Chapter Text
The evening’s dark blanket coated the whole city in darkness with the bright twinkle of stars and orange illumination of light from every household serving as the sources of light. It was a chilly evening with a few people walking with their coats and some were inside their carriages, restaurants and several shops still open and ready to lend their services to every patron that stepped foot on the floor of their shop. Even though the city was shining with light, the abandoned buildings tell a different story otherwise.
Inside one abandoned building, the sound of a body falling down to the ground with the accompaniment of a groan and the clack of heels echoed through the empty halls. A woman dressed in black emerged from the shadows with a golden dagger in hand and fresh crimson blood painted her left cheek. She looked at the man with a death stare that sent shivers of fear through his spine. He cried and pleaded, “Please! Take the document and let me live! PLEASE!”
The lady, on the other hand, ignored his pleas and crouched to his level, looking him in the eye. “Thank you for this document, although I need to kill you because I have this feeling that you are untrustworthy.” She directed her dagger towards his heart then stabbed him and quickly pulled out the dagger that struck his chest. It took a few minutes for the poison to travel inside the man’s body before it finally took his life.
The lady sighed as she watched the man perish on the ground and cleaned his weapon. She then took the lighter inside her coat’s pouch and took off the coat then burned it, revealing a dark lilac top then unfastened the clip that held the long fabrics of her dress that made it short. As she went outside of the building, a young man was leaning his body towards the old and dirty podium of the old building who caught her walking towards her direction. He tipped his hat in a silent greeting that was returned by a smile from the young lady.
“Great job out there, Starlight. Nightfall told me to pass on this message to you.” The man reached for his pockets then dropped a piece of paper to the lady’s waiting hand. Even without looking at the paper, the lady grumbled with a curse knowing what the paper contained. She then gave the document to the man’s hand and gave him a gentle pat on his shoulder, “Thanks Eventide, now be a dove and bring that document to madam handler. I fought tooth and nail for that.” She added jokingly.
Both Starlight and Eventide took the opposite directions as they said their farewells. Starlight breathed in and turned her heel towards the left and sighed. She took off her hand then tossed and fluffed her pink hair as she walked. She muttered a curse, “And all this time, I thought I could go home to mama and Bond.” Then she continued to walk as she breathed the chilly evening air of Berlint, Ostania.
✼
Berlint General Hospital, known for its unequal treatment to people of different backgrounds and standings in life. Only the rich could afford the expenses needed to be paid for the medication. The hospital’s interior contains the eerie white walls and ceilings, with the window frames designed with gothic-like curls on its edges, and the fluorescent lights taking pride on the ceilings of each corridor and room.
Except for the past weeks, the hospital has started to provide free treatment to everyone due to the spreading virus around the city, ever since it has hit the majority of the nobility when the kingdom noticed the gravity of the situation and how it could affect the economical and agricultural situation of the country, since the number of the people contracting the disease are farmers who basically became the backbone of the nation.
“Good evening, Lady Anya. Doctor Forger is in his clinic at the moment. We’ll call him to request for your audience” The old nurse from the reception area told her as usual. Every nurse at the reception area will tell her the same sentence every time she waltzes on the hospital’s floors, and she always gives them the same kind smile and honey-like voice every time she inquires for the Doctor Loid Forger’s presence then sits at the usual spot in the waiting area. The scent of medicine and metallic blood embraces the inside of the hospital with the constant flow of entering and exiting patients with different conditions, internally or externally. Currently, the hospital has gone busy lately, due to the deadly disease that has been spreading through the country lately.
Another reason why Anya knew everyone who works in this hospital is due to the secret fact that it is also an underground headquarters for WISE: an underground intelligence group that secretly works for the Westalian government. She and her father work for them, although she only works on minor to small cases due to her father’s insistence to not risk her life on the line.
From the corner of Anya’s eyes, she saw a familiar tall blonde man with eyes that resembled the blue clean sea, who also saw her sitting in the waiting area. The man quickly walked towards her location, seeming to recognize her. Of course he will recognize the pink mop of hair sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting area. Anya Forger is his daughter, after all.
Loid held his daughter in a quick embrace. “Anya, what seems to be your agenda here today?” Anya replied in Westalian, “I got a note.” His eyes widened as he heard her explanation, the badly constructed sentence made it clear to him that WISE also called for his daughter at the same time as he received a word from Nightfall.
”Why would they call my daughter here, too?”
At the same time, he finds it quite suspicious why the handler would call them at the same time. He already retired as a spy years ago in order to focus on his family, but was soon returned into the world of spy intelligence as a handler. Quickly, Loid returned to reality, “Oh, is that so?” Anya watched Loid’s mouth the words ”Follow me to the clinic, quick.” and she nodded her head as she followed her father towards their destination.
✼
Loid Forger’s clinic is still the same as Anya remembered during her childhood, except that the singular flower pot that she painted when she was five years old decorated his table alongside their family portrait that always changes pictures whenever the Forger family takes a new photo for certain occasions. The only thing that never changed is the placement of the wide bookshelf that takes pride in being the second decorum of her father’s small clinic.
Except this bookshelf is different from any other bookshelves Anya had encountered.
The bookshelf in her father’s small clinic hides the tunnel towards WISE’s headquarters . She knows that only WISE agents have wide bookshelves in their clinics in order for them to recognize who is the agent and who is the normal citizen. Loid reached for the maroon book as he would to a lever and the middle part of the bookshelf opened the tunnel towards the headquarters, he nodded his head to Anya’s direction and he leads them towards the tunnel, ready for whatever mission Sylvia Sherwood- The Handler, will throw at his direction.
✼
Opening the metal doors of the headquarters, the first thing that greeted the two is Sylvia’s absurd hair ornament, a dark pink ribbon with feathers and her earrings with the symbol of the agency painted on the jewelry. Anya cutsied towards the lady as a sign of respect but Loid strode his way through.
“What happened?” Loid shot the question towards Sylvia. Albeit Loid – or known as “Twilight” by the agency, was once a spy who knows how to mask his emotions, but he can’t help his emotions slip whenever it concerns his family. Sylvia motioned her hand towards Anya to come near, “Take a seat, you two. I will explain everything.” She looked at Twilight with the same stern eyes and continued “And my explanation will give you answers on why I called your daughter in here too.” Both father and daughter took the seat nearest to Sylvia’s table, both focused on what reason the woman would give them on why they were called.
Opening one of the desk drawers, she placed the pile of papers on the table “This is the reason why I called you both here. Take a look.” Twilight took the pamphlet and read it while Anya peeked at his shoulder to read the paper on his hands.
A Vaccine That Could Kill
Danica Lowells, July 1856
April 1855, an unknown disease started to spread out through the entire nation of Westalis and Ostania. According to certain sources, the virus’ origin is unknown but most scientists speculated that it came from a faraway nation- Lurkenheim, where similar recounts of the same disease has once spread in that nation..
The scientists also stated that the disease is airborne, so it is important to be careful of our own surroundings. They have also stated the early signs of the disease entering the human body. The symptoms consist of the following: excessive coughing of blood and abnormal fluids and an abnormally high fever.
Currently, both Westalian and Ostanian scientists and doctors have already developed the vaccine and have been distributing it to the citizens since then. It is recommended that everyone should take the vaccine as early as possible in order to avoid the disease catching onto the people.
Several weeks later after the vaccine was distributed, numerous reports came that the vaccine has caused a deadly psychosis to every Westalian citizen who took the vaccine. According to the Duke Licht, almost 40% of the citizens have perished due to the vaccine- the same vaccine that was supposed to prevent the sickness also caused the death of the Westalian masses.
As of now, it has been announced from the Ostanian Doctors Association that there will be a meeting with the head of the Westalis Scientific Research in regards to the situation. Further updates will be announced until the problem has been solved.
What the fuck? Was the only phrase that came to mind after reading the pamphlet. It seems impossible for such a thing to happen, since everyone who received the vaccine seems to be functioning well with no major side effects that could lead to death. The last time that Twilight knew of this vaccine was when the hospital had a meeting about it with the scientists mentioning that only a minor side effect like muscle pains would only occur.
“Westalis received the already developed vaccine one month ago.” Handler added, “From the recent updates that we’ve gotten from our planted spies on the other side, they have been adding a strange chemical onto the vaccine. From what they’ve gathered, it resulted in the Westalians going into constant episodes of psychosis and even death.” Anya’s eyes widened upon the information, she sometimes can’t help but think on how some people can do such cruel things to others, nobility or not.
Getting her mind back on track, Anya tries to recall a certain chemical or material that can cause any psychological distress. In her opinion, there are a lot of drugs that can be used to give a deadly psychosis to anyone who consumes said drug. The only thing she could think of is the possibility that every high dosage of drugs and herbs combined will result in the creation of a very powerful substance that can kill a person. Heck, that can be a lethal grade poison instead at this point, if such a thing even exists.
As if catching up on her, Twilight looked at his daughter, “Anya, do you have anything to share with us? You seemed to be very quiet.” Looking up to her father and the handler she replied, “I’ve been thinking of the possible ingredient added up to the vaccine that could cause the deadly psychosis,” she added “and it could probably be a mixture of different high dosage drugs that resulted in its creation. At this point, it could be a lethal poison that could be created by agent Nox to commit patricide.” Anya added the last part jokingly.
Agent Nox was the newly recruited spy by WISE, constantly praised for his ability to formulate the deadliest poison known to mankind and him being a natural genius to every different field thrown in his direction. He was known as one of the sons of the powerful duke of Ostania. Although WISE is still doubtful of his presence in the agency, they cannot help but agree that he is very helpful whenever he smuggles in important documents from Ostania easily like a rat who successfully got its cheese.
“It seems that I heard my name in the conversation, Madame Handler and Sir Twilight, care to let me in?” A voice spoke from the doorframe, he was leaning his body onto the doorframe with the attire of a proper aristocrat- a gray suit and trousers with a matching hat alongside the logo of the agency as his pin- and a grin plastered on his face, giving him quite the resemblance of a relaxed yet sly cat. The man closed the iron doors and approached them. “Nox, you’re just in time. Come take a seat.” Sylvia motioned and gave him an extra chair, he smiled at her and muttered his thanks for the gesture. Nox took off his hat, revealing his dark hair and amber eyes, “I got a note that I was being summoned to your graces.”
As Nox sat on his chair, Handler spoke with volume in the room, gaining the attention of Nox, Twilight, and Anya. “Now that you three are gathered here. I will introduce the mission to all of you.” She tossed three folders towards their direction, with the words “OPERATION BROUWSEL” and a list of information of certain people printed in paper. “Agent Starlight and Agent Nox,” she looked towards Anya and Nox, “you two will be under the names “Audrey Findow” and “Simon Findow”. You will act as siblings and assistants to Doctor Loid Forger, but you will be separated because Starlight will be working as Damian Desmond’s secretary, while Nox will be working inside the Ostanian Laboratories.”
As the Handler continues to speak about the mission, Anya took a glance at the inside of the document, looking for the guy named Damian Desmond and was lucky to find him easily at the second page of the document. From the description written, he is at twenty years of age and is a graduate of medicine from Eden Academy- the university Anya graduated from in her college years, and that he leads the formulation of the vaccine, which means that the raging red marker that spells “suspect” is plastered upon his picture that was attached on the folder. From closer inspection of Damian Desmond’s face, she thought that she was looking at a younger version of agent Nox- only the darkness of their hair is what makes it easy for Anya to distinguish who is Nox and who is Desmond.
The Handler continued, “Your goal is to find the main suspect who started on the idea of creating the drug. If Starlight became the second son’s secretary then you might have access to the documents that we will be needing, and if Nox is able to infiltrate the inner laboratories that formulate that drug they secretly mix into the vaccine, then we will be able to stop it.” Before Handler could discuss the other details, Twilight raised his hand.
“But why would you need me for this mission? I’ve already retired years ago as a spy, why need me now?” Twilight asked. “You will serve as their handler for this mission as I cannot guide them through, for I have other spies to handle these days, so I decided to give this task upon your caring hands.” Sylvia replied. Oh. Now it makes sense why they called him over here. Well, it won’t hurt a bit if he decided to bring himself back to this world again. As long as he is able to watch over and guide his daughter towards the mission then it will suffice for him as a father and a handler.
Looking at his expression, Sylvia can note that he already agreed to help these children under his wing. “Well, it seems that the decision has been made.” She gazed again towards Anya and Nox, “The interview will start tomorrow, so it’s better that you two will rise early. I’ll deliver to Twilight the location that you need to be for tomorrow. Good luck.”
As their discussion led to its end, they stood up from their chairs and bid each other farewell. As Anya and Loid went back inside the clinic, Anya let out a sigh. Tomorrow will be the first day of her assignment in motion, the biggest assignment that she has received throughout her career as a spy. As Loid finished packing his things, he took a glance at his daughter. He saw the hint of excitement and worry in her eyes then gave a gentle pat on her head, “Let’s go now. Yor is probably worried sick due to us being late.”
Anya smiled at her father’s words. Indeed it has gone late by now and her mama is worried sick, “She really will be, Papa. Now let’s go back home and prepare our speech.” Anya jokingly said as she grabbed her father’s hand as they walked hand in hand as they walked their way to home in the night.