As he sat on the bench in the park opposite the Palace, Austin wished his missions looked more like the James Bond films he'd watched on the plane. Cool car chases, heavy firearms, bombs with LED timers. Well, maybe not bombs. He wasn't sure how he would deal with those.

But deep down, he didn't feel like a secret agent. Not a soldier. Not a..."hero" fighting for good in the world.

He felt like an assassin. An inhumane, selfish, uncaring killing machine that did what it was told and left without a word.

"Just stop thinking about it." He muttered.

"Excuse me?"

Austin turned around, had he said that out loud?

A stereotypical tourist-dressed girl was looking at him strangely. She had a camera around her neck.

"They might arrest you for taking pictures."
Austin said helpfully.

The girl made a strange face and stumbled back silently into the shadows.

Austin could understand her wariness; he was dressed all in black and sunglasses when it was ten at night.

10:16 to be exact. Time to start the infiltration before the patrolling guards came by. Austin flipped on the night vision on the glasses and was welcomed into the green world.

No guards in sight.

He ran.

The vantablack clothing worked magnificently; if it weren't for the glasses, he wouldn't have been able to distinguish his own hand from the dark surroundings.

It was a good 30 meters out in the open, but Austin covered them in a flash. The mission adrenaline was getting to him already, and as he cowered under the shadows of the building, he actually smiled.

He was on the other side of the world, about to break into the headquarters of the most dangerous country in the world, on a tightrope of life and death.

Exciting, wasn't it?

The night was cool and fresh, and the breeze whistled through the trees. The stars shone feebly but they were there, fighting against the city smog.

It might be the only time he would smile in days.

Austin unraveled the grappling hook and launched it up to the target window. Bullseye on the second throw.

With a light jump, he grabbed the first ledge and began scaling the window covered wall. Agile as a cat, he'd been practicing countless times.

Some windows shone with light, and Austin had to flatten himself against the gritty cement to try and avoid it while still making it to the target window.

The minutes passed and his progress grew, as did- though he didn't acknowledged it- his anxiety. He kept expecting someone to look out a window and see him, or be spotted by a guard, but it only took a whisk of wind for him to focus back on the risky task at hand.

Finally he pulled himself over the window sill and collected the rope as quietly as possible.

Austin shot a look in the room, and since the coast was clear, shifted his gaze on the actual window. Obviously, it was locked.

His feet on a tiny ledge dangerously high off the ground, he stood up slowly and flicked out the Swiss knife. He was in the process of removing the glass pane when he heard it.

Music.

Austin almost fell off the window sill, but grabbed the vane and stared daggers at the door. Was there a party going on? Not unlikely. That just made his whole job harder.

One thing at a time, Austin reminded himself.
Carefully removing the sheet of glass and setting it aside, he lowered himself into the empty room.

Okay. First part done.

Austin pocketed the tools and brought out the chloroform solution on the easy access spot on his belt.
Before opening the door, he stopped, cleared his mind, took three deep breaths.
Now, the real excitement began.

It was time for hide-and-seek.