The plan had been for Condor and Birdseed to distract anyone that might get in the way of Kheshig's work, but now it seemed as if they were doing the complete opposite. He could not hear what Birdseed had said to the woman out front, but now she was heading towards the back of the shop - towards Kheshig. The only saving grace was that the man standing behind him seemed pretty distracted by Condor and Birdseed's attired and physique. He had let out a low, approving whistle when the two ladies appeared on screen, and his eyes barely left that one monitor ever since then, only flicking downwards occasionally to keep an eye on Kheshig.

If it were not for the fast-approaching woman, Kheshig would have tried his hand at getting the man to head out front. It would have been an easy task; Kheshig was no reader of people, but even he could tell that the man was torn between staying to keep watch over Kheshig and heading out front to get a better look at Birdseed and Condor, or to do whatever men who were not Kheshig did with pretty ladies. His mind raced even as he maintained a bored and expressionless look on his face. Perhaps he could still convince the man to leave even after the woman arrived. There was a slight chance that she was coming back to fetch him.

That was when he heard the man let out a shout of alarm. Kheshig's head snapped up to look at the monitor and saw the last thing he wanted to see. Birdseed had entered a door she was evidently not supposed to enter, judging by the man's reaction. The whole point of the distraction was to allow for Kheshig to take his time to do a proper job, but now that seemed to be completely out of the question. For the first time in a very long time, Kheshig felt anger bubbling within him. Changes to the plan, he could tolerate. But such a blatant disregard for operational security? He was going to have words with her once this was over, but for now it was time to get his hands dirty.

"Where the hell is she going?" The man asked, seeing the same things that Kheshig saw on screen. He stepped past Kheshig to get a better look at the monitor. "That door's s'posed to be-"

He never got a chance to complete his sentence as Kheshig chose that moment to act. He stood up, then drove the heel of his palm into the back of the man's neck, just above the base of the skull. He put all of his weight into the strike, intent on knocking out the man with the first strike, or at least temporarily blinding him by attacking the back of his brain. The man crumpled onto the control panel in a heap, apparently knocked out by the blow. Kheshig was not too surprised; the back of the brain was a particularly vulnerable spot, one which could even cause death had he used more force.

His victory was short-lived, as just then the woman appeared. She looked at the man's unconscious form, then to Kheshig, surprise written all over her face. Kheshig acted a split-second too late, and the woman pounced on him first, a switchblade in her hands. Unarmed and not at all prepared for the sudden attack, Kheshig could only defend himself, deftly avoiding or deflecting the woman's attacks. He brought up everything that he had learned during his time with the Chinese Special Forces and bode his time, waiting for an opening. He found it when she lunged forward, extending just ever-so-slightly too much. Kheshig stepped to the side, grabbed the woman's attacking wrist with his left hand and pulled her forward, at the same time driving his right elbow towards her face.

There was a sickening crunch as her nose was shattered by his elbow, and she reeled back in pain, a sharp cry of pain emanating from her lips. By then it became clear that stealth was out of the option, and speed was their last hope of completing the job without any more trouble. It amazed Kheshig that the woman still kept her grip on the knife, but he wasted no time in following up on his assault. He lashed out with a kick at the woman's torso, the flat of his foot connecting with her body and sending her sprawling to the ground. He rushed over to her and pinned her to the ground with a knee on her chest.

"You will not die," Kheshig said, grabbed the woman's head, then smashed the back hard against the ground. She let out a sharp breath, then her body relaxed. These people may be criminals, but Kheshig was not about to kill someone without first knowing their crimes. His days of running and gunning were over; a life was only to be taken when it balanced a debt. That had been his personal creed, and it still was. "Sleep, and dream of a better life."

He stood up and exhaled, wiping the sweat from his brow. The time for the soft approach was gone. Now his objective was to remove all traces of their presence. Let the police or their friends believe that this was just a robbery or a turf war between gangs. Kheshig went to his bag and pulled out an EMP charge. He activated it and placed it on the console. The charge, designed for attacking hardened systems, almost set the entire console afire when it went off, but it did the job. The monitors turned black, and an intermittent buzzing sound told Kheshig that all the electronics were well and truly fried. No one would be able to pull anything from these machines.

He took out his radio from the duffel bag. "Callsign Kheshig here. Target is blind, but stealth might be blown. Tell callsign Birdseed she owes me." He said tersely and threw the radio back into the bag, with a little bit more force than he had intended. Kheshig could understand her actions; if he had been in her shoes, he imagined that he would have felt just as indignant. She was a genius gadgeteer and a capable agent, but her role in this mission amounted to being little more than eye candy. Had Kheshig been the one who put the plan together, he would have found a way to exploit her skills better, but he had not. 

Yes, he could understand why Birdseed did what she did, but he did not condone it. An operation was a play, with everyone playing their part to make sure things ran smoothly. Kheshig let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head as he looked around him. Birdseed had decided that she disliked her role and chose another for herself, and now the play was in danger of becoming a flop. Yes, he was going to have words with her when this was over. It was a long ride home, after all.