Author's Note: Each new episode is named after the character whose point of view it is! So in this case the episode is from the point of view of Agent One as will episode 2. Episode 3 will be from the point of view of Cassidy.
Five Years Ago
The cold sharp wind bit against my skin, as I stood on the very edge of Knight Industries tower in Chicago. My eyes locked down on to the busy street below.
Despite the time of night, the city was still alive, with laughter and music and the distant sound of sirens in the breeze. The noises of the real world, was a great distraction and relaxation for what I was about to do.
The high rise building was stood in close proximity to the hotel I was staying at, which I had purposely booked for this night.
I was the lead singer for a famous band called, Lost Dreams. The rest of my band mates, including my younger brother, were preparing themselves for the concert that was about to start.
In the distance, I could see the stage in the park and the fans lining up. The turnout looked better than expected, so I knew I couldn't be late or my younger brother would never let it down.
However, I had an important job to do. More important than any concert, I could potentially get killed if I was caught. So why am I stood on the top of this building, when I should be getting ready for my own concert?
This building belonged to James Knight who was the current CEO of Knight Industries. An electronic manufacturing and drugs company, and I was going to steal from his security safe.
He was keeping a hold of an unauthorised, deadly bioweapon inside of his safe that my boss, Agent Miller, had assigned me to confiscate.
I apparently was the only man for the job. Agent Miller, had me assigned to investigate James Knight for the past couple of months, going undercover as a security guard in the complex that was making the bioweapon.
In all honesty, I really didn't want to be here. So why was I doing this?
I had no idea.
Maybe it was the thrill and the sudden adrenaline fix I would get from it all, which I craved and loved while on the job. But no matter what exciting feeling I felt, I knew I would live to regret it. That was always the case, especially in my line of work.
At the moment, I was waiting for the all clear. My friend and partner, Nikki Kane, was decrypting the security systems in the building, so that I had a fair chance of getting in and out, without being seen or setting off any alarms.
So, in the meantime, while we waited, we were having a casual chat about the agency I worked for, the CIA.
"Have you ever heard of the new agent, the Ghost?" She asked me through the earpiece I was wearing.
She even made a ghostly noise when saying his name, which brought a smile to my face.
"No."
I took my lucky black backpack off my shoulder and unzipped it. I took out a black bandana and tied it around the bottom half of my face, concealing my features. I was after all, a famous singer, I didn't want any of my enemies finding out my true identity, especially James Knight.
"Who is he?" I asked, curious as to why this new agent had a cool code name, the Ghost. Where as mine was just plain old, Agent One.
"To be honest, I don't know. All I do know, is that he's been working for us for the past month and that he's the best of the best, I'm telling you."
"Then why isn't he up here instead of me?"
It was too windy for my likening, but I guess it wasn't called the Windy City for nothing. It was also bitterly cold this high up and cloudy, I shivered as a result.
"He's not like you, he's more of a private agent/investigator for hire. He can be anywhere and everywhere and he'll just know stuff he shouldn't. It's like our conversation now for example, he would be listening in on it but he won't be there and there wouldn't be a trace of him anywhere." She explained, her voice betraying how fascinated she was in this new guy.
I wasn't surprised she was fascinated by him. Nikki did love a good mystery to solve.
"Like a ghost." I now understood how he got the cool code name. "So who is he really?"
I looked down at the ground below and measured the distance I would have to drop. I didn't exactly like heights but I could tolerate it, to a certain extent.
"I don't really know, no one has ever seen his face. Not even Agent Miller."
"What?" I exclaimed. "How does that work?"
I took my goggles out from my bag and placed them over my eyes and turned the night vision on. That was better, I could see more clearly now. I zipped my bag back up and placed it onto my back again.
"I don't know, but he wants to meet you someday soon, says he trusts you with his face."
"Why me?" I asked, frowning.
"Shh!" She shut me off, rudely. "Someone is coming into the hotel room. Shit, I have nowhere to hide."
I laughed at her situation. "Act natural and tell whoever it is that you're my friend."
It turned out it was only my little brother, Mikey, looking for me, probably to check up on me, to make sure I was ready for the concert and I hadn't disappeared. Which was usually the case before a concert.
He had started asking Nikki questions, wondering who she was and why she was in my hotel room.
In Nikki style, she went and completely ignored him, when something more important came up, the mission.
"Security disabled, you have two minutes to get in and out." She whispered while still attempting to get rid of my bothering brother.
I immediately clicked the timer on my watch to start the count down and she continued to explain what else was happening. That Agent Linda would be the one debriefing me after the mission was complete. I didn't mind too much, Agent Linda was my fiancé after all.
I jumped off the side of the building and gripped tightly onto the rope I was attached to and abseiled my way down the side of the building. Well, this was fun, in its own kind of way. Already, I felt the adrenalin pumping its way around my body.
I eventually made it to the floor with the security safe and I saw my reflection on the glass of the window and I couldn't help but resist a smile, as I looked over my bandana and goggles. My brown hair, clinging to my sweaty face.
I kicked my legs up and placed my feet on to the glass window, I bent my knees and jumped out as far as I could and with all of my strength I smashed through the window and forward rolled onto the floor.
I never was the discrete lander, I never had been, I always had to be overdramatic when it came to entering any situation. I guess, that was the performer side of me.
I stood up and unattached myself from the rope and dusted the glass fragments off my black combat pants.
"Enigma, have you got rid of my bothering brother yet?" I spoke to Nikki through the intercom, using her hacker name.
Whenever we were on a mission, it was essential to use code names rather than our civilian names. In case, anyone intercepted our coms and were listening in.
"I've only got a minute an a half left." I looked down at my watch.
"Yes, I'm here. Okay..." Nikki breathed out. "Hmm... I just did a scan of the room and there should be a switch on the desk somewhere."
I looked around the large office and the desk was at the other end of the room. It had a professionally hand painted picture of a depressed looking nine year old girl, hung on the wall behind it. I scanned over the picture, the plaque at the bottom reading, Maggie.
As quickly as I could, I walked over to the desk and searched around it until I found the small button under the table and pressed it. The wall behind the desk slid open, to reveal a sliver metallic door.
The safe.
I opened my bag once again and took out a smartphone, but not just any smartphone you can buy from your local network store. A modified smartphone with Nikki's own software which could pick electronic locks such as this one.
I stuck the phone above the keypad and turned it on and it started its work, until four digits appeared on the screen. Everything was going smoothly just as expected.
I typed the digits into the keypad and the door slid open to reveal a safe full of ancient artifacts, jewels and gold bars, but that's not what I was after. I was after the small vial at the end of the shelf sitting in a small glass box.
The bioweapon.
I shivered suddenly, the safe was cold like a fridge to keep the artifacts intact and mostly because the vial had to be kept cold. While being undercover as a security guard at the tower, conducting my own research on James Knight, I came across a laboratory a couple of floors down from where I was.
It was full of scientists making the ingredients for the bioweapon. This vial, was their final product.
"I'm in," I whispered.
"Do you see the item?" Nikki asked.
"It's in my line of sight."
My famous cocky smile had returned, a smile that had made fans faint before me, while singing on stage.
I walked through the entrance to the safe and the second my foot crossed the boundary, alarms went off, deafening me, wiping the smile right off my face and forcing me to cover my ears. Red lights started flashing and my heart started to race from the sudden noise and I looked down at my watch.
There was still a minute to go. Why were the alarms going off?
"Enigma! What's happening?"
"Hold on!" She yelled down the line, the sound of her fingers typing away could be heard, echoing down the line.
I ran to the end of the safe and grabbed the glass box encasing the vial inside of it. I shoved the item into my bag and ran out again. The alarms continued to blare throughout the building and my way out was gone when metal shutters started to cover the windows of James Knight's office.
Guards would be coming any second now.
"The safe had heat senses that regulated the temperature of the safe. By stepping in, your body heat set off an alarm," Nikki explained "I'm sorry. I didn't know. There was another hidden keypad to the left of the door to unlock the heat senses as well."
"It doesn't matter now, I have the package. I just need a way back onto the roof and fast, security will be on its way."
"Okay... exit... room."
My earpiece was buzzing out, someone was cutting me off all communication. This wasn't good.
"Enigma! I can't hear you!"
My heart was racing, and I couldn't think straight. Without Nikki being my eyes and ears, I was pretty much screwed. So I did what I did best, I improvised and started running for my life.
I made my way towards the nearest fire exit and managed to make my way up a couple of floors. Until, I was cut off by guards and having to quickly change direction. I knew the majority of the tower, having been undercover here.
However, with every guard now after me, it was impossible trying to find a way back to the roof, without being caught. It also didn't help that my bandana had slipped down my face, revealing my identity for a couple of seconds but I managed to tie it back up before anyone saw my face.
My breathing was now heavy and sore and a stitch had started to form on my right side. Alarm bells were ringing and red lights flashed dramatically as I burst through a door and ran down the corridor.
My whole body was on a high from the adrenalin pumping through me and I couldn't help but smile deviously to myself, as I continued to run for my life. I checked the time on my watch and my nose scrunched up in annoyance.
"Shit!" I cursed under my breath.
I had been running around in circles for far too long and now I was late for my own concert. Mikey was going to kill me.
I couldn't think about the time at the moment, all I could think about now was making my way out of the complex without being mortally injured or yet, worse, killed.
To Be Continued...
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