"Yu have a new assignment ," Se·s handler told her , sliding a manila dossier across the cold steel table . "There·s been another break-in . Sangvis is using guider lines to lead unsuspecting humans towards the base . Come on ," he said , standing up and gesturing towards the steel security door .

Inside , in one of the control rooms that monitored the base , a cluster of her co-workers were already ringed around a desk covered in computers and equipment . The large wide-screen monitor was showing security camera footage , and everyone in the room was watching .

"Play it forward from the start ," her handler ordered .

The operator wound the slider back using the touch-screen interface on the desk . She pressed play .

The security camera footage displayed the entryway to the bunker , the atrium in between the secluded security door behind the false bookshelf and the rusted iron door that led to the storm drain .

At first , nothing happened . Se strained her eyes , looking for details that might give away some anomaly or thermoptic camouflage . To her surprise , two humans came stumbling through the iron door , giggling and looking around with wonder .

"Seriously? Ka ." Se asked . These weren·t professional infiltrators or government agents , these were plain humans .

"Listen to the audio from their cell phone mics ," her handler ordered , nodding to the operator .

It was clear from the conversation that the pair had no idea what they were doing or why . Something was driving them towards the base , like cordyceps fungi instructing two ants to go towards the light so they could clamp on and die , allowing the fungus to devour their brains and rain spores down upon the forest floor .

"Any evidence of countertemporality? Ka ." Se asked , sensitive to the needs of lifeforms that were alien to her .

"Not this time ," her handler told her . "From the data on their cell phones it looks like they were getting shot at with 5G lasers to induce the selected behaviors ."

"Well , that·s still another kind of lifeform ," one of her coworkers chimed in , understanding the subtext to Se·s question .

"A lifeform that got too close to the candle flame ," the handler instructed . He turned to Se . "You know what to do ."

Se knew where the armory was .

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"Do you know where i can find a Nutrient Canister ?" Se asked members of the general public for what felt like the thousandth time . "Do you know where i could find Katerina Berg ?"

Searching the school where she worked yeilded no results . The abbey where she was claimed to have worked in the soup kitchen was closed , the door to the café upstairs caulked shut , a burnt-out hole in the roof where , weeks prior , a terrorist bombing had torched it . Searching her phone bill in the Pedia led Se to Katerina·s address , yet for the past three days , there had been no one in or out . A similar search of her accomplice had been equally non-gratifying .

Reviewing the case file , the report claimed that the artifact had been some kind of Psychic Anaesthetizer , a Euclid-class anomalous object that had , for reasons pertaining to its nature , been exceptionally difficult to obtain , handle , and , ultimately , deposit .

The agent who actually managed to toss it , frustrated , onto the desk before fleeing had only been there twenty minutes prior . Not only had whatever force led a completely innocuous patsy to the safe house emergency exit , it had managed to do so in an exceedingly short time frame .

Not that these kinds of things were even uncommon for the Foundation .

Se pulled a white gelcap from her pocket , opened it up , poured a small bump of white powder onto the webbing between her thumb and forefinger , and insufflated it . Pouring a same-sized bump onto the same spot , she insufflated it through the other nostril . Amphetamines . It had been a long week .

Se closed her eyes , reaching out for the leylines of mana that wove through all things . Whoever had been leading Katerina wasn·t the only one that could tap into guider lines . The Foundation operated on a system of them that Se had astrally constructed herself .

"I·m getting ..." she spoke aloud to herself , "green mana . They·re outside somewhere ." There was a frenetic quality to it as well , like a drawing hastily scribbled , and bright light . "Where is the bright light? Ka" she asked herself , willing the leylines to assist her . "Where is that light?"

North . North ... west . North north west . Ten or Eleven o·clock . She cast out her second sight , looking for the bright frenetic light . Three miles , tops . Movement . A current . A river . There were only so many parks that had rivers cutting through them .

The Evergreen Trail . They were still on the Evergreen Trail .

"Lol ," she thought to herself . "Figures ."

She detoured to the bus station and hopped on the 1 Northbound .

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Close .

The bright light was so strong here . Both signatures , and what felt like a third .

"I·m picking up three signatures ," she texted her handler . "Prime the bioprinter , we·ll probably need to print a third Hollow ."

Standard procedure . Neutralize and contain . Execute and replace . The school kids would never know the difference .

She followed her Second Sight .

Down the road . A path , to the right . Towards the river . And there they were .

Katerina was arguing with a third man , who was fighting over Pavel . The motionless targets would be easy practice .

Se found a grassy knoll with sufficient tree cover some 150 yards away . Unslung the hardshell carrier from her shoulder , laid it on the ground like a treasured lover . Dialed in the 3-digit combination , unclipped the bolts . Opened the case , removed the frame and the stock , clipping the two together . Screwing the barrel in , and then the silencer onto that , careful to look up once in awhile to maintain visual . She pulled out the scope and held it up to one eye . Katerina had landed on all fours , Pavel behind her , rutting , the other male kneeling in front . She looked like she was in pain , like what she was being given was too big for her , yet the artifact·s influence compelled her to keep going . Se fastened the scope to the gunmetal grey rack and twisted the screws on tight . Pulled a magazine from the case , locked it into the frame , pulled back the bolt on the right side with her right hand , supporting it from underneath with her left . She hadn·t even brought the bipod .

Laying on her front , on top of the empty case to brace her deformed skeleton , she dug her elbows into the leaves and the dirt , checked her six and her corners , and peered through the scope at the target 147 yards away . Tightened the lens until the three figures came into focus . Purrrfect .

Psew . One down . The rutting male behind Katerina Berg didn·t even seem to notice the other male looking down , astonished , at the red mess where just a moment ago his dick had been . Psew . The semi-automatic rifle loaded the next bullet into the chamber . Still , the other male was rutting mindlessly , even as Pavel·s headless corpse collapsed into the dirt on his side . Psew . Targets eliminated .

Se pushed a button on the brand-new headphone buried in her right ear . "Call HQ ," she ordered .

"Nice work , nice work ," her handler lauded , clearly having been watching the whole affair from her ocular mesh . "Don·t go anywhere near that thing . Cleaning is on its way already . ETA two minutes . HQ out ."

Se pressed the button on the right side of the grip with her index finger , ejecting the magazine . She pulled a second mag from the case and loaded it in . Darts .

She checked her six again , and her corners . Clear as glass .

In two minutes , three figures in hazmat suits got out of a white van , manhandling the corpses with large tongs . Another figure opened the back , pulled out a fire hose , and sprayed down the grass where the fucking patsies had once been . Satisfied , she took apart her rifle , reverently setting each piece into their foam slots . Picking up the case and slinging it over her shoulder , she stood up , dusted the leaves off her , and left in a different direction than she and the van had come from .

She had to pee .

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