If you are reading this, you are at the right spot! Part 1 of 2 of today's update. Enjoy!

For the Freelancers, their days were packed with training, education, training, working out, training, experimenting with new equipment, training, eating, training…

Did I happen to mention training?

At the end of the day (or the beginning of the new one, whichever you prefer), the most that anybody wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep until they were woken up by FILSS' insistent alarm ringing in their ears, and the cycle would continue.

Then came the day when someone decided to take advantage of the Freelancers' tiredness…

North sat up in bed suddenly, and he had no idea why. He had JUST gotten out of his armor and had settled down for the night, so why was he still awake?

Then, North's skin began to twitch, and he began scratching all over the place. He kept itching himself to alleviate the annoyance pervading his skin, but to no effect except to exacerbate his itch. Getting desperate, North ran out into the hallway to try and get to the guy's locker room and the showers. He ran into somebody else in a mad dash in the same direction. Scrambling up, North saw Wyoming with red splotches all over his face and upper body, and he was guessing that Wyoming's rubber duck fleece pants obscured further signs of desperate itching.

"You…too?" North gasped as he scrambled up and scratched at his arm. Wyoming snarled and nodded. Together, they both started heading towards the showers so that they could get the itchy powder from their clothing and skin.

On the way, who should they meet but Agent Washington, with no sign of itchy discomfort at all as he casually walked towards his room.

"WASH!" The two suffering agents screamed. "GO TO THE CORNER!"

Washington jumped, startled and with a deer-in-the-headlights look. "What?" he asked, sorely confused. "I didn't even do any-"

"NOW!" Wyoming and North shouted over Wash's weak protest. The blonde man gave a huge sigh, hung his head, and plodded off towards the Corner of Shame.

Watching from the sidelines as North and Wyoming continued on their way, a low hiss escaped the thin crack in the door that was barely opened .

"Very good work there, my friend," Agent Florida walked up to Maine, who grumbled and turned to his partner in crime. "I suppose you remembered my equipment?" Florida asked, rubbing a hand through graying hair. Maine tossed a metal tin to Florida, who caught it deftly in one hand. Messy black marker labeled the can as Itching Powder.

"Those two will have a hard time getting it off," Florida remarked, while Maine gave the older man a punch in the arm. "What? What did I- oh." His face flushed bright red with embarrassment at what he said.

Elsewhere, in another time…

"Bow chicka wow wow!" Tucker suddenly blurted out randomly, clapping a hand to his mouth. Luckily, he was alone on patrol.

"Huh," he mused. "I could have sworn I heard someone say something…eh," the Blue soldier shrugged, continuing on his patrol.

Credit for this story goes to: X, Darkrexbeta, jboone93

Read on to Chapter 11...if you dare. XD

anna1795