PART • 2

The special investigation team took merely a quarter of an hour to reach the destination and as soon as they arrived, they got to work. I had called Natalie too.

She was my partner and my best friend. But her only job was to hack. So she didn't accompany me on all missions. And that was why I was busier than her.

Two investigators questioned Jade, Natalie started hacking into the mobile phone of the deceased and two more members left to check all the surveillance camera footage of the location of the incident. I assigned the rest to search for the missing children. Lastly, I checked all the recent FIRs and search appeals to find out whether this incident was a part of a full-fledged master plan.

To my surprise, Jade's sons were one of the fifteen children that had gone missing that week. Whereas, ten more children had gone missing the week before. And the man was the third person to be assassinated in this period of time. Moreover, this man looked awfully familiar. I was sure I had seen him somewhere, but I just couldn't remember where.

My thoughts were interrupted when my phone rang up. It was an unknown caller. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and looked at me. I looked back and picked the call tentatively, "Hello?"

"Agent VC01, or should I say Victoria Calder, am I speaking to get?" I looked at Natalie with broad eyes.

This is impossible.

No one knows who I am except my co-workers. How did the man know my identity? I had to act oblivious. I had to try, at least.

"I'm sorry, may I know who you are?" I tried to stay calm because I couldn't afford to expose my identity.

But my best friend knew better. She could read me like an open book. My tensed act of ignorance gave away the fact that something was wrong. Even if the rest couldn't understand, Natalie did. She quickly came and put the call on speaker.

"Good job Victoria! I'm pretty sure you've already find out about the missing kids. So, do you want to save them?.... Oh who am I kidding, of course you do! After all, it's your job. So let's make a deal, hmm?" I stayed silent and so did the rest of my crewmates. We ask shared glances among each other, unsure of what was about to come next. Our silence was this man's cue to continue, "I challenge you in a game of chess. The king doesn't matter. If your queen dies before my queen does, you along with all the kids, die. Deal?"

I was surely provoked by this man. Because nobody gets away with challenging Victoria Calder. If he really knew who I was, he would also know what I was capable of. He was up to something. I was sure. I asked with raised brows, "What if your queen dies first?"

"It's simple, you get to kill me and save all the children." I looked at Natalie with a smirk plastered on my face. She seemed confused. The tension in the room grew and my tranquillity stressed everyone.

My smirk grew wider, I parted my lips to speak, "Deal." The man hung up and huffed. All the people looked at me in disbelief.

"Are you crazy?! Vick, if you lose the game, it's not just you, it's also the children who'll face the damn consequences!" Natalie exclaimed. In return, I just stayed quiet.

"What?" I just looked back at them as if nothing was wrong. "The mystery's been solved. We know where the kids are and we know how to get them back." I said, grinning smugly. I went to the nearest spot on which I could sit and took a seat to relax. The expression of disbelief on the others' faces just got clearer.

It wasn't just my life at stake but also the lives of twenty-five other innocent children. I had to save them. Not just for my job but for the love of humanity. Even though I remained calm on the outside, my insides were churning up with stress. The man said that it was simple.

But the question was that would it be so simple?

As I sat serenely and the others stared at me in incredulity, I got a message and my notification bell rang up. Everybody's attention was directed towards my cell phone. They all were curious.

"It's from Mystery Challenger Guy," I stated and read the message loudly, every single person anticipated what I was about to say next. "No weapons. No phones. Come alone tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon, sharp. See you tomorrow at the abandoned warehouse in Nevada State Route 574."

Everyone stayed quiet for a few seconds, while I brainstormed an idea, just like my other plans. Once I figured out a great strategy, I looked straight at Natalie. Seeing my expression, Natalie understood what I was thinking of and so she said, "How're we doin' it this time?" A smirk grew on both of our faces and we got to work.