Bang and Burn 2: Compromised {Dreamnotfound}

Chapter 4

"After investigating the disappearance of a group of teens in the Tampa area, I've found that they were junior agents," Nick read aloud from the report in his hands. "With further investigation, I found that there have been many agents going missing, including Forte's own Agent Ranboo. In the following pages, I have outlined the investigation that my partners and I took. I hope it brings you enough information to complete what we couldn't." He looked up from the paper. "Signed, Nihachu."

Clay took the file from the table and opened it up. "Looks like we'll be hunting down a gang of some sort."

Wilbur sunk back into his seat. "Oh, fun."

"Do you have anything on the leader?" George asked.

Clay skimmed the next few pages. "Nothing. All I have is the name of one of his associates who died." He narrowed his eyes, then mumbled, "Oh, shit," as he read further. "Hey, Dylan? Do you remember when that guy attacked Tubbo a few months back? The guy that you-"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." Dylan was quick to interrupt, not wanting to relive that day. "You don't forget killing someone."

George reached over the table, and lovingly rubbed his arm. "Hey, it was out of self-defense. If you didn't kill Slimecicle, Toby would have died."

Dylan pulled his arm away and held it against his chest. "Doesn't make me feel any better."

"Anyway," Clay said, getting their attention. "I have his death report. Niki believed that he was one of the higher-ranking people in this gang apparently."

A knock at the door turned everyone's attention towards the conference room's entrance. Zak leaned against the doorway and smiled. "Mind if I join in?"

Wilbur stood up and motioned for him to join them. As Zak got closer, Wilbur patted his back. "Hey, Zak! How is my favorite boss doing?"

"I'm hanging in there."

"You ready to be a dad soon?" Nick asked.

Zak stared at the wall and slowly nodded. "Yeah...sure am. I was hoping I could sit in with you guys to learn a bit about this mission." He then looked at Dylan. "Darryl wants to see you, by the way. It's urgent."

Dylan stood up from the table and pushed his chair in. He then grabbed his backpack and left the room without a word.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Nick asked, "Is Darryl finally firing him?"

Zak laughed. "No, it's just about his graduation."

Nick mumbled, "Dammit."

"So, why are you really here?" Clay asked him. "You don't ever ask about our missions anymore."

"Well, I heard what this was about, and I wanted to talk to you guys about it while Dylan was gone." Zak picked at his fingernails as he spoke. "If you continue reading, you'll find that the gang is specifically after young agents. Fundy was able to get his hands on a transmission of Slimecicle's last words." He swallowed hard. "He told whoever was on the other end that he was going to kill Agent Mega, but he mistook him for Tubbo. They are both in great danger. The gang is hunting for someone who looks like Tubbo but has Mega's name."

"Is that all you needed to tell us?" George asked.

Zak ran a hand through his hair. "No. I think we need to remove Dylan from the mission."

Dylan walked down the hallway, anxious to talk to Darryl. Outside of work, Darryl was a father figure who wanted nothing more than for Dylan to be happy. But, at work, he almost seemed even more intimidating than Technoblade was. He carried himself with a new confidence that no one had seen before, not even Zak. Part of Dylan loved seeing him come across as this tough person who wasn't taken for granted anymore. But the other part of him hated that the friendliest person at Forte was now in business mode 24/7.