Chapter One

 

“The gash’s pretty small. You’re lucky the bullet just grazed your shoulder.” Sulli tells me as she finishes treating my wound.

 

“That’s what I kept telling the boys.” I said with a roll of my eyes. “Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I can’t endure pain.” I scoffed, pulling at the hem of my undershirt.

 

“Damn right, girl.” Sulli says, grinning proudly. She covers the gash with gauze and medical tape. “Don’t move too much, alright? We don’t want that wound opening up.”

 

“Yes, miss nurse.” Of course Sulli isn’t a nurse. Well she kind of is--- or rather she’s learning to become one; she’s actually an intern.

 

I jump down from the examination table and start buttoning up my acid washed denim shirt. Sulli checks her pink clipboard and gasps. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Your debriefing schedule has been postponed. You’re supposed to attend a team meeting at exactly eight minutes.” She hands me a box of clean gauze and pushes me out of her clinic, leaving me confused.

 

In all of my nine years working for the Organization, never have I had a debriefing postponed--- and have an actual and legit team meeting at that.

 

This only means one thing: something big is about to happen and I’m not too sure if I want to know what that is.

 

 

I was twelve when I got recruited into the Organization. I was one of those clichéd rogue delinquents who were miraculously given a second chance at life. More than being an expert pickpocket I could have been a cat burglar at twelve and be able to get away with it every time. That’s how good I was. For a twelve-year-old I was rather lithe. I was quick and I could slip and hide as fast as I could snatch a twenty-four karat gold bracelet from an unknowing target’s wrist.

Victoria Song was my savior. I was observant and agile. But I was incomparable to Victoria.

She’s been watching me for quite some time. She was a Chinese covert intel for the Organization; gathering information on probable recruits. Hiding in plain sight was her forte. From what I have seen her do she could have been Catwoman and I would have believed her.

Like I said, I was twelve; very young and foolish. I was arrogant and I thought I was invincible. I had a relapse of judgment and overestimated my plan of action. In no time I had two cops on my tail as I ran through the city’s dark alleys. That’s when Victoria Song came out from the shadows and helped me.

She had given me two options: join the Organization or not. If I do join I’d have to leave my old life behind. But if I don’t, she’d yield me to the police station herself.

I didn’t have much in life anyway and so it didn’t take a lot for me to say yes. Besides, I’d get to kick some and get paid for it. That’s better than a ‘buy one get one free’ promo at a Louis Vuitton store that, as a matter of fact, never happens.

 

“This is going to be your new room.” Victoria tells me with a small smile. I look around the whitewashed walls and put my one bag on the queen-sized bed. There’re two windows in the room, enough to filter in natural light from outside. There’s also an inter-connected bathroom for my personal use and I was all too glad to not share a bathroom with twenty other teen recruits. Knowing that I now have my own space to rest and feel safe, I can’t help but smile widely.

 

“You like it?” Victoria asks. She gives me a pile of clean pillowcases and blankets that smelt of fresh laundry, even a bag full of toiletries. I take them from her arms with much appreciation.

 

“This is perfect.” I tell her.

 

“Great! I’ll give you this time to get settled in and come back to fetch you at six for the orientation.” She gently pats me on the back and leaves me in my new room.

 

 

“No way, no way, no way!” I fumed. Sehun rolls his eyes at my childishness.

 

“You’ve saved the country from potential mass destruction more times than I care to admit. You hear the word school and you cower away like a Chihuahua.” He teases.

 

I reach for the nearest sharp object, which was a pen, and throw it to his direction. The pen darts across the metal desk and Sehun ducks away expertly with an annoying smirk. The pen ends up stuck on the cement wall. Kyungsoo shakes his head at our antics.

 

“School and Jung Soojung don’t get along, alright? Give me a desk job for a week, hell, I’ll even clean Sehun’s stinky room. Just don’t give me this operation, Boss!” I bawled.

 

“Hey, my room is not stinky!” Sehun defended.

 

“Shut up, the both of you.” Boss scolded. “Soojung, I would have given this operation to anyone else in Level Four if it wasn’t critical.”

 

“Let’s just hear it out, guys.” Kyungsoo tells us, always the rational one among the three of us.

 

“Fine.” Sehun and I both huffed in unison. Boss nods appreciatively at Kyungsoo and I roll my eyes at his blatant show of favoritism.

 

“You’re all familiar of Dehan University?” The three of us nod in acknowledgment.

 

“The rich-kid school, right?” Kyungsoo asks.

 

“To put it mildly, yes.” Boss says. “Well, aside from their reputation of handling affluent students, the university is also known to have an exceptional science and engineering program.”

 

He passes around three thick manila envelopes for us to peruse. I open mine and scanned a page. “So these students are making weapons of mass destruction unknowingly?” I scoffed.

 

“Allegedly.” Boss replies. “You three are assigned to infiltrate the university. A source tells us that there are some students who hold underground auctions and bid weapons, computer viruses, etc. to the highest bidders.”

 

“I think I’ll like these kids, whoever they are.” Kyungsoo says with a grin.

 

“These underground auctions are invitational, I’ve heard. And most of these bidders are high-profiled me who are… you know, enemies of the State.” Boss continued.

 

“They eat six-course meals in their cafeteria!” Sehun reads excitedly from his own set of documents. “And spas? When do we start?”

 

Boss slams two meaty fists on the metal desk to keep our attention. “This is not a vacation, agents. This is a highly classified mission that requires your full and discreet efforts. If these weapons are given to the wrong hands, national security is at risk.”

 

The thought of going to school nauseates me. “But do we have to attend classes for real? That’s not part of our jobs.”

 

“Yes. Attending classes are part of your undercover. You have to get to know these students. Know who sets up these auctions. Infiltrate the student body and help make a stop to this illegal trading of highly weaponized gadgets.”

 

I look to Sehun and Kyungsoo for their decision and I groan in defeat when they seem eager to experience going to a normal university. “Fine, but we want a raise.”

 

Boss gives it a thought and sighs. “A raise may be possible… but is still up for discussion with the Board.”

 

“And… the Organization owes me a pair of new Jimmy Choos.” I demanded, crossing my arms boldly. “Louboutins are greatly accepted too.”

 

“I was promised a new laptop too, if I remember correctly.” Kyungsoo butts in. “Alienware.”

 

“Alright, alright.” Boss finally gave in. “But no Porsche for you Sehun.” Sehun grumbles in discontent. Boss ignores Sehun’s protests and starts to orient us on our new mission.