A Silent Intelligencer

"Cheat, steal, lie but don't get caught doing it." Is what my instructor always told me. In this industry, you have to do whatever it takes to survive and get the job done. Or meet your gruesome end, by getting killed while doing it. As an agent in the SIA [Secret Intelligence Agency] my role is to take pictures and provide the other agents with information of criminals. The tricky part is doing it without getting caught. Getting caught could mean torture or worse....death. But in case we do get caught and have the chance, we're authorized to harm or kill the criminal in order to escape.

"Lee Sa-Yeon! The commander wants to see you." Deputy commander Baek stood in front of my desk, staring at me with eyes as cold as ice. His pale skin made it seem like he was always on the verge of death, but his sharp gaze made up for it. "Yes sir." I instantly got up from my chair, and made my way to the commander's office. Thoughts of what I could've possibly done wrong filled my head.

Once I arrived to the commander's door I knocked three times, and three times only. I took this precaution to avoid annoying him. "You may enter." A honeyed voice responded from within the room. Unlike the deputy commander, the commander was a lot friendlier. Nonetheless, he was also capable of being frightening, to a point where you'd think you were better off dead.

"Ah. Agent Lee!" The commander gave me a bright smile. I nodded and bowed my head. "I heard you needed me, sir?" Seeing that I wasn't cracking a smile, the commander chuckled. "Still on guard aren't you?" He swiftly got up from his desk, heading over to where I was with some documents in hand. "No sir, not at all." That was a lie, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Even if he had a warm aura, he was still dangerous. "Now, let's cut to the chase." The commander's face and tone switched to a more serious one. He handed me the documents as he spoke. "In here is all the information you need to find out about the criminal's whereabouts and plans."

I took the papers and skimmed through them. "A nineteen year old, male, college student. His name is Kim Seo-Jun." I read out loud. Huh.....he's only a year older than I am. And yet he still made it to the 'most wanted criminal' list, at such a young age. How peculiar. The commander placed his hand on my shoulder and returned to his honeyed voice. "This mission is probably one of the most difficult ones you'll take on. So don't die, it'd be a shame to lose such a young and promising agent so early. Good luck~" he added. "Yes sir. I will be careful." I bowed my head again and left. "A shame" my ass. I bet you wouldn't even give a damn if I really did die.

I scoffed as I marched to my desk, and flung my computer open. I started by scanning the documents the commander gave me, before getting to work. "First things first. Criminal Kim Seo-Jun is a college student. So I should start by hacking into security cameras from every college in South Korea." Even though it'll take a while, it's still the fastest way to find him. I should probably use more than only one computer, though. To make the process faster.

After 2 hours of searching I finally found his location. "Yusang International College, and he lives five minutes away from there." I mumbled. Since he's only five minutes away from his school, I highly doubt he drives there. So tracking his car wouldn't be of any use. For now, I have a better idea. Not even fifteen minutes later I found myself sitting on the rooftop of his college building. Since it was nighttime, I wore black military style pants and boots. As for the other half of my body, I wore a simple black turtleneck and a long coat. Black is an efficient color. It doesn't attract too much attention at night. Furthermore, if I get stained with blood no one will notice. Anyway, I should start tailing him.

The most tedious part of my job is having to watch someone from a distance for a long time. This simple task could take up to three or five hours. But luckily, since I arrived around the time students left to go home, I didn't wait long. I kept a picture of the young man near me to verify that I had found my target. "Bingo." I smirked. A tall black haired man appeared, as he exited the building. He had rather refined facial features. Skin as white as snow, but rosy lips and cheeks. Eyes that could pass as charcoal, but charming at the same time. Overall, he had an alluring appearance. But what attracted my attention the most is that he didn't look like a criminal at all. I guess what they say is true, you should never judge a book by its cover.

I shrugged, and rushed down from the rooftop. I put a baseball cap on while pulling it over my eyes to hide my face. As I walked behind Kim Seo-Jun, I made sure to keep my distance in order to prevent getting caught. Although, I didn't leave too much distance between us. I could lose track of him if I do that. I carefully took out my camera to take pictures of him. After successfully taking a couple pictures, I hid my camera back in my coat as I sighed in relief. When I looked up I realized he was gone. As a result, I quickly snuck behind a trash can in an alleyway.

CrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrap....What if he found me? I messed up big time. I heard heavy footsteps near my hiding spot. I suppressed the sound of my breathing and got ready to make a run for it. Just as I got out of my hiding spot I heard a gunshot. I observed as my baseball cap flew off of my head. One centimeter closer and I would've been dead. I didn't have much time to wrap my head around what just happened. I spun around only to realize that the one holding the gun was Kim Seo-Jun. I knitted my eyebrows, and subsequently got into a fighting stance. My heart pumped faster as I caught my breath. The odds of winning are close to forty percent. I've received close combat training before, but it isn't my forte. So the only way to win is to buy some time and call for backup.

I analyzed my surroundings in order to come up with a plan. This alleyway is quite narrow. So, I could use the walls to jump off of them and corner him. There are also stairs...which could prove useful. I turned my attention back to Kim Seo-Jun. He hadn't moved an inch since he shot a bullet near my head. Instead, he was holding his gun firmly with both hands, pointing at my head. His grip on the gun was so tight I could see his knuckles turn white. Seeing that he wasn't moving, I slowly took out my phone to call for backup. Only to have it destroyed by a bullet again. "Well shit....there goes my only chance to get help." I grumbled, annoyed.

I glared at Kim Seo-Jun and took out my gun. Both of us remained in the same fighting stance for a while. Guns pointed at each other's head, not daring to move a muscle. First one to move is dead. The silence was deafening. I could feel the bitterly cold air wrapping around my body, slowly turn warmer. The smell of debris mixed with burnt cigarettes filled the alleyway to the brim. It was as if all my senses were growing more powerful by the minute. After an excruciatingly long time Kim Seo-Jun finally spoke. "Who sent you?" he interrogated me. "Take a guess." I was concentrating on his movements so much that my voice was barely above a whisper.

He most likely wants me to let my guard down. I guess he's a little worn out because we've stayed in the same position for over twenty minutes. This is also getting on my nerves, so let's end this quickly. I slowly lowered my gun and spoke in an orotund voice. "I'm getting tired of this, and I bet you're feeling the same way. So why don't we play a little game? Before I proceed to explain what I have in mind. I'll drop my gun and you'll do the same. Deal?" My lips curved into a sinister smile.

He sighed, nodding slowly. I'm taking a big risk since I know he doesn't trust me. But it's still worth a shot. I let go of my gun. It fell to the rugged ground. In addition, I kicked it away to ensure I wouldn't be able to grab it anytime soon. "Your turn." looked at Kim Seo-Jun expectingly. And as promised, he did the exact same action as I. "It's good to see we're on the same page."

I adopted the same tone of voice I had before. "Now, here's what we're going to do. You and I shall stand back to back with our guns in hand. We're each going to take ten steps away from each other at the same time. After we do that, we'll turn around as quickly as possible and pull the trigger. Fastest person wins." I again gave him an insincere smile. "Does that sound doable to you?" He wiped the sweat off his brow and responded with a "Yes." I clasped my hands together. "Good, then let's start~"

I confidently walked over to my gun and picked it up. I might not be the best when it comes to physical strength. But I'm quick both mentally and physically. Our backs lightly brushed against each other as we got into position. I proceeded to count "One...two...three...four...five!" Right after the sound finished coming out of my mouth I spun around. "BANG!" My gun fell to the ground. Had Kim Seo-Jun shot me? No. He missed, the bullet pierced through the wall behind me.

The only way he missed such an easy shot, was because I blinded him. The gun I had in my hand wasn't just any ordinary gun. It was a laser gun. So instead of shooting him directly, I shot a mirror that happened to be right in front of him. The mirror was perfectly positioned in a way that when I pulled the trigger, the laser beam reflected off of it. Hitting him square in the eyes.

I spared him no time to recover as ran to where he was, and delivered the finishing blow. I made sure to punch him in the jaw, resulting to a quick knockout. He stumbled back a little before collapsing onto the ground. I used up so much energy that the instant after I delivered the punch, I too, keeled over. I lay on my back, the dirty yet cold ground cooling me down. For once, this sensation felt pleasant.

After this draining mission, everything feels nice. Seeing that I had won, there's nothing to fear now. It's going to be a long way back to the SIA's headquarters. But none of that matters now, as long as I got the job done. My eyes fluttered shut for a couple seconds. A sense of relief washed over me.