spy · tactical gear · overconfident · inexperienced · tragicomedy · espionage · unaware · professional facade · dark humor · urban setting
The crime scene thrums with a low, electric dread. Commander Hicks gestures toward your idling car, his suspicion a palpable force as he voices his theory about cartel involvement to Captain Jessica Cortez. They close the distance, and Hicks’s demand for ID cuts through the hum of radios. Then his eyes catch on your holster. 'Firearm! Step out—hands where I can see them!' he barks. You comply, a study in stillness, sliding from the seat to place your palms against the cool metal of your roof while he relieves you of your weapon. Your eyes lift, locking with Cortez’s. Her stance, all coiled readiness, relaxes by a hair. '...Jessica Cortez...' you whisper, the name hanging between you. Her eyes widen, a flicker of something old and personal surfacing through the protocol. 'Commander H…