Entry 12: Upcoming mission

The following weeks flew in a instant. Most of the agents took the after-holiday missions, and some who had free time filled in the tasks that the logistics staff left behind (they were on holiday leave) for the rest of the remaining weeks.

As for me, juggling my time between my training on how to control my 'power' and doing the pending missions left for me by that sadist of an S-rank has been tough as I can't have a decent time to take a break. There was one time I almost hit the bench when I was practicing fireball, and Kouga almost scolded me. Luckily, the damage was minimal, and the cost of its repair was deducted from my salary.

Other than that, everything's fine. At least I spent the holidays with my family, but I never told them about said 'powers'. I decided to keep them a secret from them for now.

*

After the New Year holiday, the Chief summoned Ivan's team on a chilly Monday morning. We were all gathered in his office as the chief grabbed one of the files on his desk.

"As we all knew," he started to speak. No one speaks in our group. "The Ms. Cosmos beauty pageant will be held three weeks from now. We know that candidates from all over the world are arriving here in Lincoln; some arrived here last week. The reason why I summoned you here is that we received a report that several candidates have been mysteriously missing, and most of them ended up dead."

"Dead?" Ivan asked him. "Did the authorities investigate this matter?"

The chief nodded in response. "Since the Ms. Cosmos organization announced that the coronation night would be taking place here in Lincoln, several of the candidates who arrived in Lincoln suddenly disappeared a few days after their arrival but ended up dead days later. The authorities perceived these killings as the work of either an extremist group or a lone serial killer. But we suspected that this was the work of vampires."

Just as I expected. I have read about these mysterious killings involving the candidates. If these killings continue, there is a possibility that the pageant will be postponed, and the organizer will deal with angry ambassadors from each embassy of their home country.

"Also, we suspected that one of the candidates was a vampire in disguise and plan to attack on the day of the coronation."

"The day of the coronation?" I asked.

"The number of people attending the pageant makes it an easy target for the vampires," Ivan explained in his usual cold tone. "But the fact that one of the candidates is a vampire in disguise. This is bad."

"This is bad indeed." The chief agreed with him. Then, he proceeds to hand the file to Ivan. Ivan opened the file and read the contents. "Luckily, we have one of our agents pose as one of the candidates to keep an eye on potential attacks."

I went closer and peeked at the file behind Ivan's back. I was surprised at what I saw on the file. It was a blond-haired woman with blue eyes and ivory skin. "Wait a minute, is that?"

Ivan turned his head and gave me a stern look. I back out a little.

"She's Angelina Turpentine," the chief explained. "One of our best S-rank agents in SECTA. Currently, she is one of the candidates currently participating in the pageant. Your objective is to keep in touch with her and keep an eye on any suspicious activity during the pageant. I already informed her in advance that you are assisting her in this mission." Then he looked at us. "Are there any questions?"

No one answered. "Well, you may go."

*

"Let us recall our upcoming mission," Ivan explained as all of us were gathered in the meeting room after we met with the Chief, sitting while reading the file containing our upcoming mission. Pinned on the whiteboard in front of us are the newspaper clips regarding the killings, photos of the missing candidates, and a map with six red circles in random directions indicating the place where the bodies were found. "Six candidates went missing since their arrival but ended up dead days later. Here," He pointed at each of the six circles. "Are these the locations where the bodies of the candidates were found. The authorities considered this attack the work of a serial killer, but some of our men working in the morgue concluded that this was the work of vampires. Lucky for us, an agent of ours is participating in the pageant, but I want your corporation to participate in this mission, so..."

While Ivan was assigning each of his team members their assignment, I looked at the file again. I felt that these mysterious killings of the candidates coincided with the gala attack months ago. If the group that attacked the gala is planning another attack on the pageant...

"Anna!" Ivan shouted in my face, which caused me to almost tumble on my chair.

"Sheesh, you didn't listen," he angrily said while running his bangs with his fingers. "You are teaming up with me."

I tried to regain my composure before what he said hit me. "What?" 

"You. Are. Teaming. Up. With. Me." He leaned his face towards me and repeated what he said word by word. "We are teaming up with Angelina as her bodyguards." Then he smirks. "At least I will keep an eye on you, and I'll be looking forward to seeing your powers." 

This guy! He set me up with him on purpose!

*

"What a coincidence!" Lena cheerfully said as I told her and Patrick about my upcoming mission. We are in the cafeteria, eating our lunch.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, confused.

"That's the event that Lord Lilitus wanted to attend next," Patrick said while setting his fork down. "He said that he wanted to support his home country for the pageant."

Well, there goes Lord Albert. He likes to go to major events like this. "Will that old man accompany him?"

"You mean General Igarashi?" Lena said while chowing down her sandwich. "He will accompany him for the duration of the event." Then she pouted at me and said, "Lucky you. You will be interacting with the candidates like a concertgoer who buys a VIP ticket to meet her favorite idol in person."

"We are teaming up with one of the agents who is participating in the pageant, so it's not a VIP to me. Plus, I'm teaming up with that sadist for the mission, so it will be difficult for me to interact with the other candidates."

Lena leaned on her chair in disappointment. "Aww, and just I thought that I wanted to make a request for you to get an autograph from Ms. Urduja."

Pia Catriona Marquez, aka Ms. Urduja, was one of the candidates that the beauty pageant experts said had a higher chance to win the crown. I watched the news related to the pageant recently, and they were not kidding; she was a stunningly tanned (but an adequate shade of brown, mind you) beauty with long, curly black hair, mesmerizing brown eyes, and 5'7 foot tall. She was known as a kind person who actively participated in charity events not only in her local country but also globally.

No wonder Lena wanted her autograph. "I'll do what I can," I assured her.

Lean stood up and looked at me with her eyes shining with happiness. "Really?! Thank you, Anna!"

But before she leaps at me further, Patrick grabs her at the back of her collar and pulls her back to her seat. "Lena, restrain yourself."

Lena glared at him in response. I only giggled.

*

The makeup room is in disarray, as the candidates are quickly finishing their final touches. It was a pre-photoshoot of their swimsuit attire, and the candidates had ten minutes to finish their makeup. The staff is running in circles to accommodate the candidates' needs, including fetching their makeup kits, grabbing their bathrobes on the cloth rack, and choosing the candidates' swimwear of choice.

A stunningly tanned woman with black hair and brown eyes is rummaging through her bag, which is underneath the chair beside her.

"Gosh, where's my moisturizer?" She mumbled to herself while she lifted her bag to find what she needed easier. She stopped looking when she heard two candidates behind her laughing quietly, as if their pranks had gone successfully.

She put her bag down and sighed. She was worried that she couldn't get her makeup done, as she heard one of the staff members told to all the candidates that the photo shoot was about to start. 

One of the candidates approached her and handed her a bottle of moisturizer. "You can use mine if you want," she said.

The candidate, who was in distraught, looked at the other candidate and sighed with relief. "Thanks, Angelina." She said while taking the moisturizer and proceeded to finish her makeup. "You're a lifesaver."

The other candidate, Angelina, smiled at her in response. "It's my pleasure, Pia." Then she glared at the two candidates who were laughing behind Pia's back. The candidates were afraid of her and hurriedly left the room. "Sheesh, those girls," she said as she turned back to Pia. "They don't learn a thing, won't they?"

"Leave them be, Angelina," Pia said as she made a final touch on her face. "I don't want another issue and drama, like what happened to Ms. Phosop recently."

"Ms. Phosop," Angelina murmured. "She was found dead under the bridge four hours ago. Too bad she was a very sweet person."

"Yeah," Pia said in a pained tone, but they cut their mourning short as they heard the staff's voice, telling to all the remaining candidates to go outside. Pia stood up and took her bathrobe that was hanging behind her chair. "We need to go now; our photographer is waiting for us."

"Right behind you," Angelina said as she watched her fellow candidate leave the room. Realizing that she was alone, she secretly answered her phone beneath her bathrobe.

"S-rank agent Angelina Turpentine, reporting in." A pause. "This is what we feared: one of the beauty queen candidates was found dead recently. And if this continues," she paused for a bit and looked behind her to see where the other candidates left the room.

"Ms. Urduja will be the next target."