David pocketed the cube and headed for the door. Jerome saw that the old man was limping slightly. He did not notice it before. David’s winter jacket was torn slightly on the back. His shoes were worn. David seemed to be aging rapidly, in tune with the night. Jerome looked at Norah. Her face was full and lively. She had no real blemishes. She was the antithesis of the winter worn old man.

“May I use the bathroom, please?” Jerome asked politely. Norah pointed to a back room. She did not seem overly willing to let him use the facilities.

He passed Norah and headed towards the general direction she had pointed to. He passed three rooms, doors closed, then finally reached a slightly ajar door with a “Do Not Enter” sign pasted on it. Jerome stepped in.

It was an average toilet. Toilet paper on the tank and a toilet brush flanking the bowl. Jerome pissed and flushed with pleasure.

“Be careful, laaitie,” Norah was waiting for him on the other side. “David’s outside waiting for you.”

“Thank you for your help, Ma’am.”

“Call me Norah,” her voice concerned.

“Okay, Norah. Bye.”

Jerome tried getting passed her, but she grabbed his arm. She looked directly into his eyes.

“I said be careful. I don’t trust that old man. You shouldn’t either. Keep that gun of yours ready, Jerome. You’ll need it.” She let go of his arm.

Jerome remembered David’s earlier warning. He could not trust the word of a random woman.

“Thanks for the advice,” he said, pushing passed Norah and her potent perfume.

Jerome found David fiddling with an extinguished oil drum. He seemed to be looking for something, maybe a cigarette or maybe his lost years.

“Ready to go?” David spun around slightly shocked by Jerome’s sudden appearance. He quickly brushed off the shock and started walking towards the tower.

“Let’s go,” he shouted.

It was getting quite late. The cold had become part of Jerome. He no longer felt it through his thin track suit jacket. He followed David without too much thought. He was ready for the mission. His heart beat in his ears and the moon illuminated the cold air that was visible with each of his focused breaths.

The shacks were thinning out. Jerome only saw two or three scattered about. He looked up at the tower. It looked more menacing from afar. Now it just looked like a pole with lights, a very tall pole. They got within a hundred metres of the tower and they were met by a fence. It was about the height of an average man and David quickly scaled it. Jerome followed suit. He landed uncomfortably and grunted.

“Quiet,” David hissed as he crouched in the open field that surrounded the tower.

Jerome crouched too and surveyed the area.

There was the tower, tall and unimpressive and there were two small cement buildings, guard posts. David pointed to the guard post on the left of the tower. Jerome headed towards it; he produced his gun and turned off the safety. He peered carefully through one of the windows. Empty.

Jerome headed back to where he landed uncomfortably. David was already there.

“Take this,” David handed Jerome the device. “I’ll climb that guard post on the left and keep a lookout. You climb the tower. Disable it, for unification, for UDF.” Jerome pocketed the device and walked stealthily towards the tower.

Jerome looked up. The moon, now a good friend, shone dully on the tower’s metal ladder. It only led up to a small platform that housed the fuse box. He needed to get to the top. He climbed the ladder, reached the platform and carefully tugged at the tower’s beams.

“I can climb this,” he said to himself reassuringly. He took a deep breath and started climbing. The cold was barely a memory now. Adrenaline surged through him as he made swift progress. There was no wind save for the faint breeze that tickled his ears. He looked up. He was within jumping distance of the blinking light that housed the transmitter.

He climbed faster. His hands were numb and his legs throbbed with pain. He was nearly there. Bang! The bullet hit the metal beam above Jerome’s head. He could hear voices below, but they were inaudible. He continued the climb.

Gunshots echoed in the night air. Jerome reached the transmitter and crouched to avoid the gunfire. He placed the device on the transmitter and flipped the switch. The tower’s light stopped blinking.

“That wasn’t so hard,” he sighed as the gunfire increased in frequency. He needed to get down. He crossed to the opposite side of the tower and started his descent. The gunfire ringed in his ears, but it was not directed at him anymore. They could not see him. His throbbing legs and hands touched the cold beams as he went further down. It was taking too long.

He continued his descent feeling the weight of the pistol in his pocket. Your training is over, he thought as he reached the bottom of the tower. He could see five figures, sparks flying sporadically out of their hands. Jerome ducked, gun in hand, and headed for the empty guard post.

“Ima! Stop!” a voice yelled behind him.

Jerome turned and fired. He heard a groan and a body collapsing. He stood pointing his pistol at the darkness, then felt cool metal at the back of his head.

***

Tell us what you think: Should Jerome trust David or could Norah be right?