<P>Sam and Paul worked the nightshift. Guard duty. They sat at that rusty gate in the walls surrounding UNATCO HQ. They had nothing to do, nothing to pass the time, so they got stoned and plastered, and sometimes urinated on the grass. They were, perhaps, the worst guards in the history of guards. But they figured, hey, after the NSF incident, nobody would try to be breaking into UNATCO Headquarters for a long time, right? They were getting paid to stand around...
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<P>...Right?
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<P>Suddenly there was a noise. A repeated chirp. It was the security camera above the front doors of the compound. Sam and Paul halted their conversation and stared at the camera.
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<P>It looked off to the left, its right, straining as far as it could turn.
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<P>Nothing could be seen in the shadow around the corner of the small building. A soft wind rustled through the grass.
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<P>"Well that's friggin' creepy," Paul said, looking back towards Sam...
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<P>Who was suddenly pinned against the gate by his neck, two dark hands clamped around his throat, pulling him violently. He struggled for air. It was difficult, because he was, at the time, both high and drunk.
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<P>"Jesus!" Paul shouted, not knowing what to do. Then, with a swift dark movement in the corner of his eye and a soft thud against the back of his head, he lost consciousness.
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<P>Sam was let go from the steel grip of his attacker, and then the shadow that had clubbed Paul over the head seized him, and he fell.
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<P>The two unconscious bodies were dragged out of sight.
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<P>The security camera reset, turning back to its routine rotations. It saw nothing further other than the original figure that had distracted it.