Mission J

The zipper to the small pouch let out a small zipping sound as I put my concealer and cover-up away. I had touched up on covering up my bruises while Seo and his manager were inside discussing today’s plans. I considered listening in on the plans just so I knew what was supposed to happen, but refrained. There really was no point in me knowing; either way I would have to work under the radar. I just had to know where he was going to be, which shouldn’t be hard to locate a popular celebrity.

I packed up my bag and tucked it underneath the lounge chair. My folding blade was sitting on the chair, one of the few things I was carrying with me today. I hadn’t been assigned an alias from base and I haven’t had the time to create a new one for this job so for the time being I was nameless. This shouldn’t be a problem; I’ll just avoid being caught by the police and with a low-contact job like this, that possibility was conveniently low.

I picked up the blade and pulled my right pants leg up so the top of my boot showed. I lifted my foot up and propped it up on the lounge chair to slip the blade into my boot. I couldn’t bring a gun with me, but I wasn’t going to go completely unarmed. Maybe I was being excessive or overreacting, but I saw no harm in being prepared for anything.

I pulled my pants back down over my boot and straightened. Once I made sure that the blade was tucked securely, I turned to the door and started to head in. Seo wouldn't be happy if I were to keep him waiting for too long. With that in mind, I reached for the door handle and pulled it to the side.

...at least I tried to. Except the door wouldn't budge.

I frowned, and gave the door handle another tug. Nothing.

"What the hell," I muttered under my breath.

Irritation already creeping, I gave the handle a useless shake. I was locked out; I didn't even hear the door lock. Shouldn't I have heard the door lock?

I leaned in closer to the glass, trying to peer into the apartment through the thick curtains. I couldn't see anyone but I could tell the lights were shut off. Shit, did they leave already?

Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I reached into my jacket for the cell phone. I found the number I needed and pressed 'call'. He answered immediately.

"Yeoboseyo?"

"Mr. Park. It's me," I said.

Before I could say anything more, Mr. Park spoke.

"K! Jae-Sung told me he was on his way down. He said that you were going to follow after you finished up with what you were doing..." he said.

I stiffened a bit at this news, stepping away from the door.

"Did he?" I said, taking a quick look around the balcony. "When?"

My head immediately started spitting out profanity and cursing to the surface of my mind. A possibility behind the reason why I was stuck out here pushed itself to the forefront of my thinking space, leaving only room for irritation and passive-aggressive plotting. And I only had one target in mind.

There was a slight unsure hesitation on the other end of the line.

"Err...just now; seconds before you called me. Is there something wrong?" Mr. Park questioned, sounding troubled.

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply and silently, forcing all thoughts to quiet in my mind.

"No, everything is fine." I assured him. I turned around and saw my duffel bag tucked under the lounge chair. "I'll be there shortly."

I hung up without waiting for a response and went back over to the bag. Quickly, I pulled the bag out from under the chair and opened it. The pouch I was looking for was sitting right on top, which I grabbed and kicked the bag back under the chair. I straightened to a stand and took a look around. Now what were my options?

A quick assessment told me I only had two options.

-Breaking the glass window

-Jump over the ledge.

I didn't waste time considering what it would take to smash that window. It was grade-A storm-proof glass; with what I have out here I would have to shoot the glass out. Now while that would've been my favorite option of the two, Seo would probably not appreciate it in the least. And destruction of property, gun shot sounds and bullet holes were not going to be easy to explain to the management of the complex. Not to mention that would be a waste of my treated bullets.

So that left me with the more dramatic option of the two: jump.

A tired sigh escaped me then, and I couldn't help the dark thought that came to mind as I started to trail around the wall of the balcony. I wonder, at what rate would my body smash into the ground below?

I peered over the edge to entertain my morbid thought when I caught sight of the balcony below Seo's. Just a mere ten to fifteen feet down, roughly five feet off to the side.

My head plotted out the steps, mapping out the timing and motions that would ensure that I get off this balcony without ending my life. Yea...this was doable. And quite frankly it was my only quick option.

Knowing the time was only slipping by, I inhaled deeply and tucked the pouch into the safety of my jacket's inner pocket. Giving the lower balcony one last glance, I straightened out my posture and counted down from three.

Three. Two. One.

I sank down low into my knees, and using the wall as a fulcrum I shoved myself up and over the wall. My fingers gripped the edge of the wall in a vice grip as I jumped, keeping me from overshooting the leap. As my body made it over the ledge, I twisted my body to my left so my feet touched the outer sides of the wall. I didn't waste the seconds or momentum to let go and kick off of the wall.

The fall wasn't a long one, but the diagonal landing was tricky. I pushed my body weight forward, bracing for the hit. My toes grabbed the top of the balcony wall, and I sank down in my knees to absorb the impact. The momentum of the fall had me moving forward still and my right forearm shot forward and across as I tumbled forward and safely onto the balcony. My right foot ground against the floor, stopping my movements. I was already glancing around, taking in my new surroundings.

This balcony was completely bare, with no furniture or plants to add life and decor to the space. The doors leading into the apartment were to my left, and I saw that the curtains were pulled to the side. I got up and peeked into the apartment and realized my luck: this was a vacant apartment.

Hoping that my luck lasted still, I gripped the door handle and pulled to the side. Again, luck was on my side as the door slid open without issue.

A triumphant smile cracked on my face and I allowed myself a split second of victory. Then I dove inside and ran for the front door.

It was a good thing that every floor of the building seemed identical because that made maneuvering that much easier. I pushed myself out the front door and found myself in the hallway, very similar to the one on Seo's floor. The elevator was going to be in the same place as well.

I hurried down the hall at a determined pace, turning the corner to the elevator corridor. My eyes turned up and stared at the number panel above the elevator doors. None of the numbers were lit yet, indicating that the elevator was not being used yet. And it has not even been three minutes since I hung up the phone with Mr. Park so I knew Seo was still on his way down. Perfect; it was my time to move.

Call me stubborn, call me petty, but I didn't care; this was something I was going to do because I am an evil passive-aggressive human being. I pulled out the small pack that I had retrieved from my duffel and surveyed the area around the elevator. The external control panel wasn't hard to find, as it was not hidden and placed where it was easily accessible in the case of an emergency.

Taking care to stay within the blind spot of the surveillance cameras on the corner, I made my way over to the closed panel. I kept an eye on the number panel above the elevator as I jimmied open the flimsy lock that sealed the hatch and opened the controls to reveal a platform of wires, switches and buttons. As I had predicted, the controls had a safety feature to guard against tempering of the controls. A four-digit access code was required to enter a valid command, otherwise either the alarm goes off or the elevator doesn't respond. I pulled out the pouch I brought with me and pulled out the small decoder the size of a cell phone. Quickly, I attached the adapters and plugged the device into the output wires connected to the main monitors. Once everything was in place I pushed the center button and started the decoding. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Floor 1 light flicker on with the up arrow. The elevator was on its way up.

Half a second later the decoder let out a beep and the lights of the controls went from red to green. I was in.

"See you downstairs." I muttered, and flicked the switch from auto to test.

I glanced at the number panel and saw that the elevator was on Floor 3, and it was blinking slowly. It blinked seven more times before it moved to the fourth floor, where it started blinking again.

I packed up, closed the panel hatch and made sure I wasn't leaving any traces behind. Then I started for the stairwell at an easy pace and a small smile on my face.



I walked out of the entrance of the apartment complex with my hands stuffed into my jacket pockets and stepped into the brisk cold air of Fall. I saw Mr. Park standing by a huge transport van with darkened glass, pacing uneasily. He saw me and his expression lit up.

"K! Over here!" he called over hurriedly.

I made my way over and stopped right in front of him, eyeing the large vehicle.

"Is this what we're riding today?" I asked.

Mr. Park glanced quickly over his shoulder and then nodded.

"Ah, yes. We're going in the company vehicle, since we have a lot of media jobs to handle today." he said. "Er, and by the way, have you seen Jae-Sung?"

I blinked innocently at him and gave him a confused look.

"Seo-ssi? I thought he left before me," I said, frowning.

The troubled look on Mr. Park's face returned and he started to fidget.

"Well, then I'm sure he'll be here any minute now." he said, unconvinced. "There's no point in waiting out here so go ahead and get in the van."

He ushered me into the van but apparently decided to stay outside for a bit longer himself. Since I wasn't given any seating arrangement, I opted to sit in the rear seats of the van.

I sat down in the pleasantly comfortable seat with a sigh, feeling slightly accomplished. Then I pulled out my folding blade from my boot and waited.