Chapter Text
“Ah Yor, I’ll be home a little later today. There’s a professor coming to the hospital to give a talk this afternoon,” Loid mentioned to his wife as they waved goodbye to Anya at the bus stop.
“Oh! Maybe we’ll order take out then, I’ll leave a plate for when you get back,” Yor said as they started down the sidewalk.
“That would be great,” Loid replied, bending down to give Yor a farewell kiss on the cheek. “I shouldn’t be too long, but I’ll let you know if there are any delays.”
“Sounds good,” Yor smiled at Loid. “Have a good day!”
Twilight watched as his wife continued up the street, before turning onto the road that would take her all the way to City Hall. Normally, this was when Dr. Forger would make his way to the hospital himself, ready for another day of seeing his many patients.
Today however, Twilight had a mission on the other side of Berlint that was to take priority, and Handler had already ordered Nightfall to cover for her fellow agent to explain his absence at the hospital.
Slipping into a side street, Twilight manoeuvred his way through the backs of the alleyways, until he reached a non-descriptive door of one of WISE’s safe house locations to begin his preparations.
Entering quietly, Twilight made a beeline for the small room in the back, shedding the trademark fedora and green suit of Loid Forger as he went. His psychiatrist persona would not be required for the next few hours, and he changed into his infiltration attire; black shirt and pants, a black cap. Unassuming clothes.
A disguise was required for the individual Twilight would be impersonating for the mission, but that would have to wait until he arrived at the destination. After all, the loud, vibrant attire and personality of one Klaus Vogel was bound to attract attention. And it was all about when Twilight wanted to be seen.
Aged fifty-two, with dark brown hair and blue eyes, Klaus Vogel was a boisterous yet devious businessman who headed up a private security company. From the exterior, you wouldn't think of Klaus as the head of a top company, but that was exactly his aim, to throw people off from what they expected.
Klaus' business today was to finalise negotiations for supplying additional protection to Ostania’s top leaders. As a gesture of goodwill, Klaus was making the effort to come all the way to the other side of town to wrap up the deal. In person meetings were always easier; you could gauge the atmosphere, sense any tensions, and read any physical signs if something felt off.
As he removed his watch, Twilight noticed the thin pink and red threaded bracelet that adorned his wrist. It was something that Anya had made last week for both him and Yor, and promised that they’d always wear it no matter where they were.
To protect Papa and Mama from evil, she said to them solemnly as she tied the bracelet around his wrist. Because, it seemed that adults were always in danger, and Anya was adamant that this would help ward off the villains.
Loid had shared a look of amusement with Yor, but they humoured Anya, vowing to keep the bracelet on at all times. A pink and red one for him, and pink and blue for Yor. Thin enough that it wasn’t eye catching, and on the same wrist as his watch, almost invisible from afar.
Removing the bracelet gingerly, Twilight placed it in the inside pocket of his blazer along with the watch, to put back on before Loid Forger returned home. He’d promised Anya, but he also didn’t want to find himself in a situation when it could become an identifier for him. Especially in a disguise, like the one he would put on later today.
The real Klaus Vogel had been intercepted by WISE upon departing his house earlier that morning, and was currently waiting interrogation at another one of their safe houses. With the current state of Ostania, protection should come from the SSS and military; there should not be any need for additional security. So what exactly was Klaus negotiating?
Twilight’s mission today was to confirm Klaus' discussions with a senior member of the National Unity Party. He would also be questioning some of the intricacies and details of the deal, pushing back and disagreeing on a few points. Small things; nothing that would raise alarm bells, but enough to stall the progress ever so slightly. A date here and there. A change in the men provided. A mix up with another high-profile event.
It should be a relatively straightforward mission given he wasn’t dealing with the SSS directly, but there was always a risk that they showed up given the sensitivities of the conversations.
Twilight stared at pensively at his Loid Forger suit, wondering if he should pack it as additional back up. Naturally, he already had a back up suit should his attire be damaged, but it wouldn’t hurt to have another in preparation.
However, he also didn’t want to risk ruining the suit in any way during the mission. Although it was a simple impersonation and information gathering task, something was telling him to be extra cautious today. But between all the tools and gadgets he was already carrying in his briefcase and pockets, maybe he should leave it behind. Better to be safe than sorry; he was probably overthinking it.
Physically prepared, Twilight mentally ran through a checklist of what the next few hours would look like as he readied himself to enter the mindset of Klaus Vogel, leaving behind all traces of Loid Forger.
Arrive at the meeting location.
Scout out exit points to confirm blueprints were correct.
Make sure no obstructions or blockages in place.
Stash backup weapons in secondary location.
Confirm target arrival and presence.
Ensure no SSS personnel involved.
Undertake meeting.
Negotiate and make the subtle queries.
Confirm changes.
Return to WISE safe house.
For world peace. To prevent war between East and West. Whatever it takes. And all in time to make it back home to tuck his daughter into bed.
Satisfied that he was equipped for the task ahead, Twilight checked the contents of the briefcase one last time, before securing and locking it shut. Halfway out the room however, he spun on his heel and grabbed Loid’s suit, stuffing it into the lining of the briefcase behind a hidden compartment.
Just in case.
Having arrived at the location and confirmed all exits were still as per the files WISE shared, Twilight grabbed a ‘Cleaning in Progress’ sign from the closet next to the bathroom, placing it in front of the entrance and ducking inside for the final preparations. The build of the stalls were conveniently floor to ceiling, allowing no visibility from neighbouring stalls and nosy civilians.
Stepping inside the second to last stall - chosen for its location directly beneath a vent - Twilight opened up his briefcase to grab a few tools as he closed the lid of the toilet and stepped up, quietly unscrewing the bolts that secured the vent cover.
Gathering the bolts in one gloved hand, he gingerly loosening the lid and pulled, freeing access to the vent itself. Dust speckles floated down from disuse, and Twilight swallowed the urge to cough, his eyes watering slightly in reaction.
Peering into the vent, Twilight shone the torch in the direction of the potential exit, satisfied there was no blockages for a quick escape. Leaving the torch in the vents, he placed a few of his backup gadgets and Loid’s suit inside, quietly slotting the cover back into place and re-screwing the bolts. Enough to secure the cover, but not fully in case he needed access.
Now, it was time for the transformation into Klaus Vogel. Beige linen suit, lilac silk shirt, and laced-up oxfords. Klaus was a stockier man than Twilight, so some additional padding around the arms and stomach were included to round him out.
Pulling on the mask of Klaus, Twilight pressed it against his face, tugging back and forth across the nose, moulding it to the round face of the man. The wig came next; short hair slicked back as any proper businessman’s hair was, and finished off with an accompanying moustache.
Some gold accessories and a lilac pocket square later, the look was complete. Satisfied with his transformation, Twilight exited the stall, placing an ‘Out of Order’ sign on the door and closing it behind him.
Staring at his appearance in the mirror, Twilight took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing himself to lock away the Loid Forger persona and quieten his mind. Right now, he was not a family man. He did not have a wife, daughter, a dog. He was not a psychiatrist. Nor was he Twilight, greatest spy of Westalis, WISE’s top agent, on a side mission from Operation Strix.
Opening his eyes, the face of Klaus Vogel looked back at him. Smirking, he gave off an arrogant air, as if he knew something no one else did. Exiting the bathroom, the ‘Cleaning in Progress’ sign was returned to its original place as Klaus strutted down the hallway, briefcase in hand.
Showtime.
Shit, Twilight thought to himself as he dodged yet another swipe of the knife from the burly man that had appeared behind him. His suit however, wasn’t so lucky, and half the arm of Loid Forger's signature green blazer now hung precariously off the shoulder, exposing his white shirt underneath.
This was bad. The National Unity Party had somehow got wind of WISE sniffing around their discussions, increasing security at every floor. They’d charged into the building not even two minutes after Twilight had finished his preparations, which meant he had to ditch his initial plan of attack and improvise on the spot.
The meeting itself had gone suspiciously well, with all of Klaus' changes and requests agreed to with no push back at all. Almost as if they were already expecting them. Then the questioning had begun, and Twilight had answered as much as he could with the briefing and knowledge he had in hand.
At some point however, he could sense a change in the atmosphere. Something had shifted, and he could, if he strained his ears, hear the footsteps of multiple people making their way towards the very room he was currently in.
Trusting his instincts, he ducked at the same time a dart flew into the wall behind him, exactly level with where his head had been. Half a dozen men bolted into the room, and he’d fought back with a mix of hand-to-hand combat and the various gadgets at his disposal, before knocking out the final with a mighty swing of his briefcase.
Outside the room however was another story, and he’d already had to cause one diversion and ditch the briefcase altogether to get away. Sprinting down five flights of stairs, Twilight flung himself into the bathroom and pulled down the vent cover for his back up suit and gadgets, throwing Vogel’s attire and the additional padding into the vents to retrieve at a later time.
With his initial backup attire still in the abandoned suitcase, Twilight thanked his lucky stars he listened to his gut and packed Loid’s suit, changing into it briskly as he disposed of Vogel’s mask in the bin. Backup gadgets safely secured in his pockets, he donned a second mask, this time of a thin, youthful man who had a head of curly ginger hair, brown eyes and large round glasses.
Exiting via the vents was not going to be an option; if the opposition was aware WISE was on their tail, they’d be expecting Twilight to leave via the discreet methods.
Weighing up his options, Twilight took a deep breath and pushed open the door to leave the bathroom. Sometimes, the best strategy was to leave through the main exit. It was the most obvious route, and he was taking a gamble that they would assume he wouldn’t dare to be so bold to take that approach.
Strolling nonchalantly down the corridor, Twilight stuffed his hands in pockets, looking utterly disinterested in his surroundings as he slowly made his way towards said exit. As it came into view, he mentally counted the guards that were still hovering around.
Two at the exit itself, as to be expected. Another two at the front desk. Three in the waiting area. Turning his head to pretend to read the time, Twilight adjusted his gait ever so slightly to increase his pace, as he spotted a burly man making a direct path towards him.
“Excuse me sir,” the man called out to Twilight as he approached him. “I think you dropped somet-,”
Twilight twisted his body to the side as his opponent lunged forward, knife in hand. He block the man's move, sensing the others advancing towards them from the corner of his eye. The spy counterattacked, landing a punch in the man’s stomach and causing him to grunt in pain.
The man retaliated with vicious swipes, frantically trying to land a blow as Twilight continued to evade his every move. Agitated, his moves became erratic, almost catching the spy in his arm. He was lucky to avoid any injuries, but his suit, not so much.
Ducking to land a kick to his attacker's shins, Twilight ran various scenarios through his head and packed another punch as the man attempted to take him out.
Getting out wasn’t the problem, he had one more ace up his sleeve thanks to Franky, and he just needed the other men to move in closer before he triggered it. It was how to shake the tails he undoubtedly would attract as he left, and how to lead them away and evade capture.
Twilight wouldn’t put it past the SSS to have been notified by now, so he couldn’t return to the WISE shopfront from earlier either.
No, he was going to have to make several more stops for the rest of the day before he eventually returned home, and he still had to debrief Handler on the situation.
Plus, his suit was now ruined, the one he was supposed to change into after the mission, and there was no way he was going to be able to explain to his family how the arm of his blazer had detached itself. There were only so many violent patient excuses he could keep using before even Yor became suspicious of what his job actually entailed.
Of all the days to forget the back up sewing kit in the other suit pocket, it had to be today, Twilight lamented as he began to rotate the inside button of his blazer in preparation.
It wasn’t as if he could just waltz into - wait.
The tailor shop.
It was on the way home, and would definitely have everything he needed to fix his blazer. He’d make enough stops before he arrived there to shake anyone tailing him, and there should be just enough time for him to make the fixes and arrive home at a reasonable time.
Solution established, Twilight pulled the button off his blazer, pressing down firmly as a cloud of white fog enveloped the immediate area. Yells of confusion emerged from all directions as the men tried to clear their vision, desperate to not let Twilight slip away.
Amidst the chaos, Twilight elbowed the burly man and knocked him to the ground, pulling his jacket off of him and slipping it over his ruined blazer. Briskly making his way towards the exit, he threw a small pellet towards the fog, hearing synchronised choruses of thuds as the men were knocked unconscious.
Thank goodness, Twilight thought with a sigh of relief as the back door of the tailor shop opened with a click. He slipped inside quietly, shutting the door behind him. The store itself had long closed, the staff departed for the day. Finally, he could catch his breath, patch his suit up, and be on his way home.
Given how many detours he had to make, Anya was long asleep by now, but he might be able to catch Yor before she retired to bed as well. Twilight was really beginning to enjoy their nightly routine, chatting and catching up on each other’s days over a cup of tea.
It was an extremely domestic way to end the night, but one that Twilight had come to appreciate, especially after a long day like today. He couldn’t tell Yor about the day he’d actually had, but listening to her recount the events of her day left him feeling relaxed and soothed him in a way nothing else could.
Now, to find the seamstress’ workshop, which from memory was located on the left hand side of the shop. From there, it would be a five-minute job to locate the necessary tools, find the thread that matched the exact shade of green of his blazer, and sew up the sleeve.
It was an overcast night, and it would be difficult to manoeuvre in the dark. But Twilight was nothing if not resourceful, and he was confident in his skills. Enough for the blazer to not look suspicious until he was able to officially return to have it fixed.
Taking long, steady strides, Twilight made his way to the workshop, keeping an ear out for any noises or disturbances. Hearing none, he gently pushed down on the handle to open the door, making his way to the workstation.
The only problem was, he realised as he stepped inside -
The room was already occupied.