Prologue

 “So, did you meet the new guy?” Elizabeth asked.

“Who?” Mason replied, confused.

“Tyson,” said Elizabeth.

“Nope, haven’t seen him.”

“Well, you should meet him. He looks nice enough. For an assassin I mean.”

“I’ll get around to it,” Mason answered. He wasn’t really too thrilled about the new guy, Tyson or whatever his name was. Everyone just seemed to lose interest in the agency. DBA did government funded, undercover assassinations. Cuban drug lords, mob bosses, men with high places in the Mafia were all targets. DBA, or Death by Assassin, wasn’t an evil agency. They only took out the villains. It was just sometimes tedious, when there weren’t any new targets. That’s why many new agents quit so quickly, and why Mason was so indifferent about Tyson.

“Lizzy, in the past three months, eighteen agents have left us. One more, even if that guy was a military sniper, isn’t going to do much good.”

Lizzy shrugged. “Cadel’s getting his back info. You never know… the next star agent could be in him!”

Mason nodded, and slowly turned towards the door. “If you say so. I guess I should look in with Cadel, see what he’s dug up on our new star agent.”

Mason headed off for the door, hoping that Tyson did have some promise in him.

 

At the moment, Tyson was being shown around by Cadel. He’d already met Lizzy, the albino. He could tell Cadel adored her; his voice went distant and a bit dreamy when her name was mentioned. He could see why he did though; with generous curves, a slim body, and amazingly silky hair, she was gorgeous. The way her eyes and smile worked together to draw you in... you couldn't help but like her. But Tyson left her alone… He was fairly confident he could get her, but he liked Cadel, as a friend that is, and didn’t want to ruin his chances with Elizabeth. Besides, he’d had his chance at love, and it was over.

“So this is the armory,” Cadel pointed into an open room with weapons lining the walls. Tyson was drawn back into reality. “As you can see, every occasion has been expected and prepared for.” Cadel was right about that; a small war could be waged using just the weapons in this arsenal. Snipers, light machine guns, automatic rifles, shotguns, throwing knives, daggers, even a couple of swords were in the room. Tyson threw his gaze over one section after another, his trained eye seeing things other than the obvious. Like the fact that half the more valuable things were encrypted with a twelve digit, randomized password.

Overly protective, Tyson thought. He was a pretty good judge at character, even if he only saw it through inanimate objects.

“Come along now.” Cadel started walking off through the maze of corridors, pointing out rooms as they walked past. Tyson was preparing his mental map of the maze-like building. They passed the training course, sleeping quarters, and other high-tech rooms. Finally, they reached the end of a particularly long passage where a set of metal doors greeted them.

“This is the head of DBA’s office. You’ve met Elizabeth May, our recruitment agent and head of internal affairs.”

Tyson nodded, noticing the look in Cadel’s eyes when he mentioned Elizabeth. “She married?” Tyson wanted to know if he could help out Cadel with his obvious problem with Elizabeth. He couldn’t really do much on a married person. They were already in love… Tyson sighed, the thought bringing back unhappy memories.  

“No,” Cadel said, almost too happily. He did, however, quickly regain his normal tone of voice. “And there’s also Mason Ghueter, who is married. He conducts our external affairs, such as assignments and other such items of concern. He is really in charge of the whole organization, but leaves most of the internal affairs up to Lizzy.”

“What do you do?” Tyson replied.

I am the tech wizard, information provider, things like that. Basically, I look up the target and give you the information needed to make the hit. I also provide your weapons, gadgets... stuff like that.”

 “When can I meet Mason?” Tyson asked.

“Right now.” Mason appeared like a ghost, startling Cadel. Tyson instantly centered his gravity, as he was trained. Four years of military training does that. You just can’t forget years of drills and exercises that were imprinted into your mind. However, Tyson quickly relaxed when he realized what the person had said.

“Hello, I’m Tyson Alderbach,” he said, sticking out his tanned hand.

“Mason Ghueter.” Mason shook his hand, his darker skin making the tan look lighter than it really was. Tyson sized him up. Mason looked around his mid thirties, and about 5’10. Dark skin, possibly from farther south, or he had a Mexican on one side of his family. Good muscle tone, though mostly in his arms, like most people who worked out. He had black hair, with blue eyes, which was unusual, but not unheard of. All around, Mason would be considered, at the very least, handsome. Cadel, on the other hand, would be considered stunning. The deep blue eyes would pull you in first; it was like they pierced into you. His wavy, blond hair gave him a more angelic look that complimented his slightly angular face perfectly. Unlike Mason, Cadel was thinner, but had a full muscle set, like he was an extreme biker and swimmer. Tyson realized then how easy it would really be to hook up Lizzy and Cadel.

“So… why did you sign up? Was it personal or just about business?” Mason was trying to see his personality, while trying to seem like he was making small talk.

“I was recruited, and I can’t really say no. The army had me as a sniper, but the pay wasn’t really substantial enough.”

“So you came for the pay then?”

“Essentially, yes.”

Mason seemed lost in thought. Then, he said, “Are you married?”

Tyson was lost for words. Finally, choking on the words, he said, “I… I was. Once upon a time…” Tyson trailed off.

Mason, realizing Tyson’s distress, decided to end the conversation, so he said, “Have a good day.” Then, in a brief flash of remembrance, he walked towards his private office, ready to settle down for a day. There were just a couple more files to go through, then home to his wife.

“Odd person,” Tyson commented.

“Yes, he certainly is,” responded Cadel. “Well, what do think?”

“All this, just for an assassination organization?” asked Tyson, a bit suspicious.

“Yes, we’re government funded. Plus, some people here, like me, donate weapons, supplies, technology, and so on, to help keep the place running.”

“Well, I’ll try it out. If it doesn’t suit me, I guess I’ll have to leave. Not too much choice in that aspect. Oh, and one more question.”

“Yes?” Cadel was swiftly walking to the exit, Tyson trailing behind him. Tyson liked Cadel, even if his speech was almost arrogant. Tyson knew it wasn't though; Cadel just liked to talk that way.

          “When’s my first mission?”

Reviews

[Clayton Wulfric Fernand..]

What an amazing start!
You've given your characters just enough of a description to keep me wanting more :)
And if one thing's for sure, its that I do want more!