All According to Plan - Episode 1

The sun was already setting beyond the horizon when their “contact” led them to a massive, abandoned warehouse on the city’s outskirts. The huge, weathered gates slid open, revealing a dark corridor lit by sparse, flickering bulbs, as if warning that once they entered, there would be no turning back.

They exchanged brief glances, and Agent Cassie—a young woman with large blue eyes and a slight scar over her eyebrow—winked at her partner, Mark.

— Whatever’s in there, we’ll find it out, — she said with stubborn confidence.

Mark, a large man with sharp features and a tattoo on his wrist, merely gave a slight nod and smirked. His inner unease didn’t show in his voice or his movements. Both of them knew something was seriously wrong in this place, and they were here for exactly that reason. So, without hesitation, they strode confidently into what appeared to be just an ordinary, old, abandoned warehouse.

...

They had been tasked with infiltrating a secret underground organization known only as “The Alternative.” Complex methods, mysterious disappearances, no traces left behind. According to reports, the criminals used advanced medical technology to make people vanish, including those who were fugitives, those who had gone completely off the radar. Not to mention countless missing persons who couldn’t be directly connected to the organization, though many signs pointed back to them.

The operation had gone flawlessly from the start. They had trained, studied documents, learned their new identities—Cassie was posing as a runaway lawyer, suspected by the authorities of a “suspicious” client disappearance. Mark was posing as a mercenary on the run after a failed assignment.

That day, they thought the mission was done—they had found the place where it all happened, and all that remained was to call in the special forces. But headquarters made it clear that any premature raid might only scare the criminals, causing them to disappear along with the evidence. Without concrete proof, a raid on the lab would yield nothing: at the slightest hint of danger, the criminals could wipe out all traces and vanish, as they had done before. Though both were ready to risk it all, they were assured the agents were under constant surveillance and would be extracted immediately if anything went wrong. All they could do now was trust.

...

— Well, um… — the man in the white coat they encountered just as they entered gave them a skeptical look, glanced down at his paperwork, and spoke — Angela Drake and David Kowalski? — The man pushed his glasses closer to his nose, giving the agents a quick, sharp look.

— Correct, — Cassie confirmed, staring straight into his eyes. Her voice held a slight nervous edge as she tried to sound more like Angela. The role of a runaway lawyer hiding from the authorities didn’t imply a confident woman.

Mark hung back slightly, watching the doctor closely, as though trying to read the man before him. But the white-coated man had already turned to one of his assistants and nodded, giving an instruction.

— Take them to the waiting room. — He gestured toward a narrow hallway, where the sharp scent of sterile solutions mixed with a faint, sour odor of something aged.

The agents moved forward, following the assistant, exchanging a silent look. Ahead was an ajar door from which a cold, bluish light spilled out.

...

— “Complete the operation,” they said… — Cassie whispered when they were alone in the room. In the corner, a screen flickered with what seemed like medical footage, but the sound was muted, making it hard to decipher what was being shown.

— We just have to trust the higher-ups, — Mark replied quietly, pressing his lips together. He scanned the room, trying to memorize as many details as possible. “They know what they’re doing,” he reminded himself, though he checked the secret message pulsing through the tiny transmitter hidden in his shirt pocket, installed specifically for this mission.

Unexpectedly, the door opened again, and two medics entered, each with a mask covering their face. In their hands were devices resembling metal collars with flashing colored indicators, glowing red, green, and blue. One medic stepped toward Cassie, snapping the device around her neck with a quick motion. Cassie felt the cold metal against her skin and a sharp, unpleasant prick at the back of her head. Her body barely flinched, but instinct took over, and she betrayed nothing.

— It’s… a necessary measure to prevent side effects, — one of the medics said in an impassive tone, noticing her look. — The procedure involves temporary synchronization of nervous systems; otherwise, the transfer process could lead to irreversible consequences.

Mark frowned, sensing the tension rising in the room. When the device clicked around his neck, a strange chill spread through his body, and his head spun. He clenched his teeth to hold onto his composure, feeling the medic’s gaze linger on him a moment longer than usual before he looked away.

— Such a waste of a body, — muttered one of the medics, his eyes lingering on Mark. He shook his head slightly, almost regretfully, studying Mark’s broad shoulders, strong arms, and solid build. A hint of regret flashed in his eyes, as if he genuinely mourned the “loss” of such a physically gifted specimen. — It’s always a shame when… resources go to waste.

— What? What do you mean, “body”? — Cassie snapped, trying to stay calm, though an unsettling thought had already formed in her mind. She met Mark’s eyes, and he didn’t bother to hide his suspicion. This clearly wasn’t part of their plan.

— There’s no need to worry, — the medic said, noting their alarm, and made a dismissive gesture as if brushing off their fear. — We’ve done this a million times, — he repeated with slight irritation, nodding for them to follow him.

Cassie and Mark exchanged glances, each trying not to show their worry. They were led down the narrow corridor in silence; the sterile walls and flickering lights only amplified their unease. Their steps echoed, mirroring their own thoughts—this was definitely beyond the plan.

— What the hell… This feels all wrong, — Cassie muttered when the medic moved a few steps ahead. — I’ve never seen a “procedure” like this.

— Quiet. They’re watching, — Mark whispered, nodding toward a dark rectangle of a camera above the entry to the next turn.

They were ushered into a spacious room with two high-backed chairs that looked like surgical seats. Suddenly, the door shut behind them, and Cassie realized: they were not alone. A quick glance around revealed a group of people, each masked and in white coats, with one reeking of antiseptics and medical chemicals.

— Sit down, — ordered another medic, his voice cold and harsh, echoing off the bare walls as if spoken through a microphone.

Before they could even think about how to respond, they were pushed into the chairs and securely strapped in, their arms and legs immobilized with straps that left no hint of delicacy. Mark tried to jerk free, but the straps were pulled so tightly that even his solid build was fully restrained.

— What are you planning to do? — Mark demanded, every muscle tense as he tried to understand what was happening. But the medic only raised his eyebrows slightly, as if the question amused him.

— We’re giving you a new life, as agreed, — he said it with the same chilling calm one might use when reading instructions.

— This isn’t what we signed up for, — Cassie shot back, struggling to twist her hands out of the straps, but the restraints held tight, squeezing her wrists as if calibrated precisely to her new level of anxiety.

Mark gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his composure even as his insides churned. Control over the situation was entirely gone. “Where’s the backup?!” he thought desperately, scanning the room in vain.

— Enough talking, — one of the assistants murmured, exchanging a look with his partner before pressing a button.

At that moment, both Cassie and Mark felt an icy surge spreading from the collars around their necks, like liquid metal seeping under their skin. The sensations started sharp and painful but quickly turned into a strange heaviness, freezing their muscles and making it impossible to control their bodies. Their heads spun, and their eyes began to close. In the last seconds before the darkness claimed her, Cassie glanced at Mark: her partner’s head had already fallen limply, his face pale.

“This isn’t the plan…” was Cassie’s last thought before the world disappeared.