CHAPTER ONE
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“Looks like another day of work being piled up…” A tall girl tossed her backpack onto a dark leather chair, shedding a black jacket as she went. “I really don’t know why they have me come out to the site. It’s not like they actually need me there.”
Her name was Kana Mori. She’d just gotten home after being called out to a construction site-a quarter of the way around the planet, in the United States.
“I gave them the plans, so if they stick to our contract that’s one job finished.” Kana plopped down onto a couch, hands behind her head. “Really an odd bunch, that company. What person in their right mind would hire a 19 year old engineer from Japan for an apartment complex?”
Despite that, Kana knew she had already gained a pretty impressive reputation. Most of the contractors who got a hold of her had heard about her by word of mouth alone.
Kana opened her eyes and got to her feet, grabbing her backpack on the way. Picking up a small remote, she pointed it at the wall and pressed a button. The curved glass walls around her turned clear, rather than the opaque white they had been before, revealing the fantastic ocean view. Her home was right at the shore of a beautiful secluded bay.
Tossing the remote back onto the small coffee table, she tossed the bag over her shoulder and went to a door in the opposite wall. Once inside the room, she dropped the bag by a large black ebony desk, and then opened up her laptop and started it up. Going over to a full size bed in the corner of the room, she laid down for a minute, allowing herself to relax.
In terms of your average 19 year old, Kana was everything but. At 9 years old, it was already apparent she was a mathematical and scientific genius. When she was eleven years old, she could solve advanced trigonometric equations, and had begun delving into physics. Finishing high school at the age of 13, she immediately began college to become an engineer. Finishing with a Master’s degree in only three years, she had soon acquired her first contract soon after graduation, through her father’s old company. After that job, word began spreading quickly. In the space of the next year, she had earned enough to move out and buy her house. Regular funds intake now was close to $200,000 a month. She was often hired to design complex buildings, the only ones of their kind. Occasionally, though, she would get the boring apartment complex or office building, like now.
Kana groaned. “Oh great! It’s the fourteenth again…Mother’s going to be calling.”
In a sudden action she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, slipped off the back cover and took out the battery. “I really don’t want to deal with her today…”
Getting up, she threw herself into the black leather desk chair and started working on the computer. Now that her job in the U.S. was finished, she had to clear up her finances.
After almost an hour of clicking keys, Kana finally threw her hands up in frustration. “Brilliant, now that I thought about Mother calling…” The thought wouldn’t leave her mind.
Her family life was frankly a mess. Her father had suddenly left one day, when she was four years old, and after a couple of years her mother remarried. Her step-father had been likeable enough at first, but when it began coming out about her oddly brilliant mind, his attitude had completely changed. Kana could easily remember that conversation between her mother and her step-father.
“You just don’t get it do you? That girl is a complete genius! She could make us a fortune!” His voice had been laced with greed. “The headlines would be everywhere! ‘9 Year Old Mathematician and Physicist!’”
“Now, honey, Kana already said she just wants to finish her schooling, nothing more. We shouldn’t push her.”
“Ya right! I’m the head of this house, I’ll decide where and when she uses that pretty little head!” he had replied angrily.
A short time later, he started entering her in speed math and science competitions. She easily won all of them, doing the problems in her head in a fraction of the time it took other kids. This continued for about three and a half years. Kana had soon grown bored of the competitions, but whenever she tried to tell him he would just brush her off, and go back to counting his prize money. He never shared; he just took it all for himself to buy drinks and new toys for himself, occasionally giving her mother his leftovers. Even when she mentioned it to her mother nothing changed.
“Just bear with him, dear; he’s just a little overly excited is all. It’ll wear off soon, and then you can completely focus on your schooling like you want.”
When she turned twelve, she had finally had enough. In so many words, she basically told him she was done with his pathetic little competitions, and if he would excuse her she was going to go study. That’s when things turned from bad, to worse.
Her step-father had developed something of a drinking problem, which was the first issue. The really bad thing was that now if Kana tried to talk back, or do her own thing, he had started beating her. He threatened that if she ever told anyone about it, she’d wish she had listened a million times over. After the first couple of times she came home after a competition bruised and cut, her mother started to notice. Unfortunately by that time her mother had begun to change as well. The lure of wealth had seduced her, and she just brushed off Kana’s miserable condition. Kana didn’t put up with the beatings for long. At first she tried to fight back, but all that resulted in was Kana being in a worse condition than she would have been. Finally, after she graduated high school, she had found her means of escape. After she entered college, she could stay in the dorms, and never go back home. She had moved out entirely as soon as possible after getting her degree, and had started living on her own.
“Just one more thing to bother me when I’m trying to focus…” she sighed.
She pushed herself upright, and walked over to a completely blank dark grey wall. As she stood, a panel receded into the wall, and a scanner pushed its way out. Placing her palm into the hand-shaped indent, she waited until the blue strip of light had passed completely over her hand, and then removed it.
The scanner slid back into its place, and a hidden door in the wall slid open, revealing a dark, dimly lit staircase. Blue strips of light highlighted the edge of each step. Kana started to walk forward, but then stopped and turned around.
“I’d better grab the pack and the phone…” After retrieving her items, she began her descent.
After a few steps down the door behind her hissed shut once more, but Kana ignored it and kept going.
The room at the bottom of the stairs would have been completely amazing to another person’s eyes.
Steel tables lined every wall, covered with different computers in various stages of dissection. In the center of the room was a large computer bank, with seven different holographic screens. The entire thing was based on a large raised platform that filled the empty space in the room. Cables snaked across the floor, and various tools were strewn about. All of the walls were made of a dull black metal, and the lights in the ceiling were turned to dim.
Kana stepped up onto the platform, and the computers came to life. Three-dimensional images and holographic screens sprang up around her, but she just walked through them and sat at the computer bank, tossing her backpack beneath her and the phone on the desk. I should probably put the battery back in anyway… I forgot I’m supposed to get a call today. Making her decision, she slowly put the battery back and replaced the cover. After only a few seconds a notice came up.
“Why do I have a text message? I thought I told Mother to stop giving that guy my number…this is the fifth time I’ve changed it already…” Kana sighed. Her mom had eventually turned around and realized what was happening, but by that time Kana was ready to move out. Kana kept in contact a small amount by the calls from her mother once a month, but more often than not she would ignore them.
Hey Kana, you want to have a chat sometime soon? --- J. N.
“Yup, it’s the jerk all right…” Kana muttered. “Just can’t leave me alone, can you?”
No. Stop texting me. She replied and hit SEND.
Kana tossed the phone aside and started working on the computer. Various profiles and notes popped up on the screens, each for a different person. Now…which is the most urgent? All of these people are at a low level of activity, I haven’t needed to directly track them for some time…
The phone ringing broke her train of thought. “Really?! What is it now…” She picked up the phone, and with the barest of glances at the screen hit Accept.
“I thought I told you to stop contacting me!” she burst out.
“Come on now, Kana, I just want to talk.” Her stepfather’s smooth voice came through.
Oh sure you just want to talk. “I have no reason to talk to you.”
“Wait now, I…” Kana pulled the phone away and hung up.
Less than a minute later the phone rang again. This time Kana didn’t even bother to look, she just angrily picked up the phone.
“Shut up and quit calling me!” she shouted.
“Ah, excuse me, but I don’t understand Japanese?” The voice on the phone was male, with a slight Dutch accent. He was speaking in English.
“Oh, erm…” Kana switched to English, and stuttered for a moment, embarrassed. “S…Sorry about that sir, I thought you were someone else. Who am I speaking to? This is Kana Mori.”
“My name is Falk de Whit. I’m at your door; could we talk for a moment?”
What in the world…why is he at my door? “I’m sorry Mr. De Whit, but what is your reason for finding my address?”
“I want to discuss making a…contract…with you. Kana Mori is one of the best engineers around, no?” Falk de Whit laughed.
“If you found my number Mr. De Whit, there was no need to come to my home. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
“Ah no, no, no need Kana. I can see you are busy; I’ll contact you another time. We’ll see how the search for your father is going in a couple of days, hmm?”
His last sentence completely baffled Kana. Where did that come from?...And how did he know?... “Hey…” A click cut her off. Falk de Whit had already hung up.
“That was odd…” she muttered. “Falk de Whit huh? Haven’t heard the name before. Oh well, time to worry about that later, I need to focus.” Kana returned her attention to the screens in front of her. Ryoko Suzuki, CEO of a large company. She has connections in high places, but it doesn’t seem to be helping her. She’s going bankrupt, and her activity is turning shady. Goes to the southeastern part of Tokyo often, but she always loses the tracker. Over the past five months her travel patterns have been regular, no major changes. Nothing big here, I don’t think I need to worry about her.
Persistent beeping broke into her thoughts. “Everyone is making it impossible for me to work today…” Kana sighed. “What with my engineering projects, and trying to sort out these assignments…” She tapped a button on the desk, and leaned back into her chair. “It’s me, what’s up?”
“Grouping and identification number.”
Really, they’re going to nitpick today of all days… “Special Agent 14. Come on Ann, I know it’s you, so quit with the protocol will you? It’s not like anyone else could be answering.”
“You can never be sure. Regardless you’re being called in. “Ann said. “Gear, your flash drive, the works.”
“I just got my file update, why bring my drive?” Kana was completely relaxed.
“Hey, I don’t give out the orders, I just relay them. Now hurry will you? Agent One is going to flip if you’re late. ETA?”
“1800 hours. You have any idea what the assignment is?”
“Negative. Over and out.” Ann’s voice went back to being brisk and concise.
“Another assignment…jeez they are packing it in these days.” Kana slipped out of her chair and walked over to one of the tables. Arrayed on the surface were various articles of clothing and devices. Kana grabbed a few things, then slipped behind a screen in the corner. A few minutes later she emerged clad entirely in black. Jeans, a short sleeve shirt, boots, even dark fingerless gloves. She went back to the table, and started slipping things onto the belt slung around her waist.
Let’s see…night vision goggles, vision probe, knife, pocket scanner, phone, tranquilizer gun…I think that’s it. Kana stood in front of a tall mirror, checking to make sure she had gotten all of her equipment. Despite trying to focus on the task at hand, random thoughts kept poking their unwanted heads into her mind. I forgot I really do hate looking in mirrors… Kana really wasn’t that unique looking. Short black hair framed a face with almost black eyes. She was thin and lean, but athletic, standing 6 feet tall. The only thing that maybe put her apart was the scars all over her body. In the mirror Kana could only see the ones on her arms, tracing pale lines across her skin. Comes with the job. Now focus Kana, you don’t have time to be lost in thought. She quickly slipped something over her face. A black mask completed her gear, covering the lower half of her face. The only thing exposed was her eyes. Let’s go. On her way out she grabbed her flash drive and stuffed it into her pocket.
As Kana stepped out into the living room, a loud bark reverberated through the house. A Doberman rushed up to her and started wagging its back end furiously, tongue lolling.
“Hey Dragon.” She knelt for a moment and stroked his head. “Sorry boy, I can’t take you. I’m not just going into town. I’ll try to be back by tonight, okay?”
A couple of minutes later she was outside, in the backyard. Making a quick check of the surroundings, Kana popped open a concealed hatch in the ground, and slipped inside. She closed it behind her, and began her descent down the steel rungs bolted into the wall.
After a while it began getting brighter and brighter, until Kana finally dropped down into a metal-walled corridor. She swiftly walked along the bright whitewashed interior until she reached a doorway in the wall beside her. Just as she raised her hand to punch in a code to open it, someone ran up to her waving.
“Hey! Kana!” A blonde haired girl slid to a stop in front of her. “Wrong room.”
“Then you should have told me that it was a different room than usual earlier! Really Ann, you’ve got to give me more information.” Kana slid the cover back over the keypad, and started running down the corridor.
“Wait up!” Ann ran after her, easily keeping pace.
“So? Where’s Agent One?”
“He’s in the Control Room. No disturbances.”
Kana sighed. “Too bad. He called me in here; he’d better give me my assignment. Especially since he knows I’m insanely busy right now in the first place.” She skidded to a stop suddenly, and keyed in a 5-digit code on the pad.
“Wait Kan…!” Before Ann could stop her Kana entered the dimmed room and shut the door behind her. Computers were everywhere, with someone at every desk. One person standing in the middle of the room turned towards her with a mildly disapproving look.
“So you’re here, SA 14? I thought I left instructions to not be disturbed.”
“Just give me my assignment and I’ll leave.” Kana replied bluntly.
“Always the rebel…” Agent One sighed. “Alright, give me five minutes, wait outside.”
“At least tell me what kind of mission this is will you?”
“Tracking of sorts, now will you please get out?” Agent One was starting to get irritated, so Kana slipped back outside and leaned against the wall by the door, arms crossed.
“I told you.” Ann said.
“So? You know I haven’t completely ticked him off yet. The guy is too protective of me.”
“You call that protective?” Ann scoffed. “Every mission he’s sent you on has been deadly!”
“Yes, but he hasn’t given me a Code9Red mission yet. You know I’ve only done up to an 8Orange. And you’re forgetting I’ve been here almost five years already.” Kana rolled her eyes. “It’s about time I get something hard. Just because I’m the youngest spy in the agency…”
The door beside her swung open at that moment. Kana just waited till Agent One was standing in front of her before she pushed herself off the wall.
“What’s the mission?”
Agent One chuckled. “I do wonder why you are so eager about assignments. Come walk with me and I’ll explain.”
Kana nodded to Ann as she walked after Agent One. He was already tossing information at her about her new mission.
“You’re being assigned to track a Dutch scientist this time. He’s recently arrived in Japan, and we need to get information about him quick.”
“Hold on a minute.” Kana interrupted. “You want me to keep tabs on another person? I have five semi-dormant and two active cases on my plate already! And you’re forgetting my day job; I have things piling up there as well!”
“All of your current assignments are being re-assigned to other agents.” He stopped and looked Kana in the eye. “We’re talking about a Code9Red mission here, Kana.”
Kana’s eyes widened in shock. “Jeez, who is this guy he warrants a 9Red? And why is this going to me? You said I didn’t have enough experience…”
“I said you hadn’t had enough time here, not that you weren’t experienced enough. But whether I like it or not, this is going to be a difficult assignment. Even though you’ve only been here five years, you’ve survived missions that our top agents couldn’t handle. You’re too bored in my opinion.” He laughed. “You spent way too much time training.”
“Alright, cut to the chase. What’s this guy’s bio?” Kana sighed in annoyance.
“We think he’s related to a secret project being conducted in southwest Tokyo. It’s called Project E9, supposedly to create a sense-heightening drug. If they succeed, the drug would create something like super humans, people faster, stronger, and smarter than normal. So far we don’t know who started the project, or why. It could turn bad quickly, so we’re keeping a close eye on it. This scientist flew in on short notice, after directly contacting someone we know to be involved in E9. We need information on him fast, and lots of it. He’s currently in southwest Tokyo now, so you need to hurry.”
“What’s the name?”
“A Falk de Whit.”
Kana stopped dead. No way, it can’t be… “Falk de Whit? You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
She quickly shook her head. “I can’t take this assignment. Someone named Falk de Whit contacted me today, just before I was called in. The conversation was fairly normal at first, but he…mentioned something that I think could mean he knows something about me. Even if it’s just a small chance, it could endanger the mission.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible. You’re stuck with this one. If it really was the same De Whit, then just be careful.”
“Fine, fine. I’m guessing I start now?”
Agent One nodded. “Give me your flash drive, I’ll load the bio and take off what you don’t need.” Kana tossed him the small stick, and then dashed back down the hall. She passed Ann on the way, almost running into her.
“Hey Kana!” Ann yelled after her. “What’s the rush?”
“I bet she’s real happy right now.” Agent One leisurely walked up. “She has a 9Red mission.”
“No way.” Anna gaped. “You actually let her have one of those?”
He shrugged. “She needs it. Kana is too smart for her own good, frankly. She’ll just train herself half to death trying to find something to do. “
“What do you mean? From the sounds of it she’s really busy right now with her engineering.” Ann said.
“Come on Ann, you and me both saw Kana when she first joined the agency. She does well with engineering, but all it does is give her a little bit of relief. Here is where she thrives.” Agent One smiled. “Unfortunately that’s often the case with people as smart as her. There’s too much in her head, it seems a difficult mission is the only thing that lets her use her abilities to the full. I just hope she’s careful.” His expression grew concerned.
“Ah you know Kana. She’s got too much fight in her to let anything take her out.”
“I hope you’re right.”
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Right. Found the guy, now to figure out where he’s going. Kana had her back pressed to the wall of an alleyway, on a little used street. He should be showing up here soon… Soon her patience was rewarded. A tall man dressed in a white lab coat strode around the corner. His white hair was neatly parted and combed, and his piercing blue eyes roved across the surroundings. This should be interesting…he’s rather observant. Falk de Whit stopped for a moment, directly across from the alley Kana was hiding in. She pulled herself deeper into the shadows. He suddenly turned, and entered an old, broken down warehouse across the street. Alright. Wait a minute, then follow. I should be able to get to the roof…
Kana sprinted across the street, slipping along the side of the warehouse. After a quick check of the surroundings, she stepped up onto a nearby pile of crates and vaulted onto the roof. She landed neatly on one knee, and quickly made her way to the center of the rotting wood surface. Simple enough. I should be able to use my vision probe no issue here. Let’s see what you’re up to. Kana slipped the tool out of her belt. It looked like a large corkscrew, with a visor attached to one side. In a few seconds she had drilled completely through the weak wood, and taken the tool out again. She twisted off the sharp tip in a deft motion, and replaced the probe in the newly created hole.
Right as she moved to look through the probe, an ominous rumble made her start. Before she could make another move, the roof crumbled and broke away from beneath her. Kana crashed to the ground, amidst a pile of rubble. Oh brilliant! The warehouse wasn’t empty, right by where she had fallen were a bunch of metal desks. She swiftly pushed herself to her hands and knees and scrambled beneath the nearest one, heart pounding. There’s no way he missed that…
“Well now, who’s dropped in?” De Whit’s calm voice filtered through to her ears. As Kana watched cautiously, his boot-clad feet moved into view. He remained for a moment pushing rubble around, then walked away again without saying a word. That’s it? No other reaction? Something’s odd about this… She risked a look over the top of the desk. Falk de Whit had his back turned to her, leisurely looking through items on another table. I need to find out what he’s looking at. There has to be somewhere else to hide… A quick assessment yielded only one result. That’s going to be tough.
The only other available hiding place was right next to De Whit, behind a haphazard pile of computers. There was only one way to reach it, which required going directly behind Falk de Whit and risking being seen. Kana’s mind started working furiously. Ok, I need to be in his blind spot. Based on the angle of his head, and possible range of peripheral vision…I can be within the range of 12 inches away to 24 inches without being seen, assuming he doesn’t move his head. 20% chance of success. On the event of being seen, I’ll have two options: abort the mission for now, or attempt to conceal myself in the 5 seconds I’ll have to react. She waited for the right moment, then made her move. A swift dash brought her out from beneath the desk and upright, another sent her silently zipping behind De Whit.
Kana had almost made it, but one small little object sent her plans crashing down. A thin, almost invisible wire was stretched in between the table Falk de Whit was at and the desk she had been hiding under. She crashed to the floor, but she quickly pushed herself to her feet, and scrambled behind the mountain of computers.
“Looks like I have a visitor after all.” Falk de Whit calmly stepped over the wire and stopped right in front of where she was hiding. “So you’re the spy who’s tracking me are you? Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not doing anything that should be of interest.” Kana’s back was to him, which just made her nervous. This guy is smart. Too smart. The next sentence completely shocked her.
“You know, when I talked to you earlier I really didn’t think you would be the one.” De Whit suddenly stepped around the pile and faced her. Kana leaped to her feet, hands up in a defensive posture. Crap! I need to get out of here NOW! I have to buy some time…
“Why did you contact me?” she said. Her voice came out a little strained from the sudden switch to English.
“I told you on the phone. I had information for you about your search. Although…” De Whit’s voice trailed off for a moment, and then continued, “Under the current circumstances, I suppose I can’t help you anymore, no? After all, we are enemies now. As such, I’m afraid I can’t have you following me.” He pulled a small remote out of his pocket, and pressed a button. Red lasers sliced through the air, completely filling the huge room other than one narrow path to the door. “So if you ever leave this building…who knows? We may see each other again.” Falk de Whit calmly started walking away towards the door.
“Hey! What do you know about my father?!” Kana shouted after him. She quickly slipped between two of the closest lasers, but just as she was flipping over the next one a laser she didn’t see cut a deep gash into her side. Kana landed kneeling in the tiny space, holding the now bleeding wound.
“Just great!” she muttered. De Whit had already disappeared. Almost ten careful minutes later she had managed to make it through the rest of the lasers, without getting any more than minor cuts. Kana ran into the street, frantically looking for Falk de Whit. “Darn it! I lost him.”
She quickly concealed herself in the shadows of the alley again, leaning against the wall for support. I had to get myself injured…Kana you are really stupid sometimes. You should know not to move that quickly. Kana pushed a button on her dark watch, bringing up an image of Agent One. “Red Alert here Agent One. Cover’s blown. De Whit knows who I am; I think he even knew I was a spy before this.”
“That’s going to be problematic.” His face on the tiny screen was worried. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m injured, but it’s relatively minor. Nothing I can’t handle. What’s my next step?”
“I have to take you off the case. Obviously this is going to be too much for you at the moment. Get back to HQ ASAP.”
“Can’t do that.” Kana’s own decision surprised her, but she went on with it. “Falk de Whit has information that I need. I have to keep tracking him. So sorry, but even if you re-assign me I’m sticking with this.”
“Look Kana, you know that’s dangerous! If you ran into trouble on your first run, this is too much. And…” his voice grew concerned, “I’m only in charge of this branch. There are people higher up who won’t let you disregard orders like that. I’m not sure if I can help you in the case they decide to detain you.”
“Just don’t tell them. Sounds easy enough to me.”
“You know the reports are real-time. They probably already know.” Agent One’s voice grew conspirational. “You might have a chance if you lay low for a while. Don’t do anything for a couple of weeks, and wait till things simmer down. Then you might be able to get the information you need.” He sighed. “I’m still not happy with it, but nothing can shake you when you’re this determined.”
“Ok, I’ll be care…” A sudden hiss sounded through the air, and something stung Kana’s neck. She clapped a hand to the spot, and pulled out a small dart. “Oh great…” Her muscles were already going weak.
“What’s wrong?!” Agent One almost shouted.
Kana chuckled mirthlessly. “Looks like it’s too late…darn it…” She swayed on her feet, her vision beginning to black out. Kana crumpled to the ground, a gruff voice penetrating the gloom right before she passed out.
“You’re under detainment for disregarding orders. Do not resist.”
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She woke in a cold, bright white room, with only a single metal plated door.
“This really sucks…” Kana sat up, rubbing her head. “And to top it off a splitting headache…”
A creak reverberated through the tiny cell, and the door swung open. Kana pushed herself to her feet shakily, watching in caution.
Two guards entered first, and stationed themselves on either side of the door. They were followed by an entourage of people, Agent One among them. He looked at Kana with concern, but hidden in his expression Kana picked out an element of defeat. Looks like he was right when he said he couldn’t help. The last person to enter shocked her entirely. You’ve got to be kidding me…there’s no way this got that big.
It was the Commanding Agent, the head of the entire organization.
“SA 14, you’ve made a large error.” The CA’s voice was stern. “Disregarding direct orders from your superior on a mission of this magnitude. Normally the consequences could be brought down, but at Code9Red level your actions were a direct violation of agency protocol.” He motioned the guards forward with a wave of his hand. “As such, Special Agent 14, you are being dismissed. Standard procedure, including partial memory erasure.”
The two guards grabbed her arms before she had a chance to resist and cuffed her hands behind her back.
“Hey! What, you just decide without giving me a chance to defend myself?!” Kana shouted. She twisted in an attempt to shake the guards off, thrusting one off to the side. A quick jab up with her elbow caught the second guard in the chin, but he held strong, allowing the other guard to regain control of her other arm. Her mask slipped off in the struggle, revealing her furious expression.
“Stay silent. The decision has already been made; you no longer have a right to speak.”
That guy really thinks he can stop me… “Just try and keep me quiet! Give me a chance to get back on Falk de Whit’s trail, and I’ll finish the mission. Three days. Give me three days to get information on De Whit. If I haven’t succeeded in that time period, I’ll give without a fight.”
The Commanding Agent gave her an analytical stare. “A three-day probationary period?” He mulled over the idea for a moment. “Alright, let’s do that. I would be disappointed to see you go, so this will give you a chance to redeem yourself. Let her go.” He nodded to the guards holding her. Kana’s hands were released, and she walked right up to him, staring him right in the eye.
“You won’t back out on me?”
“No. Starting now you have 72 hours to complete the first stage of your mission. I will contact you then.”
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Right. Figure out what De Whit is up to, and find out what he knows in three days. Shouldn’t be too hard…oh darn it! Kana smacked the doorframe in frustration. I forgot I have 5 meetings with contractors scheduled tomorrow and the next day…which means I’ll only have nights to track De Whit. Maybe three hour periods in between, but that’s not enough time to make any real headway.
She walked over to her couch and plopped herself down, throwing her head back. Dragon came up and nudged her hand with his cold nose, begging for attention.
“Hey boy.” She fondled his ears, and patted the empty spot beside her. Dragon hopped up and lay beside her, panting. “At least you don’t care what I do.”
Kana allowed her breathing to slow and deepen, slipping into a light sleep. It’s 3 in the morning. As soon as I wake up I’ll start working…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tucked into a dark corner, a message was being typed out onto a dusty and grimy screen. Thin fingers rapidly typed a steady stream of letters onto the display. The dim light from the screen faintly illuminated a smirking pair of lips.
Red Alert Dispatch
Warning Level Blue
Validation Code: 98768534

An agent has gone rouge. If seen, stop at all costs. Use any methods necessary to capture and detain. Last seen in the vicinity of Natunki Bay.
Identification Number: 1985938756 Agent Number: SA 14