"I have new intelligence on Operation Charizard."

Sehun nudged him in the ribs and nodded towards the door; the crowded practice room was no place to conduct clandestine activities. The two of them slipped into the thankfully empty washroom.

"So what do you have for me, Agent Oh?" Lay grinned. The kid was obviously taken with the whole spy role-playing thing so he might as well humour him and play along.

The maknae fumbled with his pockets and withdrew a small slip of paper. "This morning, I managed to see the preview of a text on Suho's phone when he was in the shower. It was from Kris."

I'm going crazy here. Can we talk about terms again?

Lay thought about the morning's events. Nothing had been out of the ordinary at the dorm except...

He let out a cackle, making Sehun jump back in surprise. "Tao was force-feeding him those vitamin gummies today. You know, the really sweet ones they give to children."

Sehun wrinkled his nose in distaste. "You mean the wannabe candies that taste like crap?"

Lay nodded. Kris was the complete opposite of swet-toothed Tao and had probably been going insane from sugar overdose. But why had he vented to Suho about his frustration, rather than openly confront his own members? And what exactly were the 'terms' that Kris wanted to discuss?

"Do you know the password to Suho's phone?" Lay asked. Sehun shook his head. "Here's your next mission: gain access to the contents of his phone and find out what they've been texting about over the past week."

"Hyung, do I look like a hacker to you?"

"No. You didn't even know what a torrent was until I told you. Why don't you try 0522. Or better yet, 0408."

Sehun rolled his eyes but nevertheless gave him a thumbs up before heading back to the practice room.

*****

They met up again the following day.

"The password was 0408, just like you said." Sehun caught the can of coffee Lay had just tossed him, opening it with a resounding crack and hiss.

"You'd think he'd be a little less predictable. So what did you find?"

Sehun shrugged. "Nothing. Guess the security's crappy because Old Gramps only uses his phone for work. The only messages were leader stuff that he spams Kris with."

Lay took a contemplative sip of his own drink. He had hoped for more information on Suho's end (pilfering Kris's heavily guarded phone was tantamount to a suicide mission) and was disappointed to say the least. He needed a lead, something, anything to take him one more step towards the big, fat secret he was sure the leaders were hiding.

"Did you know he keeps a list of inspirational quotes on his phone? Sends one to Kris every single freaking morning."

"No wonder Kris has such a splendid personality. Anything else I should know?" Lay muttered sarcastically.

"I took a quick peek at his calendar. Seems like he has an appointment with Kris tonight at seven."

He glanced down at his watch; it was 6:24. There was still time. 

"I think we're on to something. Nice job, Agent," he said brightly with a quick pat on Sehun's head. "Now I think it's time I did a little espionage of my own."

*****

Lay ducked his head, skirting around a group of giggling high school girls. The streets of Seoul were flooded by the post-work crush. Thankfully, Kris was a good head taller than the average population and was easy enough to tail even in a crowd.

The two leaders stepped into a mandu shop that was much too tiny for him to enter without risking detection. He stood across the street, squinting to catch sight of his band members through the shop's wide windows. The flickering streetlights above drenched him in shadow and he felt every part the spy, what with the pounding heart and adrenaline rush and all. Small wonder Sehun was so taken with the idea.

He didn't have to wait long. As soon as the waiter had taken their orders, Kris withdrew a manila envelope from his bag while Suho pulled out his SM-emblazoned padfolio. Papers were exchanged and pens were readied, their tips flying across the sheets. The leaders continued to talk with the seriousness of businessmen and each signed the documents with rigid smiles. 

By their fourth plate of dumplings, Lay knew he had seen enough. The envelope was the key to solving the mystery, but how was he supposed to get his hands on it? Documents so important that they warranted a rendezvous on the sketchy side of town would not be so easily attainable. Knowing Kris, they would be guarded, hidden and kept inaccessible for the duration of their existence. Lay knew he would never even get close to thing, but he did know someone who could...

Tao picked up on the third ring. "What's up?"

"Remember when you asked me to help you get Kris and Suho drunk to solve little misunderstanding?"

"Yeah, brilliant idea, wasn't it?" Tao said, evidently pleased with his handiwork. "It all worked out in the end."

"I don't think so." Lay extracted himself from the crowd and paused below the overhang of a coffee shop that had closed for the day. "They still haven't made up and I think I know why."

He gazed at his reflection in the shop window and composed himself before launching into the lie. "Suho said that he lent Kris some leader notes-you know, the handouts that the manager-hyungs always give them-but Kris never returned it. He claims he gave it back, but you know how messy Kris is, so my guess is it's still somewhere in his room."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Tao asked. 

"Well, the next time Kris lets you in his room, could you poke around a little and see if you can find them? If you do, give them to me and I'll get them to Suho. This whole thing will die down and everyone will be happy again, yeah?"

"Yeah alright. So what exactly am I looking for?"

Lay couldn't help but smile. "A manila envelope." 

 

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The Art of Espionage

| Posted on May 13, 2012  |11:27 pm |

Someone once said that failing to plan is planning to fail. Well, I am pleased to say the plans I have set in motion today makes failure improbable, if not impossible. Recruitment of Agent T was successful and Agent SH has proven to be less useless than I initially speculated.

The mystery now lies in a certain agreement that had been made between S and DZ, one whose (recently renegotiated) terms have been sealed away by both parties. Thankfully, paper trials are easy enough to follow and what's more, can be used against their owners once they fall into my hands. 

You better get ready, DZ, because a storm is coming.

 

Tags: skyfall

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