-Naruto- "Good job on your assignment."
"Thank you."
My boss studies me. "What do you know about the MS-13?" I take a deep breath and rattle off information. I have studied them extensively, as many other FBI agents have. The Mara can be considered domestic terrorists, and I work within the FBI Terrorism Squad.
"The Mara Salvatrucha-13, originally from El Salvador, is named after a street in Honduras and Thirteenth Street in Los Angeles, California. Its members are primarily El Salvadorian and Honduran. Many gang members enter their chapters with military experience gained in Honduras or El Salvador. America's chapters are much, much smaller than those in Honduras. Membership in Honduras is over thirty-six thousand and counting. In El Salvador, there are an estimated forty-one thousand members. The reason the MS-13 traipsed over to Honduras is because of new gang laws in El Salvador designed to eradicate the Mara. The gang members are notorious for their love of violence. Members are as typically young as eleven and as old as forty—old or young enough to begin or continue carrying assault rifles. Their initiation involves being beaten for thirteen seconds or thirteen minutes, either with or without weapons. Female members of the gang are frequently raped, mostly as part of their initiation—part of it includes being raped by the six strongest members of the gang. Murders and rape elevate one's status in the gang. The gang members wear blue and white, colors taken from the El Salvadorian flag. Tattoos of the number thirteen on the neck and a teardrop behind the thumb, near the index finger, are some marks indicating membership."

My hands shake slightly as I continue. "Their murder scenes are particularly gruesome and include but are not limited to complete dismemberments of bodies, meaning all limbs and the head. Threats and attacks on law enforcement officials are extremely common. We've only recently begun researching them and had a wide-scale raid and arrested many members in every state." Please, please don't say what I think you might. They're so dangerous. I can't do it. But if you want me to, I can't say no. I want to keep my job.

"Glad to know you've done your homework. There's a chapter here in Seattle and I'm putting you undercover. Where do you plan to move?"
"The Spanish ghetto."
"Good. I'm putting you in charge of this operation. The files are on your desk. When you have reviewed them, return to me for further details. You're excused." Two undercover assignments in a row. And holy SHIT I'm Special Agent In Charge! It's a promotion! It's wonderful! I take my lunch break and dance in the streets of Seattle, forgetting that I'll be involved with the most violent gang in the United States within a month. Nobody cares about my dancing. They are in their own worlds. I focus on the recognition my boss gave me and celebrate with three bowls of ramen, knowing how disappointed my nutritionist will be. Yeah, every agent has a person who monitors their diet. This is a very rigid job. They breathe down your neck! That's an understatement!

The files are pretty straightforward. My boss and I work out the details carefully, specifically. "Tsunade?" Yeah, we're on a first-name basis. Everyone is with her. Her attempts at familiarity do nothing to make her less scary or powerful. Seriously, she's becoming director in two months! "Yes?"
"I have blond hair, blue eyes, tan skin and three scars on each side of my face. This gang has roots in El Salvador. How'm I going to blend in?"
"Don't worry. You have all the skills you need for this operation."
"Thank you. It's a great honor."
She hands me an envelope. "Your normal paycheck, a slight raise and a reward."
"Thank you."

I drive to the bank before it closes and explain to the teller that I want three-quarters of everything to be put into savings and one-quarter of it to be put into checking. She hands me the receipts and my eyes widen at the amount of the award. That was nice of Tsunade, but it also explains just how dangerous this operation will be--more than I ever imagined, and not in a good way.

"Kiba, I'm moving out." My landlord frowns. "I'll miss you, man. Where to?"
"Los Angeles," I lie. "Here's what I owe you. I'll leave at the end of the month." The FBI, depending on the situation, gives agents two weeks to a month to leave. "Navy SEALS like you sure do get moved around a lot."
"Yeah." I'll move to a new place and tell more lies. It's part of my job. I won't be moving too far away this time, though. Seattle is a very large city. "How are you and Chouji?"
"Fine." We talk a bit more and then I move to depart. "Naruto."
"Yes, Kiba."
"Take care of yourself out there." Worry is etched into his face. "I will."

Another agent will go undercover with me. She's the Assistant Special Agent in Charge and her name is Hinata. It's being changed. Same as mine. We're both getting hair treatments—mine will be re-dyed since it's grown out a little and Hinata's getting extensions. Her hair is naturally black. I'm being re-supplied with eye color-changing contacts and she's getting her first ones. We'll both have dark brown eyes. Her eyes are normally…white. What's on her FBI ID? Did she list her eyes as blue? We tell the four other agents their duties and discuss ours, along with the risks, so everybody knows what they're getting into. I can't tell you the name of the operation, but it starts in a week. I am so nervous.