K.I.A.

Chapter 0

C.I.A. Headquarters

Langley, Virginia

Subject: Operation Rubout

Date: September 26th, 2018

A tall woman with blonde hair chatted with a man with pepper hair. She sipped her coffee, pretending to laughing at a joke. He tried to diffuse the tension as they stepped into the conference room. The CIA Director had called them a few minutes ago, and it had to be important or he wouldn’t have asked them to come immediately.

The eight men and one woman gathered around the brown, oak table. The meeting was to discuss the most recent and important operation: Operation Rubout. The officers chatted loudly about the details.

One tall man with gray hair, CIA Director Simon Dalton, closed the door, walking to the front of the room. Usually, he didn’t deal with this type of situation, but it threatened the CIA’s security. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Quiet down!” he shouted above the noise. “We are here to discuss the important outcome of Operation Rubout.” He sat down in the black leather seat.

He set down a folder on the table. He opened it, revealing files with a picture of a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Across the picture were angry red words that read “killed in action.” The other agents in the room opened their copies and reviewed the files once more.

Dalton looked around the room, nodding to the woman to speak.

The officer, Julianne Nolan, rose from her seat, pushing back her long wavy hair. “The result of the operation was a failure. What happened? Neil Pratts told me that we sent one of our best agents for the mission.”

“Unfortunately, Agent Hollis was killed in action during the mission,” Dalton replied, repeating what the file said. He ran a hand over his thinning hair.

“How was she killed? She was one of our best agents. Who killed her? Do you know?” Agent Nolan demanded. Her intense blue eyes glared at the other officers.

“You must have miscalculated a few details,” Agent Vincent, an officer of Directorate of Intelligence, cut in. He took off his thin rimmed glasses, setting them on the table as he pinched the bridge of his nose. His hands shook nervously as he thought of all the possible consequences. “There must’ve been someone else involved, someone you didn’t see.”

The whole room broke out into various argumentations. Officer Dalton rose.

“Everyone calm down!” he yelled. “We are here to discuss how we can avoid this confusion if it should ever happen again.”

“Do we know who killed Agent Hollis?” Nolan spoke slowly and condescendingly, dumbing it down for the men.

“No. Her killer was not found. As far as we know, the killer was trained.” Dalton tensed up before he spoke. “An assassin.”

“Obviously. It couldn’t have been just any person to take down a trained agent.” Officer Quintin rolled his eyes. “All we know is that Agent Hollis went to Nice, France to grab an asset and to—”

“No, no. I agree with you there, Jonas,” Nolan nodded. “But, whoever took down Hollis is a threat to the CIA. What if they were able to get information from her? Was there a pattern or an M.O.? Any evidence that was left behind?”

“Wait a minute, Julianne. Agent Hollis wouldn’t talk. She wouldn’t give them intel about the CIA.” Senior Officer Pratts held up his hand. “Are you saying it is my fault I have a dead agent?”

“Not at all.”

“Because it seems you are,” Pratts said, eyebrows furrowing. “It is not our fault. Something or someone cut all cameras and wires during the mission and Hollis went in blind.”

“She didn’t even think of retreating?”

“Well, she’s not here to answer, now is she?”

“Why didn’t your men go in to retrieve her?”

“This was a dangerous mission and Hollis volunteered for this. She knew it could mean her death,” Pratts said, his voice growing louder. “I was not about to risk my men for this mission. Hollis said she could handle it and I trusted her.”

“Then you are a coward, Pratts!” Nolan shouted. “Because of your decision not to send in back-up, you cost a girl her life. You also cost a damn good agent’s life. You better find the killer before they get any information on the CIA.”

“My analysts are on it,” Pratts replied, his voice much softer.

“I will contribute a few of my analysts too,” Vincent said. “We cannot afford someone breaking in, spy or assassin.”

“I believe that settles it. Meeting adjourned,” Dalton said, standing up and leaving.