"I already told you I will buy you fried chicken this evening, Alea Rianna Wilson." Luna Gritte Wilson tried to reason with her eight-year-old little sister.
Her younger sister wore a white school uniform with a knee-length red skirt patterned with black checks. The girl only stood as tall as Luna's waist, and Luna wished her sister would never grow taller, because the bigger she got, the harder it would be for Luna to carry her.
"You always break your promises. Can't your office let you eat for just a moment?" The little girl protested. She never accepted the fact that Luna was now working.
"You know I just started working there a few months ago, right?" Luna asked warmly, not wanting to upset Alea, especially since they were already in front of her school. It would be a hassle if Alea refused to go in just because she was annoyed. "I have to work hard so I can buy you fried chicken every day."
"Then I'll come to your office. I'll tell them you work late every night, and that violates labor laws. Should I report your company to the ministry that handles workers' rights?" Luna let out a small laugh at the girl's chatter.
Seeing Alea reminded her of herself as a child. Was this how it felt to be Papa, watching Luna babble when he was too busy working?
"Go on inside, or you'll be late for class. Don't you have to study a bit before your test today?" Luna squatted down so her face was level with Alea's. "If you get a perfect score, I'll buy even more fried chicken."
****
"Lunch is here!" Luna arrived with two bags containing six medium-sized burgers.
In a bustling traditional market filled with people coming and going, there was an office occupying the second floor of a nearly abandoned shop.
When monitoring a highly confidential target, intelligence agents often used buildings that wouldn't raise much suspicion. One of them was the two-story building in the market, which served as a gathering point for their operations to uncover specific crimes.
Luna's target was a drug dealer who had been residing in her country for several months. This was Luna's first target since she joined the intelligence agency a few months ago. She had worked hard to become part of the operations team.
Perhaps the reason Alea was so upset with her was because she was such a workaholic. It made sense—this was the job Luna had wanted more than anything. She had been preparing for it for a long time.
During school, she studied many languages until she mastered four. She also trained in martial arts, with her father teaching her the basics before she committed seriously to a training center.
"It's a deal, Luna. Time to work," said Ray, one of Luna's colleagues, who was sitting in the corner of the room with a computer showing multiple cameras from different angles. "Lion is in position."
Without wasting any time, Luna stepped toward her workstation next to the man. She put on her headphones, monitoring several CCTV points installed to watch the target.
"Fox, in position," she said while focusing on her computer screen. Some of her other teammates were busy outside the room. Two were in charge of apprehending the dealer, two others were monitoring the field and ready to assist if needed, while the remaining two acted as eagle eyes, observing the target from a distance.
"Eagle eyes active," said Luna, indicating that both of them were now at their screens and fully focused on their task. They had all delayed lunch on purpose because today was important. It was Luna's first time as part of the team, and she wanted to give her best to win this case.
"Bird leaving the nest," Ray reported to their superior out in the field with one other team member.
Through the screen, Luna saw the target entering a car. The target had rented a shop by the roadside and deceived the police by selling cooking equipment. In reality, he was part of an international drug trafficking network and had been living in her country for quite some time.
"Target is moving," Luna reported. She switched her screen to another CCTV in the city center. The camera showed the car carrying the target heading toward a planned location. "Heading to the bank—confirmed, going to the designated café."
"Fifty meters to point zero," Ray reported that the dealer was getting close to the ambush location.
"Clean sweep today," ordered their superior, whose car was now visible to Luna. Along with one other agent, the superior was monitoring from a car parked not far from the café where two of Luna's teammates were making the deal.
"Shadow's in, target's near," came the report from one of the men inside the café. The two of them were posing as drug buyers for the operation.
Luna watched the target, who remained in the car even after two minutes. She began to wonder what he was doing—what exactly was he preparing?
"Target is idle or static. Stay alert," Luna reported once the target started to seem suspicious. Right after that report, the target's car suddenly sped off, away from the café.
"Window shattered!" her superior's voice came through, a sign that the target realized he was being watched—or more accurately, he knew he was going to be arrested today. And before things got worse, the target fled in his car as fast as he could.
"Target on the move," Ray reported again, the once-quiet office now brimming with activity. Everyone was working hard, including Luna, who was busy scanning the city's CCTV codes to pinpoint the likely location of the drug dealer.
"Eagle eyes back on," Luna said as she managed to find the target's location again. "Target is moving away from his shop. Destination unknown."
"Lunchtime—watch out," said the agent who was supposed to make the arrest this afternoon. The failure now meant everyone in the field was chasing after the drug dealer. "I'll intercept the dealer at the intersection ahead."
Luna sent the latest location, linked to the car the dealer was driving. A few days prior, one of their agents had successfully planted a tracking device on the car without the dealer's knowledge.
"Changing route, turning toward a crowded area," Luna said, rapidly switching through various camera angles from the city's CCTV network she had compiled. Her eyes flicked to the wall clock.
Luna's eyes caught sight of several children starting to leave school—it was dismissal time. Ray sounded frustrated as he saw Luna highlight the number of kids pouring onto the roadside, maybe about twenty children accompanied by a female teacher.
"Too many kids, Boss," Ray said.
"Go after him!" came the order, further escalating the tension for everyone, including Luna, who grew increasingly anxious seeing the drug dealer driving at high speed.
Luna spotted a girl holding a piece of paper in front of her chest. Her shoulder-length brown hair made her look fresh, and her smile was radiant.
Seeing Alea made her lose focus. Luna tried to return to her work until her attention was completely shattered. On the monitor screen, Luna saw a massive tragedy unfold. Her body instantly weakened.
The corners of her eyes grew wet—her promise to buy Alea her favorite fried chicken would never be fulfilled.
Before her eyes, Luna saw Alea lying motionless, along with several other children, after a brutal impact from a car that had now crashed into the school fence—the same school Luna had visited that very morning.