A.N.: I am back~~ Sorry, this week has been hella crazy for me. While you are reading this chapter, you might have a few really major question to hit me. So my hint to you all is this: Things are not what they seem. ^ ^
And thanks to Youya for pointing out the rather lack of contractions and all the formal talks. I generally do not usually write contractions due to the habit that my English teacher enforced on me lol, but I will try to add more contractions in the future! Speaking of that, I want to point something else out as well. The soldiers will get more contractions in their speech but for Alex and other more 'formal' or 'business-like' people, I will leave most of their language in formal terms. I will consider giving Alex more 'non-formal' slangs since he is still a teenager, but I don't want to overdo it and make him sound extremely childish.
The 100th review was claimed by Ravenclaw667! Thank you everyone for your reviews I honestly never expected that much. Thank you very much for your supports!
With that set, let's move onward!
Alex dumped his bag in front of his feet as he stared down the road, waiting for the car that would take them to their destination to come. The rest of J-Unit was around him, doing last minute checks on their weapons and packs.
A black jeep pulled up by the gate with a soft grunt. Alex was expecting a black sleek small car, one of those standard sleek cars that MI6 seemed to be in love with, but this was definitely not something he had expected.
Someone got off the vehicle from the shotgun and went around to greet them.
"Mrs. Jones." The soldiers said as they saluted her respectfully.
As always, her breath smelled like peppermint. Alex frowned and narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced at the deputy of MI6.
"Get in." She commanded, "We will talk on the way."
The soldiers piled into the back seat. There were four seats, not counting the driver or the shotgun seats. One in the middle and three in the back. Bear, being the leader, took the only seat that was separated, leaving Leopard, Ferret, and Alex for the back.
"Coyote, get in the middle." Ferret said, smiling slightly, "You are the smallest."
Alex glared, "I refuse."
"C'mon, Coyote." Leopard said, "You really are the smallest amongst us."
"When one said they refuse, it usually meant th-"
"Coyote, get in." Bear gave him a hard glare.
Huffing slightly, he got in. Leopard and Ferret sat on both sides of him. Who ever said that the smallest should sit in the middle was a bloody bastard.
"Agent Belworth," Mrs. Jones started as the driver stepped on the pedal and the vehicle drove away, "He is remarkably sharp sometimes with good tactical thinking, and that was what interested us in the first place to recruit him. We have not received any more reports from the agent since a week ago. He requested for backup but we do not know about the complete detail of his situation just yet. We must get the information out soon if the agent has run into trouble."
This felt like any other mission Alex was sent on, except as a backup, not the main force. But he couldn't see any differences.
"A day ago, he managed to send us a message on where to meet with the backup." Mrs. Jones continued as she popped a peppermint into her mouth and crumbled the wrapper in her hand, "The message he sent was a little unusual for him and we have doubts about the sincerity behind it. Please be on alert. If you believe that the agent is not on your side, do not hesitate to shoot."
Alex saw that Bear tensed. The way Mrs. Jones spoke monotonously and carelessly about shooting down one of their own agents sent a shiver down his back.
"Agent Belworth sent words that there will be a ball tonight in the bay near where he was stationed and infiltrated. The ball will be taking place on a large cruise ship that he mentioned. He planned to sneak you in under cover of the party and get the information out. Do not act or shoot the agent before you get in. Beware of any small details that you might discover."
The last sentence was directed more or less toward him.
"The address is on here," Mrs. Jones handed Bear a slip of paper, "Do not let anyone else see it or the place will be compromised. I suggest that you destroy it after you have it memorized."
Bear read it over and handed it to the backseat. Alex took it and the two next to him leaned in closer to read the address.
The rest of the ride went in silence. Alex was tensed and a little anxious of what await them. Who was Agent Belworth? Why did Mrs. Jones believe that the man might double cross them? And what was Pirmors's role behind all this? And…He swallowed, would he be able to successfully complete the mission? Alex didn't know how he should operate with the rest of J-Unit. His missions had always mostly been solo. He can trust no one but himself in a mission. But with J-Unit, it was different. He…trusted them. He was attached to them in the short time. When you give someone a face, a name, traits, and a voice, you formed an attachment, good or bad.
"Coyote?" Leopard nudged him quietly, "You alright?"
"Yeah." Alex said as he glanced sideway at the medic, "A little nervous. You?"
Leopard laughed quietly, "A crap load of nervousness. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to go, you know?"
Ferret joined in, "Missions are fun. Go in, shoot, and scream your head off on the way out."
Alex laughed slightly, maybe because of the nervousness, he didn't know.
"When we come back," Leopard smiled slightly, "We should host a small party, eh? I mean, it's our first mission together after all."
"Yeah." Ferret said as he crossed his legs and leaned back, "Well, presuming that we don't have to go to the infirmary as our first stop because Bear blew up something by a complete accident."
Bear glared at the man. Leopard snorted.
Alex listened to Ferret and Bear's bickering as he glanced out the window. The wind ruffled his hair from the slightly opened window. He wished that he could pause time right now. And let this moment stay forever.
But as the car screeched to a stop, Alex knew that that was impossible. Shouldering the pack, Alex glanced at the sun that still shone brightly above them. The light blinded him and he averted his gaze.
Mrs. Jones gave him a short glance, "Would you like a peppermint, Coyote?"
Alex cringed inwardly, "No thank you."
"I insist." Mrs. Jones tossed him the wrapped mint and Alex caught it.
With that, the woman rolled up the window as the car drove away. Alex watched it go before turning back toward the rest of J-Unit. They were all dressed in civilian clothes and a bag slung over their shoulders contained their uniforms. Alex felt a little uncomfortable being in such casual clothing. He wore only a short sleeve jacket that was open at the front to reveal his white t-shirt, a pair of everyday jeans and shoes.
Bear spoke up as he shouldered the bag and turned toward the rest of J-Unit with a small slight frown gracing his brows, "Let's head over to the address."
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The address led them to a house, small but neat. Bear rang the doorbell and stepped back, waiting for someone to open it.
The door creaked open after a few seconds and a man leaned out from the door, poking only his shoulder up out, "I presume that you are the backup I requested?"
"Agent Belworth?" Bear asked instead of answering the question.
"That's me." The man nodded.
"Yes, we are." The leader of J-Unit answered the man's question upon the confirmation, "We are J-Unit. I am Bear and this is Leopard, Ferret, and Coyote."
"Right, come in." The man said as he turned and head inside, leaving the door open.
J-Unit followed him in and Alex closed the door gently behind him. There was a shoe stand right next to the door. Something bronze glittered upon it for a moment. Alex, throwing a casual glance toward the group in front of him, snatched it up and slipped it into his pocket. The keys landed softly into his inner pocket without a sound.
At that moment, the agent turned and caught sight of him, "What did you slip into your pocket?"
The room paused and stared at him. Alex put on his most puzzled look as he slipped his hand into his pocket, careful to not brush against the bronze keys, "This?" He brought out the crumpled piece of paper with the address that Bear had handed to him on the jeep a while ago, "It's the address of this place that Mrs. Jones gave us."
"Oh." The agent relaxed slightly.
"Is there something wrong with it?" Alex asked.
"Nothing." The agent shook his head, "Must be my paranoia working up."
Alex took his first glance around the room. It was lit by a hanging chandelier from above. It has only one floor. There was a kitchen right next to the living room and a bedroom next to it.
Agent Belworth indicated toward the sofa and they took a seat, "The ship will be set to sail at the cruising bay at nine sharp. The party starts at seven and ends at midnight. We have three hours of time before we have to attend the party. I know that you are all soldiers and not spies, but I must please ask you to remain inconspicuous." The man took turns to look at them and at their nod of affirmation, he continued, "The plan I have is this. You will be entering as guests at the party. The information has been copied to a USB disk that I have stored in the man's office. I didn't have time to retrieve it because he had begun to suspect me and would not let me anywhere near his office." The agent took a breath, "I need you to sneak in an-"
"I'm sorry," Bear held up a hand to halt the man, "But we're soldiers like you said. We're not spies. We can't 'sneak' around while staying out of sight. Our sole job is to storm the place and get whatever we need out."
"Exactly," The agent seemed unfazed by the interruption, "We can ignore the sneak in part of the plan if you wish. The man, Shay Edmonson, will host a game of cards in his second-floor room, right next to his office, during the party. All guests are welcome to join but those who joined are usually the extremely wealthy ones. Beginners will be crushed to death in the gambling. That man is a true devil in card games. He plays and cheats like no one else. And that's where you come in. Edmonson loves challenges like mad. You will challenge him to a card game. It will distract him while I sneak in and take the disk. Try to stall as long as pos-"
"Just hold on a moment," Bear cut in again, "I'm not good at card games and I can't even cheat properly. And neither can my unit."
"You just need to act like you know it." The agent shook his head as if it was obvious, "Act like you know everything you are doing. Edmonson sometimes does make wild guesses and gambles base on their attitude and emotions while playing. If you are very confident and appear so, he would second guess your motives, no matter how bad your plays are. Stall for as long as possible."
"I can't act. I get twitchy." Bear was blunt to get to his point.
"One of you got to do it." The agent shrugged, "Preferably someone younger. Edmonson feels more challenged when it is someone a whole lot younger than him."
Eyes turned toward Alex. He shrunk back, "What?"
"Good, you are the perfect choice." Agent Belworth clapped his hands together as if he had been waiting for it the whole time, "Coyote, right? Your job is to act, and stall for as long as possible. Play your best, cheat if you can, and act like a cocky and confident brat."
As the agent moved on to assign the rest of their roles, Alex dropped his head into his hand with a groan, "I wasn't aware of my agreement to the plan."
"I don't need your agreement." The agent smiled at that, "I just need your cooperation."
"Bear, you will be Coyote's guard." The agent said thoughtfully as he scrutinized the soldier, "Since Coyote is going to be a rich young man who is overconfident of his skills, he needs someone, some sort of guard, by his side to ensure his 'safety' because of his status. Your job is easy. Edmonson might get a little, uh, frustrated when he does not know what to do next. He usually does not resort to underhand methods, but you should keep an eye just in case. Make sure that your precious 'principal'" At that, Alex rolled his eyes, "does not accept any kind of drinks or food from him during the game."
Bear nodded, "That's easy."
"And you two, Lamp bird and Fur Rat, or whatever your codenames are," The agent said, turning toward the last two of the unit.
"It's Leopard and Ferret," Leopard muttered under his breath.
"You will be with me. You will stand outside as lookouts outside the door to the man's office once the man has exited. I will go inside as soon as he left. Don't let anyone notice you but don't let anyone go into the room either."
Leopard and Ferret nodded.
The agent searched around in his pocket before pulling out a picture. A round man stood in the center and he was smiling slightly, "This is Shay Edmonson if Mrs. Jones has not supplied you an image. Look out for him but don't openly stare. He is a little sensitive to stares even though he does receive a whole lot of them due to his work."
"Are you going to explain to us about the truth behind his work?" Alex asked.
Agent Belworth hesitated then shook his head, "I can't, before I get the information back to Mrs. Jones."
Alex nodded and that was that. Bear took the photo and they gathered around him to take a closer look. Alex took a small glance at the agent while they were engrossed in looking at the photo. The man was…unusual. There was something strange about him that he couldn't place a finger on. The agent caught him staring.
"Is there something on my face?" The man asked in a joking tone.
"I thought that your eyes were blue?" Alex asked as he took note of the man's light chocolate brown eyes.
The agent paused every so lightly then he smiled, "It was on my file?"
A gnawing suspicious took root and Alex tested it out, "No, you just kind of look like someone with blue eyes."
"I see." The agent nodded, "No, I actually do have brown eyes, not blue."
Alex nodded and turned back toward the photo when Ferret commented, "He looks nasty."
"Quite." The agent agreed then paused, "Why don't you get changed right now? Get some practice with your acts and rehearse our plan. Oh, a suit should work fine in such a grand party."
"Suit?" Bear sounded incredulous, "It's not suitable for our line of work."
"Suit, suitable." Ferret laughed slightly.
"Shut up." Bear glared.
"It is for just you and Coyote." The agent said, "The other two do not have to but should wear something a little more casual than your military issued uniform."
"Like what?"
"A polo shirt and pants," The agent snapped his fingers, "as well as a slightly longer coat so that you can hide your weapons beneath them. As for Bear, you should carry only a small gun. Coyote…"
"I am going in with my gun." Alex spoke up before the man decided that he would be better off without any weapon to act more 'inconspicuous'.
"Actually," Agent Belworth ruminated slightly, "Bear, you should carry two and Coyote none. Since your status as a bodyguard automatically enabled you to carry a gun without any suspicions. A rich young man carrying a gun is not common."
Bear grunted, "He'll be defenseless."
"That is why you are carrying two guns." Agent Belworth pointed out, "If he needs it, give it to him."
"I don't agree." Alex shot back, "I would like to ensure my safety on my own, thank you very much."
"You are welcome, but no." Agent Belworth shook his head, "Look, I need you to go with my plan. If he gets suspicious about you, even for one bit, the plan will fail and I will be forced to give up your cover to get my trust. This mission is important. Even though it is not your usual fire on sight and raid the building missions, your cooperation is very important."
"Alright." Alex gritted his teeth, "But at the first sign of trouble, I take the gun."
"Deal."
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"Here is your invitation." The agent whispered as he pressed their invitation slips into each one of their hands, "You will be going under a different name, so have it memorized. Yes, even you two, Lamb Bird and Fur Rat."
They were near the port where a large cruise ship was floating peacefully on the bay. There was a latter that connected the port to the ship. A guard stood at the bottom, inspecting all the guests and waving them on. The ship was lit up by thousands of light and the interior with hanging chandeliers that could be seen all the way from where they were. The ship itself was large. Falling over the edge into the water would probably mean immediate death if they don't get pulled up soon enough. Alex shuddered inwardly. Definitely steer clear of the edge.
"You got your suit on alright?" Agent Belworth asked.
Alex and Bear nodded in affirmation.
"Okay, good." The agent said, "I will go first. Count till sixty then come in. I will be waiting near the front entrance. Act casual, alright?"
"Alright."
The agent nodded and left, heading toward the guard. Alex watched as he presented the guard his ID card that showed that he was the secretary working for Edmonson and he was let in.
"Do you have your ear piece on?" Bear whispered. Leopard and Ferret were right behind them.
They nodded. The small communication device in their ears and the mike clipped onto their collar, almost invisible to naked eyes, were not part of the agent's plan. It was theirs. Just in case the agent was acting suspicious, they could still communicate with each other without being interrupted or intercepted by the agent.
"We will be leaving in pairs." Bear whispered, "I will go with Coyote first, then you two after ten seconds."
They nodded again.
"Go." Bear nodded as Alex and he departed, heading toward the guard.
Bear kept a small distance between them and Alex tried his best to act like a rich young man. It wasn't too hard. He tipped his chin back a little, swing his arms a little casually back and forth, and a small smile gracing his lips. Not too much, just a little.
The guard held out a hand for their slips and Alex placed it on the man's outstretch palm without touching.
"Mr. Julius Hawkerson?" The guard asked politely after reading the slip.
"Yes, that will be me." Alex gave the man a small tilted glance.
"And you are…" The guard turned toward Bear.
Bear handed him his invitation, "Damon Gestral. Bodyguard to Mr. Hawkerson."
Alex resisted the urge to give the man a glance at the way he phrased things. Mr. Hawkerson. How absurd. Made him sound like an old man.
"You are…Twenty-five?" The guard asked as he took a look at the slip.
"That will be right." Alex said, "May I please stop wasting my time on you?"
The guard glanced at him with slightly narrowed eyes then waved them pass, "Next."
Once they got inside, Bear nearly rounded on Alex, "What's with that attitude?"
"I am a posh rich brat who has nothing better to do in his life than to visit this cruise ship." Alex hissed back in response then straightened up, "Gestral, please don't get so close to my personal space."
Bear sent him a small glare, "As you wish, Mr. Hawkerson."
"And as I often told you," Alex said as he spotted the agent and started walking toward him in an easy strolling manner, "Call me Julius. Mr. Hawkerson made me sound like an old man."
"As you wish, Julius," Bear muttered, sending him another glare.
Alex accepted a glass of wine from a passing waitress and winked at her as she passed. She blushed slightly and hurried away.
"I must ask you to not drink any alcohol tonight, Mis-Julius." Bear corrected himself at the end.
Alex twirled the glass delicately in his hand, "Father isn't here. I should enjoy myself for once." He downed the drink and Bear hissed by his ears, "What if it's drugged?"
"They are not going to drug everything the guests eat or drink. Don't get too suspicious, just relax." Alex replied softly back.
"You act like you know how this work."
Trust me, I do. Alex wanted to say but he reframed from voicing the thoughts, "Relax, Gestral. Besides, it was grape juice."
There were a lot of people on the first floor where a large center was cleared for the sole purpose of a dance floor. Alex and Bear mingled themselves with them and walked toward the agent, who was waiting for them at the edge of the food table talking to someone else.
The agent looked up as if surprised to see them, "Ah, my friend is here. If you would excuse me?"
The man nodded and left him. The agent walked up to them, "Julius, haven't seen you in a while!"
"To you, it is always Hawkerson." Alex replied curtly, "Don't 'Julius' me."
"You haven't lost that stinging bite to your words since we last met." The agent laughed slightly then leaned in, "Let's head over. The rest of your unit is right behind you."
Alex turned slightly as if he was admiring the view and glanced at Leopard and Ferret who was coming up from behind them. They gave him a small, almost unnoticeable, nod.
"Say, are you good at playing cards?" Agent Belworth steered him toward the stairs.
"Yes, very much so." Alex adopted an air of confidence around him, "Why, would you like to try me?"
"Not me," The agent shook his head, "We have a whole floor dedicated toward these games. Would you like to see it?"
"They are not merely games," Alex corrected the agent in his posh way, "They challenge you. They are mind games. Deceptions, lies, tricks, they will all devour your mind in a split second if you don't pay attention."
The agent pushed open a large door on the second floor. Alex walked inside. There were numerous tables in the room and guests occupied them. There were loud jeering, slaps of cards, the trickles of chips and sounds of money exchanged.
"Do you gamble, Julius?" Agent Belworth smiled slightly.
"Only when father is not present," Alex said, returning the smile.
Agent Belworth passed him a bag. Plastic chips moved against each other as the man dropped it into his hand, "They are the chips you will need. If you ran out, ask me."
Alex nodded, "But I doubt I will. Run out, I mean."
"I will leave you to it, then." Agent Belworth glanced at him slightly before he turned and started walking away, "If you are good, maybe you will get a chance to gamble with Mr. Shay Edmonson himself!" He gave him a small meaningful glance over his shoulder before he exited.
Alex sat down on one of the empty tables, lacing his hands together in front of him. Bear stood next to him like a faithful bodyguard.
"Shouldn't you go find the man?" Bear leaned down slightly as he whispered almost inaudibly, glancing at Alex.
Alex shook his head slightly, "Not yet. I need some kind of reputation before I confront him. He will confront me when I have that kind of reputation."
A moment later, a man plopped down opposite of him, "Hey, kid, wanna play against me?"
Alex smiled slightly, "Don't call me kid, old man."
The man whistled slightly, "So, wanna play? Know how to bet and play and all that?"
"Of course," Alex said as he unlaced his finger.
The man reached for the deck in the center of the table and started shuffling, "Name is Willingdon."
"Hawkerson." He replied, glancing every so often at the man's hands and the cards.
"I am not going to cheat while shuffling." The man laughed a little, "So, Poker? Texas Holdem?"
Alex could see that the man was seeing him as a kid and was talking to him like one. He shrugged, "I will win no matter what game you want to play."
The man whistled again, "Wanna bet on that? If you lose, you pay me fifty pounds. In addition to whatever you gamble during the game."
"If I win?"
"I give you a hundred pounds in addition." The man said, "So, is it on?"
"It is on." Alex smiled.
Bear leaned down slightly to speak to him, "What if you lose, Julius?"
"I said that I will win no matter what didn't I?" Alex flashed Bear a small grin. Bear looked dubious but he chose not to comment.
The man dealt out the cards. It was only the two of them. Alex held the cards loosely in his hand and smiled slightly. Ian's teaching has not been lost on him. Even though the man had indeed taught him the rules of poker, he had also been taught the ways of cheating. Give them a constant face when you cheat.
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"Royal flush," Alex said quietly with a small smug smile on his face.
"Damn!" The man swore, "Not again!"
Two other men had joined them at their table and a small crowd has gathered. Bear looked a little unease by the attention and Alex had to send him a small glance occasionally when the man's hand snuck to his holster.
"One more round." Willingdon insisted as he turned toward Alex, "I will triple the bet. If you win, you get them all. If I win, you pay me four times the original."
Alex was about to reply when Bear leaned down to whisper in his ear, "That man is here. The head."
Alex nodded and turned back to Willingdon, "That is very tempting. Should I? How do I know that you are going to pay up?"
"Of course I would! I am an honest man." The man replied.
"What is with the crowd here?" A voice interrupted them.
"Mr. Edmonson!" A few in the crowd exclaimed.
"Good evening, all." The man smiled slightly, his piggy eyes squinted as he turned toward Alex, "Young man, you look like you can play quite well."
"Was that a compliment, Mr. Edmonson?" Alex asked. The man looked worse from close up.
"Say, would you like to play a round with me?"
There were small gasps within the crowd. Alex smiled slightly, "Mr. Edmonson, can you really beat me?"
He ignored the sharp look Bear sent him as he stood up. Alex let a small confident smirk linger on his face as he faced the man.
"Let's say fifty thousand in addition to the bets in the game?" The round man suggested in his deep raspy voice.
There was a moment of silence. Alex opened his mouth and he could almost feel the crowd leaning in to hear his reply.
"I will take it." Alex smiled. His face was starting to hurt a little with all the smiling and smirking.
Bear groaned softly.
I actually spent an hour researching on how in the world do you play poker? Yeah, I honestly don't know how to play so it took me a while to get the rules. I originally planned to actually write out the part where they play, like the calls, bets, checks, deals and all that, but I am afraid that I will mess it up and give you guys the wrong impression on how to play Poker. So I will just leave that part to your imagination~
And secondly, a few of you might recall a few chapter previous when I brought up a part where Agent Belworth had been found out by Shay Edmonson. Some of you might be wondering as to why the hell is he still there then. And that is why I gave you the clue of 'Things are not what they seem'~~
And of course, thanks for all the amazing reviews! I was overjoyed when I read through all your reviews! I hope that you have been enjoying the story so far. ^ ^
And, I haven't forgotten, thanks for the follows and favorites as well!