Taeyeon stares out the window at the passing scenery as the train speeds through the Swiss Alps.

 

The train she is in is no ordinary train. The outer walls are reinforced with titanium, and the windows are made from thick bulletproof glass. It belongs to the German military, and is currently heading to one of the biggest German military bases, located in an isolated valley in the mountain range.

 

The train grinds to a halt. Taeyeon stands up, straps her sniper rifle to her back, and walks to the front of the vehicle. She does not look at any of the soldiers swarming around, and they are careful not to catch her eye. They know who she is.

 

She steps out into the station. She puts her hand into a scanner, and there is a ding as her fingerprint is scanned and matched with the fingerprint in the database. A camera snaps an image of her iris and checks it. She yanks out a strand of her hair and inserts it into a DNA verifier. The result comes as positive.

 

“Thank you, Ms. Taeyeon… the chief is waiting for you.”

 

A guard opens the door for her and she steps out into a small office. Sitting on a chair is a tall and slim man wearing a military uniform. He stands up and is at least a head taller than Taeyeon, and yet Taeyeon dwarfs him in every other way possible. “I assume the mission was a success?”

 

Taeyeon nods. “Of course.”

 

“Both targets have been neutralised?”

 

She nods again.

 

“Good.” He hands over an envelope. “The two thousand five hundred euros, as promised. I will summon you here if I am in need of your services again.”

 

She quickly checks to see if all the money is there. Seeing the correct amount, she turns around and is about to leave when behind her the chief clears his throat once, loudly. She pauses.

 

“...Have you considered my offer?”

 

“I’ve already given you my response.”

 

“But if you work for me, you will make much more than the tiny amounts that you make off of these petty jobs.”

 

“It is enough.”

 

The man sighs. “Very well.”

 

She continues walking and exits the room and the building. She walks further and opens the main gates of the compound, and is met by the icy winds and snow of the Alps.

 

She switches into a run, following a hidden path to her hideout ingrained into her memory. Her footprints she leaves behind are quickly wiped away by the sighing wind, never to be seen again.

 

It isn’t very long before she reaches her hideout, a small cave hidden high up in the Matterhorn. The entrance is concealed with a white cover that easily camouflages into the billowing snow. Taeyeon pushes the cover aside and enters, then takes out four keys from four hidden pockets in her jacket. She unlocks the four locks on the door in front of her and is careful to step over the nearly invisible tripwire and deactivate the sensors leading to the trap she set up.

 

Once she is through, she puts the envelope on a counter and carefully puts her weapon on the side before flopping down onto the bed. She stares up at the ceiling and it isn’t long before the events of the day catch up to her and she slips into a dreamless sleep.

 

—

 

There is a sudden loud beep on Yuri’s computer. She doesn’t flinch. She quickly checks the source, and is surprised to find that she has been left a message. She opens it and reads:

 

Anonymous: I have an assignment for you, Black Pearl.

 

Yuri startles. How did… whoever this is gain access to her private messaging system? She had only used it once before, and she was sure she had never disclosed that information to anyone besides… him. And it couldn’t be him, since, well, since she killed him. She types in a reply.

 

BlackPearl: What do you want?

 

Anonymous: I already told you that. I have an assignment for you.

 

BlackPearl: Who are you?

 

Anonymous: …You are sure this conversation is not being tracked in any way?

 

BlackPearl: Of course.

 

Anonymous: I cannot tell you who I am. All I ask you is that you pay me a visit, so that I may explain the details of the mission face-to-face. It is safer that way.

 

Yuri pauses for a moment.

 

BlackPearl: And how do I know that it is not a trap?

 

Anonymous: I assure you, it is not. Please, believe me. I will even be standing outside of my… headquarters, so that you will be able to tell that it is not a trap.

 

BlackPearl: Where is it?

 

Anonymous: Not far from where you are. But just in case, I will be sending you the directions in another manner.

 

BlackPearl: Fine.

 

Yuri quickly checks the mysterious person’s profile. There is no information on it whatsoever, besides the fact that they are now offline.

 

Her phone vibrates, and Yuri sighs. The person even managed to get to her phone. She pulls it out of her backpack and checks it. There is a new message. In it are directions obviously meant to be discreet and confusing, but Yuri knows her way around. It is necessary, in her line of work, and especially her expertise. She stands up and closes the computer. She straps her swords to her back and checks for all of her shurikens. She checks her sleeves and boots for her knives, and all of her gadgets she may need in an emergency. Slipping on her hoodie that hides any sign of the weapons on her, she sets off into the busy streets of Tokyo.

 

After some seemingly pointless wandering, she finds a small, utterly unnoticeable house. It is as ordinary as it can possibly get, which is of course the intention. She continues to walk past it without any sign of stopping, studying the house through the corner of her right eye.

 

Sitting on the front porch is a man of average height and ordinary features, just as unnoticeable and gray as his house. Immediately Yuri knows this is the man who she is looking for.

 

Once she is out of sight of the man, she crouches behind a bush, slowly edging back into his field of vision. She slips a pair of goggles onto her eyes, and flicks a series of switches on the side of the lens. Her vision turns gray. She scans his whole body, and finds no sign of anything out of the ordinary besides a small source in his pocket, probably a set of keys.

 

These goggles hide a specially manufactured long-range metal detector. Scanning the man revealed no weapons, handcuffs — and most importantly — no police or army badges. In short, he is most likely not going to try to arrest her.

 

Judging the situation to be safe, she steps out and casually walks over to him. He looks over at her, his blank face showing no change in emotion.

 

“Black Pearl?”

 

“Yes.” If he had started the conversation with any other sentence, Yuri would have turned around and left.

 

“Would you like to come in?”

 

She hesitates again for a second. But anyways, what does she have to lose? Even if this is a trap, she doubts that this man could even touch her.  She shrugs. “Sure.”

 

He stands up, opens the door, and walks in. Yuri follows.

 

As soon as she steps inside, she tenses every single muscle in her body. There is no reaction, no surprise attack, nothing. She takes a deep breath and steps through another door.

 

The inside of the house is well furnished, but nothing stands out. The only perhaps slightly strange thing about it is that there is only one small window, probably as a safety precaution. Windows provide a break-in point and an easy shot for a sniper.

 

Yuri continues to follow him as he leads her to another door and down the stairs. She pads silently down the stairs into a completely empty, unfinished basement. He continues walking till he reaches one of the corners. Yuri is starting to get doubts in her head, and just in case she places her right hand on the hilt of one of her swords. Then the wall suddenly swings outward and she steps back in surprise.

 

Yuri stares at the invisible entrance that had been hidden in the wall. The mysterious man had already disappeared inside. Shaking the surprise away, she steps in behind him, and her breath is taken away.

 

The lights flash on, revealing a vast room filled with everything an assassin would ever need. There is a large area filled with computers and monitors and other digital equipment Yuri has never even seen before. Beside it is a training station filled with what you’d typically find in a gym, like weights, treadmills and bench presses, but then there is also a training spot for martial arts, sword fighting and a firing range. There is a resting area where there are couches, recliners, a huge TV and even a few video game consoles. There is a huge fridge and everything you’d need to cook pretty much anything. And last of all…

 

Yuri’s jaw drops. She sees a huge wall filled with any and every thinkable weapon that could ever have possibly been made. There are beautiful swords, knives, pistols, machine guns, snipers, rocket launchers, and even shurikens that look better than Yuri’s current ones. She immediately rushes to it and starts examining them.

 

“I see you have taken a liking to my headquarters.”

 

Yuri looks up at him. “Your headquarters? All this only for you?”

 

He smiles. “Of course not. I have… plans. Plans which I cannot reveal to you. At least not yet.”

 

Yuri s her hoodie and pulls out her shurikens. “Then why am I here?”

 

“I want you to investigate someone for me. Someone extremely powerful, but I don’t think it should be a problem for you to simply shadow her, and report her movements and actions to me.”

 

“Who? And what am I getting out of this?”

 

“I’ll be paying you by allowing you to use this place, however and whenever you need to, as long as you are in my employment. You may use any of the weapons and equipment. Including the fridge.”

 

Yuri raises an eyebrow. “And she is…?”

 

“She is a master at martial arts and she owns a big dojo somewhere in Shinjuku. Her name is… Im Yoona.”

 

—

 

Tiffany studies the sheet of paper in her hands. “A professional hacker?” She crumples the piece of paper up and tosses it onto the road. “This sounds interesting… although the fact that they’re in Africa is rather annoying.” Tiffany is currently in New York City, waiting on the sidewalk for her ride to arrive. Her current employer had promised to provide her with the means to get to wherever the hell this person was hiding. Probably in some underground bunker in the middle of the desert.

 

A completely black BMW pulls up. Tiffany hops into the passenger seat, and the car effortlessly carries her and the suited man wearing sunglasses beside her along the streets of New York. Before long they are out of the skyscrapers and malls and are driving through suburbs, filled with gigantic expensive houses. Suddenly the houses on either side disappear, and there is a large barrier of trees between them and the next house.

 

The next house, or mansion rather, is massive. Surrounded by a wall with armed guards patrolling the grounds, it rises out of the forest, demanding majesty over everything else.

 

The BMW drives to the gate. A guard leans into the open window and checks identification. “Welcome Ms. Hwang.” He bows and the car advances onto the long winding driveway. As soon as the car stops at the end, Tiffany leaps out. She stretches her arms and yawns. “So... where is he?”

 

The driver bows. “Please, follow me.” He straightens and, turning around, proceeds to lead Tiffany behind the house. Sitting on a table on the patio, sipping champagne, is her employer. “Hello, Tiffany. How are you doing?”

 

Tiffany sighs and puts her hands in her pockets. “Dispense with the pleasantries. Let’s get to business.”

 

He laughs and takes another sip. “Always so straightforward. Anyways, I’ve hired a professional pilot to take you to where you need to go. Of course, I have my own pilots, but for this mission, I need the very best.” He looks up at her. “My private airstrip is just a little ways away from here. My driver will take you there.”

 

Tiffany turns around and like magic, the driver is standing there, beside a huge limousine. He opens the door for Tiffany and she gingerly sits onto the luxurious leather seats. The door closes, and the limo sets off, leaving the mansion from a different exit than from where they entered. Before long Tiffany is stepping out again into yet another huge house. This one, however, has a small airstrip with one jet waiting at one end. Knowing that it is waiting for her, Tiffany walks up to it and climbs into the passenger seat. She slides the seat belt over her shoulder and clasps herself in.

 

“Hi!”

 

Tiffany turns at the sound of a voice. Sitting beside her, smiling at her, is a petite yet strong-looking girl with shoulder length blonde hair. “Hey.”

 

“You’re Tiffany, I assume?”

 

“Yes. And you are...?”

 

“Hyoyeon.”

 

Tiffany stretches her feet. “C’mon, let’s get outta here.”

 

Hyoyeon nods and pushes buttons and switches and then pulls the throttle. The plane lurches forward along the runway, gaining speed. She pulls up and the jet gently lifts off of the ground and into the air. Hyoyeon glances at her passenger to see how she is doing, and is quite amused to find that Tiffany is fast asleep.

 

-

 

The ground lurches forward and Tiffany’s eyes shoot open. She sees that they have landed in what she guesses must be the Ethiopian Highlands. Hills and small mountains surround the small runway and what she guesses must be an airport, although it is tiny.

 

“Finally awake, huh?” Hyoyeon says as she pushes the cockpit open. “By the way, while we were flying I had to blast some anti-aircraft guns, which somehow you managed to sleep through.”

 

Tiffany yawns and stretches her arms. “What can I say? Before now, I hadn’t slept for three days.”

 

“Busy working?”

 

Tiffany sighs. “Yeah. Had a lot of assignments lately. Suppose that isn’t surprising, though.”

 

Hyoyeon looks at her curiously. “How come?”

 

“Haven’t you heard? USA finally formally declared war on Canada and Mexico.”

 

Hyoyeon shrugs in response. “I’ve been pretty busy the past few days. Didn’t have time to check the news.”

 

“You really should pay more attention to it. It’s important in our line of work.” Tiffany steps out of the plane. “Well, seeya.”

 

“Bye.”

 

Tiffany slips her hands in her pockets and strides into the tiny building. Inside is one desk and a battered couch bathed in dirty light emerging from a small lightbulb on the roof. There are no windows. She sits on the couch and waits.

 

Not too long later, a small door at the back opens and a woman steps out. She is tall, black and muscular. She hands over a piece of paper and a set of keys. “There is a jeep out back.” Then she turns around and disappears behind the door.

 

“Talk about friendly.” Tiffany mutters to herself. She reads the paper then takes the keys and exits the building. She walks around to the other side and finds a jeep, fully equipped with supplies, weapons and a full gas tank. She unlocks it and steps inside. Pushing down on the gas pedal, she swerves out of the parking lot and onto the long, winding road, following the path to where her assignment takes her.

 

-

 

Hyoyeon watches Tiffany go. As soon as the jeep disappears over the horizon, she climbs out of the cockpit of the jet and enters the building. Humming a tune to herself, she walks up to the door at the back and knocks. A small slit in the middle of the door opens.

 

“What do you want?” The woman snarls.

 

Hyoyeon shrugs. “I just wanna know where the girl who just left is going.”

 

“None of your business.” The slit shuts.

 

Hyoyeon stands there and studies the door for a while. There is no response. Sighing, she lifts her foot into the air, and kicks the door violently. The door slams open.

 

The woman spins around in her chair, startled. “What the hell are you doing—” Her words are cut off as Hyoyeon’s hand closes around .

 

“What—let go of me—aargh!”

 

Hyoyeon’s tone is icy. “I asked you a question.”

 

“I don’t know—what you’re talking—about—”

 

Hyoyeon squeezes tighter. Malice drips from her voice. “I won’t repeat myself. I asked you a question.”

 

“Ok ok!” She flimsily claws at Hyoyeon’s fingers on . “Just—let go—and I’ll—tell you—”

 

Hyoyeon squeezes one last time for good measure, then drops her onto the floor. She scrambles up and trips, picks herself up again, and grabs a few sheets of paper from the desk. “Here! Take them!” Her voice is filled with panic.

 

Hyoyeon snatches the sheets and studies it. A grin spreads across her face. She looks up at the woman and smiles. “Thank you.”

 

The woman stares back, her face filled with terror. “Leave!”

 

“Don’t worry, I am. But… I still have one thing to do.” Hyoyeon puts her index finger to her lip and pretends to think. “You know, it’s never good to leave evidence of a crime behind, if you know what I mean?”

 

The woman crawls backwards, her feet kicking. “Get the hell out of here!”

 

Hyoyeon is suddenly kneeling in front of the woman. There is a knife in her hand, and there is a knife in the woman’s heart. The woman lets out one last cry before her life force fades away.

 

Hyoyeon pulls the knife out and cleans it on the woman’s clothes. She grabs the papers and leaves the building, closing and locking the door to the small room on her way out. Once she is out she hops into her jet and presses a button. A flap on the bottom of the jet opens, revealing a sleek black and red Harley Davidson. Ensuring that the jet is properly locked and rigged with traps, she hops onto the motorcycle and guns the motor, following the path that Tiffany left on.

 

*

You see? I didn’t let you down. Their threads of fate have already begun to intertwine.