#mission423

He suspected he should get used to this, or should’ve already gotten used to it. Put too many minds in a single room for a single mission, and whatever ground work you’ve done, it’s all being torn to shreds until what is left only barely resembles what you started. Soon as a break is called, Kawi left the table in a hurry, wandering outside once more, seeking an open space, a look at a world far less single minded, as if from a standpoint, his vision searching the city, he could find chaos in the stillness. Chaos he knew he could not control and he would never seek to control either. 

He turned his head to watch the person who had followed him out. A nod in acknowledgement, but no further words offered. He did, however, extend a package of cigarettes, you never knew.

Kawi was never one to settle down and rest, to let all his worries fall off of him in order to get a good night's rest. He had grown up believing he needed to work three times faster to get the same results as others. He needed to be fast, smart, intelligent, and most important cunning enough to be able to keep up with the most valuable assets of the Pantheon. If he kept going, he would make sure they would never be capable of replacing him. 

He sat on a chair outside, a mug of tea beside him, and a book in his hand, reading up on the history of a country he knew the language of, but had never seen too much of. The words were familiar, he raced through them as if they were his mother’s tongue, though he was unsure if he had ever set foot on Indonesia, on any of the islands floating in the great seas. He just knew they brought him comfort. 

He looked up when he saw someone walk up to him, but did not close his book. He wasn’t sure yet if he wished for the company of another person, or if the book would suffice this evening.

Kawi didn’t think he was capable of pettiness, but at times he found his wish to be the better person roll away from him. At times he only wished to have others know not to fuck with him. Even if he had no reason to do so. The pettiness however, especially in the face of Agent Monet, did not disturb him at all. Thinking she would do this to him as well if she got the chance. “I think they’re rather well fitting,” he noted, watching the horrid fabrics dance around, aware that picking out such ridiculous outfits would bring attention to her in particular, but he didn’t care, people would simply think she lacked style. It was petty, but he was enjoying it too much to stop.

Kawi watched the proceedings with a cautious glance, he knew he should feel like he had nothing to fear among friends, but he had never much seen most of the people there as his friends, they were merely coworkers or acquaintances, some as close as rivals. He waited, one of the first to arrive to see who else would follow, his eyes scanned every face that entered the warehouse,  his chest filled with an unfamiliar dread at the amount of people that entered. Maybe a smaller crowd would do their mission more good. He didn't utter those words however, careful to give nothing away on his face but the emotion of anticipation. 

He saw her before she did him, set a few careful steps till he was in her line of sight, then offered a smile. It was careful, though he hoped it was presented as openly as he wished for it to be. They were supposed to be friends of some kind, if only because he feared what she might do with all she knew if they weren’t. There was a knowledge that Kawi should share with her kindness, for if he didn’t, he might find his secrets ready to be spilled, as was human nature. “Did you have a good flight?” he asked Selin when he stood next to her.

It was early morning, the mission was clear but Kawi knew by the time everyone had arrived, it would all change. It always did, too many opinions in a room, too little guidance. He wanted to be that, that voice of reason that could command a whole crew into doing the thing he set them out to do. But he knew it wasn’t going to be like that. 

He sat waiting at the front of the warehouse for at least some other people to arrive, he had been there since the early morning hours, early to arrive, always the last to leave, he sat and he read and he waited. When the first other person arrived, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. They’d be the last one he thought would arrive as one of the first, a kid at home, he figured they would want to stay there as long as possible, but here they were, closing in on the warehouse where soon plans would be made and unmade. “좋은 아침,” he said, the language new to his lips, but he had always been quick to learn the basics of a language - at least on paper - and he knew how language could connect.