Here it finally is! The sequel to Clandestine Bluebird. If you haven't read CB, I suggest reading it before starting this. It would definitely make a lot more sense.

I'm Excited to share this new story with you and I hope you enjoy it!

Preface

Two years ago, Casey MacDonald was an undercover agent working for a secret spy agency known as R.E.D. Her stepbrother, Derek Venturi, was thrown into the picture when his life was threatened by the same man that Casey and R.E.D. were trying to take down; the two ended up realizing their true feelings for each other while simultaneously saving the world from an evil plot, along with the help from Casey's long time partner Benjamin Blake and agent in training Karma Hesston.

After the world was safe again and the two stepsiblings became an item, Derek joined R.E.D. and began his training to become a secret spy to work alongside the woman he loved, refusing to let her out of his sight again.

The couple was soon approached by an agency even more clandestine than R.E.D. known only by a handful of spies as The Swan. They were offered a job, along with the rest of Casey's team, to work undercover for The Swan agency and reluctantly accepted.

There were, however, a few setbacks to this new job opportunity.

The Swan headquarters was located in an underground compound in Washington, D.C, which meant the team had to relocate to the United States.

The four agents needed to be re-trained according to The Swan standards and put through many rigorous courses and tests to determine their strengths and weaknesses when it came to working the field.

In order for the secret of The Swan agency to be kept, their files had to be erased from their former agency and the memories of Agent MacDonald, Agent Blake, Agent Hesston, and newcomer Agent Venturi were wiped from every mind that worked for R.E.D. and known affiliates. It was like they'd never existed in the spy world.

Today, the four agents are one of The Swan's most excellent covert teams in the field, taking on many missions and succeeding in almost all of them. The most skilled of them all is of course Agent Casey MacDonald, whom was the main target for their recruitment from the beginning and for whom they have even larger plans for, soon to unravel.

Chapter

1

Shimozukito Hotel

Tokyo, Japan

9:06 PM

The colorful city lights glistened against the pale moonbeam in the night sky as Agent Casey McDonald entered the highly decorated lobby of the expensive Japanese hotel. She was dressed in a dazzling silver cocktail dress with just enough cleavage to make an impression and wore a shoulder length black wig upon her head as a disguise; plenty of fancy makeup adorned her face to outline her beauty and catch the eyes of her target.

"Damn that dress is sexy on you." The voice of her boyfriend and teammate, Derek Venturi, growled huskily into the earpiece attached on the inside of her ear.

"Calm your hormones, Venturi; we have work to do." The voice of her long time partner and close friend, Benjamin Blake, chastised the former hockey player turned spy.

"I told you to call me by my codename!" Derek groaned with irritation.

"We don't need codenames anymore. This channel is under strict protection by The Swan agency. It's impossible to break the code unless you're a computer yourself."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Besides, your codename is lame."

"At least Eagle Cry is better than Honey Pot."

"Derek," Karma Hesston, their fourth teammate and Ben's girlfriend piped in, "we already discussed this; you can't come up with your own codename."

"Is there a rule book for codenames or something?"

"Excuse me," Casey's hushed voice interrupted their silly banter as she turned away from prying eyes so that it didn't look like she was talking to herself. "We have a mission here in case you've all forgotten. Our target should be walking through those doors at any moment. We only have one chance at this, so focus."

"Sorry." They all chimed in unison.

"Speaking of the devil, Hitomi Kimiru just entered the lobby." Ben spoke quickly from where he monitored the building's cameras from a van parked across the street from the hotel.

"It's time to work your charm, Agent McDonald."

"Copy that."

Casey slowly turned around in the direction of their target: a middle-aged Japanese man, owner of a large hotel chain, including the one they were currently in. Underneath that façade, Mr. Kimiru was a highly trained assassin recently hired by The Collective, an international company of assassins that The Swan has been trying to take down for years.

Four brute men dressed in black suits surrounded the man, obviously playing the part of his bodyguards, not that he needed them with his experience. She made sure to meet Kimiru's eye, knowing from research on his classified files that he went after anything in a fancy skirt, as she grinned seductively and proceeded to pull out a handheld mirror from her bag and a tube of lipstick.

"He's noticed you. Good work, Bluebird." Ben complimented in her ear.

"Hey, I thought we weren't using codenames!" Derek accused.

"Old habits die hard. Just keep your eye on Kimiru."

Casey watched out of her peripheral vision, while she smoothed the red lipstick across her lips, as Hitomi undressed her with his eyes and began to approach.

"I don't like the way he's looking at you." Derek grumbled.

"Well you're gonna have to get over it, Venturi, because we need him to look at her that way in order to get what we want." Ben spoke with a gruff tone.

"Konbanwa." Hitomi dipped his head in greeting as he spoke in Japanese to Casey and extended his hand to her. He was attractive and he knew it. His dark hair was slicked back with a few strands of grey to signify his age and wisdom. His brown orbs grinned mischievously, enticing her to make his acquaintance, and he even had a scar across his chiseled tanned chin, the only telltale sign of his true identity.

The secret agent obliged and placed her petite hand in his as he bent to kiss it.

"Anata wa marena utsukushi-sadesu." He said, which meant you are a rare beauty.

Derek scoffed in Casey's ear at the man's comment. He'd studied the Japanese Language extensively in his training and was proud that he could understand most of their speech. His only downfall was speaking it. It still came out rather rough and some words would get mistaken easily for others. Casey on the other hand could speak perfect Japanese, among a vast amount of other languages she'd studied over the years, and replied to Hitomi with a smile, "Arigatō."

"Do you speak English?" Hitomi asked while still holding Casey's hand in his.

"Yes, I do."

"Excellent!" The man beamed. "How about you join me for a drink in the lounge while I wait for my guests?"

"I would love to." Casey smiled as he let go of her hand and placed his at the small of her back while leading her through the busy lobby towards the lounge on their right.

"What shall I call such a lovely lady as yourself?" Hitomi asked. He led her to a secluded section of the bar and gestured towards a booth for her to sit.

"My name is Rosa-May Louise."

"Well Miss. Louise, what can I get you to drink?"

"Casey, you need to get the sample now. His guests have just arrived and are getting out of their vehicles as we speak." Ben's voice ordered in her ear.

Casey leaned in towards Hitomi and stared deeply into his eyes; the man had no other choice but to return her gaze, which was all they needed for him to do. The Swan had developed a new technology that can scan the retina of anyone it comes into contact with. Once the scan is complete, the person wearing the tech will soon have an exact replica of their victim's eyes, which is what Casey needed in order to access Kimiru's office. When she knew the scan was complete, she placed her hand on his thigh seductively and whispered in his ear, "I'll have whatever you suggest."

Hitomi sucked in a breath and was so taken aback by her hand on his thigh that he didn't even notice her other hand sneak into his back pocket to place a miniscule GPS tracker on his wallet.

Before the man could reply one of his bodyguards came up to him and whispered in his ear. Hitomi frowned as he turned back to Casey and placed a caressing hand on her cheek, "My apologies, Miss. Louise, but it seems that my guests have arrived sooner than I expected. If you will wait for me, I would love to continue this later tonight. As for now, go to the bar and order a drink on me. Just tell them Mr. Kimiru sent you."

"Don't be long." Casey cooed as she kissed his cheek and bid him a farewell.

"You got it?" Ben asked in her ear.

"Affirmative."

"Ok, Kar, you're up. Be discreet, ladies."

Casey walked up to the bar just as the group of eight older Japanese men entered the lounge and headed towards Kimiru's private section. For a brief moment she was hidden from the man's view and made her escape while Karma took her place dressed exactly like her, so that he wouldn't think she'd left if he knew something was up.

"His office is located on the thirteenth floor. The elevator is on its way now." Ben directed.

"You're controlling the elevator?" Derek asked in astonishment.

"I've hacked into the hotel's major server. I can access and control anything technology related, except the target's office. That has a whole other server all together, hence why we need his retinas."

"We get the point, Ben, you're a computer genius, now quit showing off and transport Casey to the office before Kimiru is finished his meeting and wants to continue what he started with his new "lady friend"." Karma snapped from where she sat on a bar stool pretending to drink the alcoholic beverage that the Japanese bartender recommended.

"Now, Case, make sure you're ready for when the doors open because there's two guys guarding the entrance. They're armed and won't hesitate to shoot once they realize you're not their boss.

"Got it." Casey replied from inside the small enclosure as it ascended the floors. She reached under her dress and pulled out her tranquilizer gun from its holster attached to her thigh and double-checked that it was loaded. The agency had created a new type of gun that fired tiny little pins, instead of full-on darts. They were less detectable and had a lot more power. One prick and the victim was immediately surrendered unconscious for ten hours straight.

A quick peek at her reflection in the glass wall confirmed her suspicions that the tech in her eyes worked. She now had the exact dark brown eyes of Mr. Kimiru.

"Be careful, babe." Derek whispered in apprehension.

"Don't worry, Derek, I've been in worse situations before."

"I know but something about this mission just isn't sitting well with me."

"It's only your sixth field assignment since finishing your training, Derek. You've still got the newbie jitters, that's all." Karma tried to assure him.

"I guess… but maybe I should assist Casey upstairs just in case."

"Stay where you are, Derek. We need you on ground level in case something goes wrong. Casey knows what she's doing."

"Yeah, but…"

"Keep your eyes on the target, Venturi, and no more arguments. We stick to the plan."

"I'll be fine, Derek." Casey reassured her boyfriend.

"Just… be careful." He sighed and grumbled under his breath.

"Doors are opening in five seconds, Casey." Ben warned and counted down. "5… 4… 3… 2…1."

The young secret agent readied herself as the doors dinged and slid open. The two men guarding Kimiru's office stared at each other with confusion when nobody stepped out of the machine.

"Sore o Chekkuauto." One of the guards ordered the other to check it out and motioned towards the seemingly empty elevator.

"Koshō to omowa." The other replied, indicating that it was probably a malfunction, as he moved towards it with his gun extended cautiously.

He peered inside the elevator with a grunt of amusement and turned back to say something when a tranquilizer suddenly shot into his neck and he fell unconscious.

"Tada nani ga okotta no ka?" The second guard shouted, wondering what just happened, and aimed his gun at the invisible force that had taken out his comrade.

"He's reaching for the radio, Case. Take him out now." Ben ordered.

Casey took no time jumping from the roof of the elevator where she'd climbed up to with a sticky paste similar to what Mason Marz used to create back at R.E.D. She took aim and fired but the guard was faster than she thought and sideswiped the tranquilizer before it could make contact with his shoulder. She went to fire another one but before she could pull the trigger, the tall Japanese guard swung up his leg and kicked the gun from her hands.

"This guy has some moves." Casey spoke aloud so that her team could hear. "Bring it on." She said this time in Japanese.

The man brought his own gun up to shoot at her but Casey was quick as she spun around, grabbed his extended wrist and twisted the gun from his grasp. She then proceeded to disarm the weapon, dropping the pieces to the carpeted floor.

"I don't use bullets." The secret agent grinned.

He growled and took a swing at her with his fist but Casey blocked it with her forearm and sent her own fist pummeling into his gut. She tried to make a grab for her tranq gun on the floor but he recovered quickly and shoved her into the wall.

"Casey!" Derek's concerned voice cried into her earpiece when he heard her grunt of pain as the man twisted her arm behind her back. "I'm going up there!" He snapped at Ben.

"Derek, stay put! If Casey needs back up, she'll say so. Give her a chance!"

"Anata wa watashi no monodesu." The Japanese guard whispered in her ear as he pushed harder on her arm making her cry out.

"Casey, quit being stubborn and say you need back-up!" Derek whispered harshly. Hearing her being inflicted with pain was like torture and he was pretty sure the guard just told her was going to kill her.

Casey had been in worse situations than this before and had been taught how to get out of such a position in her training but she needed to make sure that when her assailant was forced to let go she'd be able to make a grab for her gun.

She heard him pull out a knife from his coat and knew it was now or never as she slammed her head back against his nose cringing at the sound of it breaking. He cried out, loosening his grip on her, giving Casey the chance she needed to release her arm from his hold and dive for her gun.

Blood gushed to the floor from his nose while the guard tried to stop the flow with his hand and lunge at her with the knife in his other. He managed to slice through her leg just as Casey aimed and fired a dart into his chest. He immediately dropped to the ground, joining his unconscious partner.

"Case, are you alright?" Her boyfriend's urgent voice broke though her thoughts as she took a deep breath in and examined the gash on her left leg.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Derek. Both guards are down."

"I lost visual for a moment, Casey, but I'm glad to see that you're still in one piece." Said Ben. "Tie up that leg though before you bleed on the carpet. We don't need anyone tracing a sample back to the Agency."

"I'm already ahead of you." She replied, grabbing the guard's fallen knife and slicing a piece of cloth from his pants.

Once her cut was bound tightly, Casey stood up and approached the door. Attached to the wall beside it was a keypad that Casey had to enter a code into. She reached inside her purse and pulled out a small perfume bottle and sprayed a clear mist onto the screen. It decoded the computer and a green light signaled that the password was correct.

"Impressive." Casey smiled.

A slot opened up in the wall above the keypad and a retina scanner appeared. Casey blinked a couple times, praying that the tech wouldn't fail her, as a red light shone into her eyes. Suddenly the light turned green and the scanner returned inside the wall and Casey heard a click.

"It worked." She said as she opened the door and stepped inside Kimiru's office.

"Excellent. Get the file and get out."

The room was dark at first glance as Casey ran her hand along the wall to feel for a switch. She found it and flicked it on not expecting the sight that greeted her.

"Uhh… There's been a bit of a development…" She spoke warily.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not alone in here. I seemed to have stumbled upon Kimiru's latest victim." Casey replied while staring at a young Japanese man tied to a chair with a gag in his mouth and wide, frightened eyes returning her gaze. He had blood dripping down his head from an unseen wound and purple bruises forming on his cheeks and right eye.

"Are you serious?"

"Would I joke about something like this?"

"Casey, you need to hurry," Karma's voice spoke urgently into their ear. "It looks like Kimiru's meeting is finishing up and he's getting ready to leave."

"What am I supposed to do about the guy tied to a chair? I can't just leave him!"

"Retrieve what we came for first, Casey, and worry about the victim after." Ben commanded.

"I'll try to stall Kimiru as long as I can." Karma said.

The young secret agent hastily began searching through the desk at the far end of the room while the man tied to the chair began groaning and yelling at her through the gag.

"Just hold on." Casey instructed him. "I'll get you out of this but I need you to remain calm and keep quiet."

She opened the laptop on top of his desk and grinned at the fact that he'd forgotten to log out before leaving it.

"I'm in his laptop. What's the name of the file we need again?"

"The code is 74235C6." Ben read to her from his photographic mind.

Casey typed in the code but the server said it could not be found. She cursed and slammed her fist on the desk at her turn of luck.

"Are you sure that was it?" She ground out through clenched teeth as she tried typing it in again.

"Are you doubting my memory now?"

"I'm doubting my luck that it's in his computer."

"Are there any USB drives anywhere? Maybe he hasn't programmed it in yet."

"There's nothing, Ben. This office is basically empty, except for the Japanese guy tied to a chair!" She snapped in frustration while the latter continued to yell at her through his gag.

"Casey, you need to get out of there now!" Karma's voice spoke urgently through the earpiece. "I tried to stall him but Kimiru knows something is up. He's better with faces than we thought he'd be and saw through my disguise. I was able to escape but he's on his way up there now!"

"I couldn't stop him either, Case!" Derek's voice chimed in. He sounded out of breath. "He's got too many men with him. I was able to take one down but two more are in pursuit of me! We need to get out of here!"

"I haven't found what we came for!"

"It's too late, Casey. Abort the mission." Ben ordered.

"What about him?" Casey asked, indicating the poor guy still tied up. "I can't just leave him here to die."

"I'm sorry, Casey, but this wasn't a rescue mission. There's no way you'll both slip past Kimiru undetected. I'm jamming the elevator from getting up there but it won't last for long. He's already trying to override it as we speak. Just get yourself out of there now!"

"Casey, listen to Ben!" Derek's voice added in. "Kimiru won't hesitate to put a bullet through your head. Besides, we don't even know who that guy is tied up in there! He could work for the psycho for all we know. You need to worry about yourself!"

Casey stared back at the kid's pleading eyes as he began shaking in the chair, begging her to release him and despite what her teammates were telling her, she knew she could never live it down if she left this room without him.

She heard Ben curse in her ear and cringed at his words, "He got it working, Casey. What are you still doing in there? Get the hell out now!"

The young agent moved hastily across the room and began untying the man from the chair. Once his hands were free, he removed the gag from his mouth and spit to the side.

"I thought you were going to leave me." He spoke clear English while standing from the chair.

"What's your name?" Casey asked. "Do you know another way out of here?"

"I'm Taiki. They blindfolded me when they brought me here. I don't even know where I am."

Casey ignored the voices of her teammates yelling in her ear and knew she needed to think fast or they were both dead. She glanced at the window hidden behind maroon shades and pulled them back to reveal the night sky and city lights. A smile lit up her face when she dropped her eyes below the outside window and saw their only escape.

"Can you swim?" She asked Taiki as she tried prying open the window.

"Can I what?" The man looked at her with wide eyes and then looked out the window. When he realized what she was thinking his eyes almost burst from their sockets and he began shaking his head back and forth profusely. "Are you insane?"

"You got any other ideas?"

"We're thirteen stories up!"

"Casey, he's there and he's got a gun! Where are you?" Ben hollered hysterically.

"This is our only chance." She said to Taiki. Giving up on trying to get the window open, Casey ran to the discarded chair on the floor, picked it up and then with all her strength she smashed it against the window. Glass flew out everywhere, notifying the people below as they peered up at the scene unfolding before them.

Suddenly a booming gunshot was fired from the hallway and the door slammed open to reveal a fuming Hitomi Kimiru. He locked eyes with the secret agent and aimed his gun at her just as she grabbed a hold of Taiki and the two jumped out the shattered window. A shot was fired and Taiki cried out as they landed in the hotel swimming pool below.

Casey held her breath as she was swallowed up by chlorinated water and felt her feet touch the bottom of the pool. She immediately got her bearings and swam to the top, breathing in a lungful of air and searching the water for the man she'd rescued.

"Help!" Taiki's voice reached her ears and she spotted him bobbing up and down at the pool's edge, holding his arm with blood gushing out of a fresh bullet wound. "He shot me!"

Guests of the hotel began screaming and running away from the pool when they realized what was going on.

Casey swam towards Taiki and helped him out of the water and then inspected his arm. The bullet had gone straight through thank goodness but he was slowly losing a lot of blood.

"We need to get out of here, Taiki. Do you have enough strength to run?"

"I can try." The man gasped out through pain.

Casey helped him to this feet and swung his other arm around her shoulder as they began to make their way out of the pool area and around the back of the hotel, knowing they weren't in the clear yet.

"Ben, can you hear me? Ben?" Casey shouted, trying to get the attention of her partner in her earpiece. All she could hear was static and knew the water must've damaged it.

"Who do you work for?" Taiki asked with a grimace from the pain as they hurried through the trees. "What were you doing there?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we need to find a way out of here. The water damaged my earpiece, so we're on our own until I can find my partners."

"How many more of you are there?"

"I have a team of four."

"I already know you weren't there to rescue me, so what were you searching for?"

"It's classified."

"Well what if I told you that I know where it is?"

"Know where what is?"

"What you were searching for."

"You don't know what I was searching for."

"Actually, I do."

Casey stopped to look at him as Taiki coughed and grabbed at his bloody shoulder.

"What are you talking about, Taiki?"

"Promise me that you will get me somewhere safe and I'll explain." He said through ragged breaths and Casey knew she was running out of time as she stared at his weary form.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't."

"Then how am I supposed to trust you?"

"Think about it. Why would a known assassin have me tied to a chair and tortured for two days if I didn't have something he wanted?"

"You're telling me that Kimiru doesn't have what we're looking for?"

"Not anymore." He shook his head and smirked up at her despite his fatigued state.

Before Casey could question what that statement truly meant and the thoughts racing through her mind, a gunshot sounded behind them and a bullet flew right past her ear, nicking it and eliciting a cry of pain from the secret agent as she grabbed a hold of Taiki, even more determined, after their conversation, to keep him safe at all costs, and started running.

A fun little fact: The name of the Japanese hotel is actually my real name in Japanese, at least according to the internet. Haha.

I hope you like the story so far. Please leave a Review because I really enjoy knowing what you think. It also motivates me to write more.

Thanks for reading!