A/U: I know it's been a bit of a delay with this one, but work has been busy lately. I will try and up the speed on them. Thanks to all who are reading so far, I would love to hear what you think. Just so I can improve and adapt the story accordingly. :)

Chapter 10

My mouth was dry and I was finding it difficult to breathe as I walked into the simulation room. The day had come round far too quickly; and even though I knew there was nothing more I could have done, I still felt underprepared. The room hadn't changed from the times I had done a simulation before, but the atmosphere was different. Like there was an expectation in the air.

I shot a sideways glance at the two-way mirror as I walked in; I wasn't sure who exactly was behind that glass but I knew at the very least Diana and Training Director Mahone were there, watching my every move. I took a deep breath and sat down at the desk where my computer and files were laid out. I had been told my contract two days ago, giving me just enough time to prepare.

It was a toughie, a powerful CEO of an Internet company. Very paranoid, very tech savvy and very well defended. I had the feeling they had chosen this one on purpose to test my hacking skills to their limit, and boy were they going to be. I had already done as much surface research as I could, this guy was impenetrable from the outside. Not only did he own a company that's main purpose was to provide better access to the Internet, but he was also the lead on the latest anti-hacking security.

I had had a mini panic attack when Diana had handed me the files. She had chuckled at my shell-shocked expression and insisted I would be fine. I wasn't so sure. Gaining access to this target's security systems would not be a walk in the park. He had a sophisticated firewall in place that detected any attempt at a break in from a non-employee. The cherry on the cake was that not only did they expect me to help the agent take-down this guy, they wanted me to retrieve all research on a surveillance program he was creating that allowed the user to access web cams and phone cameras of the general public. After two days of non-stop work, I thought I had the solution to getting the info. All I had to do now was do the deed.

I tried to steady my hands as I placed the headset on my head. I logged in to the agency laptop in front of me, and the screen burst to life showing me the imitation office building they had created for my test. This always gave me a twist of fear in my stomach, the amount of money these people threw at something like training made me realise how powerful they were. I placed my hands flat on the desk in front of me and closed my eyes for a moment. Opening them I focused on the screen in front of me, shutting out everything that could distract me from my task.

"Good Afternoon agent, your target Damian Daniels is located in the highly secure headquarters of his company Infotech. Not only is there a number of security staff guarding him, but he has also surrounded himself with the latest security technology, including biometric scanners and an intelligent CCTV system that recognizes intruders. I can help you with the latter but avoiding any cameras will unsure you are not spotted immediately. The heaviest security is focused on the main entrances of the building. I suggest finding a back door to this technological Fort Knox."

I had no idea who the agent was for this test, as I never saw their faces and we would only ever know who they were if we were assigned to them. I imagined this would be a lot easier once I knew my agent and could adapt my plan of action to suit them. Adrenaline rushed through me as the camera advanced towards the plywood construction ahead. The test was officially underway, no turning back now.

I turned to the laptop next to me and opened up an onion router. I didn't have long to try and crack this, those cameras were the first problem that needed solving. I had to admit they were a work of art; every employee was scanned in to the system as all cameras in the building used facial recognition. If an unknown face was scanned the CCTV would immediately alert security staff and lock down the building. It was a perfect design, but everything has its flaws.

The loophole I had found was the cleaning staff. No one paid much attention to low-level people, and that was always their undoing. It was why I had been such a good photographer, no one ever looked twice at me. The company used freelancers to save on outgoings, and as the turnover was so high they weren't required to scan into the system. Instead the cameras just noted the uniforms worn by the cleaners and let them through. This was what I was hoping the agent would find round the back of the building, a lone cleaner.

I glanced at the screen as I was attempting to break into the CCTV system. The agent had managed to sneak round the security gate and was making his way to a staff entrance.

"Keep an eye out for any cleaning staff, their uniform will disguise you from the recognition system as long as you don't show your face."

I had gotten used to not being responded to when I spoke, there was always an element of trust doing this job. The security system was proving a tough cookie, as I knew it would; I was making slow but steady progress carefully breaking down each firewall and secure login as I found them. A movement on the screen caught my eye and I watched quietly as the agent subdued a lone cleaner who had come out for a smoke on his break.

Okay, I thought as he put on the unconscious man's uniform, Step one complete. He would have an easier time walking around the building now, but I still needed to gain control of the CCTV. He walked to the staff entrance door and held the cleaner's security card to the scanner to get in.

"Well done. Daniels' office is located on the top floor. There are biometric scanners to get to it, so we are going to need to find a different way in." I wasn't 100% sure on what that way would be yet, so doubled my efforts on getting into the system while keeping an eye on events unfolding on the screen.

Getting into that security system was like battling a laser maze; slow and steady was the key but I had to get it in time without tripping the alarms. My forehead started to bead sweat with the mental exertion. I had been practicing for two days solid and it was still proving harder than I first thought. If I didn't manage this not only was getting to Daniels going to be infinitely harder, getting the data was going to prove impossible.

After firewall three hundred it felt like, the laptop suddenly produced a split screen showing multiple CCTV camera views from around the building. I let my breath out in a rush, finally. A feeling of pride burned in my chest, but I couldn't revel in my small victory for long. Quickly I linked the laptop to two larger screens in front of me so I could keep an eye on the cameras whilst still delving into the system further.

Focusing on the agent's progress I could see he had made his way to a lift. None of the cameras he had past had been triggered so it appeared the uniform plan was working. There were ten floors in the building; Daniels was on the tenth but to access it you had to do a retinal scan. I assumed only select security and Daniels himself were on the system for that.

"You may need to find a security guard to access the upper floor, I don't think I can fool the system into letting you up." I watched as the agent selected the ninth floor and the doors slid shut. I began to switch my gaze between the security cameras and the POV of the agent. The ninth floor had a number of security guards patrolling, as well as members of staff. There may be an opportunity there; one of the things that I found hard about this job was sometimes being unable to assist any longer. I knew the agents were as highly trained as I had been, but it still knotted my stomach having to watch them risk themselves.

The agent scouted the ninth floor, looking for an easy target. I wasn't sure what he was going to do, we needed a retinal scan and there were a number of ways to get it. Some more gruesome than others. So far the CCTV had not picked up on the intruder, which was a plus, things might change on the top floor. The agent paused as a guard made his way towards the lift. This may be the chance we needed. The guard waited for the doors to slide open then stepped in; quickly the agent followed behind and before the guard could register what was happening his head was slammed into the now closed doors of the lift.

I watched the security system carefully as on the lift's CCTV the agent held up the guard's now prone body and placed his face against the scanner. I could see the agent was a man of average height, average build basically average everything. He blended in well; no one would have looked at him twice. Holding the guard's eye open, the scanner beeped for a few seconds and I held my breath. Please let this guy have clearance, I thought as the suspense built with each beep of the machine.

After what seemed like a millennium, the scanner stopped and the lift groaned into life as it rose to the next floor.

"Excellent work. The security up here is going to be tighter and your uniform is no longer going to be useful. I'll keep you informed as to where the cameras are, just keep your face hidden." The agent responded by donning the guard's clothes; it was the best option, people would be suspicious of a cleaner on the top floor.

The lift juddered to a halt and the doors opened to reveal an open plan penthouse style office. There were only two places that were private; a bathroom and an enclosed office space for Daniels. Guards were stationed around the floor, large windows all around let in what would have been a view if it weren't in a hangar, but powerful lights obscured its unusual setting and lit the inside. Daniels himself was holding court in the middle of the room, talking loudly into a phone.

"It's getting goddamn, fucking ridiculous I tell you. This was meant to be finished last week." He paced back and forth, looking down as he berated whoever was on the other end of that call. "The update is essential in maintaining our image as the lead in Internet services. If it isn't done by close of play today, I will personally come down there and code it myself and then I'll fire you. Is that clear?" There was a heavy pause as he waited for the response.

"Good, make sure you do." Without saying goodbye he hung up and ran a hand through his hair.

The agent watched the display from inside the lift; as soon as Daniels was finished he quietly walked out keeping himself to the walls.

"Good, there are cameras all around this room. The walls are your best bet."

I looked at the security cameras; the two best places to do the job were in the bathroom or office, obviously. Enclosed and private places would make hiding the body easier. I chewed on my lip nervously as I ran through my options. Not only did we need to kill Daniels, the information I had to acquire was on the system. I could get so far now I had hacked into it, however the data was behind an authentication wall which you needed a numerical password to access. The password changed every minute, and no software I had would be able to crack the billions of possible combinations in time before it changed. I was 99% sure Daniels had a key on him that displayed the code, changing every minute.

As I was running through my plan the agent was waiting patiently for me to issue my next instruction. Daniels had now stormed into his private office, leaving the agent alone in the room with six security guards. None of them had noticed the new arrival due to the scene their boss had made as he came in. Now a few of them closest to him were giving him glances, obviously suspicious.

"Try and find a way into Daniels' office, he's alone in there." I confirmed this with a quick glance at the CCTV. The target was now glaring at his laptop, engrossed in what he was doing. No security were in there with him.

"Hey you, I haven't seen you before." One of the guards was talking to the agent. My blood froze as I watched him approach.

"I'm new here. Started today, came to give the boss a message from downstairs."

The guard frowned, not wholly convinced. "Why didn't they just ring up? And since when did newbies get access to the tenth floor on their first day?"

"I'm ex-military, they thought I'd be a good addition to the detail up here. Also, this message is best given in person. Bosses' ears only and all, never know who's listening in." The lie came smoothly and confidently, and I couldn't help but remember the easy way Tobias used to lie to me. My stomach tightened uncomfortably, this was not the time to start thinking about that man.

The guard paused for a moment, clearly judging whether he bought the story or not. Eventually he nodded slowly and indicated for the agent to go ahead to the office.

"Okay, but be careful newbie, the boss is in a fowl mood today." I grinned as the agent moved and the door to Daniels' office got bigger in my screen.

"Keep your head down now, make sure none of the cameras get a look at your face." I monitored the CCTV as he moved across the room. So far so good, none of them could get a lock on his features so no alarms. We were so close; the agent reached the door and knocked confidently.

"What?!" Daniels bark travelled through the heavy wooden door.

"Mr Daniels I have a message from downstairs, it's about the update." I smiled, well done.

"What? Okay come in." The agent opened the door and entered Damien Daniels' private office. The man was looking down at his laptop still, as he entered but he looked up when the door shut softly behind. His expression was irritable, anger barely concealed below the surface.

"Well, what is it then? Why they couldn't have rung I don't know." The agent said nothing; he slowly reached into the security guard uniform he was wearing, where I knew his silenced ICA issue pistol was holstered.

"Cat got your tongue? What's the message you moron?" In one swift, practiced movement the agent drew his pistol and shot Damien straight in the forehead. The target collapsed, the only oddity of a test scenario was there was never any blood. The agent strode round to the 'dead' body and I turned my attention to the laptop next to me.

Firstly, I disabled the camera in the office, I could only do it for a short period of time before the system detected my violation and went into lockdown. I then got to the secure login screen for Daniels' personal data.

"Search his body, he should have a numerical key on him." After a moment the agent straightened up and produced a small grey plastic fob with an LCD display. There was a six-digit number, and I hurriedly typed it into the login screen. The laptop screen switched to show a desktop with files neatly organised on each side. I grinned and started searching through the data for the surveillance program. I found it in a file labeled 'Weeping Angel' and downloaded it onto the laptop.

"I'm done, good work. You need to find an exit now." I waited for the agent to hide the body in a large cupboard in the room. As soon as I was sure he was done, I backed out of Daniels' personal login and reestablished the camera in the office. The agent exited and walked calmly round the edge of the room, back to the lifts. The guard that had let him in nodded in acknowledgment as the agent stepped into the lift and pressed the ground floor button.

The unconscious security guard was still wedged against the wall as he descended, he changed back into the cleaner uniform to evade the cameras downstairs. I was practically bouncing on my seat as he walked out of the building and located a delivery truck parked round the back. He walked up to the 'End mission' button and pressed it.

The screen went black and I punched the air. That had gone as well as it could have; now I just had to wait for the verdict. The excitement at completing a mission faded as I realised what was at stake here. I thought I had done enough, but I wasn't sure. Turning in my chair I looked at the mirror behind me. No voice came over the speakers today, I could almost hear them talking about me.

I sat in uncomfortable silence for a while, my brain going over what I could have done differently.

"Well done initiate, that was an impressive display." The voice of Director Mahone made me jump as it crackled over the speakers. "I have no problem in clearing you for field duty. Congratulations codename Peregrine."

...

"Well done." Diana hugged me, taking me aback as she had never done so before. "That was brilliant, you really have learnt everything I can teach you now."

I smiled at my mentor as she went to sit behind her desk. She had called me to her office once I had had a chance to calm down, but despite my best efforts my nerves were still jangling with adrenaline.

I had done it; I was officially an active handler. Now a great sense of the unknown overwhelmed me; I had no idea what to expect from now on. Diana smiled kindly at me as she clasped her hands in front of her on the desk. It was very reminiscent of the first time we had met.

"So you're probably asking yourself, what happens next?" I nodded, excitement gripping me. She picked up a file sat on the side of her desk and slid it towards me. "Usually a handler would be required to seek out their own agent to be partnered with once they complete training themselves. That is how I started."

I nodded again; I was familiar with the story of Diana and the infamous 47. The agency had done an excellent job in concealing the identity of this particular agent, judging by how much everyone talked about him in Headquarters.

"However, both myself and Director Mahone agree that you can take on a different challenge." Frowning I tried to decipher what Diana meant by that. Why was I not choosing my own agent? She registered my confusion and tapped the file. "You're being partnered with an existing agent Peregrine. One who has years of experience, but has never truly found his feet here, shall we say." She smiled a small, knowing smile, but I wasn't in on the joke.

"He is capable, but lacks the natural instinct of a lot of our agents. We want to see if you can change that. Your test was extraordinarily hard by normal standards, we wanted to push your special skills to the limit."

"I thought that was the case." I said simply, bringing the file closer to me.

"It is your ace in the hole Peregrine. Never forget that. It is what sets you apart from others handlers here, and is one of the reasons you were selected." I winced slightly, as visions of me guiding Tobias through my old work's servers came flashing back. I focused on my hands resting on the manila file as I formed a question I had been dying to ask for months now.

"Diana?" I was sure I already knew the answer but I had to try. "Is he ok?" I slowly lifted my eyes back to my mentor; she was looking at me with a neutral expression but I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"You know I can't divulge too much to you." She paused, knowing exactly who I was talking about. "All you need to know is that our mutual friend is still active and very well." I dropped my eyes back down to the file, nodding mutely. I expected as much, the agency weren't going to compromise one of their agents just to placate me. I still couldn't stop hoping I would run into him again though.

"All in good time Peregrine." My head snapped up. Diana was giving me a small smile; it was like she had read my mind.

"What do I do now then?" I asked, pushing thoughts of Tobias back down.

"You can live wherever you want now, you don't have to stay here. Although I would recommend you keep contact with your loved ones to a minimum I'm afraid. It's safer." A bubble of sadness welled up inside me, I did miss my friends and family awfully, but I had made a choice.

"When your agent has been assigned a contract, we will contact you with the details. It'll be up to you to get in touch with him and give him any intel he may need. As well as obviously assisting in the field." Her smile widen. "It's been a pleasure teaching you Peregrine, and I am always here if you need me." I smiled back at her; I was going to miss her too.

I looked down at my agent's file and slowly opened it to reveal a document of his personal information, there was a photo attached to it. I did a double take at the unassuming man's face. It was the agent who had helped me with my test, I recognised his short brown hair and plain features. I grinned, so at least this guy knew what I sounded like. I scanned the rest of his info; average height, weight, I focused in on his name.

Carlton Smith. Agent Smith.

I closed the file and stood up. "Thank you Diana for everything. I hope I do you proud." She nodded.

"I'm sure you'll do great things Peregrine, happy hunting."