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My watch hums. Light bends and I take on the colour of air. I am now something like a ghost, but not quite. Though I am unseeable, I am not untouchable. If a single stray grenade or errant rocket heads my way, I would be turned from an imitation spectre to a genuine one. It is with this knowledge that I plunge myself deep into a mass of hostility.

I waltz by a man who could snap me in twain; I pirouette past a warrior who could make a thousand ghosts; I gavotte around a being whose only desire is to see me set ablaze. In an instant, I am among them; in an instant, I am gone, leaving their backs in my wake.

I pass through enemy doors as invisibility evaporates like morning dew. I am a ghost no more, just a man with a mask that offers as much protection as a wall of air. In actual combat, I can do little. Perhaps I might win a battle here and there, but for me to fight directly is a futile effort. No, mine is not a role of confrontation, but of infiltration. Instead of force, it is finesse that prolongs my life and furthers my cause. With guile, I weave past the front lines and penetrate the heart of enemy territory, there I place myself amongst the unwary and the unguarded and…

Heavy footsteps around a corner, they speak of a man who benchpresses anvils. No time to hide and no time to run, only enough for a puff of smoke and-

I am a soldier, reloaded and ready for action! I’ve got rockets galore and I’m itching to ram them down the throats of the nearest group of maggots! I scream a battle cry at my ally and he laughs lustily and responds in kind. We cheer coarsely and we head outside where manly men like us can fight! I’m weighed down with weaponry, so my compatriot outpaces me, but I’ll get to the battle because I’m a soldier and a warrior! I am nightmare incarnate! I am…

Gone. Left through a door, firmly believing that a comrade is just a few steps behind him. Masks and invisibility are poor shields, but with guile and finesse, they can bring you farther than any might imagine. They could fortify the world with locks and traps, but as long as I keep my steps stealthy and touches subtle, it is still my oyster to crack open and plunder.

Check every shadow and every corner you can; I shall still evade your sights and elude your defenses. Away from your eyes and behind your belligerent backs, I strike down your vulnerable and sabotage your devices. And then, when you cry out and return to the places you thought hallowed and untouchable, when you seek me out amongst the fallen and the destroyed…

I am gone.

I am a spy, and this is what I do.