I froze. I had no cover, with no exit, or nowhere to run. I rummaged around the desks, seeing if there was anything I could use, when I saw a framed photo of a man with his wife on the desk. I recognized him as one of the men I saw walking around the building. This is the best I am going to get.
A middle-aged man with black hair, a foot above my height, this would not take long. I grabbed his Lab coat, which was slung across the chair, put it on, and gulped for air.
My muscles loosened, itching and slithering under the skin as bones shifted to match them, creaking lightly. My skin crawled and shivered as it rearranged, cheekbones realigning, shoulders sloping, spine expanding as I felt new vertebrae form and slide in. My clothing tightened, around me, I quickly sat down to hide it as I did up the buttons on the lab coat. As I settled into my new appearance, a dull throb shuddered through me like a static charge, as my body stopped changing and sat comfortably.
By the time the door creaked open, I was already leaning forward and hunched over the desk, writing on some paper, before squinting down at a random file and pretending to mutter under my breath.
The guard stepped in. "Oh, sorry for interrupting, didn't realise you were still using the lab."
I looked up with a tired expression.
"Sorry, just remembered a last-minute task," I said, mimicking a man's tone, hoping the guard would not notice a difference or, best, not know what I sound like. "Just needed to get it down before I forgot it."
The guard nodded. "I'll get out of your hair, just checking and doing the rounds."
Then he stepped back into the hall and let the door swing shut behind him.
After the footsteps faded, I slumped into the seat. Shapeshifting is always risky; thank God that he did not know the guy or see anything wrong.
I closed the drawer, straightened the coat out, folding it over the chair, double checked all of the documents, making sure to get Vince's that were left at the bottom of the drawer. I turned toward the exit, heading back for the roof.
/
I slipped through the side door of the motel we were staying at and headed for our rooms. I entered, to James's pacing back and forth. Robert sat with a newspaper open in front of him, uncaring of the entire thing as Victor seemed to join him, relaxed, smoking a cigar without a care, seeming to be quite happy with himself. They all turned to me as I entered.
I pulled the documents from my coat and tossed them onto the table, though I made sure to keep our Stark tech.
"I got it," my chest puffed out, still rising and falling heavily; this entire thing had brought me back home and given me the best of rushes.
James let out a low whistle. "You're insane, kid."
Robert briefly folded his newspaper to give me a bored look. "Took you long enough."
Victor groaned as he got up, shuffling over as if he had done the hardest day's work and flipping it open. His eyes narrowed at the first page.
"Good, good."
I dropped into the chair, ignoring the sweat cooling on my back.
James patted me on the shoulder and gave me an honest, happy smile. "Welcome back, Kid, glad you made it." He moved over and hovers over Victor's shoulder. "Looks good to me. I think we've got everything we need."
Robert finally put away his newspaper, "Can't say it has been the worst experience working with you, Victor, but I hope to never have to again."
"The feeling is mutual." Victor yaws, "Well, I'll get these copied tomorrow and then we can part ways, until then, night, don't have any nightmares, because I won't help you."
Victor flicks his cigar at us before he leaves, leaving the door open as he does, making me get up to close it after him. What a dick. Makes what I am going to do to him later much easier than it was going to be.
/
Under the thin motel sheets, I lay still until the clock ticked past two. I rose, barefoot, onto the cracked tiles, shuddering as my feet touched the ceramic tiles. In the dim bathroom mirror, my features shifted like water over rock. Cheekbones sharpened and stretched, my nose bent just slightly, as my height changed enough that it was taller than me. I changed my jacket and clothes before leaving.
The motel hummed of a dying fluorescent bulb as I made my way down the washed yellow hallway to Vincent's room. Picking through the shoddy door was easy, as was making my way in as Vincent's snoring echoed around the room like a constipated car engine.
Victor only stirred when the cold metal touch of my gun rested against his forehead. I stood next to the bed, my silhouette foreign in the dark.
"Time to wake up, Victor, you don't have the privilege of sleeping right now."
Victor slowly raised his hand after sitting up. "Hey man, I don't have anything worth stealing."
I spoke softly, playing up my Moscow accent to the maximum. "Not interested in stealing Victor, there is information that you have that I want."
"Hey man, I don't know what you are talking about or what you want. I'm just a lowly guy trying to make my way in life."
I smiled down at him. "We both know that is not true. You have made quite a profitable deal recently. I don't think Sam will be too happy when he hears about you selling Vince's documents onto a new buyer."
Victor's breath caught, mouth open, eyes flicking from the gun to my face. "What do you want?"
I smiled. "Glad you are becoming agreeable." I relaxed my gun a bit. "What happened to your partner?"
Victor shrugged. "Got reassigned, waiting for a new one."
I tut at him before I leaned in and channelled the fears that fuel my anger. "Now, Now, Victor. We don't want to begin this great partnership with you lying. We know he died due to your dealings?" Victor slightly shuffled as I patted him on the face. "We like this, it shows your priorities. You are a business man, and so we have a proposition for you, for every bit of information and dealings you pass onto us, you get a nice big 'pay check' as you Americans say, yes."
Victor swallowed, but his eyes shone as he subtly licked his lips. "That doesn't sound so bad."
"Haha, no, it does not." I lean back away from him. "We will be in touch with a way of contact. Be safe, Victor."
By the time Victor flicked on the lamp, the room was empty, and I was in my bed sleeping like nothing had happened. Though I smiled when I heard Victor mutter a "Fuck" and something about being grabbed by the balls as he flopped back onto the bed.