywhere he needed to be, and he did push his authority to the limit. The young woman hopped off her chair when she saw them coming in. She was completely fixated on her tasks that the sudden noise seemed to have stunned her.
“Isn’t this just one disappointment after another?” Asked Schuster rhetorically. “Do we expect to finish all the video surveillance review in time with only you around? I thought we had more men on this.” When Schuster was in charge, he spared no punches. The inferred tone of sexism in his voice made Adam realize why the Austrian had not objected much when leaving Hélène behind. He probably only considered her as a liability. The mere thought of this bothered Adam to quite an extent.
“Well, Sir, I am the one in charge of the surveillance actually. I am the best you’ve got.” Replied the young attractive woman in an obvious challenging tone. Unlike Brunner, she seemed to be fully capable of marking her own territory, yet Adam saw little benefit to the escalating tension between the two. He felt an irrevocable urge to intervene.
“This could very well be true, Miss, but wouldn’t it be more productive to ask for help? You look overwhelmed.” Adam then pointed at the other empty chair in the room. “Where are your assistants?” He chose his words carefully, doing his best to mediate and dampen the situation. He actually felt relieved when he saw the young woman complying, letting her guard down slowly and cautiously.
“Assistant, actually, just one.” She retorted. “He did not report for work today. We have tried to contact him but with no luck.”
The Interpol agent did not expect, under such circumstances, to keep track of everyone’s whereabouts. All those in charge were simply under a lot of pressure, they were just too busy doing their own thing. Yet, the prospect of a missing security officer? Now that put Schuster and Adam on alert. They realized that they might have just found their next lead. One that lured them into posing the inevitable question: “And what if we need to find him?”
***
St. Stephen Cathedral was relatively a stone-throw away so we decided to put our legs to good use and walk down Dorotheer alley. Our march bent sharply eastwards by the time we reached the Graben, Vienna’s most famous and lively street. Families seemed busy concluding their festive shopping sprees. They leapt merrily from one store to the next as thousands of lamps and chandeliers shone angelically above them, hanging charmingly over and across the surrounding buildings. The place must have looked majestic at night . I found it relatively easy to distinguish the locals from the tourists who were snapping group photographs in front of the Pestsäule; a famous marble column that was erected after one of the last big plague epidemics here in Vienna.
We walked relatively quickly, so much that I felt our hasty pace restricting me from experiencing the warm intimate scenery as much as I would
Schuster broke into the room without even a courtesy knock. He was still high on the earlier small advances they had jointly made in the case. Not to mention lacking the caution of the common man: his official high rank permitted him an all-access clearance to everywhere he needed to be, and he did push his authority to the limit. The young woman hopped off her chair when she saw them coming in. She was completely fixated on her tasks that the sudden noise seemed to have stunned her.
“Isn’t this just one disappointment after another?” Asked Schuster rhetorically. “Do we expect to finish all the video surveillance review in time with only you around? I thought we had more men on this.” When Schuster was in charge, he spared no punches. The inferred tone of sexism in his voice made Adam realize why the Austrian had not objected much when leaving Hélène behind. He probably only considered her as a liability. The mere thought of this bothered Adam to quite an extent.
“Well, Sir, I am the one in charge of the surveillance actually. I am the best you’ve got.” Replied the young attractive woman in an obvious challenging tone. Unlike Brunner, she seemed to be fully capable of marking her own territory, yet Adam saw little benefit to the escalating tension between the two. He felt an irrevocable urge to intervene.
“This could very well be true, Miss, but wouldn’t it be more productive to ask for help? You look overwhelmed.” Adam then pointed at the other empty chair in the room. “Where are your assistants?” He chose his words carefully, doing his best to mediate and dampen the situation. He actually felt relieved when he saw the young woman complying, letting her guard down slowly and cautiously.
“Assistant, actually, just one.” She retorted. “He did not report for work today. We have tried to contact him but with no luck.”
The Interpol agent did not expect, under such circumstances, to keep track of everyone’s whereabouts. All those in charge were simply under a lot of pressure, they were just too busy doing their own thing. Yet, the prospect of a missing security officer? Now that put Schuster and Adam on alert. They realized that they might have just found their next lead. One that lured them into posing the inevitable question: “And what if we need to find him?”
***
St. Stephen Cathedral was relatively a stone-throw away so we decided to put our legs to good use and walk down Dorotheer alley. Our march bent sharply eastwards by the time we reached the Graben, Vienna’s most famous and lively street. Families seemed busy concluding their festive shopping sprees. They leapt merrily from one store to the next as thousands of lamps and chandeliers shone angelically above them, hanging charmingly over and across the surrounding buildings. The place must have looked majestic at night . I found it relatively easy to distinguish the locals from the tourists who were snapping group photographs in front of the Pestsäule; a famous marble column that was erected after one of the last big plague epidemics here in Vienna.
We walked relatively quickly, so much that I felt our hasty pace restricting me from experiencing the warm intimate scenery as much as I would
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