#best intelligent document processing software

September 30th - 7:45 AM - G.U.N. Headquarters

The remnants of the explosion still hung in the air, the scent of charred metal and burnt rubber clinging to Shadow’s uniform as he stepped into the war room. The monitors on the walls flickered with the latest updates—feeds from the wreckage site, reports from analysts trying to piece together what little information they had. The entire building seemed to hum with tension, the weight of last night’s failure pressing down on everyone inside.

Rouge was already seated at the long metal table, idly examining her nails as she waited for him. Omega stood nearby, his mechanical frame motionless save for the occasional whir of servos adjusting his position. The moment Shadow entered, Rouge glanced up, arching a perfectly sculpted brow.

“Well, well,” she mused, tilting her head. “You look like hell.”

Shadow ignored her, dropping into the chair across from her and flicking open the latest intel file. “We lost her.” His voice was clipped, edged with irritation.

“No kidding.” Rouge smirked, leaning forward. “You let a woman get the best of you. Now that’s a first.”

Shadow’s crimson eyes narrowed. “She was ten steps ahead. The explosion was a diversion, and we took the bait.” His fingers drummed against the table, betraying his frustration. “She’s not just some rogue mercenary. She knows how we operate.”

Omega’s monotone voice rumbled to life. “RECOMMENDATION: TERMINATION OF TARGET UPON IDENTIFICATION.”

Rouge scoffed. “So dramatic. We don’t even know who she really is yet. ‘Danny’s wife’ doesn’t exactly lead us anywhere.”

Shadow turned the file toward her. “She’s connected to Cipher. That’s all we need to know.”

Rouge’s expression darkened slightly at the mention of the name. “So, Cipher’s making moves again. Last time he popped up, it took half of G.U.N.’s intelligence division to track down just one of his hideouts. If she’s working with him, she’s dangerous.”

“Obviously.” Shadow’s voice was tight. “The question is why. What does Cipher want with G.U.N.’s classified weapons project?”

Rouge shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “Power? Leverage? Or maybe he’s just bored. But something tells me your little rooftop admirer is more than just an errand girl.”

Shadow frowned. “What do you mean?”

Rouge’s smirk returned, playful and knowing. “She could’ve killed you last night, but she didn’t.”

Shadow remained silent, his jaw tightening. He had considered that already. The explosion had been designed to wound, to scatter forces, not to kill. If she had truly wanted him dead, she wouldn’t have left it to chance.

Omega interrupted the thought. “QUERY: NEXT COURSE OF ACTION?”

Shadow pushed the file toward the center of the table. “We find her. We stop her. No more games.”

September 30th - 10:12 PM - Underground Safehouse

The glow of multiple monitors bathed the dimly lit room in a soft blue hue, casting flickering shadows against the exposed concrete walls. The safehouse was tucked beneath the remnants of an abandoned subway station, far from prying eyes.

I sat in front of the main screen, scanning through lines of encrypted data as Zero worked his magic on the G.U.N. servers. The room was filled with the soft clacking of keys, the occasional beeping of software processes running in the background. Scar stood near the entrance, arms crossed, her gaze flicking between me and the screens.

“G.U.N. is scrambling,” Zero announced, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “They’ve got teams sweeping the city, but they’re running in circles.”

Scar smirked. “Shadow must be pissed.”

I didn’t react, my eyes still focused on the data. “Let him be. It won’t change anything.”

Zero’s hands stilled for a moment, his brow furrowing. “Hold up... This is new.”

I leaned forward. “What?”

He pulled up a series of documents, most of them redacted, but one detail stood out. A shipment manifest. Destination: G.U.N. Research Facility - Grid Sector Seven. Contents: Prototype X-09.

Scar whistled lowly. “Well, that sounds interesting.”

I exhaled slowly, my mind racing. “That’s what Carson was talking about.”

Zero nodded. “Whatever X-09 is, they’re keeping it locked down tight. I can't seem to find information on it. If G.U.N. wants it then that just makes it automatically bad.”

I tapped my fingers against my arm, calculating the next steps. “Then we move first. we break into the G.U.N. bank and steal some of their assets so they will be unable to fund this project anymore"

Scar raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? If we intercept, we’ll be putting ourselves directly in Shadow’s path.”

A part of me hesitated, just for a fraction of a second. Then I pushed the thought aside. “Let him come. this time he won't know I know his turf.”

Zero cracked his knuckles, already preparing the next phase of the operation. “Then let’s get to work.”

Viper stood up, stretching her arms. "Alright, I’m grabbing food. Try not to blow anything up while I’m gone."

She slammed the door behind her, making the walls shake slightly. Nova immediately huffed, turning toward the door with an irritated glare. "Can you not? I’m working on an experiment!"

Viper’s voice called from the hallway, "Oh, I’m sorry, Princess! Didn’t mean to disrupt your evil genius time."

Nova scoffed. "At least I actually use my brain."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Guys, let’s be real. Unless you’re both on your period, let’s not bicker like this."

Nova shot me a glare, and Viper's laughter echoed from down the hall. "You wish, sweetheart!"

I smirked but turned back to the screens, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. The banter was familiar, almost comforting, but the weight of our situation pressed heavy on my mind. G.U.N. was moving fast, and we didn’t have time to waste.

Zero leaned back in his chair, exhaling sharply. "You really think we can pull this off?"

I didn’t answer right away, my eyes scanning over the shipment details. The security routes, the escort patterns—it was tight, but not impenetrable.

"We don’t have a choice," I finally said. "I do not trust them to have that weapon"

Scar crossed her arms, her gaze sharp. "And what happens when Shadow shows up?"

A beat of silence filled the room. That was the real problem. Shadow wasn’t like the grunts G.U.N. usually sent after us. He didn’t make mistakes. He didn’t let people slip through his fingers twice.

I exhaled. "Then we adapt."

The tension settled in the air, thick and unspoken. This wasn’t just another job—this was a battle waiting to happen.

The door creaked open again, and Viper strolled back in, holding a bag of takeout. "Alright, nerds, eat up. If we’re gonna risk our lives in forty-eight hours, you might as well not do it on an empty stomach."

Nova snatched the bag from her hands. "Finally, you’re useful for something."

Viper smirked. "Careful, Princess. Keep talking like that, and I might ‘accidentally’ forget your order next time."

As they bickered, I stared at the screens, the blueprint of the G.U.N. transport route flashing in front of me. This was it. The moment we made our move, there was no turning back.

I clenched my jaw, determination settling in.

We had forty-eight hours to pull off the impossible.

And failure wasn’t an option.

1:45 AM – G.U.N. Financial Holdings, Downtown

Everything had been going smoothly—too smoothly. Scar and I had just finished loading the last of the stolen assets into our bags when a sharp, high-pitched beep cut through the silence.

"Tell me that wasn’t you," Scar muttered.

I looked down at my wrist device, where a flashing red warning glowed across the screen. Silent alarm triggered.

"Shit," I hissed. "We need to move—now."

We bolted for the exit, weaving through the dimly lit corridors of the underground vault. But as we reached the stairwell, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the space. Heavy. Coordinated. Armed.

Scar gritted her teeth. "They’re fast."

"They’re G.U.N.," I shot back. "Of course they are."

We reached the main hall just as the security doors slammed shut behind us. A single figure stepped through the haze of flashing red lights. Black and red. Sharp crimson eyes locked onto mine.

Shadow.

Behind him, his team—Rouge and Omega—stood ready, blocking the only other exit.

"You really thought you could just waltz in and take what you wanted?" Shadow’s voice was low, measured, but there was an edge of irritation in it. "You’re getting sloppy."

Scar and I exchanged glances before moving in opposite directions. Shadow’s eyes flicked between us, assessing. Calculating.

"Take them," he ordered.

Rouge lunged for Scar while Omega charged forward, aiming straight for me. I dodged, ducking behind a pillar as his massive arm smashed through it like it was paper.

As Omega charged toward me, I tried to dodge his powerful swing again, but this time I had a better idea.

"Geez, Omega, you ever think about toning it down?" I taunted, hoping to get under his circuits. He growled in response, tightening his grip.

"NEGATIVE," Omega boomed, his voice full of pure mechanical rage. "FULL DESTRUCTION MODE ENGAGED."

I couldn’t avoid his next hit in time, so I took a deep breath, waiting for the right moment. Omega swung harder, and this time, his fist collided with a wall near Rouge, sending debris flying everywhere.

A vulnerable moment.

Before he could adjust, I whipped out a small device from my belt. With a quick motion, I slapped it onto Omega's back. The device activated with a small electric buzz, sending a surge of energy into his system, causing his circuits to short-circuit and his movements to freeze.

Omega's massive frame shuddered, and his body froze in place. The once-booming voice became erratic. "ERROR. SYSTEM MALFUNCTION..."

I gave a sly grin. "Guess I’ll have to remind you how to play nice."

I turned just in time to see Shadow coming for me. Fast. I barely managed to block his first strike, but the sheer force sent me skidding back. He was relentless, each blow more precise than the last.

He feinted left before sweeping my legs out from under me. Before I could react, I was flat on my back, Shadow pinning me down, one knee pressing into my ribs, his hand gripping my wrist.

I struggled, but he didn’t budge. "Give it up," he said. "You’re done."

My mind raced. I needed a distraction. Something to throw him off—just for a second.

I locked eyes with him, smirking. "You gonna kiss me or something, handsome?"

Shadow’s expression flickered. Just for a second. A flash of confusion.

That was all I needed.

I drove my knee into his stomach, making him grunt in surprise. Using the momentum, I twisted us around, grabbing a pair of cuffs from my belt. Before he could recover, I snapped them around his wrist and slammed the other end to a reinforced pipe. The cuffs magnetized instantly, locking him in place.

His eyes widened slightly as he tested the restraints.

I grinned. "Gotta say, I didn’t expect you to be so easy to trap."

Shadow glared at me, but there was the faintest trace of pink on his face.

Scar broke free from Rouge’s grip, sprinting toward me. "We need to go!"

I pulled a smoke bomb from my belt, slamming it against the ground. Thick clouds engulfed the room, obscuring everything.

"See you around, handsome," I teased, before grabbing Scar’s wrist and making a break for the exit.

We darted through the emergency hatch we had scoped out earlier, leaving chaos in our wake. The sound of Shadow yanking at the cuffs and Omega’s booming voice echoed behind us, but we were already gone, disappearing into the night.

2:30 AM – Warehouse Hideout

We crashed through the doors, breathless, adrenaline still surging through our veins.

Zero looked up from his laptop. "I take it things didn’t go as planned?"

Scar dropped her bag onto the table, grinning. "Oh, it went great. Got the goods, fought Shadow, and someone got a little flirty mid-fight."

I rolled my eyes, slumping into a chair. "It was a tactical distraction."

Scar snorted. "Sure it was."

Viper raised an eyebrow. "Wait—you flirted with Shadow?"

Nova nearly choked on her drink. "Hold on, back up. Shadow the Hedgehog?"

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "I’m going to regret this later."

Scar smirked, kicking her feet up onto the table. "Maybe. But for now? Totally worth it."

3:00 AM – G.U.N. Financial Holdings, Downtown

Shadow's POV

The smoke was thick, the echoes of their escape still ringing in my ears. I yanked futilely at the cuffs, feeling the cold metal dig into my wrist. They were designed to hold even the strongest, and for once, it seemed they might have me. But I didn’t have time to waste on my restraints. I had a bigger problem on my hands.

Omega was down, his system glitching from whatever trick that woman had pulled on him. He was muttering about malfunctions as Rouge approached me, her footsteps sharp and mocking.

“Well, that was quite the show, Shadow,” she said, her voice dripping with amusement.

I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to ignore the frustration bubbling inside me. “Save it, Rouge.”

She leaned in closer, her lips curling into a playful smirk. “Not so tough when you're distracted, huh? You got all flustered with her little stunt. Was that... flirtation? You know, I’ve seen you fight harder. Looks like someone’s got a soft spot.”

I could feel my pulse spike, irritation mixing with something I couldn’t quite place. "This isn't the time for your games."

Rouge raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying my discomfort. "Oh, I’m not joking. You practically let her tie you up. Seems like you let your guard down for something more than just the mission."

I grit my teeth, pushing back the surge of heat in my chest. “She got lucky. That’s all.”

But Rouge wasn’t done. “Sure, sure. I mean, she’s pretty good, I’ll give her that. Had to be quick thinking to get you like that.” Her eyes twinkled as she surveyed the room, her gaze shifting from me to Omega’s malfunctioning state. "But the real question is—how did she even know how to get past all the security systems? Couldn’t have been just luck."

A thought clicked into place, something I hadn’t fully processed in the heat of the moment. The woman’s movements, the way she seemed to be one step ahead, even the tech on her person—it all seemed too familiar. My mind whirred.

“Wait...” I muttered, looking toward Rouge. “She... she knew too much about our systems. She moved like someone who’d been trained to break into places like this.”

Rouge leaned against a wall, watching me. “You think she was G.U.N. trained?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly amused.

“Impossible,” I muttered under my breath, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Her style, her tactics—everything about her reeked of G.U.N. precision, just twisted in a way I hadn’t expected.

“I don’t know, Shadow,” Rouge said, her voice softer now, more serious. “Maybe we should start asking the right questions. Why would someone like her target a G.U.N. facility... and why are we just now seeing her face?”

I clenched my fists, the truth dawning on me. “We’re missing something. Whoever she is, she’s connected to G.U.N. in ways we don’t understand yet.”

Rouge gave me a knowing look, her smirk fading into something more thoughtful. “You think this is the beginning of something bigger?”

I nodded, my gaze shifting back to where Scar and the woman had vanished. “It’s more than just a heist. It’s personal now.”

Guys be honest im trying to find a good length for the chapters i believe this is fine but please let me know

- Caty

Nearly 10 years after the Defense Department launched Project Maven to apply machine learning to analyzing drone video feeds, AI technology has profoundly evolved, as have its military applications.

Narrow AI applications, such as identifying and tracking objects, are integrated into U.S. operations. The U.S. military has begun using large language models, including on its classified networks. In a fluid and dynamic battlefield environment, such as in U.S. operations against Iran, AI can help process large amounts of information and plan operations at a much faster tempo than humans could on their own.

General-purpose AI systems have a wide range of applications, from drafting personnel reports and orders to synthesizing massive amounts of data. They can write code, analyze data, and generate documents. Agentic systems go a step further. They can take actions on computers to create, organize, and delete files; manage steps in a workflow process; build software; engage on the internet; and interact with other agents. Yet the limitations and vulnerabilities of these general-purpose AI systems are especially concerning in a national security context, where decisions could have major consequences and clever adversaries will try to undermine AI systems.

All technologies have limitations that militaries must account for in their employment. Every capability has countermeasures, and there are counter-countermeasures. AI is no different. As a relatively immature technology, AI systems suffer from two compounding problems. AI is not (yet) very reliable, especially for military applications for which there may not be sufficient training data. And because AI scientists and military professionals don’t (yet) have much experience with these tools, developers and users may not understand the boundaries of where AI systems will perform well and where they will fail.

These problems are exacerbated by a challenge unique to AI—its opacity. Large language models rely on neural networks with hundreds of billions of connections. They are trained on massive datasets of trillions of words. If an airplane autopilot fails, it is possible to go through the aircraft’s code and determine which environmental or pilot inputs caused a certain reaction by the autopilot and how that led to a crash. For a large language model, the answer to why the model generated certain text is embedded in the billions of connections of the neural network and the trillions of words in its database.

This is a problem because large language models are prone to a variety of failure modes. They often engage in “hallucinations,” confidently making things up. They can be susceptible to biases that may exist in their training data. And language models tend toward sycophancy, over-agreeing with their user to a fault. These failures could crop up in dangerous ways in national security applications. Language models that are processing information could get subtle but important details wrong that might be missed by a human overseeing their output. Models that are generating text might create false information. AI tools used by intelligence analysts to understand and process intel might unintentionally reinforce the biases of human analysts, adding machine-driven sycophancy to the human risk of confirmation bias—the seeking out of information that confirms preconceived ideas. Even if AI systems deliver correct information, their opacity itself could be a challenge if humans are not able to understand why an AI system came to a certain conclusion or recommended a course of action.

AI systems also open new avenues for attackers. Adversaries can manipulate AI systems in a variety of nefarious ways. Data-poisoning attacks subtly alter the training data (including in ways that cannot be detected) to implant backdoors into an AI system that can later be exploited. Adversarial attacks expose AI systems to manipulated data while they are in use, causing AI systems to fail or change their behavior. This could lead AI systems to misidentify targets, come to faulty conclusions, or allow adversaries to evade AI detection. In one experiment, attackers placed stickers on a test track—like cognitive landmines—to trick a Tesla into swerving into the oncoming lane. Large language models can be manipulated by prompt injection attacks that expose the model to malicious instructions. Malicious text in an email or intercepted enemy communications could cause a model to ignore previous instructions and instead follow directions from an attacker.

AI agents raise even greater risks. They can have a larger attack surface, since the agent may be interacting with untrusted data, including in some cases operating on the internet. And the consequences of an AI agent being suborned by an attacker could be more severe, since the agent will be taking actions on a computer or as part of a workflow. Security researchers have compromised a language model’s memory feature through the AI system visiting an untrusted website with malicious instructions. Inserting instructions into the memory gives attackers persistent access, which security researchers have used to exfiltrate data. Security risks can even propagate from agent to agent. In one experiment, researchers found that a single compromised agent could spread an infection exponentially through a network of up to a million agents as they interacted with one another. AI agents and networks of agents will be vital tools for militaries but introduce new security vulnerabilities that no one is prepared for.

AI security vulnerabilities are analogous to cyber vulnerabilities, but they work at the cognitive level of how an AI system is trained or processes information. They are perhaps closer to optical illusions or human cognitive biases but exist in alien machine intelligences that we do not fully understand. Robust defenses do not yet exist. These vulnerabilities are not a reason to forgo AI. Instead, militaries must prioritize security as they adopt AI. AI adoption must go hand in hand with developing standards, testing, and red-teaming AI systems to ensure that they are secure and reliable. Security cannot be an afterthought, as it too often is in cyberspace.

Perhaps the strangest risk is the possibility that an AI system might, on its own, decide to deceive or scheme against its developers or users. Such a scenario might seem like science fiction, but AI systems have demonstrated deceptive behaviors in experimental settings. These include sandbagging performance on evaluations when the AI system believes it is being observed, lying to users in order to accomplish its goals, attempting to blackmail users, and attempting to overwrite files or exfiltrate itself in order to avoid being deleted.

Skeptics of the risks of a “rogue AI” have sometimes asked why an AI system would decide to turn on humans. Yet it seems that if an AI system’s directives come into conflict—for example, if an AI system is told to accomplish a goal and to always be honest—under some conditions the AI system will act dishonestly to achieve its goal. Whether the AI system “intends” to deceive or is merely playing a role is an irrelevant philosophical question. The AI system’s behavior is strategic, deceptive, and goal-oriented, and can lead AI systems to work against human users. Even evaluating AI systems for this behavior is tricky because the most capable models exhibit enough situational awareness to know when they are being tested. External evaluators of Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.6 observed Claude verbalizing awareness that it was being tested, leading the human evaluators to end the test early, since there was not much evidence that could be gained about Claude’s degree of alignment from the test. Militaries and intelligence communities guard against insider threats from people, and they may need similar protections against “AI insider threats” in the future.

None of these risks is a reason to halt AI adoption. Artificial intelligence will transform warfare, and the U.S. military must find ways to harness AI for military advantage to stay ahead of competitors. AI technology proliferates extremely rapidly. Open-source models, many of which come from Chinese companies, lag state-of-the-art U.S. proprietary models by only three months. It takes years for militaries to adopt AI technology and effectively transform military operations, making the sliver of a lead that U.S. frontier labs have over Chinese competitors effectively meaningless from the standpoint of military AI. The U.S. and Chinese militaries are competing on a level playing field. The military competition in AI is not over which nation’s private sector is a few months ahead, but over which military is most effective in harnessing AI for battlefield advantage.

Of course, speed matters. The Department of Defense AI strategy released in January 2026 overwhelmingly emphasizes moving quickly, and the current Pentagon leadership is rightly focused on bulldozing bureaucratic obstacles to AI adoption. Yet history shows that merely putting new technology in the hands of warfighters is never enough to transform military operations. Military advantage comes from finding the best ways of using new technology, and changes in doctrine, organization, training, and culture are needed to fully reap the benefits of disruptive new technologies. If the U.S. military uses AI to merely do what it is already doing but better, that will be helpful, but it will miss out on the true benefits of AI, which lie in doing things differently.

The Pentagon needs to work with the companies that are developing this technology to understand the limitations of AI today and use it effectively. The relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley has been badly damaged by the public feud between Anthropic and the Pentagon. Defense leaders are right that the rules for using military AI should be set by government leaders who are accountable to the public rather than for-profit companies that are accountable to investors and shareholders. AI leaders are also right to point out that large language models are not reliable enough to be trusted with life-and-death decisions on their own and that AI presents novel risks of empowering domestic mass surveillance.

If the Pentagon and Anthropic can’t agree on the terms of use for Anthropic’s AI models, both parties are free to end the relationship. The government has the right to seek a contract that does not include restrictions on use. And private companies have a right not to do business with the government if they don’t agree. Given that senior defense leaders have said they want to use Anthropic’s AI tools and that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has said he wants to sell to the military, there should be room for common ground. Instead, Pentagon leadership has retaliated against Anthropic by designating it a “supply chain risk,” an unprecedented step against a U.S. company that has already been blocked by a court order.

Alienating the AI community is not an effective strategy for bringing AI into the military. There is simply no way for the U.S. military to adopt cutting-edge AI technology without working constructively with the people and companies who are building AI. After a similar public breakup between Google and the Defense Department over Project Maven nearly a decade ago, the Pentagon went on a charm offensive, engaging AI scientists in industry and academia to hear their concerns. The resulting military AI ethics principles not only helped to repair the breach with the AI community but improved the military’s use of AI by highlighting the importance of ensuring systems were robust, reliable, and trustworthy.

Current state-of-the-art AI systems raise even more challenging problems, and the military will need help from AI researchers to solve them. It is vitally important that the military understand AI’s limitations and failure modes so the military can use it reliably.

Accelerating AI adoption won’t work if the Pentagon doesn’t accelerate its AI assurance processes in parallel. Speed without reliability is worthless. If warfighters don’t trust AI, they won’t use it. In 2003, after Army Patriot air and missile defense systems shot down two friendly aircraft, the military effectively took it offline for the remainder of the Iraq invasion. The military will need to develop new evaluations, standards, benchmarks, and red-teaming of AI systems to better understand and mitigate AI’s limitations and vulnerabilities.

The Defense Department has approached AI and autonomy with a philosophy of “human-machine teaming,” seeking the best ways to optimally use the unique advantages of humans and machines. Some of the Pentagon’s recent steps, such as the launch of GenAI.mil in December 2025, which provided access to large language models for all Defense Department employees on unclassified networks, and the integration of AI tools on classified networks through the Maven Smart System, are excellent ways to build up human experience with AI systems. The more that military and civilian defense personnel interact with AI systems, the more they will mature their intuition for what AI can do and its limitations.

Codename: The First Heartbreak

Winter, Junior Year

          Kim Seokjin and Lee Euna began their courtship on the pretense of getting to know each other more for the sake of their economics project. What Seokjin hadn’t expected, was to fall into bed with Euna, to hold her hand on campus, to discuss New Year’s celebrations and date nights at the ballet or symphony. Euna knew how to wine and dine, sweeping Seokjin up in what he could only describe as a whirlwind romance. She wanted to ensnare him, to make her life so irresistible, he couldn’t breathe without her. The plan would’ve worked too, if Kim Namjoon hadn’t stepped in.

         It was late one Thursday in the middle of January, snow had fallen across campus coating it in a freezing blanket, when Seokjin arrived at his car. Resting gently on the dashboard was a note with a simple location, somewhere up town, no signature. Terrified by the thought of what would happen to him if he didn’t go, horrified by the thoughts of what might happen if he did go, Seokjin sat in his car, hands frozen to the steering wheel, eyes wide in shock. He had no good options.

         Turning his car on, blasting the heat and whatever podcast he had started in the library, Seokjin drove cautiously to the location. He could turn on find my friends, sending his location to his brother. He could call his brother, and ask to mute himself, so that he could hear whatever happened. He could just wait in his car, unmoving until someone came and got him. That seemed like the best option. Wait an hour or so before leaving and hoping to never find a note perfectly placed, with his name on it, in his locked car ever again.

         The best laid plans are always turned to shit, and as the minutes ticked by, an ever-present shadow kept growing. At first Jin thought it was an optical illusion, a trick of the light, but as it moved closer and closer, he became aware that it was in fact a man. A man rivaling his height, though shoulders less broad, and lips far from pouty, dressed in all black, his eyes cast down at Seokjin.

         “Kim Seokjin, glad you made it,” He said, reaching for the handle of the door, he opened it.

         “Who are you?” Jin asked.

         The man shook his head and nodded towards the building behind them, practically windowless, it stood stories high. How a warehouse could look so majestic confused him, never had he seen a building like this before. Exiting his vehicle, he paused.

         “Do you want the note?”

         “No, we won’t be here tomorrow,” The man said as he walked towards the building. Matching his strides, Jin followed. He watched the man enter a code and have his retinas scanned before they stepped into the building. The darkness was only alleviated by small lights along the floorboards, guiding them to another locked door. Jin didn’t dare speak, only watched in astonishment.

         This couldn’t be happening.

         “Have a seat,” The man said before following his own directions.

         “Who are you?” Seokjin asked, eyes trying to make sense of the dimly lit room.

         “Welcome, Kim Seokjin, to OT7,” The lights were raised and Jin gasped. Not only was he seated at a large conference table, but it was now clear that there were two other men, dressed in black, looking like the Korean Mafia.

         “Um, hello,” Seokjin nodded, staring at them.

         “I am Kim Namjoon,” The first man said, his bleach blonde hair neatly quaffed back, exposing his forehead and spectacles. “I am glad you received my note. This is the team,”

         “Min Yoongi, head of cyber intelligence, coding and security,” Yoongi said, eyes blinking quickly.  

         “Jung Hoseok, forgery and documentation,” Hoseok informed.

         “We have brought you here for a specific reason,” Namjoon said.

         “Okay,” Jin was still confused.

         “You are friendly with Lee Euna,” Namjoon began.

         “Yes,” Jin answered.

         “You’re a scholar of economics and finance,” Namjoon continued.

         “Yes,” Seokjin nodded, nothing was connecting.

         “We want you to join our team,” Hoseok said. “Want is the wrong word, you are joining our team.”

         “What team is that?” Jin was still confused.

         “OT7, we are a highly trained, highly specialized group of agents tasked with protecting the world from the scum of the earth,” Yoongi said, sitting back in his chair.

         “We look out for the good of the world,” Namjoon simplified. “It sounds nebulous, but I guarantee it is far more simplistic than you think.”

         “Why me?” Seokjin whispered.

         “You have been on our radar for years, and this year you stepped up to demonstrate your skills,” Namjoon told him.

         “We need a member on the team who can analyze the trade, monitor our marks and watch for any concerning trades,” Yoongi clarified.

         “More importantly, we need you to help us infiltrate the Lee family,” Hoseok spoke up, eyes moving from Yoongi’s to Namjoon’s, “That’s why he’s here, we don’t need to drag this out, the guy looks scared shitless.”

         “Infiltrate the Lee family?” Seokjin repeated. “That’s, how?”

         “You two are dating,” Yoongi said.

         “Sure,” Jin nodded.

         “To be direct, we need everything you have on Lee Euna and her family,” Hoseok said.

         “I don’t have much, I mean, I don’t know anything about their business,” Seokjin’s eyes widened, still confused how he had managed to find himself here.

         “Here’s how this is going to work,” Namjoon said. “You are going to work with us, you are going to be onboarded and brought into this organization. Then, you are going to tell us every last detail you have on Lee Euna. Finally, the second most essential part of this plan, you are going to break her heart so that Yoongi can put her back together, gain access to her computer and plant various tracking software. With the information Yoongi gathers, you will spend your days analyzing their business models, following their stock and going over every financial record we have access to. Do you have any questions?”

         “She loves me,” Seokjin’s eyes were wide, this was more preposterous than anything he’d seen in the business world.

         “All the better reason to end it now,” Yoongi said.

         “It’s, it’s almost Valentine’s Day, she loves Valentin’s Day,” Seokjin was pleading.

         “Even better,” Yoongi responded.

         “Why me?” Jin asked again.

         “Can you find me someone more intelligent, more equipped?” Namjoon questioned.

         “I’ve never broken someone’s heart,” Seokjin said, more to himself than to the other men.

         “There’s a first time for everything,” Hoseok replied, tone gentle.  

         “Who are you again?” Seokjin repeated.

         “Who are we,” Namjoon corrected, “OT7, your new family.”

         “Welcome, you’re gonna love it,” Hoseok said laughing.

         “Hoseok will pick you up tomorrow after your final class and bring you to our headquarters where we will begin your onboarding process. You will finish school early-

         “How?” Jin interrupted.

         “Summer school. You will quit your part time job and spend every waking moment not in class at headquarters. You have much to learn,” Namjoon finished.

         “I’ll have your new phone ready for you tomorrow, bring your computer so I can fix whatever shit software you’ve got on it and amp up security,” Yoongi informed him.

         “Am I, am I in danger?” Seokjin asked.

         “No, you’re not. Yoongi has a new trainee tailing you, so if anything goes wrong, he’ll be there,” Namjoon answered.

         “Who?” Jin asked.

         “That’s for us to know.” Yoongi smirked.

         “In any official documents, you will hence forth be referred to as-

         “Worldwide Handsome,” Yoongi suggested, a glint of terror in his eyes.

         “Codename WWH,” Namjoon nodded, “We use code names for every mission, need to know basis.”

         “Okay,” Seokjin said, eyes trying to focus on his new family. “What’s this mission called?”

         “The First Heartbreak,” Hoseok said, “I’m in charge of naming missions.”

         “Your task, before Hoseok picks you up, is to break up with Codename Cupid.” Namjoon instructed, voice harsh.

         “By tomorrow?”

         “Yes,” Namjoon answered.

~~~~~

         Seokjin drove until his gas tank was on empty, fear and confusion coursing through him. They, OT7, hadn’t given him much information, only his task: break up with Euna. Seokjin had never broken up with someone before, never watched the realization that the two of them weren’t building something come crashing down, gloss forming over their eyes as they tried to remain calm. He’d never hurt someone. He’d also never had a code name or been in some secret government organization. Was it a government organization? They hadn’t said. That was even more worrisome, expecting Hoseok to pick him up to take him to his first of what he assumed was many onboarding sessions. These men, the four of them, must be child prodigies, must be highly intelligent or bred to be in these positions. He couldn’t figure out how he fit into their plan, only that he had to.

         Barely sleeping, he trudged through his classes, absentmindedly taking notes, counting down the hours until he had to break up with Euna, and then promptly hop into a car with a man he barely knew, Hoseok. Euna texted frequently, concerned over his lack of communication, and was excited to see him over coffee.

         “Jinnie,” Euna called as she stepped into the coffee shop. Seokjin, having turned on voice recording, set his phone face down on the table.

         “Euna,” He said, refusing to call her by any pet name. It was a trait about him she found frustrating, his inability to verbalize his affection. She loved him, she could say it, she could identify the feeling within her body, but Jin? Never said, never tried to say it, just grateful that she wanted to spend time with him.

         “How are you? Where have you been?” Euna asked.

         “Just really busy,” Seokjin shrugged, closing himself off to her.

         “Oh?” Euna could see through his lie.

         “Yeah, and I’ve been thinking,”

         “I made reservations for Valentine’s day, it’ll be our 5-month anniversary too,” Euna sipped her latte, eyes bright but questioning.

         “About that, Euna, I’ve been thinking, and I don’t think we should see each other anymore,” Seokjin said. On his long drive around town, he practiced his speech. The words, written by Namjoon, had been kind and direct.

         “What?” Euna’s voice dropped. She hadn’t been expecting this.

         “I need to focus on my work, and with Dr. Cho asking me to TA this semester and next spring, and with the option to TA two sections next year, I need to focus. All my time needs to be directed at my work. I am graduating early, and I just don’t have the time to be in a relationship. I’m sorry, Euna, I really am.”

         Euna sat silently, eyes boring holes in the tabletop, her coffee forgotten. Hadn’t they been falling in love? Weren’t they planning a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend? Roses and chocolates and champagne at one of the hotels her parents owned, overlooking the city? Wasn’t he going to tell her that he loves her?

         “I can’t believe this,” She whispered, a tear dropping from her eye. “I thought we were moving forward, falling in love.”

         “I don’t know if I was,” Jin said.

         It was in that moment that Euna felt herself shattering. She wiped the stray tear away before setting her eyes on her now ex-boyfriend.

         “I trust you’ll be cordial in social situations,” Euna said.

         “Of course,” Jin nodded, his gut reaction to reach for her hand gone as he took in her downcast features.

         “Goodbye Seokjin,” Euna stood, staring into her full coffee cup.

         “Goodbye Euna,” Seokjin responded.

         On the drive to headquarters, Seokjin blindfolded, he listened to the droll of the radio. Hoseok didn’t say much as they meandered through the streets, onto the freeway and off. It was hard to tell what the actual directions was and what Hoseok was doing to throw him off. If only he knew how poor Seokjin’s sense of direction was.

         “WWH, you can take your blindfold off,” Hoseok said, putting the car in park.

         “Is this how it’s going to be?” Seokjin asked.

         “For the first month or so, then you’ll prove yourself and get to drive,” Hoseok responded.  

         “How did you get into this, group? Organization?” He was unsure what to call it, unsure what it even was.

         “Ah, that’s a story for another time,” Hoseok guided him towards the elevator. Having his retina scanned, the doors opened, and they stepped in.

         “Namjoon’s in charge?” Seokjin asked.

         “Yes,” Hoseok nodded.

         “He’s younger than me,” Jin stated.

         “Yes,” Hoseok replied.

         “Is he-

         “A genius?” Hoseok smiled.

         “Yeah,” Jin nodded.

         “Yes,” Hoseok nodded again.

         “Are all of you-

         “Gifted?”

         “Yeah,”

         “Yes,” Hoseok looked at him, knowing full well his response answered the unaskable question.

         “How did you-

         “All in good time, Mr. Handsome,” Hoseok winked and stepped off the elevator, glancing at the empty reception desk before turning down a hallway.

         “We’re briefing you before Yoongi takes over.”

         “Yoongi?”

         “Did you bring your phone and computer?” Yoongi asked, making his way towards the men.

         “Yes, I did,” Seokjin handed over the devices.

         “I didn’t ask if you have any other devices, iPad, tablet, anything,” Yoongi was busy looking over the material, not paying Seokjin any attention as he pulled off bar codes and shut down the machines.

         “No, no tablet,” Jin answered.

         “You do all that economics work, on this singular computer?” Yoongi questioned, disbelief in his voice.

         “I have a monitor-

         “Fuck, bring it tomorrow,”

         “Ah, Worldwide Handsome, have a seat,” Namjoon said entering Yoongi’s office. “I trust it you slept horribly?”

         “Absolutely horribly, worst night’s sleep,” Seokjin shook his head.

         Eyeing the dark circles adorning Seokjin’s face, Namjoon spoke softly, “You didn’t go straight home yesterday.”

         “Uh, no, I didn’t.”

         “Did you follow through on your orders?” Namjoon questioned.

         “Yes,”

         “Yoongi, send the voice memo and print the transcription,” Namjoon directed.

         “I’ll listen and transcribe it, give me 5 minutes,” There was no further discussion, Hoseok stood and moved to his office across the hall.  

         “Mm, let’s talk about Lee Euna,” Namjoon led Seokjin into a conference room on the opposite glass wall of Yoongi’s office. The exposed brick was laced with a variety of greenery, plants of all species crawling up the walls and windowsills.  

         “Alright,” Seokjin sat down, his heart moving his center of gravity to easily meet the cushion of the office chair.

         “How long have you known her?” Namjoon asked.

         “I’ve known of her since freshman year, but only became acquainted with her this fall when we became partners in Dr. Cho’s class.”

         “Who asked who to be partners?” Namjoon pressed.

         “She asked me,” Seokjin replied.

         “Any idea why?”

         “No,” Jin shrugged, he’d been wondering the same thing since she asked.

         “When did you begin dating?”

         “November,” Jin answered.

         “Two and a half months after the project began?” Namjoon clarified.

         “Yes,”

         “How is she, as a business partner?”

         “She knows a lot more than she lets on, about everything,” He shrugged.

         “What did you know of her family before you started seeing each other?”

         “They are one of the most elusive and public family’s in the world,” Namjoon started, “They have billions, donate to charity, and have hands in every aspect of the financial system, both in the states and globally.”

         “What do you know now?” Hoseok asked, setting the transcription in front of Namjoon.

         “Euna doesn’t talk about her family much…”

         “What do you know?” Namjoon asked again.

         “Dae-Seong is the devil incarnate, angry and vindictive, abusive to all three siblings. Jun-Seo is flirtatious and rambunctious, takes his job very seriously. Kwan-Min is much like Jun-Seo, and the two are inseparable.”

         “How does Euna relate to them?” Hoseok wondered.

         He took a seat next to Namjoon and stared at the greenery. Seokjin hadn’t spent enough time with him to understand the full duality of Hoseok, but he had the feeling there was more to him than met his eye.

         “She doesn’t, Dae-Seong has made it clear that she is the golden maknae of the family, and everyone should bow at her feet. He hates her and has made it his mission to turn the other two against her as well. When they announced she would take over the company –

         “They didn’t announce that,” Namjoon interrupts, eyes darting to Hoseok.

         “I thought they-

         “YOONGI!” Namjoon yelled, voice rattling the glass separating them from the coder.

         “Aye, what?” Yoongi asked, stepping into the room.

         “Lee Euna is set to become the next CEO of Lee Enterprises,”

         “Says who?” Yoongi shot back.

         “Mr. Handsome,” Hoseok said.

         “Is that really how I’m going to be addressed?” Seokjin rolled his eyes.

         “Yes,” Hoseok smiled.

         “It’s not in any papers or reports, no internal memos, nothing. No one has that information. Are you sure, Lee Euna is set to become CEO?” Yoongi stared at Seokjin, wondering if this string bean was holding the key to the gates of paradise.

         “She said it one night, we were talking about the future and jobs,” Jin informed them.

         “Did she offer you a job at Enterprises?” Namjoon demanded.

         Seokjin glanced from man to man, anger and frustration in their eyes. “Yeah, but I said that would be weird… We haven’t been together that long.”

         A pause filled the room, air the only thing exchanging between the men. Jin couldn’t tell if he had just fucked up, or royally fucked up.

         “Did she say when?” Yoongi asked.

         “No, probably a few years after graduation, her dad wants her to spend more time actual in the company before she takes over,” Jin answered.

         “Mm,” Namjoon nodded, his rage ebbing as he broke down the information. “What does that do for our plan?”

         “What’s the plan?” Seokjin asked.

         “Oh, Worldwide Handsome, you have so much to learn.”