Demeaning Assignment

10:01 am -

I am a highly-skilled, well-trained operative. I was at the top of most of my classes at the academy, including Predictive Psychology, Advanced Disguises, and Munitions Concealment. My Bolivian Street Fighting instructor said he'd never had so gifted a student.

So how come, with all of my qualifications, I'm stuck with a babysitting assignment?


10:04 am -

Okay, 3 minutes of ranting is enough. Picked up French Ambassador's 14-year-old son, to be escorted around the city while his dad negotiates some deal or something. Do I LOOK like a nanny? Anyhow, the kid's name is Pierre, and he doesn't look any happier than I am.


10:17 am -

Okay, I officially hate my life. Pierre is a little snot, just like I figured he'd be. At least he quit trying to insult me in French when he realized I spoke the language. I called HQ and begged them (in code) to put someone else on the assignment. They informed me that the ambassador had specifically requested me. I don't know what I've done to make him hate me.


10:32 am -

What are you supposed to do with 14-year-old boys? I mentioned the zoo, and he looked at me like I'd suggested a tea party or something. But when I ask what HE wants to do, he just looks at his feet and shrugs. Maybe we'll go see a movie.


12:50 pm -

Apparently, he didn't really want to see the movie. I could tell from the way he snuck out of the other side of the men's room, and took off. Now I have to search the city for him. Stupid French ambassador! Remind me to bomb the French Embassy.


1:30 pm -

Checked local parks and stores. Didn't find him. If I don't find him in another 20 minutes, I'll be forced to call Central. I'll be the laughing stock of the Agency. And Pierre will be toast once he shows up again.


1:50 pm -

Okay, it would have helped if his father had mentioned the fake ID. Found Pierre in a strip club. I told him he could have mentioned a strip club when I asked him what he wanted to do. Anyhow, I only slapped him around a little, took away the ID and burned it, and cuffed him with a tracking device. Now we're going to the zoo.


2:46 pm -

This kid's good. He's done this before. Not only did he successfully remove a "smart" tracking cuff without triggering the tampering alarm, he re-attached it to a goat in the petting zoo, all while I was getting him a soda. By the time he snuck out of the Bat House, I had no idea that I was tracking a goat, which somehow escaped the petting zoo and was roaming the Africa Exhibit. I have to say, I was pretty relieved to find out it wasn't Pierre that the lion ate. I want to kill him myself.


3:28 pm -

Okay, I found the taxi he took from the zoo, traced it to the downtown area, but from here, the trail ends. I can't believe I've got three days of this kind of babysitting to look forward to. I may quit the Agency and go free-lance. Nah, the mind-wipe that you have to go through to leave the Agency is too nasty. Hey, that looks like Pierre over there, talking to that street thug......


3:54 pm -

Yup, it was Pierre. I guess he was asking directions to someplace where he could score another fake ID, but he made the rookie mistake of looking rich. Thug decided to rob him. Lucky for Pierre, I was there, or else that whole gang might have actually had a chance to touch him. But everything worked out for the best. Now he's treating me with a little more respect. Watching a girl take down 6 guys with her bare hands will do that for a kid. That's partly why I didn't use any of the weapons I have concealed on my person.


4:37 pm -

Pierre was whining about being hungry, so I took him to a pizza place with a massive arcade. I used the advance tracking device with heart-rate monitor, so I won't be fooled by a goat this time.


6:01 pm -

Well, I racked up impossibly high scores on all of the shooting and driving games. Beat Pierre several times at air hockey and the dancing game. Won a ton of tickets at SkeeBall. There's just one game I can't seem to excell at: Whack-A-Mole. I don't know if I'm hitting them too hard, or what, but halfway through a game, the machine starts smoking and whining, and the moles' heads start splitting. But I get a ton of tickets, right before the machine bursts into flame! I'm mainly disappointed because after they spray it with the fire extinguisher, I can't read the score, so I don't know how well I did. Probably pretty good, though.


6:30 pm-

Dropped Pierre back at the embassy, since his dad's meeting is over for the day. I guess they're going to go to some opera, or something. And he thought the ZOO was lame? Anyhow, I'm heading to my hotel, where I plan to try and calm down and forget about the fact that I have to do this all again tomorrow. Urg. This may require a massage, charged to the Agency. And a pie. I could really go for some apple pie right now. Oooo, or smoked salmon! Then, I'll flop down on the bed in my room, and watch TV until I pass out. Sounds great.

Until next time.....