Midnight

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Meanwhile, in the agency's office.

"Can one of you explain to me how in the world three, well-trained agents managed to let a single, weak target escape their hands?"

A woman, who appears to be in her late twenties, asks with a look of disappointment, suspiring her tiredness away. Holding her arms tightly across her chest, she uses her deep blue eyes to gaze at the group in hopes of getting a solid answer.

Inside the well-lit office, the three agents separate themselves to their comfort; one sits on the chair in front of a very organized table of the woman, holding a casual smile on their lips as their hands rest composedly atop their thighs, as the other two stands on their feet with different levels of emotions on their faces: anger and disinterest.

When the other two members refuse to engage in conversation, the calmer member clears their throat before speaking.

"If I may, with all due respect, ma'am, we were expecting a lot of things to happen, considering the type of target we were pursuing, but to imagine a human would travel all the way to the abandoned building in the middle of the forest was not one of them; and for that human to be involved with the local authorities is... less than ideal of an outcome, I'm sure. So we are ready to accept our punishment, whatever it may be."

"Well, that is good to hear," The woman's words manage to confuse the three agents who were clearly expecting a different reaction, but to some of them, the following words are enough of a punishment. She then retrieves a piece of paper from the top of her table and presents it to the agents.

"The higher-ups sent new orders for you three; in their own words, "We can't risk a human in such a position to put our operations at risk; one delay can mean the death of many; so to this, unit 0's new orders are to work alongside the local authorities and try achieving the goal of both keeping the witness at bay, incapable of delving too deep into the truth, and understanding the target's goals with its recent activities to put a stop to whatever it may reveal itself to be." If it isn't clear enough, for the time being, all of you are to stay in Havenport until the case is solved."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"You can't be serious! First, this human gets in our way, and now we have to play house with them? What kind of logic is that?" Almost barking these words, the agent hits their palm against the table, creating a crack in the wood that runs all the way down the furniture leg; seeing this, their rage subsides into something more controlled. With a sharp sigh, they attempt to calm themselves.

"We are responsible for all that goes wrong on our missions, so all we can do is try not to give our handler more to deal with, and on the side, find a new way to deal with this situation." The agent shoots a smile at the blonde woman, knowing of the headache this imposes on everyone.

Closing their hand into a tight fist, the angry agent nods their head and exhales more calmly. "I understand; if this is the only way, then there's nothing to be discussed."

"Wow, I never imagined the day would come when you would be reasonable; is it going to rain?" For the first time, the last of the three agents make their comment, grinning like the devil as they lean against the office's wall.

As a fight starts to give signs of brewing, the blonde woman clicks her heels together and taps her fingers against the table.

"You're all free to go; I'll need the unit ready and on track tomorrow morning. I'll try contacting the city's management to see if I can set up a meeting between the agency and their police department before they go out to explore without us."

"Yes ma'am." The composed agent nods their head and walks towards the door, grabbing the mocking one by the ear and pulling them out of the office with a cacophony of pained groans and sorrys from them.

Soon all three of them are gone, leaving the woman to finally express her tiredness. Rubbing the dark circles under her eyes in hopes of making them disappear, she lingers her hand closer to her phone, ready to prepare for the day that lies ahead after this one ends.

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