Agent 3: Execution

Long Lost

The Next Morning

Jessica's Apartment

Jessica's eyes fluttered open as she heard her phone vibrate. She was exhausted, and yet she had been unable to get good sleep all night. She was still bruised from the events of last night, and was thus in lots of pain.

Groaning, she threw the covers off her and picked up her phone, answering the call of whoever was calling her. She lazily put it up to her ear. "Hello?" She said with an angry tone in her voice.

"Hello, young lady." It was the voice of Cap'n Cuttlefish.

"Shit..." She sat up in the bed, quickly dropping her angry tone. "Hey, Cuttlefish. I'm surprised you remembered how to call me..."

A chuckle could be heard. "I surprise myself sometimes as well. I was just going to ask if I can come over and do a mission recap? I heard you finally returned home."

"Oh... yeah, you can come over."

"Excellent. See you in a bit, young lady." The line went dead as he hung up.

Jessica hung up as well and slipped out of bed, groaning in pain. Slowly, she went to slip on some clothes above the underwear she slept in, and then went to her kitchen. This was the first time she had slept at her own apartment in a few weeks thanks to her Agent 3 missions, but was finally able to relax for now.

It was a small kitchen she had to work with, but it was comfortable to her. Lazily, she poured herself a bowl of cereal and waited for Cuttlefish to arrive. Eventually, she heard a somewhat silent and weak knock at the door, and quickly went to answer it.

"Hey, young lady." Cuttlefish said as he let himself in.

"Hey." She let him pass and then closed the door.

Cuttlefish went and sat down on her cheap couch, setting his cane down. "So... did you try the new goggles?"

Jessica nodded. "Yeah, I did. They were actually pretty useful." She picked them up from the counter and looked at them. "...I'm guessing from the Ammo Knights logo that these are from Sheldon."

"And Marina. They've been working together on a lot of the new Splatoon gear ever since she joined."

Jessica nodded and tossed the goggles aside. She decided to turn the conversation right to the mission recap he was there for, as she leaned against the wall. "Mission last night was a bust. Alexis is dead, and I assume now the gang is just gonna liquidate without her." She looked down. "...They were the last lead we had on the Underdogs. Now we're shit out of luck and out of options."

"...I know. Has me a bit worried, to be honest..." He sighed. "I've never seen a terrorist organization quite like the Underdogs. So dangerous and yet so hidden..."

"...I'm sorry... I should've done better..."

"Hey. There's no need to be sorry. You've done your best your entire run as Agent 3, and honestly, you have yet to have someone else in the Splatoon live up to that. I still can't tell you how proud of you I am."

"...I know... It's just... this job... it gets to me sometimes, you know?"

He nodded. "I get that."

"...I've been so dedicated to the role ever since I followed you down that storm drain. I've put in training... and lots of time... and the city is a bit safer because of it. I get that. But sometimes... I just want a life of my own. Without all the... vigilante bullshit."

"I used to have the mindset back in the war. With the original Squidbeak Splatoon. I would've traded in all the heroism for a normal life." He shook his head. "...But not anymore. As I've gotten older, I've just accepted that... it's who I am."