Isabella’s POV

Ugh! I hated it in here, not my kind of environment but I had to blend in quickly so I could find a spot to carry out my plans.

“Isabella, there’s a pile of gift at the middle of the hall. It’s guarded.” Nico said to me with a lowered tone.

“What do you know about business and finance?” I abruptly asked Nico.

“My elder brother’s a finance guy so I guess I know a little.” he replied with uncertainty.

“Great, you’ll bear the gift to Mr. Johansson yourself, engage with him in a little chat while Imani will be on the look out for me and our channels guy while I replace the footage unnoticed.”

***screech***”You guys, you’ve been in the building long enough, live coverage starts in 5. You guys have to start moving, now!” Agent VV communicated to us.

The facility had state-of-the-art security measures, including an intricate network of surveillance cameras and a live TV feed that broadcasted various parts of the building in real-time. Any glimpse of the operatives could jeopardize the entire mission. “Good thing I studied real hard for this,” I murmured to myself.

I used the restroom to carry out my plan. Before setting up my equipment’s I tapped a button on my dress and it changed to my suit. Then I took a position in a hidden corner nearby, my laptop screen lit up with a flurry of code as I initiated my countermeasures. With lightning speed, I hacked into the facility's surveillance network. “I’m in,” I communicated to everyone. Dave was our channels guy, with fake credentials retrieved by Mr. Malevolence, he was accredited to cover the live event. “Dave, are you done with the recordings?” I asked him through the earphones.

“Yeah, just one shot of the elated Mr. Johansson before he meets his doom. And….I’m done. Over to you Nico.”

Nico’s POV

Fuck, things were getting tensed. I clenched my fist because I was nervous I had never had a one on one conversation with a business tycoon before. How was I gonna pull this one off? “…Okay, I’m approaching target now with the gift.” I communicated to them.

“On my signal, you place the gift amongst others.” Isabella communicated.

With a beguiling smile, I engaged in a conversation that held his full attention. “I like this guy,” Mr. Johansson said to his friends with a smile on his face.

“Okay Nico, I’m done intercepting the video signal. I also scrambled the facility's communication systems, making it impossible for the security personnel to send out alerts or access their cameras in real-time.”

I didn’t believe it, Mr. Johansson actually enjoyed the conversation. I got carried away that I forgot I was to place the gift minutes ago. “What is that you have in your hands, a gift for me?” He asked me.

Oh boy…”Fucking hell Nico, you were supposed to have put that with the others!” Furious Agent VV yelled through the earphones.

“What’a going on?” Isabella asked through the earphones.

“Nico’s about to fuck us up.” Imani responded.

I started stuttering, what exactly was I going to say to stop Mr. Johansson from wanting to open his gift up. “Yes sir, it’s a gift for you. I and my wife got it.” I replied.

“Your wife, I haven’t seen her. Is she here with you?” Mr. Johansson curiously asked.

“Yeah, she had a lot to drink so she’s in the restroom.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Okay. I like your intuition, let’s see what a guy like you have to offer me.” He said reaching his hands out for the gift.

“Whatever you do Nico, don’t let that man touch that gift.” Agent VV communicated.

“Sir, with all due respect I can’t let you have it.” I said.

“Why not?” immediately, Mr. Johansson started to get suspicious.

“I prefer you open it up with the others.” I confidently said.

“Nobody told you who I was isn’t it? I am Mr Burgess Johansson and whenever I demand something, it must happen.” He authoritatively said. He then put his hands up in the air and signaled security, “Security!”

“Fuck…..” I said to myself.

“If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself.” VV communicated as she readied her sniper and aimed at two of the security guards approaching me. Swiftly, she fired shots and them and they both fell to the ground.

“Quick, Nico place the gift now!” VV yelled.

Our cover was blown but our mission wasn’t over yet. I hurriedly placed the gift randomly amongst others confusing anyone who tried to find our gift. “Nico, there’s a door on your left, open it. In there you’ll meet two armed guards, you can throw punches right?” VV communicated to me while I was running through the large hall and brushing bodies with distinguished guests.

“Sure I can throw punches.” I said. I did as she said and exchanged fists with both guards robbing them off their armors. I didn’t kill them but I knocked them out and progressed to the next door fighting off security guards on sight until I met with Imani and Isabella.

“You fucking asshole, you had one simple job.” Imani cussed at me. I immediately apologized to all of them.

“Dave, what’s the situation in the hall?” Isabella communicated to Dave.

“Mr. Johansson’s almost on the move. Him and other dignitaries are making their way towards the door.” Dave responded.

“Agent VV is there anything you can do to stop them from leaving the building from up there.” Imani asked VV.

“The SealGuard X1” Isabella thought out loud. “Huh?” I, Imani and VV all chorused confusedly.

“It’s a compact device that when attached to a door creates an impervious energy barrier, rendering the door impenetrable from both sides. VV, it’s among the gadgets we brought along, use it to seal the doors now!” Isabella ordered.

“Already on it.” Agent VV said. Suddenly, we heard a loud bang accompanied with clamoring and commotions.

“VV, status?” Imani asked her.

“I sealed all entrances shut, no one gets in or out.” She replied. “Now to orchestrate you guys exit plan.” She added.

******

Liza’s POV

I just closed from another hectic day at work, every effort I made in finding Nico was either partly successful or a massive failure. I was about to leaving the building when I heard discussions from other higher ranking officers.

“…Distress calls from the residential hall, something about a sabotage.” One of the officers said.

“Residential hall? Isn’t that where the billionaire Mr. Johansson’s throwing his birthday party?”

“Yeah, call back up. It’s an emergency!” They all hurriedly left the building.

“Fuck, my brother’s in there.” I said to myself as I hurried took a cab down to the residential hall.

******

Nico’s POV

We waited patiently for VV to find our escape route. She finally communicated to us, “Leave the restroom, walk down the hallway and take your left, there’s a door unmanned. Move to the designated window for extraction. We don’t have much time, I can hear sirens coming.” She said with hesitation in her tone.

“Take the grappling hook, aim it at VV’s spot and then fire it.” Isabella ordered Imani. “Dave, we’re waiting for you, I’ll disclose our location to you now.” She added.

Imani was the first to leave followed by Isabella and just as I was about to leave, different cop cars swerved in front of the entrance.

“What the fuck,” I muttered. Scared to shit, I hanged on to the rope. In attempt to slide across their destination, I sighted Liza coming out hurriedly from a cab. She seemed worried, she screamed, “My brother’s in there, let me through!”

VV’s voice crackled urgently through their communication devices. "Nico, no! We don't have time for this.” She knew I was torn apart between love and loyalty to this mission.

As seconds ticked away, I decided to chose the mission. I met the others on the rooftop and just as we were about to mount the helicopter, VV received a message from Mr. Malevolence. It didn’t seem pleasant by the reaction on her face.

“The gift we delivered was a bomb,” she said to us sadly. On edge we all stared at ourselves, “How many hours till it detonates?” I asked abruptly.

“5 minutes.” VV responded.

“No, no no no, there are hundreds of people in there, Dave is in there!” I yelled.

“You and I both know this isn’t about Dave.” VV said. I was reluctant on leaving so VV ordered Imani to sedate me, and just like that, I blacked out.