Page 21 of Glitched Fates & Stolen Mates

Operation Christmas, Part A (or How to Appear like a Violent Freak in Front of Priya’s New Girlfriend and Your Mate)

DATE: 24th December 2025

TIME: 19:30

TARGET: Felix Chŭng (Codename: Magpie)

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Deliver wrapped Christmas gift (blue light glasses) to target during kitchen assistance invitation.

CRITICAL INCIDENT: Intelligence emerged regarding hostile romantic competitor (known to Operative as “Wren from the coffee shop”). Operative experienced catastrophic emotional response involving a knife and the dining table. Original gift-delivery protocol abandoned.

AMENDED TACTICS: Anonymous placement on target’s desk during ghost distraction window.

OUTCOME: Mission technically successful. Gift deployed undetected.

OPERATIONAL NOTES: Priya discovered placement operation. Cover blown. Priya suggested tactics for new mission. See below.

Operation Christmas, Part B (or The Worst Christmas Eve of Your Life, Part Two)

OBJECTIVE: Ensure target’s safe passage home from the group trip to the pub via personal accompaniment. Utilise Christmas Eve transport chaos as tactical justification.

INTEL: Priya confirmed no available ride-sharing services. Target would require walking escort to Battersea Park residence.

TACTICAL ERROR: Operative consumed excessive alcohol for “Dutch courage.” Repeat: EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION.

MISSION FAILURE: Target departed pub undetected while operative was… indisposed. Complete loss of visual contact.

OUTCOME: CATASTROPHIC MISSION FAILURE

LESSONS LEARNT: Alcohol impairs surveillance capabilities. Target possesses superior stealth skills when motivated to avoid social interaction.

RECOMMENDATION: Sobriety essential for future escort operations.

Notes:

Immediate Action Required: Master basic social interaction skills before attempting further romantic reconnaissance

Intelligence Gathering: Establish whether hostile competitor, “Wren,” has succeeded in his mission objectives

Final Objective: Locate courage from unknown current whereabouts and deploy in conversation with target lasting minimum five minutes without operative fleeing scene

Past

September 2026

8

Felix

The end of my workday always ended with the same routine.

Monitor one: off. Monitor two: off. Monitor three: off. I coiled each cable into neat circles, filed every piece of stray paperwork, gathered my impressive collection of used mugs, then wiped down every surface until my desk gleamed.

I couldn’t dawdle—it was Wednesday.

Wednesdays meant dinner with my family. My mother’s voice had been sharp on the phone earlier—“Try not to be late again, Felix”—and I couldn’t afford to give her more ammunition to complain about my “London lifestyle” corrupting my sense of responsibility. I’d reminded her on more than one occasion she chose to move us from Seoul to London when I was five, so any corruption was on her.

I was reaching for my jacket when someone knocked on my door. Tensing, I turned.