Of Secrets and Surprises

Of Fire and Ice
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Irene had talked with Seulgi for the majority of the flight. It had been mostly one sided because she wasn’t skilled in terms of casual conversation, but Seulgi had been patient. She was easy to talk to and Irene understood why the woman had so many acquaintances.

Irene looked around the plane. Joy and Yeri and Krystal were teaching Wendy how to play a game. Irene had no idea what is was. She thought about the mission. Having an agent M.I.A. was concerning. Especially when the agent was missing in a foreign country. Irene opened the window next to her. It was dusk. Henry had informed them that they would be landing in ten minutes. She closed it again.

“Have you been to the U.S. before?”

She turned to Seulgi. “Yes, I have.”

“For a mission.”

Irene nodded. “Have you?”

Seulgi’s expression darkened. She bit her lip. “I could’ve sworn I did, but I can’t remember.”

Irene tilted her head. Narrowed her eyes. A silent question.

Seulgi took in a deep breath. Let it out. She looked back up at Irene. “Maybe I’ll tell you someday.”

Irene stared at Seulgi. The woman was looking away from Irene, her expression masked. Irene let it go. She wasn’t one to pry, anyway.

The intercom beeped to life. “We’ll be landing in five, agents. I suggest you get your things ready.”

Before Irene could say anything, Seulgi stood up. “I’m gonna go grab my things. It was nice talking with you.”

Irene’s brows furrowed. She wondered what had just happened.

 

The plane landed smoothly. It was an agency plane and everything that SM owned tended to be top notch. Seulgi shouldered her duffel bag and stood up. They were dressed in casual clothes so as not to attract attention.

“We have officially landed in NYC folks,” Henry said through the intercom, “I’m opening the cargo hold so you guys can get out from there. Good luck, agents.”

“Wow, no manners. He won’t even greet us face-to-face,” Joy said.

Krystal laughed. “He’s actually a very mannerable guy. It’s the circumstances we’re in, that’s all.”

Seulgi turned back to look at Krystal. “You know him personally?”

“Sort of, he’s Amber’s close friend so I naturally got to know him.”

Seulgi stood behind Irene as the woman opened the door to the cargo hold. Her jaw dropped. They were somewhere extremely high. Seulgi could see the millions of flashing lights from the city below. There was also the fact that it was freezing.

“What the hell? Where did we land?”

Seulgi turned around when she heard the cargo hold close and the plane’s engine come back to life. It lifted off the ground and flew away. Seulgi looked back over the railings to the city below. She realized that it had snowed, but the platform they were standing on lacked any of it. It was well-lit and Seulgi concluded that someone had been expecting them.

Someone was.

“Agents?” a man said in english.

Seulgi whirled around. A tall, blonde guy stood in front of the metal door that presumably led to the interior of the building. He was wearing a fitting suit. He seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties. His stance was confident. Not threatening.

“Yes,” Irene said.

They made their way towards the man. Stopped a few feet in front of him. Irene stood in front while the rest of them spread out behind her. Seulgi could see that the man was at least six-foot-five. He towered over them with ease. His expression was stoic.

“My name is Samuel Johnson and I am an agent of the CIA. I am here to help you find Amber Liu.

They entered the building. It was room temperature but after the weather outside it felt like the warmest place on earth. The place seemed similar to SM’s building. Everything was white. There was an elevator waiting for them. They filed in.

Samuel pulled out a key from his pocket. He inserted it into the keyhole underneath the several rows of buttons. Abruptly, the lights in the elevator shut off. Then, a green light took place. Seulgi was ready to spring at the guy.

Samuel pulled out a familiar looking case. He flipped it open before placing it against the screen that had revealed itself moments ago. It let out a beep and a female voice bid welcome. He turned to them. “Please scan your badges here.”

Irene was the first to do it. Seulgi was next, and the rest followed. The elevator whirred. Seulgi could hear the mechanisms shifting. Then, the carriage jolted and the doors slid open. They were underground. Seulgi could tell immediately by the musty scent in the air. The lights illuminating the place were a dim yellow in color. The walls and floor and ceiling were dull concrete. She looked forward and froze. In front of her was a large, clear tube that, on closer inspection, was made out of glass. Inside of them were three small black and red contraptions that resembled pods distributed evenly at three of the first doors somehow installed in the glass tube. They sort of looked like mini black convertibles without the wheels. Seulgi could see two seats in each of them.

She looked to the right to see a small room that she immediately recognized as a control station. There was a chair and a large monitor and a desk with buttons and switches and handles that Seulgi didn’t even want to imagine trying to manage.

“What’s going on? What are those?” Seulgi asked.

Samuel stepped towards the tube then turned around. “This is the fastest possible way to travel. This particular transportation system uses air pressure to run it. It goes up to four thousand and five hundred twenty-one miles per hour.”

Krystal asked, “Wait, but why would we need this?”

The agent said, “Because you will be arriving at Toronto, Canada in approximately eleven minutes.”

 

There were countless questions running through Wendy’s head. Such as how the transportation system in front of her was scientifically possible, or why they were going to her hometown when Lee had told them that Amber had been last sighted in New York.

“But Lee - the director said that Amber was last sighted here,” Joy said.

The CIA agent sighed. “Your agency believes that they are being watched. They sent you here because they didn’t want to risk the mission. Your agent, Amber, will be waiting for you at the station in Canada. I can’t elaborate any further, but you will get the answers you need soon enough.”

Wendy eyed the pods in the clear tube. “So we have to get inside of that.”

The guy nodded. “And quickly.”

Wendy looked at Irene. She saw the others doing the same. The woman seemed calm. Though, then again, she always looked calm. She finally nodded. She walked up to the entrance of the first pod, scanned her badge, and climbed in.

No more words were said. Wendy saw everyone hesitate to get in beside Irene. She took the initiative. She pulled out her SM badge, had it scanned, and then clambered in. She dumped her duffel bag at her feet. Put on the seat belt. The interior smelled clean and the seats were made of memory foam and covered with soft, black velvet cloth. The top of the pod hissed out air as it closed. Like the ones at amusement parks.

Wendy looked out to see the others staring at them skeptically. She saw the agent at a small control station. He raised his hand. Three fingers in the air. One by one the fingers curled into his hand, and then, in a flash, everything was black.

Wendy couldn’t feel anything. It felt like she was floating through space. It was oddly comforting. Not being able to see anything should have been terrifying, but fear was the last thing on her mind.

“Irene?”

“Yes?” Irene’s voice sounded as monoto

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Comments

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Oct_13_wen_03 36 streak #1
come back please author nim 🥺🥺
brdfillet #2
Chapter 32: *screaming*
okay, i'll wait.
Iamwinter07 #3
Chapter 32: Okay. I just finished this and I was like why am I goinh back to the previous chapter and the dumb I am, I just realized that it was the last chapter available. I am so into it that I didn't noticed I was in the 31st chapter.... Huhu. Need the update......
_rtempest
1002 streak #4
Chapter 32: frost??? seulgi's brother??? really curious as to what happens next.. will be waiting patiently for the update!
Sseul_25
#5
I need an update please😭🙏❤️💛
Iris29 #6
Chapter 1: Will you update this?
gay4pineapples
#7
Chapter 32: HELLO??? LMFAOO WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENINGG
okay, first of all i’m SO glad i clicked on this story, it’s all so :0 and it’s so exciting lolol
also, i absolutely LOVE the dynamic between everyone here, and everything character is just so interesting and unique in their own way, which adds just so much more to the story. they all feel like real people (except frost bc he’s a ) and i just absolutely love it all. thank you so much for this, and i hope you’re doing well and staying safe!!!! until next time :))
born10966 #8
Chapter 32: I'm to know what is gonna happens now. I'll be waiting for update
Osekop12 #9
will read this soon!
potato_chips8
#10
Chapter 32: :O