Disclaimer

I do not own any of Alpha Force or the characters or anything - they're all Chris Ryan's. Except for the ones I made up.

Chapter One

Prologue

As soon as he heard the three sharp knocks on the door, Michael knew it couldn't be good news. It never was. The last time he'd heard that sound, in his old house, it had been the police. To inform them that his father had died in a car accident. He looked up from his seat at the wooden table in the corner, with his three-month-old magazine spread out on the crossword page. His mother, Debbie, a retired teacher, stood up wearily from her chair in the middle of the damp room and headed slowly for the door. She was in her late-fifties, but her face was aged harder with deep lines and circles around her eyes, eyes which had been exhausted for living as a single mother for nearly six years.

Debbie reached the door and opened it partially. It creaked from the effort and threatened to fall off its hinges. Debbie sent her son a meaningful look before turning her attention to the caller. Michael knew what she meant. He'd been promising to get around to fixing the door for weeks now, but hadn't had the time. He was out all day working at the garage down the road, with his younger brother David, to earn money for their keep. He made a mental note to start once the caller had left.

"Mrs Foreman?" The voice was female, but sharp and blunt, starved of emotion. Michael moved his head to get a better look.

"Yes? Who are you?" Debbie replied, making no move to invite the woman in. She was tall and slim, with her hair pulled tightly back into a high bun. The pressure seemed to distort her face, pulling back the skin and making her unable to show any proper facial expressions. She was wearing a short skirt with a casual shirt and blazer - a business woman. Michael found his face twisting into a grimace unintentionally. He hated her already.

"Do you mind if I come in, darling?" Michael hated people who used the word 'darling' with strangers. It showed how shallow they were; how little the word meant to them. This woman didn't even wait for an answer. She stepped inside the house and shivered slightly, a tiny flicker of disgust dancing over her face before she resumed her flat expression. "For the sake of conversation, you can call me Erica. It's cold in here, isn't it?" Erica sat down on the chair that Debbie had been sat in. Debbie stood stock still at the door, staring at the younger woman with a flinty expression on her usually-warm face.

"Is it really? We've never noticed." Michael smiled inwardly. He knew his mother felt the same way about Erica as he did. Erica didn't seem to register the sarcasm and leaned back in the chair. "What is it you want?" Debbie asked pointedly, folding her arms.

"I've heard you're struggling financially. Like most of the people round here." Michael's eyes narrowed. They used to live in the midst of El Paso - a lively city in Texas. He'd had great friends and been one of the most popular people in school. He'd been promised a car for his seventeenth birthday, but could never see that happening now. He used to go downtown with his mates all the time, and spend freely on clothes with his parents' bank card. Not without their permission - they'd let him. He'd been a normal guy, leading a normal, American life.

"We get by." Debbie replied.

"I'm sure you do," Erica said, but her voice said the exact opposite. Her face was heavily made up, to cover her real face. If she even had one, Michael thought. What did she want, anyway? A survey? "I'm here to offer your boys a job."

That was not what they had been expecting. There was silence for a few moments, while Michael watched his mother's face go through a series of emotions. First there was surprise, then disbelief, then hope, and then she covered it all up with a sceptical frown. "They already have jobs."

"Really? Where?" Debbie didn't reply, she just raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner. Michael noticed that Erica was smiling. It was nothing different; she'd been smiling the whole time. But it had been so fake that he hadn't noticed. He hated her even more for it. He despised people like her. People who tried to look like they were doing something good, but in reality were just thinking of themselves. She was probably just doing a job for her boss, for some extra money. Money. Erica looked up to where the old photo of Michael's father hung. It was the last picture that had been taken of him before he died, and the original copy. It was damp and curling at the edges, but the face was still clear. His father was smiling. Not a fake smile, like Erica's, but a genuine, happy smile. Somewhere around the edges were Michael and David, held lovingly in their father's strong arms, but their faces had been worn away by the constant moving around and dampness from the walls. But their father's face remained, and that was all that was important.

"Is this your late husband?" Michael wanted to smash her face in until the smile disappeared. She seemed incapable of portraying any further emotions. And now she was trying to mentally break Debbie, try and make her see her own way, trying to get involved in the parts of Michael's life where he wanted her the least. Debbie's mouth tightened into a thin line.

"Yes." She said curtly. Erica ignored her reluctance and continued to study the picture.

"You must miss him very much, my sweet. And you must struggle so much with money - now that your main source of income has - " Erica paused " - deceased?" Michael stood up. He couldn't bear to hear any more.

"I'm going to the other room." He didn't need to explain which room; the house only had two, plus a bathroom. He and David slept in one, while Debbie slept in this one, on the sofa. It wasn't convenient, but -

"Like I said, we get by." Was the last thing Michael heard before he went into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. He immediately regretted it as the door fell slightly further off its hinges. It wasn't exactly soundproof, either. David was lying on his bed, reading a comic. He looked up as his older brother entered the room.

"Who is it?" He asked. Michael scowled and walked over to his own bed. David was thirteen; just over a year younger than him. He was your typical younger brother, annoying at times, but growing more mature and more like a friend than a brother as time went on.

"Bloody business woman. One of them, if you know what I mean." Michael cast David a significant look, who understood and turned back to his comic. People like Erica had worked with their father and had often paid visits to their mansion in the city, to work with their father on 'business'. Although the boys had only been eight and ten at the time, the numerous visits had imprinted an image in their heads of the likes of them. Michael sat down and remembered his magazine he'd left in the main room. Damn. He'd nearly finished the crossword, but he wasn't going back in to get it. Not while she was here, at any rate.

He tried to shut out the voices of the two women talking next door. If it was anything important, Debbie would tell him later. He strained his ears to find something else to focus on, some other sound to capture his attention. He could hear the wind sliding through the mountain ranges above, like a lone man grieving or calling for help. A lone man with family, kids.

Here they were sheltered from the wind. They lived in a valley, with numerous other folk who had been forced to move from the city when their luck ran out. He knew most of them, but not why they were there. It wasn't something that was done around there - you kept your past to yourself but shared your present with those around you. The future was unknown. This little village was a small line of houses, mostly made with wood but some of brick or stone. Some of the houses had been standing for years. There was one farmer where they got their food, and a garage down the road where David and Michael worked. It was surrounded by the El Paso Mountain range, and from the valley, it looked as though the whole world was cut off. But Michael knew that just over one of those peaks was the city where he was born and brought up, where he would probably never see again. Before he'd had to move here, he hadn't even known that places like this existed. He doubted that his friends from the city still did. He hadn't seen them for nearly six years, and he hadn't even been given a chance to say goodbye. They'd been forced out of their house when they couldn't afford to pay for it any longer, and he hadn't even told his friends he was leaving. They probably thought he was abducted or something.

He thought about Lucy - the girl who he'd dreamed of during his entire ten years in the city. He wondered where she was now, and if she had a boyfriend. She'd have breasts by now. That was a really strange thought. He remembered the last time he'd seen her, climbing into one of her friend's cars after a long day at school. She'd given Michael a small, shy, wave, but he'd seen it. She was interested, and that had given him hope. But that night he'd been shoved out of his house, to find a place somewhere else. And he'd travelled for miles with his mother and brother, in the range rover, and discovered this tiny village on the outskirts of El Paso. But it would do. They'd get by.

But at least Michael and David had met new friends. There was Sam, just down the road, in the year between them. He was funny, and cheerful, and had helped Michael to get used to life the hard way. Janie lived a few doors away, the shy girl with the thick glasses, who had always been there to lend an ear. Greg and Alice, the twins. And a few others, too.

The women had stopped talking. Whether Erica had left, or if they were just having an awkward silence, Michael didn't know.

"Mum's calling you." David called, not looking up from the comic. Michael sighed and stood up, opening the door. Debbie had finally sat down, in the harder armchair opposite Erica. Erica was turning around, smiling at him. He decided never to trust smiles again.

"Mike, honey, sit down." It was the same tone that Debbie had used when their father had just died. Michael sat. "They're building a new house, a mansion, a few kilometres away. Its - I don't know. Let Erica explain." Debbie retreated into her seat, and Erica swivelled around to face Michael.

"Someone important is moving to a place near hear, sweetheart. He was going to have his accommodation built prior to his arrival, but unfortunately there's been a delay with the builders. We're trying to get as many as we can. The more we get, the easier the work will be. We'll be offering you 25 a week." Twenty-five dollars a week wasn't much, but it was more than they already earned. Michael's car popped into his head before he could stop it, and he immediately felt guilty.

"Michael," Debbie ventured, "Look at me. The site's nearly twenty kilometres away, and you can't walk that far there and back. I'd take you by car, but we don't have one. But they're offering you dormitories on site, no extra charge. It's a great opportunity, for you and David. Sam and Greg are going too."

The door opened, and David stood there, leaning against the frame. "I'll go, if you want us to." He said, almost casually. Michael glared at him. If David went, he'd have to go too. Not only to avoid a guilty conscience, but to make sure that David didn't get into any trouble. He was about to object when Erica stood up abruptly.

"Right, well that's sorted then. Work starts at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, if you - "

"Woah - hold on - " Michael held up his hands, and Erica stopped at the door, the smile still in place. She was probably surprised, Michael thought bitterly, but she couldn't quite move her eyebrows enough to show it. "We haven't agreed yet."

"Michael Foreman, will you be accompanying your brother or not?" Michael paused. She'd put him in a really awkward situation. He looked at David, who was staring shiftily at his feet. He immediately felt guilty for the look he'd given him - David had only wanted to help, to get money for his family. He glanced at Debbie, who was staring up at him, with a look in her eyes that could almost have been fear. He looked at Erica, who was smiling at him expectantly.

He nodded, and Erica left.

There was silence in the room for a few moments. What have I done, thought Michael. He didn't even know how long they'd be away for, and what if something happened to Debbie while they were gone? Debbie spoke up, "I guess you boys had better start packing. Take as much as you can. You don't know how long you'll be."

And they both went to pack in silence.

Well, there you go! The first chapter of my new fic. I've decided to take this one slow, so there might not be a bit of action for a while, but I promise there will be! Let me know what you think, what you'd like to see, etc. Obviously I haven't mentioned Alpha Force yet - this is just the prologue. But don't worry, they'll be here soon! Don't forget to CC :P