1

The Asset is a low-level patsy; the true purchaser is a neutral third-party government ally.

2

The Handler used this exact dangerous scenario 10 years ago—it failed and caused an international scandal.

3

The mission is designed to fail publicly to provoke a hardline political response from an antagonistic department.

4

The Enemy Service has tipped off a hostile local authority that a foreign agent is operating on their turf.

5

The decoy item is marked with a signature that ties it directly to a non-existent military project of the Agent's nation.

6

The Agent discovers they were given this mission to keep them away from a more embarrassing, ongoing investigation in the home service.

7

The Asset is an unregistered operative of a friendly, allied service, and the Agent is unknowingly burning them.

8

The Handler/Ally accidentally exposed the operation to a mole in a moment of carelessness.

9

The Directorate is running the Enemy Handler as a triple agent, and the current operation is a loyalty test.

10

The main Enemy Handler is actually a deep-cover mole for the Agent's service, and this is their final exfiltration mission.

11

The secured location has been recently tampered with by the Asset, who suspects a different counter-intelligence service is after them.

12

The Agent recognises one of the security personnel as a former close friend who now believes the Agent left them for dead years ago.

13

The Asset's motivation is purely to fund humanitarian aid locally, not ideological or criminal gain.

14

The Ally's support is conditional on the Agent performing an unethical favour for them later (e.g., character assassination).

15

The equipment supplied by Technical Division contains a lethal contaminant that will later harm the recipient.

16

The Enemy's security relies on the use of innocent civilian cover (e.g., a family restaurant) forcing the Agent to compromise bystanders.

17

The only safe exit involves compromising a high-ranking local religious figure who is using the compound as sanctuary.

18

The Agent must destroy a single, sentimental item belonging to the Target to make the operation look complete.

19

The Target is currently impersonating a low-ranking subordinate; the real target is hidden nearby.

20

The Ally's identity is already known to the enemy, and their communications are being perfectly monitored.

21

The Agent discovers they are on a 'neutralisation list' prepared by a disillusioned section of the Service.

22

The Enemy Handler is using the exact codename and cover identity of a former friend of the Agent who was killed.

23

The Agent's best disguise/cover ID belongs to a famous, recognised historical figure in the city.

24

The Agent's current cover ID documents contain a forged signature from a family member they cut ties with years ago.

25

The Asset is deliberately leading the Agent into a surveillance net set up by local security.

26

The Handler/Ally has secretly placed a tracer on the Agent, viewing them as a potential liability.

27

The Agent's next extraction is a trap—The Service has decided the Agent's record is too dangerous and must be permanently retired.

28

The Enemy Handler realises the planned deception and forces the Agent to work for them to secure their original objective.

29

The Agent realises their escape route has been mined with low-grade explosives (as a contingency by The Service).

30

The Agent discovers the Target is actually their long-lost relative working under deep cover for an unknown side.

31

The critical item is not intelligence, but proof of corporate corruption tied to Western powers.

32

The Ally's true goal is to discredit a rival Director by ensuring the mission fails spectacularly.

33

The mission's real goal is to identify a lower-ranking relative of the Target, who is the true recruitment objective.

34

The Enemy is testing the Agent's Service; the critical item is a dummy package meant to locate the Agent's listening post.

35

The successful execution of the swap is irrelevant; the mission is to see who replaces the main security element after the breach.

36

The mission is a loyalty test run by the Agent's Handler to assess their post-crisis stability.