The Young Spy (Book One)

Chapter 3: Side Task

Carrying a tablet at his side, Carter walked across the office room moving past a few other desks residing, several people stationed in those desks to accomplish their assignments. Exiting the aisle of desks, he arrived at the door leading to the director's office.

Allison read the paper document in hand, her eyes tracking the printed words at a quick pace. She considered herself to be a fast reader, well aware of the fiction and non-fiction novels that she reads in her pastime. Her legs propped on top of the table while she continued to study one report out of the many stacked on her table.

"Ms. McKinley? Carter's here to see you." Spoke Allison's assistant through her office buzzer.

Hearing the unexpected voice, Allison quickly set her legs down in alarm to make herself seem ethical. "Bring him in." Pushing a button, Allison instructed her assistant to send Carter into her office. Seconds later, the doors of her office opened by the employee known as Carter, Allison's top analyst in the CIA. Before he could near her desk, Allison fixed her hair to make it straight.

"Boss?" Carter greeted his superior.

"Carter. Do come in." Allison set her arms on her desk, instructing him to come over in front of her desk.

"I just received an urgent update a few minutes ago. It's about Hendrix." Carter said. Then Allison immediately got reminded about Edmund Hendrix.

She remembered that he was quite a famous arms dealer that got under the CIA's radar years ago. She was slightly disappointed when she found out that Edmund was found innocent back in the 1990s. He was caught as an illegal firearms trader but after claiming that he is a permitted arms dealer, he was let go. But for the past month, conspiracies surrounding Edmund started to surface yet again.

"Hendrix? What about him?" Asked Allison.

"He's dead. Ma'am." The news nearly shook Allison.

"What? How, when?"

"Just twelve hours ago, in his state of origin. Said he was murdered, shot down four times in the chest. Found dead in a parking lot roof." Carter scrolled through his tablet. Allison squinted at the gruesome detail.

"L.A, huh? What else is there?"

"He was found along with an SUV full of firearms belonging to him. So, I'm assuming he was murdered by one of his buyers? I'm not sure."

"No, no. You have a point there. But something doesn't add up. If the buyers stabbed him in the back, why didn't they take the firearms?" Asked Allison, to which Carter responds by shrugging, not having a single idea regarding the mindset of a criminal.

"This doesn't make any sense," Allison muttered.

"Oh, it's about to be a lot more nonsensical, ma'am."

Allison raised a brow, "Hm?"

"I've acquired intel that an arms deal involving Hendrix's forces taking place in the next forty-four hours. We don't know with who yet, but it's claimed to take place in Milan."

"Ah, Italy." If Allison was right, Milan is supposedly the city in Italy with the highest crime rate. Of course, Hendrix's operation would reside there, a place with the highest concentration of criminals. "Okay, so we know Edmund's empire is still up and running. The only question right is who's running it." Allison added.

"I do have a hunch. His accomplice, Dorian Smith. Remember him?" Carter shares an opinion. Allison barely recalled who the name is, realizing after seconds of being lost in her thoughts. "He's the one who Hendrix trusts the most."

"Well, there it is. We have a primary suspect." She agreed.

"So, what do we do about this? All of our agents are surprisingly busy at the moment. We can't expect to assign them to look into it."