I wrote this quite a while back and thought I might as well submit this here. Hope you enjoy, thanks
THE RECRUITS
"Ok, you'll all soon know why you are here," the tall, dark tanned man surveyed his audience, all children from the age of six to thirteen. All night worlders; except one, a seven year-old human girl, someone they considered too highly valued to be dismissed.
"Well you all should know already how you have ended up here," sobbing could be heard from the far corners where some of the children had curled themselves up, somehow trying to hide from the reality of it all, "your parents should have told you about the dangers of wandering too far from home and that bit especially about strangers."
He should have felt pity in the bottom of his stomach or some place but that had all diminished. Kyle Richards was cold, the existence of the nightworld had changed him in so many ways and of course their new little enterprise had made him change his morals as well. Taking children like this had of course changed him, it had to because it wasn't only their life he was changing it was their whole being and the point of taking away every trace of a conscience that they had in the first place, could at least be called drastic.
They would take away that important part of their existence and replace it with a loyal obedience to their little company. The ones who couldn't be changed or even coerced would be executed in the company's own special way, an all too public way of course. It was a way to remind all their employees the consequences of disobedience, a lot of them took the life of killing and over spending like they had never lived any differently, but there were always one or two little indignant night worlders who despised the fact they were actually owned by humans.
Kyle fixed his eye on their only human in the room and silently praised her composure; she was sitting there in adrift of very dangerous yet petrified night worlders, yet out of all them she was the least afraid. It seemed to him that this didn't faze her at all, as if it was merely a small transition from her normal day-to-day routine. These were many of the reasons she had been chosen, even if her species did differ to all the rest.
"This won't be an easy ride," he cautioned them, "and there won't be any opportunities either where any of you can give up. You will either be digging yourself an early grave from this day on or you will accept this new way of life and strive forth in the direction we aim you in. You all understand me?"
He didn't expect an answer though and turned his back to the room of now future employees, a minuscule of a second later a child in mid launch fell to the floor lifeless, screams ruptured as he slowly turned around.
There was always one who would try their luck, one too stupid to realise that there was no escape, lucky for them though that they were given a second chance now. A highly electrical charge was the only thing between life and death for that boy.
Kyle nudged the temporally paralysed boy with his foot, "stupid," he remarked, the boy looked up at him, the only moving part of him was his blinking eyes. He looked at the rest of the group all of which would be separated, the shifters would be housed together with the lamia, the witches all together with the only human and of course they would all be separated by sex as well.
"You can either accept your fate or die an early death. In-fights won't be accepted, neither will prejudices; you will all learn the consequences of this soon enough anyway, this is the only life you will know now and the Company will be the parents you believe that you miss."
The sobbing eventually quietened, all trying to listen to this first lesson of many. "In the end it will be your decision after all of this if you want to see your family again." He looked at them gravely for a moment, not seeing the children before him but the people they would be in years to come. "But seriously it's doubtful that you would be able to, the people you will become are not the people your parents would want you to be."
He looked at the human girl; she would have the hardest time here.
Maybe not mentally, but from the others it was for sure, "and for you," he said, her green eyes meeting his, "it would be the hardest for them to accept out of all of them."
He turned away and headed for the door, stopped and looked back and surveyed them grimly, "welcome to A.S.G and from now on your new home."
As Kyle exited the room and automatically navigated his way through the maze of underground tunnels and up to the stairs, he sighed, joyful in the fact that the start of it was over. He led himself to the ground floor and into the house. He had grimaced at the start of this stupid construction, having all these legalities to make sure that the ones in the Company could be trusted, making sure they had no impostors in their mist, none of them would have been able to have gotten through the front door anyway.
He pushed his hand on the scanner, seconds later the system authorised his entry and he made his way up to his room and his private suite, his own sweet privilege from working with this torturing company for too long. For letting it take over his life and making it one of the most important things of all.
He sat down at his desk, the oak smooth and cold against his fingers and for a moment he sat there. His eyes closed against the sun dropping now in the evening sky and for now all his work was done, he could at least pretend that he didn't have to worry about anything else.
But he knew he did, the demanding files were still on his desk piled on top of all of the other files, the ones filled with all the candidates, all the children who right about now were being shown their sleeping quarters downstairs in the bunker.
He opened his eyes and flicked on the desk side light and winced for a second as his eyes got used to the harsh glare. With an easy motion he threw the file open in front of him, the norm laid there.
The photographs, the investigation reports from their insiders at the FBI. So they had been looking into their little company again, only a few years back they had thought they were running a cult, a fallacy of course but not far from the truth than what really what was going on.
Brainwashing was certainly not from far it if nothing else, a cause that many of their poor unwilling recruits would stand by for the rest of their living days. He just sighed, rang down to one of the minor offices and ordered for the investigation team who were looking into their case to be themselves investigated, to see who was the easiest to turn, for the Company to buy their way out of the limelight.
With that over and done with, he put that one aside and opened the next one up in front of him, the recruit list lay there. He automatically crossed three names off, the children they had lost in transit. He wasn't exactly certain what happened to them but either way they hadn't ended up here in one piece and had put that down as personality flaws.
There would be many other names crossed off in days and weeks and years to come and each time the list would be reprinted off, getting shorter and shorter. His eyes kept on skipping to one name though, to Jessica Thompson. The one human downstairs, the one he had personally chosen and was taking the risk in it as well, they had never recruited a human before.
It seemed ridiculous; a human ran Company didn't employ their own kind for the most specialised work, the work they had to trust in the most. He shook his head; he had his reasons though, more than most of them would think. In the silent room his fingers tapped along the polished wood, he had always wondered how he had ended up here. How out of everything, out of all he had done. This, the one place he kept going back to. The one place he felt he belonged.
He stilled his hand, agitated by this annoying habit he had somehow obtained, he had found himself many times trying to block out that intrusive sound of silence, how it unnervingly scratched at the back of his mind constantly.
He sighed, revelling in the distraction. Maybe he had worked here too long after all. He shook his head and laughed, yes that must be it.
With that he closed the files on his desk and made his way to the connecting room, shutting the door behind him and the reminder of all the work piling up on his desk. For tonight he would rest, safe in the knowledge that a good days work had been done.
And safe in the knowledge that tomorrow, another day would be there. Bringing forth its own problems and the new recruits downstairs that would have to be shown the existence they would have to live through for the next few years.
Chapter One
"So this is it," Kyle said as he accompanied their new guests along the rim of the training area.
"What are they doing?"
Kyle looked across to the speaker, a Mr Jonathan Rogers. Who in Kyle's own opinion was an over opinionated fat man who had made too many enemies and now needed their Company so he could get rid of them. Kyle finally looked away from the repulsive sweating man and out into the squad.
He rolled his eyes and turned back to Rogers, "they're playing," he stated as he led the group closer to the children.
"Playing?"
It was one of the Fat man's business partners who had made that morose statement, "it's a game called Bulldog," Kyle directed, pointing at the children who lined across one wall and some more that loitered in the middle, anxiously waiting for the others to try to make it to the other side.
"Much more aggressive mind you," he eventually stated as the children who were lined up against the wall hurtled themselves across the squad, smashing through and around the ones in the middle. The unlucky ones were grappled to the ground or tripped up, while the others made their way to the opposite wall and to safety. The caught one took their place in the middle with the catchers, automatically forgiving the person who had caught them, joining them in the art of integrating the exact same treatment to the others.
"I thought these were the trainees?" Rogers indignantly stated.
Kyle panned his dead eyed stare over to him and sighed in exaggerated patience, "yes they are, but they are also children. For them to survive they need to like living here and these are one of the activities that gives them that chance."
Rogers face stiffened, specifically ignoring the way Kyle was talking to him. "So, these night worlder" he surveyed his gaze over the children, "how would they be different to any other assassin?"
A malicious smile tugged at the corner of Kyle's mouth, he bit down on his bottom lip and turned around back to the children, "let me present you with an example."
Somehow Rogers had obtained secret knowledge of these people and didn't even seem to know what the hell he was speaking about. How very dangerous it was for him and everyone around him, when someone as stupid as him had that sort of knowledge, hopefully he wouldn't let too many more people find out about that secret. Because then, it wouldn't only be his Company who would forcible have to shut him up.
Kyle called out to the group, "Jess! Ryan! Make your way over here please."
They automatically stopped and did as he instructed, they wouldn't have survived the last few years if they hadn't learnt that lesson fast.
They stood in front of one of their instructors, Ryan even at ten who had a neat trick at unnerving his peers, something Kyle was sure the boy would master even more in the coming years. His gleaming silver eyes settled within a pale thin face that was framed with a mop of ash blond hair that only added more to his charm.
Jessica though was a different story, the only human in her year maybe but still a looker amongst her group; bedraggled black curls fell around her face and from a pale complexion her fierce green eyes beamed back.
"Jessica here is human," Kyle instructed, motioning her forward, "who I might say is the only one we're training, she is very quick and at the top of many of her classes."
He smiled at her and she beamed back happily, overjoyed, as all of them were when they got any individual attention. With the other arm he motioned Ryan forward, each on either side.
"Now Ryan," he cautioned, "isn't exactly human," he looked at Rogers sceptically, sure that the fat man had no real idea what the nightworld exactly was. This was Kyle's chance to steer him in the right direction and as least scare him.
He turned away from Rogers and down to Ryan, "Can you do me a favour?"
The boy smiled back devilishly, "what is it first?"
"You see these men," he said to him not looking their way, "well you see they think they know about the nightworld, but I think they don't exactly know all the details. When I say so, all you have to do is shift for me."
Amicably enough the boy nodded and Kyle turned back to the men, "You see Ryan here is a shapeshifter," he turned back to the boy, "now would be nice," he instructed.
So with a few unnerving clicks and pops the seemingly human looking boy somehow transformed and melded himself in to a dangerous looking Tiger.
The men backed up, Rogers sweating like a pig in heat while his terrified eyes darted everywhere, even at the children who were still innocently playing their little game, seemingly unaware of the transformation and if so not alarmed at all.
"Ryan that's all and thank you."
And within seconds the Tiger turned back into the seemingly human boy and hurried his way back into the crowd of children, the little girl not far behind.
Kyle crossed his arms waiting for Rogers' fit of frantic blinking to stop, "well that's the sort of thing we use in our methods," he smiled disarmingly, "drinks anyone?"
They all nodded and with anxious side-glances back to the playing children, they made their way back into the safety of the building and down to the business suite and to the drinks cabinet.
After pouring out Rogers and the others some whisky, for a fraction of a moment Kyle felt sorry for them. They downed their drinks and it was then that Kyle was remembering the feeling of absolute doubt when he first found out but within that second it was gone and he reminded himself how much Rogers really annoyed him.
Rogers' anxiously clutched the edge of the table that he leant back against, his knuckles whitening and his fat face taut. His face snapped up to Kyle, "how long have you known?"
Kyle just shrugged, "much longer than I've known you."
Kyle had unfortunately met Rogers about ten years back, at some Christmas party of a former boss. After a few moments Rogers finally collected his composure together and soothed back his straggling few hairs.
"It's just unnerving is all," he said icily and looked around at his business partners and back to Kyle, "they're just…"
"Unnatural?" Kyle added tonelessly.
"Yes, yes… that is exactly what I mean." And to that Kyle just laughed and how good it felt. He hadn't had a good reason to laugh like this for a year or two now and Rogers' stupidity was the perfect opportunity.
"These unnatural creatures were ruling the planet while we were still hiding in caves, no… they're the predators that's all," he looked particularly at Rogers as he said this, "the only reason they unnerve you is because you're afraid…" he motioned Rogers to be quiet. "It's nothing to be ashamed about, we all should be, prey have that right you see and that is all we are."
"And this doesn't worry you?" an unsettled laughter ruptured from
Rogers throat, "those children will eventually run rings around you. They're not even afraid of you!" Kyle just smiled, "they're not meant to be, fear has a habit of being turned into hate and what people fear and hate they try to destroy. The children respect us and we give respect back in return, by that method we all get what we want. Because I highly doubt that you have as many people willing to lie down their lives for you than
those children down there and the people that teach them." And with those unsettling words he turned back around, "now let me show you our teaching rooms." And led the way out of the room and into the long corridor that ran back down to the basement.
"There are many lessons we have to be taught in life and one of those are who to trust and who to not. We all make mistakes, at least once in one of these crucial lessons and learn from them. But you all know that in our line of business mistakes are not what we need." Jessica Thomson sighed and rested her head in her upturned hands. "I see you're not satisfied with this then Jess," Kyle concluded as his gaze isolated her out of the circle of students that sat mostly cross-legged a round him.
"It's just that…" she shook her head.
"Go on, tell me."
"We need to make mistakes to learn," she stated, "but we learn all the time not to make any mistakes… if we can't make them, how can we ever know who we can trust?"
"Look around the room," he directed and with his words she turned her head round and panned around at the people, to the seemingly gentle witch Mia to the opinionated, but constantly honest Ryan.
"These are the people you can trust, even when the company comes into doubt, these are your blood brothers and sister. These are the ones who will bleed with you on missions and risk their lives for yours, the ones who don't see you as a human, a witch, a lamia or even a shapeshifter. They are the ones who see you as you are, the ones that you have grown up with, the ones that you trust… the ones you know out of all of them you don't have to doubt." She looked from her friends and back to Kyle, "what about you, when everything falls apart around us. Are you one of the people we can trust?"
He smiled at that, out of all of them she was the quickest, "that is for you to decide, but I hope that you can."
She nodded, "I hope so too."
He looked down and then back up and around at his students, the years had passed way too fast as usual. His students were now in their teenage years and as cocky and energetic as he remembered his own self such a long time ago now. Now the list of the recruits of 1986 had dawdled down to fourteen, only the best and most dedicated remained, even his little human
Jessica Thomson was still here. Six years on and he was still here as well, still teaching these soon to be killers. The children were all growing up and had disarming settled into their new life, exactly the same as all the others had, even their new batch. The company had a regime of trying to recruit new children every five years. The last batch hadn't been so successful; they had lost ten children already and in only two years.
He had to try to stop comparing the last batch of 1991 with 1986, but couldn't help himself. Over the last few years he had only lost eight with the ones of 1986, less than they had with 1991 in two years.
"Now tell me," he said refocusing his attention back into the room and onto his students, "what were we talking about the last time we were here?"
Ryan cocked his head up, "the art of deception sir."
"Oh yes, how could I have forgotten? Are you going to remind me of what was learnt?" he settled his gaze on Ryan and the boy stiffened and took the hint that he was the one Kyle wanted the answers from.
"There are many arts of it," he said nonchalantly, Kyle noted his glance quickly to Jessica and then back to himself. "Emotionally, physically," the boy shrugged, "you can even do it to your self sometimes without even knowing it, but the best way to make other people to believe it. Is to partially believe it your self. I don't really see what the big deal is about it; people do it all the time. All the way from door to door sales men who try to make their product seem better than it is, to children in the playground telling their friends animatedly how much more allowance they get then everyone else…"
Kyle had to give it to the boy, he was good and there were no questions about it. One of the best in their year, Jessica being one of the others of course; it was drawing to the time when they would have to set off to Japan and as always the knots in his stomach increased. He looked back to Ryan who was getting actively involved in what he was telling the class and as always Jessica was sitting near him, goading him on, smiling.
It was highly likely that those two would be paired together for their first assignment, they had a habit of working together now efficiently, even when they were planning a practical joke on the rest of their year. Best friends, what they were to him anyway. The Company had taken extra precautions at the start to locate their only human in the safest company, with the witches and away from the lamia and shapeshifters. But Jessica hadn't taken the same precautions and had automatically attached herself to one of the most dangerous nightworlders in the year.
Ryan had attached himself to her as well, teaching her to block her mind and also open it to him so they could communicate telepathically. Kyle still hadn't figured how they had done this, but had put it down to the fact that in the end that Ryan was the most powerful nightworlder in the year and was highly likely slipping into her mind even if she allowed it or not.
Which strangely didn't affect their friendship at all, even though Ryan was stolen from a highly political and anti human family, maybe that was probably the reason why. Ryan had surprised him one time, about five years ago now. About the time they were being taught the importance of realising the limits of their own mortality, he had come up to him and asked what would they do when Jessica got older.
Kyle being totally perplexed took him aside and asked him to explain. In Ryan's view he wanted to know who was going to change Jessica into a night worlder when she got older. Laughing, Kyle had asked why should they when she was happy being human now. Well, Ryan than had depicted the fault with being human and all the things you could fall ill with and how early she could die.
With a grim smile Kyle had made Ryan look all around the facility with him and showed him the hundred of humans that worked there as well. Telling him shortly that they were all human and did he expect them all to be changed if they fell ill or were in a dangerous situation?
Ryan had clearly stated No, he didn't expect that and when asked why he had told him why.
Told him that everyone else wasn't Jessica and Jessica needed to live as long as him and everyone else, because she was needed and special and with that Ryan asked if he could be excused and walked away.
Some things Kyle couldn't forget and nodded as Ryan talked on. Then the lunch bell rang and with a nod he excused the children and got himself up as they did and wandered to the door to leave. Jessica stayed behind, Ryan as normally in the background. This time outside the door waiting so they could go.
"Sir?"
He smiled at her, "yes Jessica?"
"Does it have to happen?"
Perplexed for a moment Kyle was stunned into silence and than gathered him self-together, "what does?"
"Things changing, I mean we have a habit of running our lives on a smooth path. Sure, ours may be run on the course of killing and deceit but we know what we're doing and we do it well." For a moment she looked vulnerable, but as always the moment passed. "But these doubts you talk about, about trusting and not being able to. By doing it or not doing it we're still going to be learning one of these lessons of yours and things in the end will have to change," she quickly glanced back to Ryan, "I don't want things to change."
"That's like saying you don't want the world to turn, night to turn into day or for the tides to come in. There is no way that you can do anything about it," he walked with her to the door, "and for most of it you won't even notice it's happening."
She looked at him grimly and then to Ryan who was now stood beside her, "but I will."
And with that she walked off. All of that off a thirteen year old, he didn't even want to imagine what she'd be like in years to come, hopefully as not assured the world was going to be so horrible as she felt it was now.
She'd learn, was all he could keep telling himself. He watched them as they rounded the corner and he set himself about making his way back to his room. They were off to Japan next month where they would be for nearly two years.
He only had to teach once a week and he always seemed tired these days, he was only fifty-two and suddenly felt far too old. Far too old amongst these dreaming youths, an middle aged man trying to teach children the lessons that they wouldn't have the time to learn themselves, how very ridiculous did that sound?
All he could do was sigh to himself and assure himself that he was doing his best and that was all he could keep doing.