TWO WEEKS AGO, LONDON, ENGLAND

The young man asked if his commanding officer was sure with his command, standing with the letter in his hands in front of his superior’s desk.

The superior replied sternly, confirming that he was and shooing the young officer out of his office. The young man saluted respectfully and exited, still unsure of what he was about to do.

As soon as he was out, the superior pulled a burner phone out of a secret compartment in his desk and dialed. It rang only once before someone picked up. A woman asked if the task was done. The lesser-superior confirmed, feeling nervous just talking to the woman. She told the lesser-superior to keep watch, reciting some of an oath she once took. The lesser-superior began to question. The woman interrupted, telling him to keep watch and that she had taken care of every possibility. She hung up and the lesser-superior slowly lowered the burner from his ear. He wiped the sweat from his brow and broke the phone in half and threw it in his incinerator. He closed his eyes and leaned forward in his chair, rubbing his face tiredly.

Outside, the young officer paled, looking down at the letter in his shaky hands. He quickly walked away from the lesser-superiors office and down the hall. He quickly broke into a jog and went through the halls, passing officials and ordinaries and others that weren’t relevant, except for one, and that one stopped him.  The relevant one asked where he was going in such a hurry suspiciously. The young officer held the letter to his chest, blankly replying that he had direct orders to deliver the letter.

 The relevant one peered at the letter for a moment, then stepped aside and let the young officer by. As soon as he was around the corner, the relevant one stepped into her office and sat down in her chair, scooting it up closer to her desk and putting her fingers on the keyboard. She began searching the databases for a letter.

The young officer reached his destination not much longer after the relevant one stopped him. He entered the room and, unaffected by the strange glances he was receiving, went up to one of the empty work stations. He put the letter in front of him and read the name on the front once again. It disturbed him to the core and he had to look away. He put it in a clear plastic bag, and put that in a yellow mailing envelope, then put that into a small cardboard box. He taped it shut and frantically scribbled a random address onto the label. He felt pity for whoever would receive the letter inside a bag inside an envelope inside a box, but the letter could not be delivered to the correct recipient. The young officer went to the outgoing station and shoved the letter inside a bag inside a box into the pile of other outgoing messages without a second thought. He watched it move down the line, not sure of what he had just done. He ran. He ran out of the room, he ran through the halls, and past the relevant ones office, ignoring her calling out to him. He ran, and he never stopped, never seeing what was to come.

The relevant one found what she was searching for in the database and leaned back in her chair, putting a hand to her forehead in distress. That letter was dangerous. It was beyond dangerous. It held more power than the President of the United States and the Prime Minister combined, plus a couple ambassadors and some royalty. The relevant one stepped out of her office just to have the young officer pass her by despite her calling out. She chased after him, not knowing what she was just yet doing.