Chapter 24: Agent MX5’s Assignment
Agent MX5 sat in her hotel suite, hundreds of miles from headquarters and even further away from Dalton. Her makeshift office was minimalistic, with a high-tech laptop computer and several surveillance gadgets. A single window provided a panoramic view of the city skyline, a view she hardly ever had the chance to experience in her line of work.
She had never heard of Dalton before, but that didn’t concern her. She could blend in anywhere without raising suspicion, and the Gund Intelligence Network had several fleets of private jets at their disposal, making travel to any part of the world a trivial matter.
What concerned her more was the sparse information she had to work with. An agent’s disappearance was always a cause for alarm, but all that was provided to her was some photos and a possible first name. Even after running a search and checking the network’s database, there was no concrete information about him. She knew she had to tread carefully to gather as much information as possible without raising suspicion from any unknown hostile parties.
Why did CX3 take these photos, and why are they the last remaining traces of him?
As she studied the photos, she began to ponder the possible reasons behind CX3’s interest in this young man. Could it be that this seemingly ordinary individual was actually a target or mark? Was there something about him that made him a person of value? The possibilities intrigued her, creating a puzzle she was eager to solve.
Perhaps CX3 was surveilling this young man, gathering data for the network. This would explain the series of photos, each taken with precision and detail. This line of thought made her even more determined to discover the truth about the young man’s identity.
Swiftly, but with meticulous attention to detail, MX5 began to pack up her few belongings and equipment. Each item was carefully put away, ensuring that nothing was left behind. The room, which had been her base of operations for the past two days, was quickly returning to its original state—a nondescript hotel suite devoid of personal touches.
With her belongings packed, MX5 turned her attention to eliminating any evidence of her presence. Every piece of trash, no matter how insignificant, was burned in a small, portable incinerator. To ensure that no DNA or fingerprints could be recovered from the room, she methodically cleaned every surface she might have touched, wiping away all traces of her stay.
This was a routine procedure for her—a necessary precaution in her line of work. She was a ghost, leaving no trail behind. Her existence was to be known only to those within the Gund Intelligence Network.
As soon as she felt satisfied with the sweep, she contacted the network’s travel division to arrange for her transportation. Her destination was Dalton, a city she had never visited but was now of significant interest to her. She had to identify the young man in the photos and understand his connection to CX3.
Copyright © 2024 by A. J. Knight
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