Chapter 2 - Open Season

September 3oth was exceptionally cool this year with a cold front pushing down from the north ahead of hurricane Melvin. On this day, as expected, Atled's coffee shop was deserted compared to every other week of the year. Only the most regular - and most elite - of the normal clientele would be congregating on this colder-than-expected, rainy day. For the many regulars not so fortunate, today promises to entail the most miserable day of the year, the end of the government's fiscal year. Patrons from the FBI, DHS, Treasury, and the CIA are the norm on a Friday morning such as this. Their fading tans subtly mimic the internal discomposure many of them have been dealing with for years working in this town. Washington, DC was in fact considered the most elite of assignments... for ever other country in the world. Working here, and working for us was not the same as the glamorous tales I can see glorified in the titles of the brilliantly colorful paperbacks on the revolving rack between me and my target at the high power java hut located at 501 15th ST NW.

Today we needed to justify everything. Our targets were most likely to remain in high enough significance survive the end of the fiscal year funding war that threatened all of us.

[CONFIRMED] .. was heard by everyone as the facial recognition algorithms had completed their independent analysis. This was a given. We knew who we were trailing and we hadn't let him out of our sight in seven years. The amazing thing about the technology was its accuracy. Once pointed at someone, it never failed to find them in a crowd.

Finne Seldnac, Jr. was browsing about the family health section slowly sipping his latte. It was quite surreal to see him strolling about the deserted corner retailer with little knowledge of the massive entourage of Federal agents that had preceded him into his usual morning habitat. Everything was following the common operating procedure estimate that had been developed and refined over the last six and one-half years officially surveiling Finne.

Today was the day, though. It had all been put into place.

In an attempt to blend into my environment, I reach for a copy of Patterson's Roses are Red to avoid eye contact with the man I have been chasing for the last half-decade. Just then, I saw him twitch - again. It was subtle, yet so obvious if you were paying attention - which had become my life. I couldn't help feeling like I was at the poker table and I had finally found my opponent's "tell".

Then again, such an assessment was too simple...too easy... and therefore too hard to believe in. Nothing easy is ever worth it from my experience.

This case was supposed to be easy when it was sold to me... just like the rest of them. But, I really did believe this one was a simple up-and-downer... Set 'em up and take 'em down. The story looked so true when I took the SAC position, but I have learned a lot since then. Finne wasn't the kingpin he was sold to me as, but it didn't matter.... I had twelve million dollars of "retirement funds" invested in this case and almost one hundred full time agents engaged in this operation.

Finne was done.... It will end today.