Nikki gave him a gracious smile and said, “Nicole. Nicole Bardeck, but everyone calls me Nikki. Just call me Nikki. I don’t like Nicole. It sounds like an old person name.” Nikki smiled at him and nodded to him. “It’s nice to meet you Ravi.”
Before the conversation could go any further, Agent Ice stormed back in, the other three Recruits from their group hot on her tail with Agent Jackal trailing behind. Nikki stood up, looking at the fury on Agent Ice’s face and the irritation on Agent Jackal’s face. Nikki, for the first time ever, was silent when they approached. Agent Ice spun and stopped in front of everyone, her arms crossed across her chest.
“Alright everyone,” Agent Ice started, agitation showing immensely through her voice. “There has been a change of plans, so we will actually be training together. So we might as well get to know each other. My name is Rylee Blacks, as most of you know. You will call me Blacks, Agent Blacks, or Agent Ice. Eric Cole will be helping train you alongside me, a.k.a. Agent Jackal.” Rylee crossed her arms across her chest and took a deep breath. Her arms lifted and fell with her chest and she ran a hand through her hair. Unlike the girls, she didn’t have her blonde hair back.
“Starting off, we will be doing hand to hand training. All of you will need to learn it, no matter what your position is. Runners will go first. Nikki, Dean, you two will be doing the most hand to hand combat out in the field. You will also need the most cardio because you will be running the most. Now, you two watch first off. The rest of you stay silent.”
Rylee grabbed Eric’s arm and pulled him out onto the field. She set him perfectly straight and walked a few feet away. She then proceed to swing a punch at him. In his instincts, Eric grabbed her arm, twisted it around her back, and kicked her in the back of the knee. He then proceeded to slam her into the ground. Rylee coughed at that, her knees behind shoved into her lungs and Eric dropped her arm. She stood up and looked at Nikki and Dean. “You two will copy that. The rest of you will practice punching on punching bags.” Rylee jerked her chin toward the punching bags near the other end of the large room. “Wrap your hands, and begin practicing. I expect eat of you to be able to at least make a bruise on contact with a skin by the end of this. I don’t care if your fingers bleed. You will practice until I say it is enough.” Rylee glared at all of them. “Dismissed! Do your work.”
Nikki, now only slightly frightened by Agent Ice, walked out into the middle of the mat and waited for Dean. She looked over at Ravi, fear in her eyes, but she took a deep shuddering breath and tried to remain calm. Maybe taking this was a bad idea…
“You know what to do,” the deep bass voice on the other side of the radio said menacingly and the Commander switched off. Flynn shook his head and pulled a flask out of the inside pocket of his suit. In a few minutes, he would be referring to himself only as Ghost. Great. He took a switch of the Scotch inside. It seared down his throat and he growled and shook his head. He cracked his knuckles and peered over his shoulder, looking at Mason.
“You ready for this?” he asked, his accent coming in slightly thicker than normal. He stared into the darkened room, watching the stirring forms of the teenagers begin to wake up. He took a deep breath, not waiting for the response from his partner and he pressed a button on the panel in front of him. The lights flared up, turning the room completely white. The new Recruits would not be able to see him or his partner, but they could definitely see them. It was a one way mirror, just like the other Recruit room.
“What I am about to tell you, you cannot tell anyone else. If you do, there will be severe consequences. My name is Flynn James, a.k.a. Ghost. Don’t worry. You’ll figure out why they call me Ghost later. You have been chosen for your skills, brains, and personality to be a part of the U. M. F., also known as the Underground Mission Force. We are not CIA, or FBI. We are not related to the government. We have called you here today for you to accept and begin your training with us. If you choose not to accept, your memory will be wiped and you will be sent home to live a normal, happy, dull life. But, if you do accept, you will leave your family, friends, and life behind and you will begin an entirely new life here. Are you willing to leave everything you know for the betterment of humanity? Each one of you must step up to the window and deliver your answer. There will be no questions, no explanations of who we are, what we do, and what your role is until we have gotten acceptance from those who want to be one of us. The door will not open until everyone has given their answer. Understood? Good. Now, one at a time, step up to the window to deliver your answer.”
Flynn smirked as the kids began to stumble up in confusion. He knew that they were all going to say yes. There was no way that anyone could turn this opportunity down. This is an amazing opportunity and anyone who was smart enough wouldn’t refuse it. Flynn grabbed his flask again, flipping open the top with ease, and downing half the Scotch. He turned to Mason and asked, “Want some?”
