Chapter 4 The Mission Possible

Present Time

Daniel's POV

"Happy birthday!"

Russell frowned when I gave her the bouquet. I sat right next to Ryker. We went to a restaurant for a simple dinner to celebrate Russell's birthday. She is now nineteen and has grown into a beautiful young woman.

"I thought it was just our family. Why is there someone who doesn't belong?" Russell was irritated.

"Daniel is not an outsider, hija. He's a part of the family," her father said.

She whispered, "I'll never accept him as a family member," but I heard her.

Even though I was hurt, I didn't say anything else. I will talk to Russell later, after dinner.

Everything went well during dinner. We told stories and jokes, but Russell always frowned at me. She rolled her eyes at me. But instead of being annoyed, sh*t! Why is she still so beautiful, even when mad at me? I'm more interested in her being rude to me because she always notices me than in her being friendly and ignoring me.

After I apologized to them, I got up and answered the phone. I walked away and stood near the bathroom.

"What? Will that operation keep on going?" I asked Kim over the other line.

"Yes, Sir. We'll do it later tonight." Kim said.

"Tonight? The timing is perfect." I said weakly.

"Do you have a date, sir?" asked Kim. "Is that why you seem so disappointed?"

"I do not have a date."

"I know you, sir. You're in the kind of mood when you don't want to be away from the girl. You become lazy and uninterested."

"Can you stop bothering my love life? We're not dating, so stop acting like a jealous girlfriend. Let's meet later," I said. When I turned around after hanging up the call, I was surprised to see Russell pass in front of me. Our eyes met, but she quickly looked away.

"You ought to be happy. It's your birthday today." I told her before she went to the restroom.

"If you weren't here, I might smile," she said, annoyed.

"Do you still hate me? It's been four years since that happened."

"So what? What would you like? I should forgive you?"

"There is a saying that says the more you hate, the more you will love." I grinned at her.

Russell scowled. "I'll never like you, so don't get your hopes up." She was looking at me seriously.

I grinned. "I'm not hoping because I know you're going to eat your words."

"You're dumb! You are sure of what you are saying."

"Yes, because I have planned for the future."

Russell scowled. "What? Does my brother know what you are doing? Maybe you forget that I'm your best friend's sister and that we're a long way apart in age. I would rather be with someone younger and the same age as me."

Russell turned her back on me, but I grabbed her arm, pulled her into the bathroom, and leaned her against the door.

"What're you doing?" She sounds scared and acts nervous.

I stared at her face first. Damn it, there's still one more year to go. I can make it through another year. I slowly moved my face closer, but she immediately moved away because she thought I would kiss her. I smiled at her and whispered to her.

"I'm leaving, and we probably won't see each other for a while. I know you'll be happy, but I'll ensure you eat everything you said when I get back."

"W-what? And where in hell are you going?"

I smirked, then turned my back on her. "Why do you need to know? You are going to miss me?"

"Haist." Russell pushed me. "Even if you live in hell, leave before I yell rape."

I smiled, and then I pinched her nose. "You're cute."

"Oh!" Russell complained as she held her nose, and I left the bathroom.

After dinner, Ryker's family and I said our goodbyes. I had to go home to get some things.

----

"Really? It's a good thing that her parents agreed, sir. She's just nineteen."

I looked at Kim while eating in the shade of a tree. We're now on a mission and have been in the mountains for six days. While eating, I looked at Russell's posts on her social media account. We were lucky that there was a signal at our place because there were none in the places we went since we climbed the mountain. Even when Ryker called, we couldn't understand each other because the signal connection was terrible.

Kim quickly glanced at my phone as I looked at pictures while smiling.

"I know she is young, but she isn't a kid. And besides, I won't marry her right away. I will wait for the right time." I said it while smiling.

"Are you serious, Sir?" Kim asked me with surprise. "How many years is your gap?"

I said, "Twelve years..."

"What the hell, sir? She could be your daughter!" I raised an eyebrow at what Kim said, which she immediately took back. "I'm sorry, sir, it's sudden, but seriously, she's young. You are thirty-one, right?"

"Can you just shut up and stop asking about my love life? Find your own to keep you busy." I said it because I was a little annoyed by her reaction.

Kim kept quiet and did not speak. We turned around when one of our colleagues came to check out the area.

"Sir, their shipment is expected to arrive tonight."

"Really? That's a good thing."

"What time?" I asked.

"No time was specified, sir. It'll probably happen at the usual time.

"Usual time?"

"Yes, Sir. Roughly twenty-one hundred hours, sir."

My senior officer turned towards me. "Then, Acker, take your spot in the area around twenty hundred hours."

"Yes, sir!" I said.

----

We had just finished eating when my phone started vibrating. When I saw the notice, my smile got bigger. Russell responded to my comment. She commented, "DM." So, I opened the inbox, and when she replied, I smiled instead of getting mad. She once more noticed me.

Russell: Could you please not comment on my posts? That's for teens, and you're too old for it.

Me: Hmmmm, there's nothing wrong with what I said.

She still hasn't replied to my message yet. I suddenly felt confused. Is she annoyed? Russell called me later, and I immediately answered. But before I could say anything, she started nagging me.

"You like to tease me, Daniel," Russell said, annoyed at me on the other line.

"Oh, jeez, that's not even a tease. I just said..." I tried to explain myself, but she didn't let me finish.

"Stop making meaningless comments on my post. You can post something similar to mine to get people's attention."

Russell's words made me laugh. "When I'm posting wearing trunks, you might fall for me."

"You have a big face. I don't like you. You're almost dad's age."

"Your older brother is about my age, young lady. Perhaps you've forgotten."

"Whatever. If you don't stop commenting, I will seriously block you."

The next thing I heard over the other line was a busy tone. I couldn't stop grinning.

"Of all the people who got yelled at, you were the only happy one, sir."

I turned toward Kim. "Are you a police officer or a rumor-monger? You overheard our conversation on the phone, huh?"

"Don't blame me." Kim said, "The woman was yelling at you."

"Haist, get ready. We will secure the area," I told the team.

We were near a house in the woods at eight o'clock in the evening. The sniper is already set up, and we will enter the area. We've been watching them for a few months and discovered that their factory is in this province. It was where illegal drugs were made into pills and capsules to be shipped to other countries.

A few years ago, we caught the mastermind. Still, before the trial started, the man killed himself, and his wife went to a mental hospital. It is said that their son died in another country, which is why no one went to his funeral and the police detained the family. But after that, the operation didn't stop. Instead, they grew even more and added more members and investors.

A monster truck drove in, and then three Hilux vehicles with armed men. They went into the site, surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. We moved away when the cars arrived.

"They're unloading things." From the sniper's earpiece, I could hear him say it.

"Can you tell what the boxes are?" I asked.

It took some time before the sniper answered. "The package contains guns, sir. They dropped a few boxes containing guns. It looks like it was smuggled..."

I took a deep breath. "We will surround the area. Those eight of you on the other side." I looked at the others. "You're going with me."

My team started to surround the area, and we were on the opposite side. After a while, we went inside, and then gunfire started.