JADE: I waited for her in my car. The bushes nearby rustled. My hand went to my gun holster, instinctively. "Hi." I let out a breath. It was her. "Hey." I got out of the car. She was wearing a white t-shirt, black skinny jeans and a black hoodie jacket. Her black Converses were perfect for what we were going to do. "Stop gawking at me. Let's go." "I'm not gawking." "Well, the car isn't gonna drive itself." "Yeah, yeah." I opened the door to the passenger seat. She settled down in the seat. "You're quite the gentleman." I curtsied. She giggled and told me to get in the car.

"Agent Roberts?" "You don't have to call me Agent Roberts every time. Jade is fine." "Jay?" "Jade." "What's the problem?" "I don't like it." "Call me Z, then." "Hmm. What were you asking?" "Where were you born?" "Why do you want to know that?" "I'm trying to make small talk." "Here, Manhattan." "Me too." "Do you live with your parents?" Aw, sweetie no. Don't go there. "No." "Where are they, then?" I gritted my teeth. "Mom's in Cali. Dad's here in NY." "They-they're..." "Divorced." I finished for her. "Aw, that's sad. I'm sorry." "It's fine. I was 7. I learnt to live my own life. Dad wasn't really cooperative." "Oh." was all she said, with her mouth making a perfect o. "What about your parents? They seem like real lovebirds." Her face curved into a grin. "My Mom and Dad met in high school. They didn't even know each other's names. Dad called her 13. So did Mom. After some sorta Winter Masquerade, they kissed at the beach. But then Dad had to move to Philadelphia. After graduation, Mom went to Philadelphia after him. Mom started a therapy practice there and Dad became Mom's patient. They both were attracted to each other but, they never admitted that. After a long time, they got together. Dad bought a beach house for Mom. Now, they're happily ever after. How was that?" "Uh...Their story is like a fairytale." "Exactly!" And then she burst out laughing. I stared at her antics. "Come on. For once in your life, at least smile." She pulled my cheeks. My hand went to my face. Mom used to do that.

"Honey, I'm home!" "Mommy!" I leaped into her open arms. She looked at my chocolate-covered mouth. "You ate all the chocolate again?" "I'm sorry, Mommy." She pulled my cheeks. "It's okay, Jay."

Z tapped at my shoulder."I think that our mission location went back there." "Why didn't you tell me? We'll have to back up now." "You were the one who zoned out." I took a U-turn and drove to the location. "We're here. Okay, so our mission is to find out as much information as we can about these bad guys who are selling illegal weapons for stealth fights." Her eyes showed recognition. "I used illegal weapons?" "Right. Remove your hoodie." "What? Are you crazy?" "Remove it." Unwillingly, she removed her hoodie. "I'm just putting this bullet proof vest on. What did you think I was doing?" "I..." She blushed. I rolled my eyes. I gave her the hoodie. "Next time, I want it under your t-shirt. Clear?" "Crystal." I passed her a gun holster. "Only for emergencies. Under your hoodie." She took the holster from me and looked at it, confused. I put it on for her. "Here's ammo. You do know how to use a gun, right?" She nodded. "Come on." She zipped her hoodie and got out of the car. "We are going to act like customers." She nodded again. It was annoying me. "What happened to the over-talkative girl in the car? Scared?"  Fury flashed across her face. "Not even a little." "Good." We walked into the storage facility.

ZEPHYR: Even though I told Jade that I wasn't scared, my heart was thumping against my chest. "Here we go." We walked towards a group of men around a van filled with different sorts of guns and weapons. "Hiya, folk! We just wanted some weapons." I stared at him. Stealth fighters don't speak like this. "Forgive my friend here." When the men turned around they smirked in unison. "Zephyr Banks. Pleasure to meet you." The man who spoke, shook my hand. "He's new. My assistant." He shot me a You're dead look. "We wanted to buy some weapons." "Of course. Cash first." Jade removes a roll of money from his pocket. "Okay, then. Which ones?"

JADE: How dare she call me her assistant? She bent down to inspect a gun. I froze. The outline of the gun holster was visible through her hoodie.

ZEPHYR: Jade froze beside me. I looked at him in worry. Then I looked where everyone were staring. The outline of my gun holster was visible. "What is this?" He asked in a angry tone. Jade was faster. He shot the person and tackled another one. I looked behind me. A man was charging at me. I was rooted to the spot. He was getting closer. I took a deep breath and kicked him in the shin as he approached; a gunshot came next. I turned around again, looking for Jade. The person who looked like the boss, kicked Jade's leg. His back was turned towards me. I steadied my arm and shot his head. He fell back. Jade didn't say anything to me and walked towards the car, limping. He didn't even check if I was following. Maybe he knew that I would. When I sat down in the car, Jade was already behind the steering wheel. "Hey! We did it! Fist bump!" He glared at me. "What? We did the mission. We killed all of them." "Killing them wasn't our mission. Our mission was to find out as much information as we can." He started the car. "We got nothing. All because of you." "Me? Excuse me. I was the one who saved your skin." "Yeah, by shooting his head. That bullet could have hurt me too in case it didn't stay in his head." I didn't say anything. I had nothing to say. We drove in silence.

JADE: "I want her off the job." "Why?" My naïve boss asked. "She ruined my mission." "From what I comprehended, she saved you." "We got no information." "Chill out! There's another weapon shed of theirs. Go there." "I-don't-want-her." "Easy with your tone there. You're talking to your boss. She is on that mission with you. I'm not signing her off." "But-" "That's my final order." The line went dead.