The Secret Affair

Cathy has been busy for the past couple of days and only visited home a few times that too for paying me a visit. Though it was heart breaking, I was very much enjoying the alone time and would lie on the floor for hours listening to my favorite music. Cathy told me that U.C.I.D is under a little pressure and pursuing the plan further would be counterproductive. Cathy, being a high ranking officer in U.C.I.D has to move from one office to another to keep things smooth and was currently in Berlin attending some meeting of the U.C.I.D and might stay there for a week, which gave me an another week of solitude. But, it was not like I had nothing to do. I had to keep an eye on all the various targets of U.C.I.D which included Alisha too.

I have managed to collect a decent amount of information on both Shayana and Alisha, but Francis and Igor are as mysterious as they always have been. Richard has nothing much to inspect as he is an orphan and hasn't also committed any grave crimes as far his criminal record tells. The most shocking thing was that despite being acknowledged and tagged in various serious crimes, both Francis and Igor have no criminal history, while Shayana and Alisha have one each. Shayana is listed as a potential threat, while Alisha has been convicted on charges of fraud and tax evasion.

The sound of the doorbell alerted me and I quickly took my gun and went near the door. I slowly opened the door and saw a man wearing octagonal glasses standing in front of me. I politely asked, "Yes?" The guy removed his glasses and I recognized him. He was the same popcorn seller who gave me the photographs in the park. I welcomed him inside and said, "The room is a little untidy. Hope you don't mind." He smiled, "Definitely not. When I was of your age, my room used to be more untidy than yours." I asked, "My age?" He laughed, "I do look young, but I am in my forties. Anyway, since Cathy isn't around, I will be your supervisor for the while." I smiled, "Supervisor? I don't need a supervisor." He smiled, "Don't worry. Supervising doesn't mean I will command you and give you tasks to complete. I will just help you in not doing anything wrong." I said in a casual tone, "But I barely know you." The man was shocked, "Cathy never told you anything about me. Well, she might have forgotten. Anyway, I am her elder brother as well as her mentor. She seldomly talks about her family, but still most of the people in U.C.I.D knows about our relation. Wait a minute, you used to work under Lorenzo and Ankita before Cathy, right? That means no one mentioned anything about me to you, not even my name. Fuck." I asked nervously, "What is your name, by the way?" He gave me an angry look and said, "Next time when you meet Cathy, ask her about me." He sat on the sofa and started looking at my prepared documents. I asked politely, "Would you like something?" He waved his head in denial. After reading the documents for a while, he said, "Impressive. Quite impressive. You do have a good performance record and that's why the seniors have appointed me as your supervisor."

I went inside and made two glasses of lemonade for us. The man quickly drank all the lemonade and said, "Cathy told me that you know this suspect, Alisha." I nodded in approval. He smiled, "Good. We are already one step ahead. So, tell me something about Alisha from your perspective." I said, "We studied in the same college for five years. Then, she moved to London as she got a job in one of the multinational company. That's all." The man said annoyingly, "Not that part, stupid. The personality part, the family part and the interaction with you part." I replied, "As I have already told you. I really didn't interacted with her as much to know anything about her family. I can give you the name of the college where you inspect about her family. As for her personality part, she always seemed to be the normal kind with an ambition to go abroad." The man looked at me and asked in a grim voice, "You have nothing else to tell me about her?" I replied, "Yes." He rose from his seat and sighed, "So we have to do it the hard way, then." I nodded in approval. He put on his glasses and asked, "Was she in some romantic relationship with anyone?" I shrugged. He took out a card and handed it to me and said, "If you get any information or remember anything regarding Alisha Thakral, please contact me with this number." He quickly went outside and started his Harley Davidson and went on his way.

I looked at the card and saw two numbers, symbol of U.C.I.D, a small smart card and five stars embedded on the back of the card. The absence of his name didn't surprised me as many members of U.C.I.D uses fake names or code names often. As I was still an apprentice and not a certified member of U.C.I.D, I don't have nor need a fake name. I kept the card in my pocket and went back to my work. After hours of arranging and pointing out the important things about the suspects, I went to bath. After coming from the bath, I quickly prepared a light meal of roasted chicken and capsicum and ate it. As I had the whole day to myself, I decided to spend the time reading more about U.C.I.D. The thing is that U.C.I.D is not like any other organization and also works in an unique way. Cathy once told me that U.C.I.D was first established as an hitman agency where big criminals used to hire hitmen to kill their rivals or buy young boys to increase their gang strength, but with time due to various loopholes and the constantly changing nature of the Underworld, U.C.I.D had to come to an end and most of the previous hitmen either went into hiding or joined hands with the local police. One of the prominent figures was the legendary Sir John de Languire. He convinced majority of his partners to turn against the criminals and breaking their oath of loyalty to them. Gradually the organization turned into the U.C.I.D we know today. It has all the necessary privileges that other organizations have but the only problem was that no Government wants to directly associate with them and thus U.C.I.D is an independent organization who has the ability to perform missions without requiring permission from anyone.

I looked at the card and saw two numbers, symbol of U.C.I.D, a small smart card and five stars embedded on the back of the card. The absence of his name didn't surprised me as many members of U.C.I.D uses fake names or code names often. As I was still an apprentice and not a certified member of U.C.I.D, I don't have nor need a fake name. I kept the card in my pocket and went back to my work. After hours of arranging and pointing out the important things about the suspects, I went to bath. After coming from the bath, I quickly prepared a light meal of roasted chicken and capsicum and ate it. As I had the whole day to myself, I decided to spend the time reading more about U.C.I.D. The thing is that U.C.I.D is not like any other organization and also works in an unique way. Cathy once told me that UCID was first established as an hitman agency where big criminals used to hire hitmen to kill their rivals or buy young boys to increase their gang strength, but with time due to various loopholes and the constantly changing nature of the Underworld, UCID had to come to an end and most of the previous hitmen either went into hiding or joined hands with the local police. One of the prominent figures was the legendary Sir John de Languire. He convinced majority of his partners to turn against the criminals and breaking their oath of loyalty to them. Gradually the organization turned into the U.C.I.D we know today. It has all the necessary privileges that other organizations have but the only problem was that no Government wants to directly associate with them and thus U.C.I.D is an independent organization who has the ability to perform missions without requiring permission from anyone. It was not the worst organization to work for as the salary is high and also there is less risk than other organizations.

I was thinking about all these when a knock alerted me. I went to the door and opened it. A box was lying on my front door with a letter tied with the ribbon. I picked up the letter and read it. 'This is a special gift for you from U.C.I.D. We hope you like it. I took the box inside and carefully examined it and after ensuring that it was safe I opened it. There was a black tuxedo, a pair of black goggles, a pair of gloves, a pair of earpiece, a stiff belt with sharp edge, a pen and two Glock 43 with 12 magazines. A rolled letter was there which was tied with a pink ribbon. I opened it and my pupils expanded with happiness. The letter was my registration certificate and I am now not an field agent but an undercover agent like Cathy's brother. I was jumping with joy and decided to inform Cathy about the good news. But as I was about to call her, an unknown number called me, which even 'Truecaller' couldn't recognize. I picked it up and a heavy voice asked grimly, "Am I talking to Agent H?" I was puzzled, but my eyes fell on the letter which was written for Agent H and not Harsh Bhardwaj. I replied, "Yes." The voice said, "Confirm it." I looked at the letter again and saw a small code written on the end of the letter in the smallest of size. I asked, "Can you give me a minute?" The voice remained silent. I quickly took out my magnifying glass and looked at it. It was written in bold letters 'INDIA.' I quickly answered the question and the voice replied, "Confirmation completed. Answer the following questions carefully." I waited for the questions. The voice asked, "What is your base name?" I answered, "Mumbai, India." The voice asked, "Who is your commanding officer?" I replied, "Sir Lorenzo." The voice asked, "Last question. Who will be your preferred target?" I carefully thought for a moment and answered, "Francis Dortmund." The voice beeped for a moment and then said, "Verification completed. Congratulations. You are now an undercover agent. Wait for the call from your supervisor." The other end disconnected the call.

I looked at the tuxedo which was glittering in the sunlight. I wanted to wear the tuxedo, but seeing its importance and hard work needed to earn this tuxedo stopped me from wearing it, especially when I haven't a bath yet. I took one Glock 43 in my right hand and tested it mechanisms. It was quite smooth and also a perfect stealth weapon for any good undercover agent. But, giving another gun was a clear indication that a perfect agent has to be ambidextrous. It was not like I don't know to handle gun in my left hand, but the aim was still imperfect. I took the goggles and wore it. It was quite normal, except it was bulletproof and has body heat mode to stay one ahead of the enemies. The gloves have two main uses apart from covering the hand. The palm side has two suction tubes which acts as a vaccum to help one of climbs walls and also had sweat absorbent to keep the palm dry. The back of the palm was covered with elastic rigid plastic spines to keep the hand safe in fistfights and also strong iron plates at the knuckles to strengthen the punches. The belt was to used like a sword in hard times and the pen was a poison dart in disguise. The ink in it was actually the poison of poison dart frog. In short, I got almost everything an undercover agent needs and all I need is a mission to know my strengths and weaknesses. A big smile appeared on my face when I saw my phone ringing. I picked up the phone and asked, "Yes?" The other end replied lazily, "Congrats, dude. You got your mission. Meet me at the docks tomorrow morning. We need to discuss about the mission further." I replied politely, "Sure, sir." The other end said, "Since it is your first mission and I am not as strict as other supervisors. I will give you the chance to name the mission. Any ideas?" I thinked for a moment and said, "The Secret Affair." The other end replied, "Well, then. Mission 'Secret Affair' awaits your arrival." I replied, "Thank you very much, supervisor. I hope to stand up to your expectations." The other end replied, "We will see." He disconnected the call. I looked at the tuxedo and imagined myself wearing it and entering the U.C.I.D as an undercover agent. With these sweet thoughts, I went to bath as the sunlight kept shining my attire...