CHAPTER THREE
Five Years Later
"Hello, and who might you be?" The lady behind the counter asked the 16 year old who just entered.
"I am Sarah Brown," said Lizzy, really wishing that Kitt had come up with a better name for her, "I am here to apply to FLAG."
The lady started, not expecting what Lizzy had said.
"I-I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong building," she said.
Lizzy shook her head and set down the application form on the counter. Five years training with Kitt had taught her how to treat a situation like this.
"I know this is FLAG, ma'am," she said politely, "I want to become an agent."
The lady picked up the application form, and looked at it intently. She nodded.
"It seems you've done your research," she said, "How do you know about FLAG?"
"I can't tell you that," said Lizzy, "I hope you understand. But I want you to know that FLAG really made an impression on me. That is why I want to join."
"Of course," said the lady, "FLAG goes through as many as 300 classified cases a year, and many of our current agents discovered us that way. Are you in hiding, or in witness protection? I'm afraid we can't hire you if you are in one or the other, however."
"Don't worry," said Lizzy, smiling, "I wouldn't have come here if it wasn't safe."
"Well," said the lady, looking at the application, "Your papers all seem in order. You're lucky; we have an opening, so we have been accepting applications on a more regular basis, and today is the day. You can proceed down the hall and join the other applicants."
"Thanks," said Lizzy, turning to leave.
"Oh, not that hallway," said the lady. She reached under her side of the counter and pressed a button, and the bookshelf behind her moved to the side, revealing a hidden hallway.
"This hallway," said the lady. "Bring your application form, and let Jim know I sent you," she said. "By the way, my name is Heather. It's nice to meet you."
"Um, nice to meet you too," said Lizzy, before nervously walking around to the back of the counter and walking into the secret hallway.
"Attention," shouted a man at the far front of the line, "You will all go into the adjacent room to apply for a position here at FLAG. If you pass, you will immediately proceed to the back of the building. If not, you will leave here and not tell anyone of the existence of this Foundation, and we thank you for your time. If you do pass, one of you may be chosen for the position. You will leave your current life and go through a rigorous set of tests to determine if you are truly ready to join the Foundation. Anyone who cannot live with these terms should not apply for the position. Is this clear?"
An echoing "yes" was heard.
"Good," said the man, "You may now proceed to the next room."
He looked past the twenty people in the room and noticed Lizzy, standing at the door.
"Ah, another applicant," he said, "Heather texted me that you were on the way. What is your name again? Sarah Blue?"
"Sarah Brown," said Lizzy.
"Alright," said the man, who Lizzy figured must be Jim, "Stand at the end of the line, Sarah."
Sarah did as she was told, and the group all walked into the other room.
"Alright," said the lady in the room, "The challenge is simple. You must write out an acceptable answer to the question provided, and if completed you get to move into the next room."
The question was plainly displayed on a giant projector screen, and the lady brought out paper and pencils which she then placed throughout tables on the room.
"Good luck," she said.
The question was as follows:
You apprehend a high-ranking criminal and torture him. The criminal then releases the names of several accomplices, and they are all apprehended. The government wants to recognize your actions, but the Foundation requires secrecy. If recognized, you would receive a monetary reward. What should be the proper course of action?
Lizzy looked at the question once, and instantly found the flaw. She wrote on her piece of paper, "The proper course of action would be to fire me for torturing him."
As she wrote, she had no idea that the boy behind her was looking over her shoulder. She folded her piece of paper and proceeded to one of the several doorways leading into the other room. A line of applicants had already formed there at each door, each one with their answer on a piece of paper. But most of them were turned away by the agent at the door, and pointed towards the building's exit.
Lizzy felt bad for those who didn't make it as an agent, but the agent lady in the room told them they could try again next week if the position hadn't been filled by then. Lizzy wondered what she would say to Kitt if she didn't make it, and her nervousness increased. When it came to Lizzy, however, the agent at the door took one look at her paper before smiling and letting her through.
She walked through the doorway and was forced to turn right, where she found not a room but a hallway. She walked down the hallway, rounded the corner and opened the only door before her, only to find herself outside. There was a white low-level building off in the distance, surrounded by greenery. It must be the true face of the Foundation, and it was not at all what she had expected. The lack of height meant that the Foundation must be mostly underground.
But what shocked her most was the black trans-am that was conveniently positioned to view all those exiting the building.
She nearly stopped in her tracks when she realized that this had to be Karr.
"Keep going!" called out someone from behind, shoving past her roughly. It was the same boy who had looked at her response on the piece of paper. If Lizzy had noticed him then, she might have realized that he had copied her answer.
Lizzy stepped forward, anxiously staring at Karr. Several people were awkwardly standing behind the building. Counting herself and the guy who had come behind her, that made…five people.
Suddenly the door behind her opened again, and a lady with a clipboard stepped outside. "Well, I see we are all here," she said, "So let's begin."
The mysterious lady wore a business suit but had her hair down, and wore a very colorful turquoise necklace. She was around her late twenties. While her suit remained youthful, her face displayed a no-nonsense attitude. All the prospective employees took one look at her and gulped.
"You are here to see about getting a job at the Foundation," said the lady, "The application process has just ended, and of all the applicants, only you few have passed our one little test. But that does not mean that you will be accepted into the Foundation." The lady began walking around them, sizing up each and every one of them.
"Maybe you have been helped by us in the past," she said, "Or maybe you just discovered us. However you found out about us, we are here. Everything you see is top-secret, and nothing said, heard or seen here is to go outside these premises."
Lizzy started to get a bad feeling. There was something about this woman…
"I am in charge of this entire foundation," said the woman, "Should you be accepted, you will answer to your supervisors, who in turn answer to me. My name is Ashley Knight."
Lizzy's heart plummeted. It was her sister.
