Head to headquarters

You feel awesome as you sit down for a debriefing meeting with your direct supervisor, Joe MacKinnon. There are only a few people on the planet whose opinion you actually care about and he is one of them. Still a strong-looking man with a cut jaw and silver hair, Joe had been a legendary field agent in his day. Rumor had it that he’d turned down close to a dozen promotions to stay in the field. A few years ago, luck had finally caught up with him and he’d been captured by a terrorist ring and tortured close to ****. The Agency had but him back together again but **** him to retire from active field work. He’d been your mentor since you became a high-level agent and you’d found yourself craving his approval. Last night you’d accomplished everything without a hitch and even managed to spend the night with three Japanese prostitutes. I’m practically James Bond. Titties notwithstanding.

Ishikawa is in the same small office with you and Joe, looking none the worse for wear though you’d heard he’d gotten into a little trouble. You have to admit that you’re pretty impressed with him, pulling off the more dangerous leg of the mission.

“First of all,” Joe begins, “I want to congratulate you both on a job well done. That went much smoother than I ever would have expected. With Yoshida going down, the zaibatsu and the yakuza will be reminded that the NPA still has teeth for organizations that get too out of hand.” He turns to Ishikawa. “In addition, this mission served as something of a trial for you Officer Ishikawa and you performed admirably. The CIA is happy to have you transfer.”

“You honor me greatly, MacKinnon,” Ishikawa responds in passable English. So he’s transferring, is he? You’re not sure how you feel about that. He was clearly talented but also quite narrow-minded. The best agents, in your opinion, were flexible.

“The honor is ours, I assure you,” Joe said smoothly. “The competency you showed last night is always valued.” He turns to you. “Excellent job by you, too."You can’t stop yourself from beaming. “You managed to keep Yoshida’s suspicions to a minimum which helped Ishikawa and though some of the higher-ups didn’t like you bringing those girls back to you room, I reminded them that protecting lives in out ultimate goal. In my opinion you showed great humanity in your decision. I’m proud of you.”

Your heart starts thumping and you begin to feel a little hot under the collar. “Th-thank you, sir.” You’ve always enjoyed getting praised by Joe but hadn’t felt quite like this before.

Joe’s face turns grave. “Which is why it pains me to have to give you bad news.” Your elation melts away as quickly as it came. “Do you remember Doctor Rosa Serrano?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” How could you not know her? Rosa Serrano was neurological specialist with CIA who had been part of the team handling the brain transfer. You’d also gone on a date with her a few months back that could have ended in her place if you hadn’t bailed after getting a pretty weird vibe from her. Since then, it seemed like she was always around when you were at work despite being in completely different departments...

“Well, last night, right about the time the operation started, we’ve since learned. Doctor Serrano, she...well, she absconded with your body.” You blink slowly and then shake your head. “I don’t think I heard that right? What did Doctor Serrano do last night?”

Joe looked pained. “She got entry to check on your body by claiming to be checking on the status of Yozora’s brain...as you know, we were keeping her brain in a medical coma and there is danger with that sort of thing. Then she managed to rope the two guards into helping her remove your body by claiming something was terribly wrong and it was life or **** for your body to be removed to her lab...the two are undergoing a disciplinary review of course.” Your eye twitches. Well, now I feel better. “After your body was loaded into her car, she disappeared.” Joe uncomfortably added. “We don’t have any leads at the moment."

You slump in your chair. “Are you serious?” You’re stuck like this?

“Yes, I’m sorry. I assure you we are doing everything possible to make sure we get your body back.” Joe comes around the desk and puts a hand on your shoulder. It was the same thing he would have done if you were male, you think, but it feels somehow more intimate with you in a female body.

You can’t help but say, “It’s okay.” You don’t want to throw a fit in front of Joe.

He smiles. “Roll with the punches. That’s what a good agent does.” He returns to his desk and sits. “Now, you know the Agency hates to see an asset go unused, so they’ve forwarded me a new mission specifically for you and Ishikawa.”

You keep your face passive in front of Joe but inside you begin to seethe a little. This is very convenient. And you can just bet what your next mission is going to entail. I better get a promotion out of this shit.

To be continued.