Zak's Pov:

When I was at that odd and ends store with Darryl... I will admit that it was kind of nice. It's been a long time since I've hanged out with someone. If I ever actually have conversations with someone, it's when I'm at the agency or on a mission. But even so, before I got in my job, I would only ever really hang out with my family. Growing up, everyone else I ever met either ignored or bullied me. They would immediately notice how useless I am and would point out every flaw I had.

So, I decided to avoid speaking to other people as much as possible. I did it so that I would stop getting reminded of how worthless I am. It's enough that I get constantly reminded at work. But even so, it can get lonely without having anyone to talk to during the day. Sure, I normally talk to Sapnap at work, but I don't actually know his real name or phone number. In short, I don't know his secret identity, just his face. All agents in TDA are given the choice of who they want to know their secret identities, but it is recommended to keep it to yourself. I'm pretty sure the only person who knows of everyone's secret identities is the boss.

Almost every agent, whether good or bad, learns to be an agent at a spy school. But every so often, agencies recruit someone from the public who has caught their eye with their skills. Those who grew up in spy schools chose their agent names while learning, but they were almost always referred by their real names. So, those in TDA that went to spy school most likely know the identities of others that went to spy school as well since they all basically grew up together. Sapnap and Livia both actually went to spy school. The difference is that Sapnap chose to keep his identity secret at work, while Livia chose to let everybody in the agency know her real name.

Almost everyone in the agency knows each other while I'm the outcast. As always. Even though I hate my job... I have to admit that I get lonely sometimes when I'm not working. So even though Darryl was quite annoying at times when we were at the store, mostly because of his flirting attempts... I admit that it was kind of nice. It was a bit refreshing if you ask me.

But enough about that. Today, I am on a mission as Zoe. As always, I am with the girls chatting at the private party. In this mission, I have to somehow manage to stop an exchange of briefcases. More specifically, I have to stop a TDO agent from leaving with a specific briefcase that they traded for. That's going to be quite hard considering that there's almost always a girl trailing behind me... this would be easier if I came as someone else. But this is the cover I was given for today.

Luckily, I am seated at a perfect angle where I have a direct view of the TDO agent. He is seated with someone else, chatting. They both have briefcases. I'm guessing they're going to be swapping them soon. As I am here seated at a table with the girls, I secretly keep an eye out for the TDO agent while I chat to the girls. At first, I didn't notice, but I soon realize that Jocelyn has their attention somewhere else other than the table. She keeps zoning out, looking the same direction, which is away from the table. It seems I'm not the only one to notice as Allison says, "Something caught your eye Jocelyn?"

Jocelyn finches at the sudden question. As she notices that all of his have our attention on her, a pink tint appears on her cheeks. She then glances at the same direction that she has kept looking at the whole time. The rest of us look at where she's looking at, only to realize that she is looking at a man. More specifically, it's the TDO agent. Lucretia turns to Jocelyn, smirking. She nudges her and says in a playful tone, "Well, that man is quite good-looking, isn't he?"

Lucretia is always teasing Jocelyn, especially when a man caught her eye as it seems like she immediately becomes head over heels for the guy, even when she never spoke to him. It's kind of ironic that Jocelyn is the kind of girl to fall for someone so easily when Lucretia is the one who always wants to mingle with a guy. I guess that's why they're basically best friends. Jocelyn's face gets redder as she looks away and says, "S-Shut up...!"

Excitedly, Lily says, "Are you planning to talk to him!?"

Jocelyn's face falters a bit. She lightly chuckles and shakes her head. She then sadly says, "You guys know how I get when I talk to a guy I actually like... I never know what to do or say...!"

Audrey shakes her head and says, "Come on, Jocelyn! Lately, you haven't been taking the chance to talk to a guy you are actually interested in."

Odelia nods and says, "She's right, darling. It's time to get some more courage in your bones! Who in the right mind wouldn't want to talk to a beautiful lady such as yourself? Some stuttering wouldn't be enough to just drive a man away."

Jocelyn says, "But it sure makes me look like a fool..."

I start thinking, and an idea pops into my head. I glance at the direction of the TDO agent. I take notice of how he's constantly looking at his surroundings, especially to the people who walk by him. Looks like he's constantly being alert. He must know that I'm here, so he's going to be careful on who to trust. But he's unintentionally making that way too obvious. The idea that I have may not be the best, but I don't really have a choice here. Plus... at the end of the day, I have to choose my job over anything else. I look over at Jocelyn and ask, "So... do you really like this guy, Jocelyn?"

Jocelyn flushes up and nods shyly. I grin at her and say, "Well, if that's the case... would you like me to give you some advice?"

Jocelyn's eyes light up. She smiles brightly at me and exclaims, "R-really!? You would do that for me!?"

"Of course! Anything for a friend!"

Lily squeals and says, "Oh my! How lucky you are, Jocelyn! We all know that Zoe has a way with men. How exciting!"

Jocelyn aggressively nods her head and says, "Indeed! Please, Zoe! Teach me your ways!"

All the girls look at me eagerly while I giggle in amusement. I say, "Well... first things first, the easiest thing is to be yourself! You don't want no man loving you for being a different person. But because of our backgrounds, try to talk in a more formal manner. Men like to be complimented, but don't flatter them too much, or their ego may grow too much. Sometimes it's nice to tease men a bit, you know, mess around with them a bit since most men don't really like someone to be too bland or serious. One can tell from how many jokes men have with each other. It's also good to flirt with men every so often. You know, give them clear hints since men always seem to be oblivious when someone likes them, (just got reminded of Adrien Agreste...) so you need to make it obvious for them. That way, you can get an early sign if they are interested in you or not. ...I think that's pretty much all the basics."

Jocelyn says, "Wow... you know so much! It's no wonder you always attract so many men! Thank you so much, Zoe! I'll keep that in mind."

"No problem! If you follow through with what I said, you may be lucky enough to even get yourself one or maybe multiple cheeky kisses!"

I give her a wink at the end of the last sentence. She flushes up and looks down. She says, "I hope you're right..."

She then takes a deep breath. She then quickly stands up and says, "You know what... I think I'll do it! I'm going to talk to him!"

Lucretia cheers and exclaims, "You go, girl! Show him what you got!"

She nods at her, smiling. She does the same to the rest of us in turn. She then turns around and heads towards the TDO agent. As I was giving Jocelyn advice, I noticed that the briefcases were already switched, and the other guy left the TDO agent alone at the table. So when Jocelyn arrived at the table, it was just her and him. All the girls, including myself, were watching Jocelyn from a distance. At first, I noticed the guy was very wary of her, but he soon got comfortable around her. Though, I can tell that he's just pretending to like her. Well... maybe he does like her, but I can tell that he thinks that she's me.

After a while, the man started to lead Jocelyn away from the main room to somewhere else. When he wasn't looking, Jocelyn gave us a thumbs up, and we all started cheering for her. Everything seems to be going according to plan... Lily turns to me and exclaims, "You're a miracle worker, Zoe! Your advice was so great that Jocelyn was able to get herself a man!"

I chuckle and say, "It was nothing really. But if you excuse me, I have to use the restroom for a bit."

The girls nod at me as I stand up and start walking away. Without anyone noticing, I start following Jocelyn and the TDO agent. I whisper into my earpiece, "Track my location. Once I give a signal, someone has to go into the room I'm in and save a girl."

Someone responds with a, "Roger that."

I then watch as Jocelyn and the TDO agent go into a room together, quite far away from everyone else. Once they go inside, I quietly follow behind from a safe distance. Thankfully, the room is quite big and it's dark, so I can hide quite easily. I then hear Jocelyn yelp. I hear a thud, telling me that she was pushed onto the floor. She exclaims, "Wha-What are you doing!?"

In a cold tone, the guy says, "Don't play dumb with me! I know it's you, Skeppy!"

"S-skeppy!? But- I don't know who that i-!"

Jocelyn gets cut off by what I think is a slap since that is what it sounds like. As much as I want to get out of my hiding spot and save her, I can't. I have to keep my identity a secret. The man yells, "Just drop the act! Admit it's you and accept defeat or fight me like a man!"

I then peek out to see the TDO agent cornering Jocelyn as she is on the floor. I feel guilt rising in my stomach, but it had to be done. I knew that he was going to end up thinking that Jocelyn was me, but even though there was a high chance that she would get hurt, I knew that she wouldn't get killed. That wouldn't be the case with The Demons. Their organization would rather keep me alive and locked up to torment for all the struggles I give them and possibly try to get information out of me. I look around and see the briefcase left abandoned, a little bit behind the agent.

I take my chance and quickly, yet quietly go towards the briefcase. Thank God it's so dark in this room. It's too dark for even Jocelyn to see me, especially since I'm also trying my best not to be spotted. I swiftly grab the briefcase and then get out of the room, not once getting spotted.  As I get out of the room, I hear the agent in the room scream, "Wha- WHERE IS THE BRIEFCASE!?!"

I let out a soft giggle at that. I then say into my earpiece, "Now."

I walk away from the room as I hear the distant sounds of more yelling and some quick fighting, and the noise quickly goes away. I know that they'll take good care of Jocelyn.