The stars were glittering in the night sky, and the moon was shining brightly on the horizon, illuminating the narrow suburb. The bright light fell on a boy standing outside a small house as his words rang through the whole place, causing a ruckus in the quiet atmosphere. “I am never coming back,” the boy in his teens shouted. He was wearing a red, worn-out jacket and grayish pants that were so big for his petite figure that he had to use a thread to keep them in place. The little girl, who was standing holding the boy’s hand, asked him, “Brother, what are we gonna do now?” The boy turned to her. His eyes filled with concern as he looked at the small child barely above six. She was wearing a worn-out frock and leggings with a small brownish jacket. “Let’s go, baby! This place has nothing left for us,” the boy spoke, tears streaming down his face. Despite her short stature, the little girl clung to his hand and urged him to bend down. The boy knelt beside her, and she wiped the tears from his face. “Don’t worry, brother. Everything will be alright. Let’s go!” she said in her childish voice, comforting the boy. He nodded, and they both left. The halo of the moon shone brightly upon them as they walked through the streets. “Brother!” The girl looked at her brother, who met her gaze. “I am hungry,” she said in a low, shivering voice. The boy checked his pockets and fished out a small piece of bread. “Here, eat this! I’ll bring something else from the shop I work at for you tomorrow.” The girl took it and started chewing on the piece of bread. They both reached a subway terminal. Despite the place being brightly lit, it was eerily empty. They decided to spend the night on one of the benches. The big digital clock hanging on the wall suddenly started to beep, followed by an announcement about an incoming train. The noise startled the girl, who was sleeping in her brother’s lap. She looked at her brother, who was in a deep slumber. Even in this uncomfortable sitting position, he was fast asleep, probably exhausted from the chores he had to do all day long. She got up and moved towards the clock hanging on the wall. There was a big map of the city next to it. She looked at the fascinating thing that had caught her attention. The bright colors in it were eye-catching and mesmerizing to her. It was something entirely new for her. A deep mechanical voice broke her thoughts as she noticed a train swiftly approaching. Frightened, she rushed to her brother’s side, but her small legs were too short to cover the distance quickly enough. The train stopped at the station, and a few people emerged from it. The girl immediately hid behind a chair, but it was too late. One of the passengers, dressed in a black tuxedo, appeared in front of her. The man wore a mask on his face and held a bag in his hand. “What’s your name, little girl?” he questioned her. “Aminah!” The girl replied trembling under the gaze of that man. ⏱️⏱️⏱️⏱️ The leaves on the trees rustled softly, creating a gentle buzz that filled the evening air. A man stood at the gate, his eyes scanning the surrounding area with a mix of caution and desperation. His gaze lingered on the gate in front of him, his mind focused on the task at hand. The wind carried a soft hum, accompanied by the distant hooting of owls, creating an eerie atmosphere. The man’s brow was dotted with sweat, his hands trembling as he tried to insert several keys into the lock. But none of them worked, and his anxiety grew with each failed attempt. His eyes darted restlessly around the area, as if he feared being watched. The keys slipped from his fingers, and they fell to the ground with a faint “chan” sound, echoing through the stillness. The man bent down to pick up the keys, his movements slow and deliberate. He tried again, and this time, one of the keys slid smoothly into the lock. He let out a long, relieved breath as the gate creaked open. He stepped inside, closing the gate behind him, and leaned back against it, as if to barricade himself from the outside world. His knees buckled, and he slid to the ground, his back still pressed against the gate, his chest heaving with exertion and fear. He hastily retrieved his phone from his pocket and scrolled through the photos again, his eyes scanning the video’s with a sense of desperation. He knew he had to send these video’s before it was too late, before anyone could catch up with him. He carefully made his way to a wall, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of hidden dangers. His gaze landed on a switch box, and he opened it, revealing a single switch nestled among the others. He pressed it, and the wall slid open, revealing a hidden room. He stepped inside, his heart pounding in his chest, and flipped a switch, illuminating the room with a warm glow. The space was filled with computer screens and various machines, all humming softly. He rushed to one of the computers and began typing furiously, his hands flying across the keyboard. As he hit the enter button, a loud pounding echoed through the door, making him jump. His eyes darted between the door and the computer screen, which displayed a progress bar, slowly filling up as the files uploaded. Before he could even process what was happening, another loud thud shook the door, making him flinch. His heart racing, he knew he had to act fast, or risk being caught. The man’s hands trembled violently as he rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on the door as the loud thuds grew more intense. He swiftly closed the gate of the hidden room, his mind racing with a mix of fear and adrenaline. He yanked open a drawer, revealing a revolver, which he quickly loaded with a magazine. As the thuds reached a fever pitch, the man’s heart pounded in his chest, threatening to burst free. He positioned himself in front of the door, the revolver trained on the entrance, his finger hovering over the trigger. Suddenly, the door burst open, splintering into fragments as it crashed to the ground. The man’s eyes locked onto the figure standing in the doorway, and his breath caught in his throat. The figure was dressed in a grotesque clown costume, complete with a striped jumpsuit featuring bold red and white vertical stripes. The jumpsuit’s puffy sleeves gathered at the wrists and ankles, creating a ruffled effect, while an oversized black collar added to the dramatic flair. Three large, bright red pom-poms adorned the front center of the jumpsuit, creating a jarring contrast to the menacing aura that surrounded the figure. The clown’s face was deathly pale, covered in a thick layer of white powder, while his lips were painted a garish red. A stitch marred the perfection of his lips, giving him a twisted, macabre appearance. He clutched a bag in his hands, its contents unknown, but undoubtedly sinister. The man’s finger tightened on the trigger, his heart racing with anticipation, as he prepared to face the twisted figure that stood before him. The man stood frozen, his revolver still trained on the clown, as he demanded, “Who are you?” But the clown remained silent, his painted-on smile seeming to grow wider as he took a step forward. Instead of answering, the clown held out the bag in his hand, offering it to the man. The man’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing with suspicion, but he cautiously took the bag from the clown. As soon as he opened the bag, his hands began to tremble again, and the bag slipped from his grasp, falling to the floor with a sickening thud. The man’s eyes widened in horror as he stared at the contents of the bag: a child’s head, its eyes frozen in a permanent stare. Before the man could even process what he was seeing, the clown sprang into action. With a swift and deadly motion, he reached out and twisted the man’s head, the sound of cracking bone echoing through the room. The man’s body crumpled to the floor, his revolver slipping from his grasp. The clown stood over him, his chest heaving with exertion, his eyes gleaming with a malevolent intensity. The silence that followed was oppressive, punctuated only by the sound of the clown’s labored breathing. ⏱️⏱️⏱️⏱️ “Mam! We have received a notification from Indonesia!” A man dressed in a black blazer and black pants, along with a cream brown shirt and tie, entered through the glass doors and informed the woman sitting on the office chair, tapping her fingers on the glass table. “What happened?” She straightened her back and asked the man. “It’s quite disturbing. Our officer is also missing, but before disappearing, he sent some pictures.” He handed the tablet in his hands to the lady. The lady checked the information and ordered her subordinate, “Gather everyone. We need to understand this whole thing before it becomes a problem.” “Yes, mam!” The man left the room hurriedly. ……. …. .. . .. …. ……. “Mam! Why are we gathered here?” one of the men questioned the lady sitting in the middle of the round conference table. “Wait a few minutes, gentlemen. I will explain it to you shortly,” she replied, checking something on her tablet’s screen. Her screen glittered with a message, and she passed a few files to all the officers present in the room. “Agents who have a file with the code name Monaco, stay. Those who don’t, you can leave,” she instructed. Leaving herself, her subordinate, and five others, everyone else vacated the place. “Jasper, Seojun, Adam, Adira, and Alaric, you guys have been chosen for this mission by headquarters. I know each of you represents your own country, but right now, this problem could disturb the whole world, so here you all are fighting as one group,” Jinisha commented with a serious expression. The others nodded as she added, “All the information related to this project is present in the files provided to you! You guys have the authority to take action if necessary, but only if the situation is dire.” The air in the room grew heavy with anticipation as Jinisha’s words hung in the air, like a challenge waiting to be accepted. The weight of her statement settled upon the gathering, and Adam’s curiosity got the better of him. He raised an eyebrow, his voice laced with a mix of skepticism and intrigue. “But why do we need this, and what is happening?” Jinisha’s gaze swept across the room, her eyes locking onto each face before nodding to her subordinate. The lights in the room began to dim, and the projector whirred to life, casting a pale glow on the screen. The sudden darkness was almost palpable, and the audience’s collective breath seemed to catch in their throats. As the video began to play, a hush fell over the room. The footage depicted a scene that was both disturbing and surreal. A man, his face twisted in a mixture of fear and pain, was seated on the floor, his back against a cold, grey wall. Across from him stood a boy, no more than fifteen years old, his eyes blazing with an unnatural intensity. The man’s voice trembled as he asked, “Who are you?” But the boy remained silent, his gaze fixed on the man with an unnerving calmness. And then, in a movement that seemed almost fluid, the boy reached out and twisted the man’s head, his neck snapping with a sickening crunch. The room was frozen in stunned silence, the only sound the soft hum of the projector. Alaric’s voice was the first to break the spell, his tone laced with a mix of horror and fascination. “How can a child have such strength to kill an adult like this?” he whispered, his eyes fixed on the screen as if unable to look away. “That’s not it!” Jinisha exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with a determination that bordered on obsession. With a nod, her subordinate, James, initiated another video, and the screen flickered to life once more. The new footage depicted a sterile operating room, where a team of surgeons and medical professionals were gathered around a young patient. The same boy from the previous video lay on the operating table, his small body surrounded by the antiseptic glow of the surgical lights. Adira’s voice was laced with horror as she exclaimed, “What the hell is all this?” James’s response was grim. “Human trials, conducted illegally. They’re using dead human bodies and kidnapping people living on the streets for their twisted experiments. Their main target is teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19.” Seojun’s face was thunderous, his eyes blazing with outrage. “Are they even human?” he demanded. Jasper’s voice was low and deadly. “They aren’t, that’s why we’re here.” He turned to Jinisha, his eyes locked on hers. “What do we have to do? How and where?” Jinisha’s gaze swept across the room, her eyes burning with intensity. “Good! I like it! Directly to the point!” She paused, taking a deep breath before addressing the assembled agents. “Here’s the situation: we don’t even know where this facility is located. Our agent who sent us this footage has been compromised, and we fear the worst. All we know is that they’re somewhere in the Indo-Pacific region. That’s it.” She released a deep sigh, her shoulders sagging slightly under the weight of their task. “You guys will have to find out everything yourselves. Our first lead takes us to Indonesia, where our agent sent the footage from. That’s where you’ll start.” Adira’s brow furrowed in concentration as she asked, “I see! So we have to keep hidden there and find the main island… and then what?” James’s expression was grim, his voice firm. “Depends on the situation. If it’s grave, kill everyone. We can’t risk another breakthrough.” Jinisha’s eyes swept across the room, her gaze lingering on each agent. “Okay, guys, you have a time limit of 60 days. As per our agent’s warning, they’re planning something big on 1st March.” The room seemed to grow quieter, the weight of their mission settling in. Jinisha’s voice took on a sense of urgency. “So, the time is ticking. All the best for your mission, agents. You have a long and difficult road ahead of you, but I have faith in each and every one of you. Bring us back some answers, and put an end to whatever evil is brewing on that island.” With that, the briefing came to a close, and the agents began to disperse, their minds racing with the challenges that lay ahead. The clock was ticking, and the fate of their mission hung in the balance.