Agent 7. The Shadows: Part I

▪️◼️Chapter Twenty Seven◼️▪️

Thank you everyone for your patience between chapters! I started this chapter from Alina's POV and then decided last second that its time to introduce Matteo! So here ya go! There's lots of Italian in this chapter. Translation is in parentheses ❤️

◼️◼️◼️◼️
Matteo - Agent 7
◼️◼️◼️◼️

I'm a ghost.

I'm trained to not be seen or heard.

Rule One: Serve the Agency. Rule Two: Take no hostages. Ever. Rule Three: Leave no trace.

If I complete the mission I get paid.

The Agency's rules are clear cut. So what the hell am I doing with this woman?

I shut the door of the bagno (bathroom) with a soft click leaving Alina to shower. She's in a bad state. As feeble as a twig. Being left alone with Borkov and then watching him get shot only centimeters away. It's all too much for her to bare and now she seems to have snapped.

Ignoring her soft, dismal cries coming from the other room, I head to the safe to remove the weapons from my holster.

I slam each one on to the metallo with unnecessary roughness.

Tonight hasn't gone as planned. I got the job done but it was messy and I don't like messes. Normally I complete my missions from a distance, never having to get blood on my hands. It's what makes me the skilled agent that I am. But now that Alina's in the picture, I have to adjust.

Resisting the urge to grind my teeth, I shut the door of the safe. I wait until I hear the quiet humm of the lock before straightening my spine and standing back up to my full height.

I stretch my back and snap my neck side to side, satisfied with the loud cracking sounds as my body releases the tension that's been built.

Oleg Borkov's home security staff was an insult to every person in the field. Despite their incompetence with firing their weapons and hand-to-hand combat, the second man to burst through the door managed to put up a decent fight—after I had disarmed him of his gun. Maybe with some real training he could have actually landed a punch. But not likely.

After putting my weapons away, I continue through my protocols. I head to the table with the untraceable laptop sitting on top and open it up.

My fingerprints are the only ones that can access this computer. If someone were to try typing on the keys, the system would self-destruct and all of the information would be lost and the cache would be wiped clean. It would essentially become a useless metal contraption with a screen. A convenient safeguard to keep The Agency off the grid.

I log in to the encrypted server and type Target #28143 Terminated into the message board, notifying The Agency that I have completed the mission.

I jab the enter button with a little more force than necessary before leaning back in my seat. I cross my arms over my chest as I wait for verification from the Director that the message was received.

After a moment, words begin to appear on the screen in front of me. A robotic voice reads each word as it's typed. It's the same message I receive after every mission.

Agent 7 check back in at 1100 tomorrow for a status update and a transfer of funds

Once they confirm Mayor Borkov is dead, I'll get paid. It's how The Agency has always done things. Just as I'm about to shut my laptop I see another message being typed.

I groan, knowing what it pertains to before reading it.

Status of Target #28144?