Chapter One

Steve Jinks read over the file for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Artie said that this man was the upmost importance to not only the Warehouse but to the world governments in total. Steve and the other agents tried to get him to explain why but Artie said that the less they know about this man, the better. Apparently this man- codenamed "Adam"—had gotten into some kind of trouble and a terrorist organization was after him. It was the agents' job to get him to the safety of the Warehouse and have him stay there until either the terrorists gave up the search for him or the organization was annihilated.

Steve flipped through the mystery man's dossier. Nearly all of it was blacked out. But that wasn't the strangest thing. The sentences and phrases that were not blacked out made no sense at all. It would say things like "Disappearance and presumed death at—" and the date would be blacked out. Then it would say "Reappearance at—" And again, the date was blacked out. It said this at least thirty times. Why this man would disappear so much was beyond Steve. There were also many historically significant people and places that were mentioned that seemed to have no real connection to each other.

Steve flipped through the file until he found Adam's photo. Even though the picture looked to have been taken in the mid seventies, Artie assured the group not to worry about it. This was what the man looked like today. He looked to be in his early to mid thirties. He had short light brown hair that was neatly brushed to the side and dark green eyes that seemed to peer into your soul. One could see that under the white button-down shirt he was wearing, Adam was very well sculpted muscular-wise (this always made Steve stare a little longer then necessary). Lastly, on nearly every spot of exposed skin, there was a scar. Steve could easily count at least ten on the man's crossed arms as well as some creeping along his neck past his shirt collar; and there was one last thin white scar, which had sliced through his eyebrow but didn't make it to the actual eyeball.

"Didn't know you were into bad boys, Jinksy." Said Claudia who had just taken off her earphones.

Steve quickly closed the file and slipped it into the backpack that was resting in between his legs.

"I'm not into bad boys."

"Oh please, you've been staring at that file for the whole flight. All that guy needs is a leather jacket and a toothpick."

"I'm trying to figure out why he's so important but the file isn't giving me anything."

"Except a boner."

Steve shot a glance at his crotch. No boner.

"Made you look." And with that, Claudia returned to her computer.

Steve thought it best to stay silent after that. He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if he confirmed Claudia's suspicions of him having a bit of a crush on their mission's target. Plus he knew that he should be more professional than to have this crush. For all they knew, Adam could be a threat to the world. Still, it would be slightly confusing if he were a threat since the regents agreed to accept Adam's request for sanctuary.

The plane rattled slightly as it touched down on the runway. Seconds later, Claudia's cell rang. The young agent glanced at the caller ID for only a second before answering it.

"Captain Janeway here. Landing party two, what's your status? …. Oh ok… Gotcha, Pete. I'll tell Steve. We just landed so Jinksy and I'll be there in a jiff… See ya."

After hanging up, Claudia began putting away her laptop where it looked like she was playing a very difficult level of Angry Birds.

"Pete says he and Myka are already at the meeting point and they're waiting for us now."

And with that, they both got their stuff and headed off the plane.

_

Since it was tourist season, Rome was bustling with people walking around with maps and cameras who had no idea where they were going. Thankfully this helped the four agents blend in a little better. Myka, Pete, Steve and Claudia were all sitting at the meeting point where Artie had explained to be the location that Adam had asked to meet: A small outdoor diner that looked to have just barely survived World War 2. They had been waiting for a little over an hour. Myka was just about to call Artie when a man sat down at the table behind them.

"I've been told there's a chance of rain." Announced the stranger to the agents. His accent had a slight Scottish hint to it.

All four of them recognized the code phrase.

"That's a pity." Replied Myka "We lost our umbrellas at the Vatican."

After a slight pause, the man's shoulders began to relax somewhat; but there was still tension in his demeanor.

"I apologize for the delay. I believed that I was being followed so I had to take some detours and lose them." Said Adam as he turned his chair around to face the group. He had hardly changed at all from the picture in his file. The only difference was that his hair was now parted down the middle instead of combed to the side and he had the beginnings of a beard coming in which made the old scars on his face more prominent. His cheeks were sun burnt and his eyes had dark circles beneath them. The poor man looked like he hadn't had a decent nights sleep in days. He quickly examined the agents in front of him.

"They said that they would send the best agents."

"We are." Said Pete "…. And we're also the only agents…"

"What?" gasped Adam "The last I checked the Warehouse had at least fifty agents at their disposal. What happened to them?"

"They're all dead" Replied Myka "A Warehouse agent is a very dangerous career."

"That it is…" Muttered Adam. He looked like he had just found out that a friend had died. But with a quick hand through the hair, he brought himself together once more.

"So what's the plan?"

"We've arranged for a private jet to get you out of here." Said Steve. "It's just outside of the city."

"What if we're followed?" Asked Adam. The paranoia in his eyes was rising slightly as he looked around the courtyard.

"There will be separate taxis." Myka replied. "You'll be escorted by one of us while the other three take a separate car and route. Also, there will be decoys flown off at same time as us."

Adam leaned back and his expression became slightly more at ease. However, Steve could still see a hint of worry.

"Well, it seems you've thought of everything." Said Adam with a small smile. That simple change in expression gave Steve butterflies in his stomach.

"Damn it, Steve, stop acting like a kid and focus!" Thought Steve to himself.

Right then, two taxis with tented windows drove up to the diner.

"That'll be our rides." Announced Claudia "Jinks, you have fun with Adam, K."

Even though it was agreed before they even left the Warehouse that Steve would be the one escorting Adam, Steve still felt unprepared. But he forced himself to act like an adult and replied with a simple nod as he walked to the car while Adam followed close behind.

As instructed by the agents, the taxi drivers took advantage of tourist-filled Rome. They made their way through crowded streets that were congested with identical looking taxis and took dozens of back allies until they made it to the Italian countryside. By the time they left the bustling city, the taxi that Myka, Pete, and Claudia were on was nowhere to be seen. Even though this was the plan, Steve couldn't help but be worried about them. It was obvious that Adam had a lot of experience with issues like this; and if he was worried about these terrorist, they must be the real deal.

"I'm sure your friends are fine." Said Adam.

Steve looked across the back seat where the mystery man sat. Adam had the window down just enough for him to feel the wind on his face. When Steve looked at him, Adam smiled which made the butterflies return in Steve's stomach.

"If there's one thing I can rely on when it comes to Warehouse agents, it's their resilience. That, and I had a feeling that the two older ones have had experience in matters like this."

"Yeah, Pete and Myka used to work for the U.S Secret Service."

"Really? That's a very honorable possession. What about the red-headed girl? I would think that she would be too young to join the agency."

"Usually she would be, but Claudia is an exception. She's one of the most talented hackers out there."

Adam leaned his head back against the seat.

"It's amazing how quickly the young learn technology. I still haven't been able to figure out that stuff."

Steve wasn't exactly sure why he asked the next question.

"… How old are you exactly?"

Adam's whole body became very stern. He looked at Steve with a blank expression but he knew that he had overstepped his boundaries.

"I thought it was common courtesy to not to ask that question."

Steve quickly tried to back peddle his way out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just was wonder—"

"I'm not angry with you." Assured Adam, even though his green eyes still looked to have a small fire behind them. "Just don't ask me that question again. Maybe, in time, I might tell you. But not today."

"… Got it…." Was all Steve could muster out. It was astonishing how small Adam could make you feel with a simple stare. It was even more powerful then Mrs. Fredrick's stare.

There was a silence in the car for some time until Steve felt that they should be very close to the pick up point. Then, Adam did something rather peculiar. He stretched out his neck and stuck his nose out of the open window like he was a dog driving past a barbeque. After taking in a long inhale, his eyes widened and his face paled.

"STOP THE CAR!—" He cried out.

But it was too late. A large explosion on the driver's side of the taxi flipped the car over on its hood. Steve was knocked out almost immediately.