100TWC - Day 61: Accuracy

Gregor sat beside a rusty iron stanchion, preparing himself. Today was all about planning, limiting options for things going wrong and, in the end, accuracy. His employers would probably count that last item as the most important. After all, it was what they were paying him for. Without accuracy, he would be nothing. Not at the top of his game, with an international reputation and a dozen calls on his, rather expensive, time each month.

But for Gregor, the other two factors were equally if not supremely important. If his focus should happen to waver on this occasion, even though it had been meticulously planned and nothing was likely to go wrong, then he would almost certainly get another chance, on another day. If his planning should fail, however, or his clever ideas for damage limitation were to prove not so clever as he believed, then there might be no second chance. His scope for second chances in that eventuality could even be removed for a very long time.

A gust of wind stirred up a small cloud of dust from the concrete roof. At this height even the calmest day could appear windy. The dust devil spiralled a short distance across the dull grey slabs and dissipated as quickly as it had been born. The likelihood of just such a sudden gust had been factored into Gregor's plans. When the time came, he could make the adjustment if necessary.

He unlocked the clasps on his worn black attaché case and flipped them open. No combination locks for him. Far too easily cracked. A four-digit combination could be broken inside half an hour by a skilled code breaker. If the contents of his nondescript bag were to be discovered, well, that was another of the damage limitation measures he preferred not to think about. His precautions had, so far, been sufficient, but Gregor was never complacent. Although from the outside the case appeared to be worn, it contained the very latest protective countermeasures. He had replaced the locks with titanium-hardened 7-lever tumblers that would survive an attempt to explode the bag. The sides of the case were lined with a material more opaque to normal airline X-rays than lead. And the inner linings had been crafted to reveal to those X-rays outlines of mundane, everyday objects that would allay even the most suspicious security personnel. So far, in fifteen years of use, he had never been asked to open the case.

He opened the lid. The final lingering fingers of the late afternoon sun gave his equipment a warm burnished glow that denied its deadly purpose. With the practised ease of his long experience he began to assemble the individual pieces, selecting them in the same order as he always did, checking them over with eyes that could detect the slightest imperfection, and fitting them smoothly into place. A small smile played over his face at the satisfying clicks as the assembly progressed. With a few seconds the task was complete. The tool of his trade lay in his lap, ready for use.

Once the job was complete, Gregor knew exactly how long it would take to disassemble and return the pieces to his case. Eight seconds. Roughly two-thirds of the time it took to put it together, if he were in a hurry. Today, with his plan carefully worked out and still, for the present at least, on track, he had been able to take his time. There had been occasions, a few only but all the more memorable for that, when he had had to change position. To run through the streets to his second, or -- just once -- third position. On those occasions assembly had been a more urgent task and one for which he had to rely on his instincts, memory and familiarity with his equipment to complete the job as quickly and accurately as possible. No time to check for misalignment, or wear on the individual sections, he had to trust that his meticulously careful cleaning of his tools after each job would be enough. Today, he was confident all was in order. There would be no slip-ups. No need for alternative positions. It was all good.

Gregor checked his watch. The time had come. He hefted the high-powered semi-automatic rifle over the concrete parapet, put his eye to the telescopic night-enhanced sight, and took careful aim.