Chapter One: Who the Hell is This?
What I need is a day in luxury; a day at the beach, a day at home with a bottle of vitamin water. That's all I ask for. That's all, just a little time alone, for me. I could be in my roomy apartment, right now, lying on my leather couch, watching the latest drama, with a cold bottle of water in my palm. I'd be at peace, with no worries of the outside world, and caring about someone I don't know and his complications with those in higher powers. Why? Why aren't I doing these things that I dream of every night? Why? It's because of this job. This important, dangerous and nerve wrecking job: the job that many would kill for. Or in my case, are being killed because of…
I'll never know how or really why I've been put in this position I'm in. All I've known for the last three years is that the Japanese government chose me. The rest of the reason is locked away, somewhere confidential, hidden from all eyes.
It's not like I've ever wanted this. No, not at all! My career was headed for a life of fortune and fame, for a life that I was going to get after that afternoon at the LME audition. I was headed for a role in Japan's most anticipated thriller. The leading role at that thank you very much. I had practiced every night for a whole year for that part. Night after night I did different impressions of the character. I tried walking differently, talking differently, and even tried to put myself in the character's head while I went on with my day. But with this job, acting is as important as the coloring of the floor tiles. All of that work for nothing...
Now here I am in this cramped office, with an annoying ticking clock, a hickory colored desk, this brown leather chair, and my laptop. Not the homiest of places in the world, correct? But I have to make deal with everything here. Well, if there was one thing that I wish they could change for my own sake, it would be-
"Mister... the... see you."
Ugh, that retched intercom. I press a button on the machine on my desk. "Ms. Yee would you repeat that please? The intercom is still crackling and I cannot understand you." I say sweetly, although I much rather would enjoy pounding this junk into smithereens.
"Sorry... Is this better?"
"Ah, yes perfect!" I say, knowing good and well that speaker would crepitate at any moment.
"Yes, well Principal would like to see you in his office now,"
"My, my, he wishes to see little old me? Before lunch? Doesn't he need his daily smoke and soap opera before seeing me?" I laugh for a moment enjoying my moment of teasing my boss and close friend. My chuckling is stopped short as the other end of the intercom becomes silent.
"Hello?" I ask making sure that Ms. Yee is still awake. I chuckle at a sudden snort, and mumbling. She's so old, I sometimes think it's a miracle she's not dead yet.
"Oh, um yes! Sorry about that… it's-"
Oh great just what I need. The intercom is acting up again.
"Ms. Yee? Can you hear me?" I ask.
"Yes… Principal… you… important… assign…now!" Before I can say another word, she cuts off, leaving me to strain the words together into an comprehensible sentence.
Well, I guess I should get going. Swiftly grabbing my jacket, I walk out the door, and down the hall, passing the many offices of busy colleagues. As I reach the door to Principal's office, I hear someone call my name. I spin around to see one of my close teammates, Yashiro Yukihito, or aka Spectacles. (Terrible name, everyone knows it, but after a mission that left him with bad eyesight we had to call him that. Especially since his old code name was 20/20, and well, let's just say that's not the case anymore.)
I smile at him as he catches up to me. We quickly bow to one another. "Hey Specs," I greet him. "What's going on?"
"Nothing really, you know the same old thing, decoding documents, faxes and whatever. Headed to Lory's huh? Thinkin' about getting a partner?"
I groan inwardly as he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. He always acts like this when his inner match-maker wants to make a scene. And somehow I think calling him a match-maker is an understatement. I bet 1,000 won he's my heaven-sent-Cupid who's ironically trying to make my life a living hell. Anyway, for a while now Specs has been trying to get me 'out of the Singles Club' and has been desperately trying to pair me up with a particular agent.
I look up to him with a generous smile. "It's nice of you to be looking out for me Specs, but I really do not have any interest in her. We're just good friends." I glance behind me to see the woman I am referring to. Her long black hair is tied into a ponytail that reaches her hips. Her back is to us, so we cannot see her face. We watch as she furiously types away on her desktop, and occasionally takes small sips out of her mug. I've worked with her only once, but we never made contact before. She replaced an agent who was in charge of directing me during a mission after he was called away to see his family. I will admit she's a strong woman of many capabilities. But, I'm not ready for any type of relationship right now...
At that moment, nearly he becomes hysterical. He throws an index finger at me and has a cheesy grin on his face. "Hah! So you two have a chance!" he smirks.
Before turning away from him and his comical stance, I grab ahold of his shoulders and look him square in the face. "Firstly Yashiro," I say, my voice in a small whisper, "I said 'friends'. Like what you and I are. Got it? Second, let me remind you that I have no interest in dating anyone at the moment. Much less flirting, understand?"
I tried to get it through him the best I could; I even said his real name. But, of course his smirk widens at this. Others would have shook in slight fear at the tone that my voice is in. But, with this guy, I could hardly get anything past his thick skull.
"We'll see," he says with a sly grin as he spins on his heels and strides away to his cubicle.
Over the time I've worked in this facility,I've gained many experiences, friends, and the occasional pain and anxiety. Sometimes I wish Yashiro wasn't the one that mainly causes that pain and anxiety. I shake my head as I walk inside the office of Lory Takarada aka Principal.
Inside, my nose meets stench of Petit Coronas(1). The blinds are closed, the lights off, and it seems as if no one is in the room. The nearby fireplace slowly dies as the last flames sweep around the mantle. I don't see Lory anywhere. But I know that this is a small part of the dumb game he seems to enjoy playing. I rub my temples as the smell of the cigar fogs around my nostrils. Why can't he open a window like a regular person? I look around to see a wide desk chair facing the opposite from me. On the other side are puffs of smoke rising.
"You called?" I ask aloud to the individual in the chair.
After a few more smoke circles rise in the air, the chair slowly turns to face me. In it, who else but Lory, dressed in expensive exotic clothing, and staring at me with narrow almond eyes. They are not full of irritation like they are when he usually sees me, but they almost look secretive, indecisive.
Hmm, well this is new. I see him pointing to a couch that is nearby. I cross across the great floor and take a seat in leathery cushions. Glancing back at him, I watch him inhale some of the polluted smoke, before flicking the cigar on an ashtray. His eyes stare at mine, I wait for him to speak but his lips remain still. It doesn't take long before I become agitated with the silence. What is his deal? Is he going to tell me why I am here or not?
"I called you here to explain some important news Ren." He tells me before I open my mouth.
I nod and respond, "Of course, now do you mind explaining the reason for asking to see me?" My voice is bored and my words, rehearsed. "I was in the middle of documenting some very interesting facts," I chuckle somewhat amusedly.
This isn't the first time I've been called here you know. The very first time I arrived it was because of a mistake I had made during a commission. I wasn't chastised or anything of that sort, I was simply told to never make the same mistake again and the consequences were explained. Ever since then, it's been because of other small "mistakes" that I've made. (Well to Lory they were mistakes, for me they were, well, I like to think of them as slight improvisations.)
"Ren," I hear his heels click against the floor as he paces behind me. "This isn't about any of your mistakes."
My head spins to him. What?
"It's not? Not at all?" I don't believe him.
"Nope," he shakes his head, "You see Ren, I have actually decided on proposing a rather large task for you."
I roll my eyes. Of course a new commission, what did I expect? I sigh. "Where am I going this time?" My arms cross over my chest.
He laughs under his breath, slightly surprising me.
"It's actually who are you going with." He winks at me which causes me to groan.
"Oh Yashiro, what have you done this time?" I mutter to myself.
"He had nothing to do with it, Ren," I flinch when one of Lory's hands pat me on my shoulder as he bellows out a laugh.
I glance up at him with the same confused look as before, watching him sit beside me in an exquisite armchair. "Then, you decided on this?"
He nods. "But, the person you are thinking of is not the same."
Not the same? There's no one else in the whole operation who can work on the same level as me besides her and a scarce number of colleagues. Lory knows it, I know it, Yashiro knows, everybody in the whole building knows this piece of information! Who on earth could it be?
"Who's this? And where can I find him?" I snatch a piece of paper off of the table in front of me, along with a pen. He holds up his hand as I begin to overrun him with questions.
"They are not on this floor."
Not on this floor?
"They are not here in this building."
Not here in this building?
"In fact they have nothing to do with our network or operations."
Have nothing to do with any of our operations or networks? This guy… who the hell IS he speaking of?
"Who is this?" I demand with a frown.
He looks at me with the most devious smirk I have ever seen. Now I'm worried. I listen and watch his lips whisper the name.
"Mogami…"
A/N: So this is the first chapter! I hope you are enjoying this! I had fun writing it!
R&R!