5.30am - Knock, I groaned. Knock, I turned. Knock, I sat up. "Aria, get up. You need to meet Spymaster Elmer downstairs in the conference room in half an hour. I'll come back for you." said a woman's voice behind the door.

Aw, man! Do I even have time to shower? I thought stretching. Well, normally, most people would take an hour to shower (I wonder why) but I just realised I don't take that long.... probably like ten minutes. On that train of thought, I jumped out of bed (5.35am - with no time to spare and cramps all over my body), I went into the shower block in my room, brushed my teeth, stripped and showered.

15 minutes later - 5.50am. Crap, I got 10 minutes, I thought. By the time I left the shower block with a long towel wrapped around myself, I searched through my luggage and fished out my underwear as well as some new clothes. I was changed in five minutes, took a small bag out of the hand luggage which contained the gadgets.

Knock, knock, "Aria, it's time to go. Your fellow colleagues are waiting for you downstairs."

"Is Spymaster Armani downstairs too?" I asked as I exit locking the door by swiping my card.

"Yes." said the woman. When I turned around, I noticed she dressed differently from me or anyone else in western society... more modest and I like in a smart way.

"Ok, let's go. Lead the way." and we went. Down the corridor, rode the lift and eventually, we ended up downstairs in some sort of cafeteria with the rest of The Alpha Team waiting for me at a round table in the corner.

"Just in time, Aria," said Elmer sipping his tea as we approached them.

"Thank you," I say to my guide before I said to Elmer, "Sorry, I woke up late..."

"Just try not to be late next time, ok?"

"I won't," I replied.

"Go and get your breakfast. Preferably not a big breakfast but something that could fill your belly because we'll be leaving for where the organisation has last seen Iwan Isaacs which the probability of him leaving a clue for us is high."

Valerio pointed out, "It's like a chase, but around the country or state. I think that's Iwan's type of game. He has been doing it for years."

"He's got a point." agreed Armani who looked so tired and was searching something up on a tablet with the organisation's logo on the back.

"Oh, ok. I best get my breakfast then," and I went leaving them to study the enemy.

I stood in the fairly short line of the workers here and it was not long before it was my turn. I took a croissant, a bowl of porridge and scrambled eggs (I know it's unhealthy, but I don't have time for that). I made my way back with the tray and sat down next to Libby as it was the only available seat (because Armani sat next to Valerio and they were talking so...). Not that I'm jealous or anything besides, Libby moved away as soon as I sat down. This shows how much we disliked each other.

Silently, I ate my croissant whilst staring at the table thinking about my life, do I remember how my mum was? I'm mixed; I know my mum's race but my dad? Who was my dad? He is obviously not the same race like Gal but where is he? What is he doing now? Am I adopted? Why am I a spy?

"Aria, Aria, Aria!" Valerio called my name brought me back to reality.

I looked at my empty plate than at him who sat opposite, "What?"

He stood up, "Are you ok? Because you kinda zoned out and we're about to leave."

"Look," I say to him as I stood up to throw away the leftovers. By then Elmer, Libby and Armani were already outside the cafeteria with the gadget bags on them, "I-I don't know why I am here, who I am, where I am from," I picked up my gadget bag and murmured this part, "and who I'll fall in love with. I need answers."

"Aria, seriously, love? Look, I can't answer all your questions, but I can answer one, as a friend," he gave me hug, I stiffened and he whispered in my ear, "you won't be single forever if you are really worried about that." He let go and made his way out the cafeteria with me just behind him, confused. No, baffled. At that time, I never understood what he meant, but turns out I found out much later.

**********

Let's fast forward to the part where we were taken to the location of where Iwan was last seen: on the outskirts of Atlanta in an abandoned mansion. According to Valerio, this mansion is related to me somehow.. and that he was suggesting that Iwan probably has more than one goal - to rule the country and to expose a secret - hidden by my family for the past 9 decades because I am the only one who doesn't know. Of course, I didn't believe him, but as we arrived from the 1-hour flight from Washington, it seems like curiosity got the best of me; I'll explain why.

The mansion was grand, beautiful gardens with a driveway through the middle leading to the garage. Its entrance doors were the height of two average human beings and were made of wood. I was the first to enter followed by Armani, Valerio, Libby and finally Elmer. It was quite dim inside and the only source of light was the sun coming through the (21st century) sash windows which landed a spot of light in the centre of the grand foyer in where we stood. My gaze moved to the navy, blue walls where portraits and pictures out the previous owners hung. My gaze then landed on a two-way staircase leading to the upper floor.

Armani suggested, "Why don't we chip upstairs. We might find some clues there."
We all agreed and went upstairs, first to the East side of the upper floor.
I'll call it the East wing; the East wing was made up of a conservatory, a study and 2 bedrooms - every door was labelled that was how I knew. The corridors were lined with a plush, red carpet and the walls were a similar colour to the grand foyer but only with a more greyish tone and the corners of the ceiling were covered in cobwebs.
We decided to split up: I and Armani went to the study, Valerio went to a master bedroom, Libby went to another room and Elmer went inside the conservatory.

"Here goes nothing," I mutter to myself as I pushed open the wooden door (which was painted white) and the study reeked of something foul and unique.

Armani entered behind me and I could imagine her cringing as she said, "Ugh, what is that smell? It smells like someone's died in here."

"Maybe." I gagged, "But let's split up. The sooner we're out of here the better."

While I was saying that, Armani went ahead and called me, "Aria, come here!"

I followed where her voice came from and found her standing in front of a huge desk which had the plan of the mansion spread out on the surface and a note which read, "LOOK UP!"

Armani also saw it; we both looked up and cling on to each other for support from almost fainting as a dead body of an elderly woman (presumably the housekeeper) who was stuck to the ceiling. She had some chain dangling from her neck with Iwan's "II" card attached to it. There was a bullet hole through the forehead with blood dripping from it which reached the floor between me and Armani.

"How are we going to get that?" I asked pointing to the chain not the terrified look on the woman's face.

"We could use our gadgets."

"Which one?" I asked as I moved back, placed the bag on the desk and rummaged through, "a grappling hook, a laser gun and... oh, anti-gravity boots and gloves."

"I think we should use the anti-gravity boots and gloves. It's the best option." Suggested Armani.

"Ok, here." I passed them to her. I watched as she placed them on and activated them. In less than five seconds, she was standing on the ceiling. She crouched down so that she was close enough to delicately take off the chain from the woman's neck.

Armani held the chain and told me, "Aria, this chain is a locket and it's got your initials on the back."

"Let me see, but first you need to get down."

By deactivating the anti-gravity boots and gloves, it allowed her to regain the regular gravitational posture meaning she was now on the same level as me. Armani then took Iwan's card off the chain of the locket before handing it to me. As she proofread the card, I was busy studying the locket, which was shaped like an oval, as well as the initials on the back. I then pressed a button on the side which it open to reveal a picture of my... Mum? She looked younger in this picture. I looked up at the old woman and murmured (more to myself than her), "You knew my mum, didn't you? I'm so sorry that you had to die because of me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself Aria. You may not be the reason why she was killed," Armani reassures me, "but right now we need to finish this mission by trying to understand this clue."

I looked at the card and at the back of it was the clue. It read, "Poor Mrs Wyatt made miss Fortescue cry because she knew a secret; she just had to die. You don't have long. Just visit the music city - it may help you to achieve your goal. But remember, I will always be two steps ahead."

"We need to regroup," I told Armani.

"You still have your watch?"

"Yes. Don't you have one?"

"We all do, just use yours."

I took the watch out of my pocket and unlocked it. I found an app which showed "hologram broadcast," I opened it and selected the people I need to broadcast it to Libby, Elmer and Valerio. I then held the watch away from myself but in a way that the camera would be facing me and I pressed broadcast.

"Elmer, Libby and Valerio, I would like you to meet me and Armani in the study. Wherever you are in the mansion, you must be here ASAP as we have the clue and we don't have much time."

Not too long after I ended the broadcast, one by one they entered, each of them read the clue and each of them had a suggestion of what it might mean - particularly the phrase "the Music City."

Libby was the first to suggest, "This phrase might mean a nickname for a city in one of the nearby States."

"It could be possible." Elmer agreed.

"This phrase does sound familiar," said Valerio deep in thought.

"Where do you think it is?" Asked Libby.

"Give him time to think, he might remember." Said Armani.

It took him about two minutes before his face lit up, "Bring out the map of the U.S."

Elmer was tapping on his watch and moments later, his watch conjured up a holographic map of the U.S: it showed the location of where we were just outside Atlanta.

"Right," he started to explain, "The music city is a nickname for the capital of the US state Tennessee which is Nashville. I went there with my mum for a tour a few years ago. The reason why it's called "Music City" because, in 1925, a radio station was established which secured Nashville as a musical Centre."

"Well done, encyclopaedia." I joked and everyone chuckled, "But, that clue was fairly easy."

"So let's go, team! We're racing against the clock." Said Libby.

"Now that's the enthusiasm we need to see." Elmer smiled.