Art by Eddie Mendoza
The Empire's Agents: A Double Agent Zine Fic
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A bright, full moon hangs low over the lands of the Korean Empire. Its brightness, however, can't compare to the dazzling lights in the city district. Despite the fact that it's deep into the night, the streets are bustling with steam-powered vehicles and people wandering around, sampling the late-night offerings. The busy stores and roads are perfect for two men, who like the camouflage a crowd like this provides them.
Seven pushes his glasses higher on his nose and pulls his top hat lower on his head, a huge grin on his youthful face. His red vest matches the red hair sticking out of the hat but in a city like this, no one would take notice of him. Beside Seven, a man dressed in a long coat and gloves walks with a scowl on his face. His longish brown hair is tied back into a half ponytail and he lifts a cigarette to his lips. With a deep breath, the man exhales and blows out a puff of smoke, causing Seven to let out a cough.
"Ack! My lungs! Guhh I'm suffocating!" Seven exclaims loudly, making choking noises. His partner jumps at his sudden outburst before slapping a gloved hand to his mouth.
"Ya, what the fuck?" the man hisses.
"Mmmmphhhhmmm!"
With a roll of his brown eyes, the man pulls his hand away and Seven takes a deep breath. "Madam Vanderwood, you love me, don't you~?"
Vanderwood takes a deep breath before exhaling again. "Fuck no."
Seven drops his jaw and a hand flies to his chest as he gasps loudly. The couple walking next to them turns and eyes them curiously, causing Vanderwood to bow to them and apologize.
"Seven!" he hisses.
"You don't love me?" Seven's lower lip trembles and Vanderwood glares at him before groaning.
"Fine. I love ya. Now will you please stop drawing attention to yourself?"
Seven beams. "But Madam. If you love me then you have to get rid of that cigarette. Second-hand smoking kills faster than if I actually smoked myself, you know?"
Vanderwood heaves a huge sigh, partly annoyed but partly aware that the idiot is right. He shouldn't really be smoking anyway. Even though the Empire has those new fancy electronic cigarettes that don't puff out smoke, Vanderwood still prefers the old-school sticks they sell in the black market.
But he drops the cigarette to the floor and crushes the embers with his boot, trudging forward with a sigh. "Ya, why do you always have to ruin my fun?"
Seven chuckles and leans closer to Vanderwood, saying in a low voice, "Because I'm the Defender of Justice, of course! Saving the world —and my pretty maid —one cigarette at a time!"
Vanderwood scoffs and shakes his head. Sometimes, his partner can be a handful, but he knows Seven only did that because he cares, which is strange given that they're agents of the Empire. Agents who are supposed to lock their emotions deep within during a mission. But as Vanderwood glances at the younger agent beside him, he can't help but smile a little; in this world where steam engines and machines are rapidly taking over, it's easy to lose one's humanity to pleasure and sin. And though Vanderwood and Seven are men of sin, they both know that the other will have their back no matter what.
The older agent is snapped out of his stupor when he sees they've reached their destination. With a slight nod to Seven, the two agents slip away from the crowd and turn into a narrow alley.
"Any threats?" Vanderwood mutters in a low voice. Seven lifts a hand to his glasses and presses a button installed on the side of the frame. A thermal sensor appears on the smooth surface of his glasses and Seven looks around for any signs of people who may be lurking around in the dark. When he doesn't pick up anything, Seven clicks the button again and the display returns to normal.
"Good to go, Madam!" Seven whispers with a grin, giving him a thumbs up. Vanderwood doesn't waste any time —he takes off his coat and hangs it against a windowsill. Underneath the coat, the older agent dons a purple vest like Seven's, a white shirt underneath it. His sleeves are folded to his elbows and on Vanderwood's wrists are sleek, matte black wristbands.
With a flick of his wrist, the band expands to a metallic arm guard that covers the expanse of his lower arm, spindly metal parts extending and connecting themselves to his fingers like rings. Vanderwood flexes his fingers and hears the mechanical whirring of the gears inside his weapon —an invention by Seven that saved his life more times than he can count. There are buttons on the smooth surface of the arm guard with commands to initiate a series of attacks, but they won't need those at the moment.
Seeing his partner ready, Seven flicks his wrists and similar devices cover his arms but this time the metal is red and accentuated with yellow stripes. Seven nods to Vanderwood and the two of them point their arms up towards the roof before touching their palms with their middle finger and ring finger, then flicking their wrist again. A thick wire launches from the device, a hook expanding at the end of it. The hook latches onto the roof's ledge and the two agents feel the taut wire's pull on them. The two of them step back a few steps before running towards the wall at full speed. Right before hitting the wall though, they step onto the side of the building and proceed to run up the wall. The wire whirs as it's reeled back into the device, the added pull from the wire helping the two agents scale the wall faster. Finally, they arrive on top of the building and hop over the ledge, opening their hands into a fist to release the hook's grip and pull it back into the device.
Without stopping the momentum, the two run through the roof, gazes fixed on the building right next to them. When they're at the edge of the roof, the two agents jump across and land on their feet, continuing their dash forward. Seven and Vanderwood leap through the roofs, their silhouettes accentuated by the moonlight. The bustling streets below are oblivious to the agents above them, unaware that tonight, someone is about to be murdered.
"How much farther?" Vanderwood asked between pants.
Seven presses the side of his glasses and his view changes, a grid falling over the layout of the buildings. Their target's location becomes highlighted in his view, only three more buildings to leap over. "Three!" Seven exclaims before the two leap to the next roof. This one is slanted, keeping the traditional Korean-style roofs from a few years ago. The agents land noisily on the tiles, lurching forward to grab onto something so they don't slip and fall.
Below them, they hear jubilant laughter and Vanderwood presses a hand against Seven's back, preventing him from moving. The older agent cranes his neck, seeing a few of the Empire's soldiers walking about, weapons in their hands. Vanderwood holds his position, hoping the guards don't look up. Thankfully, they pass by without incident, probably drunk based on how loud they were laughing.
Vanderwood lets out a breath. "That was close."
"Aww, Madam, I didn't know you cared so much about me~" Seven says, wiggling his eyebrows at Vanderwood. Vanderwood scowls.
"Shut up."
Seven laughs and shrugs. "It was a close call for you maybe, but I'm a cute kitty cat, they would only gush about how cute I am." Seven hoists himself across the roof as he hears Vanderwood groaning and muttering a low curse behind him; Seven just can't help teasing his partner, Vanderwood's reactions are too amusing.
The two continue past the roofs, noticing more guards appearing the closer they got to the building. Seven was right, choosing to go there through the buildings is safer than walking through the streets, where there's a higher chance of being identified.
Their mission tonight is to pull out the real son of the king of the Korean Empire. Neither agent is sure of the full story, just that the truth about this man has been hidden for decades. But now, finally, the true heir is ready to take his place on the throne...naturally, the ones vying for the power of the king wants him dead. That's why the top agents are on their way to deliver him from his building into the king's palace without alerting the guards. The head of the guards suspects some of his men have been paid off by other officials to kill the Prince —therefore, no one else knows of the attempted rescue and return of the Prince.
Seven and Vanderwood are a few buildings away when they spot a bunch of armed guards standing by the entrance of the building.
"The gap between the buildings is too wide; if we make the jump from here to there, they'll see us for sure," Vanderwood murmurs. Seven adjusts his glasses and reaches inside his pocket, taking out a flash grenade. Vanderwood smirks and nods, glancing at the adjacent building and looking for the best place to aim his hook. Seven waits until all the guards are gathered by the entrance before he reels back his arm and throws the grenade towards them. A bright, blinding light fills the surrounding area but Seven and Vanderwood are already soaring through the air, propelling themselves forward until they land on the side of the building, scaling the walls again.
"I count 2 minutes before we're completely surrounded." Seven says, gesturing with his chin to the window next to Vanderwood. "Our target's there, I hope he's ready!"
Vanderwood shrugs. "He doesn't have a choice." He kicks off from the wall and sways his body to the side, until he's swinging towards the glass window at full speed. Immediately unhooking the device, he hurtles through the glass feet first and lands on his feet, immediately checking the area. All he finds is a woman staring back at home with wide eyes, rooted to the ground as though she was in mid-pace in front of a bed.
"Uh-"
The brown-haired woman nods, recognition dawning in her hazel eyes. "You were sent by the king?"
"Yeah. Who are you? Where's the prince?" As he says that, Vanderwood hears the hurried footsteps from outside the apartment.
"What are you guys waiting for!" Seven exclaims from outside, still propped against the wall.
"It was a decoy, the king doesn't have a son —I'm his daughter, MC," the woman says, running to Vanderwood. "We have to move or they'll catch us! What's the plan?" She looks expectantly at Vanderwood.
Vanderwood, who's still processing the fact that the prince...is a girl. A pretty one at that.
He shakes his head though and snaps out of it; to be honest, the fact that she's a girl will make this a whole lot easier. He gets down on one knee in front of her. "Climb onto my back."
MC looks from the agent to the window and she pales. Before she could protest though, there's a loud bang! on her front door and MC jumps, gasping. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clings to the man tight and she feels her face warm when his gloved hands grab her thighs to wrap them securely around his waist as he stands.
"Don't let go, no matter what." Vanderwood tells the girl before he hops out the window and flicks his wrist towards the roof. The wire shoots out from the device and hooks onto the roof. The girl's hold around his neck tightens, her thighs clamping around his torso as she lets out a little squeak.
Seven's eyes widen. "Ohoho, they tricked us. The prince is a princess? Or is this another trick~?"
Vanderwood grunts, gripping the wire and starting to climb up the wall. "Who the fuck knows. But we ain't got time right now. Move!"
Seven's already scanning the girl's face, using the software he installed into his glasses to identify her. The girl's information pops up on his screen and Seven chuckles —in the documents, MC is portrayed as a lean man with a beard. But Seven realizes it might have been made that way to hide her true identity. There's no mistaking it though; the necklace around her neck bearing the king's royal emblem is proof enough that she's the real deal. A princess who's on the run from the Korean Empire but who will also be the one leading it soon enough, if things go according to plan that night.
He turns away from Vanderwood and the princess and looks to the open window, reaching inside his pocket for a smoke grenade.
"Fire in the hole!" Seven exclaims as he tosses the grenade into the room. Through the thermal scan feature of his glasses, he can see people inside scrambling to hide and he chuckles, quickly following after Vanderwood and MC.
The two agents fling themselves from roof to roof, not slowing down for a second. Seven feels as though he's flying, the wind whistling through his ears as they speed up, and he can't help but laugh; he never thought running through roofs and being catapulted through the air could feel so freeing, but it does. He makes a note to share this with someone special one day, when they see each other again.
However, the redhead is reminded that this isn't a test run or a scouting mission —no, the shouts from below are getting louder. To be honest, it reminds him of when he was a teen and had to cling to a tree branch while an angry dog (angry because you know, someone might have accidentally tossed a pebble to it while aiming for a certain maid) barks angrily below him, aggressively trying to get a bite of his ankles.
But the two men make a sharp turn around a corner and come to an abrupt stop, almost slipping off the tiles of the roof as they do so. Vanderwood pants and sets the girl down on the roof, eyeing her warily but pressing a finger to his lips to keep quiet.
"Ya, idiot. How sure are you that we can trust her?" he whispers to the younger man.
Seven shrugs and gives the girl a big grin and bows his head —it's the best bow he can given their circumstance. "Princess. It's an honor to meet you."
Vanderwood looks from Seven to the woman and feels awkward. If she's really a princess, then...
The older agent gives a curt bow before clearing his throat and moving to the other side of the roof, still hunched over. "Come on, we gotta get a move on if we want to beat them to the docks."
"The docks?" MC follows after the two agents, furrowing her brows. "But, I thought the plan was to take me to the palace-"
Seven wags a finger in her direction, winking. "That was a diversion~ You're not the only one who wants to throw the guards off, just in case something goes wrong, princess." He straightens and walks towards the side of the roof that leads into the alley they left their coats in. "Come on, now's our chance!"
Soon, the three of them are walking amongst the crowd, blending in perfectly with the rest of the citizens. Seven and Vanderwood have donned their coats and Vanderwood lights a cigarette and holds it his lips, standing a little behind the two. Seven hides his hair under his top hat and hums a tune to himself, pleased that his plan is working so far. The younger agent spots a stall selling kimbap and he ushers the two towards it.
"Three orders of kimbap, please!" he exclaims enthusiastically to the vendor. When he turns towards the princess, he can see she's staring at him with a bewildered look.
"This isn't the time for kimbap!" she hisses. Vanderwood merely chuckles and shakes his head, taking a drag from his cigarette.
Seven gasps. "Guuaaaaah! But it's good to have something in your belly after all the excitement of the evening!"
"Now?! They'll catch up to us!" she whispers, panicked.
"They won't. Relax. We know what we're doing." Vanderwood fishes out money from his pocket and hands it to the vendor as Seven looks around, spotting a group of guards running down the street, heads whipping this way and that, trying to find the two men from the roofs.
"I'll be right back! Mary, don't eat my kimbap!" he jogs down the street towards the guards. The princess' jaw drops.
"This can't be real," she thinks.
But Seven quickens his steps and starts to sprint towards the guards, changing the expression on his face to one of shock.
"Guards! Guards! Quick, in the alleyway! I-I...I saw!..." Seven stops in front of the guards and pretends to pant, putting his hands on his knees. The guards look at him skeptically, but Seven swallows and points to the south. "T-three people, they jumped down from the roof! Gave me such a scare-"
One of the guards gasp. "That's the direction of the steam train, commander!"
The guards curse and shove past Seven, running in a completely different direction than the one they'll be going to. Seven, still keeping up his act, fans himself with his hand and makes his way back to Vanderwood and the princess.
"Whew! Doing good deeds always makes me hungry~" He reaches for a kimbap and bites into it. "Come on, let's keep walking!"
In a confused daze, the princess walks with the two agents, a kimbap in hand and a look of disbelief on her face. Is...is this for real? These two agents, can she really trust them? The red-haired man seems young and playful, while the brown-haired one looks dangerous...and his name is Mary? Well, who is she to judge their names but she has to admit, "Mary" doesn't fit that man at all. MC sighs; she hopes they're really agents sent by her father, the King.
They keep walking until they reach the port, which, surprisingly, isn't crawling with guards just yet. Seven grins at MC and laughs.
"Our little diversion worked! Mission: SUCCESS!" Seven pumps his fist into the air and guides the princess to a boat they've already prepared for the mission. "Now, we'll take you to a secure location and lie low for a couple of days before returning you to the palace."
"I...a couple of days? Why can't you take me there now?"
Vanderwood and Seven exchange glances and Vanderwood nods to Seven, boarding the boat first and getting things ready. Seven adjusts his glasses and looks at the princess.
"Because taking you there now will not be safe. They have guards stationed everywhere and until the king is able to find the traitors, he instructed us to keep you hidden."
"Really? The king himself said that?"
Seven laughs. "Not to me directly. I'm just a lowly cockroach after all~" He gives her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You can trust us."
The red-haired man extends his hand to her.
For a moment, MC hesitates. What if they're lying and they were sent here by the traitors to get rid of her once and for all? Taking her someplace isolated and hidden..? That's too suspicious, she doesn't even know these men and they have no proof they were sent by her father. But what were her options, really? Go to the castle herself? She knows she'd be caught before she even goes near the palace gates.
She lets out a breath and slips her hand into his. Never in her life would she imagine she'd follow a stranger's instructions and be taken to a place she doesn't know of, but here she is, boarding a steam-powered boat and settling herself onto the seat as the two men exchanged looks again and brings the boat to life.
MC clasps her hands in her lap. She hopes she's right in trusting them.
As the boat kicks off from the port, Seven approaches Vanderwood and pats him on the back. "Well done, captain! We secured our first mate and we're heading to bluer waters!"
Vanderwood clicks his tongue and throws Seven a deadpan look. "Ya, would you stop with the jokes? Make sure she's alright and doesn't go anywhere or the boss will have our heads."
"Don't worry, Mary…” Seven glances back at the princess, the lights from the city glinting off his glasses.
“She's not going anywhere."
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Hello~ It's been a while since I've posted my fics here but I'm proud to share this piece for the @doubleagentzine ! I love Vanderwood, I've been a Vanderho since this blog started and I don't think that'll ever change :)) But it's so much fun to write for Vanderwood and Seven; they have a special bond and I really think both of them would do anything to keep the other safe ^^ I'm still waiting for Vandy's route ToT Hopefully we get to see the two agents in action someday!
The idea for this fic was sort of a steampunk-action kind of thing and I wanted the end to be kind of open-ended and ominous, with Seven's words carrying a layered message with it :)) So, it's up to you to decide whether Vanderwood and Seven are actually the good guys or bad guys in this fic ^^
Thanks for reading up to here! Haha hope you enjoyed the fic <3
─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ───
Check out my other Mysme writings here!
Mango Shake/Ko-fi is always very much appreciated (ᵔᴥᵔ)
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Meeting G Malkmus
30th December, 2017. Saturday, I received an anonymous like on this app, which I re- downloaded on my phone, that same night I did say hi, however didn’t hear back, so I went sleeping, after speaking to couple of those other gross people, oh and one of those bunch of peeps asked me if I’m on it to have some warmth during the winter, “warmth,” Seriously??, who talks like that, that man is a manager at a Chelsea Pizzaria, an Italian male, (eww, Italians who are into family and all, you know, guhh) who apparently was or still is in attempt to provide winter warmth to bunch of those desperate females in their 30s I guess, anywho, let’s not drag it along too much, let’s get back to focusing on G, let me refresh your memory who that is, it is that man who just liked me randomly thinking I’m a cutie, even though I revealed I’m 4’11″, and do not want children, men, huh?! And creatures that they like?!
So then the next morning, December 31, a sunny funny cozy Sunday, I was sleeping just fine and around 10.30 in the morning he said “Hey Tes, are ya originally from New York?! Hmm?! I wonder why would he ask me that?
I just said: Hi?! I evaluated these two possibilities or three, well I’m a non- white woman and from New York, so that’s usually the first question you’d get from out of towners and that’s to generate an answer to find out when did you actually immigrated to the United States? That was case one, then second was the fact, that some of those pictures that I’ve put up on that app was my recent visit to the Netherlands, he might have seen those and wanted to know if I live here or visiting, because men apparently can control their emotions based on the fact whether the female is a visitor or a locale?! Men, huh, in general?! In their entirety?!
Thirdly, which was apparently the reason he fell for me was if I indeed was born and raised in New York, because growing up at a suburban mid western town this kid has imagined himself of being born and raised in New York City?! Did he? You know how that goes with the indie/ alternative lovers, people that listened to the Velvet Underground growing up, would wanna troll Lou Reed, and at this point I’m pretty sure he legit tried to think about coming up with another soup container like Campbell like Warhol, since he’s by trade into mechanical or technical drawing?! Based on this third hypothesis: I’d say he wanted to know if I am indeed a New York breed, body and soul, full- fleshed, rigid walking and talking?! Or may be because he felt that I like him for being him? As he sensed that, or may be its familiar pain? Would I ever know? Or may be he felt that, I’m way too artistic for a non artist? And that’s his thing?
And the exact idea of me, all of a sudden will start seeming too good be true?! As if: a non white, 30yo, NewYork woman from Queens would know Baumbach and religiously watch everything that Wes Anderson has ever done and also think of you legit resemble Mike Mills (creatively & in congruity) now that’s an anomaly?!
Well now getting back to how I responded to his asking if I’m from here, “originally?”
“Yeah!” Short and simple, honestly I didn’t know he will write me back, came unexpected?! Why did he?!
Was that because he has devalued himself with time for the past 18 months, otherwise why would someone this talented, who makes these paintings⬇️⬇️
full of ethics and integrity and apparently intensely good-looking without even knowing have dared to write a low- life like this female, which is me, why?!
We will get back to that shortly, but then I thought, it’s Sunday morning, why did I have to go say “hi” in the first place on a Saturday night, that would generate a response kind of obvious and now I’ve to keep talking to him, so I prohibited myself from saying anything after that “yeah,” as in I’m originally from New York, for some reason later around the mid afternoon, I asked:
T: You?
G: I’m from Fort Wayne, Indiana, came to New York to make films and paint, and not be bored, Indiana is boring!
T: Okay
G: What do you do?
T: I just work
G: No I mean like for fun? Movies, or bars, or sports, or weed, or whatever?
T: I watch a lot of movies, I get paranoid with weed, and I’m an awful drinker, I sleep for fun?! Being lazy is kind of fun?!
(Wasn’t really liking him as much, and was wondering why he kept talking? On a Sunday, December 31, when guys are busy making plans for the eve), however; he responded with something which piqued my interest a little further… which goes:
G: Lol, yeah I agree with that. I’ve watched 5 movies this weekend already (inside my head, I was like, omg, I do that by the time it’s Sunday, did I meet my soul mate? ) I don’t usually watch THIS (now he does that, text in all caps to emphasize the expression/ or moment) much, but it’s fucking cold out (like oh my god, does he think that it’s civilized, and not un- hip to stay home and watch movies and not talking to people and not do activities, i. e. gym, laundry, ice- fucking- skating, rock- climbing, upstate- hiking, might have really met my souls mate, a home-body? The rarest breed in men to find, I haven’t met one before)
T: Yep, so are you not doing anything tonight?
G: I’ve a big freelance job I’ve to do tonight, you?
T: I’m not doing anything, which I don’t usually majority of the time? What kind of freelancing?
G:Video editing, I also sometimes do writing and graphic design.
What kind of thing are you looking here on KosherAllegory (I mythicized the name of the app in here, “cliched” much?!)
T: I don’t know yet, what about ya? ( I might have come off standoff- ish and non- chalant, but was not on purpose, I promise, never honestly didn’t or still don’t believe in app, however, I met my soul mate in here, him?!)
G: Hopefully a girlfriend, but not forcing it, sometimes it’s just fun to meet new people (okay so he isn’t going anywhere with me, it’s just fun to meet new people, just passing time, chatting by?!!)
T: okay, has anything ever turned serious off of here?
G: yes, I had a serious thing with a girl I’ve met on here a few years ago, when that ended I eventually used it again and met some cool people but nothings gotten too serious. Are you new to KosherAllegory?
T: Well I have it on my phone, but honestly I never use it, not finding anyone worth chatting that’s all?!
G: Oh cool, well I feel lucky then, would it be easier to just text message?
T: yeah
He then left his number and I started texted him, should of just shut it right there, right then, but I didn’t and we kept talking for three weeks before meeting on January 18th, it was a Thursday, and was extremely cold out, we both felt that our souls just connected and physically we were like those two missing pieces of a Jigsaw puzzle?!
Ironically, both our mothers had left us at a time when they were not supposed to, at a point when we would struggle forever and keep looking for a shelter, and would keep looking for them and mess up our entirety to just find that soul thats never tired of being unsatisfied?! And also we both are or have been estranged from our fathers, it’s like we have found each other!!! He’s that ugly feet twin of mine?!
& then we lost each other again, I’m on this train on my way home, it’s March 23rd, 2018, another Friday, 6.54 PM, I’m on an F train, super uncertain that I’ll ever get to see G again?!
As I’m typing away, he’s just a week away from packing up his life of last 6/7 years that’s spent in here and moving back home, near Fort Wayne, Indiana?!!!
True, he never was around, but in a way he was, in my soul, around me, beneath me, above me, all over me and in my thoughts and in my existence, people say true longing always comes back, I’d never know now of how much of that’ll ever be true but I’ll rather just have to see it through… ???!!!
Until the end of this universe?! Haha, joke?! That even a bad one, but you’ll laugh at it, only ya (paraphrased from “here,”<PAVEMENT>my only fav song from your indie man)
Caution & Trigger Warning:
I’ve exclusively used materials and pictures without permission, might get sued for violating privacy and also violation of someone’s copyright of 2017!
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