File - The Agent

     Brenda was in a room with several other Order agents; most just waiting to hit the streets.  A lot of the people around her were people unhappy with the way things were or wanted to come out on top when this was all set and done.  Looking around the room, this was one of the few spaces where agents were expected to not wear their protective gear; a way to see if they were paying attention.  There were some faces she recognized from school, a few from local businesses, while she didn’t care to know most.  It wasn’t her place to know who they were, just that they paid attention to Caption Sigma.

Caption Sigma was a thin man with the voice of a foghorn, a useful skill here and in his day job.  He had his red hair cut military short and sharp eyes that scanned the small crowd.  Brenda didn’t actually need to stand next to him, but that was protocol.  He pointed to the board next to him and said “So, team A will be picking up shipment #698 while Team B will be on weapons drop off.  Is that understood?”

“Yes, caption.” The group said, almost as one.

“Good, now everyone get ready for your jobs.  Team B, be ready to pick up the few not present here.” Sigma said as they started filing out.  Brenda waited for everyone to leave before leaving herself, first she was stopped by the caption.  Putting a hand on her shoulder, he said “The Matriarch wanted to see you after this meeting.  I forget to mention it earlier.”

“As she wishes, thank you caption.”  Brenda said and left the room.

She turned down the hall of their makeshift base with the thought that’s been on her mind a lot lately, how’d I get here?  As far as she knew, The Order had become aware of her through a contact called The Informant.  The Matriarch was the one who approached her with a proposition about working in an environment where she would excel in, that was a year ago.  At first, she was part of a teen group that excelled in computers and machinery; of course, that situation changed.

The group dwindled over the first two months until it was just her and another boy.  It was at this point that The Matriarch revealed the true nature of The Order, or she thought anyway.  She was told that the group was experimenting with new types of weapons, energy weapons, and nothing more.  Of course, that situation changed.  She found out that the weapons would make their way onto the streets but she turned a blind eye to the matter.  The important thing was the progress of energy weapons, and how they could be repurposed.

However, Brenda now stood in front of The Matriarch’s office and knocked on the door.  After a moment, she let herself in and found the woman standing around a table with her second in command.  The second in command, a younger woman with brown hair, turned and said “Oh, Agent, good timing as always.  Please come here.”

“Of course Alpha, I was told that you wanted me Matriarch.” Brenda said walking up to the two.  She could see that the table was displaying some plans that were still well in development.

The Matriarch tapped the side of the table and the plans disappeared.  She turned to Brenda and said, “Yes, my dear, I was so hoping you could do something for me.”

“Anything, what is it you need me to do?”

“I need you to follow someone for me.  It’s one of our inside informants from Pulsar Tech.  Not getting into the details now, just follow and report back your findings.” The woman said with a sweet smile.

Alpha input some commands on a tablet while saying “In a moment you should see where to find them and what their routine should be from this point on your internal display.  Take care out there Agent.”

Brenda saluted and left the office, leaving for her mission.  The Matriarch tapped the side of the table again and said “Axel, bring up the plans for Project Titianpoint again.”

They appeared as a male voice announced “Of course, Matriarch.”

Brenda went out and found the person she was supposed to follow, a man named Shawn Mars.  Mr. Mars was working from an off-site, office; clearly visible even with its low lights.  She watched him work for about an hour or so until he started to leave, cleaning up his personal effects.  He got into a uber and headed off downtown, already deviating from his expected routine; Brenda followed closely behind like she was ordered to.

She was discrete as always; invisible and never too close.  Eventually, he was dropped off at an apartment building in SOHO and quickly went inside.  She had to get a little closer than liked but she followed him to a second-story apartment.  Knowing where he was Brenda went back outside and set herself up against the window of the apartment.  Looking inside, she saw two people sitting at a table; police Detective Lara Lin and Mr. Mars.

They seemed to be talking about something but it wouldn’t be hard to guess.  After a few minutes, Mr. Mars pulled out a folder from his bag and handed it over to the detective.  She, briefly, glanced through it and both stood up.  Mr. Mars left first while Brenda assumed the police detective left later.  The man then went home to his apartment in midtown and settled down for the night.

Brenda went back to The Order base, using a subway entrance, and reported her findings.  The Matriarch told her she wouldn’t be needed for the remainder of the night, sending her home.  All in all, an early time to return home for the first time in a while.

The next day was a Saturday, meaning an all-day trip to The Lab.  It has recently been repaired from when she blasted a hole through the secure lab.  Walking into the lobby she saw Tyler talking with Sam.  Walking up to them she said, “Early day for you guys as well.”

She noticed Sam tucked a tablet into her lab coat while Tyler said “Something like that.  Have some interesting projects that need to be continued; how about you?”

“I’m only really tinkering at the moment still.  While I have you guys, think you can send over some of the Nano-Tech designs you have?” Brenda asked.

“Of course, we’ll make sure you get them the moment we get back downstairs.  We have to go to the Scanner Department first though.” Sam said and moved to the staircase.

Tyler started to follow her but Brenda stopped him to say “Also when you have another free moment meet me in my lab space.  I need your option on something.”

Before he could have a chance to respond, she turned and walked to the elevator.  Getting to the third floor, and entering Lab 1, she let out a sigh.  Putting her backpack on a nearby chair, she said to herself “All this space for little old me.  That’s probably a good thing, all things considered, licking gifted horses and all that.”

She started working on her personal project, a hologram projector using already known data points.  She was still only computer modeling the process; not able to make anything to test it in the real world.  Normally, she would be funneling information back to The Order; however, she didn’t consider this to be something they needed to know about.  Even if they could afford the means to try this equipment.

Eventually, Tyler came around, just like he said he would.  Walking through the door, he asked “So, what do you need my option on?”

Pulling up the computer simulation, she said “Take a look at this and let me know what you think.”

He watched the simulation play out, seeing how the hologram was formed over different surfaces.  Finally, he said “That looks a lot like what Dr. Dumbing is doing up on the second floor.  I’m guessing you haven’t found any luck in testing it in the real world.”

“No, I haven’t had any luck with that.  Also, Dr. Dumbing is working on something similar?  Maybe I should see if he has any insight.” Brenda said.

“Word of warning if you do; he gets very opinionated.  Sam and I asked him about a project a few months ago and he still gives us his thoughts on the matter.”  Tyler said.  He started to leave when he added “Send me a copy of your work and I’ll look over it again.  I’ll also see if I can put in a good word about making a prototype.”

“Thanks, you’re the best.” She said as he was shutting the door.  After he was gone, she said, "I knew I could count on him; probably wants to see if something like that would work as well.”

With the rest of her day, she sent Tyler a copy of her work after he sent her some of his.  She also sent an email to Dr. Dumbing asking to get his option on the project.  Later in the day she left and walked around Central Park.  While there she saw Jenifer jogging through the park.

Flagging her down, she said “Hay, Jenifer.  How’s it going?”

Jenifer stopped and said “Going alright I suppose.  How about you?”

“Doing good spent most of the day at The Lab.  I think your boyfriend is going to help push through funding for a prototype of something I’m working on.” Brenda said as Jenifer took a sip of water from a bottle.

Taking a seat, Jenifer said “That’s good.  What is it you’re trying to build?”

Brenda then explained what she wanted to build and how it would work.  By the time she was done, she said “If you can’t tell I’m pretty excited about getting it built.”

“Yeah, I can tell.  Don’t think me rude but I have to get going; I’ll talk to you later though.” Jenifer said and got up to finish her exercise.

After that, Brenda went home since she didn’t have anything to do; not until later that night.  Her mother wasn’t home again, attending business upstate, and her father wouldn’t return home until dinner.  That meant it was up to her to get dinner ready for the two of them, as usual.  As she pulled the ground beef out from the fridge her mind went back to her history with The Order.

The Order had placed her working on the energy weapons until The Mirage appeared on the scene.  They had become aware of him when he stopped a plain-clothed robbery; the good thing was he didn’t seem to be aware of them yet.  At that point, a close eye was kept on his activities; capturing surveillance footage and mapping his nightly retinue.  The Matriarch thought it would be a good idea to train someone to take him on, on the chance he discovered their activities.  Brenda was the lucky one selected to be trained as The Agent.

She was given the same training the rest of the agents were given with special training based on the surveillance forage of The Mirage.  They outfitted her with special gear that would make her a perfect match for him and managed to move her, and her family, to Manhattan.  It was The Order who got her and her father jobs at The Lab so they could better watch “their assets”.  It was also The Order that killed Dr. Smith; a woman who, she thought, didn’t need to die.  She brought that misgiving up to The Matriarch but she was assured it was the only way to protect the organization.

Either way, the past was the past and there was no way to change it.  Brenda had dinner ready for her father when he arrived home.  Walking through the apartment door, he said “Smells good honey.  What did you make today?”

“Meatloaf, it’ll be ready to serve in a minute.” Brenda said as she put the food on the kitchen counter.

She cut up the meatloaf, and served it onto plates, as her father said “So I saw that Tyler put through a request to allocate funds for a prototype you want to build.  Looked interesting.”

“I didn’t realize you would’ve seen such a request.  I showed him some work I want to get off the ground and I know he could get more done than I can.”  Brenda said setting the plates on their breakfast bar.

“You’ll have to tell me if you end up getting it anywhere; we both know people who would like to see such a device.  For some professional advice, don’t use your college's internal advantage too often.” Mr. Jones said as the two sat down.

“I know, on both counts.  I was hoping to not share everything I do with them for once.”

“I’m just saying you could have had a prototype built already if you showed them your plans.  They trust you in such matters.  I mean look how far you’ve moved along the Energy Development Program.”  Mr. Jones is and started eating.

Brenda poked at her food, blankly, and said “Yeah, the Energy Development Program.    I still don’t know how I feel about the direction it’s taken.”

There was a long moment of silence that followed.  After what felt like an eternity Mr. Jones said “We won’t have this discussion again.  You’ve already been told it was unavoidable.”

With that, the two eat their dinner in near silence; the only sounds coming from the utensils cutting on the plates.  Brenda didn’t say much the rest of the night either, mostly stayed in her room reading about the physics of light.  All the same, night came and it was time to get ready for her night as The Agent.  Heading out to The Order makeshift base she thought she saw someone not far from the entrance.

The Matriarch told her that she was going to accompany a team who were supposed to be getting supplies in Washington Heights.  It was a small group, four members including her when they left for midtown.  The trip was just under a half-hour with Brenda keeping a close eye on their surroundings.  When they got to the drop-off point, a plain-clothed agent gout out first.  There was a large van parked not far from them and the agent approached it.

As the agent approached the vehicle, a woman got out of the driver's side door.  The two talked for a moment and then moved to the back of the van.  The agent looked inside for a moment then flashed a thumbs-up to the van.  As they left the vehicle Brenda reported “Agent to Base.  The package is safe for pickup, I repeat the package is safe for pickup.”

She was the last to reach the van, acting as the point guard.  She took a once around the scene and noticed something looked off.  At that moment, a floodlight fell over the three other agents as someone shouted “This is the NYPD!  Surrender now and this won’t get difficult!”

Brenda was already out of sight and ducked into a small alley between buildings.  Just after turning invisible, she reported “Package not safe for pickup.  I repeat, the package is not safe for pickup.  Three agents surrounded by NYPD while I was able to conceal myself.”

Suddenly, she was hit from the back sending her into the open alley.  Still invisible, she spun herself around as she heard The Mirage say “I wouldn’t go that far Agent; I can see you.”

In a moment of panic, she grappled onto the top of the building she faced and turned visible.  Only a foot or two away from her, The Mirage also became visible and he looked a little different.  His jet boosters were now part of his boots, which were now metal, and his helmet looked different.  Not wasting a moment, he closed the gap and kicked her in the stomach.

The new boots hit with a sting and knocked the wind out of her, only for a moment.  She quickly responded by launching her grappling hook into some boxes behind him and knocking them down.  She took that moment to look over the edge of the building; only to see the other three agents being led away by Detective Lin.  She turned back just in time to see The Mirage swinging at her.

She quickly ducked and fired an energy blast at him.  She threw down several smoke bombs, turning invisible, and said “While I would love to stay and continue this, I have places I need to be.”

However, before she could take off, a grappling hook hit her shoulder.  From the smoke, The Mirage said “Not so fast Agent; one of those men are bound to talk.  Why don’t you come with me and help take these people down?”

For just a moment, she considered his offer.  The smoke, more or less, had already cleared so she could see him standing there; waiting for her answer.  Finally, she said “I can’t, at least not right now.  Until we meet again Mirage.”

Before he could electrify the grappling line, she ripped it off her and flew into the night.  After a couple blocks of her retreat, Base reported “Assume Base Omega is compromised.  Return to normal dwellings and further instructions will be forthcoming.”

With that, she returned home, with a lot on her mind.  ‘Why did I consider turning on The Order?  Can I trust The Mirage?  Could he trust me?  Would it be worth it if I did?’  All that went through her head as she settled in for sleep.  ‘No way I would turn on The Order, even if I don’t really support what they’re doing.  Why didn’t I tell him yes?’