The city below him shimmered like a sea of broken glass, reflecting the final rays of the setting sun. Mikey perched on the edge of the rooftop, the wind tugging at his hair as his phone buzzed insistently in his jacket pocket. It was his parents. Again.

He didn't have to look at the screen to know what the message would say—another briefing, another reminder of what was at stake. The same thing they had drilled into him since he could remember. Being the son of secret agents meant everything in life was a test, a mission, or a preparation for one. No room for failure. No space for weakness.

He slipped the phone out, his fingers hovering above the screen. The message preview glowed in the twilight:

"Tomorrow is the day. Make sure you're ready."

Tomorrow. His breath caught in his throat. It seemed unreal that after all these years of training, covert lessons, and late-night briefings, he was finally being trusted with something big. Not just any mission—his mission. His chance to prove he was one of them. Not a child anymore, not a trainee. An agent.

Mikey pushed his phone back into his pocket, leaning forward slightly to get a better look at the city. It sprawled out beneath him, endless and alive, the pulse of traffic and human noise blending into a dull hum. He tried to focus on that sound instead of the racing thoughts in his head. Tomorrow. Kara. The mission.

Everything he had been trained to do was supposed to lead to this moment. All the covert ops, the hours spent running drills, the mind games his parents had drilled into him to be prepared for anything.

But this wasn't a drill.

Kara's face drifted into his mind. He had seen her countless times before, always from a distance. Her father was the real target, of course. He was the one with the secrets, the one pulling strings behind the scenes. But to get to him, Mikey had to go through her. He had to befriend her, win her trust, and find the cracks in her father's carefully constructed facade.

He didn't know her, not really. She was just a face in the halls, the pretty girl with the rich, powerful dad. Untouchable. Until now. Until tomorrow.

He exhaled slowly, his breath a faint cloud in the cool evening air. This was it. His parents had always told him this day would come, and now that it was here, he wasn't sure if he was ready. A flicker of doubt crept into his mind, and he quickly shut it down. There was no room for doubt. Doubt was weakness, and weakness wasn't an option.

But deep down, under the layers of conditioning, there was something else. Something he didn't want to admit, even to himself. This mission wasn't like the others. There was a part of him that already felt uneasy about using Kara, about getting close to her under false pretenses.

But what choice did he have? This was his chance. His only chance to prove himself.

Mikey rose to his feet, feeling the familiar weight of the world settling onto his shoulders. He glanced back at the small bag sitting by the rooftop door, packed with everything he would need for the mission. It was all there—notes, files, a covert listening device, and a small gift he'd use as an excuse to talk to Kara tomorrow. Simple. Easy.

Or at least, it should have been.

He picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder, the weight of it grounding him in the moment. His phone buzzed again. Another message.

"We're counting on you."

His parents. Always watching. Always expecting.

For a moment, a bitter thought crossed his mind: Was that all they cared about? The mission? The success of their perfect agent-in-training? He quickly pushed the thought away. They loved him, didn't they? They wanted what was best for him. This was his chance to prove he could handle the weight of their expectations.

Mikey's phone rang this time. His mother's name flashed across the screen, the soft trill of the ringtone cutting through the night air. He swiped to answer.

"Mikey? You ready for tomorrow?" His mother's voice was calm, as always. Controlled. Just like her.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he lied.

There was a pause on the other end, but she didn't question him. She never did. Instead, she launched into a reminder of the details. The time. The place. Kara's birthday party. How he was supposed to blend in with the crowd, make his move, and retrieve the evidence. His father chimed in at some point, offering his usual stern advice.

"Remember, Mikey," his father said, his voice low and serious, "you're an agent. You don't let emotions get in the way. You do the job, and you do it well."

Mikey nodded, even though they couldn't see him. "I know, Dad. I won't let you down."

"Good," his father replied. "Because failure isn't an option."

The line went dead before Mikey could respond. He stared at his phone for a moment before slipping it back into his pocket. Failure isn't an option.

He repeated the words to himself as he made his way down the stairs from the rooftop, the cold metal railing slick under his hand. He didn't realize how tight his grip had become until his knuckles turned white.

---

Inside the safety of his apartment, Mikey dropped the bag by the door and walked to the window. He stared out at the city again, this time from a distance, the lights glittering against the darkening sky. He was alone now, the soft hum of his refrigerator the only sound in the room.

The stillness gave his thoughts room to creep in, thoughts he had been pushing away for weeks. What if it didn't go as planned? What if he failed? What if—?

No. He couldn't think like that. He wouldn't. This was his mission, his moment to step out from under his parents' shadows and become his own man. His own agent.

But even as he tried to convince himself, a part of him couldn't shake the feeling that this mission would change everything. Not just for Kara or her father, but for him. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, the ground crumbling beneath him, and all he could do was hope he'd land on solid ground.

Tomorrow, it would all begin.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he turned away from the window. He didn't need to think about it anymore tonight. Tomorrow would come soon enough, whether he was ready or not.

Mikey tossed his phone onto the bed and collapsed beside it, staring up at the ceiling. He could hear the distant sounds of the city outside, muffled by the thick walls of his apartment. But inside, it was quiet. Too quiet.

The silence pressed down on him, thick and suffocating. His parents' words echoed in his mind, their expectations hanging over him like a weight he couldn't shake.

"We're counting on you."

"Failure isn't an option."

He closed his eyes, trying to shut it all out. But even in the darkness, he couldn't escape the truth.

Tomorrow would change everything.

And there was no turning back.