Vows and Bullets
Chapter 100: Masquerade (Part 3)

Chapter 100: Masquerade (Part 3)

In order to execute our plan successfully, Agent Helios and I had to time our action during the after-party, or else it would have been easy for anyone to tell that it was us who delivered the secret letter to Mr. Young. Aside from that was the fact that he was watching the program the entire time. The after-party was the only time people would start relaxing, drop their defenses and start socializing more.

And so, we carefully slipped back out of the scene, went into the restroom to change our outfits, and swapped with the body doubles we prepared beforehand. Of course, we had to have body doubles who would pretend to be us while we were out, or else we wouldn’t have an alibi and might get suspected in case anyone was watching our moves.

Our body doubles were none other than agents from Mythos, who had the same body build as us. They didn’t look like us facial-wise, but the makeup did the trick. Plus, they had masks on. It was really well made to the point that when I met my body double in the empty comfort room, I thought I was looking at a mirror.

After changing our outfits and swapping places with the body double, we went out through the window and pretended to be one of the staff. We still wore masks, but instead of dresses and suits, we wore the maid’s outfit for me and the butler’s uniform for Agent Helios. This way, it would be easier to blend in without getting detected.

Prior to coming, Mythos shared the schedule of the house staff, how they would work, the personality of the head maid and the butler we were pretending to be, the layout of the house, and everything else we needed to know to plan out our little "delivery" mission. Thanks to that, we knew exactly how to move and where to go. And according to the schedule, it was time for Mr. Young’s medicine and tea which the butler and the head maid would always deliver to him.

Agent Helios and I went straight to the kitchen to get the tea, then to the house’s clinic to get his medicine. The original head maid and butler had already been subdued for a moment by Agent Helios’ people in order to make way for us—which was nice since it made it easier for us. No more need to do the menial tasks.

Agent Helios’ people had to psychologically hypnotize the original head maid and butler, making them think it wasn’t time yet for Mr. Young’s medicine. Then after we did our job, they would hypnotize them again into believing they had already sent the medicine to him.

Now that I think about it, the fact that his people or "dogs" knew how to do that was a little concerning. No wonder Agent Helios was so good at manipulating people. I sure hope I hadn’t fallen into that kind of hypnosis. Ugh. It’s giving me the shivers.

We were taught a little about it in Mythos, but it wasn’t practiced that much since it was tricky and had a high risk of failure, especially if the one doing it was not an expert on it. To think Agent Helios’ people managed to perfect that to the point that he himself was confident enough to rely on such a thing... how scary.

Anyway, we soon arrived at Mr. Young’s break room, where he always had his tea alone. I had the "pretense letter" in my pocket and stealthily put it on the far side of the tray I was carrying as I entered the room. Agent Helios held the door open for me, and we both came inside. Mr. Young was seated in a lax manner on the couch while talking to someone on the phone when we came in. He kept talking, not suspecting a thing about us.

"Yes, definitely, Mr. Park," he said, nodding his head and gesturing us to lay his tea on the table. "I look forward to meeting you tomorrow."

I let the tray down and carefully prepared the tea for him. I poured warm water on the pretty glass pot containing the tea leaves inside. While I waited for it to sit, I placed the teacup in front of him. My movements were deliberately slow, waiting for the moment he noticed the letter.

We could have easily told him about it but we got strict instructions from Chief Zeus to watch his reaction when he sees it. Depending on his reaction, we would reveal the "secret message" to him. If it were a happy expression or anything positive, it would be the first message he told us, and if was the opposite, or a scared reaction, it would be the second one.

Mr. Young took his time talking on the phone. It had already been three minutes and the tea was ready for him but he still kept talking and laughing. The other person in the line must have been a close friend of his.

To get his attention, Agent Helios cleared his throat.

"Ehem. Master Young," he said, copying the voice of the head butler. "Your tea and medicine are ready. Please do not delay in taking them."

Mr. Young’s eyes widened. After all, his butler didn’t have that kind of personality in the first place. He then looked around, perhaps worried if we were assassins or anything. As he did, his eyes fell on the tray with the letter in a black envelope. The wax seal bore the emblem of Mythos, so that should give him enough hint of who we were.

Probably realizing that, he sighed in relief.

"I’m afraid I have to take my meds now, my dear friend. Till next time," he said and finally hung up.

He then looked at us, carefully observing us from head to toe.

"You truly work in mysterious ways—always perfect and impeccable," Mr. Young complimented us. "I wouldn’t have noticed if you didn’t speak to me—which I believe you deliberately did to get my attention, am I correct?"

Before Agent Helios answered, he tapped on his smartwatch, probably to check if there weren’t any bugs in the room. I had already done it when we entered, and luckily there wasn’t any. One of Mr. Young’s traits was that he values privacy very much, so it would make sense if he always made sure his home was bug-free.

"Indeed, Mr. Young," Agent Helios replied, still copying the voice of the original butler.

After all, we couldn’t have him recognize it was us, Mr. And Mrs. Jeon.

"I see. Indeed, I was talking a little too much—apologies for that. I should have known. I was expecting a contact soon but didn’t think you’d choose a birthday party. Then again, it also makes sense since you would have more alibi and a disguise, too."

Oh, wow. He’s pretty sharp. I didn’t expect that.

Smiling, Mr. Young reached out his hand towards the letter and opened it. Sipping his tea, he read through it and found it odd. Of course, he would—it wouldn’t have contained anything worth-reading inside, just the usual pleasantries.

"Ah, I see," he mumbled, probably figuring out that it was nothing but decoration. "What a nice letter. I wonder if the sender said anything else when he asked the deliverer to send it?"

He truly was sharp. No wonder Chief Zeus was dealing with him directly. He was never one to deal with stupid people in the first place.

And now, the moment of the "secret message" was finally here. Since Mr. Young gave quite a positive reaction by sipping his tea in front of us—meaning he trusted us—and smiling when he opened the letter, he should receive the first message which was the real one. Should he have acted differently, then it would be another false message.

"Indeed, Mr. Young. The sender did mention something."

Speaking each word carefully, Agent Helios said...

"The gem has proven its authenticity and extreme rarity. As for the price, it might be a little too much than what was initially anticipated."

As to what those words really meant, Agent Helios nor I didn’t know. Or perhaps he had an idea, but he hadn’t shared it with me. But as for me, I had no idea. That gem could have been anything—an intel he had wanted to get, an actual physical thing, a person he was looking for, and so many others.

Mr. Young pondered deeply for a moment before responding again.

"With greater value comes a greater price to pay."

With a heavy sigh, he shook his head.

"No matter. What had been promised must be done," he continued. "Please tell that to the sender. I shall do my end of the deal."

Agent Helios and I nodded in agreement.

"We shall deliver them in the exact manner you told us."

And with that, our sub-mission was at last completed. We burned the letter before leaving and notified our body doubles to meet back in the comfort room. It was time to switch back and return to the party as if nothing had happened.

We successfully executed it and returned to our seats. Now, we just had to stay for a few more minutes before going home.

While we were enjoying the last few minutes we had left at the party, relaxing in our seats, a woman suddenly approached us.

"Mr. Jeon?" she asked, batting her eyelashes and ignoring me. "I’ve been looking for you since earlier! You promised a dance, remember?"