Before heading for Mexico on their first mission, Tom had never left the city, let alone the country. But leaving the continent was a whole different thing. Once they landed, he couldn't keep his eyes off his surroundings. Never had he seen so many skyscrapers, so many people in one place – shorter people. He felt like a freaking giant, but also like an insignificant ant among the tall buildings. Tokyo seemed to go on forever towards the sky.

When they reached the hotel room, a small one with a huge bed and cramped up furniture, they all went to sleep to be well rested for their big night of breaking in. The three boys took the bed while Angie curled up on the small couch. Tom thought he wouldn't be able to sleep, but he blacked out the moment his head touched the pillow.

When he woke up, it was dark outside. The only light came from a small lamp placed on the coffee table. He rolled over and almost fell out of bed. Angie giggled. He stood like a coordinated human being and turned to her. She sat on an armchair next to the coffee table, a map spread out in front of her.

"You're so adorable when you're clumsy," she whispered.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he whispered back, making his way to her between chairs.

"I just got up and was checking where we have to get." She pointed on the map once he sat down on the arm of her chair. "It's a ten minute walk from here."

"That's good." He stretched to loosen up his cramped muscles.

"I was thinking we should do this a little earlier than anticipated," Angie said. "Instead of doing it at night, we should maybe break in at the end of the work day, when the personnel if leaving. We could use the crowd as a distraction."

"Um..." Tom looked at the dark sky outside their window. "Isn't it a little late for that?"

"Most people work until seven or eight p.m. around here, so we'd be just in time. Especially since we have to make a detour first."

"A detour?" he asked blankly.

Angie nodded towards him. "Check your phone."

Tom searched his pockets, but it wasn't there. He hated that damn thing and how he kept forgetting where he put it. He finally found it on the nightstand and checked it. He had a new message from a private number: You have contacts and equipment available. Followed by an address.

"I searched on the map and this place we have to go is fortunately on the way to the office building," she said.

"We should wake the others, then." He walked to her, lifted her chin and gave her a lingering kiss before picking up the nearest cushion and throwing it at Billy's head.

It took them twenty minutes to pull their stuff together because Billy insisted he needed breakfast/dinner before heading into danger, because last time he ended up almost starving to death. Once on the street, Tom tried his hardest to focus on the map in front of him and the mission rather than act like a ditzy tourist.

"We have contacts," Eddie said, excitedly. "We're like real secret agents!"

"Keep it down, will you," Angie hissed, lifting her eyes from the map.

"What's the point?" Eddie said with a shrug. "No one can understand us anyway."

"We speak English," Tom pointed out. "I'm pretty sure half of the people around us can understand."

"Yeah, don't be a dumbass, Eddie," Billy said.

Angie stopped and checked the map again. "Okay, I think we're here." They'd stopped in front of a low building with glimmering lights shining through the many windows. They couldn't read the inscription on top of the door, but it seemed to be a restaurant.

"How lucky," Billy said, taking in the red pillars flanking the door. "We can get something for the road as well. I hope our equipment is food."

Tom and Angie rolled their eyes and climbed the two steps that led inside. They entered a small vestibule which served as a reception area. A door to the left led to the restaurant. A young man sat behind the reception desk opposite the entrance. The moment they walked in, he jumped to his feet and motioned them to come over.

"No," Billy said, his tone outraged. "Hell no."

Tom and Angie both turned to him confused. He was glaring at the boy behind the counter, his grey eyes narrowed with what looked very much like hatred. The two looked back to the boy, who motioned for them to approach again. Tom decided that Billy's outrage was a little less important than their tight schedule, so he strode to who he supposed was their contact.

"Well, well, I never expected this," he said, the moment Tom stopped in front of him.

Once he got a closer look at him, Tom realized the guy wasn't full Japanese. He was taller, whiter and his eyes were almost Caucasian in shape and size, though from a distance, he looked as Asian as the next Japanese man.

"Hey, Emiko," he called over his shoulder. "Come and see this." He turned back to Tom and analyzed him carefully. "You must be Tom."

Tom only nodded warily.

"I'm your cousin, Yuki," the boy said.

"Excuse me, you're my what?" Tom asked, shocked.

"I knew it!" he said triumphantly. "I knew that moron didn't tell you about us."

"Um..." Tom looked from Yuki to Billy, having a feeling the cousin he knew about was that moron.

Before Yuki could start explaining the madness, a dark haired girl made her way towards them. She looked a lot like Yuki, with the same dark hair and eyes, but slightly Caucasian features, only that her expression was completely different. While Yuki seemed amused by the whole situation, she looked like she had a pile of horse crap under her nose.

"This is my twin, Emiko," Yuki explained. "And this is long lost cousin, Tom."

Emiko seemed only mildly interested as her eyes scanned Tom's face, then Angie, Eddie and finally glared at Billy. "He looks like Sam," she finally said, bored. Her voice was very gentle and would've been pleasant had it not been filled with annoyance.

"Yes, he does," Yuki said merrily. "Apparently he has no idea we existed because our dear older brother Billy didn't bother to ever mention us."

Tom stared at the two, trying to process what they'd just said. Okay, he could get why Sam and the rest never mentioned these guys, because they didn't exactly come up and they hadn't had time to draw the family tree, though now Tom seriously saw the need for it. But Billy? Billy had been his best friend since forever and not once had he mentioned that he had siblings.

"First off, half-brother," Billy snapped. "Second off, why mention you passive-aggressive brats anyway?"

Well, that kind of explained things. Fortunately, Angie stepped in, her hands raised in a conciliatory manner.

"Okay, I see there's some bad blood here, but we're on a tight schedule. Yuki, Emiko, what do you know?"

Yuki studied Angie through narrowed eyes and Tom clenched his fists. If he said anything rude or mean to her, he was punching the guy in the face, cousin or not. Lucky for him, he smiled and nodded to a door behind him. He headed that way followed by his sister.

"Dude, your sister's hot," Eddie whispered as they followed the twins.

"Shut up, Eddie," Billy growled.

The door led down some stairs in what turned out to be a storage room. Emiko turned on the light and headed with Yuki towards one of the many crates stacked in the otherwise empty room. The others followed and settled around one of the crates.

"This is all we have," Yuki said, laying his hands on the lid of the crate. "And it's not much." He pushed the top aside to reveal two suitcases, a few gas bombs and two suits on hangars.

"Not much is an understatement," Tom mumbled. "So what's the deal with you guys?"

Emiko huffed. "Just because Bimbo-Billy didn't mention us doesn't mean—"

"No, I meant what's your role in the mission," Tom cut her off before the conversation went hay-wire again. His family once again proved to be one weird cesspool of rivalry and frustration, but he was a bit more worried about breaking into Snitch Gravel's office at the moment.

Emiko pouted, giving her the air of a spoiled five-year old. Yuki just grinned as if the situation was beyond hilarious instead of beyond awkward and annoying. Eddie gave Tom the stink eye and Tom rolled his eyes, already fed up with this mission.

"Well, we were paged yesterday and asked to assist you in the field," Yuki finally said. "This is our first mission, so we're a little nervous."

"Since when are you two brats in the agency?" Billy demanded.

"Since the beginning of the summer," Yuki snapped, then turned back to Tom and Angie, smiling again. "Herrison said you needed us for language purposes."

"Not denying the use for native speakers," Angie said to Tom. "Especially considering our plan."

"So, here we are to help." Yuki pulled out a rolled up map which turned out to be security blueprints of the building. "There's an open air vent on the side of the building that leads to the third floor."

"We were actually thinking about walking in," Angie interjected.

Emiko raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "You're too tall and non-Asian looking to blend in. We've been surveying the building for a while now. All foreigners go through security checks."

"Well, there went that plan," Angie mumbled. She leaned over the blueprint and studied it carefully.

Tom looked over her shoulder, but he couldn't focus on the plans. He was sure they'd use the air vent, but also knew that they needed eyes inside the building and maybe some look-outs.

"How good are you with security systems?" he asked the room at large.

"I actually know how to work them," Billy said unexpectedly. "I hacked into my father's footage all the time to remove what I didn't want him to see."

"What exactly were you doing?" Yuki asked with a grin, but only received a middle finger as an answer.

"I'm good, too," Eddie said, puffing up his chest. "Steve taught me a thing or two about how electrical circuits work and how to stop them."

"Alright, then." Tom took a deep breath, hoping he wasn't making a huge mistake. "Here's the deal. Angie and I will break in through the air vent. Meanwhile, the two of you," he said, pointing to Yuki and Emiko, "will go in and take out the security guards which you will replace. When you're done, Billy and Eddie will join you at the security desk and lead us through the building using the security cameras."

"I'll man the reception. There needs to be someone out there too," Emiko said and Tom nodded in agreement.

"Angie?" he asked.

She kept looking on the prints, a crease of concentration between her eyebrows. She finally nodded, rolled up the prints and stuffed them in the small backpack on her back. "Yes, I think your plan is the best."

"We should head out before we miss the rush hour," Emiko said. She picked up one of the suits and hurried behind a stack of crates. Yuki took the other suit and disappeared as well.

"Your sister is hella hot," Eddie said with a shake of his head.

Before Billy could do more that grumble, Emiko was back wearing a form fitting black pant suit, and headed up the stairs. Eddie immediately followed, practically bouncing in her wake. Yuki emerged dressed in his own black suit and headed up as well.

"You okay?" Tom whispered to Angie the moment the others were out of earshot.

"Yes. A little nervous, but I really do agree with you," she answered.

He took her hand and squeezed. She squeezed back, giving him a weak smile and the two of them followed the others out into the street. They didn't talk much until they reached their target skyscraper. People rushed out on the sidewalk, making it hard to fight the current, so they stopped at the corner of the building that led into an alleyway. It was short and empty save for a few dustbins, obviously only meant to serve as a garbage pickup point.

"Let's check our communications and synchronize watches," Yuki said, sticking a transparent earpiece in his ear.

Everyone did the same, though Tom wasn't exactly sure how synchronizing watches would help, but why not? Fortunately, the earpieces worked just fine. Once assured that no equipment would explode, Yuki and Emiko left the alley to infiltrate the building and take out the security guards. The other four waited in silence, Billy and Eddie fidgeting nervously, Tom and Angie equipping their multi-slotted bullet proof vests.

Fifteen minutes later, Billy and Eddie were called to do their jobs, so Angie and Tom were left alone, awaiting the signal. People kept walking past the entrance into the alley, but no one threw them a glance. Just to be safe, they positioned themselves behind the dustbins. Angie took her high-power magnet out and started pulling the wire out of it.

"I hope this works," she mumbled.

"It will," Tom answered. He wasn't very sure, not with having to count on Billy and Eddie, but at least he and Angie were together, and whatever happened, he'd be there to look after her.

She sighed. "I'm a little afraid we're treating this too lightly. What if Snitch Gravel is there? Or his men?"

"Herrison said they're not."

"Herrison is full of shit."

Well put. Very well put. The slight nerves he'd been feeling exploded into full grown panic. The likelihood that Herrison screwed them over was too big to be comfortable with this mission.

No! Pull yourself together! He needed his cool to think clearly and anticipate all possible dangers. But all he could think about was how Sam would be so much better at this than him. No, he wouldn't. Tom was the little street rat. Sam was the privileged sheltered rich kid. And like the little street rat he was, Tom would crawl through that air vent and steal what he came to steal.

"All clear," Yuki announced.

Angie flinched out of her meditative state. "Let's get this done as fast as possible."

Tom nodded. He took her hand and squeezed, then focused on getting to the third floor. There was a fire escape ladder that crisscrossed along the building and passed close to the open vent. So Tom scrambled onto the nearest dustbin, propped his foot against the wall of the building and pushed himself towards the dangling ladder. His fingers curled around it and he pulled himself up on it until he reached the first landing. He looked down at Angie, just to see her rolling her eyes.

"Showoff," she muttered.

Before he could ask what she was talking about, she threw her magnet at the vent. It shot through the air and stuck to the tunnel allowing Angie to rise off the ground and reach the entrance without any trouble.

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that," he said.

Angie crawled inside the tunnel, giggling. "Yeah, right. You just wanted to show off your parkour."

He threw his own magnet at the entrance and zoomed up after her. "Trust me, I haven't practiced my parkour in so long, I was a little scared I'd break my neck."

"We should all start practicing it. It's very useful in missions," she said, stopping at a crossroad. "Um, guys, which way?"

"Give me a sec," Billy said. "Right. Turn right."

Angie and Tom scurried to the right and continued crawling. The shaft was fortunately wide and tall enough to allow for some comfort. Billy kept giving them indications from time to time, his voice focused and strained.

"You should come out now," Billy finally said. "You're right above a bathroom on the fifth floor and it's not safe to go on, you wouldn't have where to come out."

Tom and Angie looked at each other. They'd felt safe while in the air vent, but they could only get so far using it. They'd have to risk sneaking inside the building. At least it would be faster than crawling.

"How do we get down?" she whispered.

"Billy, is anyone in the bathroom?" Tom asked.

"No. Yuki checked it a few minutes ago."

"Destruction of property it is," Tom mumbled.

He crawled to the nearest exit, struggled to shift to his back and kicked the grate away. It landed with a loud thud on the tiles below.

"You're making a lot of noise," Angie pointed out, but crawled to the newly formed hole and peeked down. "Luckily, it is empty." She lowered herself feet first and disappeared out of the metal tunnel.

Tom forced his body to turn over again and squeezed out into the open space below. It felt so good to stretch his limbs and actually walk for a while. But they had no time to linger so they sneaked out of the restroom and ended up on a narrow hallway painted light grey, with dirty looking brown carpeting. A little further away, they could spot the elevators.

"Should we risk taking them up?" Angie whispered. "I mean we do have to get to the thirty first floor and we're only on the fifth."

Tom nibbled on his lower lip. Climbing over twenty floors didn't appeal to him at all, but taking the elevator was very risky. On one hand, if they were lucky, they'd be able to get to their destination much faster, but there was no guarantee no one would join them on the ride.

"Are there still people in the building?" he asked into his earpiece.

A long moment of silence followed before Billy answered, "Yeah. There are still a lot of people in actually. I mean not as many as before, obviously."

Tom cursed under his breath as he tried to decide between quick and safe. Angie kept quiet next to him, obviously waiting for an answer. Her hands trembled and she balled them into fists. The nerves were getting to him too, and he wanted to get this over with before he crashed.

"Anyone between us and the elevators?" he finally asked.

Angie's head snapped in his direction. "Are we really risking it?"

"I'm not sure I can climb over twenty floors," he answered.

"No," Billy said warily. "But I don't think this is a very good idea."

"Good or not, it's the fastest," Tom said, already moving towards the elevators, Angie in hot pursuit. "Just let us know if anyone approaches while we wait."

They reached the lobby-like area and he pressed the button to call the elevators. Angie straightened and leaned against the wall as if trying to act natural. He almost felt like laughing. There was no way anyone coming there would think they belonged; not with their dark clothes, the slotted vests, the backpacks and the guilty as sin expressions.

🌟🌟🌟

I'm breaking it off here because this chapter is huge. So you'll get to see how this mission ends next time.

I'm very interested how you felt about this chapter, since it was mostly transition. Did you feel the excitement and nerves in the air? How about Yuki and Emiko? Thoughts on them and Eddie?

What do you think will happen?

Thanks so much for reading. Every comment is incredibly important so don't be shy. Also, vote to support my writing.