Observance

The dark figure chanced a look over the ledge of the tall building, peering down at the two story structure they had an eye on for months now. There was enough of a chill in the air to provoke a slight shiver, as they reached into their left breast pocket of the black fatigues. A moment later, an obsolete cell phone would have come into view, if there was anybody else around to have seen it.

Dark brown eyes peering from the small slit in the black woven balaclava looked down at the screen, while black leather gloved hands fumbled with the buttons. A combination of numbers were inputted, enabling a crude voice changer, then the familiar sound of a call being connected as the phone was drawn up towards where the figure's left ear would have been, if it was exposed.

"Yes?" an equally scrambled voice answered. The figure cleared their throat and proceeded with the use of prearranged code words, "Uncle, my sisters are leaving on a Holiday vacation."

After a long pause, the voice from the phone asked, "Together?" The figure replied, "No, it seems they are going their separate ways."

Another long pause and the voice asked "When?" The figured answered, "I expect in the next day or two."

"Perhaps....we shall conclude the business at hand after the start of the Western New Year," the voice from the phone said, with an odd hesitation. The figure raised a pair of small binoculars to their eyes, looking at the curtain drawn windows and replied, "Very generous of you, Uncle."

"Yes, it is," and the phone went dead. The figure lowered the binoculars and stared blankly at the phone. They hadn't expected the conversation to go that way at all.

It didn't matter, after all this time of observing and preparing, soon it will all be over