IAA: Agent N

Chapter 7 - The Reason II

- 4 months later -

Zeke and I's friendship grew more and more these past few weeks. I sit with his friends, well my friends too now, at lunch every day. Mattias and Giuseppe. We even have inside jokes.

That's when this mission started to take a toll on me. I was happy to have friends and I enjoyed going to school for the very first time. I was feeling like a normal teenager. I started to feel bad.

And, that's a rookie mistake.

---

- 6 months later -

"Dina, can you pass me the rice?" Flavio asked me.

"Sure"

Flavio and I also got close compared to the last time. He started calling me Dina for some odd reason and he's been less of a jerk. He's four years older than Zeke, making him 18.

I'm at a family dinner and I became a family friend of the Santangelo's. And I realized that I stopped doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I already knew where the USB stick was hidden, but I didn't act upon it.

It's already been a few months.

My guilt has been growing by the day. I liked being around these people and I'm literally deceiving them.

Lying to them.

Betraying them.

I think my nervousness was showing on my face.

"You okay, sweetie?" Evelina asked me. Everyone turned their heads to me.

"Uhm yeah...I'm going to the restroom, excuse me" I sat up and walked to the bathroom.

I locked the door and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I washed my face and took a deep breath. I thought about my mission, my friends, my life. I clenched my hands on the sink. I can't back down from the mission. That's against the organization's policy. You can only back down if you're life's in danger.

This mission is also very important, because the peace of the organization is on the line. If we don't conform with what the Russians say, the organization's information will be leaked, and it will be a war that is too big for us to win at the moment. I thought about different scenarios until I heard a knock.

*knock* *knock*

"Everything okay in there?" Donatello asked from the other side of the door.

"Y-yes...I'm just finishing up" I said with my voice slightly shaking. Then I heard his footsteps walk away.

*ring* *ring*

My phone rang and I picked up the phone.

"*clears throat* Mr. Kim?"

"N, how is it going? The Russians are on our ass. Your deadline has been cut short. I want results, Nova. We're counting on you to save the organization" Mr. Kim said with slight worry.

"...okay" I hung up and my head lowered.

This mission was easy in theory, but in practice...

I miscalculated.

I started to breathe a little heavier. I underestimated everything. I thought that being in the business for almost 7 years would have given me an advantage.

That meant nothing at this point.

I walked around the bathroom, I started to feel dizzy. My breathing was heavier. I felt something tickling my cheek. I looked in the mirror and saw that I was crying. It's been a while since I've experienced this emotion.