Author's Note:
- In the middle of doing new things in real life, so things might suddenly get busy. If I vanish again, just think that Agent Lilium got an emergency call to fight the immortal Wild Dog or something :p
I'll be right back once I got matters handled, though! Busy or not, my quota is still one finished multi-chaptered fic per month.
A bit late for this fic, but I'll see how much I can finish :D
- And of course, I'm still writing Time Crisis: Retribution, too. If that one's delayed, it's usually because Striga and I have problems setting up schedules where we're both available x.x
- Also, Hong Kong's kung fu movies are awesome!
【Chapter 2: Optical Illusion】
An illusion caused by the visual system, characterized by a visual percept that appears to be different from the way it is in reality.._
Stanley Prison, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong 05:01
Once he had made his deal with Wild Dog, Giorgio had promptly slipped back into the premises of the Stanley Prison, mentally drafting up plans of how he would get to Wild Fang with the prison's maximum security.
'Releasing a criminal whom I had just caught myselfーCan you believe this?!'
Giorgio cursed to himself. His initial panic having died down, the voice of reason was slowly beginning to ebb back into his mind. His higher ups would most certainly chew him out for this. He knew that with the choices he had made, he was being a horrible failure as an agent, but still... It also felt wrong to simply discard Evan just like that. A 'right choice' didn't existーit never did in the first place.
Taking in a deep breath, he inwardly promised his boss that he'd find a way to sort this out somehow. Readying himself and his gun, Giorgio made his move.
"Wild Fang, you'll be transported shortly, so get ready," the young Hong Kong VSSE agent, Agent Steven Wang, told him. Despite his age, he was known to be skilled in the organization of his teams, making him the higher ups' first choice when choosing the leader for those in charge of overseeing Wild Fang's transportation.
Wild Fang himself was sitting in his cell deep in the prison, disgruntled by the fact that he was behind bars. No matter how much in a pinch he was during his operations, he had always managed to escape with his senior and mentor, Wild Dog. For their organization, it was so much more honorable to die in battle than to be shamefully captured by the enemy. Thus, having his hands cuffed for the first time in his long career, it was an awful blow to his pride. Irritated, Wild Fang spat at the floor.
"Yeah? Like I'll listen to you guys at all! Old man Wild Dog will come here, kick all your asses, and free me before you know it! Just watch!" He laughed.
"Oh, that bluff won't safe you now," Steven replied back, taking it as a challenge. "We've prepared special vehicles and one of our top agents to escort you. No one would be able to get past our defensesーNot even Wild Dog."
"Hahaha, we'll see, my man, we'll see!" Wild Fang laughed, seemingly unfazed. Steven glared at him viciously, put off by his overt confidence.
"Steven, the transports and the men are ready," one of Steven's two colleagues, Agent Raymond Long, came up to him and reported. "The senior agent sent by the VSSE turned out to be our top agent, Agent Richard Miller. He said that he was on the way. We can start with the preparations now and move out the moment he arrives."
"Agent Miller...!" Steven exclaimed, eyes wide in wonder and amazement. Headquarters had sent them the legend. What a gift!
He turned back to Wild Fang, a smug smirk on his face. Wild Fang on the other hand, had all his confidence washed out of him. Eyes wide in horror and mouth agape, he froze there like a deer in headlights.
"You heard that, Wild Fang. There's certainly no escape for you now," Steven grinned triumphantly.
Meanwhile outside, Giorgio had walked to the back of the prison building, looking at the police vehicles being parked and prepared there. Despite it still being the wee hours of the morning, the prison's parking lot was already abuzz with activity. The cars' engines hummed, their blue and red lights were turned on, and countless officers were moving to and fro everywhere, passing orders, reviewing their equipments, and obviously getting ready for something big.
From what he had been briefed, the prisoner transport van in the middle would be carrying Wild Fang to an air base, where he would then be transported by the VSSE's private jet to their HQ in Europe. Six police cars would travel around the van as escort and guard, as well as eight more policemen on motorcycles to act as support and help with the traffic.
'And also that one more VSSE agent...,' Giorgio thought.
He wondered who it could be. But considering that it was for the escort of someone as important as Wild Fang, he imagined that the Director wouldn't send him a small fry. He'd prefer to get this over with before whoever that was arrives. Scanning the field, Giorgio frantically searched for a loophole that he could use, attempting to think up a feasible plan.
"Agent Bruno! You still here?"
When he suddenly heard someone calling out from behind, Giorgio froze and turned around. He noticed his fellow VSSE colleague there, waving at him and walking towards him. It was Herman Long, Agent Raymond Long's little brotherーa rookie who just got into the organization fairly recently. When he got to him, Giorgio quickly thought up an excuse.
"Well, I was just about to go back to the hotel," he blurted out hurriedly. "But Wild Fang wouldn't leave my mind. Thought that I'll just stay here and watch over the area from the sidelines until he's safely transported."
"Agent Bruno...! Iー...," Herman said, surprised. "That's so responsible of you! Just as expected from one of the VSSE's best!" He continued, looking at Giorgio with great admiration and brightly lit eyes.
"Why... Thank you...?" Giorgio tried to reply politely. Herman started again excitedly.
"Say, say! I just finished reporting everything to Agent Wang and now my hands are free. I know that I'm still a rookie, but can I offer you any assistance? Please?" He asked eagerly.
Giorgio couldn't help but smile at him a little, Herman reminding him slightly of Evan's bubbly attitude during his days as a new recruit. How eager to please they both were!
"..." The thought of simply manipulating and using the naïve young man to reach his goals surfaced in Giorgio's mind soon enough. For a moment, he played with the idea. Everything would be so easy...
But no. Giorgio was no criminal. Thinking it over, he quickly shoved the wrongly alluring option away.
"No," he answered gently. "Sorry, but no, I'll be alright here by myself." To his reply, Herman looked a little heartbroken.
"O... Okay...," he said, his earlier bold posture now drooping low.
"But it's Wild Fang. Who knows, Wild Dog might just show up at the last second to mess everything up," Giorgio added seriously, turning to face Herman.
"I'll do what I have to do and you do what you have to. Don't let your guard down and tell your brother and Wang to be careful, alright?" He advised, patting Herman on the shoulder with a firm hand. "Be a good agent."
Upon hearing Giorgio's words, Herman cheered up again, happy that his senior seemed to trust him. "Okay! Leave it to me!" He replied cheerily, before trotting off to Wang with light steps, humming a happy tune.
Giorgio sighed, smiling a little as he watched the young agent's retreating form. As a senior, he certainly wouldn't want to break the hearts of new recruits with what he was doing, or rather, forced to do. So he might as well put up an illusion if he had to, even if it would make his life more difficult later on.
The problem with Herman solved, Giorgio looked back at the police cars. The best time to swoop in and snatch Wild Fang was probably when he was in the middle of being put into the transport van... Preferably before the VSSE's backup agent arrives. He only had this one chance.
Slightly nervous if he could carry out the act armed with only one handgun, Giorgio focused his thoughts and waitedーa lion in the tall grass with eyes on his prey.