I thought the National Defense University selection exam was just a shortcut to graduate early and secure a government post.

Eight years later, I became the second-in-command of the largest criminal organization in the Northwest.

On the night the chairman was assassinated, four candidate names appeared on the conference room projector.

My photo was among them.

At 3 a.m., I dialed an emergency contact number I hadn’t touched in eight years: “Mission codename: ‘Abyss.’ Request immediate wrap-up.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the line: “Reason?”

I growled into the receiver, “If you don’t wrap this up now, I’ll have to be their boss next month.”