It was almost nine in the morning by the time we arrive at the training site. It's off in the woods, the kind of place that doesn't exist on any political map or budget, officially at least. Unofficially, this is the place that people who excel at doing bad things to people that the government leaders can't be bothered, or who want to remain innocent in the event of political fallout, to do themselves. A life I know all too well. I was thinking as the car was pulling up to a stop, abruptly. Through the side window, opposite me, I saw a man standing at the top of the stairs, and if I had to guess that was Jack Hurley.
Jack Hurley is a caucasian male about five feet nine inches tall, one hundred and eighty pounds, weather features, short dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and average frame. The kind of guy who has seen and done just about everything. The kind of guy who has a strong judge of character, and can easily weed out the pretenders.
"I'll be right back." Jo said, and then stepped out of the car to go talk to Jack.
I know Jack is going to give Jo an earful about bringing some stray in that hasn't been tested, but I'm pretty sure Jo is pulling rank and make him train me. I honestly could care less out these people, and if I wanted to I could slip out this car and disappear into the forest. But Hetty sent this organization to recruit me, so I need to play by the rules. I looked back to see that Jack was licking his wounds, and Jo had a smile on her face.
"Jack maybe man, but he's more of a tool. Don't let him bully you." Jo said as she as getting into the car.
"Believe me when I tell you that I'm more outdated than Hurley." I said.
Jo was stupefied by my admission, but didn't get to respond because I was already getting out of the car. Both of us stare each other down, and then I start to make my way over to him. "So you're the new guy?" Jack asked.
"I was just passing through L.A. when our associate came looking for me." I said.
"I've seen dozens of people like you. They've all come and gone. Some succeeded, but a lot have died. What makes you think you can make it through my selection process?" he asked.
"I'm not like all those other men, and women that have come before me. I've seen and done things that would make people blush. I've seen thing far beyond what you could have imagine, or believe. You have a ring?" I asked.
"Yeah." he said.
"My guess is if you and I go hand to hand you could probably figure out inside of twenty seconds if I have what it takes." I said, and when I finished speaking we were standing toe to toe. I was a good four and a half inches taller than him.
"You sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"Your call." I said.
My guess is that Hurley wanted to step into the ring with me, but I can see it in his eyes that he thought against it. "Building on the end. Last door on the right is where you will be staying for the duration of the process. Be ready, and in the gym in twenty." Hurley said, and I went to put my gear away.
I had my gear unpacked and squared away in five, and within the next ten I was in the gym waiting for my first lesson, be it against Hurley or with the whole class that's up to him. When there was five minutes before the class began there were about fifteen other men who walked in the gym. Even though I outclassed these men in every aspect, I didn't want to antagonize Hurley any more than Jo already did. So I stood in the back of the crowd near the left side. Five minutes later Hurley came in, and read everybody the riot act. While he was doing that, I just found a spot on the wall and listened.
"Deeks! What are you looking at?" Hurley yelled at me.
"I've heard this all before, sir. Do you want me to do pushups, or sit-ups?" I asked with a straight face.
"Do you think this is a joke?" he asked.
"I've heard dozens of drill sergeants give this same exact speech, sir. And every time they finished it went one two ways: I did some kind of calisthenics, or a fight. If I was you I would choose the calisthenics because it's been a few years since I lost a fight." I said.
Jack, without think, reacted by punching me in the face. I shook the punch off, taking a few deep breathes. "May I have this dance?" I asked, and then grabbed Hurley by his collar and threw him onto the matt. Everybody took a step back, and watched as I made my way over to Hurley, like a predator stalking its prey. Jack was just getting to his knees when he looked up to see me standing over him.
"You should have made me do the calisthenics." I said.
I was jumping on Jack as I was pulling back my fist to punch him. For some strange reason this jumping and punch to the face took all of two seconds to happen, but it felt like it played out in slow motion. My punch missed Jack's jaw, and we got into a wrestling match. It was nasty because it was a one-sided match. I guess Jack didn't think it was necessary to take me seriously. By the end of the match I had taken Jack's back, but someone stepped in and attempted to save him. I quickly let go, and take his partner down in a leg lock. I realized that I was about to be jumped by multiple attackers, so I rolled out of the leg lock, and returned to my feet putting my back against the wall.
Jack got back to his feet, and was rubbing the spot on his face where I hit him. "Round two?" I asked.
One of the instructor's shook their head, but Jack came at me one last time. Instead of making his humiliation complete, I kicked Jack in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. The second in command stepped in and pulled the plug on the brawl. I had minimal damage, a few scuff marks, but the others looked worse than I did. Hurley and a few of the other trainees went to the infirmary, while another instructor got us back on course. Oddly enough I didn't see Hurley for a week after that, but it didn't matter because I was top trainee the entire time.
There was one trainee that was bit of an outlier. Nothing about him said that he would make a good field agent. He was breaking ground rules left and right, and the other instructor's let it fly like it was no big deal. The man's name was Stan, and he was too brash to be a trainee. The only rule was that the face and groin was off limits. But for some reason Stan was on the mat wrestling and as usual he was losing. He broke the rules by broking the trainee's nose. The rest of us were pissed off because Stan broke the rules, and as usual the other instructors let it slide. The following day both Stan and I were on the matt, and I decided to play with Stan. I was toying with Stan waiting for an opening. One of two things was going to happen: Stan was going to leave an opening, or he was going to get so mad that he would make an opening for me. And like clockwork Stan got so mad that he made an opening for me.
I was able to take his back, and messed his day up. I caught Stan in a rear naked choke, and held tightly. Stan tried to fight his out, but all he did was flail around like a limp fish. Stan was about to tap out, but he passed out before he could. The instructors were extremely pissed that I force Stan to pass out. The doctor was called in to check on the Stan, and to make sure there wasn't any damage. I was pulled into one of the admin offices. Somewhere during that process I heard a threat about being kicked out of the training. A few minutes later the doctor, Sara Hunter, came in and was silent at first. Sara Hunter looked exactly like Lara, which was a bit disturbing.
"Why the trainers are mad is beyond me." I said
"You failed to back off when Stan was trying to tap out." Sara said.
"I didn't feel it, not once. Stan has been breaking the rules constantly. Just yesterday Stan was losing in the ring, and then he broke his opponent's nose. If you're supposed to be training to people to blend in with the surrounding environment, you dropped the ball with Stan." I said.
The doctor gave me a sideways glance. "How so?" she asked
"Stan is an outlier. He is too brash to actually be in this training process. My guess is he's a trainer to trick the trainees into doing something stupid. And let's be realistic, in the real world there is no tapping out. Not only was I doing what I was trained to do, I was threaten by the second in command." I asked.
"You weren't threaten." she said.
"The second in command said that I should be kicked out of the program because I made Stan go unconscious. I'd say that is a threat." I said.
Sara stared at me for a few moments, taking in what I said, and then excused herself. An hour later she came back with lunch and left again. Four hours after I had been pulled out of the gym, someone came to get me and told me to go back to training.
The training lasted for six months, and while I had seen Jack after our gym brawl, I didn't interact with him. One particular training session had the trainees take down ten terrorist on sidewalk café area. Five were dressed in terrorist uniform, and five were dressed in civilian clothes. While the group was able to find the five terrorists that were in uniform, they didn't have my skill at discerning combatant from non-combatant. We had ten minutes to find and neutralize the ten tangos, and while it would be easy to pick the low hanging fruit, I'm going to take out the hidden ones. Up in the control room the people were having a field day.
"Anybody got a line on Deeks?" Jack asked.
"We haven't seen him since the op started." one of the other instructors said.
"That's impossible! This man is in his mid-thirties. There is no way he knows how to hide in plain sight." Jack said.
"The main force is about to go hot." Sara said.
About thirty seconds later there was a full-fledge fire fight around the back from the café, but what was strange was that the five terrorists that were in plain clothes didn't move from their position. "What's going on here?" Jack asked.
"Zoom in on this man right here." Sara said pointing to a man on the screen that hasn't reacted. It took Sara a moment to realize why he wasn't moving. "What weapon did Deeks take?"
"He took a training knife." the camera operator said.
Sara point at the man's chest, and then looked back Jack. She was point to a small point on the man's chest. "Is that paint?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. That's paint." Jack's second said.
"Look for paint on the other five instructors." Jack said
Another camera operator check the other four, and sure enough they all had red paint on their chest. Jack turn to Sara with a stupefied look on his face. "Where did they dig this guy up at?" Stan asked.
"Don't look at me. I wasn't read into Deeks file." Sara said, when everybody in the room looked at her.
"I have to make a phone call." Jack said, and then exited the room. He didn't get far because I was standing right outside the door. "What's next?" I asked.
Jack was visibly startled by me waiting outside the door. "I have to make a phone call. Get back with the rest of the group." Jack said.
After we returned our gear, the instructors took us on a three mile run in the woods, but when Jack got into his office his phone was ringing. "Hello?" Jack answered.
"How are the recruits?" Link asked.
"Is Loretta on the line?" Jack asked.
"Here?" Loretta said.
"The recruits are fine, but Deeks is anomaly. This man's training is far beyond what his file said. Where did you find him?" Jack asked.
"Why?" Loretta asked.
"We just put the recruits through the café scenario, and Deeks became a ghost. Didn't see him until I came to call you." Jack said.
"The short answer is it's above your paygrade. The slightly longer but still short answer is he was recommend." Max said.
"You said that Deeks became ghost." Link said.
"Yeah." Jack said.
"Explain." Loretta said.
"We cut the trainees loose in the café scenario—" Jack begun, but was cut off by Loretta.
"What is the café scenario?" Loretta asked.
"There are ten terrorist that the trainees have to neutralize. Five in uniform, and five in plain clothes. In one of the buildings they built an open air café, with tables, chairs. The whole nine yards." Max said.
"Oh, continue." Loretta said.
"Well as soon as we started the timer, the bulk of the trainees went to find the five terrorist that were in uniform, but Deeks had disappeared into the crowd and neutralized the five terrorist that were in plain clothes." Jack said.
There was a moment of silence. The fact that I was able to pull of what I did without any formal train, or at least what they considered formal training, was not lost on Link and Max. "How long did it take for him to neutralize the plain clothes?" Max asked.
"It took the main force about three minutes to find the uniformed targets. By the time the fire-fight kicked off, the plain clothes were already neutralized." Jack said.
There was another moment of silence. "How much longer until the process is finished?" Max asked.
"Two weeks from today." Jack said.
"What's your assessment of the recruits?" Link asked.
"I want to test Deeks abilities in the real world. I want to see how well he can blend in with society." Jack said.
"Give the rest of the recruits the standard test. Activate Phantom Protocol." Max said.
"You got it." Jack said, and then hung up the phone."
N.C.I.S. L.A.
Langley, Virginia-
"What is Phantom Protocol?" Loretta asked.
"It's a protocol we have reserved for top tier recruits." Link said.
"Okay, but what are the purpose of this protocol?" Loretta asked.
"Phantom Protocol is activated when we have a recruit that has excelled during the training. They're purpose is to go deep into enemy territory, and kill high value targets that are deemed impossible to kill." Max said.
"Or do any of the jobs that are deemed impossible." Link corrected.
"I'm guessing both Hetty and Deeks have been green lighted for Phantom Protocol?" Loretta asked.
Neither of her superiors said anything, but Link nodded his head. "How did we find Hetty and Deeks?" Loretta asked.
"Hetty had been doing some work for the president—" Link began but Loretta cut him off.
"Hetty was in the services of Harry S. Truman?" Loretta squeaked.
"Yes, and he like the work she had been doing. President Truman had knowledge of the creation of our company, so he sent Hetty over to help us out." Link continued.
"What's Hetty's code name?" Loretta asked.
"Doesn't have one." Max said.
"Hmm." Loretta said, and then dismissed herself.
N.C.I.S. L.A.
New York City, two weeks later-
I was stepping out of a dark sedan, at three o'clock in the morning into an abandoned parking lot. Jack's instructions were to cross three city blocks, neutralize a target, and get out without being seen by any law enforcement agency. If I knew any better, Link and Max were inform about my performance in the café training sim and told Jack to test my skills like this. As the sedan was pulling away I disappear into the shadows. I took account of the nearby surrounds. It's the middle of summer, but it was still kind of chilly. I begin to make my way through the city to the target's location. I also remembered that I was up against a ticking clock. They said that the target was going to be leaving in three hours.
I make my way up to the building in question to get a good idea of what I'm dealing with, but a crowd of people had gathered around me. I moved with the crowd, and walked right in the front door. The men were men standing in the lobby that stood out. From a quick assessment they're with were my target. As we were walking through the lobby I took account of the floor. I noticed a stairway heading to a lower floor, and another one heading up. My guess is that the stairway heading down either led to the basement, or an underground parking garage. That is going to be my way out. I think as I see a sign that read underground parking lot.
The information said that the target was going to be in one of two places: third floor next to the elevator, or first floor all the way in the back. I make my way to the location on the first floor when I hear a conversation in Russian. The part that let me know that I was on the right track was that the person on the third floor gave a sitrep of all clear, and that the decoy was working.
Does Jack have another team on this? I thought to myself questioning the validity of what was going on here. I duck back behind a corner and listen a little bit longer. When the door on the end opened and one of the men was told to get an item, I realized that the room on the third floor was a legitimate decoy. I'm not sure what is going on with the possibility of a second team, but I know that I have to eliminate the target and get out before I'm spotted. One of the bodyguards was walking my way. I wait for him to turn the corner, and then neutralized him. I knocked him out with a rear naked chock after collapsing the knee so he couldn't use his weight against me, he had a muscular frame after all. There just so happened to be a supply closet next to us, so I dumped the body in there. After I knocked the other guard out, I knocked on the door.
The person to open the door was a woman, and I could see my target behind her. I quickly sucker punched the woman, and then charged the target. I drew one of my kukris and slight his throat, while my hand had cover his mouth. After he feel silent, I shut the door and changed my shirt. The replacement was a bit big, but I was able to make do. At that moment one of the men upstairs came over the radio telling them that there had been an incident, which was my que to leave.
I took this moment to head to the stairwell, but I only made it to the supply closet that I dumped the first guard in when I saw three people come from down stairs: two men and a woman. I continued walking to the stairs while the trio ran past me. I made my way down the stairs and halfway across the parking lot when I heard footsteps coming down the stairwell. I hid in the corner, and wait for this to pass. I could hear them talking in Russian, and the woman was the leader. Something about not wanting to let me escape because they would they would be killed when the next leader took over.
Wait a minute? Did Jack send me on a mission to take out a Russian crime boss? I think.
Next thing I hear is the another group of footsteps, a big one from the sounds of it, coming down the stairs. "Freeze! Federal Agents!" One of the men in the new group shouted.
I took this opportunity to sneak out the exit, but I creep over to the opposite side entrance ramp, under the cover of darkness, as to not expose myself to the new group of people. I did hear what company this new group belonged to. The F.B.I., a group I would have to ask about when I get back. I make my way to the location where the black sedans would be waiting for me, and there were two cars waiting. Something about this situation had sent a warning vibe through me. I hadn't been spotted by the driver, so I fell back to the secondary extraction point. Which was on the outskirts of the city. It took me about an hour to get to the second location, but when I arrived I saw Jack leaning on the side of a car.
"Jack." one of the instructors said when they saw me.
"Impressive! You cleared the site, and made it to the extraction site in less than two hours. Link and Max will be pleased." Jack said.
"Impressive? You sent me into an active op with a Russian crime boss and his security detail, without telling me that a unit from the F.B.I. that was preparing to move on him. Tell me how that was impressive?" I asked.
"Max told me that the F.B.I. was on the scene, but I knew that you would be able to neutralize the target and get out before they become a problem." Jack said.
"Jack! Stop antagonizing the man!" Loretta said stepping out of the car.
I wasn't in the mood to see Jo, but if I had to guess the training op was out of her hands, too. Jack got into the car he was leaning against, and I walked over to the car that had Jo in it. I opened the door, got in and shut it behind me.
"For the record I was not on board with this exercise." Jo said as she sat down and shut the door. Jo pounded on the door, and the driver put the vehicle in gear, and drove away from the empty parking lot.
"Are your superiors happy?" I asked.
"Hetty cleared the course in the same time you did, so yeah. Both you and Hetty were put through an exercise called Phantom Protocol." she said.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Phantom Protocol is for any top tier agents that can complete any mission, even ones that are deemed impossible." Jo said.
"So both me and Hetty are going to be hanging out in the Europe and Middle East?" I asked.
"Yep. You have completed the training. I was sent to collect you and bring you to Langley." Jo said.
"I'll pack my gear as soon as we get back." I said.
Jo nodded her head, and then we each looked out a window. It took us an hour to get back to the training site. I took all of twenty minutes to get a shower, pack my gear, and head back out to the car. When I got in car again Jack was sitting next to Jo. "What's up?" I asked.
"Jack has been given the green light to return to field duty." Jo said.
"The big guys at the top of the food chained want answers about the Russian crime boss. They also want to know who's going to be your handler." Jack said.
"That won't be necessary. Having a handler would slow me down." I said.
"It's part of the chain of command. You might not like it, but you are going to need a handler because they will be able to give you the necessary information and gear to complete any job." she said.
"Alright." I said shrugging my shoulders.
I had to listen to Jack and Jo discuss possible deployments for myself, Jack, and the other trainees. The trip from the training site to the airport was a boring three hour drive, and it was only made worse by having to listening to Jo and Jack talk. So I fell asleep. When we got to the airport Jo woke me up. We went through the airport, skipping security, and then boarded the plane. I was falling asleep when the plane was lifting off the run way.