Contract Marriage with My Secret Partner in Crime-Chapter 102: First Encounter

Four Years Ago

The old laptop made a soft click as Kendrick closed it and glanced over his shoulder, checking the hallway. The coast was clear. Levy had just left for school, and their mom was on duty at the Diamond Public Hospital. It was the perfect time.

He darted across the living room, barefoot and careful not to make any noise, and slipped into his bedroom. As soon as the door shut, he locked it. The curtains were drawn. He took a deep breath, then sat in front of his desktop setup, more advanced and private than the family computer in the other room.

With practiced fingers, Kendrick booted up the system and launched a program.The Archive. He entered his credentials. A soft beep welcomed him back.

A notification flashed on the screen:

LEVEL 3 STATUS UNLOCKED

Access to Level 3 files granted.

Kendrick leaned in, a flicker of hope in his eyes. It had taken three years of missions, quiet infiltration, and careful deception to reach this point. Maybe now, he could finally find out what had really happened to his father.

His fingers flew across the keys as he searched. Key terms. Event dates. Government records. Incident sites. Still nothing. The deeper he went, the more restricted everything became.

"Come on... just one clue..." he whispered to himself, frustration bubbling.

After nearly two hours, Kendrick leaned back in his chair, defeated. His eyes lingered on the monitor as he muttered, "I need Level 4. Maybe then..."

He pulled up the Missions tab.

Mission: Intercept and dismantle an illegal weapons deal between a domestic smuggler and a foreign buyer. Prevent the exchange and secure all intel on future operations.

Mission Code: Null52qx

Level 4: Mid-Risk Mission

Mission Type: Interception, Sabotage, Intelligence Seizure

Point Rewards: 1,950 Null Points (150 points each)

Team Required: 13 Nulls

Access Granted To: Smuggler network database, encrypted communications, transport routes, client identities

Monetary Reward: $520,000

Kendrick blinked. Thirteen agents? That was rare.

Still, he clicked "Accept."

More information loaded. Then he saw the name: Barmon Diamond.

He stared.

Barmon. The uncle of the current CEO of Diamond Corporation. A man revered in social circles. A name linked with nothing but power and business acumen.

And now? A confirmed weapons smuggler.

According to the dossier, Barmon had reached out to foreign buyers using a private communications network. He offered state-of-the-art weapons, shipped through his own fleet of luxury yachts, passing them off as international merchandise. Under the radar. Clean on paper.

But the buyers? Mercenaries. Men planning to ignite a small-scale war to weaken national defenses. Barmon wanted control of the Diamond Corporation and power beyond it. He wanted influence over military contracts. This was just his first move.

---

The operation was set in an old port district, late at night. Fog rolled across the docks, and shadows shifted between cargo crates and rusting containers. Kendrick, now Obscura, was dressed in black from head to toe, face covered, gear tight to his frame. He blended into the night.

Twelve other Nulls took their positions. Communication was minimal. Clean, tight, and controlled. The plan was simple: intercept the shipment, take down the smugglers, seize the evidence.

But something felt wrong the moment they arrived. Too quiet. No signs of patrol. No signs of movement.

Obscura signaled two Nulls forward.

They didn’t make it ten feet before something flew out of the shadows.

Gunfire.

Screams.

Men emerged wearing gear not even recorded in the Archive’s files. They moved too fast, hit too hard. One of the Nulls was shot in the chest and dragged into the shadows. The others barely reacted in time.

Obscura ducked behind a metal crate and muttered, "These aren’t just smugglers. They’re enhanced."

He activated his comms. "Abort. Scatter. Regroup at fallback point Echo-3."

But they were surrounded.

Two of the agents tried to run. They didn’t make it.

Obscura took a deep breath and launched himself into the fight, dodging bullets and landing precision blows. He disarmed one attacker, rolled to avoid another. But even with his enhanced strength and reflexes, they were too many.

A heavy metal rod slammed into his side.

He crashed into the side of a container. Pain bloomed in his ribs.

Obscura got back up, only to be tackled again. A knife cut into his shoulder. Blood soaked his sleeve. His breath became shallow. He stumbled back. Every movement burned.

The Archive hadn’t expected this.

A new directive came mid-battle.

[Emergency Protocol: Backup en route. Codename: Eclipse. Estimated Arrival: 3 minutes.]

Kendrick had no idea who Eclipse was.

Then he heard a voice behind him.

"Well, well. Obscura... You plan well. But you really suck at dodging."

Obscura turned, barely able to focus. A tall figure stood there, dressed like the rest, but with a wild grin on their face.

"Who the hell—"

"Eclipse," the figure said. "And before you thank me for saving your life, here’s my offer. I pull your sorry self out of this hellhole. In exchange, we team up. You plan. I punch."

Obscura groaned, half amused despite the blood dripping down his neck. "Not really in the mood for negotiation."

"Too bad. Say yes or die here. Your call."

A grenade exploded nearby. Obscura could barely stay on his feet.

"Fine," he muttered. "Deal."

"That’s the spirit. Now duck."

Eclipse moved like lightning. Despite being disguised as a man, the movements were sharp, efficient, deadly—but also reckless. She laughed while fighting. She disarmed two opponents, used one of them as a human shield, then kicked another into a stack of crates.

She moved toward Obscura, grabbed his collar, and pulled him away.

"Can’t have my new partner bleeding out this early. That’d be boring."

They moved fast, dodging bullets and weaving through narrow alleys of the port district. Eclipse kept throwing out sarcastic remarks, but her pace never faltered.

Finally, they reached the fallback van. Eclipse shoved Obscura inside, climbed in, and drove off.

"Well," she said, glancing at him from the driver’s seat, "was it everything you dreamed of, partner?"

Obscura winced. "You talk too much."

"And you almost died because you overthink everything. See? We balance each other."

Despite the pain, Kendrick chuckled quietly. "You know this was supposed to be a clean mission."

"And yet you ended up bleeding on my jacket. So... you’re welcome."

Both of them were surprised when they noticed how their wounds healed almost instantly.

They each had the same thought:

He heals just like me. I’m not the only one with this ability.

That night, despite the pain, despite the failure of the mission, a strange new bond had formed. Obscura and Eclipse. Two survivors of a disaster no one else saw coming.

Also, because the Archive hadn’t anticipated it either, they didn’t receive any punishment for the mission’s failure. Instead, they were rewarded—simply for being alive.

After that, they only heard rumors about Barmon being locked away in prison, without ever knowing who made that possible.

And now, four years later, Kendrick sat in front of the monitor again, watching Barmon Diamond on the screen. The same man who nearly killed him. The same man who had somehow disappeared from radar for years.

Kendrick narrowed his eyes.

"You’re hiding something again, aren’t you?"

His phone rang. Cassius.

"Anything happened?"

"Nothing. He’s still quiet."

"Keep watching. He’s not a man who stays still for long."

"Got it."

As Kendrick ended the call, he leaned back in his chair.

The past was catching up.

And this time, he was ready.