Assignment: Sunrise
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Assignment: Sunrise 
© 2006 by I. Christie
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
ISBN:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Credits
Executive Editor: tara young
Cover design by Valerie Hayken ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Published by
Intaglio Publications
Synopsis:
The disappearance of three women in the FBI witness protection program leads SID Special Agent Adison to a small artsy town in Northern California. Her mission – go undercover, and collect evidence on two suspected gangs. Two years later, with no leads in the gang activity in Sunrise, Adison has adapted to the unfamiliar pressures of little time away from her job in an unexpected way. Normally a reticent loner, she finds her characterization of an outgoing person has opened her up to friendships, something she normally shuns, leading her to think of other life possibilities. The idea of setting down roots in the engaging community becomes a conscious thought when she realizes her assignment is drawing to a close. The line between her made undercover persona and who she wants to be blurs further when SID sends in a civilian to be used as bait. Adison finds herself in love for the first time in her life, with little experience in how to handle it, especially when it crosses her professional boundaries. Will either survive to explore the possibilities?
Chapter 1
A night guard shined his lamp along the uneven ground and sang tunelessly to a song bleeding through his earphones as his feet crunched across the gritty asphalt.
Eyes hidden behind night vision goggles watched until the guard had treaded on to the next set of buildings before moving back behind the warehouse.
The noise of flying sand against the backside of the building covered the sound of the small window being unlatched. After making short work to disengage the alarm, the veiled figure dropped into the dark warehouse. Landing in a crouched position on the concrete floor, the figure paused to readjust her goggles. Her covered head moved slowly, scanning the area for any hot objects, then she pulled out a TD-53 radio frequency transmitter detector to scan for bugs.
No change in the pattern.
But someone else’s sloppiness didn’t give the intruder comfort. If the gang being monitored was not so insistent on taping its own meetings with various business associates, the intruder knew this visit would have been a lot more difficult. Warily, she sniffed the air in the warehouse. Smells from the stacked goods and stale odors from sweaty laborers mixed with the distinct scent of marsh and ocean air, blowing in from the opened window. There was no sound from the air conditioner that had been running throughout the day to keep the heat at bay. Not sensing anything that posed a threat, the figure’s attention moved back to the window to close it and re-engage the alarm.
A faint whirling noise came from the thin stealth rope as it snaked out and wrapped around a steel ceiling crossbeam. After securing and testing the rope, the figure scaled onto the beam. Once comfortably seated, the interior of the warehouse was inspected. Confident the equipment monitoring the ceiling was disabled, she moved above the office and dropped another rope down. She slid down, stopping just above the office window. A pinhole video camera was installed above the warehouse surveillance equipment. Having completed that job, the figure moved back up the rope.
Not wanting to rely on one exit, her next job was to secure a second in the roof. The rusted hinges on the ceiling window required special attention without the distinctive odor of WD40.
Finished with that chore, the intruder pulled back a black strap covering a wristwatch.
Still have lots of time.
The figure dropped to the warehouse floor, leaving the rope dangling, perhaps overconfident the rope wouldn’t be seen even if the lights were turned on or perhaps not willing to get rid of a backup exit. With bug detector in a gloved hand, she moved around the pallets and bulky stacks of goods, using them to hide from any monitoring devices. Just inside the double delivery doors, a stack of empty pallets inconveniently placed gave the figure pause.
She turned around, looking for monitoring devices. Satisfied the area was clear, she walked around the pallets. A pale object lay inside the stack. Leaning in for a closer look, she could see a folded envelope was pinned between the concrete floor and stacked pallets. Reaching through a small opening, she pulled at the discovery, but it held firmly in place. With a knife, the envelope was cut away, placed into a plastic bag, and tucked into one of the vest’s pouches. Another plastic bag came out, and with the blade, the dark spot on the concrete was scraped. The curled black substance ended up on a swab, placed in a plastic bag, and added to the pouch that contained the envelope.
Lights flashed through the front door window, illuminating the interior as far in as the stairs to the office. From the sounds, more than one vehicle had arrived at the building. Two angry voices argued, followed by two doors slamming shut. The insertion of a key in the lock caused the intruder to scan for a place to hide. Behind the empty pallets was not a secure option.
The sound of a click and the sudden blinding light sent the intruder dropping flat to the cement ground.
“No lights!” Danny Brucker’s voice barked.
“What are we going to do, wait for them in the dark?” Amos Anders, owner of the warehouse, demanded sarcastically.
“Turn the lights on in the office where someone passing can’t see it.”
“What’s the big deal? I own this place.”
Visually, the two men were polar opposites. Danny’s muscle-building pastime filled his clothes impressively. He had no need to add gold or color to attract attention, while Amos, thin as a rail, wore flashy clothes and expensive jewelry.
The clanging of footsteps on the metal stairway was muted in the packed warehouse. The office hung above the cement floor with the machinery, lockers, and break area tucked underneath it. Another light came on, the main light in the warehouse went off, and a door slammed shut, rattling everything attached from the windows down to the metal stairway.
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