𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 //𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝑲𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝑭𝑭//

~𝟭𝟮~

For the next few days, Chan trained with me almost constantly. Every detail had to be ironed out, every technique polished to perfection. But even while working, he made sure I ate regularly and drank plenty of water. It was sweet, how endearing he was. The last day of my probationary period, Chan came to me, holding a neatly wrapped package.

"This came for you. Your commander sent it. It's for the function tomorrow."

"There's a function?" I asked, my eyes wide. He giggled.

"Don't look so worried. It's a good sign. The team, including you, will gather in the commander's office. Then he'll make his decision. And after that, we can celebrate with the rest of the firm. I think your commander will make an appearance as well."

"So, then I'll be part of the team? Like, officially?"

"Yip. You must be so excited."

"Actually, if I'm being honest, I'm stressed out. I'm not having second thoughts or anything, I'm just afraid..." I trailed off.

"Afraid that things will change once you're part of the team? I can assure you, the only thing that will change is the amount of missions we go on. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, and we'll all be there. So, if you feel anxious, just come to one of us. We've all gone through it at least once," Hyunjin said, walking into the living room.

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," the two boys said in unison, making me giggle. Maybe this team is the right fit after all, I thought to myself.

...

"Okay, this will probably be our last training session before you become part of the team. I just wanted to tell you that I am really proud of your progress. You've worked so hard to get here and I would be proud to have you on my team."

I smiled at Chan, his words pulling at my heartstrings. I shook my head to get rid of the sadness forming behind my eyes. I ran up to him and gave him the tightest hug I could muster.

"Thank you for believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself," I whispered against the fabric of his shirt. We both pulled away again.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked.

"Do you know how to get out of handcuffs?"

"Yip. Find something to pick the lock with, or worst case scenario, break your thumb and pull your hand out."

"Okay, good. And rope?"

"Find something sharp to chafe it down on."

"Okay, and how about cable ties?"

"Now that I don't know."

"Can I teach you?"

"Sure."

He gently took my wrists and fastened a cable tie around them, making sure two of his fingers could fit through next to my wrists. Then I helped him tie his own hands as well.

"Now, what you do is, you get your hands next to each other, palms facing inward. Then you make fists with your hands."

I did as instructed.

"Then all you do is pull your hands toward you and then out with as much force and speed as possible. They should snap right through."

I watched in awe as he swiftly pulled his hands towards his chest, the cable tie snapping in half like a rubber band. He laughed at my shocked expression.

"Go ahead. Try it."

I shifted my wrists around, feeling the hard plastic against my skin. I breathed out, closed my eyes and with all my strength, I pulled my wrists towards my body, feeling the plastic give way. I opened my eyes again to find the cable tie on the floor, broken in half. And my wrists free. I smiled up at Chan, who smirked back at me.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

I nodded my head vigorously, making him laugh.

...

That night, we were all eating dinner when I got a call from my commander. I excused myself and answered.

"Good evening, Agent Noyes. I haven't heard from you in a while. How are things?"

It was strange to me how he suddenly wanted to know how I was doing. He usually only did that when he had a favour to ask.

"It's going well, Sir. I have adjusted and I'm actually enjoying it here. Was there something you wanted to ask me, Sir?"

"Actually, there is. Tomorrow afternoon, there will be a function, as you probably know. While you are there, I want you to stand near the entrance at 19:00. I will be arriving then. I will walk past you and hand you a gun. You are to go to the washroom and strap it onto your thigh. Then, at 20:00, I will give a picture to you of a man that I want you to execute. After he has been executed, I want you to slip out through the bathroom window. I will have a car waiting for you."

I almost dropped my phone. Was he being serious?

"Sir, I can't just kill someone at someone else's function. And besides, it's my future boss's function. I would be either dragged out of there or shot on the spot."

"I understand you are concerned about the other agents there, but if you want to keep your job and this 'new team' of yours, I suggest you man up and pull this off, Agent Noyes."

Then the line went dead. I stood there in silence, my mind moving at a hundred miles per hour. What if my commander wanted me to kill one of my new teammates? What if he wanted me to kill my new commander? I didn't know whether I should tell the boys, or just leave it. Did they know it was going down? If they didn't, would they tell their commander? I had told myself that I couldn't trust him, but what choice did I have? I walked back to the table, half in a trance. The boys all looked up at me.

"Hey, you okay?" I heard Han ask.

"If you suspect your commander is corrupt, what do you do?"

I looked up at them, but they were all looking at each other. Then they all looked over at Chan in unison.

"What makes you think he's corrupt?" he asked, the boys' eyes falling on me again.

"He wants me to pull off an assassination. Tomorrow. At the function."