Chapter 1
"This time you're going to work." The lanky messy haired boy hissed through his teeth. How hard could it be, he thought, an ordinary pen becoming the most deadly weapon known to an Agent in the field. It should not have been rocket science, literally. He took out his aggression by relocating the target dummy that the pen was supposed to take out from a reasonable distance. Reasonable distance being across the room, rather than five feet away. The problem, trajectory. Figuring how to make the dart light enough to fly through the air, but heavy enough on impact to break the barrier of the target's skin and administer the poison. Normally, Benji worked on a team of experts but, after all the failed attempts, the team was done by lunch. Most of the lack of support was with the attitude that he got from being wrong. He did not mean to yell, or curse at the others, it just happens. Nothing in the lab should ever be taken seriously, as everyone on the team has big egos, if they didn't they wouldn't have made it here.
The Academy of Agents, or A.A. was the biggest honor for anyone tinkering with gadgets to be considered for. The funds alone that the Academy provided the labs was enough for Benji to make the whole industry of ball point pens go out of business, on his purchases alone. He measured his distance a good twenty feet from the dummy that he set up across the room and took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Please. Work." he said to himself as he pointed the pen tip first at the dummy and pressed the release mechanism.
In a flash the point of the pen flew through the air and hit the neck of the dummy. He did it, a gadget that was able to fit in the pocket of the agents and blend in with the society that they occupied without causing suspension. Benji walked closer to the dummy, finally happy with himself that he constructed this gadget in less than twenty four hours.
"Looks dead to me." a voice rang out echoing against the walls of the lab.
Benji didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Agent 14 stood in the doorway of the lab's entry, his signature color red mixed into the normal agent tux.
"It is a dummy, but I could always use you." Benji replied not turning around.
"I thought that you would be happy that I returned from the mission." Agent 14 replied walking into the light of the computer screens meeting Benji as he walked out of the glass proofed room.
"I'am, kinda. It just means that you go on another one. Not like you have time for me anyway."
Agent 14 laughed, "You know the one who has a right to be mad about a birthday is the birthday boy right, so you don't get to."
Benji brushed past Agent 14 ignoring his comment, Agent 14 was right but Benji wasn't going to admit it, "All I wanted to do was go out with my boyfriend for his birthday." Benji breathed as he took off his lab coat and readjusted his glasses for the millionth time.
"Benji, there will be other-"
"Birthdays? You missed mine, or maybe there's just other guys. Ones that like to be shown off, and socialize with all your buddies upstairs." Benji didn't bother looking up from the files he was looking through earlier to avoid looking at Agent 14.
"Ben-" Agent 14 began but was quickly cut off by Benji.
"I'm sorry, I was worried. I hate not being able to communicate with you out in the field, since Gabriel is the head of the task communications. It's not fun, constantly being left in the dark." Benji swallowed knowing he was being ridiculous.
There was a time where it didn't matter where Agent 14 was, where Benji was always downstairs and it mattered to no one.
That all changed when Agent 14 spotted Benji at one of the company parties celebrating the merge of the American and British Academys of Agents and Intelligence Services. It was one of the rare sightings where the Agents and the Tech Masters were in the eyesight of each other, normally a voice in the ear was all that the Tech Masters were to Agents. Benji managed to get himself a drink and a place at a table near the back of the room, he liked having eyes on everyone in the room. It was one the tricks he picked up from his older brother that he picked up from an Agent in the field. At the time Benji was not assigned an agent, the title of Tech Master had not been given to him. The title was only given to a Technician when they had made one instrumental piece that would be the latest gadget for the agents, and were assigned an actual body. Benji was surprised to not only have been recognized that evening but finally be able to get assigned an agent. The night was pretty overwhelming for Benji honestly, he really didn't like attention on him. He liked the credit of creating gadgets meant to help agents but nothing more, especially from a crowd. The night was all a blur due to his social anxiety, he was more comfortable around lab dummies and computer screens. So much so that he would get headaches when the world got too loud, as he was used to very little chatter and the sound of keyboard clicks.
The evening progressed, to where the gathering was taken out on the rooftop of the American Academy based in New York. Still in awe of achieving the title of Tech Master, Benji nearly split his drink when Agent 14 had approached him.
" Good evening, Agent 14." He wore an all black suit with a red bow tie. His green eyes glinted from all the lights from the city that surrounded the rooftop.
"Hi." was all that Benji could gather looking up at the 6'4 man in front of him. Being awkward was nothing new to Benji, his life was practically branded that way. However, the fact that he was awkward to begin with was not any help when an attractive guy actually noticed him. Benji couldn't help but pretend to be intrigued with the sparkling cider that was in his wine glass; he hated the bitterness of the wines at events.
" I'm intrigued by your new gadget, can you tell me more?" The agent spoke still piercing into Benji's soul, or at least that is what it felt like.
"Its- uh." Benji swallowed, "Its, a tracker that is tiny enough to be disguised as a cuff link." The information came out sounding like a computer generated voice, that happened due to nerves from time to time.
"Amazing …the trackers previously made, make it really hard for the bowtie to stand up properly, plus it was always obvious where it was as the bow tie is the center of most of the things we wear." Agent 14 said while removing his bowtie and revealing the heavy looking tracker on the backside of his.
Benji couldn't help himself from grabbing the shiny appearing fabric and inspecting it further.
"It looks like a shock collar and it is pretty heavy from the sturdiness of the tie" curiosity upon inspection of the tie brought up the next thing that Benji thought, "Why red? Don't agents usually try to blend in?"
Agent 14 smiled as soft brown eyes finally met green ones, the connection broke as he surveyed the room, "Look around. What do you notice about the neckwear of the people in this room?"
"It's black if you're a male agent, white if you're female." Benji said taking notes mentally.
" You're quick to notice the agents in this room, How?" Agent 14 pressed on.
" The ties and scarves." The new Tech Master found that answer to be…
" Obvious. So when we are in a field filled with enemies. What do you think they look for?"
" Black ties and White scarves." Benji concluded, looking back down at the bow tie he was still holding.
"Not a shiny red bow tie." Agent 14 smirked, taking back his bow tie and redoing it.
"Clever." Benji said rather impressed by the simple technique of disguising himself in the field.
"Not as clever as the boy who made a tracker light enough for it to stand up properly." Again the 6'4 dark haired man smiled.
"Boy. I'm 24." Benji said ionically sipping cider rather than alcohol, and was having to look up being only 5'8.
"Forgive me…" Agent 14 said, peering down at Benji and tapping his shoe on his, which was untied, "Little boy."
Little, that is exactly how Benji felt now a year later. Being all upset over the fact that Agent 14 had missed his own birthday with his boyfriend. Not that Benji cooked or anything, it was rather the experience of having a significant other to celebrate a special time with that he wanted. Breathing out and collecting himself he turned around to meet those ever glittery green eyes, now almost hidden among the amount of hair that Agent 14 grew out having to change his appearance every now and then for work in the field.
"I'm sorry… I'm over reacting and am making it all about me. When it was your day to begin with." Agent 14 wrapped his arm around Benji's waist and pulled him closer, and silently waited until the brown eyes met his.
"All my days are about you Benjamin." Agent 14 said into his ear and tightened his grip around him, "Trust me, I would have rather spent my birthday with you, and not have had to sleep on a train back."
"So, pizza tonight?" Benjamin said, breaking the tension as they were at work. He felt Agent 14 pulse as he laughed in agreement, only to be paused by the notification on his watch.
"Sounds nice, but I am now needed in the council room."
Benjamin felt the warmth cease away and the coolness of the laboratory return. This is what it was like dating an agent, moments of having a warm, loving, moment with your boyfriend, to strictly about the mission and rigidness in demeanor. Agent 14 paused, and lifted Benji's chin to get his attention, feeling the stiffness in the room that was always being tampered with on a moment to moment basis.
"I'll be seeing you later, Tech Master." Agent 14 said before kissing Benji as the elevator opened back to the upper levels of the academy, leaving his Tech Master tinkering with the latest gadget he was working on.
The elevator glass cast shadows that swept over Agent 14 as he stood there. It was complicated, loving someone who you work with. The people at work couldn't know, and the one you loved had to know all the time you did in fact love them. This is why Agents were referred to as numbers, and not their names. It decreased the chances of getting attached to each other. In the field as an agent you never knew if you were going to make it back, you just knew that you wouldn't be going in the next life alone. Tech master's were always with Agents, the most difficult thing was watching how easy one Tech Master could move on from Agent to Agent. It was always the trigger point for Benji, that Agent 14 wasn't going to come back from a mission and all he was going to hear was his Agent's earpiece go silent. Another reason that agents didn't get attached was that it was as distracting as others have said, on missions in combat Agent 14 always had the fuel of returning to his Tech Master after. When the only thoughts that you should have is the goal of the mission and if you had a fellow Agent in the field with you. Normally Agent 14 had Agent 12, she was Agent 8's twin sister. She was a beautiful sight, to be honest it was part of her reputation as an Agent, to be a beautiful distraction in missions. Yet, she was the most skilled in combat amongst the group of 40 Agents in the Academy. Each Agent has their unique skill that sets them apart from every agent in the Academy. Agent 8 lacked combat like his twin sister but made up for it in the skills of flying, rather than being the boots on the ground in mission's he was the airforce drop off. Agent 14 specialized in stealth, not that he tried to hide but he was rather sneaky, popping in and out of danger, and escaping most of the traps he found himself in. Agent 8 always said he was the Academy's version of Houdini. Agent 14 paused at the door in which all the briefings were held and breathed, putting back his thoughts of Benji and the emotions that would make him appear anything else but stone.
In the room sat 7 other agents at a big glass table, the windows barely letting in the midnight air. It was common for the debriefing of a mission to be within two hours of the Agents arriving back. Agent 14 took a seat across from Agent 9, the sniper of this mission.
"Agent 14, it didn't take you long to get out of that cell. The targets followed you out into range just like you said." Agent 9 said as if he was talking about last night's football game. His big frame shook the table as he laughed, rethinking how the tactics that Agent 14 came up with to get the targets in the range for him were actually true. Like most men his size, 6'8 and solid, he had very little thought.
"The simple game of cat and mouse, the key is to determine who is the mouse." Agent 14 said, picking up his case file and flipping it open pleased with himself.
"Are you ever the cat?" Agent 12 said, spinning her chair to face him.
"Only when it comes to having to get you out of a sticky situation." Agent 14 said, eyeing her evilly. The last mission had Agent 12 charm a guy into removing his trousers to get the key card that would allow the team into the basement below the hotel. Needless to say, Agent 8 also had to lose a few items of clothing to get the man to remove the trousers needed. Agent 12 was pretty much underneath the guy by the time Agent 14 and got up to the balcony to step in and retrieve the card and his partner.
"Thank you for that, his breath smelt like the peanuts from the bar." Agent 12 said wrinkling up her nose.
"Are you saying that his breath is the only thing you didn't like?" Agent 14 pried knowing full well that Agent 8 hated hearing how men thought his twin was attractive, as despite the chest area they were identical, white blonde hair and silver misted blue eyes. In response Agent 8 glared at Agent 14, as if to silently say shut up.
Agent 14 couldn't lie that Agent 8 was an attractive man. His chiseled jawline, speckled with blonde scruff contrasted with the darkness of his eyelashes that revealed those light blue eyes. Agent 14 always called him Frost, because he reminded Jack Frost that Agent 14 loved as a kid. In return, Agent 8 called him Giant. Not only because if Agent 14 was green that he would like the Giant of the Green bean can, but because Agent 8 was 4 inches taller than Agent 14. It was weird that Agent 8 was 6'8 but Agent 12 was only 5'11.
As if on cue to break the college jock atmosphere, the door opened. Empress had entered, her blue suit matched the blue tint her white hair reflected when the light hit it.
"Agents…" She said while surveying the room, "We have a problem."
It was as if the last mission did not even happen, with the silence that filled the room. All the Agents were looking at each other in disbelief. Were they hearing the empress correctly, that the "Ones above" had uncovered a mission briefing that was an attempt to overrun the Academy of Agents. Surely, they thought this would happen sooner or later. Surely, there was a plan of action.
"Surely, they don't think entering here is going to be easy." Agent 8 said his brow furrowed.
"That, I'am unsure of Agent 8." The Empress said walking to the front of the table, her heels clicking as she went, "For all we know they, whoever they are, can be on the way right now." She set down radio com, and the tape began to replay the message that she broke to the agents sitting at the table.
"Overthrow the Academy…" a female voice said.
"Yes sir, and then we will have …" a male voice said.
"Have what gives them power …" a masked voice said.
The tape cut off after the mask voice spoke. Surveying the room Agent 14 saw looks of confusion and worry on faces.
"Gives them power. That could be anything." Agent 8 said looking up at the Empress for a further explanation of what they were searching for her at the Academy. All the Empress could do was look around at the faces of the Agents.
"I'm afraid that they are coming for many things, but my top priority is all of the Agents in this Academy. Because without all of you, the Academy is just a building." Normally, Agent 8 would be all about the compliments from someone so high up on the chain of command but his brow furrowed even more as the Empress continued "I'm not sure what they want, or when they are coming. Just be aware, and watch each other. We have the ones above eyeing the air waves and our Tech Master's are still advancing the gadgets to make sure we are as prepared as we can be."
Agent 14 zoned back in at Tech Master, he wondered if he should tell Benji about the oncoming attack. It would make him worry too much, but then he would be mad if he was not told about it if he found out. However, Benji would be on the lower level of the Academy that was technically the safest place to be as it was all bomb proof, literally for who ever was trying to prefect the next bomb like gadget.
The Empress looked around the room with a stone-like gaze, "We have been preparing for moments like this for years. We all knew that one day it would come down to this. We have tampered with a lot of people, and we in turn have made a lot of enemies so until we know who that is remain on alert."
The Agents at the table agreed and the Empress left the room forgetting about the briefing of the last mission that they were on. Agent 14 was the last one to file out of the room, still pondering on the idea of telling Benji anything.