2 months later,

Chiwan Wharf, Port of Shenzhen, China--------------

The port bustled with activity and lights as the sun began to set and the floodlights came on. The workers began to wind up and check out as the night shift began to trickle into the docks. Most of the workers were locals and worked eight hour shifts to send money back to their homes. There was a smattering of people of various other ethnicities though the same could be said only for a few of the managers and supervisors. The Kajuro had made port three hours ago but due to an unexpected delay; their loading and unloading slot was pushed back by two hours.

The captain was exhausted and barely awake. Even so he had to hurry and depart as soon as possible. He was very clear on the importance of cargo that was at the heart of all the containers on his ship. Even more so of the people who were have it transported. He could vividly picture the man who showed up an hour before his ship had set sail earlier at Hong Kong and how persuasive he was. The cargo container had suddenly shown up on a nearby semi-truck and it had taken the captain several favors to put this particular onto his ship while adhering to the conditions the mystery man had stipulated. One of which was that it be removed from the manifest. While this was common enough back in the old days, it was very difficult to do nowadays with the computerization of the port.

The captain had made sure to list the cargo under an obscure and almost obsolete company he knew of and then switch the location of that container with another one. Having watched over this process, the mystery man was satisfied and left a suitcase with the captain along a few more choice words which left the captain trembling like a leaf just before autumn. The mystery man had then disembarked the ship and gotten into a grey sedan which had rolled up next to the now burden-free semi. As both vehicles left, the captain immediately ran to his collapsed colleague, the first mate. They had known each other for three years and were good friends. As he began to check the vital signs of the unconscious man, he felt the man move about and his eyelids flutter open. Sighing in relief, the captain pulled his friend up and sat him on a nearby ledge.

"You feel ok? How does your forehead feel?"

"It's fine, why? What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Never mind, just don't freak out about the scar."

"The one on my forehead?"

The first mate asked quizzically as he lightly rubbed the scar that ran from above his right temple down till the jawline.

"How did you know about it?" the captain asked as he felt a chill down the back of his spine.

"What are you talking about? I've seen it every day in the mirror for a long time."

"YOU JUST Go.........!!" the captain's exclamation petered off as he remembered what the mystery man had told him. "When did you get that scar?" he asked quietly as a cold sweat began to develop on his brow.

"What’s the matter with you? You know I got it 6 years ago. You even made fun of my wife for liking it last month."

The captain felt another surge of terror spike inside him as he finally understood the last words the mystery man had told him a few minutes ago: "Have you ever wondered what its like to not be able to talk to anyone? Whether anybody would wonder where you are? And I will make that happen for you my dear captain unless you complete the task I have given you. Good evening." The threat he assumed to be death had turned into something much worse as the captain sat there in front of his confused friend.

7th Floor, Rizola Hotel, Shekou Residential district, Port of Shenzhen, China---------------------

 Tut stared at the screen of his tablet as he wiggled himself into a more comfortable position. A dim red glow permeated the small space around him as he watched some 'Who’s line is it anyway?’ He had been stuck in this ventilation duct for nearly a day now and he was appropriately bored. Azisa had told him to expect maybe even 2 days of waiting like this so Tut had come prepared. As he started the next episode, the dim glow noticeably changed to yellow and Tut stiffened. He looked down at his chest and a small LED was slowly glowing orange.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

He began to take deep breaths to get his body ready and at the same time plugged in a drive into a rack on the ceiling of the duct. The rack was perfectly built for his tablet. He did a quick patdown to check his inventory and put on his tactical mask while snapping his Kevlar neck plate and helmet into place. He then slotted the tablet into the rack and turned on the camera to have a look at himself. Adjusting the mask a bit more, he closed the camera and opened up the special program Azisa had designed. He finished his breathing exercises and looked at the various security camera feeds. As he looked at various feeds he saw one group of people walking out of the penthouse floor and into the elevator. It was very obvious that they were surrounding the man with a briefcase in his hand.

Any second now.

And the LED turned green and began flashing. Tut took a few more deep breaths and turned his NV band on. Instead of blur, he looked like an average bellhop. As the green light suddenly stopped flashing the tablet switched itself off and the metal plate he was resting on gave way smoothly like a hatch and he was deposited right outside the network hub room. He calmly opened the door and closed it and pretending he had just come out of it. His earpiece buzzed as he heard Azisa say, “Bink, make the handoff and go to the pier, you'll be back up there, Rashida and Tut 2 minutes. Both of you be advised, your target is a complete unknown but all his guards are known and they ARE civilians."

Tut looked around a moment and then began walking towards the stairs. He saw another man turn around the corner approaching him. As he raised his hand in greeting, the other man seemed to recognize him and raised his hand in a jerky manner to respond in kind. The jerk was perfectly timed to let the small object sail through the air and land perfectly in Tut's now descending hand. A smooth maneuver made for the cameras in the hallway, Bink and Tut then walked past each other and as soon as Bink was out of sight, the group of men was visible to Tut as they walked away from him.

Taking a quick beat he began walking briskly but silently holding the device Bink had given him a moment ago. As he approached them silently he tried to focus on the man in the middle of the bodyguards as they had no intel on him. When Tut was about three feet behind the group, Tut slowed down and squeezed the device and set it on his helmet, slightly rippling the NV band's effect as he did so. At this moment, all six bodyguards suddenly glanced at the door on their left which had just opened to reveal a stunning woman dressed in lingerie and a silk chemise and heels. She was holding a fragrant candle which was lit and seeing this Tut lunged forward.

---Bodyguard #1----

Holy SHIT!! The guy tapping that is one lucky sonnuvabitch!

---Bodyguard #2----

That candle doesn't smell that great....

---Bodyguard #3----

Whoa MAMA!! ARE THOSE CROTCHLESS PANTIES?!!

---Bodyguard #4----

Hmm, dolled up but lacking up top.

---Bodyguard #5----

I'm calling the babysitter tomorrow.

---Bodyguard #6----

Dammit, if I wasn't on the job, I'd make it my job to make her as sore as humanly possible.

---Man in the middle----

As he glanced at the eye candy which just popped up, he felt a change and tensed up while now glaring at the woman. Unfortunately, he couldn't do much more than that before he felt a humungous impact on his left jaw and temple and something small going into his mouth while two teeth went out. Before he could fall unconscious, he felt his whole world jerking forward and he felt himself sinking into a mattress as he finally sank into darkness.

----Tut----

This is almost like cheating

Tut started walking as the bodyguards took their eyes off Rashida and continued walking towards the stairwell. The entire incident was took about 40 seconds as he scanned the man in the middle into his NV band placed a pill into the path of his mouth and then smashed his jaw and temple with a full force blow using his tonfas. That the man didn't die from the impacts was tantamount to proving he wasn't a civilian. The strike pushed his mouth onto the pill while the teeth and blood which came out were collected by Tut to firm up his cover. He then wrested the briefcase out of the man's hands and took a step back.

As he stood clear of the man and switched on his NV band, a few strands of string came out of the room as Rashida, the women in the risqué attire, pulled the man into the room and gave him a quick pat down and tossed a phone and wallet to the new 'man in the middle'. He watched as she took her original position and watched her blow out the candle while he switched off the device on his helmet at the same time.

And he started walking while she pretended to close the door in embarrassment.

Something I'm surprised she can portray. Tut shrugged inwardly.

Outside Chiwan Wharf-------

Azisa sat on the kerb facing a storefront that said ‘Nuudles’. Behind him was the fence marking the Chiwan Wharf. He had a file open on his lap but he seemed to be staring off into space.

“Sequel is good. Let’s do it.” A random passer-by paused as she heard him speak. He started and looked at her and said, “Movie script….” in an explanatory manner and she shrugged and walked away.

First mission, how tough could it be?