The room smelled like burnt coffee and broken promises.
Elias sat at the end of a long table under the flickering fluorescent lights.
Across from him, Selene Voss leaned against a whiteboard covered with maps, photos, and red strings crisscrossing in manic patterns.
Beside her stood Zane Mercer, Selene's right-hand man — a mountain of muscle with a buzzcut and a permanent scowl.
Zane Mercer:
Age: 36
Profession: Covert Operations Enforcer
Skills: Heavy weaponry, tactical breaching, intimidation.
Personality: Blunt, impatient, slightly paranoid.
Appearance: Dark brown skin, built like a tank (6'3"), numerous scars on arms and neck, sharp green eyes, deep voice.
"This," Selene tapped the board, "is your first mission under my directive."
Elias leaned forward.
A photo clipped to the board showed a slim, frail-looking man with thick glasses and messy brown hair.
"Who's he?" Elias asked.
"Name's Dr. Edwin Cray," Selene said. "Bioengineer. Ex-government. Now hiding with some very, very dangerous information."
Zane grunted.
"And he's an absolute coward."
---
Selene slid a file across the table.
"You're to extract him before our... competitors do."
"Competitors?" Elias asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Let's just say," Selene smirked, "you're not the only hunter in this forest."
Zane leaned in.
"And if you screw up, we're all dead."
Simple.
No pressure.
---
Elias stood in the rain, eyeing the rusted metal door that led into the back of an old laundromat.
Sophia was across the street, posing as an annoyed customer, constantly checking her fake watch.
Callum sat in a rundown van with surveillance gear, pretending to be a delivery driver.
This is it, Elias thought.
The watch buzzed.
[TASK: Successfully retrieve Dr. Edwin Cray alive.]
[BONUS TASK: Do it without being detected. Reward: Advanced Driving Skills Upgrade.]
Elias smiled grimly.
He could use that.
Especially if this went sideways — which, given his life lately, was about 90% likely.
--
Thanks to his newly unlocked Espionage Expertise, Elias moved like a shadow.
Through a broken window.
Down a hall where the wallpaper peeled like shedding skin.
He found Dr. Cray trembling in a storage closet, clutching a metal briefcase to his chest.
Elias knelt.
"Dr. Cray? I'm here to get you out."
The man blinked owlishly.
"You... you're not from them?"
Elias didn't ask who "them" was.
He just nodded.
But before he could move, a gunshot rang out.
The competitors had arrived.
---
"Move!" Elias hissed, grabbing Dr. Cray's arm.
Bullets shredded the air as they barreled down the stairs.
Sophia's voice crackled in his earpiece:
"Eli! Black vans incoming. At least six hostiles!"
"Perfect," Elias muttered, shoving Dr. Cray ahead.
He sprinted to the alley where Callum screeched up in the van, the side door flying open.
Elias hurled Cray inside and leapt in after him as rounds clanged off the metal.
---
As Callum floored it, the watch buzzed again.
[CONGRATULATIONS! Driving Ability +50%. Reflex Time Enhanced.]
Elias grabbed the wheel.
"Move over, Callum!"
Without hesitation, he spun the van in a perfect drift, narrowly avoiding a black SUV that tried to block their path.
Sophia whooped in the backseat.
"Where the hell did you learn that?!"
Elias just grinned.
Thanks, mystery watch.
--
Back at their safehouse, Dr. Cray clutched his briefcase like a lifeline.
Inside were blueprints, coded files, and experimental formulas that could change the world — or destroy it.
Selene arrived later, studying Elias with renewed interest.
"Maybe you're worth the trouble after all," she murmured.
For the first time, Elias saw it.
He wasn't just a pawn anymore.
He was a rising piece on the board.
And in this game... the kingmakers were starting to notice him.
---