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| He was just turning away from the door after the nice couple left when he heard two more people enter. He nearly dropped when he saw the two men, despite knowing that they would have been arriving at about that time. The old one always scared him; the old one intimidated everyone like the pawnshop owner. The young one had learned too much from the old one and scared him, but never instilling the fear the old one could with the slightest glance. �Where is it?� the old one asked. �W-Where�s what?� he asked, knowing full well that his nervous always betrayed him and trying to lie in this case was even more futile than usual. �Don�t play dumb with me, turn it over or I blow your head off.� He drew his weapon to emphasize his point. �Heh, you...uh...you like your gun too much. I�ve got some new stuff in that�ll make you forget all about violence.� The trigger barely moved, an amount of pressure no one else could achieve. �It�s under the counter.� �Put it up here, slowly,� the young one commanded. �And remember to keep your hands away from any buttons or we�ll both get trigger happy.� He complied and grabbed the device. He cautiously set it down on the counter and backed away from it. The old one picked it up and deftly removed the battery to render it harmless. He tossed it to his partner and pointed his gun at the proprietor again. �And the tapes. Before you can play dumber than you are, we know you saw the same surveillance. I don�t know how you got in, but you can�t keep the records.� �Oh, come on. The last one I followed protocol on. I changed the faces, altered the names, and I even made it look like cheesy special effects. I made a killing off that website I sold the videos on.� He leaned in close. �I could cut you guys in for a share.� �We�re gonna pretend we didn�t hear that, just 'cause we don�t hate you too much,� the young one said with his typical smirk. He smiled again and even tossed off a quick salute when they appeared on the counter. �Thank you, Jeebs, we�ll be back if we need you again,� the old one promised. They left and the young one looked to his partner. �They�re just not ready for that kind of technology yet, are they?� �No, maybe in a few more decades. Until then, this little thing goes back into cold storage at headquarters.� �What about those two, Ron and Jessica? Doesn�t protocol say-?� �Not in this case, I�ve been given a little more discretion. They don�t know where it came from, and they won�t talk. The other little girl was our man on the inside and she�s returning to an anonymous life. She�ll take care of her disappearance at her end.� The young one was thoughtful for a minute as they drove off. �Maybe we should destroy it. Imagine what would happen if one of those machines was used on Earth from orbit?� His partner cocked an eyebrow and gave him that usual gaze that made him feel like a rookie all over again. �Who says it hasn�t? There�s a reason we say �it�s a small world after all,� Slick.� The End |