Four Years: The first year

15| Aly

There's something I've been keeping to myself, something that nobody has ever known or even suspected. Not my family, not my friends. Nobody.

There's a private firm called Covert. It is a highly secretive, international spy agency that operates independently of any government or country. The agency's main objective is to ensure the safety and security of citizens worldwide. I met Ryan for the first time here. He was instrumental in assisting me during my first op with Covert. He provided me with valuable guidance and support, which helped me complete the op successfully. My brother, James, who is also an agent with Covert, was my assigned trainer. He has been my mentor and has taught me everything I know about espionage. 

I've been working for Covert for 4 years now. I'm an operational field agent here which includes being a spy, an assassin, and working a task force and things of that nature. And today, I was called for my next op. So, I headed to the headquarters. I approached the entrance, where I underwent a strict retinal scan and other security checks before being granted access.

      Once inside, I was greeted by the bustling atmosphere of the headquarters, with agents working on their respective tasks. I made my way to the briefing room.

"Hey, Kev. So what can I do for you?" Kev is our current Head. He's sort of a manager. He is responsible for assigning cases to us based on our areas of expertise and workload. Kev is known for his exceptional leadership and guidance, and his management style ensures that we work efficiently and effectively to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.

"Heyyy, there's my favorite agent," Kev said opening his arms.

"Cut to the chase," I said, raising my eyebrows and giving him a hug.

"You're being partnered up for this mission. I'm just waiting for him."

"Alright, who is it? Have I worked with him before?" 

"Hey, man. Long time." I heard a voice from behind. A voice I recognize, that I've come to hear at the most unexpected time.

I turn around. And....yep, you guessed it. 

It's George. God, I don't know how many times I've been surprised by him like this. And this one is the biggest bombshell of them all.

I looked at him, and he looked back at me. He froze and appeared to have seen a ghost. He went through several emotions simultaneously, and once he got over it, he approached me cautiously in slow motion. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he still looked at me in disbelief. Finally, he took a seat next to me.
"Wow, you never cease to surprise me." He said, still in shock.

"Neither do you," I said, equally in shock.

"Well, you two seem to have met already. I'm just gonna brief you now." Kev says, eyeing both of us.

He started the briefing. "We have a new client. And Ed Grey is putting up a team for this mission."

Ed is an abettor. Abettor is a rank in our organization. It's equivalent to a lieutenant. We call them 'Ab' for short. An abettor's literal meaning is a person who encourages or assists someone to do something wrong. It's ironic, I think. I don't know if they're called that because it's true or we want people to think it's true or perhaps we have simply accepted the role society has set out for us. But what I believe in is not that we're wrong. Quite on the contrary, in fact. Our organization has set out to correct the wrong. But like any other movement, there's always politics involved. And where there's politics, there's collateral damage.

I know Ed personally. He's a middle-aged man, a friend, and a father figure to me. He was also an excellent agent before he was promoted. I worked with him on a couple of missions before and in full transparency, I must admit he was one of the people of whom approval I sought.