The ladies meet at the SM building the next day, ready for a day out together.

Be visible. Tiffany’s instructions are still on Taeyeon’s mind.

“Oh my freaking God, it’s so good to be out.” Summer takes a deep breath and exhales. “Ah . . . the air is so fresh—”

“You call this smoky air fresh?” Yuri questions with a frown at the men smoking by the side of the road.

Yoona skips forward and twirls in front of them. “Oh c’mon guys, let’s get some ice cream to start us off!”

Taeyeon chuckles. “Let’s go.”

For the rest of the day, they relax and do whatever they wish. They act like the average adult female group in their twenties, walking out of the mall with newly manicured nails and several bags of shopping. New heels, new dresses, new jeans . . .

“Where shall we go next?” Yuri asks.

“Follow me. I know a great place selling the trendiest knick-knacks,” says Summer.

“Do you know the way?” Yuri asks, not quite looking Summer in the eye.

Summer waggles her phone. “Not to worry.”

Thirty minutes later . . .

“Guys, I’m sorry but I think we’re lo—”

“I knew it!” Yuri turns to the other three with her palms up. “Pay up, girls.”

Taeyeon sighs as she hands her phone over to Yuri. The tall, tanned girl grins as she enters her account number in the app and hands it back. Taeyeon slides her thumb over the reader and her phone beeps. Transaction approved.

Yuri’s grin grows wider as Sunny hands over her phone as well.

“You didn’t.”

“Sorry, Summer,” says Yuri. “But a bet’s a bet.” She turns to Yoona who is grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Take Sunny’s phone. That’s your share.”

“At least Sunny and Taeyeon have faith in me,” says Summer with a pout.

“Sorely misplaced, is all I have to say about it,” Yuri replies as Sunny slides her thumb over the reader as well. Then she grins at the group. “Since we won, Yoona and I will treat you girls to dinner. What do you want to eat?”

So there it is, a pleasant day out, ending with a little gambling, grumbling and a pouty girl who only cheers up when dinner is served. Mission accomplished.

—

That night, Taeyeon takes the little metal box containing the Blue Sapphire out from her vault and fiddles with it. Her mind wanders to the cryptic message they first received from S.N.S.D. and her fingers freeze as a thought occurs to her. Fishing out her phone, she flips it around, looking at it closely. It’s a regular phone, bought from the store, sealed in a package. Could it have been compromised? If not, how did S.N.S.D. get the intelligence on their secret activities?

A few flips later, Taeyeon decides it’s beyond her to figure it out. Surveillance must be easy as pie for an organization like S.N.S.D. and after what she’s seen of the agents, she shouldn’t even be surprised if Tiffany is watching her right now. Is she?

—

Squeezing her eyes shut, Tiffany yawns and stretches. Her eyes are tired but her shift isn’t up yet. A quick glance at the time tells her she has twenty minutes left on her watch, but the twenty screens in front of her are really stressing her eyeballs out. Even the special googles she’s wearing to block out harmful rays isn’t helping her right now. Special googles that were purchased from Taeyeon’s father’s mega eyewear technology store. Tiffany smiles to herself, a crooked little smile. Perhaps she should ask for a refund from the tycoon’s daughter herself. That would be fun.

She watches as Taeyeon shuffles around her home in an oversized top, baggy cotton pants and fluffy bedroom slippers. A chuckle rises when the subject under surveillance pulls her hair into a bun and hugs a weird skeleton toy to her chest. Exactly how old is Taeyeon again?

Sipping on her coffee, Tiffany leans back as Taeyeon flops onto her bed with her phone. She taps a button and the screen changes to that of Taeyeon’s phone. So the girl is playing a game before sleeping. Quite the normal routine. And the poor girl doesn’t even know that the entire log of her app purchases are on file in S.N.S.D.’s Accessible Data Dock (ADD). In fact, almost every little detail of Taeyeon’s daily life is saved in the ADD and can be accessed by those with permission. Taeyeon would probably balk if she knew just how much surveillance is on her. And just the thought of it makes her dread having to tell Taeyeon and the other ladies about the truth, one day. Soon.

—

A few days later, Taeyeon and the rest are back at the training facility. This time, they are blindfolded instead of drugged so they still don’t know where they are.

“We’d really appreciate it if you could let us know when you’re coming to get us,” Taeyeon grumbles. She had gotten the shock of her life when arms grabbed her in bed and struggled in vain until a warm, husky voice murmured in her ear. Only then did she relax and allow herself to be taken.

“If you knew, your behaviour might change and we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Tiffany replies in a gratingly casual tone.

Taeyeon kicks back in her seat and folds her arms. “Okay, so why are we here today?”

The girls look at one another, exchanging looks. Taeyeon can be a difficult person if she thinks they are not treated properly.

Tiffany folds her arms as well. “You know why you’re here.”

Summer decides to stop the ice bergs from colliding. “More Spanish lessons I hope? I quite enjoyed that the last time.”

Seo speaks up. “You will be training up your fitness today as a group. Right up till lunch.”

The group groans while Taeyeon sulks.

“Lunch will be good, we promise you,” Hyo comforts by adding.

This perks up Yoona somewhat and she stands, grinning. “Alright. Let’s get changed and start.”

—

And so begins a strict regime of physical training that makes them wonder if this is what it is like to be a soldier in a world without mud. Climbing walls, leopard crawling, jumping, falling, rolling . . . it is borderline gymnastics at times and not forgetting the good ol’ running a marathon too.

It is another three days of vigorous training before Seo declares the end of their second round of training. On the third day, they are given their passports and dropped off at their homes complete with a luggage bag. On official records, they are reported to have spent the last three days in Osaka, Japan, and this is evidenced by the computer printed dates of departure and return. How this is done is a mystery but the girls are all too glad to be home to care much more about the capabilities of the organization.

After taking a shower, Taeyeon lounges on her couch and fishes out her ICE. They had received an ICE each, prior to leaving the facility.

Do not use it openly. Keep it safe and reply promptly. We will communicate with you via this device. Seo’s instructions run the mill in Taeyeon’s mind as she turns the ICE in her hand. It is no bigger than her smartphone, fitting nicely into her jeans back pocket. But this device is somehow able to dodge surveillance and keep their communication content secret. Very secret agent-like indeed.

Just as she’s about the go to bed, her ICE vibrates in her hand. There is a message for her. In Japanese.

Oyasuminasai.

There is no indication of who this message is from. But Taeyeon thinks she knows anyway. So she replies with a goodnight too, and goes to sleep.

—

There is a new message awaiting Taeyeon when she wakes up the next day.

Crash & Burn 2130. Meet Yoona.

Her heart thumps as she reads the words. Despite her reservations about S.N.S.D., she’s been itching to get some action since she and the others can’t go about nicking valuables from filthy rich and corrupted people as they wish. And now, she’s about to get some.

—