The League of Espionage Photojournalists

Three

Yep, just scraped this in by the deadline. Was going to do the next scene at the end, but that requires a very small amount of time management.

Needless to say, I do not possess a very small amount of time management.

I stare dumbly. The gun barrel is still pointed at my forehead. The finger is still on the trigger. Somebody is about to kill me...

...and they want to know what newspaper I work for.

...what?!

"Wh-what?" I stammer out loud. The figure in front of me makes an impatient noise.
"Don't play dumb! Tell me who you work for." they say, still soft and menacing.

"I-I'm just a photographer for Seiko Public High School's weekly magazine! I-I swear I didn't mean any harm! I'll delete the photos! I was just tracking the student council president and I thought this might be one of my classmates trying to sabotage him...and..."

"Hold on." The figure says, sounded disbelieving. "You're in high school?!"
I nod, which presses the cold metal of the silencer against my head. I whimper.
"I really, really didn't mean to! Please..." But the figure isn't focused on me anymore. They are looking away, running a hand down their face.
"Shit!" they curse to themselves, and lower the gun. They stand from their crouch, turning away and beginning to pace. I'm still frozen exactly as I am, staring in a mix of terror and growing confusion.
"Nice job, idiot. You just tried to interrogate a high schooler." I jump, my stomach plummeting again. In the shadows behind the first figure, there is a second figure. If the first had escaped my watch, the second been completely invisible until they spoke. Their voice is higher, sarcastic. Muffled, once again, by a mask.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know?! She just tracked down a godforsaken Ōgami! Do you know any high schooler who does that?"
"And seriously? Business card? You know most of those are just compact bombs in disguise."
"Not ours!"
"Only cause Budget won't pay for it!"

My mind is almost completely overwhelmed by panic, but something in the back of my head that still has the capacity to analyze tells me that neither of these figures is the one I just photographed. The voice is different, the way they carry their shadow-shrouded shoulders distinctly separate.

Which means they snuck up on me while I was taking the shot.

That doesn't happen. That never happens. Not since Mother's training, when...

There isn't time to go there. The gun is a lot more effective than an inspirational quote at keeping me focused acutely on the present, even swinging around agitatedly at the first figure's side.

"Uhm..." I don't know why I speak, except that the suspense is killing me. Are they threatening me, or arguing, or...

The first figure turns sharply back towards me. I flinch, shrinking back.
"Uh... you don't mention anything you saw here to do, or you know what'll happen..." they warn, dangerously, beginning to retreat into the shadows.
"Yeah, no she doesn't." the second figure adds. I can almost hear the glare that returns through the air.
"Anyway...uh..." the first figure shakes their gun. "Bad news. And don't even think about following us."

I stay exactly where I am, still frozen. The figure sighs, then turns, and before I can register what has happened, vanishes into the darkness. The second figure stands up. "And delete those photos," they add, "trust me, you don't want 'em."
Then they are gone too, leaving me alone in the tunnel.

I stare blankly at the place where the two figures vanished. I'm not sure exactly how to describe what I'm feeling. Disbelief, shock, terror. Confusion.