Through Fire and Water

Chapter 1 - Espionage

This chapter is dedicated to fathiha731 for being one of my awesome readers! Happy reading! :)

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Izumi pov: (name means fountain or spring)

"Order up! Two cappuccinos and one iced tea!" I called out from behind the service counter and placed a tray with beverages on it to be taken away.

One of the three customers seated at one of the tables in the cafe got up with a smile and came to the counter to take the tray with the drinks they had ordered. He thanked me, which I returned with a smile, and walked back to his table. I turned around to the cappuccino machine and leaned forward a bit with my hands on the counter.

"Hey Obachan, how much longer am I supposed to work here? Is the person in question even going to come here?" I asked in a low voice to make sure that no one in the cafe heard me.

"What are you complaining for? You're the one who accepted the job saying that the pay was good." Obachan, a rather short tempered woman in her early thirties named Murasaki Rumiko, spoke from the other side through the tiny ear piece I had in my left ear.

"I know I said that but how long am I supposed to work at this cafe? It's so boring here, unlike how it is with Shuta san, and the pay is terrible! I've been here a week but the person the client wants us to find out about hasn't turned up even once! I'm starting to wonder if he's even going to come here. Besides....this wig is really starting to make my head itch." I said annoyed and scratched the side of my head where the wig I was wearing really prickled.

"Stop your whining, you mutt." Obachan muttered. "We're been paid for this by the client and the company so don't you dare think of giving up half way! And the wig, contacts and glasses for covering up your real identity was your idea. So stop whining about it like a baby!"

"How nice of you to nag me for my choices, ya old hag." I muttered only to wince and tug the ear piece out of my ear upon hearing a really loud screech from Obachan.

"Ah, this old woman is seriously annoying at times....I wonder how I manage being her partner so often." I mumbled while glaring at the ear piece.

Obachan really hated it when anyone called her an old hag and she always retaliated with screaming at us. It was really bad when we were communicating through wireless though. Being super sensitive so it can receive even the softest of sounds, the ear piece often screeched along with her voice and really hurt my ear. And yes, it was very often that she called us on-site gofers by mildly insulting names when we complained about the client or the mission we were on. Of the four hackers we have in our company, Obachan was the best but also the most difficult to work with.

I put the ear piece back into my ear and sighed. I shook my head, no longer having the will to argue with Obachan. I didn't get the chance to either because a couple of customers called out to me as they stood on the other side of the counter. Putting on a business smile, I turned around and walked to the cash register to take note of their order and get busy making their beverages. However, when I saw the people, I twitched and resisted from breaking out into a smirk.

"Welcome to Coffee and Cake Cafe! What would you like to order, sirs?" I asked with a beaming smile.

I reached up with a my right hand to pretend to adjust the rather dorky looking round glasses I had on but lightly pressed one of the small buttons on the side to take a picture of the group of guys standing in front of me. One of them was the guy our current client was looking for – I recognized him easily because I had seen the picture of him that the client had sent to us when he requested us to take on this mission. He was with two other guys, one of which who looked rather rowdy-ish.

"One cheese cake, one iced coffee and one coffee latte. Take out." The rowdy guy demanded and I tapped the order into the computer.

"That will be nine thousand five hundred Yen, sir."

"Keep the change, girly." He grunted while handing me a ten thousand Yen bill.

I smiled, more so out of amuse, and accepted the money without a fuss. I then proceeded to prepare their order with the machines behind me.

"Obachan, that guy is Hanaka Kojiro, right? Who are the other two?" I asked in a low voice while working.

"Yeah, that's the man our client asked for us to find – his business rival's secretary. As for the other two...." She mumbled and took a few seconds to find information on them. "The guy who ordered is Minoru Takahashi, though goes mostly by the name Eagle. He's one of the most feared subordinates of the reigning yakuza boss. Always carries guns, doesn't hesitate to open fire at anyone who stands in his way and has a really short temper. The other guy is apparently a high school delinquent who dropped out of school to join the yakuza. He's a new recruit but it seems he has some pretty decent fighting skills, enough to tag along on this job and become a member on the police's wanted list."

"Ahh..." I mused. "So the client's so called enemy not only has his personal secretary handling this matter but also the yakuza? I knew this request wasn't something simple, especially when he mentioned how much the ransom money was."

"It doesn't matter whether the job is simple or not. We're being paid for it so we do it. That's all there is to it, isn't there?" Obachan said and I gave a roll of my eyes.

"Yeah yeah." I muttered and turned around to hand over the order I had received moments ago.

"Order up! One cheese cake, one iced coffee and one coffee latte for take-out." I said with a smile and handed the beverages to them in a small take-out box. Unlike other customers, they expressed no gratitude and walked out of the shop haughtily.

"Oi Izumi, get your butt moving. We can't lose them." Obachan said when they were out of the shop.

"On my way." I said with a chuckle and walked to the change room behind the cafe not really concerned that there wasn't anyone to attend to customers that came in once I left.

Taking off the itchy wig, the dorky glasses and the uniform I was wearing, I got into slim fit black pants, our organization's signature dark maroon full sleeves shirt and a black jacket. I tried my black hair in a high ponytail and put on a different pair of glasses over my brown eyes. I put on a pair of gloves, a black cap with our company's emblem printed in maroon on it as well as a mask to cover the lower half of my face. Only my eyes were visible now so no one would be able to recognize me when I took everything off. I also made sure I had all the accessories I usually carried on my missions – my cell phone, USB cable, a pocket knife and pepper spray for emergency.