Chapter 5: Kraken
If Mythos was a secret organization founded with a mission to eradicate all kinds of evil in this world, Kraken was the exact opposite. They do all sorts of crimes and wickedness you could think of—from theft, scams, illegal gambling, illegal drugs, human trafficking, kidnapping to cyber crimes, prostitution, money laundering, and even illegal firearms!
Those were just the categories we found associated with them through years of hunting their members. But they're a much larger group—so big that it became tough to trace their heads being the multi-organization they were.
Every time we thought we got them, it turned out that it was only another subordinate of theirs. And as we all know, subordinates could easily be replaced. Thus, rendering almost all efforts into finding their real head or founder rather useless.
For years, we've been at a standstill, with not many leads on them. Even our three great chiefs could only do so much given the situation and their massive connection to the Elite society of the entire world. Because of this, any mission related to Kraken always fell under A-rank or S-rank missions.
"Picking the top 1 and 2 agents of Mythos only meant that this is an S-rank mission, am I correct?" I asked Assistant Chief Athena.
"That is correct, Agent Selene," she replied. "Full details have been sent to your devices, so do review them thoroughly for the whole week. Next Friday, we will all be gathered in the presence of Chief Zeus to iron out the plan and discuss any questions you may have. We will also conduct a trial for you, Agent Selene, to ensure you will be capable of handling this mission since you haven't taken any S-rank missions before."
"Understood. I shall comply."
"Also, please note that this mission is highly classified, and no information can be shared with anyone else apart from you two and us, the three chiefs. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," we chorused.
"Good. Now, take your time in reviewing the documents and the whole plan. Everything you need will be prepared while you do so. Any questions so far?"
Agent Helios, who was already reviewing the document through his smartwatch, raised his hand. Look at him, not even paying attention to what Assistant Chief Athena said earlier. He could review those documents later. What if he missed something important? Seriously, how rude of him.
"Yes, Agent Helios?"
"This looks really fun," he said, grinning to himself. "So, what will be our cover?"
"It's on page 16. You will be disguised as a married couple."
"Oh, a married—"
Then, it probably hit us at the same time since we both blurted out in shock.
"WHAT?!"
Assistant Chief Athena raised both her eyebrows, looking surprised by our reaction.
"Hm? Is there a problem with that?"
Unconsciously, I glanced over to Agent Helios, and he glanced back at me. Right. We couldn't possibly tell our superiors we're having some issues—a really big one, actually, especially with the part about how I hated his guts. And to think we would have to pretend to be a married couple?! Of all the disguises we could take, a married couple?!
"Ahm," I cleared my throat while quickly thinking of a way to tweak the plan a bit. "Wouldn't it be easier to use other disguises? Like a servant, perhaps? An assistant, secretary, or a bodyguard? That way, we can get closer to the target at all important times?"
"Ha-ha-ha. You're making me laugh, Agent Selene. Go over the documents first. If you still think that being a couple is not the best cover, prove me otherwise at our next meeting with the other chiefs. Take note, though, that I'm the one who strategized it out if that helps," she replied, chuckling.
"R-right! How rude of me. Forgive me, ma'am."
"How about you, Agent Helios? It looks like you already scanned through the file."
"Hmm… considering everything, it is indeed the best cover."
What?! He agreed? Or did he just agree because it's Assistant Chief Athena's idea? Was it really the best option? I should review the documents thoroughly. If I ever find any loophole—though that seems impossible since our wisest chief planned it all out—but just in case, I should check and tell her.
"Alright. It's settled then," she clapped her hands. "Now, since no one else should know about this, other agents will find it very suspicious if you two suddenly get married a month from now."
Huh?! That fast?!
"Your first task will be to ensure that no one will be suspicious by that time regarding your relationship. Even if we became extremely careful while hiring agents for Mythos, we could never be completely sure that no one is working as a spy. So make sure to leave no room for them to doubt your 'loving' relationship, understood?"
"… Yes, ma'am."
"Do you have any other questions?"
Remembering Captain Poseidon and the fact that he wouldn't be coming back any time soon, and my curiosity killing me already, I asked her instead.
"I do have one last question. Regarding this year's assessment, may I know what are my opportunities so I can work on them for this mission?"
"Ah, right. Is it okay for you to disclose that in front of Agent Helios?"
"Yes, it's alright. We're partners, so we should know each other's opportunities. If possible, I would also like to know his weak areas so I can support him on those."
Support my ass. I just really wanted to know his weakness. It could come in handy in the future.
"Is that alright with you, Agent Helios?"
"Fine by me," he replied, shrugging.
"Okay. For Agent Selene, you only had one instance of demerit this year, and that's due to your failure to coax a potential informant into giving you a lead. You really need to work on your manipulation skills since it's been your consistent opportunity for the past few years. Being a woman, the easiest way to do this is by flirting. Men tend to drop their guard down in front of beautiful and seductive women. You are already beautiful so maybe just work on your expression. Your face always looks cold and serious."
I knew it. I had always been weak in that area. That's why I never picked a mission with flirting or romance-related stuff involved.
"PFT! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Agent Helios burst out laughing. "You got a demerit for failing to flirt?! Ha-ha-ha-ha! That's hilarious!"
Pissed at his laughter, I asked, "How about Agent Helios?"
"For him? Hmm… let's see."
She then checked her computer. When I asked mine, she didn't even check it, so why was she checking it now?
"As expected, Agent Helios didn't receive any demerit this year; thus, no opportunities were given to him. Just continue as you usually do."
My eyes shot wide open hearing that. What the heck?! He didn't have any weaknesses?! That's impossible! How can that happen? Was he even human?
I turned to him with much disgust on my face, and he just smirked at me, obviously having fun with my misery.
And with that, our meeting was adjourned. Agent Helios and I left Assistant Chief Athena's office. I still haven't recovered from my shock though Agent Helios looked like he's already taking it rather lightly. Of course, he's so good at everything, and he's probably an expert in flirting too. Haaah…
"So… should we hold our meeting and plan how we'll act as a 'loving' couple?" he asked teasingly.
"No," I replied sharply. "I'll review everything first. Let's meet once I'm done."
After that, I hurried to my quarters, opened the computer in my room, verified everything in the files sent to us, thought of a hundred ways to foolproof Assistant Chief Athena's plan and use another "disguise," and did lots and lots of research. Three days passed, and I still wasn't able to counter it. As expected of our best strategist.
And so, I laid down on the bed while staring at the ceiling on the 4th day, with nothing in my mind. No matter how much I didn't want to accept it, I had no choice. And if I didn't take the mission, I would end up in second place again, unable to gain the information I needed about my father's case. I really don't want to waste any more time.
"Haaah," I breathed in deeply. "Stop being stubborn, Kim Ye-Ji. Besides, it's just pretending to be a couple. What's so hard about it? If he can do it, I can do it, too!"
With that in mind, I called Agent Helios' number that I got from the files. Since I'd be working with him, all necessary information except for personal ones was shared among us.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"Hi, partner," he greeted me with his usual irritating tone.
"I'm ready. Let's meet up."
"Straight to the point, huh? Where do—"
"Tomorrow, eight in the morning, East Wing Meeting Room 29.15, 29th floor."
"Got it. See you—"
And I hung up, not even letting him finish his words—just when I told myself to stop being stubborn. I should meditate and practice my patience. It seems like I would badly need it moving forward.
Soon enough, tomorrow came, and it was time for our meeting.
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