An extraction team had raced there way to our location in Greece, and they came across the sky as my phone disconnected from my conversation. The team were stricken with grief at the sight of Charlie's corpse, but their pain was nothing compared to ours. A childhood friend? Brutally executed in front of your eyes? The scars may not be visible, but they cut deep. So fucking deep. There were only two things on my mind:
The mourning of a lost friend, and the fatal revenge I would exact on the one who orchestrated this situation.
Roger.
We were hustled onto the extraction helicopter, and with tears in our eyes, we tried desperately to think of a strategy for taking him down. Sitting in silence, we hung our heads in thought and mourning. As we travelled back to America, we huddled up together for warmth. The three of us found comfort in each other. The weight on our minds was too heavy to bear for now. We hadn't slept properly in almost a month, and were completely shattered. The problem of Roger, unfortunately, would have to wait until morning. Until then, Flo and Felix lay their heads on my shoulders, I took Felix's hand as he did with mine, and we drifted off into a well-deserved slumber.
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"My son! Rhys! Florence!" Director Ashfield greeted us as we landed. He took us into his arms in a caring manner, a tear rolling down his cheek. He hurried us inside: "We don't know who could be watching." Eventually making our way into a conference room, we sat and tried to quickly plot out next course of action. "Do we have any leads?" Both Flo and Felix shook their heads in dismay. Felix sat there, silent. Flo just broke down again.
"Um. I do." I said, meekly raising my hand. The others looked at me, surprised. "I was too in shock to say anything, but I did get a phone call from Roger himself."
"You did?!" The Director stood up and made his way over to me. He stared right at me. "What did he say? Did he give any clues? Can we trace the call?" He too was desperate. He lost his wife to this man, the same wife that mothered Felix. We've all been put under control of Roger's tyranny.
"He said something about a 'WTC'. I'm pretty sure he means the World Trade Centre."
"Then we'll head there as soon as possible."
"He gave a time as well. August 11th, 2:30pm."
"The 11th?" Flo wiped her tears to butt in. "Isn't that today?" She was right! It was also 10:40am! We didn't have long to get ready.
"Then we don't have a second to lose!" He exclaimed encouragingly. The Director took us down the hall to a small armoury. In it was a stash of weapons that we could use against Roger. Assault rifles and pistols, and some knives too. "Remember, we need to take him alive for questioning! No fatal shots!" We nodded after this instruction. Once we were set to go, we got back into the helicopter and flew to the World Trade Centre. This would be it. A final showdown. Us four against Roger. Would it be easy? I began to sweat. My heart palpitated. Would I be joining my parents soon? Would Felix be joining his mom? I dreaded the coming events.
A great sense of calm washed over me. Felix had taken my hand. Just as he did when he was nervous back in Greece. He looked at me with a familiar gaze: 'It'll all turn out fine.' I smiled back. I looked forward and saw The Director, his father, sat across from us. He flashed me a smile. A similar smile. I knew that we would come out victorious. We would not let Charlie's death be in vain.
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It wasn't long before we got to New York City. Our guns were loaded, our game faces were on, our hands were trembling, but we were ready. The helicopter hovered over the street. The eerily empty street. Huh? It was strange. A New York afternoon that wasn't filled with classic American hustle and bustle? What was going on? We landed on the empty road at the foot of one of the Twin Towers and made our way towards it. One man stood guard. A white man, so definitely not Roger. We raised our weapons slightly out of caution. He beckoned us closer. In his hand was a phone. He handed it to me. It started ringing. "For you." He said. I took it and answered.
"Hello?"
"Rhys. You made it."
"Yeah, and we're here for you. Don't expect us to come quietly."
"No. I only want you." What?
"Only me?"
"Yes. Leave your friends. If they come up, they die, and so do you. If you leave your friends, it is likely that only you will die. And you'd do anything for your friends, wouldn't you?"
"If I don't come alone, they..."
"I just said what would happen!" I could hear him spit from the other side of the call. "My master is growing displeased! Time is fleeting, young man!"
"Who is your master? And why only me?"
"I'll never say. Just come up to Floor 45. And only you."
"You still haven't told me why!" Anger seeped through gritted teeth.
"You're my favourite." He hung up.
"So?" Flo asked nervously, "What did he say?"
"He said he wants me to go up alone."
"That's ridiculous! I can't allow that!" The Director offered to go in my place.
"No. Only the boy." The tower guard said. I looked at my comrades. They looked at each other. The Director nodded. And so I made my way to the elevator. To go to Floor 45.
I stepped inside and pushed the button. On my way in I saw no one working at the front desk. Have Black Star been in and killed everyone? Or did they just hire the building just for my showdown against Roger? The psychos. The elevator made an alarming 'ding' sound, and it began to climb to the 45th level. Overwhelming levels of dread and anxiety came into me. I was probably gonna die up here. To this maniac. He wouldn't kill me though, right? I'd be his only bargaining chip! Nervous laughter left my mouth.
"What's so funny?" Rogers voice! I looked around the elevator. He sounded so close! I activated my sensory powers. Nothing. Was it coming from a speaker? In the corner of the elevator was a small tannoy. His voice was coming from there.
"How can you hear me?"
"I hear everything. And see everything. Remember this, child: assume that I also know everything." I swallowed anxiously. "For example, I know that your friend died to Justin, Agent 16, from a bullet to the head." I clenched my fist in anger. "I know that, despite being able to see, you are completely blind. I know that you watched your former Director die horribly in a fire. I know that you're a great strategist, I know that you used your friends electric powers to fire at a metal pipe and destroy vehicles that were chasing you down." My fist unclenched.
"How do you..?"
"I know that you were chased across rooftops by Egyptian men whilst trying to find a ferry to Greece. I know that you almost killed Guy, a close friend of mine. I know that your alias at the Black Star Gala was a Frenchman named 'Olivier Jean', and your now-dead friend had the alias 'Valerie Robin." He continued, listing every event that had happened since the murder of my father. He's...
"You're insane!"
"I'm not insane! I. KNOW. EVERYTHING!" The elevator dinged. Floor 45. "Welcome, Rhys." I stepped out into an empty room. Where was he? A felt something tap my shoulder. I whipped around, pulling out my pistol. Nothing. I lowered my gun as I turned back around. Roger!
"Hello again." He stared into me with a cold gaze. "Aren't you excited to see dear old dad?" I punched him across the jaw. He stepped backwards, rubbing his chin. He chuckled.
"You're not my dad. You never were." I cocked my weapon, ready to shoot. But he was gone. I activated my senses again. He wasn't here! I couldn't feel footsteps, breathing, heartbeat, nothing! I started to panic. I begun to not see at all. I slowed my breath to get my vision back. Still, he wasn't visible.
"You're right. I'm not. I killed your true father. I felt him squirm on my knife."
"Bastard! Where the hell are you?" I felt a foot hit me in the back of the knee, bringing me to the floor. "Coward! Face me!"
"Your anger is strong. Master will like you."
"Who the hell is your Master?" I spat. "Is he the leader of Black Star?"
"My Master is none of your concern. Unless you come with me."
"W-what?" My hands shook as I lowered my gun. "Why would I come with you?"
"You have the qualities for a Black Star General. And we need Agent replacements anyway." I turned. From out of nowhere he began to appear. His face was revealed, then his shoulders, torso, legs. And then a hand. "Join us." I reached out for his hand.
And slapped it away.
"Never!" I pulled up my gun again, before he knocked it away. He threw a punch, hitting me in the jaw. Jumping up, I went in for a kick, but he had disappeared again. Along with my pistol. I put my fists up. "How the hell can you turn invisible?"
"Ha! You wouldn't believe me if I told you!"
"I've seen a lot of weird shit in the past few years," I whipped my head back and forth frantically, "I think I can handle this."
"Well you see, my DNA is infused with that of a chameleon."
"You're right. I don't believe you. The only people who have animal DNA are the first batch of Agents! Like Tara and Justin!"
And then it hit me.
"Roger. You..." I lowered my guess in shock. He suddenly appeared behind me, kicking me in the back. I flew forward.
"I was an Agent, Rhys! Just like you!" He walked over and kicked me again. "Agent 01 in fact! The very first!" He picked me up by my shirt collar. And there are gonna be so many more after me. You know what happened during the explosion of your old F.B.I base? I stole some, uh, 'experimental' product, shall we say?" I was pushed up against a wall, and my sunglasses were taken and tossed aside. "We're gonna make a factory of Agents! And we're gonna use them to destroy humanity?"
"Destroy humanity? Why the fuck would you wanna do that?"
"To rebuild! To rebuild it in my Masters image!"
"Your Master, shut up about you Master! What's this image of his then?"
He paused. "I do not know. But I know that it will be incredible!"
"I may be blind. But I can still see."
"I know that! And?"
"You may be able to see. But you are blind." I sensed his mouth open in shock at my words. I spat in his open mouth and kicked him in the stomach. He fell back as I rushed him, taking his collar and throwing him away. He knocked against the giant window. Standing up, he disappeared again. I took a deep breath again. A faint tapped entered my ears. Footsteps? They grew louder. They were nearing me! I swung a fist to my left. Nothing. However, I could feel something through the air. A body. Roger! The footsteps were louder. I could feel where they were coming from. A pair of shoes appeared. Then a leg. Then another! Soon I could just see the bottom half of Roger. A pair of seemingly sentient legs wandering this floor of the building. I ran at them, sweeping. They jumped, and I did the same, kicking as I did. I felt a chest! It was Roger! He was now fully visible! Not a chameleon anymore! He took out my gun that he swiped, and I ducked underneath him and grabbed it for myself. A fist came at me. I took it and threw him over me, slamming him into the ground. He turned over, coughing.
"You..."
"I what?" I retorted, aiming the pistol.
"You!" He turned and faced the window. "You said it would be fine!" He started crawling towards it, staring across in the direction of the other tower of the World Trade Centre. My senses didn't have that much range. I couldn't see who he was looking at."Yes. Yes it will. I shall do as you please, Master." Roger sprang up and ran at me. I tried to fight him off but he grabbed my gun and pushed me. He shot the window. And he ran. Jumping.
I leapt up to grab him, but it was too late. He was too far. I slammed my fist on the ground, before sprinting to the elevator. I pressed the ground floor button and waited. An annoying song played, so I tore off the speaker before I could get tilted. It dinged as I reached the bottom. But I'm not sure I wanted to.
"Stop right there, Rhys!" Roger shouted at me, pointing my gun at Felix's head.
"Woah woah woah!" I stepped back in fear. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
"Make me!" He pressed the barrel into Felix's head. A tear rolled down his cheek. Felix moved his leg to show that Roger's right knee had been completely obliterated. It must've been from the impact of the fall. I stepped to the left. "I SAID STOP RIGHT THERE!" He moved closer to me and held Felix tighter. Felix squealed, frozen. I could tell that he didn't want to try and escape. He would immediately be shot if he tried. In my step I felt something. A biro pen. And an idea.
"Roger. Roger I am begging you, do not shoot him." I sank to my knees, "Shoot me if you want!"
"Fine." He pointed the gun at me. Felix then shocked him into submission, breaking free. I picked up the biro and threw it and Roger's shooting arm. It embedded in his shoulder, and he cried out in pain, dropping the weapon. I slid over, picked it up and held him at gunpoint.
"KILL ME!" He screamed, "JUST KILL ME NOW, MY MASTER!" He turned to another building nearby. My senses were just strong enough to know where he was looking. I sensed a hooded figure on top of a building in the distance. I looked back at Roger. He had collapsed. Limp. I checked his pulse. Nothing.
"Follow me!" I said to Felix, taking him by the hand. We ran past Flo and the Director, who stayed to keep an eye on Roger. Felix and I ran into the building, climbing the stairs up to the roof. There he stood. A hooded man. We pointed our guns at him.
"You cannot stop the flow of time." He announced. And then he vanished.
"Can you sense him, Rhys?"
"No. I can't. He's actually gone."
———————————————————————————
"Hey Rhys?"
"Yes Felix?" He took my hands.
"You saved my life earlier." He smiled.
"I-, uh, oh. I-I did?" I laughed nervously.
"And that's not the first time. You've saved me so many times. In Greece, by letting me hold your hand. In Egypt, by letting me lean close to you around those campfires."
"They saved your life?"
"It's the little things, Rhys." He put his hands on my cheek. "I never thought I'd live to tell you this. I never thought either of us would live as long as we have." I put my hand on his, "I-."
I kissed him.
"I love you too."
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And this is probably the best way to sum up my story for now. I don't know how much more I can write about myself, apart from after this moment.
Felix and I, with the knowing approval of his father, Director Ashfield, began a relationship. I moved in with both of them, with Flo going back to her family. We still continued our careers as Agents, though. For a year, Felix and I kept our relationship secret, having our own 'date nights' as it were in the comfort of our own living room. After that year, when we were both eighteen, we both drove out into the city to find 'specialised' bars for us to be free. The two years that followed that were a total blast. Every weekend we would go to this place, have a meal, a drink or two, or four, and a dance. Pure bliss. I lived for those moments where I could sense Felix's heart beat in synchrony with mine.
Whilst this was happening, we did manage to help with the process of speeding up the Agent programme. And it was a success! Flo actually lead the revival of the project, and my what a leader she was. Forward-thinking, intelligent and well-spoken. Every Charlie was. We did build a memorial for her, which was Flo's entire laboratory. The Charlie Building. A third in a series, the first two being the Alpha and Bravo building. The progression of science in Charlie's name is what lead to the addition of dozens of new Agents. We just recently found our Agent 97, Rachel Winters, in Canada. She was hiding out in the woods, but we took her in and helped her. She even asked Felix and I to adopt her!
That question was the second greatest moment of my life. I promised her to be a great father, as did Felix. My dream is to be as good of a parent as mine were. Yet the greatest moment of my life came on the 20th May 2004. Marriage for homosexuals was legalised in Massachusetts. The state that Felix and I lived in. When we heard that news, which was announced on the 17th May, we immediately broke down and cried into each other's shoulders. Finally. We could be proud of who we were in front of everyone! Taking money from our savings, we immediately set to work on a wedding. In three days, we had planned a wedding, gotten engaged, bought rings, sent out invitations, and had the ceremony.
The day was beautiful. It was bright and warm, with chairs arranged in a field. I stood at the altar, which stood in front of a flower arch. Felix's dad walked him down the aisle, tears in his eyes. He kissed his son on the forehead and we stood holding hands, just as we did when we were teenagers. The vows were heartfelt, personal and glorious. Felix had extended his speech about how I saved his life, in more ways than one. The emotions were vast and rich. Tears welled up in my eyes, and his dad burst into tears finally. I choked up, and couldn't say my vows. Felix understood, as did the priest. He pronounced us husband and husband, and we kissed.
That was 2004. 4 years later we adopted Rachel. 5 years later, Director Ashfield sadly passed away. The torch was handed to Felix, and he became the Director of the F.B.I, promising to become as strong, if not stronger than his father before him.
And, well, that's it. That's my life story. I may have to write over this at some point when I'm 80 or something. I've gotta finish typing now, there's an important mission tomorrow. We've found a potential Agent 98 to recruit.
I think his name is Flint?
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