Wildcat ✓

Adventure: The Headquarter

Prompt by @adventure: You just found out that you have been brutally lied to. The mission you were sent out on was meant to keep the best fighter occupied while the enemies attacked the realm. Was it too late to still turn the tale in favor of the magic realm, or will it be the last of your magical adventures?

Word limit: 500-1000 words

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I sensed the danger immediately. It wasn't only the fact that I was in the heart of the wolf shifters' territory trying to gather information for my realm. No, it was also that my contact person had not shown up at the discussed time and spot, leaving me without insider in the most dangerous place to be at the moment.

Around me, I could see the wolves getting ready for a battle. Ready for a war. And I knew to trust my gut feeling and observation skills even though what I saw sometimes seemed unlikely.

In these times of high political tension between the feline shifters and the wolves, even the smallest mistake could lead to a rift... And my mission was further endangering the already very fragile balance between the shifters and thus now also with the us surrounding human world.

Humans were starting to get affected by the consequences of the conflict between the wolves and felines - I mean, how could you hide a war between two realms that were else so well hidden in plain sight? Past conflicts and tensions humans had seen as a trade wars or economic competition between two massive industries:

The Felines, a global company for digitalization, weaponry, strategic advice, and all gadgets related.

The Wolves, a global company for cybersecurity, head of major social media platforms, and of course, with close contacts to economy and military.

And I was standing in the middle of their headquarters. From the outside, it looked like a gigantic tech company, but on the inside, the huge grounds were a mix of bureaus, training grounds, and pack houses leading into the woods.

All in all, this place seemed earily familiar, as our feline headquaters were similarly structured.

To date, a fight seemed inevitable, but I had not imagined it coming to this so soon. Not too long ago, had I still trained with the best fighters of the wolf realm in a cross-realm training camp on digitalization and weaponry.

While digital weapons were not my strength, I was very good with hands-on weapons: knives, guns - and also starting to get better at digitally coding defenses. This camp had been a fruitful exchange on how to keep the shifters hidden in the human world through both our combined powers intertwined in the digital world, global economy, and different national securities.

Now, there was talk of war between our realms. How could it come to this?

And then it struck me: This mission made no sense. Why did they send me behind enemy lines, just before the outbreak of a war, if they could use me more efficiently working with our fighting force?

I had received my mission on my working phone, heavily protected ... but someone must have hacked it. Someone, who was afraid that this war could be stopped. Someone, who wanted me to be the trigger of no return.

I was not going to be the pawn in a bigger power play!

I tucked out my phone and contacted the only wolf in the headquarters that I was sure I could trust.

"Hello? Sol?" The voice of my childhood friend and former neighbor answered the call.

"Hi, Lil, thank you for picking up the call. I'm honestly apologizing in advance for pulling you into this mess... but are you available right now?"

"Oh Sol, you don't have to apologize. Where do you want us to meet?"

"I'm actually quite close-by. To be honest, already in your headquarters. Where do you think it is save to meet up?"

"What do you mean, inside? You know this could cause a massive shitstorm of espionage!" I heard the anger in her voice - but it did not seem like she was very surprised.

"Yes, I know now! And I want to make sure it does not come to this. Will you help me?"

"...well, yes. Come to the third floor. I'm supposed to have a meeting in five. I'll cancel it and give you the slot so it does not seem so suspicious. You have something with you to hide your scent, right?"

"Yes, of course. Why do you think I'm still alive. Thanks so much, Lil!"

I left the storage room and thus my missions' meeting spot planned in advance by the mission instructor. I walked casually to the elevators to not raise any suspicions. Luckily enough, someone had already activated the elevator, so I stepped inside, and we two went up the building.

This person did not seem eager to strike up a conversation and was focused on drinking her coffee and reading a file.

On the third floor, I left the elevator and headed straight to the room, Lilly had informed me about. I slid inside, and the worried eyes of my friend met my own.

"Hi Solange, it's nice to see you again after such a long time. But the circumstances really are unlucky this time," she remarked, still giving me a tight hug.

"Hi Lil, thanks for picking up the phone and being there so quickly. I have a favour to ask. Can you track the number that has sent me this message?"

I gave her my phone. She read the chats and looked up: "You were really here to spy on us?" I nodded embarrassed.

"Yes, but I think it's a fraud. I know the feline bosses, and they do not want this war."

Lil nodded, grabbed my phone, told me she'd be back. Ten minutes later, she returned with a grim look on her face.

"You were right. The number is neither feline nor from the wolves. It was well secured, but I managed to crack it. It's human. And from a human security company. I think someone wants to play us out against each other to reveal our shifter identities."

We were both thinking the same thing: We could stop this war and save both our realms.

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Word count: 988 words

🏅 Received an "honorable mention"