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Chapter I- Operation Sparrow

CAPTAIN MELODY NASIA

I steal a quick glance at the message I sent hours ago as the car zooms forward.

2400, Fort Maym, Lot 6

This is the one piece of information that I slaved six months for. How annoying how a single strand of knowledge can take so long to uncover, and much more annoying is the fact that I had to be the one to uncover it. Not that they made the wrong choice in me, I am perfect for the job. But months of undercover work do not sit well with me.

I send the message, eager to get this whole debacle over with. The team has been prepared for this moment for six months now, and I am certain they will be ready for the task at hand. What I mean is, they better be ready. I did not spend the last six months sleeping in a pungent bed only to have this whole operation go sideways.

The rest is in their hands now though, I have done my part.

Six months, that is how long it took me to gain the trust of the higher-ups in Malevoles, a drug cartel infamous in Hilaganan for their high profile members and great contribution to the drug industry. After six months of toiling, toilet duty, goonism, and general minor evil henchman duties, I have finally gotten close enough to be in on the plans of the group. What a time joyously spent indeed.

Truth be told, I expected this whole task to be done in three, perhaps four months tops. But the organization had been tougher to infiltrate than expected. They had distrusted me from the get go. It is like that with all evil organizations, they do not trust their new recruits immediately. But I had a good record. Three counts of theft, two counts of felony, one count of assaulting a uniformed officer. What is not to trust in that? I had exactly what people looked for in a good and upstanding henchwoman.

Still, I was given the typical suspicious glare when I handed in my resume for the job. Well, to be honest, I did not hand in a resume, I handed in the man who was wanted for betraying them, which is a wonderful way to get in their good books. And despite that. I only managed to get their confidence by taking down a branch of an opposing cartel. Not that I minded, it was taking down two birds with one stone. I got to gain Malevoles’ trust, and I took down a pest to society. Just like that, my rank rose like the tide on a full moon.

What I did mind, however, was the rough conditions that this particular cartel have their accomplices living in. I mean, can they not afford any lodging better than a room occupied by six people? five of which smell like they have taken a dip in a vat of pure sweat? Surely the situation could have been better. You cannot expect your henchmen to function properly if they are all being assaulted by their peers’ body odor. I certainly was not happy to be part of that.

But no matter. It all ends today.

I sigh inwardly, grateful that I no longer have the humiliation of sleeping in a metal bed with no warm comforters and soft pillow.

I look at my two other companions in the car. I am in the back seat, strapped in. The two, however, are forgoing the use of their seatbelts, a move generally thought of to be dangerous and is specifically advertised against by car manufacturers around the world. Not that I mind, it will make my job easier for me.

I sent that message a little while ago. The troops should have assembled by now. It is only one hour to go before midnight, and I must get to the fort before then.

Well, not MUST, but I would most certainly like to witness the fruit of my labor. Having spent six months with these people, I simply cannot wait to witness their villainry end right in front of my eyes.

Very well then, time to dump these two and get going.

We are driving at 180 km/h, just what I need for my plan to succeed.

“What is that?” I ask in a worried tone.

“What’s what?” lackey number one, the driver, asks in return.

I grip my seatbelt tight, but all the while pretending to approach them to point at something.

Surreptitiously, I reach for the emergency break handle.

“What are you talking about woman? There’s nothing there!” says lackey number 2, looking for the phantom object I am pointing at.

Here goes.

“Oh no matter. It is simply your impending demise. It was nice riding with you, gentlemen,” I say in a whisper.

Then I pull the break as hard as I can.

It took longer for them to register what is going on than it did for them to fly in their seats. The wheels squeal due to the sudden halt. The car spins out of control, skidding to the side of the road. I can hear glass shattering. I can hear the airbag explode open, attempting to save the dear lives of lackeys one and two.

Now, I know pulling the emergency brakes when going 180 is not healthy, seatbelt or not. And so I start muttering an incantation, surrounding myself in a bubble of protection as the general chaos takes place outside the car.

I can see the bodies of lackeys one and two fly around as the car flips over a few times, I myself safe in my bubble, patiently waiting for all this to be over with. Some slight discomfort with being tossed around, but all in all I am fine.

Thankfully, it takes all of one minute for the crash to reach its conclusion. The car stops at the side of the road, upside down, wheels still turning.

It is not a sight to behold. The car is all dented, glass shattered, windshield completely obliterated. It looks like it has been rammed by several angry bulls.

Lackeys one and two somehow manage to stay inside, though unconscious and all battered up.

Now, I am not so heartless as to leave them here, not with the smell of gasoline and smoke somewhere, especially not when I see that they are both still breathing.

I undo my protection bubble, grateful to have this whole debacle over with before anyone can see me casting a spell.

I kick the smashed door open and exit the smoking relic of a vehicle. Though it does not please me to carry heavy loads and get bloodied up, I opt to set my preferences aside to save the poor souls. I force the front door open and pull their battered bodies out of the vehicle.

As per observation, lackey one, the tall but skinny one, is much heavier than lackey two, the short and bulky one. Not that that thought helps in pulling them out of that wreckage.

I heave and pull, dragging the two across the road, not very gracefully, might I add. I would not be in such a hurry, but the smoke is suspiciously getting stronger, and the gasoline is not going anywhere away from that smoke.

I manage to settle the two down a large rock when sure enough, our ride goes off. I was checking my former co-evildoers’ vitals when the car goes up in flames. Knowing full well what is coming next, I immediately put up a barrier just a millisecond before the vehicle erupts in a loud explosion. Debris fly everywhere, and the heat turns up a few notches. The flames from the burning/exploding car reach fifteen feet, high enough for someone far off to see.

Ah yes, just what I needed.

I take out the watch I have been keeping in my pocket. I turn it on, relieved to see it survived the crash and six months of not being in use. And truth be told, I do miss using this little trinket.

I click a few buttons and a call is placed.

“Sparrow to Nest, Sparrow to Nest,” I state.

“Come in Sparrow,” says a reply from the watch.

“Personnel number 4825937. I have accomplished the last part of my mission. Requesting for pick up.”

“Copy that Sparrow. Please state your location.”

“Diversion highway, en route to Fort Maym. You see a flaming car and that is where you shall find me.”

“Copy that Sparrow. Transport is on your way to pick you up. Standby.”

“Well, I have nowhere else to go, do I?” I jokingly say.

I hear a chuckle from the other side.

“Welcome back Captain Nasia,” says the respondent.

“Glad to be back in the loving arms of the country, officer,” I reply.

I end the call and sit down beside lackeys one and two, doing a little stretch while I wait.

And now we wait. My work here is done.

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