Initially, I didn't know what to do. The events from the morning still echoed in my head. I wasn't in the mood to read anything, so I booted up the television to see what's in the news.
- Preparations are underway for the Martian Ice Cream Day, which is when the resource ships come to Mars, bringing a supply of mostly food, including things that are luxurious for Martians, most notably ice cream. The arrival will be celebrated with a great party, as Martians made Ice Cream Day and official celebration in the base - A female news reporter opened the broadcast.
This is pretty ironic. I was supposed to forget about space (which was pretty much impossible anyway) and I just heard about it in the news.
Ice Cream Day is such a big celebration because resource rockets only come to Mars every two years and two months, because of transfer windows. Every two years and two months Earth and Mars get closer together than usual, allowing spaceships to reach the Red Planet quicker.
I didn't want to listen to the broadcast, because it reminded me of what I was supposed to forget about. Going to space was always my dream and while I didn't except myself to fight dangerous criminals in the cosmos, I was still content with it.
Now, the future of my career was uncertain. If Captain Nigel infuriates Justine even more, things may escalate into me being discharged from the Academy of Astronauts, which would be devastating for me.
Back when my first mission came to a close, I was given the choice of returning to normal training or participating in a second operation. I ultimately chose the second option, because I felt like being a space spy was my true purpose, maybe even destiny.
As the news reporter moved on from the topic of Ice Cream Day, I got bored. Most of the news came from the fronts of the Second Cold War, mainly proxy wars, because direct warfare between superpowers would be absolutely devastating, due to weapons such as nuclear bombs, AI-managed robot armies or, as we've learned recently, bioweapons. Thus, it doesn't take place.
However, I didn't want to listen to war news. The conflict was something I was born into, but I didn't want to provide myself with even larger amounts of fear and uncertainty. I turned off the TV and got up from the couch, hoping to find something else to do.
I realised that I got so used to the training routine in the academy that adjusting to a normal day was hard. Sure, I had weekends, which were free, but getting the spy stuff out of my head was impossible.
Still uncertain about my future, I slowly walked over to my room to read something. Hopefully I'll focus more on the contents of the book than my current situation. I grabbed books out of my backpack, one by one. Because of my passion, almost all of them were at least partially related to space. One of the books covered the topic of black holes, and staring into the cosmic abyss present on the cover made me feel a similar abyss inside of me.
Without the missions and training, I didn't have much to do with myself. Sure, I could apply to NASA or another agency, but there's no way for them to accept a teen. I'd have to spend my teenage years in a normal school and that would be really boring. All the action and drama present in the Agency of Cosmic Espionage made normal life seem bleak in comparison.
As I picked up more space-themed books, I felt like all of them were screaming "STAY IN THE AGENCY!".7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPjJPWW58L
I knew that wasn't physically possible, but I yearned for the stars, even with the evil people hiding in the cosmos. I knew that I couldn't let mom dischare me if she thought about that, but I simply didn't have the means to stop her. Sure, I could call Justine through my phone, but she's likely in the middle of the meeting with Nigel and I'd interrupt the discussion. Mom is probably very angry and I didn't want to annoy her even more. The best I could do was sit and wait.
While waiting, I heard a strange noise coming from the window. Curious, I got up from my bed and looked outside, only to see a disguised man with a strange black helmet and suit climbing into my room. Instinctively, I ran away, but as the man jumped into my room, he pulled a knife out of his pocket. Is this an assassin?
It seemed like action came to me, because I didn't get to come to action. However, I did not expect something of this magnitude.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJkcjTXg0E
I ran out of the room and the disguised man obviously chased me. Fortunately for me, my backpack was still on the floor and still filled with stuff, enough to make the attacker stumble, which bought me some time.
I remembered that mom told me not to leave the house, but with an assassin ready to kill me, I had no other choice. I had to get my keys, which I left in the kitchen. Luckily, it was right around the corner and I placed the keys on the tabletop, so I swiftly grabbed them and unlocked the exit door.
I heard footsteps behind me. The assassin got up and he was ready to do his job. Without grabbing anything except for my smartphone, I ran out of the house, locking the assassin up as I did. Unfortunately, he just broke through a window and continued the chase.
I did manage to get further away as he busted through the window and I called mom. If she was in the middle of the meeting, it didn't matter right now.
I was so stressed that I didn't even wait for her to pick up. I just screamed "THERE'S AN ASSASSIN IN THE HOUSE!!!", out of which mom only heard the latter half.
I continued running, passing by the neighbour's house. Nobody saw me and nobody heard me, besides the assassin of course. He was still chasing me.
All of a sudden, an old car drove into the scene, stopping ahead of me. Out of the car leaped none other than Anthony, who is my father and a professional space spy. He did the opposite of my actions, running towards the killer. I didn't want him to get injured, but I didn't want to get hurt myself. I soon found out that the driver was Einstein. He called me into the car and I took the back seat, since shotgun was occupied by Anthony.
Speaking of Anthony, it didn't take long for my dad to overpower the attacker. The fight was short but intense, with Anthony getting the upper hand. Einstein got out of the car and gave Anthony a rope which he used to tie the assassin up.
That's when we realised that we can't leave him here.
We ended up with a peculiar approach: the tied assassin was placed in shotgun, with Anthony behind him, ready to act if the killer woke up. Einstein still drove the car, because it was his vehicle.
- How did you know that I was attacked? - I asked, panting.
- We intercepted your call to Justine and we were conveniently close to your home, because we were supposed to pick you up anyway - Anthony explained shortly.
- Behind mom's back? - I asked, remembering about Justine.
- Yes, unfortunately - Anthony sighed.
- Now, we need to go! - Einstein interrupted and we moved away from my house.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJkYWAHjR17
- What about my mum? - I was still puzzled.
- Nigel's got that covered - Einstein muttered, focusing on the road.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAQI0XIBn6
The assassin was, fortunately, still unconscious, so we were safe for now. However, I wondered if dad had any intel about the intruder.
- Do you know who this guy is? - I asked him.
- No, but whoever sent him wants you dead - Anthony responded.
- Not only you. Multiple assassins appeared in Florida today. This is a coordinated attack meant to wipe out our unit. Only Arika wasn't attacked - Einstein added.
- But nobody was killed? - I hoped.
- Everyone is still alive, but something bad is in the air - Anthony calmed me down, or at least tried to.
Wow, what a day. It started with an argument that made my future uncertain, that an hour or so later, assassins attacked our unit. What was next? A new mission? Without mom's consent?7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhvqHLqcj8
and then Add to home screen.