1

The rain masked the scent of the asset. He'd be harder to track now, especially in his depleted state.

Sebastian was annoyed that he even had to deal with this. The asset shouldn't have been able to escape. He'd been in the hole for weeks, on hold for a big client who'd paid a lot of money for the services of the agency.

He'd tracked the asset to a section of the city he preferred to avoid - no one here could afford the services of the agency, so there was no point.

This late at night, in the rain, there was hardly anyone out. Sebastian continued to walk in the direction the last scent marker had pointed him, the trail he'd picked up before the rain started.

He caught a glimpse of the asset turning the corner just a couple of blocks ahead. He didn't want to spook him - even in his depleted state, he could do damage - so Sebastian continued at a steady but unhurried pace. The old man couldn't move that fast, he'd be caught soon enough.

Sebastian turned the corner where he'd seen the asset turn, but the only person he saw was a frumpy woman in a soaked jacket walking on the other side of the road.

As she passed him, though, Sebastian saw the telltale sign of a transfer crackling under the skin of her cheek.

Which made the retrieval infinitely more complicated.