Spies 3: The Prologue

[Judge Sam]

A frown creased Adrian’s face. He was stuck.

All he needed was one black eight or one red ten and he’d probably have won the damn thing. Frustrated at losing for the fifth time in a row, Adrian quickly X’ed out of Solitaire and glanced up over the desk in front of him. Sitting up in his chair, he said:


“Take the elevator on the right to the fourth floor. Immediately turn to your right and walk down the hall. The Lincoln Room is the third room on your left.”

The man headed towards the elevators as Adrian slumped back in his seat. The five-story Capitol Building wasn’t normally this busy on a Tuesday morning, but today, the rotating glass doors were constantly spinning as people entered and left. Adrian turned his attention back to the computer in front of his reception desk and clicked randomly with the mouse. Bored out of his mind, Adrian took a look back towards the doors to people-watch. That was his favorite way to pass the time at the dull receptionist post. As men and women walked throughout the rather large lobby, Andrew thought to himself rather cattily:


Oh Lord, what was that woman thinking when she crawled out of bed this morning? That eyeliner is atrocious! I didn’t even know they made makeup in that my-face-is-purple-I’m-about-to-barf color. Maybe she overdosed on Adderall last night, that would explain the blush on her chin. Oh, you know, she could be blind – that little poodle could be her seeing eye dog. Wait a second, oh my god, that dog has the same eyeliner that she does! Well, at least the dog can pull it off.


Adrian smiles warmly at the woman as she passes by.


Oh look here comes bald overweight middle aged businessman number 8,432. Pants an inch too short? Check. Unkept beard? Check. Worn out shoes that he’s probably worn for the last decade? Stereotype complete.

Adrian’s eyes wander throughout the lobby, looking for anyone with a sense of fashion. Finding no one even close, his memory traveled back to last Friday. A gorgeous, scruffy carpenter of about 30 had unexpectedly walked through those doors and approached Adrian at the desk. Pausing to secure his tool belt, he began to tell Adrian why he was there. After repeating himself to a distracted Andrew, he went back to his truck to gather the tools necessary to do his job. Apparently he was sent there to inspect the giant chandelier hung 15 feet in the air above the Capitol lobby for repairs. Adrian took a look up towards the exquisite crystal chandelier, as he remembered the cute carpenter scale the ladder to inspect it.

“Are you sure you don’t need anyone to hold the ladder for you?” Adrian smiled, recalling what he said, and recalling the smile the carpenter had flashed back.



Adrian stared closely at the chandelier. It was gorgeous. He started to count the panes of crystal hanging from it, but got bored after 150. He stared at it longer, wondering what it would look like if it ever fell. Imagining it frame by frame as the glass shattered in all directions.

The chandelier didn’t fall. It just hung there. Just like it always had.


Another woman approached the receptionist desk and Adrian’s thought process was broken.

[Judge Sam]

Adrian wasn’t staring at the chandelier when a soft hissssssssssing sound began. A faint, black, steam-like gas began shooting out of the top of the chandelier, immediately filling the air near the ceiling. The fans began to swirl it around as it slithered through the air towards the ground and throughout the building. Hissing like a snake, the sounds became louder and the smoke became thicker as Adrian noticed the airy substance. It was spreading quickly, emotionlessly filling the building.


Tense at first, Adrian immediately thought there might be a gas leak. On top of the chandelier? Confused, Adrian tensed his muscles. As what often happens in such terrifying and unexpected situations, he just stood there and stared at the gas, unaware of the upcoming nightmare. Unsure if this was a serious problem, he called his supervisor but there was no answer. The guests in the lobby looked towards him for advice, but he had no idea what to do or what to say.

As he began to walk towards his supervisor’s office, a sharp sting hit him in the gut, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around and rubbed his stomach when he saw an old man collapse in the lobby. As his daughter began to scream, the poisonous gas rushed towards her gaping mouth, soaring down her windpipe and filling her lungs. She collapsed on top of her father.


Frightened and panicked, he pushed his way through the smoke-filled air and ran outside. Around the busy city streets people were likewise running outside for their cars. The smoke just wasn’t in the Capitol Building, it was everywhere, coming from every building and every doorway. Adrian felt a cold chill as the gas began to liquidate and condense on his neck. It seeped into his skin. He began to feel numb. The numbness spread around his neck as it became harder to breathe. Hands around his neck, he fell to the ground in terror as the chaos exploded in the city around him.

Teetering on the edge of consciousness, Adrian lay on the floor gasping for breath. The last thing he saw was a large man in a black suit towering over him. The man wore a black gas mask that covered his face and provided him with fresh oxygen. Despite the mask, Adrian imagined an eerily satisfied smile creep across his face as he confidently walked through the doors to the Capitol Building, not once looking back.

[Judge Sam]