Authors Pre-Story Rant (skip If you like): I'm back with a new story. I decided to write this after watching the South Korean Drama, Spy thriller; IRIS. I was so enthralled by the show but, disappointed by the ending that I went ahead and started writing my own. I will still be writing my other stories, so be ready for that too. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own IRIS. If I did, I wouldn't have to throw pocket change in the strip club every Friday afternoon.
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Factions Glossary
National Security Service (NSS)- the NSS is a secret organization tasked with preempting foreign threats and protecting the country's interests through wetwork operations, including assassinations of anyone who could be a threat to South Korean (SK) national security. Since its founding, the agency's very existence has remained a state secret from everyone, including the President.
The Blue House- the executive office and official residence of the South Korean head of state, the President of the Republic of Korea and located in the capital city of Seoul. The political consequences of the NSS are often shown from their perspective.
IRIS- A secret organization shrouded in mystery. They manipulate major world events using: Spying, Subterfuge, Misinformation, Assassination, Terrorism, and Deception. Not much information is known about them or who their "Leader" is.
IRIS
Chapter 1
By Infinity Comes To A End
Budapest, Hungary
1200 Hours
Lake Balaton
xx
Uzamaki Naruto's, blonde hair, blew in the warm Hungarian breeze as he as stood gazing at the calm scenery around him. Budapest, Hungary was truly a beautiful and one of a kind place. If only he could have been here on vacation and not a mission briefing, his stay in the city could have been, potentially, a lot more enjoyable. He had been told by his Section Chief to come to this exact location, to receive his mission briefing in person from an unknown contact.
"Unusual" Naruto mused to himself, pocketing both hands in his faded light blue jeans. Shifting his weight from one leg to the other, he released a relaxed sigh and soaked in more of the bright sun's caressing warmth.
He was abruptly cut from his thoughts, as he saw a figure enter his peripheral vision from his immediate left-most side.
Clump clump clump.
The man approached with a measured and calm gait; his polished black dress shoes making a distinct scraping sound against the sidewalk. He was dressed in a sharp gray suit, almost matching the color of the gray and sliver in his hair. As he got closer, Naruto tensed and his fingers twitched, noticing the man's disarming smile seemed to contrast greatly with the coldness in his eyes.
The gray-suited individual stopped in front of him. "Why do you look so surprised to see me?"
Naruto quickly bowed to the NSS Director "Ah, no one told me you would be coming yourself"
The man sighed and slowly looked away into the sun; taking a deep breath he continued "Gekkō Hayate is dead." He plainly stated "All the team members are dead….let's walk" The man turned back to Naruto and began to calmly walk down the sidewalk. Naruto, slightly confused and stunned over the news, followed beside him.
"Have you ever heard of the Pan-European Picnic by any chance?" glancing at Naruto, he continued "In 1989, Hungarian communist opened their borders to allow thousands of refugees to leave for the west. After that, the fall of the Berlin Wall happened, and that's how the Cold War Ended."
They stopped walking and the gray-haired man turned to him with a stern face. "You are being given an independent assignment." The silence was palpable as the statement hung in the air. Naruto tried not to let the shock show on his face as the Head of NSS began talking again. "If you succeed with this mission, just as what Hungary did to unify East and West Germany, your success will be instrumental in unifying the North and South Korea." Naruto sat silent for a moment.
"When?"
Budapest, Hungary
1450 Hours
Near Tihany Village
xx
Naruto sat in the back of the taxicab as it made its way around the town. Even with his shaded glasses on, the old Hungarian architecture was a stunning site. He could see why Budapest was such a popular tourist spot for foreigners like himself to sight-see around.
"No, not like me" he mentally reminded himself, as the car pulled over to a side-walk to let him off.
Once the car had come to a stop and he had opened the door wide, he handed the man 3,000 Hungarian Forint and grabbed his unmarked black bag from the unoccupied seat beside him. The balding Hungarian taxi driver counted the money, squinted his beady eyes at the bills, and then looked back up at the Japanese man, stunned.
"Hogy a változás" Naruto reassured the man in his native tongue with a practiced smile. Closing the door and shouldering the bag, he looked around for any familiar landmarks before walking to his right. Approaching a plaque that read "Szabadság Ter", the blonde man came to a stop and double checked the information mentally in his head. Nodding to himself in affirmation, he pushed open the hotel doors, walked past the empty lobby, and climbed the stairs until he reached the third floor. The whole floor was vacant, exactly as promised, and he noticed his room was all the way down the long hallway.
"Hard to get to but, even harder to escape from"
Opening the room door, he set his black bag down on the dusty table and immediately ripped opened the red curtains to expose the single, large window behind it. The sun-light streamed in, illuminating the dusty furniture, and casting his shadow across the expanse of the vast living space. He was treated to an overlooking view of the city as well as several vantage points and potential escape routes.
Leaning against the window and soaking in the view and sun again, he began to replay the earlier conversation he had with his superior.
Flashback
Budapest, Hungary
1219 Hours
Lake Balaton
xx
"Who is the target" quietly asked Naruto.
"Yoon Sung Chul" the man replied without hesitation.
Naruto's eyes widen slightly "Do you mean the Prime Minster of North Korea?"
Shimura Danzō, Director of NSS, looked back at Naruto with piercing brown eyes.
"Yes."
Present time
Budapest, Hungary
1510 Hours
Szabadság Ter Sqaure
xx
Naruto walked down the cobble street with a blue water bottle in hand and a green back-pack on his back. The fake glasses he had donned enhanced his features and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II video camera around his neck completed the look. He looked like the usual Japanese tourist out to sight-see and take pictures of the popular sites around town. That was the exact low-key look he was going for.
Walking into the middle of the open square, he slightly re-adjusted the lightly-filled bag on his back and looked up at the rooftops of the enclosed buildings.
"One, Two, Three, and Four." He spun in place, trying to give the impression of an awed tourist, all while counting the number of potential sniper nests and vantage spots. One spot, to his front, stood out to him immediately and he took a short swig of water from the blue plastic cylinder, all while looking up at it. His brain whirred, as it did calculations and distance formulas between the probable sniper's nest and the area in which he was standing. After a few seconds, he nodded to himself. Now the only thing left was to photograph the spots and plan for the untimely demise of North Korean Prime Minister, Yoon Sung Chul when he arrived. Unfortunately, taking pictures of certain spots of the surrounding rooftops would draw unnecessary attention to himself. Turning to his right, he spotted another tourist, a blonde Swedish woman, taking pictures of her brunette friend using the front of one of the buildings as a background.
"Perfect."
Approaching the blonde woman with the camera, he spoke his next words in fluent English. "Excuse me, Could you please take a picture of me and that building over there?" He motioned to the correct building over his right shoulder.
"Ah, sure!" the woman's English was slightly tinted with a light Swedish accent, but still sounded acoustically pleasing to his ears.
He gave her a bright smile and she took the picture.
She made to give the camera back to him but, Naruto instead shook his head.
"Once more please." He moved to stand at another angle.
"Oh, okay."
"Could you take it with this in the background now?" he smiled again and pointed to the cobble-colored building behind him once more.
"Take it this way now? Okay." The woman went on one knee and snapped the picture again; the camera made a click sound and she handed it back to him.
Naruto took the camera back with a large grin. "Thank you so much"
Taking a few steps back, he noticed four police officers wandering around the square, quietly speaking into their walkie-talkies and glancing at the wandering tourist. The North Korean Prime Minster didn't arrive for another day and already they were increasing security in the immediate area. He needed a better view of the square to better plan and map out the area. Spotting a set of double doors across from him, he immediately headed for them in a timely fashion. He only hoped they led to where he needed to be and not another museum. It had taken him all morning just to find this place.
Present time
Budapest, Hungary
1517 Hours
Szabadság Ter Sqaure
xx
Momochi Zabuza was extremely displeased with his current situation, even if his calm outward demeanor didn't show it. As head of the North Korean security team, it was his responsibility for escorting and protecting various heads of state on diplomatic missions. He had been briefed and was ordered to fly ahead of Prime Minster Yoon Sung Chul, to insure all choke-points or kill-zones were covered and to plan escape routes for the Prime Minister's entire entourage.
Of course, no one had notified the Hungarian police ahead of time so, they had no background schematic information or details of the layout of Szabadság Ter Sqaure. Other than what his second-in-command had gathered under such short notice, they had the short end of the information stick. As he stepped into the actual square itself, he straightened his black suit jacket and dusted off the sleeves for any stray debris. Lucky for him, his partner was exceptionally skilled at gathering information and reconnaissance.
Still looking straight ahead, he sharply barked out a single word.
"Haku!"
"Neh?" A soft female voice answered to his right and he nodded to himself.
"I want a report on the details of the perimeter within 2 hours."
He started walking forward, not even bothering to check to see if she was also following him.
"Tell me about the sharp-shooters' positions."
A calm wind blew through Haku's raven black hair and around her own, smaller and petite sized, suit jacket before she answered. "We have them in a triangular formation with overlapping points."
Zabuza was calmly absorbing the information, when the hairs on his neck suddenly stood up. "Almost like someone was…." He abruptly stopped and spun around, only to see an empty-looking tower in the far left-hand corner of the square.
Haku stopped ahead of him and turned back to look at her superior with a questioningly look on her features.
Without breaking eye contact with the tower he pointed. "What about over there?"
"We plan to block off the entire building" She answered.
Zabuza turned back around slowly and narrowed his eyes. "Check on any movements by the South Korean Intelligence."
"Yes sir"
"And see if it's possible to block satellite communications between the US and South Korea."
"I'll get on it"
Zabuza led Haku into the building he had pointed at before and, together, they climbed the stairs two at a time.
At the top of the stair case, the pair briskly brushed past a baseball hat wearing man, snapping pictures with his camera; a bit of blonde hair poking out from underneath his cap.
As they went past him, Haku blinked at the man but, didn't slow down her pace.
Naruto released a held breath when they finally turned the corner and left his sight.
"Gotta be more careful next time."
The mission was only 2 days away.
IRIS WILL Continue IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
Feel free to review or flame, I don't care either way.