Our sort of Person

Do spies and assasins love what they do? Do they get involved emotionlly? Is this a bad thing? Once you conform and swear your alliance and loyalty to them is it too late? Can you come back?

 

Our Sort of Person

 

They are the best of the best, Robert thought as he looked at the tall shiny building. Today was judgement day for him, for he had finally made it to interview stage. He had applied for a job, but not any old job, he applied to the WJC (World Justice Commission) to become a Justice Cadet. Robert was a spy who owned and operated the RFA, the Robert Fletcher Agency. However, not satisfied with his progress and wanting to excel his skills as a spy he found it necessary to gain experience as a Justice Cadet.

            “Bye Maisy”, he said as he embraced his girlfriend.

“I’ll meet you down here in the car”

“Good Luck!”

 

Within five minutes Robert was in the lift and on his way up the tall building. His interview was on level 49, which he assumed was the top floor of the building. When he finally made it to the top floor, the doors of the lift opened to reveal a very futuristic office. It had walls of silver, a floor of grey and a desk the blocked the room half way. It wasn’t like a traditional office with bookshelves and pictures, this one was lifeless. It also had large flat screen computer monitors on the walls and there was one on the desk, about six all up. There was also a door at the back of the room, which opened within moments of Robert entering.

 

Upon the door opening an old looking man of about sixty or seventy entered the room.

“Please, sit down Robert”

Robert went to shake his hand but the man pretended to not know what Robert meant by the gesture and sat down. Robert sat down as well expecting the man to introduce himself, but he didn’t reveal his name. All Robert knew was that he was the director of the WJC.

“Just a few questions Robert”, said the old man as he fiddled with the computer on his desk.

Robert nodded his head in response.

“First, are you our sort of person?”

Robert pondered the question for a few moments unsuccessfully.

            “Uhh, what do you mean? What is your sort of person?”

            “Well, what is our sort of person? I mean spy really, what’s our sort of spy? Our sort of spy is one who never asks questions. We give them the assignment and they do it.”
Robert continued nodding his head.

“Robert would you bring justice to the world any way necessary?”
            “Yes, if there’s anything we need to make sacrifices for, it is world peace”

            “Would you kill a man Robert?”

            “I’m a spy, of course I would”, Robert exclaimed uncomfortably.

            “Yes, but would you enjoy it?” 

The old man got up off his chair and started pacing around the room.

“When you get an assignment Robert, do you want to see blood? Do you want that person to die slowly?”

            “I’ve never felt that way about an assignment sir, I’ve tried to ne…”
            “Then it’s never too late to start, is it Robert”, interrupted the man.

The man stopped in his tracks and leant on the desk with his big hands. He was leaning towards Robert awaiting a response. Robert did eventually respond.

            “One of the rules of spying is to not get involved emotionally!”

            “But, that’s the other way Robert. You’ve got it all wrong. Hear at the WJC we’re different. We work on vengeance. We actively encourage our spies to bear grudges against their targets. It helps get the job done quicker”

            “But that’s what I mean, its emotional involvement”, protested Robert.

            “Are you saying vengeance is the same as love?”

The man began pacing the room again.

            “What?”

Robert was confused now.

            “HATRED IS NOT EMOTION, yelled the man angrily.

“If you want to be our sort of person…”, continued the man.

“…you will agree with us whole heartedly when we say that it’s ok to hate your target. They are bad people Robert. We aren’t talking about petty thieves here, us spies are hired by the governments and the people of the world to stop tragedies from occurring. Quite often this means killing people! The public want us to feel the same way about villains as they do!”

            “And how’s that?”

Robert asked.

“With vengeance”, said the old man.

Robert swallowed as the old man continued.

“These people are terrorists and evil dictators who want to see us suffer and die if we don’t conform to their rules. Have you ever wondered what goes through their minds when they kill a spy? Happiness! And that’s what we want you to feel when you kill one of them!”

Robert nodded his head solemnly. The man had nearly convinced him.

“So Robert, are you our sort of person?”

Robert delayed his answer with a train of thought. The man was right. Terrorists wanted to kill people in cold blood. They had a lot of hatred for the western world.

“Um…”, said Robert uneasily as the man passed him a pocket computer with the stylus on top. Robert grabbed the stylus and looked at the screen. It was a contract to join the WJC.

            “You need more convincing don’t you Robert”

            “Yes”, Robert said as he put the stylus down.

            “Very well then, who do you love?”

            “There’s this girl and aah....”
            “Is she a spy?”

Robert gulped again and was feeling very nervous about this. It was unwise to talk about relationships like the one Robert had with Maisy.

            “Yes, but what does that matter”

            “Spy or not Robert, these people, these terrorists hate her. They would kill her! Do you understand me?”

Robert nodded his head.

“They would look into her eyes as she dies and they would get enjoyment from it. Trust me, there is nothing they would love more, than to know that they’ve killed someone you love!”

Robert felt uneasy thinking about it, but it was so true.

“And don’t tell me after hearing this you still don’t feel hatred and vengeance for these people!”

Robert looked at the small pocket computer with the contract still displayed on the screen.

“Just think about it. If you decide to sign over to us, you’ll be hired straight away. We have all your information. Your first assignment will appear on the screen as soon as you sign over.”

The man gave Robert a serious stare as he walked towards the door.

“Are you our sort of person Robert? If you are, your first assignment is waiting for you”

With this the man left the room. Totally convinced Robert picked up the stylus in his sweaty hand and signed the agreement. Following this the screen went blank for two seconds and then loaded a picture of Maisy’s face and a short description.

 

Maisy Henderly

Double agent in the RFA who poses as an agent. She successfully infiltrated deep into the agency forming relationships with key members to gain top secret information. Works for an Eastern terrorist organisation. It is believed they are planning simultaneous attacks on six western cities across three continents and four countries.

 

Robert stood there in silence. He knew what he got himself into and it was already too late, he had surrendered. He was already their sort of person.

 

By Rhys Bradford

 

Author's Note

A short story I wrote following on from my first novel in 2005. Robert and Maisey first appeared in 'Fifteen Man' back in 2005. This gives readers a good idea of what my first novel was about. However because it was my first novel there are some problems with it so incase I never post it on this site I decided that this would be good enough.