2.6

Legends come and go

The walk back was simply excruciating for Jim Cross. The teenager could not help but be suspicious with every single passer-by. Always on edge, his heart felt like it could burst any moment now. And his paranoia wasn’t unfounded.

Mi-Young Park was watching the group closely as they exited the bar. The woman could see the teenager darting his eyes all around, but it was no use. A part of the 707th Special Mission Battalion, Mi-Young was a master of blending in. Now serving under Six in an asymmetrical conflict that used magic, the woman had developed even more elaborate method of disguise.

Despite this being her first mission after being thawed out, the century spent encased in ice hadn’t dulled Mi-Young’s skill at all. This operation would be a success.

At least that was what she had expected. Something was wrong, the go signal that she had been waiting was not there. The woman watched as the group distanced from her, it seemed like the mission was a bust.

But how, her colleague was also an expert with numerous successful field operations back in their world. And Six…

Whatever the reason, Mi-Young packed up and left. The woman took an extra number of detours before returning to the base.

Back in the hidden bunker, Mi-Young could finally remove the face mask. Good riddance, that thing was itchier than she had remembered. Now in the concrete walls, the woman felt rather relaxed. She had been undercover ever since the summoned arrive. Mi-Young quickly dismissed that feeling of relief. A soldier never let their guard down.

Descending into the inner chamber. She was greeted by a grieving Six, who was wearing his uniform. On his shoulder was the Canadian flag, a reminder of the old world. on the table in front was a body with a white cloth over his face. It was Clancy, the other aide beside Mi-Young.

“What happened?” The woman asked, sounding as neutral as she could.

Six, on the other hand, despite being a better soldier than Mi-Young could ever dream of, always wore his emotions on his sleeves. Well, while the man was not on mission of course.

“When I didn’t receive confirmation from Clancy, I went to check to find him slumped over a chair, already cold” Six was shattered, to see a brother in arm like this was heart-breaking.

An accomplished CIA agent, the man known as Clancy was a legend of the Cold War. To work with such a person was an honour for Mi-Young and Six. Despite coming from the future after Clancy, the woman was soon surpassed by him and rightfully so. The ability to reinvent oneself was one of the reason why he was one of the few who could die of natural cause during such time of turbulence.

But here, in this world that was not his. A precise incision from the crowd had completely paralyzed the agent. He was then sat down by an unknown figure with another stab from the back.

Then there Clancy was to spend the last of his time. Helpless as blood streamed out of his punctured heart, filling his body. His many accomplishments and legacies flashed in front of the agent’s eyes. Like the time where neutralised the Red General with a toothbrush. Or the numerous times he had prevented another World War. Ah, he could still feel the warm Cuban sun, the rum was simply divine. Then there were the decades he spent in this world. His life was truly glorious, snuffed out in silence.

Clancy passed away like many of his fellow agents, far from home by an unknown hand.

“This handiwork, it’s definitely Eagle” Six said, his head hung low.

Mi-Young could feel chill down her spine, now his decision all those time ago made much more sense now. It was a no-brainer assaulting and taking out Johann and his entourage, especially after the fight at the arena. Two of their most capable members, Eikichi and Doraemon, were down and Johann was a push-over. Clancy was the one to put the knife to his back then, it was too easy.

The woman suggested a quick attack, shock and awe. But Six, their commanding officer was vehemently against that idea and so was Clancy. All because of the two unknowns, Eagle and Falcon.

Every single masked agent they sent never returned. Most simply vanished, even their body couldn’t be found. All the bugs planted were disposed of as well. The person who presumably did all this was dubbed Eagle.

Only one body was retrieved, or at least what remained. That masked agent was reduced to ash, no evidence could be found. Mi-Young believed that to be a threat from Eagle. But Clancy disagreed, it was too sloppy, he dubbed the culprit behind the burnt corpse, Falcon.

And so, no assault into the enemy territory was planned. Six could handle them all but he didn’t want to lose his aides, since they couldn’t be remade. Heck, the man pained every time one of the disposal masked perished, but he would still do his job.

In truth, Mi-Young never took Eagle or Falcon to be much of a threat. But after Clancy death, it was different now.

To make matter worse, the unknowns might not even be among the summoned. Johann wasn’t sent by his father; the man was in no condition to do that. The young warrior was sent by his mother and that woman was too crafty to send only her son and his entourage. No, he maybe just a bait, there must be someone else, hidden in the crowd, was it Eagle or Falcon or both.

Then there was the final summoned of Saragarhi. The masked men assault only managed to take down one, a medieval mercenary. Another summoned stayed behind and despite being badly wounded, he managed to escape and was currently in hiding.

What with the summoned this time. Mi-Young could remember back in the day before the Divines. People were brought into this world by the dozens, to be slaughtered, it was simply a meat grinder. Then in the last batch, the Divines banded the surviving summoned and allied with the locals to create Eden. Mi-Young and the rest were flash frozen for a century.

But this time, the amount of people summoned were curiously small. There was also a strange number of Japanese. Was it related to the one who sent out the call this time?

“The other group of summoned would be arriving soon, that mean Victor. We will have to assault Johann’s group soon” Six stood up again “But now, let’s bury Clancy properly. He deserves it at least”

“Yes sir”

They prepared the most respectable funeral they could for Clancy. As Mi-Young saluted the legend for the last time, she could feel herself shaking with anger.

An agent must never be overwhelmed by emotions, especially with the thoughts of vengeance. That ideal was drilled into Mi-Young. But in this world, she had served with this man for decades, longer than any attachment back in their realm. The woman couldn’t help but feel the rage, repressed from years of training, bubbling up.

Meanwhile, Six was simply solemn. The man never faulted the enemies for his comrades’ death. To kill or to be killed, that was nature to be expected. It was better to spend one’s emotion on remembering the dead than hating the living.

But a mission was still a mission, and Six was out to exterminate with great prejudice.