《Mr. Spy》


 Wild Card ; Introduction

    Jack stood at the edge of the rooftop, eyes scanning the dark cityscape below. He wasn¡¯t exactly sure what he was doing, but that was kind of his thing. The wind whipped at his jacket as he tried somewhat unsuccessfully to look cool. In reality, he was just trying not to fall off the building, but it would have been too embarrassing to admit that to anyone.


    "Agent X, report in," crackled through his earpiece, the voice of his handler, Elena.


    He sighed. The mission was already off to a great start.


    "Uh, yeah, yeah," Jack muttered, flicking his wrist to swipe through the glowing holographic display on his watch. "I¡¯m, uh, in position."


    "Position?" Elena¡¯s voice raised in disbelief. "You¡¯re on a rooftop! You¡¯re supposed to be blending in. We¡¯ve been over this! Remember the plan? You¡¯re not supposed to be seen!"


    Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, I¡¯m blending. Look, no one can see me." He crouched, trying to push himself further into the shadows. It didn¡¯t help that the streetlights below were glowing bright enough to expose every mistake he made. "You can¡¯t see me. I can¡¯t see me. We¡¯re good."


    There was a long pause before Elena responded. "I swear, Agent X, if you blow this for me "


    "Relax," Jack interrupted. "I got it under control. The Syndicate isn¡¯t going anywhere. Besides, I¡¯m already in their building, and they still don¡¯t know I¡¯m here."


    Elena muttered something inaudible in frustration. Jack imagined her pinching the bridge of her nose, like she always did when he annoyed her something that happened more often than not. She had been his handler for all of five days, and it already felt like five years. Still, he knew she had a soft spot for him, even if she refused to admit it.


    His earpiece buzzed again. "The Syndicate¡¯s mainframe is on the top floor. You need to extract the intel and get out without drawing attention."


    "Got it." Jack grinned to himself. ¡°Top floor, huh? Well, this is more of a ¡®take the elevator¡¯ kind of mission, but... I prefer the scenic route.¡±


    With a quick glance around to double-check his surroundings, Jack leapt from the rooftop, landing soundlessly in a crouch on the fire escape below. His heart pounded in his chest as he scaled the ladder, his fingers gripping the cold metal rungs. He didn¡¯t bother with stealth this time. He was past that point his preferred method was speed, pure and simple. And if anything went wrong, well, that¡¯s what plan B was for.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    He reached the top of the building just as the elevator doors on the rooftop opened, revealing two Syndicate guards. They exchanged a few words, then split up, walking in different directions. Jack ducked low, holding his breath, his body instinctively going still.


    "Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath.


    The guards passed without noticing him, and Jack quickly took a step forward. His mission was simple: infiltrate, gather intel, and leave. Easy. He could do this. No problem.


    But of course, things never went according to plan.


    Jack slipped into the building through a hidden door and began his ascent through the narrow stairwell. Every step felt like a countdown, the weight of the mission pressing against him with every creak of the floorboards. When he reached the top floor, he could almost feel the tension in the air. The Syndicate was notoriously careful about its secrets and that meant their mainframe would be well-guarded.


    Jack smirked. Guarded didn¡¯t mean impossible.


    He slipped past the first few guards easily enough, his footsteps light and practiced. But just as he reached the entrance to the main control room, he heard a sound behind him. A click. A shuffling of footsteps.


    He spun around, ready for a fight, only to find... absolutely nothing.


    "Great," he muttered to himself. "I¡¯m losing my mind."


    Suddenly, the door to the control room opened, and Jack froze. Two guards stepped out, and one of them unfortunately for Jack spotted him.


    ¡°Hey, you! What are you ¡±


    Jack didn¡¯t wait for him to finish. In one fluid motion, he threw a smoke bomb onto the floor, filling the hallway with thick, suffocating fog. The guards¡¯ voices turned into unintelligible yells as Jack rushed forward, knocking one out cold with a quick strike to the head.


    ¡°Sorry, guys. Nothing personal,¡± Jack whispered, his grin widening. He ducked into the control room, pulling out his portable device to hack into their mainframe. Time was running out, but if he could just get the data and get out .


    The door slammed shut behind him.


    Great.


    He¡¯d forgotten the second guard.


    "Agent X, what the hell are you doing?" Elena¡¯s voice cut through his earpiece, but he barely heard her. He was too busy dodging a punch from the remaining guard, his body reacting instinctively as he flipped over the man¡¯s head and delivered a powerful kick to the back of his knee. The guard crumpled.


    ¡°I¡¯m handling it, Elena,¡± Jack replied with a grin. "I told you, I got this."


    Of course, the moment he said that, the entire control room lit up with red warning lights, signaling an alarm. He swore under his breath.


    "Yeah, I might¡¯ve triggered the alarm."


    "Get out now!" Elena screamed in his ear.


    But before Jack could react, the door slammed open again, and in came a group of Syndicate agents, weapons drawn. Jack couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    "This is going to be fun," he said, reaching for his gun.


    Jack¡¯s first mission as Agent X was already falling apart. But one thing was for sure: there was no turning back now. The only question left was how long he could keep his wild antics from getting him killed.


    And maybe just maybe he¡¯d prove that he wasn¡¯t just a reckless rookie after all.

 Dangerously Dancing

    The first punch came fast too fast. Jack ducked just in time, the Syndicate agent¡¯s fist whistling past his ear. His heart pounded, adrenaline surging through his veins. This was no ordinary brawl. He was outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded by a group of agents who looked like they had been handpicked for the sole purpose of killing people like him.


    ¡°Okay, guys,¡± Jack said, raising his hands as if to surrender. ¡°Let¡¯s not do anything rash. You know, we could just talk this out. Maybe grab some coffee? I hear there¡¯s a great caf¨¦ just down the street¡­¡±


    One of the agents lunged at him. Jack sidestepped, grabbing the man¡¯s wrist and twisting it sharply. The agent yelped in pain, dropping his weapon. Jack followed up with a swift elbow to the face, sending the man sprawling to the floor.


    ¡°Guess not,¡± Jack muttered.


    Another agent came at him, swinging a baton. Jack ducked and weaved, his movements fluid and precise. The baton whooshed through the air, narrowly missing him. Jack countered with a quick jab to the man¡¯s ribs, then spun around and delivered a powerful kick to his chest. The agent staggered back, clutching his ribs, but didn¡¯t go down.


    ¡°These guys are tougher than they look,¡± Jack said to himself, his grin widening. ¡°This might actually be fun.¡±


    The remaining agents didn¡¯t wait for him to finish his quip. They charged at him all at once, a chaotic flurry of fists, feet, and weapons. Jack moved like a whirlwind, his training kicking in as he blocked, dodged, and countered with surgical precision. He ducked under a swing, kicked one agent in the knee, then used the momentum to flip another onto the floor.


    ¡°Two down, three to go,¡± he said, panting slightly.


    One of the agents pulled a knife, its blade gleaming in the red glow of the alarm lights. Jack¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Oh, come on. That¡¯s just rude.¡±


    The knife-wielding agent slashed at him, forcing Jack to backpedal. He grabbed a nearby chair and used it to block the attacks, the knife clanging against the metal with each strike. Jack waited for an opening, then swung the chair like a battering ram, knocking the agent off balance. He followed up with a roundhouse kick to the side of the man¡¯s head, sending him crashing into a desk.


    ¡°That¡¯s three,¡± Jack said, wiping sweat from his brow.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    The last two agents circled him warily, clearly realizing he wasn¡¯t the pushover they had expected. One of them, a hulking brute of a man, cracked his knuckles and grinned menacingly.


    ¡°Let me guess,¡± Jack said, pointing at the man. ¡°You¡¯re the muscle. And you¡ª¡± he pointed at the other agent, a wiry, sharp-eyed woman holding a stun baton ¡°you¡¯re the brains of this little duo.¡±


    The woman smirked. ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Jack barely had time to react before the brute lunged at him, swinging a meaty fist the size of a cinderblock. Jack ducked, but the force of the swing sent a gust of air rushing past his face. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a follow-up strike that left a dent in the floor.


    ¡°Okay, big guy,¡± Jack said, getting to his feet. ¡°Let¡¯s see how tough you really are.¡±


    The brute charged again, but this time Jack was ready. He sidestepped at the last second, tripping the man and sending him crashing into a desk. The brute roared in frustration, flipping the desk over as he got back to his feet.


    Meanwhile, the woman with the stun baton darted in, jabbing at Jack with quick, precise strikes. He dodged the first two but felt the sting of electricity as the baton grazed his arm. He winced, his muscles twitching involuntarily.


    ¡°Okay, that hurt,¡± he said, shaking out his arm. ¡°Now it¡¯s personal.¡±


    He feinted to the left, then darted to the right, catching the woman off guard. Grabbing her wrist, he twisted it sharply, forcing her to drop the baton. Before she could recover, he spun her around and shoved her into the brute, who was charging at him again. The two collided in a tangle of limbs, giving Jack just enough time to grab the baton.


    ¡°Time to even the odds,¡± he said, flipping the baton in his hand.


    The brute roared and charged again, but Jack ducked low and jabbed the baton into his side. Electricity arced through the man¡¯s body, and he collapsed to the floor with a grunt.


    The woman tried to grab Jack from behind, but he twisted free and delivered a swift kick to her stomach. She doubled over, gasping for air, and Jack followed up with a spinning kick that knocked her out cold.


    Breathing heavily, Jack surveyed the room. The floor was littered with unconscious Syndicate agents, and the alarm was still blaring. He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled.


    ¡°Not bad for a rookie,¡± he said to himself.


    ¡°Agent X, what¡¯s your status?¡± Elena¡¯s voice crackled in his earpiece.


    Jack winced. ¡°Uh, status is¡­ under control. Mostly.¡±


    ¡°You set off the alarm, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Define ¡®set off,¡¯¡± Jack said, dragging one of the unconscious agents out of the way as he made his way to the mainframe.


    ¡°Forget it,¡± Elena snapped. ¡°Just get the data and get out of there before reinforcements arrive!¡±


    ¡°Already on it,¡± Jack said, plugging his portable hacking device into the mainframe. As the device began downloading the intel, he couldn¡¯t help but glance at the unconscious agents one more time.


    ¡°Not bad at all,¡± he muttered with a grin.


    But deep down, he knew this was just the beginning. The Syndicate wasn¡¯t going to let him get away so easily.


    And Jack wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.