Prologue

As I run, my heels click too loudly on the hardwood floors. I stop, catching my breath, and look around for a moment. I whip my head to my back and to the hallway to my left. It’s a wild game of cat and mouse. I’ve got the flash drive in my purse and have no idea where the exit is. I’m not surprised Choi’s men haven’t found me yet.

I take off my stilettos and let my instincts tell me where to run. I run to my left.

I hear faint footfalls behind me and my heart starts racing. “Kyungsoo.” I hiss to the hidden microphone attached to the neckline of my dress. “Where to?”

“Wait… I’m trying to crack into their system. I can’t find the floor plan.” I could hear him type furiously into his laptop.

The footfalls get louder. From their loud steps I could sense three or four sets of feet and calculate in my head how I’m going to bring them down if they catch up to me. I could probably get away with a few swift kicks but if there are more of them I don’t think I could.

I’ve been running for a good five minutes and so far there are nothing but blank white walls and automated locked doors, which probably lead to more laboratories.

I hear rustling in my earpiece and then Kyungsoo’s voice. “Got it! I’ve already hacked into the security system. I could see your sensor blinking on the screen.”

“I think I’m on the third floor, west wing.”

“Turn right on the next hallway, find the nearest door. It’s the emergency exit.” His tone was focused, business-like. “Quickly! Three guards are on your tail.”

“Roger that.”

I blow away strands of platinum blond hair off my face and smile widely when I finally spot the emergency exit. I yank the metal door open and run down the flight of rusty stairs. Just as I come out of the building I feel a bullet fly past my shoulder and duck. It grazed my skin and I feel a sharp sting. I grab my purse on the ground and run bare feet to the black van speedily approaching me. I dodge another bullet and the van comes to a screeching halt in front of me.

The bulletproof door slides open, revealing Kyungsoo who stretches an arm for me and pulls me inside. He closes it before another bullet hits the side of car.

“Drive!” he bellows. Sehun quickly maneuvers the stick shift and the van speeds off, leaving the goons uselessly shooting bullets on our vehicle.

Taking off the irritating blond wig off my head, I lean on the leather seat with a sigh of relief.

“You got the chip?” Kyungsoo asks me. I throw him my sequined purse and he catches it in ease.

“When do I ever fail?” I tell him arrogantly. He shrugs. He rummages through my purse and retrieves the flash drive, placing it inside a large suitcase before closing it and pushing a few buttons to secure it.

Sehun catches my eye through the rearview mirror and pointedly looks at the bleeding gash on my exposed shoulder; the right strap of my dress torn. “Soojung, you should probably have Sulli check that as soon as we go base.”

I roll my eyes at him. “It’s barely a graze.” It doesn’t even hurt that much.

“Someday this job of ours will get us killed, especially you Soojung.” Kyungsoo tells me with a shake of his head. He bends over and gets the first aid kit hidden under the car seat.

“That’s why I took the job in the first place.” I tell them both defiantly. That’s one of the main reasons why I took this job; the adrenaline rush that runs through my bloodstream as I carry out my mission, that liberating feeling of knowing the risks of getting caught.

But then the adrenaline starts to fade and the searing pain from an open wound makes its presence known.

Kyungsoo dabs disinfectant on my shoulder and I hiss in pain. “Barely a graze, huh?” Sehun says in front, mocking me. I give him the finger and Kyungsoo laughs beside me but stops short, eyeing my dirty bare feet.

“Where’re your shoes by the way?”

My eyes go wide in horror. I must’ve dropped it when the men started shooting bullets at me.

“My Jimmy Choos!” I roared. More than having my life at risk from getting shot to death is the catastrophe of losing a pair of expensive designer shoes whilst in a top-secret mission.

I feel another wave of pain on my shoulder when I flailed my arms and couldn’t help but let a cuss word fly off my mouth.

“Yup, it’s barely a graze.” Sehun says with a snicker. Kyungsoo snorts beside me.

“When this wound closes I’m both giving you two hard kicks on the groin!” They both shut up after that and I can’t help but smile smugly to myself.

No one dares to mess with a superspy who just lost a perfectly good pair of Jimmy Choos.