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.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

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.