A Psychological Aspect

Story 4 - The Reality

I found myself in my room, drenched in sweat. My nerves were on edge, flooded with adrenaline, coursing through my veins like a relentless river.

It was an unprecedented level of nervousness, even for a seasoned professional like myself. My friend had informed me that the success rate for bomb diffusing cases was a mere 1.34%, the lowest I'd ever encountered in my career.

Honestly, I shouldn't be this nervous, as I'm generally known to be quite tough, muscular, and macho. But the reason for the same is that I tend to encounter cases that are mentally challenging, not physically.

And even if I am forced to burn some calories, then also I would only burn a few. See, this is the reason why I never wanted to work with the CIA, but with Norton being completely deserted, I had no choice but to become the new detective of Washington, although it already has more than enough.

Before I delve further into my story, let me start from the beginning. I have a name, a mystery to all, even my assistant Zach and my dog. Everyone knows me as the "Ace of Spades."

After relocating from Norton to D.C., I attempted to establish my detective agency, but it failed to garner any interest. With my drawer being almost empty, I decided to apply to the FBI and CIA.

Since I didn't have the necessary documents they needed for the job selection, I was forced to give them a practical demonstration, which I felt was unnecessary. They criticized my "over-the-top Sherlock Holmes plus James Bond" appearance, though I took it as a compliment, albeit they meant the opposite.

After the so-called easy practical demonstration, both of the agencies wanted to hire me on the spot. I finally agreed with the CIA, as I would have my own private office, little to no burn-down of calories in my body, but an endless amount of deciphering using my brain, and a hefty amount of greenish paper.

FBI was a little too harsh with all of the above deals I mentioned. They told me to 'piss off' as they can easily find someone more smarter than me, to which I told them that the CIA would be very disappointed with their 'lack of brain-power' as to not choosing a guy, smart enough for this role.

Eventually, they agreed with half of my demands. But seeing and comparing what the CIA had to offer with them, well, it wasn't even a competition.

From the jump, I still knew I was in a dream, as Ace of Spade's last mission was interrupted by a certain 'Mom'. But I wanted the enjoyment of a 200 IQ man, so I kept mum. Eventually, I figured out that the CIA wasn't going to work out for me.

They regularly asked my real name, even when I said, idk. These guys were total pricks, as they handed me out useless missions like solving a mystery of the death of a man, who suicided.

Who gives a shit? I certainly don't! I mean, these 'cases' are so pointless and so clichéd that I don't waste my time with them. I certainly don't care. Only it was that bomb case, which grabbed my interest.

So the problem was that a Russian mafia gang had planted bombs throughout the city, even in front of the white house, the Pentagon, and the Capitol. I was like, ok, we're in for another 9/11 and some more clichéd shit, but luckily, or unluckily for everyone present there, this wasn't something clichéd. Instead, it was something wildly weird as fuck.

So the thing is that this Russian mafia gang wasn't exactly Russian, but was of the states only. While being given the task to figure out what exactly are these guys up to, I stumbled upon a guy working with them, who is my neighbor.

At first, he urged me to join the revolution, but when I looked confused, he explained that these people weren't even a mafia gang, but were in fact, the state's citizens. I was so baffled by this revelation, that I didn't know what to say.