Agent X gripped the doorknob tightly in nervousness. His knuckles turned white from the force with which he held it, too far gone in his nerves to notice.

He didn't move from this position, to let the person on the other side of the door know that he was there. He wouldn't let her know of his presence till their designated rendezvous.

His watch beeped and startled him. He took a deep breath, fixed his wavy black hair and finally released the death grip he had on the door. He knocked on it three times, as was mandated, and waited for a reply.

A faint 'come in,' was heard from the other side, and he briskly opened the door and stepped in.

In a moment he was transformed. No longer a nervous guy waiting on the news he had mixed feelings about; he was now the Agent X everyone knew - Mysterious, calm, and fully in control of himself. This was the image he displayed, and it would stay that way no matter how choppy the waves were on the inside.

This was the Agent X that presented itself to Tasker when she looked up to see him. She gave a slight smile and gestured for him to take a seat in front of her.

A large spyglass and a gun emblem decorated the wall behind Tasker, the words 'Security Hazard Agency of Defense and Espionage' inscribed below in bold letters. Agent X surveyed the room, the office tidy as always. Moving, he took a seat on the edge of the chair Tasker had gestured to.

"Relax X, there's no need to be nervous," Tasker said, hoping to break his nervous habit but knowing that it'd fail like it always had.

"So, the mission you've been anticipating for so long is here. Excited?" she prodded with a gentle gaze. X's eyes flickered with emotion even he couldn't place, and he just conceded to the statement with a small nod.

Tasker waited for a second then continued. "You're the operative who's going to infiltrate ACE and rescue hostages trapped there by them. We've also received reports and scans that they have stored a deadly weapon there as well. I want you to take that weapon into consideration and retrieve it as well."

X nodded pensively, the only sign from him that he'd heard and understood her. However, that wasn't the only news she had to deliver to him.

"X, this mission is fraught with peril and there are great chances of capture. If that is to happen, we will only be granted one chance to rescue you. And if that rescue mission is to fail, then all records of you will be erased and we will pretend as if you never existed."

X nodded again, with a slight gulp this time. He knew all of this, but this mission also had great credibility to it if he succeeded. On top of that, he had a stubborn streak to him that forced him, as if he were possessed, to accept harder tasks.

It wasn't a surprise to either of them when he readily agreed to the mission. Tasker stared at him intensely, making sure that he wouldn't reconsider at the last moment; a pointless exercise. Once Agent X accepted a mission, he would see it through. No matter what risks were associated with it.

"I see you want to go ahead with it despite the high risks involved. Very well then, you can go and meet Sheaf for further instructions and the necessary information. He'll also assign you a teammate to work with on this mission."

At this, X's eyes widened in surprise. "But Tasker, you know that I work only on solo missions nowadays..."

She dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, I know that. You'll be the only field agent working on this case, but you'll work with a hacker who will assist you behind the scenes and help you in coming up with plans. This, Agent X, is non-negotiable.'

He was about to protest but her last sentence, spoken with an air of finality, stopped his words before they left his mouth.

'Understood. I'll follow all the rules and expectations properly." he uttered. Tasker nodded and gestured for him to leave and conclude the meeting as there was nothing else to be said.

X stood up and made to leave the room, but when he reached the door, he turned around and asked with slight hesitation. "Do you remember all those missions you gave me, Tasker?"

She blinked, surprised by the sudden show of emotions. Maybe he really did feel a little fear about this mission, and he was trying to hold onto the few shreds of memories he had with her.

She smiled gently. "Yeah, I do."

That was all it took for X to open up about his side of the story. "You guys initially gave me easy missions, but then I started insisting on harder ones with the passing of time."

Tasker laughed. "And after that, whenever hard missions came up, yours was the first name that occurred to me. I sure hope you'll be around for more, Agent X."

X smiled at that. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say more, but shut it, inclining his head briefly, and walked out of the door. He had a few moments of solitude to himself, while he thought over the mission and all of its implications. There would be only one shot at success and only one shot at being rescued if he failed.

It was a gut-wrenching situation, alright.

Before he could think further, though, he was at Sheaf's door, the guy who had overseen most of his training there at SHADE. If there was anyone he was even remotely attached to, it was Sheaf. He didn't push X too hard and allowed him to get comfortable at his own pace, in terms of feelings that is. The guy could be as unyielding as a mountain during operative training.

"Agent X!" Sheaf exclaimed when he saw him, his tanned face breaking into a wide smile. "So, the enigma arrives again for another dangerous mission, I see." He rifled through the papers at his desk before pulling out a file with a swift flourish.

Sheaf's face fell when he skimmed through the contents of the mission Tasker had given and ran his hands through his long hair. "So, you're going to ACE for this mission." Sheaf said and heaved a sigh. "You do realize that this is one of the riskiest missions out there, with a success rate of one percent, right?'

"Of course I do."

"Yeah, I know. For you, even that is enough to take Tasker's mission." He sighed again. "X, the variable. Do you know why I chose this codename for you?" He looked at X while saying this, X shaking his head ever so slightly.

"See, it's because you were like a variable itself. Distant, silent and hard to understand, with no definable characteristics except for a penchant for the riskiest tasks. You were easily adaptable to scenarios, which made you one of our best, you know?" Both of them looked at each other and smiled affectionately.

Sheaf leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table. "Since you're here, I'm assuming you've fully accepted this mission and won't step back, right?"

X nodded. "Yeah Sheaf, I've committed. there's no going back now."

He shook his head in quiet disappointment. "Okay then, enough chit-chat. Let's move on to the details. ACE hasn't informed the government about the hostages. One of our assets informed us that these hostages were previous employees who betrayed ACE. Apparently, it didn't really sit well with them."

X raised his eyebrows. "That seems a little extreme."

"Yeah, they're grumpy people, in my opinion. Anyway, they've captured them and wiped off any traces so no one can find the hostages. Now, they're trying to get as much information from the hostages as possible. Then, they're going to be killed. We don't exactly know when they'll decide that the hostages are useless and kill them, so that's something for you to find out as well."

X whistled softly. This seemed like a classic case, but with a small added twist of weaponry. Which reminded him...

"There's also the matter of the weapon." Sheaf said, almost as if he had read his mind. "It's a chemical warfare weapon in gaseous form, and we have to use this chance to get it out before ACE uses it in any city. So, you'll be finding out the whereabouts of the weapon and retrieving it as well." Sheaf looked up from the files as he finished. "That's the summary I can give now. Have you understood everything?"

X smiled slightly and nodded in confirmation.

"So you'll be the only field agent on this mission. I will, of course, be following up with you whenever possible, but apart from that, we're assigning you to Hacker, who'll stay here and guide you through the mission. Both of you will plan out the mission together and communicate discreetly through earbuds. All good?"

"Yes," X said and touched his earlobe thoughtfully, where a single earring dangled. Sheaf's eyes followed the movement and he gathered up the courage to ask about it.

"You know, I've always wondered about that earring of yours. You don't seem much like a jewelry person, and even if you like earrings, why only one?"

X just smiled mysteriously. "Perhaps I'll tell you about it some other day." He said. "Is that all?"

"Almost." Sheaf answered. He stood up, crossed his desk and folded X into a hug, something people never ever dared to do. X stiffened. "Please be safe X." Sheaf said. 

"Thank you for everything," X said, relaxing into the hug.

"Yeah well, the best thanks you could give would be coming out of there in one piece."

X nodded. They pulled away and smiled at each other, and X walked over to the door. Just as he was about to leave, Sheaf called.

"And X? I wasn't joking. Do come back here. I would love to keep working with you."

X paused with his hand hovering above the handle. He turned around and gave the widest smile he'd given yet. "And what makes you think I don't want to come back, Sheaf?"

Hey! I've seen you somewhere before. Where did I... oh yes! You resemble someone who votes!