"Rhys wake up!" Agent Ashfield shook me awake desperately, "Jesus, I thought you had passed out!"
"What the hell? What do you want?"
"We're here, man! Did you forget already?" I rubbed my eyes and slumped my way out of the car, and was greeted with the brightness of the morning sky. Stood before me was the FBI Academy, glowing in the glorious sunlight. This was it. This was where I'd be trained to fight and defeat Roger eventually. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when I...
"Hey, Rhys? You okay there buddy?" Agent Ashfield brought me back to reality. I shook off my thoughts and kept walking. Once we got to the front entrance, an unknown man opened up the doors.
"Agent Ashfield! You're finally back!" The two men briefly embraced. "And you must be Rhys. I am so sorry for your loss." He lay his hand on my shoulder, with a gentle and sentimental touch. "It is great to meet you. I hope you find our training program enriching."
"Uh, thank you." I said, confused. "I don't know who you are, sorry."
"Oh, of course, my apologies. I am F.B.I Director John Otto."
"F.B.I Director!?" I felt so embarrassed not knowing who the man was. I felt my face warm up from that feeling. I moved away and his hand fell from my shoulder. In a panic, I took it and shook it out of respect.
"Thank you, Rhys. Now would you like to come inside and learn about your training?"
"I, uh, I'd love to." Entering the colossal building, I was greeted by grey and white hallways that lead into many different rooms. Looking into the rooms, I could see people being shown things on chalkboards, but I couldn't work out what they said.
"We pride ourselves in our variety in training, be it academic, physical, technological or linguistics." We also walked past a few workout rooms and gyms, with weights and running machines alike. Potential agents in peak physical condition, with their bulging arms and tensed up calves, pushing their bodies to the limits in order to succeed here. "Our laboratories aren't to be ignored either. We have many incredible researchers and scientific prodigies here and at our other buildings across the country. But what you'll be put through is more than what others have done."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you see, we and the other heads of the F.B.I branches have to the executive decision that you will be a part of the Agent Program." Agent Ashfield revealed. I think it was meant to be extravagant, but I was still incredibly confused at the time.
"That just sounds pretty normal to me." I answered as we approached a dead end. There was only a door with a code to it.
"Could you look away for a second, please, Rhys?" Turning around, I heard him plug numbers into the door and it then swung open for us. The Director, Ashfield and I swiftly entered, the door shut, and lights turned on in the room we were in. Small containers of a dark blue liquid glowed in the lights as bubbles rose from the bottom of them. Other vials arranged on either side of the hall were labelled with animals, in their English and Latin names. I was struck with even more confusion than before, a look of bewilderment appeared across my face. At the time, it was the most incredible thing that I had ever gazed upon. And when we got to the end of the corridor, there were three doors. One was directly ahead of us, with multiple retinal and fingerprint scanners, likely some voice activation as well. On the right, there was a door labelled 'Training', likely where there were lecture rooms and gymnasiums. And on the left, the room we were going into, was a small meeting room. On entering, a smile leapt onto my face as I saw the person I have missed the most over these last few days.
Felix Ashfield.
I ran at him and screamed his name in joy. He too stood up and we met in an embrace. I remember us both shedding a tear. It was a huge moment of relief, knowing that my best friend was now with me. "I'm so happy to see you."
"Same here, Rhys." He left my arms, "I am so sorry about your mom."
"And sorry about what happened to yours."
"You saw the bastard, right? We're gonna catch him and get revenge for what he did to us!"
"But how can we? We're just a couple of kids."
"That's what we are about to explain to you." Agent Ashfield chimes in. "Our Research and Development branch has created something unlike any nation has seen or heard of before. Please, take a seat." He switched off the light, and Director Otto set up a projector. Its light shone on the wall and a series of images began to be shown.
"We have our regular agents that you saw on our way to this room. However, around 15 years ago, we had a thought: what if we could push a persons limits further than scientifically possible? And so we came up with a solution, a serum if you will, that is able to bring out a persons potential, when combined with other things."
"What other things?"
"You saw the animal DNA on the way here, right?" The Director answered, "We combine with that. We give people superhuman abilities. We call them Agents, which stands for Augmented Government Espionage-experts for National Terrorist Suppression." This was so bizarre to me. People being given animal abilities? It was impossible! Or maybe it wasn't. Looking over at Felix, I remember seeing absolute confusion in his eyes.
"What sort of abilities have Agents had?" asked Felix.
"Well, as an example, our first Agent, a man by the name of David Kendrick, had the powers of a chameleon, making him able to seamlessly blend into his surroundings."
"What do you mean had? Is he not alive anymore."
"That's a more complicated story," Agent Ashfield said, "But since you're already waist-deep I'm incredibly top secret and confidential material, we may as well tell you. We have no clue."
"He suddenly disappeared one day, and we haven't had any report of him since. We have had a few Agents like that in the past. Both Agent 15 and Agent 16 ran away from the Bureau without warning." Director Otto finished.
"What abilities did they have?"
"Agent 15 had Scorpion powers, and Agent 16 had Octopus powers."
"I have another question."
"Go ahead, Rhys."
"Why are you telling us all of this? I mean, we're kids. What is the point in us knowing this information?"
"Well," answered Director Otto, "The reason is that we would like to make you two Agents." We we're both completely dumbfounded. Us? Enhanced super-people? It's an impossible feat! What purpose would it serve? Those were questions that were soon to be answered. "We have ideas of creating a brand new generation of Agents. We have 19 so far, and we would like to be able to test our new procedure on able-bodied young individuals with strong wills and bodies."
"So far you only have one of those thing: wills." Ashefield added.
"Hey, we've done martial arts!"
"That's simply not enough. Incredibly intense physical exercises and training is required to be able to withstand the procedure, be it the old one or our new one."
"What makes this 'new procedure' so incredible anyways?"
"Felix, son, our research has made such strides in the last two years. Not only have we discovered an easier way to transfer our serum, but we have been able to figure out how to augment a person without animal DNA!" When Ashfield was explaining this, I could hear some excitement break through in his voice. He was definitely excited to share this information with someone, "Like upgrading a persons senses, or increasing their bodily heat and temperature outputs in order to create flames!"
"No." Felix leant back in his chair and dropped his arms to his side, "No. That isn't possible. I don't believe what you're saying."
"Well you better," Director Otto jumped in, "Because within the next year or two, you may have abilities such as these!" I was shocked. I agreed with Felix. How has science progressed so far that people can be giving the ability of pyrokinesis? Or the powers of Daredevil? "We have two other candidates for future Agents at our main Research and Development branch. We haven't met them yet, but apparently their family had gotten involved with Roger at one point." Felix and I gulped in fear simultaneously. I hated to think what those other two people had gone through. What pain they must be feeling and experiencing. Whenever we meet them, I know that I am going to comfort them as much as I can.
"So, are you two ready to start your training?"
"What?" I asked. Neither of them said anything. They just pointed at the exit and gestured for us to go through. When we did, we were told to go through the door that said 'Training' on it. Once inside the room, we were met with a large sparring mat, with many a workout apparatus surrounding the side: treadmills, punching bags, pelotons, pull-up bars, bench presses, and so much more. However, they equipment seemed much more advanced. The weights had a limit of 500 kg per weight, the treadmills had a 40 speed setting, and the punching bags seemed to have a metallic glint on them. Is this how Augmented an Augmented Government Espionage-expert for National Terrorist Suppression can get? This is just insanity at this point!
"So, you both did martial arts, correct?" Director Otto asked.
"Yeah we did."
"What fighting styles did you do?"
"Taekwondo and karate."
"That's brilliant!" He said, delighted, "Now fight."
"Huh?"
"You heard me." He answered sternly. This was a new side to him: authority. "Spar with each other. We can't know if you're both candidates to become Agents if you can't simply fight, or even take orders." Reluctantly, and also a little bit scared, Felix and I stepped onto the mat, each took off our jackets, and got into some form of stance. "Throw all patterned movements out of the window. Use what you know to your advantage." We both looked at each other and ran. I threw a right hook at Felix's head. It would have been devastating if it connected, like when I knocked out that bully all that time ago. However, Felix was more manoeuvrable than I, so he could easily step out of the way and retaliate with a fist to my side. It took some of the wind out of me, but I woke me up a bit and I used that to throw two quick jabs at his chest. He deflected them both and knife handed me on the shoulder. He hit all of my nerve cells there, almost numbing my entire arm, yet I could still use my legs. I kicked at his chest and after a dodge, I jumped forward and kicked him as I went. He stumbled badly, giving me enough time to let my arm recover. Felix didn't let up though. He followed up with a flurry of punches. I managed to resist them, deflecting as many as I could, but blocking the ones that I couldn't. This was a tactic of his: overwhelming his opponent until they slipped up or their defences broke. I knew him too well to mess up what I had going for me. He put in a surprise knee attack within the fists, and I was hit in the stomach. I could see his knee go for my face again, albeit through fuzzy vision. Moving out of the way, I used the opportunity to kick him in the ribs. He crumpled slightly, and after that I swept his legs. Falling to the ground, he quickly picked himself up and ran at me. I braved for impact, but there was none. He just disappeared. Is he already an Agent? Is this a test for me? No it wasn't. I could hear him behind me, shuffling as I moved to locate him. Swiftly spinning around, I kicked him in the waist, then punched him once, twice, three times in quick succession. Felix was down.
A moment passed. Clapping could be heard from the other side of the fighting mat. "Wow! That was amazing!" gushed Director Otto, "You two are in! You're now candidates for the Agent program!" I looked at Felix, and he looked at me. With a smile, I reached out my hand and picked him off the ground. "Now we know a baseline for your skill, we're gonna have to put you two for the ringer." He approached us and put a hand on each of our shoulders, "It's gonna be a tough two years, you guys." And from that day onward, we certainly were. The next day, after a soothing 8-hour sleep, we were abruptly woken up by Agent Ashfield. He dragged us out of bed and forced us to run 10 kilometres, telling us we'd be doing it every morning. After a quick breakfast, we were put to work on sparring and fighting practice. Every single day for two years, Felix and I would fight for as long as we could. Our stamina increased so much, that we could fight at our absolute limit for two and a half hours, and still be ready and raring to keep going.
After sparring would usually be more intellectual training, such as espionage, camouflage techniques in a forest, a city, or even a desert. We'd learn hacking skills, and could breach even the servers at the F.B.I main building. Our conversational skills increased as well, and we were taught how to remember information about a false persona we were given, and how not to blow our cover out in the field. Languages were also drilled into us right from the beginning. French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, Sanskrit, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and even their accents as well. We could easily blend into a crowd, and often we would congregate in the main agents cafeteria and gym, eating and working out unnoticed. Our academic skills were also improved as well, and we could solve difficult problems in just a few seconds. Interrogation techniques were taught to us too, as well as how to resist them. We were tough buts to crack.
Later in the day would be more physical training. We didn't shy away from using weights, and became absolutely jacked by the end of the two years. Because of that, our fighting strength grew even further as we were taught more martial arts styles. Judo, Ju-Jitsu, Kung-Fu, Krav Maga, Kickboxing, Boxing and Wrestling were just a handful of fighting techniques we learned. And then, after two years full of blood, sweat, mud and tears, we finally came to the day when we would become Agents.
It was a bright cold day in July, and the clocks were striking six. I bolted out of bed and glanced at my calendar: July 22nd 1990. I jumped into my training gear and ran out of the door to start my regular 10km run. The start of the day was weird, however, as from the drizzle outside entered an anorak-clad figure, who I had never seen before in this building. His face was obscured, so I couldn't see who it was. He didn't pay any sort of attention to me, didn't speak a word. I was confused, but I thought nothing of it. Stepping outside, I broke into a slow jog to warm up. Whilst I was running, I was alone with my thoughts. I didn't see Felix when I woke. He must've already started running. There was no way I was gonna catch up with him. He is so much faster than me. But my competitive nature took over, and I broke into a sprint. He may be faster, but I can run for longer. After the first 2km, I saw someone ahead of me running. I could just about see that they were slowing down. It was hard to see because of the rain, but I could just about make out that it was Felix. I don't know what I'd do without my vision. I'd have run into a tree by now. Those sorts of thoughts usually came about when I was alone. I have a strange mind. But anyway, I started picking up the pace, and not before long, I was side by side with Felix. "Ah!" He exclaimed in a shocked surprise, "I didn't hear ya coming!"
"Sorry for scaring you. Why are you up so early?"
"I couldn't sleep last night. I was way too nervous for today. I mean, these past two years have been the most incredible years of my life, and now they'll be coming to a close!"
"Well just think of the next two years. And the next two years after that."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right!" He paused, catching his breath, "And you know what? I'm so glad that I'm gonna be spending those years with you Rhys." I saw a joyful glint in his eyes.
"Same here, man. Same here." I looked away to see where we were running, and I briefly caught him grinning min my peripheral vision. The rest of the 10km was done in silence. It was a peaceful jog, and the rain slowed down to just a light drizzle. Eventually we got near to the building. We both slowed to a walk and started some cool down stretches. Whilst we gradually made our way to the building, I could see someone burst out through the doors, running away in desperation. Their black anorak blew in the light wind. We both exchanged glances. He wore a tactical mask, but for some reason his eyes had murderous intent. The only time I've felt like that when a person looked at me was with Roger, when he murdered my mother in cold blood. But that couldn't have been him.
Right?
Oh my God...
"Felix! We need to run!" I immediately began sprinting towards the building. There are still people inside! Who knows what Roger has done?
"What? Why?" He asked, sprinting alongside me.
"That was Roger! He's done something to the building and he's trying to escape!"
"Why don't we chase him?"
"We aren't Agents yet! He'll destroy us!" We got closer to the building, and we saw people begin to file outside, being ushered by Agent Ashfield.
"Felix! Rhys! Oh thank the Lord you're both here!" He brought us into a tight embrace. "Did you see a man in a black anorak?"
"Yeah we did. And Rhys said that it was Roger!" The expression on Agent Ashfield's face abruptly changed from fear to realisation.
"He was trying to kill you two."
"How?" I asked.
And then the F.B.I Training Academy was engulfed in an explosion.
Glass shot out from all angles, stabbing into the innocent trainees that all stood in helpless and fearful awe. The whole planet rumbled under the intensity of the explosion. Flames crept out of the broken windows, turning all raindrops to steam before they could hit the ground. I could barely see the building through the harshness of the heat. People sank to their knees, others soaked themselves with more tears than rain. Most people did both of those things. July 22nd 1990: the Bombing of the F.B.I Training Academy. It was one of the most harrowing days of my entire life, and not just for that reason.
"Wait," said Felix, "Where's Director Otto?"
Sirens blared from fire engines that began to arrive, but they would be too late to save Director Otto from the inferno. Instinct kicked in. Adrenaline pumped. I charged straight into the burning chaos. Covering my face to breathe more easily, I started kicking down the door to the secret Agent room. One. Two. Three. It fell on the fourth kick. The animal DNA for the Agent program, as well as the more experimental substances, had been encased behind bombproof glass. Director Otto must've risked his own life to protect them. I went straight for the door ahead of me: the one I had never been in. It wouldn't budge, no matter how many times I kicked it. Something fell behind me. Startled, I turned to see that a portion of the roof had fallen, hindering any escape attempts that could have been made. And then things started breaking out of nowhere. Small debris began flying around the corridor. Some even hit some gas canisters stored on the side of the wall.
Wait. Gas canisters?
They debris broke the containers, and the heat ignited the gas inside. The gas lit in the air as it escaped. Right towards me. I could manage to shield myself.
The only thing that I couldn't shield was my eyes.
I cried out in agony. I covered my eyes to try and make them feel better. It only made the pain worse. It was the most intense pain that I had felt up to that point. After I could blink again, my vision never restored.
All I saw was darkness.
The ignited gas made me blind.
Stumbling back in anguish, I fell through a door. It must've been the meeting room, because the first thing I fell into when I stood up was a chair. And barely, just barely, I could make out a raspy voice in the midst of all the flames.
"Rhys?" coughed The Director, "I-Is that y-you?"
"Holy hell, Director Otto, is that you?"
"Why are you l-looking the wrong w-way, Rhys?"
"I can't see anything!" I managed to sputter whilst feeling the air around me so I didn't fall into the fire, "Some gas ignited and blinded me!"
"You're blind?" He coughed very profusely, "Just f-follow my voice. I'll guide you, R-Rhys." He continues to talk, helping me figure out where in the room he was. I bumped into him to find that he was curled up in a ball in the back corner of the room. Putting him over my shoulders, I quickly get carefully stepped through the fire and out of the room. "Th-There's a portion of the roof o-on the ground," he pointed out, "You're going to have to run and h-jump over it."
"I can't do that!"
"Well you can't j-just step over it! It's on f-fire!" He screamed in my ear. Well. This was it. This was how I was gonna die. At the hands of a furious hellstorm. Taking a deep breath, but not deep enough to take in a large amount of smoke, I held onto the Director and ran. "Now!" He screamed. Only guessing what he meant, I jumped. I jumped high. High and far. I landed, but slipped and crashed into the doorway. I dropped The Director and we both fell to the floor in the lobby. The heat felt less intense here, and I could hear footsteps. And voices. Barely conscious, I was rolled into a stretcher, and I felt myself be lifted up and taken away. I was about to pass out when I heard the most heartbreaking words of the entire day: "The Director! He's not responding! He doesn't have a pulse either! Oh God. Oh good God.
"The Director is dead!"
July 22nd 1990: the Bombing of the F.B.I Training Academy.
The day that I had complete and total loss of my vision.
The death of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Intelligence, John Otto.
The most tragic day of my entire life. The day that I lost a father for the second time in my life.
I passed out from heat exhaustion.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
