Agent X

xx| 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎 |xx

If I hadn't been so jetlagged, I would have been going insane with boredom. The whole crew had woken up at seven in the morning, Belgian time, in hopes of catching some ambassadors while they dined. Dari had pulled up the security system, and for an entire hour, we waited around for someone, anyone, to go to the dining room.

I can't believe that there isn't even one morning person here.

I couldn't blame them, though. For one thing, being bitter would distract me from the mission. But more importantly, I knew that if I were in their position, I would be sleeping in too.

I glanced at the others. Ty and Finn were armwrestling at the bar, while Jax watched. Periodically, they invited the older spy to join the 'fun,' but Jax politely declined. Dari was absorbed in her phone, though she periodically checked the hall surveillance cameras for updates. They all seemed to have an exorbitant amount of energy, all things considered. I, on the other hand, felt like I was about to collapse into slumber. I probably would have settled back under the covers and gotten an extra hour of shuteye, but I had naively gotten dressed in my charcoal-pinstripe suit the moment I woke up.

Maybe I can just close my eyes while we wait. It wasn't like we were doing anything else. I doubted there would be a problem, especially if I covered my eyes with sunglasses...

I surreptitiously grabbed my sunglasses from my bag and covered my eyes. I allowed my eyelids to gently close, weighted from the darkened light.

Ah, that's better. I instantly felt my body melt into relaxation.

"Guys, we have a target!" Dari exclaimed.

I pursed my lips. Of course. Of course something would happen the moment I decided to relax.

I removed the shades from my eyes and sat upright. "Who is it?"

"It's Mr. Hansuke Aoki," Dari said. I squinted at her computer to see a gray-suited man walking through the halls. Though the image was slightly pixelated, I could tell that it most certainly was the Japanese diplomat. As usual, he was accompanied by an entourage of two bodyguards in dark suits and glasses.

A brief memory flashed through my mind. I remembered that Ty and Xara had once been part of Mr. Aoki's bodyguard unit. They had worn specially-designed, bullet-proof suits and shielded their eyes with identical glasses. For a month, Ty and Xara were twinning to the next level. Xara had been totally fine with wearing the same thing everyday, but Ty had nearly had a mental breakdown three times. When he got home, he wore the loudest, most clashing patterns he could possibly find.

"What floor is he on?" I asked, snapping back to attention.

"The third."

"Finn and I will take him," I decided. "Dari, text me when you see someone else coming down stairs. I'll assign either Ty or you to watch him."

"Kay."

"Sounds good," Ty concurred.

"Jax, watch the halls as usual unless I give you further instructions," I told him.

"Sure."

The typical, one word reply that Jax says.

Finn slid off the barstool he was sitting on. "Let's go."

We donned our boots and exited to the hallway. A quick scan of the halls told me that there was no one around. I broke into a run towards the stairwell, Finn at my heels. It wasn't very refined to run through the hotel, but it didn't matter so long as there was no one around to judge us. I practically flew down the stairs, skipping two steps at a time.