⭐ Chapter One ⭐

The hassled strides on the hard concrete pathway broke the hush silence of the area. A resounding splash echoed in the mute neighborhood when two bulky frames dashed along a dark alley, however, a tall and svelte figure materialized from shadows following the colossal men; keeping his footsteps as soundless as probable.

It was too dark to make out anything definite; nevertheless, the tall figure- cladded in all black- tapered his hawk-like eyes when the other two men came to a sojourn at the far termination of open alley. He noticed a sleek black car at the mouth of the alley, hence halting his steps and taking cover under a shadow he waited to see what would transpire next. Several armed men encircled the car while a couple of them moved forward to the bulky men in order to do a thorough search on them.

“All clear,” One of the armed men bellowed, giving a signal to his fellow guards to slightly lower down their weapons.

A few agonizingly silent seconds passed before the door of the car glided open and out came a hunched physique. The agent in all black squinted his eyes for a better look but the new comer was doing a good job of hiding his identity. The stooped figure had a long over coat on his shoulders while an enormous bowl hat covered his head till nose down and the mouth mask was secured to protect the lower part of his face. Grunts of conversation could be heard between the bulky men and the aging curved man, who had stepped out of the car.

Making a daring decision, the agent tried climbing the iron stairs behind him, hoping to catch something significant from elevated location. Even if he tried to make his steps feather-like, the metal stairs faintly groaned under his weight, making the already vigilant armed men to jump at the unexpected sound. The agent plastered himself to the brick wall where the dark shadow hid him well.

Abruptly the static in his ear started going off, making the agent almost leap in surprise.

“They are suspicious,” The inert voice said in a mere whisper however, the agent was able to hear it loud and clear since the ear piece was practically shoved halfway down his ear canal. “Agent Heechul you need to come back as soon as possible… I repeat; they are suspicious. The security would tighten and you won’t have a way out, otherwise. Heechul abort the mission.”

Nonetheless the agent didn’t bulge from his position, eyes trained over the men meeting in secret. Heechul could see the hulking men presenting a file to the hunched figure before receiving a big black briefcase in return. Silently, Heechul raised his camera, trying to zoom in and capture the front of the file.

“Heechul abort the mission,” Again the voice of agent from IT department, Henry Liu, vibrated over Heechul’s ear drum. Annoyed, the agent turn off the device altogether. Relishing in the peace and quiet, he again raised his camera but the hunched figure was clasping the folder in such a manner that it was unmanageable to get a clear vision of file’s name… yet the agent tried.

It was only after two long hours, with Heechul’s spinal column protesting due to the bad angle he was leaning at to hide himself, the agent came out of his hiding spot; hundred percent sure that the men he was following were long gone. As gingerly as he could, Heechul fled back toward the black tinted SUV stationed five kilometer away from this destination. He was exhausted and disappoint at not being able to discern the man behind the mask, as Heechul plodded along the derelict roads of the city.

The door of the SUV was flown open when Heechul drew near to the vehicle, with Henry’s fuming face appearing in the direct line of his vision. Heechul’s steps faltered for a second and he gulped loudly when Henry whispered in venom filled tone, “Get in.”

They sat inside the van, both keeping their lips sealed until Henry couldn’t take it anymore and all but shouted, “You turned off the ear piece- again, I might add- when last time this ensue you pledged you would stop messing with it.”

“It was eerily quiet down there, Henry,” Heechul replied quickly, hands rose in his defense. “I was worried the sound of statics would be carried to them and I would be discovered-”

“You think that the technology designers and creators are fools?” Henry demanded angrily. “You know damn well Kyuhyun explained how not a single frequency wave would travel outside our ear… so stop lying!”

“Okay fine!” Heechul squawked, throwing his head back in exhaustion. “I didn’t want to abort the mission okay? I didn’t want to leave if there was even a tiny bit of chance that I could provide some- any- information to Chief at our return to the agency, okay? We have been on this case for months Henry! Months!! The Chief is getting agitated… the Director is demanding results or at least some advancement… I couldn’t leave in the middle.”

It was silent for a moment, with Heechul heaving while Henry could only stare at him… it was obvious the IT guy understood Heechul’s predicament to some extent.

“Besides… I took cover and waited till I was sure they were half way to city before coming out of my hiding spot,” Heechul tried excusing his behavior, lamely.

“By keeping me on my toes for two damn hours,” Henry spat in reply, coldness seeping in his voice. “I was nanosecond away from driving the van in the middle of that drug deal; because I couldn’t reach you and all I could imagine was worst case scenario engulfing you! Do you realize that?”

“I am sorry,” Heechul apologized, finally putting himself in Henry’s shoes and understanding the circumstances from his end. “I promise, next time I won’t-”

“What next time?” Henry snorted, rolling his eyes before he brought his attention back to the SUV. “There won’t be a next time for ‘us’, I would make sure of that. The moment we return back to the agency, I am having a talk with the Chief.”

“Henry, don’t be like that,” Heechul whined, latching a hand on Henry’s flexing biceps as the latter put their van on reverse. “I made a mistake, but I promise next time-”

“Like you promised last time as well?” Henry pointed out while arching an eyebrow at the flustered elder Agent. “No matter what you say, this time I won’t waver, Heechul Hyung.”

Now, the black haired agent cou