Just Another Day

PROLOGUE

5 YEARS AGO

"Agent Toby to base. The operation is ready to go. The target is approaching now." I put the phone on the dashboard and then picked up a bag and started rummaging around to locate something.

"Roger that, Agent Tobias. You are all clear to execute the mission," came the quick response over the phone.

Contacting the base wasn't necessary for someone of my caliber, but I preferred doing things by the book. It made my reputation all the more exemplary and is just another reason I’m considered the very best operative in the field. Well, it was mostly the fact that I never failed a mission, but I’m sure that my careful order of keeping to the procedure played a huge factor in my record. A bit of luck here and there also helped.

Today's mission was straightforward. While the common agent might have just stuck to more textbook methods, I preferred changing things up every time since otherwise, the routine methodical actions might cause me to get careless. Switching things up guaranteed the highest focus, which significantly increased my chances of success.

I finally located a whistle in the bag, and after placing the tip of it in my mouth, I started the engine and began driving behind my target. A generic-looking Japanese teenage boy. I never asked for the target's name. Nobody else asked either, but that was just due to a lack of empathy. I did care about the people, or at least I used to. Perhaps I still do. However, my reason for not asking for the names of the targets was since the familiarity might lessen my resolve and decrease the chances of being able to accomplish the job.

Even if I wanted to ask for the name, the manager preferred keeping that confidential. Agents were only given a picture of the face, the residing address, and the relevant medical records. While today's target had some lengthy hospital visits and numerous prescribed pills, nothing about the data suggested further caution towards the mission.

I finally started approaching the intersection and saw that everything was in place. The boy was patiently waiting at the crosswalk along with an old lady aided by a large Labrador Retriever. A guide dog. I meticulously tracked the boy's schedule and noticed that every Monday, the old lady and her dog came across this walkway at around the same time as the boy on his way to school.

Naturally, I followed up on the old lady and was pleased to discover that she went to the hospital periodically every Monday to check up on her husband, who has been in a coma for the last couple of months, and it didn't seem like he would be waking up anytime soon.

I wasn't worried about them being there at different times since not only could I keep coming back every Monday until they were together, but I also had some influence on the traffic lights. If I needed to, I could make one of them wait a more extended amount of time for the other to arrive.

Everything in place, I slammed on the gas and blew the whistle, which was unheard by both the probably near deaf old lady and the boy but was heard loud and clear by the dog. It was a dog whistle. The dog barked and started running ahead into the intersection, pulling the old lady along by the leash, placing her in the path of the enormous vehicle barreling towards the intersection at a dangerous speed. She wouldn't make it out of the way in time.

All of a sudden, the boy appeared and pushed the lady out of the vehicle's path. Somehow, he even managed to do it in a way that would minimize the damage to the frail elderly body. The boy looked glad that he managed to get there in time.

That's when I rammed the boy dead center with the truck.

The boy was wildly flung a solid distance before eventually rolling to a stop. It just laid there. Unmoving.

"Agent Toby to base. The operation was a success. The target has been Isekai'd."