BULLETPROOF

iii. mission

In the middle of the night, a phone from a nightstand starts to ring loudly to the tune of Uma Thurman. Blonde Michael mutters curses and blindly reaches for his phone, touching things until he feels its vibration against his calloused hands. He swipes the screen and groans in greeting.

"Hello, Michael?" A raspy voice breaks the silence.

"The fuck do you want?" Michael half whines and half groans, the thought of still not getting enough sleep for another day making him mad. He's a university student and he always managed to balance his part time and studies but lately he's been failing to do so because of the regular late night calls from work.

The guy on the other line laughs at his reaction but suddenly becomes silent. Michael pictures his friend's face turning serious, so he groans again and sits up on his bed to talk properly to him.

"You'll have to come here tonight. Chief's got a case for you and it will take a lot of explanation." He pauses. "You have five of us with you to accomplish it."

The number catches Michael's attention, making his grip on the phone tighten. "Five? What do you mean? Why will I need five of-" his eyes widens as realization hits him in the gut. "Oh."

"I assume you're awake now. This is some serious work, Michael. I'll explain it all to you later when you get here."

Michael gulps and nods, forgetting that his friend couldn't see his reaction. "I- yeah, okay, I get it. I'll be there in twenty." He mutters, ending the call with trembling hands.

"What have I gotten myself into this time?" He asks himself.

Minutes later, Michael carefully walks down the stairs with a fast beating heart, afraid that he's going to wake somebody up at ten in the evening. He takes small steps every five seconds, with the flashlight of his iPhone his guide while slowly walking down. When he reaches the door, he takes a deep breath and succeeds in going out of the house without waking up Luke or Mary.

He hails a taxi and announces a certain place, one street away from the original building they're all going to meet up in. He checks the time and feels proud that he's going to make it in twenty minutes, just like he promised.

At exactly 10:20, Michael looks around for anyone suspicious before opening the door and shutting it behind him.

"Shit!" He cusses when somebody pulls him hard forward, causing him to stumble and hit something unknown but edgy, since it is nothing but darkness inside. Something crashes from the impact and michael jumps when water trickles down on his shoes from the table. "What the fuck?!"

The switch is turned on and the lights reveals his two friends laughing at him, standing in either side of him. Michael shoves them both in the chest, and rubs his knees that he hit earlier. "What the hell was that? You know that I'm coming in twenty and yet you still do that attack for uninvited guests! I even crashed chief's favorite vase!" He looks at the broken pieces on the floor and the soaked blue roses with a sour face.

"Well we should be cautious at all times!" His friend with blue hair puts an arm around Michael, grinning. "What if it wasn't you and we were not expecting it? Huh, kid?"

Michael rolls his eyes, "Okay, Alex. Whatever you say, Alex. Since you know it all, Alex." He says in a mocking tone.

Alex smacks his head and shakes his own. "It's true! Jack, why don't you make yourself useful and bring this idiot upstairs and tell chief that he's finally arrived."

The tallest of them with the blonde highlights playfully sticks his tongue out at Alex before dragging an annoyed Michael upstairs. "He's still a scumbag, what do you expect?"

Michael snorts and removes Jack's arm that is dragging him, now willingly following the guy to the familiar room he's entered multiple times through the years. Jack opens it and reveals a bulky man in a formal suit, with his hair swept handsomely to the side. The man smiles at Michael, gesturing for him to seat on the chair across him. Michael sits without a word, placing his hands on his lap and sitting up straight.

"Gather the other four, agent." He says to Jack, dismissing him by a nod. Jack immediately leaves the room and silently closes the door to let them talk privately.

"So, Agent Clifford. I have a case for you. Are you up for it?" He asks in his deep voice and scary eyes. Michael gulps and nods, his heart ringing in his ears.

"Yeah, I guess I'm up for it. Don't be so scary, chief! You're making me nervous!" Michael rolls his eyes and awkwardly laughs, balling his fists on his lap.

Their chief's expression remains neutral. He leans back on his swivel chair and crosses his arms. "This is a serious case, agent. According to our brother agency, someone's targeting a famous celebrity because he's a relative to a missing witness. The guy is unaware of the critical situation he's in. Once the media finds out, his career will be ruined, it will be easier to kill him and that's where you'll come in. I entrust you this case because he's around the same age as you. Get to know him and protect him at all times, tell him the danger in the right time, and find out who's behind the trigger."

"Who's the famous guy, chief?"

He turns the macbook around to let Michael see him. "Calum Hood, bassist and vocals of Helena Skies. They're a pretty good band with millions of followers so you'll have to keep an eye on him and the fans he's associating with. We'll never know whether they're a real fan or not."

Michael observes Calum's picture in the laptop; from his hair similar to Jack's, his dark brown eyes, his nose, his prominent jawline, and plump red lips. This is a cutie, he thought, smirking. He couldn't wait to see him in person.

The door abruptly opens and five agents come in, including Jack and Alex. Michael scans the other three familiar faces he encountered probably once or twice and looks back to their chief.

"They'll be helping you in this case, agent." Chief smiles and nods at them to start introducing themselves one by one. Jack and Alex just salutes at Michael, taking a step back since they already know each other.

A tall white girl with jet black hair clears her throat, voice remarkable with her British accent. "Agent Diamandis, from the UK base at your service." She salutes at Michael with a wink.

The blue-haired girl beside her wearing a leather suit and combat boots puts her right clenched hand over her heart and hits her chest two times before saying, "Sir, Agent Halsey, sir!" She smirks at Michael.

They all turned to the remaining handsome agent, introducing himself in a husky voice "I'm Agent Wentz, at your service."

The chief clears his throat and stands up, smiling at them.. "Mission starts tomorrow in a span of a month. I'm expecting good news from the lot of you. Don't disappoint me." He warns.

The five agents gather in a straight line horizontally, saluting at the same time.

"Sir, yes, sir!"
-

Yes, the agents are jack and alex from all time low, marina and the diamonds, pete wentz of fall out boy, and halsey.

I just invented the band name Helena Skies. lame i know

I'm so excited for the next chapter bc malum will finally meet, are you?

Malum trash,
Kate xx