Chapter 29
Jing drummed his fingers upon the desk as he stared at the computer monitor, waiting for some bleep of life to appear so he could do something beyond the boring task of watching for virus activity on the NetZone. His partner Agent E was passed out in the chair next to him, leaning over the back of the chair with his mouth opened wide as he snored. Sighing, Jing turned his mind to other thoughts. His brother had him worried. As much as he cared about his brother, he never thought that there was anything to be concerned about until he moved back into his parents' house after the break up with his girlfriend.
Kwan was hiding something. Jing frowned, lips pressing tightly together as he glared at the computer. It started with Kwan helping Lancer with the virus outbreak in the high school. His brother tinkered with tech, but he certainly was no genius with it. Lancer would have done better to immediately call up the Guys in White when the virus hit, instead of relying on a student, who was now responsible for the virus escaping. Their boss was furious with that fact.
Jing wished there was some way he could get his brother to talk to him, but every time he tried to break the ice between them, Kwan only responded grumpily. He couldn't remember a time when they were ever close. Maybe when Kwan was still a baby, long before he started being able to talk and walk. Why was it so hard for him to connect with his brother? There shouldn't be this wall between them. Siblings bickered. Sure. But this felt like it went beyond the usual sibling rivalry.
A knock on the door woke up his partner, who gave a shout of, "I'm awake!"
"Smooth," Jing muttered with a flat glare. "You've got a bit of drool here." He tapped the side of his chin below his mouth to indicate where he meant on the other man. As Agent E wiped at his chin, Jing stood and walked to the door.
"Agent J," said the man on the other side with the usual neutral expression. His head was shaved like many others, but his eyebrows were orangey red. Freckles dotted his young face, and Jing guessed he was maybe a year or two younger.
"Agent X," Jing said with a nodded of his head, curiosity rolling through him at the presence of the other man. Agent X worked directly under their boss and performed mostly secretarial duties.
"Agent Arthur requests your presence in his office," announced Agent X, saluting before he pivoted sharply and walked down the hall.
"Someone's in trouble," Agent E said in a sing song way, gaining an annoyed glare from his partner. "What did you do to piss off the boss man?" He smirked, arms folding behind his head as he leaned back his chair. His bushy eyebrows were annoying as ever.
"I have no idea." Jing frowned, trying to subtly wipe sweaty palms on his pants. He couldn't think of a reason for their boss to ask to see him. He followed every rule of the organization and couldn't remember breaking any of them.
Taking a deep breath, Jing left their little room and headed for his boss's office. He was nervous the whole way through the halls, hands clenching and uncurling at his sides out of habit. The walk felt like forever as he wracked his brain for why his boss wanted to yell at him. It couldn't be about the incident with Lancer's laptop since he already shouted at his partner and him for that. The attack at the football game got him mild praise for his quick action, and his boss found the escape of the viruses understandable when Jing mentioned the involvement of the Fentons in that incident.
When he reached the office, Jing hesitated only for a brief moment before he raised his hand and rapped sharply upon the door. After he received permission, he entered the office, closing the door with a soft click behind him.
"You wished to see me, Sir," Jing said, standing at attention with his arms flat at his sides and his head raised.
"I've been reviewing recent reports," Agent Arthur explained, shifting through the papers on his desk. Sitting there in the chair with the desk blocking a portion of his body, it was easy to misjudge the man's size. Agent Arthur stood at a towering six foot seven inches. His shoulders were quite broad, and his white suit fit tightly over his muscles. The small amount of hair upon his chin was kept neatly trimmed.
"Was there a problem with them, Sir?" Jing bit the inside of his cheek. He was certain that he filled out everything properly and left out no details in regards to events that happened during the virus attacks.
"You failed to contain the virus."
"My apologies, Sir!" Jing responded quickly. "Phantom has proven to be more difficult than expected."
Agent Arthur lifted his head, a frown settling upon his face. "I was actually referring to the virus that was supposed to be within that teacher's laptop." His fingers laced together as they folded over the desk. "It's a rather dangerous virus that we can't allow to remain on the loose. We need to capture and contain it immediately."
The words set Jing back as they rattled through his head. "Sir?" he questioned in confusion. "What about Phantom?"
"He is still a priority." The frown pulled farther down on Agent Arthur's face. "But after reviewing the reports, it's come to my attention that these attacks seem to originate from Casper High School. This virus," his hands tightened, squeezing each other visibly, "seems to be hiding out there for some reason. If we place an agent at the high school, we'll have a better chance of catching this virus, and Phantom along with it."
"An agent at the high school?" Jing repeated with uncertainty as he tried to understand why his boss was mentioning any of this to him when he was merely a grunt agent.
"Yes." Agent Arthur picked up a file from the corner of his desk and opened it. "According to your background, it's the high school you graduated from. Which means you'll know all the ins and outs of the high school as well as the staff there. That makes you the most qualified for this job."
"I'm sure there are other more qualified agents," Jing argued, though the assignment had its temptations. If he worked undercover at the high school, he could potentially find a way of growing closer to his brother. Or at the very least uncovering what secrets Kwan was trying to keep from him.
"The modesty act won't gain you any favors in this organization," Agent Arthur stated stiffly. "Assignments are handed out to those most suited to fulfill them. That was why you were chosen. Pretending you are anything less won't make us think any better of you." His gaze returned to the file in his hands. "You also have a brother that attends the high school.
"Yes, Sir."
"You mentioned him in your reports." Agent Arthur lifted his head to stare at the man before his desk. "He was at the scene during two of these attacks. Or at least, the two you were present for. And you even brought him here last Friday after the attack at the football game."
"That is correct, Sir." Jing frowned, wondering where his boss was going with this line of questioning, though it was more of a fact stating. But he couldn't help feeling a little shaken that the man was focusing on that point. It was part of the reason he worried over his brother. He didn't like that Kwan kept seeming to be around at the time of virus attacks.
"Be sure to keep an eye on him. It will reflect badly upon our agency if it should come out that the brother of one of our agents is somehow involved in these attacks."
"I assure you my brother is not involved in any of this," Jing responded urgently, fearing that his boss thought poorly of Kwan. "He toys around with computers, but he doesn't do anything beyond what the average teenager would know how to do."
"I have no doubts about that. Your brother clearly wouldn't know how to create this particular virus," Agent Arthur said calmly. "It took more than one mind to craft this one." His mouth twitched, tugging in another frown. "But that wouldn't stop the public opinion from thinking otherwise."
"I promise that he won't be involved in anymore attacks at the high school."
"Good." Agent Arthur nodded approval. "I've already contacted Principal Ishiyama and made all the arrangements. You'll take over as the computer science teacher." The corners of his mouth turned upward in amusement. "It seemed like the most fitting position for you. Principal Ishiyama will fill you in on where the class is at the moment, give you the former teacher's notes and lesson plans upon your arrival." He turned his arm and glanced at the watch upon his wrist. "And you should probably head out now if you wish to make it before your first class."
"I start today?" Jing gaped at his boss. "Aren't you springing this a little last minute?"
Agent Arthur's mouth thinned. "There's no room for complaints in this agency. And I'll remind you that failure will result in punishment."
Jing cringed, already knowing the type of punishment given to those that failed the Guys in White. He raised a hand to his forehead in a salute. "I'll be on my way then, Sir."
Agent Arthur nodded. "Dismissed."
Jerking his hand away, Jing gave a small bow before he left the office. He ran a hand over the fuzz of his hair as he walked. The short notice of his new assignment didn't give him much time to prepare for taking on the role of a teacher. He still had to change into some normal clothing. If he wanted to keep his cover, he couldn't walk around wearing his GIW suit. Leaving the building, he walked through the garage to his car.
After a quick drive home, a change of clothing, and a ride to Casper High, Jing walked into the principal's office, an unusual experience for him. During his time at Casper High, he never had reason to visit the principal's office. He was always a good student that never got into trouble. Principal Ishiyama gave him a long, boring talk about everything that he needed to know for the class. She kept slipping in comments about his old high school days and how he brought home the win for the championship game during his senior year. He was glad by the time he was able to escape her office, breathing a sigh of thanks that class starting soon made the woman finally release him from her rambling chatter.
He tucked the file with the prior teacher's notes under an arm as he started down the hall toward the computer lab. His brown eyes drifted around the hall, and it didn't surprise him when he noticed some of the girls glancing his way and whispering to each other with giggles and light blushes. He was popular in his days at Casper High, and he hadn't lost anything in terms of looks and build. It didn't take him long to spy his brother among the crowd, hanging out with his usual friends.
"Kwan!" Jing called out, raising an arm in the air and waving it as he smiled brightly.
His brother turned his head, and in an instant the friendly grin he gave to his friends was replaced with a neutral expression. "What are you doing here?" Kwan questioned when his brother reached his little trio with Paulina and Dash. None in the group looked happy to see him at their school.
"Teaching the computer science class." Jing raised the file of notes like his answer should be obvious.
Kwan's shoulders sagged, and his expression pulled into a look that clearly read that he prayed his brother was joking. "Why? The Guys in White not paying you enough?"
"Because-"
"Well, that's nice and all," Dash cut in, narrowing his dark blue eyes angrily at the older man, "but we really need to head to class now." He placed his hands on his friend's shoulders and pushed Kwan along down the hall while Paulina followed after them.
Jing frowned as he watched them go. Reconnecting with his brother, apparently, wasn't going to be an easy task. With a heavy sigh, he continued down the hall and hoped he didn't somehow end up looking like a fool when he taught the class.
DARKLOVEFORFANFICTION123: Jing, Jing, Jing. *shakes head* I don't think becoming a GIW agent helped anything. He's pretty oblivious to how their parents' words actually affect Kwan, and he doesn't even realize that anything's turned physical.
Sammi: He's coming! I should get working on that next chapter with Vlad in it.
midnight: Haha, yeah. XD Especially with them both knowing a few moves for fighting.
Guest: Ugh, season 3! *sighs at that season* Yeah, I know Val was at the Pole with them, but, like, she's still only in the background. We don't even get any sort of reaction out of her about how she feels after seeing Danny transform, which is really disappointing. Yeah, they gave Vlad some crazy issues in the show. But it also made him a pretty complex character. I think it's a mixed bag with Jing. He does have concern for his brother but his training as a GIW agent takes over a lot. So many things happening in the story! XD
maltese: Val and Sam bonding~ 8D Jing just says all the wrong things. orz
