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Mission Report, December 17th.
It was Christmas time in Berlint, and one Anya Forger had three weeks off school. Needless to say, this posed issues for her father, the worlds greatest spy, Loid Forger. He was getting more and more work, and less and less time for a child that seemed to demand an endless amount of attention. On good days with no missions, he found himself exhausted by her seemingly endless stamina, begging for fun and adventures and explosions. Anya had an active and violent imagination.
On the bad days, he had come to rely on Yor to help him. She’d come home from a nice nine to three and she’d get straight to work again, playing with Anya, taking her to parks and theaters and any number of things she wanted. Yor was a source of energy for him as well, something about her beaming at him when he finished hanging his coat and hat at the door gave him extra energy.
Still, it hurt when he came home and Anya ran to hug him and he had nothing to offer her except a small pat before collapsing on the couch in exhaustion. I really need to repay her for all this time, she didn’t ask for this.
He looked over to his wife, who was now smiling gently at him. He offered her a small smile in return. “Loid, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I think you need time off work. You look exhausted.” Anya was bubbling about, playing Bondman with Bond nearby. He looked back at Yor, her concern worn on her face. He thought about it for a second.
He could ask Handler for a brief pause in cases. She’d give him a break, but she’d assign the cases to some smaller time spies. They’d probably be no match for the level of work, maybe they’d even get caught. It wasn’t a possibility, so he just shook his head. It was foolish to even consider, despite how tempting it was to finally have time for his family. Odd, nothing pressing to the mission requires time around them. I wonder why I care about time with them.
“Thank you for your concern Yor, but I’ll be okay. Thank you for taking such great care of Anya.” He looked at her again as she swallowed her concern, and then she glanced at him again with that gentle smile.
“Okay Loid. Is there anything else I can do to help around the house?” She really was the best (fake) wife a man could ask for. It's practically real, all I’d need to do is ask her to- Twilight would have to check where that idea came from and then purge it from his mind. Such thoughts would destroy the mission.
“Thank you Yor, but you’ve already done more than your fair share.” It was true, he really had let her take more of his burdens than she should have. He’d come to trust her a lot over the year or so they’d been fake married, and it came with its downsides. He’d accidently let himself start to lose his facade with her, he couldn’t keep his lies straight anymore. It’d come to the point where he’d been telling mostly the truth and leaving out the things he couldn’t talk to her about, a terrible habit for a man lying about almost his entire life. These lapses can’t keep happening. Maybe I need some time to sort all this out.
As he pondered how he could get a few hours to himself a call came through the phone, and Yor shot up from her chair. She looked at him sheepishly as she got it, and he guessed she had been waiting for it for some time. Who could she possibly be waiting for? He couldn’t say, but ultimately he pushed his mind off of it. Whatever she was doing was her own business. Hopefully just a friend. I doubt she’d keep a secret lover from me, she’s too considerate of everyone to do that. Still…
A small, imperceptible beep went off in his wristwatch. A message, probably for a new assignment, was going off in his room radio. He got up quietly, not disturbing the woman intently listening to the phone and snuck off to his room. He got to decoding the continuous beeps and whirs of the machine. Hello Agent Twilight, it read, Wise has determined this mission to be top priority. An official who has promised us information is set to be assassinated tonight. Wise has determined the Assassin to be a member of a secretive group that is hired anonymously. Your mission is to observe this person as they carry out the job, incapacitate and interrogate them. You may choose to go about this mission however you choose, but your first and only priority is to gather the information. Good luck and happy hunting.
Twilight's mind snapped to attention, his focus immediately going to the coordinates of the target and the best route to get there. In two seconds, he had his route. It would take ten minutes, enough time to get into an observation point and safely view this assassin. He would have to avoid disguising as the bait this time, he couldn’t know how skillful his quarry was. Better to just get a view, analyze, then launch his counterattack.
“Loid, I have to go! It's an emergency at work!” Yor informed him as he exited his room, weapons carefully concealed on his person. Dammit, I have to call in Frankie again. Yor was hurrying out the door, and Anya was looking at him with a nervous expression. She must be picking up on some of my tension, sloppy Twilight. A child shouldn’t be able to read you.
“Anya, I need to leave. I’m going to get Frankie to come play with you.” Anya looked positively petrified and somehow even Bond looked horrified.
“NO! Papa, you need to stay here.” She cried out. “I don’t want to play with Frankie, I want to play with you Papa.” She looked at him with puppy dog eyes, and clung to his pants.
Twilight groaned to himself. What had gotten into her? Was she… lonely? He must be a terrible father, he figured to himself. He hadn’t made a lot of time for her recently, and she was missing him enough to demand his presence. It was something that had to be addressed… but later, after the mission. He pulled her off his leg and put her on the couch. She was full on bawling now. “Anya, I need to go. I swear, I’ll make more time for you but I need to take care of a patient.” Anya's eyes were full of tears, and she was throwing a full on tantrum. Guilt attacked his heart, but he ignored it and hurried to the door, before any more distractions could get in his way. The last thing he heard as he walked out was a yell from Anya for her mama. Strange, she’s normally so well behaved when I have to go out. Enough distractions, I need focus for this mission. He ran down the hall and got to work pulling on his disguise.
Frankie was at the house and he was at his destination. Everything was accounted for. He had even found his observation post, a nice, quiet rooftop that had a fire escape that could let him jump to the building next door, where his target was set to strike. His initial position would be on the building's large and tall AC unit, a great overlook over the shorter structures around him. He was certain that his quarry wouldn’t recognize Loid Forger when he started his play, but it was good to be safe and assume a different disguise. He tightened his tie and resumed his overwatch. All clear for now… Let's hope they move soon, I want to get back to Anya… His eye caught something. It was a dark, shadowy figure moving across the rooftops in the moonlight. They were moving fast, clearly experienced, he figured they were most likely tonight's intruder. The outfit suggested a woman, a dress and a mask that showed her pale skin and dark raven hair off. A dress that flashy was intriguing, either it meant that his mark was a newbie who didn’t account for stragglers giving descriptions to the police, or she was deadly enough to kill everyone at the scene. He continued his observation as she moved in, slowing as she reached her target's building, not from exhaustion, but from a cautious pause.
Here was where she was most vulnerable, in the moments where she made her final assessments and plans for her kill. He readied his tranq gun with enough in a single dart to knock out a raging gorilla and made his final calculations for his shot. The figure was about 200 meters away, moving at a walking pace, and maybe 20 meters down in elevation from him. Negligible wind and the dart would take about a half second to reach her. He pulled the trigger and the dart shot out with remarkable accuracy. He saw it hit the target and waited for her to fall over.
She didn’t.
She looked angry, her head whipped around to his position. She knew where he was, and she was about to come get him. A golden needle glinted in her hand as she readied to throw, but Twilight had already ducked down. Still, it found home right where his head had been flying far into the night. Twilight quickly reloaded his tranq gun, and poked up over the ledge of the AC to shoot again. She was already gone, jumped to the next roof over, about 180 meters to him, the rooftops ahead of her running parallel to his roof. He fired again, hitting her as she jumped to the next one. She only seemed to get madder. Fine, no tranquilizers. She was headed towards him at a dangerous pace, and he estimated about a minute before she got to him. He readied his pistol, ducking back down to regroup. He could still reasonably incapacitate her without killing her but it would be a lot of patching up.
His phone started ringing. He ignored it. He peaked over the ledge and saw her jump to another rooftop. She only had three to go before she could try crossing a wire to get to him. He took aim and fire at his target, a perfect shot. She managed to duck away from it with almost perfect speed. His quarry was able to move fast enough to dodge bullets! She can only move on the ground. He’d out wait her, force her to jump to the next rooftop and shoot her. She’d have to try before the drugs got to her. His phone kept ringing. She was almost at the edge, about to jump before she threw another needle at him. He had to move quickly to get out of the way, making his shot a lot less accurate. He still scored a hit on her arm as she jumped, blood now pouring down her arm. Nonlethal, but not close to debilitating. Need a better shot next time.
She didn’t seem to care. He was seeing a lot more detail of the figure as she moved across her rooftop, and he harvested all the details he could gather. Her moderate bust, her slim figure, her long legs, all would be crucial to finding her if she escaped him. He consumed each detail with the ravenous hunger of Anya when she got her hands on a bag of peanuts. She was almost at the next rooftop gap, and he steadied himself for the next shot. His phone was still ringing. Another gleam of a needle, and he readied to dodge. This one was less precise than the previous, her arm was clearly failing her. He didn’t need to move and his quarry made a critical mistake leaping into the air when he still had his shot. He pulled the trigger twice, hitting her in the right shoulder and the stomach.
Less than perfect shooting, Twilight. He could have killed her, which was still not the plan. Still, it looked like she felt that one, and she took cover behind an AC box. His phone still rung out for him. Fuck it. He snapped, grabbed his phone and answered it. “Anya, not now, I’m at work!” He yelled.
“PAPA PLEASE DON’T KILL MAMA-” He snapped his phone shut, then he registered what she was saying. I’m going to need to talk to her about her imagination. He redoubled himself to the task at hand. He had kept his eyes on the rooftop the entire time, it was only one jump away from where she could make a mad dash across a wire to stab him with those needles she was carrying. His target exploded out of her cover and jumped, and he took his shot, barely missing her. Dammit . It was about to get a lot messier. She ran straight to the wire, only 10 meters across from him. He pulled out her needle from the wall and cut at it, but she had already gotten halfway across and sprung from it, soaring into the air. He took aim again, and pain informed him that his shoulder had been grazed pretty badly, blood pouring from the wound. This one needs to be lethal. He began to pull the trigger when he saw the face of his would-be killer.
Yor Forger was looking down at him, suspended in the air, red eyes hot with fury. He hesitated on the trigger and that cost him dearly. A needle came screaming towards him. He ducked and lunged towards her, tackling her in the stomach. Together they rolled towards the edge of the building until she pulled herself on top of him. She grabbed his bloodied shoulder with a bone crushing strength. He screamed, and all he could do was leverage himself to put his legs between them kicking off her and messily landing a few feet from her. They were right next to the ledge of the five story tall building, and now he had his plan. He scrambled to his feet, the assassin nearly upon him again, another needle being produced from her coat. He didn’t stand a chance at close range, so he did the only logical thing. He jumped off the ledge of the building.
Loid had a few seconds on his hands as he fell, his mind occupying the time between the push off and the fall in a frantic, yet semi organized way. He didn’t know his wife was an assassin, it dawned on him suddenly. He pushed the thoughts of home life with her away, trying to summon only his drive to survive this mission and relevant information on his target. He needed a weakness for her. She’s terrible at cooking. Not exactly helpful to him. She's bad with alcohol. She's too busy trying to kill you to drink, he thought. She gives so much up for our family. She’s also a very talented assassin, who is currently trying to kill you. As he thought that, his body slammed into the open dumpster he’d stuffed a mattress in. He didn’t give himself a moment to recover, looking back up at the roof as he pushed himself up.
She was looking at him, eyes gleaming red with hate. She’s terrifying when shot. His pistol was still on the rooftop, forgotten. He didn’t have a lot of time before she got down there and killed him. She buys my worst lies . There was his solution: he'd break line of sight, switch his disguise to his normal face, lose everything but the undershirt and she’d be too busy trying to hide her injury from him that he’d be able to get away without suspicion on her end. He cast one look up, and seeing that she’d gone for a moment, he sprinted into the hotel his target was staying at. As soon as he got into the lobby, he sprinted into the one man bathroom and jammed the door, stripping his disguise immediately. He’d made it. He ripped off his disguise and sighed.
Shing. A sharp noise came from behind him. “I must admit, whoever you are, you are very good. But now I will take your-” He’d fully turned around, their eyes meeting. “Loid!” Yor was there, blood still flowing from the arm clenching the needle that was about to kill him. She looked shocked, and scared, and angry and a lot of things he probably felt himself. Her stomach… She's hurt pretty bad. I did that.
“Yor.” He replied. They looked at each other. She settled on anger, then held herself in reserve. It was more painful that she hid herself from him like that. Who are you Yor? That's not fair, I’ve lied to her about everything I am.
“Does Anya know you work for a traitorous thug?” She asked, almost emotionless. No. Does she know how much blood is on your hands?
“Does she know you’re an assassin?” He shot back. Not now Twilight, you should be trying to calm her down!
“No. But everything I do, I do to make her world a better place.” He couldn’t get a read on her, and it was eerie, such a wonderfully simple woman to understand was now out of his reach. She was an anchor he realized, a simple truth in his convoluted life of lies. He had never felt even the remotest sense of guilt for a lie before in his life, let alone one that would have saved the millions of people that Operation Strix could have. Yet, that was the only thing in his mind. Sorry, I’m so sorry Yor.
“I… I’m doing the same.” I’m sorry. He put his hands up in surrender. He looked her in the eye, needing to own up to it. He couldn’t run from the truth anymore.
“Who are you, Loid Forger?” She asked, She looked like she was about to cry. I did that. I made her bleed, I’m making her cry.
“I’m a spy for the west.” Shut up, shut up, you should die with this information “and I’m working on a mission to keep the peace between the east and west.” She didn’t look any angrier or happier at the news, but the tears were leaking out of her stubborn eyes. Please just… I’m sorry.
“Does Anya know? Is she your real child?” Her eyes bore into his. He felt a new wave of tears rush to him, but he pressed them back down. Yes. You are my family.
“No. No. I picked her up from the orphanage, I needed her to get closer to Donovan Desmond.” He couldn’t stop himself, the truth pouring out of him like a dam that had a cannon blast a hole into it. Yor looked at him, angry and then she moved, putting the needle to his throat. He’d never understood how husbands got caught having affairs, but in this moment he understood the frightful power of marriage, the absolute truth that comes with love.
“You used Anya as a tool ? And what was your plan after getting close to the Desmonds? abandoning her? Abandoning our-” Anya. I could never. She choked back a sob. Blood was slowly oozing from the nick her needle made in his neck. He wished he could stop her tears, hold her. That safe, warm connection with her, the kind he wasn’t supposed to have, was gone and he didn’t know how to exist near her. He envisioned the many divorces he had caused with his snooping, the deathlike look on both parties faces as they settled final separations.
“I don’t know… most likely, yes. I would have felt it would be safe to leave her with you, faking my death on the way out.” The awful truth, the words that would certainly condemn him. This answer he couldn’t look her in the face, the shame killing him almost as much as Yor would soon. Please, just make it quick.
“Do you love her, or was that all an act too?” Another question? He doubted the answer mattered, so he gave a final truth to cap off a life of lies. He looked her in the eye, willing her to believe it as her glare burrowed into him. Yes.
“I loved her. I couldn’t stop myself, even though I knew I’d have to leave one day.” I love you too. Yor was now shedding small tears. He might have been too, but honestly he didn’t care. He just wanted it to end already. He brought a hand to Yor's cheek and wiped away a tear. She snapped a hand to his, pressing it to her face. Under his hand, she softened. Then she pushed it away, her gaze steeling.
“Go.” That was all she said before she shoved him to the ground and sprinted out the door. Loid fell roughly, but he quickly scrambled to his feet. I should chase after her, I have a few more weapons stored around here. Loid shook off Twilight, something he never considered possible. I am not going home to Anya with her mama’s blood on my hands. I couldn’t ever.
He couldn’t kill his family, but he didn’t think he was able to keep them together.
Now that the light of the sun had shone through his facade she would surely go. She might not have had the fortitude to kill him, but she could very well leave. Anya would be a mess. She’d bawl her eyes out, crying for her mama. He couldn’t help her, he’d never be able to fill a Yor shaped hole in her heart. Her mom had to stay, for their families sake.
He’d have to make a very angry wife stay with him and fix their family.
For most men, an impossible task. But Twilight, the world's greatest spy, did the impossible daily. So, patched his wounds, straightened his suit, and rushed out of the bathroom towards his escape car. He slammed on the gas and began his mechanical driving, thinking to himself while his instincts took him home. I’ll have to intercept Yor on her way to her room, stop her from leaving with her stuff. The road was relatively empty, and he sped past any of the straggling cars on the road. She’ll probably be occupied for another minute at max. He turned sharply, getting on to the road home. That makes the fire escape my only way of getting in and out of the home without alerting Anya and Frankie. I can’t coerce her into staying, he thought as he swerved into the dark alley. Can’t blackmail a person who lives with you, the details would get too messy.
There was always his second option. Twilight was aware of his attractiveness towards women, and perhaps if he could sell it right, he could persuade her. He was a skilled lover, and he had done this to many women. None like her , an unhelpful Loid pointed out. No one he lov- Twilight didn’t feel anything, Twilight reminded himself. But I do. I love her. Loid only exists as a disguise, he reminded himself again. Twilight felt very tired, straining against some repressed personality was wrecking his planning. The spy refocused.
She didn’t seem the lecherous type, but she also didn’t seem to be an assassin, so it was possible she could be more carnal than anticipated. He shook his head, leaping to the fire escape. Lying to her or trying to manipulate her would be silly, considering she knew he was a spy. We know she isn’t like that . She’d never fall for something so… beneath her. She’s the kind of woman who’s reserved enough with men to live a confusing fake marriage. She’s at the least very selective, bordering on asexual. Perhaps if she hadn’t found out his real job, it could have been an avenue to pursue, but no doubt she would never trust him like that again. I’ll earn it back. I love her . He ignored that thought.
That left a singular option that coursed through his mind as he rushed up the escape, quiet as a mouse. He’d have to ask her to stay with this family, to ignore this night and just bear with it. He was aware of her affection for Anya and he hoped that Yor would go with it. The chances for it were slim, but he knew his (fake) wife. Perhaps not as well as he thought, but he knew her. She would want Anya to be happy, she’d want to be in her life. She could grit and bear him being a spy, just like he would her being an assassin. And for Anya, they could live through a painful closeness, spending every day grating against each other, hiding their straining relationship from their daughter. It reminded him of some unpleasant memories of his childhood, but he pushed it all away. He had reached his aim, the window of her place at last in front of him.
He reached her window, clambering into it. She left it unlocked, which made sense considering her occupation. He caught his breath, and prepared what he had to say in his head. Not that he got far in his speech when his wife jumped through the window and cast a cold gaze at him. They didn’t say a word, the freezing around them. “I’m sorry.” He let slip. Anger poured from her, and it looked like she was trying not to shout. I’m sorry. Please.
“You’re sorry?” She spat. He flinched. He had to apologize, it wasn’t fair to her to shrink now. He needed to make his amends in some way.
“I am. I used you and Anya for a mission. I am sorry that it came down to that.” She almost snapped, and her hands were getting closer to his throat. I’ve never seen her this mad. I deserve it.
“Are you sorry for lying to us? Are you sorry for dragging a wonderful, sweet child into your hideous life? How can you be sorry enough?” She whispered, but to Loid it was like a yell. Then, almost bitten, she fell back. Her makeup had fallen apart under the tears and it was evident that more tears were coming. “What are we going to do?” She sobbed, and Loid couldn’t help himself. He joined her there, taking her hand in his. She looked at him, opening her mouth to say something then shutting it. I’m sorry. Please, let me hold you. Let me love you.
“I want you to stay. Please. I know that our jobs… our worlds are different. But I, I want to be with you and Anya. I want our family.” And he was sobbing too, the tears coming hard and fast. And all of a sudden, Yor’s arms were around him. Then his arms were around her, and they were on the floor in a great big sobbing mess. He held her closer and closer, constricting her, just as her powerful arms were doing to him.
“I want to Loid. I want to stay with our family too. I love her, I love you. I can’t leave.” That broke his heart. All he could give was a firmer squeeze.
“I love you too. We’ll figure it out.” And it was true, somehow. Twilight's firm constraint of his emotions had ended long ago, ever since his girls had wandered into his life. She pulled back to look at him through tears.
“Is that true?” She asked. It didn’t sting, of course she’d have doubts. He looked her in the eye.
“It’s true.” And somehow, she believed him, pulling him back into a hug. No more words were shared, and yet it was enough. Soft whispers and loving gestures were all the two needed, twisted up in each other as they were.
A loud crash sounded from the living room. Really Frankie? What's going on out there? He sighed and readjusted himself, getting ready to get back to his job of being a dad. Anya began to cry, that pathetic wailing she did when she wanted attention but wasn’t too badly hurt. He found it hard to separate himself from his wife, but he did so with a small forehead kiss. He headed quickly to the living room, and found Franky absent. Odd. Then he found Anya smiling up at him, in a big heap with Bond who had apparently begun to soothe her with licks. She was wearing that stupid smug grin of hers on her face along with some scotch tape she had gotten into her hair. “Hey daddy, look up!”
Above him hung a terribly scotch taped mistletoe, shredded so much by poor handling it barely looked like it had ever been a plant and not a wrinkled mess. I really have to teach her how to use tape. He hadn’t heard her approach but suddenly he felt Yor standing by his side, hand wrapped with his. She looked up as well, then looked at him. She smiled softly, and then leaned up on her toes, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. While she was there, she whispered softly. “We’ll talk about it all soon, Loid. Let's just enjoy our little Anya for a bit.”
Anya was almost cackling, her smug grin getting smugger and smugger before Loid decided to scoop her up in a big hug. Then Yor joined her too, and they all hugged in a sort of Loid-Anya-Yor sandwich.
After the hug, Loid made food, Yor played bondman with Anya, and all was well for the night. When Anya was tucked away, and everything was set for the night, Yor and Loid sat down on the couch and began to have a long talk, which ended in a hug and kiss goodnight. And all was well in the Forger household. Frankie was not paid for that night, due to his apparent willingness to assist Anya's pranks.