His Devious Rule



Cleanly parted in the center, the long, dark straight hair was left on either side of the shoulder. The dark brown eyes failed to penetrate through the foggy morning of country F. The clean, bare skin of the face turned pink as soon as the wind blew on her face.

The young girl pulled the thick scarp up her chin and secured the jacket that was lacking warmth. Silently grimacing due to the early morning coldness, she got down the steps and rushed inside the waiting area.

The girl shuddered to the warm air indoors and breathed softly. Switching on the mobile, she looked around for somebody she didn't even know.

Before she could dial any number, she noticed a tall man in ankle boots, and a crisp airport uniform, walking towards the waiting area decisively. His stern gaze brushed over everyone and stopped at her. 

A bit of confusion flashed in his eyes, looking at the half-face of the young girl. Did Narnia send a little girl on a dangerous mission?

He glanced at his mobile once to confirm the clothes details. He approached her and asked cautiously, "Goofball!?"

It was her new alias for her brief presence in the Country F airport. Anya uttered the code word, "Firefish." 

If her husband gets to know somebody called her that nickname, he will choke that man, won't he?

Shoving the mobile into his pocket, he stepped away and led her to the private room in the airport. "You may use this room." It was a large open room with a desk and a few chairs.

Thanking the man, Anya immediately took out her laptop and got to work. The flight was yet to land. Anya has to be prepared for everything as she was sure those students won't be taking the connecting flight.

If they leave the airport, she will have to follow them. If they wait for a different flight, she will have to get on the same flight. She didn't have the choice of using a chartered plane.

After about half an hour, Anya halted reviewing the details of the passengers to find out if anybody was suspicious. She watched the live video of the two innocent students, cluelessly looking around and following the crowd.

Anya furrowed when she saw those two students sit where their next connecting flight will tax according to their tickets. Even if they were going to the destination of the ticket, there was a six-hour layover.

Anya sat in the room and stared at the screen without much choice of doing anything else. Her brief break could ruin the whole mission or lag her far behind, thus she stayed seated.

Are those two students headed to the destination printed on the ticket?

Is it a plan to make sure nobody was keeping an eye on the two or following the two?

Anya began considering every possibility of watching over the two students.

…

The four hours crawled slower than snails for three members. The sun had brightened the day but failed to warm the air. The two students barely spoke to each other but stayed seated. Neither of them got up to grab coffee or breakfast.

Anya could understand they couldn't afford it. Whereas even if she could afford it, she couldn't step out to eat…

Anya quickly erased her serious look and put on an innocent face when the door unlocked. The smell of coffee wafted in the room. It made her stomach churn in hunger. She hadn't eaten anything for more than sixteen hours. 

She couldn't stop herself from looking at the door. She saw a man enter inside and she identified him at first sight. He was right behind the two students, covering his face with a scarf.

It wasn't possible to catch her when she hadn't taken any action. So her eyes narrowed at the man who placed a packet of breakfast and a cup of coffee.

Honestly, she wanted to grab it and eat. However, her body was naturally in defense looking at the man.

Anya furrowed when she saw through the disguise of the Special Task Team captain from the Coastal City. His team cooperated with her to take down the sharpshooters at the container's site. He had witnessed her firsthand torturing a man and caught her throwing up due to the stench of blood.

She looked at the food and the man. Only one person could bring this man there and also worry about her food while she is on a mission. 

Jason.

He knew she simply can't trust just anybody with her life. Whereas she always reasoned as she wouldn't bring anybody with her to avoid blowing their cover. 

Importantly she won't be able to carry on with the mission if another person's life was in danger. The delay will put her life in jeopardy.

Jason was teaching her the hard way. But why does it have to be now? 

Does he already have a next mission for her?

Taking assistance in an emergency was a different situation. Here, she didn't even know the situation. Closing her eyes to stay calm, "Tell me, that he didn't send you." Anya would gladly take down the man if he was working for Miles Johnson. Instead of doing missions with anybody else. 

The man who wanted to greet her paused. Jason had instructed him that he could only be a part of Team Ace if Anya approves of him. And Anya was a hard nut. She might not give him a chance.

He carefully responded pointing at the breakfast, "He also mentioned you prioritize the lives of innocents over your meals."

Anya: "..."

At work, nobody knows her better than Jason. Leaning back on the chair, Anya questioned, "Why did the chief choose you?" Her tone revealed her displeasure with his presence.

Jason doesn't approve of just anybody. Jason has very high expectations and requirements for his team members. Importantly hacking skills, knowledge about every technology, and endurance. The rest of the skills could be cultivated with rigorous training.

As far as she knew, the man in front of her was good at every task he has completed so far. That wasn't enough to be with her on the mission.

The man who was excited to work with her contained himself by reading the air. He responded plainly, "A self-taught hacker." He didn't even know that was a crucial requirement to be a member of team ace until Jason invited him to the capital.

As far as Anya was aware, self-taught hackers are always better than one who goes to college to learn ethical hacking. Thus there was nothing to look down on him.

Anya knew most of the best hackers in Narnia. "Hash!?" The hacker who had competed with her the previous year at a hackathon. He had spoken big but lost in the end.

Whereas the man in front of her didn't understand what she meant by hash.

When she didn't get the reaction, she asked another name, "Dot?" The hacker who tried to dig into her details a few months ago. Melvin had a face-off with the person who smoothly withdrew and erased his trace when he was losing. That was a smart move for a hacker.

"Yep." The man in front of her responded, "That's me."

Anya realized he was digging for her information to find out about her job after they met. However, she flatly refused, "You can't join my mission." He didn't have the experience and the mission was dangerous. It will be risky for both of them.

Dot didn't know if he would ever get to introduce himself to her. He responded confidently, "I can assist you."

Anya held herself back from saying anything harsh. Jason should be the one to answer her. She turned the laptop towards him and instructed, "Keep an eye." 

She walked away to the corner of the room, dialing Jason. "Chief! This isn't…"

[Officer Owen, I was waiting for your call.]

Anya: "..."

[When you have gone there to kill yourself, why are you bothering about his life?] Other than having a person to support her, he intended to let Anya learn to divide her risky work and assign the task to others.

Considering the speed of her work, she will soon be sharing his work. He has to prepare her to be a leader of team Ace and make major decisions at critical times by trusting team members.

Anya: "..."

It was dangerous. She agrees. She wasn't there to get herself killed. She knew to step away if she held the shortest end without hope. Her life is more important than her pride.

If Jason wanted this way without proper training for the man, Anya's eyes glinted. "If he risks my life, Chief. I will make sure you lose your daughter to my husband." She ended the call grumpily. 

Jason: "..."