Hangar Security

-Rose Garden, late afternoon-

Wearing her "office lady" outfit with navy blue dress shoes, Diana walked into Rose Garden and slowly made her way to the private airport of the town. She had been requested to act as extra security at the private airport of a local businesswoman who was getting ready for a trip to Capital Crocus and who needed someone to watch over her plane until he got there. Wanting to get her foot in the door of VIP protection, Diana readily accepted the job offer. After a lot of walking she arrived at the gate to the airport and flashed her job notice to a guard in a blue uniform, who called in to his employer. After a minute's time and a brief conversation the solid metal gate was opened and she was granted entry to the airport, which featured a dozen large hangars and smaller facilities for smaller planes.

Diana walked onto the tarmac, where she was greeted by a businesswoman with waist-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a black jacket with black knee-length skirt and black dress shoes. She held out a hand in welcome.

"Hello there. You must be Diana Winchester." The middle-aged woman greeted her. Diana took the slender hand and shook it under the watchful eyes of four men in black business suits. They must have been her personal security force.

"Yes." Diana answered calmly.

"I have heard about some of your work from Mister Burke and Mr. Wainwright. Those two men are personal friends of mine and both of them recommended you for this job." The woman said to her.

"Your job is simple. You are to patrol the inside of the hangar where my private jet awaits preparation for takeoff. You will be on duty for a period of four hours." The businesswoman explained. Diana listened patiently to the explanation and looked towards the hangar that the client pointed at. It was a large metal hangar with double doors and was labeled in large white stencil letters and numbers Number 08. There were blue-suited guards stationed outside the door and numerous blue-suited guards patrolling between the hangars and around the perimeter of the airport walls.

"If you notice anything suspicious in the hangar or around my plane, you are to alert security immediately. Engage trespassers only if you have to." The woman added while handing the blonde mage an earpiece and a radio. Diana nodded and accepted both devices. She put the earpiece on and tested the radio... both pieces of technology worked without a flaw. The client then handed Diana a security pass, which she promptly clipped onto the front of her navy blue jacket.

"I have some business to take care of before the flight, so I will see you in roughly four hours." The client said to her. Diana nodded and went to the hangar, presenting her security pass to the two guards outside. She was granted entry and the door closed behind her. Diana was alone with a large private passenger jet with two engines and a blue-and-white paintjob with the top painted white and the bottom painted royal blue. The tail was painted white with a royal blue shield emblem emblazoned in the middle.

-Inside Hangar 08-

Diana walked a patrol route within the hangar that started on the outside of the hangar and gradually shrunk until she was walking in a square pattern that went around the plane. She was tasked with keeping her eyes on it at all times to prevent sabotage or someone sneaking on board the plane. So far she had been alone in the hangar, but she did not mind because that meant she only had to worry about her own job performance. Unless someone had already sneaked into the hangar before she even got here, chances were high that no one was going to sneak into an airport with this much security.

Diana walked around the inside of the hangar until her square route brought her close to the plane. She kept a respectful distance from it so that she could not be easily mistaken as a saboteur. The blonde admired the precision engineering that went into making a hunk of metal able to fly. She wondered how much the private passenger jet cost to purchase, let alone maintain. It likely cost a king's ransom to get a top-of-the-line plane like the one she was currently protecting.

[Word Count: 750]
[Total Word Count: 750/3,500]

-Inside Hangar 08, one hour later-

Diana had been walking her patrol route for an hour and listening to the radio reports of other airport security guards and everything was quiet. Quiet was exactly how the blonde liked jobs like this to go. No one else had entered the hangar and she had not seen any signs of suspicious activity, so she would keep walking the patrol route until the job was over.

"Have you seen anything unusual, Hangar 08?" A male voice asked. Diana brought the radio up to her lips.

"No signs of suspicious activity." Diana reported.

"Understood." The voice replied. Diana clipped the radio back to her waist and continued walking. During the briefing she had learned nothing about her client other than she was a businesswoman. What kind of business she worked in was unknown to the mage, but she was not being paid to ask questions. She was being paid to guard the private jet until it took off for Capital Crocus. What the client did to earn her money was her business.

Diana stopped in front of the jet to keep a watch on the hangar doors in case anyone tried to slip in that way. When no one entered, she switched to thermal vision to check for infiltrators using stealth suits to slip in one of the side entrances. The doors were still shut and she did not see anything suspicious, so she started on her patrol of the hangar again. Radio chatter did not alert her to unusual activity outside the hangar or on the airfield itself. So far, so good.

The work was monotonous but easy. She would have rather been on patrol outside so that she could at least feel the wind on her face and see the night sky. The hangar did not provide any of those opportunities, but she did not mind too much. It was just her and the plane. Her footsteps filled the hangar as she walked around the jet and checked for evidence of tampering.

-Inside Hangar 08, two hours later-

Diana had just reached two hours into the shift and everything was still quiet. Radio chatter did not indicate any unusual activity outside, so she remained silent and listened to reports from the outside world. They talked about the full moon, the blowing wind that chilled some of the guards, and about how the private airport was purchased from the city after some mage named "Sheridan" had singlehandedly defeated a crime syndicate that smuggled weapons in and out of Rose Garden. The blonde was somewhat interested in this "Sheridan" mage, but she had never heard the name until tonight. Someone who defeated an entire crime syndicate by themselves was someone not to be trifled with.

"Is there anything out of the ordinary in your area?" The same male voice from earlier asked Diana. Diana stopped walking before she brought her radio to her lips and spoke into it.

"No. Everything is normal." Diana reported with a minimum of words.

"Understood." The voice said in reply. She put the radio back on her side and resumed her patrol. She walked the outer edge of the hangar and checked the doors for any signs of forced entry. She did not find any evidence of tampering with the doors, so she kept walking and kept her eyes on the plane. She wondered what was taking the businesswoman so long to get here.

Diana stopped and stretched her legs for a moment because she had been walking with scarcely a pause for the past two hours. As she stretched her legs she felt the feeling slowly return to them, giving her enough energy for at least another hour. Everything had been quiet and uneventful... she had not seen another security guard enter the hangar since she was allowed entry. Was she the only one authorized to be in here or was security simply stretched so thin that no one could be spared to be in here with her?

Maybe security focused its efforts on keeping trespassers out before they got to the more sensitive parts of the airfield. That was what Diana would do were she in charge of security. It was easier to keep people out than to stop them once they infiltrated the airport. The client must have picked Diana as the last line of defense to give intruders a nasty surprise since they would be focused on evading security, not focused on fighting a mage.

[Word Count: 750]
[Total Word Count: 1,500/3,500]

-Inside Hangar 08, three hours later-

Diana was walking the route and trying to find the motivation to keep going for just one more hour when she received a radio report of interest.

"Hangar 08, look alive. The boss is here." The voice reported. Diana was galvanized by that report; her boredom and fatigue were instantly washed away by a surge of adrenaline.

"Understood." Diana replied. She clipped the radio to her side and walked the route with renewed focus. It had been three hours and the end was within sight. Just a little bit longer and it would be payday for the blonde. The main hangar door opened and the businesswoman entered with her four-man security team at her side and a black briefcase in her hand. She strode forward to meet Diana.

"Miss Winchester, I see that the plane is intact and still here." The client said to her while the men kept their eyes on Diana.

"Yes. I have not noticed any suspicious activity inside the hangar. No one has been near the jet." Diana reported to the client.

"Excellent. My business concluded earlier than I anticipated, so I have decided to come here and have my jet prepared for departure." The client updated her.

"What would you have me do?" Diana inquired.

"Keep doing what you are doing. I am not yet ready to fly." The client answered before walking away and exiting the hangar. A pilot and co-pilot entered the hangar, as did a team of mechanics. Diana obligingly stepped out of their way and let them pass. Her job was to protect against intruders and both the client and her security team did not see anything amiss with the new arrivals. If they did not see any problems, Diana did not see any problems either.

She stood by while the fueling and maintenance took place, Her job was nearly over. All she had to do was wait out the clock and success would be hers. Radio chatter from the outside, while hard to hear over the machinery, was normal and did not indicate any threats to the airport or its personnel. After ten minutes the refueling was complete and all preflight maintenance had been performed.

Diana watched as the client approached the plane with her security team by her side and boarded the private jet. Diana was pulled to safety by one of the ground crew as the jet engines were turned on and began to spin. She watched from a much safer distance as the hangar door was opened and the jet pulled out onto the tarmac, which was lit by glowing orange lights. It was an oddly beautiful spectacle to behold.

The jet eventually turned to the left and slowly gained speed before going out of view. It gradually came back around when it taxied off the runway to take to the night sky. The jet was in the air without any problems and the client had boarded the plane safely. Diana had presumably completed the job, but she was not finished just yet because a man in a security uniform approached her.

"You're needed to watch over another hangar. Sorry to spring this on you, but most of our security's on the outside." Diana was informed by the man. His voice matched the one she had been communicating with on the radio all night, so he had to be someone of importance. Diana shrugged her shoulders. As long as she got paid at the end of the night, she could handle it.

Diana followed the man across the empty tarmac and to Hangar 09, which was occupied by a jet with the same paintjob and the same emblem as the first one she had guarded. This hangar was occupied by more security, which meant that the person who was going to fly had to be a big wheel in the company. When they arrived in front of the plane, the black-haired man with a black mustache spoke to her.

-Inside Hangar 09-

"Miss Lebedev will be here in about an hour. All you have to do is watch over the plane until then. If anything happens, don't hesitate to let me know." The man informed her. That was simple enough to do because the goal was the same as the last time. This time she had backup close by if something happened, something that could not be valued enough.

"Got it." Diana replied calmly. The man then left Diana with four other security guards to guard the hangar. The metal double doors were shut behind him and the hangar was silent. The only sound was that of footsteps echoing in the hangar as Diana and the men walked their patrol routes.

Diana listened to the radio and did not hear anything out of the ordinary, so the perimeter had not been breached. That made her life easier because the job was so close to completion. She did not want anything to go wrong at the last second and end up losing her paycheck and her reputation for getting things done. Last-second complications were a lot harder to counter than problems that were planned for. Diana switched vision modes to make sure that she did not miss anything as she looked around the hangar for anything unusual.

Just when it got exciting, the job was getting kind of boring again. She was inside a hangar with nothing to do but walk in squares and wait until the VIP got into the plane and took off. She had to endure the boring jobs to get to the exciting, more lucrative ones. She would endure this job if it meant getting to more exciting opportunities in the future. At least the timetable for the new person's arrival was only an hour.

Seeing the boredom on the faces of the other guards assured the blonde mage that she was not the only one struggling to stay focused.

[Word Count: 1,000]
[Total Word Count: 2,500/3,500]

-Thirty minutes later-

Diana and the other guards were trying to stay focused on their jobs, but without coffee or other sources of energy, the task was not an easy one. The radio talk did not warn of anything unusual, so everything had to be OK. At least she hoped it was. She stood in front of the jet and looked towards the side doors just to do something slightly different than walk inside the hangar all night, which she might end up doing anyway. She could get through it as long as the pay was good.

However, mustering the resolve to stay focused was easier said than done. Unlike with VIP protection, protecting an airplane did not have nearly as many things to help her stay focused. There were no external threats to watch out for other than saboteurs and the security presence was so high that it was unlikely that a normal one could get in unnoticed. She tried to reach out with her magic sensing ability but found nothing that caught her attention because all the guards were normal humans. That only heightened her suspicion that she was meant to be the last line of defense against saboteurs.

-Thirty minutes later-

Diana and the other guards were fighting to stay focused because of the sheer unrelenting monotony of the job and the lack of interaction with any other people. It felt like they were entombed within the metal structure and left to stay there for all eternity. One guard leaning against the wall next to a metal support beam had to be nudged awake by a colleague. Diana could not complain because she was trying to stay awake as well. Moments later one of the back hangar doors creaked open and everyone came back to life.

A young blonde woman with green eyes and a black jacket with a black knee-length skirt and black shoes entered the hangar while escorted by four men in black suits. She too clutched a black briefcase in her left hand. Diana noticed that the older woman from earlier had one too and wondered if there was a connection. She was not sure, so she shrugged it off and watched as the younger woman approached.

"Hello. I am Natasha Lebedev." She introduced herself with an outstretched hand. Diana took the offered hand and shook it as a courtesy. The young woman then spoke again.

"I have heard no reports of suspicious activity. You and the security team have done well on this night." Natasha complimented her. Diana was glad to hear that the job had been a success. Maybe she would get paid for her trouble soon so that she could get out of here and move on to something more exciting. That "something exciting" came sooner than she had anticipated when she was handed a business card.

"We may have need of your services again. We will be in contact." She said to Diana just before boarding the waiting jet.

[Word Count: 500]
[Total Word Count: 3,000/3,500]

Diana and the other guards stood back and watched the jet engines roar to life and the plane move onto the tarmac. The hangar doors shut shortly after the jet left, leaving Diana alone with the other guards, who were rubbing their ears because the sound of jet engines was deafening. She watched as the black-mustached man approached from a side door and walked up to her with a bag of Jewels in hand.

"Everything went off without a hitch, Miss Winchester. Here's your payment for the job. The higher-ups were pleased with your performance and dedication to the job." He said to her, handing the Jewels to her. Diana took them with both hands and put them into her pocket.

"Is there anything else I need to do?" Diana asked the man. The man shook his head.

"Not at all. Since we don't have any more VIPs scheduled to arrive, your job here's over." He said to her. Diana took off her earpiece, radio, and temporary I.D. and handed them back to the man. The hangar doors then opened and she walked out of Hangar 09 with some Jewels, a business card, and a lot of questions.

She walked past other security guards and to the right of the tarmac to the main gate, which opened for her and let her back into the normal world. Diana was glad to be out of that hangar because she no longer felt entombed in a steel building. She also wanted to get something to drink, something like coffee. She went looking for a coffee shop or cafe to find a drink and maybe eat something before going home.

-The Rose Cafe, fifteen minutes later-

Diana sat at an outdoor cafe table sipping coffee and reading the business card, which bore the name Aegis Corporation. She recalled the older woman saying that Mister Burke and Mr. Wainwright were personal friends of hers. She wondered if that meant that the two men were classmates of hers, former co-workers, or just regular clients who she liked doing business with. Diana read the card and noticed the same blue shield emblazoned on the card that was on the tails of the jets.

The blonde mage wondered what Aegis Corporation actually did. Their name made them sound like a defense company, but whether they just made body armor or offered special protection services for those who wanted extra security and could afford to pay for it was still up in the air. Diana did not question it too much because business was business. If they wanted to hire her for another protection job, she would do it and not ask too many questions.

She saw the bill delivered to her table and brought out the right amount of Jewels to pay for it. She handed them to the waitress and watched as the waitress wished her a pleasant evening and walked back inside the cafe. Diana stood up, pocketed the card, and started her walk home. Tonight marked another success for the blonde mage.

[Word Count: 500]
[Total Word Count: 3,515/3,500]