Chapter One
The meeting room was full. It was packed to the brim. It was rare to see all these people gathered around in one area, but this was a special event. Several departments of the government had come together to create this team, and they were going to announce who was going to be apart of the infamous Team Juliet. The secret- not-so-secret decision to finally put together a team that was better than the ones that come from ‘Evolutionary Teachings’ was one that was debated and argued from several departments of the government, and today was the day! They were going to announce who they were going to put on this team.
“Let us begin,” The voice said over the intercom on the table. The head of the departments sat at the table, just long enough to fit the five people most important to this meeting, even with the several underlings that they used to research.
“I will begin this meeting by saying that this choice has been made. There will be no altering after this meeting. These people will be contacted, and there will be no questioning the decision after it has been made. There will be no more arguments over the choices that have been made. We have been trying to find this team for months, and this comes to an end today.”
There was silence as the anticipation built.
“First is Jade Fayette,” the silent awe echoed through the room, “ age 20, special agent for the Army. Most of her missions are classified, so classified that we were only able to get three of her missions total...” The room darkened as a projector lit up in the back of the room. A picture glittered in the middle of the clear wall.
Jade Fayette was shorter than her male companion, by a good three inches. Her lithe body was rippling with toned muscles. Her tan gave her a glow that glittered from the wall to their eyes, and radiated her black hair that flowed to her shoulder blades. The white streaks that were randomly strewn through her hair, giving it a constant wind swept look. By first looking at her, it looked as though she had only one gun resting on her hip but as you looked closer at the picture, several bulges were noticeable. On her right thigh rested a small bulge underneath her loose army fatigues. In her military issued boots, you could see the bulge of a handle, not very noticeable but there. Her tight black t-shirt showed nothing as she stood there, her hands resting on her waist, smile playing across her lips reflecting her brown eyes that glittered in the sun that glared on her.
“She’s not what we would expect for an assignment of this magnitude!” One of the directors snapped out. The uproar that began from the table echoed throughout the room.
“She’s strong! She’s one of the top military secret agents, and very good at infiltration! She’s been recruited by the C.I.A, and the secret service multiple times! She’s perfect for what we’re trying to achieve!” Someone else snapped out.
“She’s isolated! She’s perfect to go rogue!” Someone else snapped out, as the table got louder, the snapping becoming yelling.
“STOP!” Everyone went quiet as the intercom echoed loudly throughout the room, “This is non-negotiable!” Silence reigned for several minutes before the intercom came back to life.
“Next is Karen Maine,” The picture switched out to a girl standing in the middle of a street. She was shorter than the previous girl, smaller in several ways. Her body was more softer, not lacking in muscles, but not as muscular as the girl in the previous picture. Her tight tank top dress revealed the small frame that she carried with a pride that echoed through the picture. Her blond hair was up in a messy bun, everywhere but in an organized mess that she had taken care to put together. A strand of hair fell in to her face resting next to her stunning green eyes that were narrowed to a point. In her pale hand rested an Armatix iP1, an older gun but a welcome one to the eyes of the group in front of them. Her pale skin reflected against all the black she wore, and the black gun that rested in her hands in a down position. Her legs encased in high heeled boots, spread in shooting position.
“Age 26, Secret Service agent currently. She was formerly a police officer with the LAPD for 4 years before being recruited by the secret service at the age of 22. She moved through the ranks to become one of the top agents in the secret service. She’s stopped over 10 attempts on the president's life this year alone. She has a kill record of 20, and is a faithful follower of the empire.”
“She’s, also, been suspended several times for disobeying orders, and insubordination!” Silence echoed through the room as the person on the intercom went quiet.
“That is no matter to us. She is better than the people that you put forward, Edward,” The voice said sternly, as the man who spoke up sat back silent. “She is very good at what she does.”
“Last is Breis Cowan,” A violent uproar began in the room. The once silent group was now in a rage arguing, screaming before the intercom could even get to the statistics.
“She’s a ROGUE!” Someone yelled from the table as those who watched stood silently.
“She’s not a strong enough candidate to be accepted. We threw out her file when we all agreed that she wouldn’t work with us. She’s a solitary worker! We’ve seen what happens when she works with a team!”
“We can not allow you destroy this assignment by allowing her to be on this team!”
“She is who we want on this team”, the voice on the intercom stated simply, his voice echoing through the yelling, and screaming that was occurring.
“She’s not going to work with us!” The picture switched as the yelling continued.
Breis Cowan was a beautiful woman. That was not to say the others weren’t, but she was the quintessential woman. Her long black hair fell down her back in waves falling in to her face as she moved with precision in the picture. Her hair fell in face, cupping it like water as her blue eyes sparkled in the light. The couple of white streaks blended with the white t-shirt that she work, and contrasted against the black jeans that she wore. Her pale arm was outstretched with a single knife flying from her hand, her body out stretched in movement. A small smile rested on her lips, almost a grimace, but the sparkle in her eyes said something different. Her body curved in to the movement, showing her sensuality in a still photo of her.
“Her history is too dubious. We can’t have her on the team,” someone snapped out as the yelling and screaming came down several notches.
“Age 19, CIA agent. She was trained at Evolutionary Teachings from the age of 6 to the age of 13, when she joined the C.I.A. She works currently as a spy in Scotland currently. Her ability to blend in the background is what made her become the youngest C.I.A. agent in recorded history. She is the best. She is the one we want.” The voice on the intercom stated, causing the room to go silent once again. “There will be no more arguments about this team. These are who we are retrieving currently. Thank you for your time, and patience. We appreciate everything you do.”
“What’s the assignment?” Someone snapped out from the table. Everyone held their breath in anticipation. They were waiting to hear. They were given a list of things to look for, but never told what to the actual assignment was.
“That is confidential. Have a wonderful day.”
The room was silent. There was nothing else to say.
Washington, DC
June 7th, 2099
19:45
The darkness surrounded Jade as she leaned on the motorcycle, arms crossed. Her black hair was tossed hazardly over her shoulder from the low ponytail she had it in. Her face was in a grimace as she eyed the building that she would be infiltrating. The lights were off, but she could see the shadows of people walking around the building through the thinly covered windows. Her ears twitched as the sound of footsteps cracking the gravel below them. It was soft, the person was trying not to make too much noise. She never turned her head, instead letting whoever it was walking to her stop right next to the motorcycle and stare.
“Are you ready?” She turned her head to the man next to her and cocked her head.
“There’s three of them, we need to kill two of them, and capture the last one,” Jade glanced back at the building before leaning over the motorcycle and grabbing the gun that was tucked in the pocket on the side. “We’ll go through the front door, while the other two go through the back door. It’s a simple assignment.” He nodded, watching as she tucked the Beretta she carried into the side of her jeans.
Jade stood straight up, hand resting on the bulge that now rested on the side of her jeans. Lazily, she began walking towards the building, forgetting briefly about the man that stood stock still back at her bike. It wasn’t until she got close enough to the building to squat that she realized that he hadn’t followed her. Waving frantically, she rolled her eyes as he ran over to her.
It was a slow process in to the building, as Jade counted off in her head how many people were actually in the building compared to how many she had been told were in the building. It was a quiet entrance as she watched the flash from the other side let her know that the other portion of her team had made it in safely. Working her way up the stairs the grip on her berretta grew tighter. Her stomach tightened, her eyes narrowed as she looked ahead, focusing on the twitch she could feel. Something was wrong.
She made it to the landing, standing in the empty space that she knew the terrorist group she was infiltrating had once been. There was nothing. No tables, no chairs, nothing of evidence that they had been planning nefarious purposes to the detriment of the country. There were no people, the windows were firmly shut. She glanced back at her partner who looked at her questioningly. She shook her head, allowing the silence of the room to sooth her nerves.
Gunfire shattered the silence as the well known screams of her comrades met her ears. She took off for the door, pushing her partner out of the way, down the stairs, over the railing, landing on her knees as she took off for the sound.
The body pushed her to the ground as she turned the corner, her arm going around the body as they hit the floor. She felt the gun that she pulled out to fly from her hand landing just out of reach. Pushing the man off her, she scrambled for her gun. The yank to her hair pulled her from the ground on to her feet as a knife landed on her neck with a solid thud. Gunfire stopped. All movement ceased as her men watched with sickening horror.
“Put your guns down,” A heavy accent said from behind Jade as the knife pressed deeper in to her neck. Blood dribbled down her neck as she stood stock still, watching as they laid their guns down slowly. Jade eyed the tallest man, watching as he cocked his head to the side, his eyes never leaving his captain as she leaned in to the man that held her.
Running her hands across his thigh, she slowly scooted it up before ramming her elbow in to the side of his stomach, wincing in pain as the slid gently against her neck, nicking it enough for her to feel the sting of the pain. In one fluid movement, he tossed the gun at her watching as she caught it with one hand, swiftly turning and pointing the gun at the man’s face. She watched as his tanned face narrowed on the gun, the frown on his face accenting the wrinkles that came with years of sun abuse and age. She waited patiently as her men gathered and killed the rest of the group. Her eyes never left the man that went from thoughtful to contempt in a matter of moments.
“Stop!” A voice yelled from behind Jade, as the man that Jade was pointing the gun at dissipated in front of her eyes. Slowly lowering the gun, she turned to the voice.
A man stomped towards her, passing by the men as they stood stock still. Jade cocked her head to the side as the man stopped in front of her his face blood red, eyes bulging, mouth in a pale line.
“Fayette! What have we told you about teamwork?” The question asked in a soft normal voice, contradictory to his tense stance. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“I came to my team the minute they needed-”
“That is not what I WAS TALKING ABOUT!” She tilted her lips to the side as he began yelling consistently. “You left one of your team members BY HIMSELF! What would have happened if he had died! And then you get down here and ignore the fact that you could RELY on your team to get you through the situation without you risking your own death or the death of a possible terrorist! What were you thinking?”
Jade smiled, “Are you done?” She watched as he turned seven more shades of red. “First, I was told that this training exercise was to train the lower recruits in your squadron how to handle a situation where their leader was indisposed. When I left that room, your officer should have covered my back instead of staying where the fight was not occuring. That was his mistake. Second, your team should not have lowered their weapons. That was dangerous move that could have not only gotten myself, but them killed. So, sir, while you’re riding my ass about what I should have done while on a training mission that I have already been through with my own team, you should be looking at your own team and determining where everything went wrong. I would not have had to save myself if your team had done their own damn job.”
The man’s mouth fluttered open and shut several times before Jade turned her back to him, and walked to the door that appeared when the illusion of the office type building fell around them.
The hall was packed with men and women in military uniforms, heads buried in whatever documents they needed to analyze before their missions, quickly rushing by to get to the briefing. Jade swiftly turned left and down the hall, ignoring the sound of the captain yelling at her to come back. The sound diminished as she was pushed through the crowd towards where her office was located, a slight smirk resting on her lips. She walked in to her office, slamming the door shut, only for it to be blocked by a hand. She turned to meet the brown eyes staring at her hardly. She rolled her eyes, shrugging as she walked over to her desk and flopped in to the chair behind it.
“You know it took less than a minute before he called me,” the man said as he walked over to the desk and sitting in the chair in front of it.
“I mildly figured since you’re here to bother me, Jake,” Jade leaned on her desk, fingers crossed in front of her, face leaning on them.
“You know better, Jade. You have to play nicely with others. This is the second time you’ve been removed from a training because you can’t play nicely with other teams,” Jake stated.
“Well, I’m sorry mister brigadier general, the captain you made me help train was not doing his job,” Jade snapped out.
“We hear this every time Jade! I can’t protect you anymore! I’m sorry that the last mission went to hell, but you have to fill in where you can! You’re the best we have!” Jade snorted as she sat back in her seat. Jake watched as she once again rolled her eyes at him before sighing. “Your next assignment is waiting outside the office door. I’ll send him in.”
Jade watched as Jake got up and walked out, his left leg limping as he proudly walked out the door and to whoever was going to be giving her the next assignment. Jade grimaced, swinging her chair to face the wall where the picture of her team hung. The smiles on all their faces created a stabbing pain in the middle of her chest, something she felt every time she looked at the picture after the incident.
“Jade Fayette?” A smooth voice called from the open door. Jade turned around to meet hazel eyes, tan skin and long black hair pulled in to a ponytail. He was muscular but not overtly. She could see the six pack he carried through his tight white t-shirt. His arm muscles lightly bulging out of the semi-tight shirt. She let her eyes wander up to meet his, sparkling with amusement at her serious face. The sculpted eyebrow raised at her as she shook her head and smiled a polite smile at him.
“Yes, that’s me. How may I help you... I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name,” the previously polite smile that was on her lips went a little wider, a little more vicious. The man walked into the room. He stopped behind the chair, letting his body lean on to the chair, his hands wrapped around the top of the chair.
“My name is irrelevant. You can call me Kage if you desperately need to call me something,” he winked at Jade as she leaned back in to her desk, her eyes narrowed even more, even as her smile stayed the same.
“Well, Kage, how may I help you?” Jade snapped out, watching as his hands tightened around the chair.
“I have an assignment that I request that you do,” Kage stated simply, watching as Jade waited patiently for him to continue, “You can find the file for the case in the drawer on the left under E.”
Jade stared at him, letting her mind ponder over the idea that he had gotten in to her office to put the file in the correct place. She gripped the edge of the seat, eyes flickering between Kage and the drawer in question. She let her eyes linger on the drawer with a cocked head before turning back to Kage with a more relaxed smile.
“Why don’t you just give me a rundown on what the assignment is?” Jade said, letting her body release the tension that it had been filled with moments before.
“You’re one paranoid woman,” Kage stated as he turned and shut the door behind him, “I did nothing to your drawer, by the way.”
“It pays to be paranoid.” Jade leaned on her desk as Kage sat across from her in the very same chair that he had just been leaning on.
“Alright, as a representative of The School of Evolutionary Teachings, I would like you to come work as a teacher specializing in war tactics. The position would require that you would be able to guide and teach students in how to survive in different war situations.”
“Evolutionary Teachings? Isn’t that the school with the-” Kage raised his hand stopping Jade in mid-sentence.
“We need not discuss the type of students that attend the school. All you need to know is that these students are not normal children. They have been trained to be killers from a young age. They are the top of the line fighters and military weapons. They have understood that from a young age. You will be assisting in building better fighters for the government that you currently work under,” Kage’s voice went from the almost soft playful tone that he had carried in, to a dark undertone.
“Why should I go to work for a school that denied me entrance?” Kages face flittered from shock to a calm neutral.
“Because these kids are going to be fighting in the same war that you just lost half your team to.” Jade looked down before looking him in the eyes.
“There’s more to this,” Jade stated, “What else will I be doing?”
Kage smirked, jumping up from his seat and turning to the door. Popping the door open, he glanced back at her and pointed to the drawer that she had been avoiding. Jade raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
“Even those documents won’t tell you,” Jades eyes grew wide, “You won’t find out until you accept the task. Have a good night Ms. Fayette.” Kage strutted out the room, Jade watching him as he smoothly worked his way around the people bustling around the hall.
Jade looked over at the drawer, letting her mind over the information that she had just gathered. Slowly, she opened the drawer to find it sitting neatly in the correct space. She rested her hand on the folder, before pulling it out and laying it on her desk.
She opened the file and began to read.
White House, Washington, DC
June 7th, 2099
20:05
Karen pounded on the punching bag, her mind focused solely on the heavy metal music that blared in her head phones. Her body flowed, snapping in time to the music as the rage of the music flowed through her body and in to the punching bag. Her hair swung out of the messy bun that it was in typically in, swinging back and forth angrily as she kept hitting the bag. Smack. Punch. Kick. The rhythm flowed as she swam in her own little world. She never noticed the hand land on her shoulder. Not until it yanked her around and forced her to face them.
“KAREN!” He yelled as Karen pulled out her headphones, her head down, eyebrows raised, smile resting on her lips.
“Sorry, Sorry. I was in a zone,” Karen stated as she bit her lips and slipped a giggle out. The man shook his head as he pointed to the door on the other side of the massive gym.
“You’ve got some guy out there looking for you,” He leaned towards her, letting his voice drop so that only she could hear him, “He look suspicious. Be careful.” Karen smiled and cocked her head to meet his eyes. She gave him a brief nod.
Picking up her towel, she pondered over who would be visiting her. She tossed her towel over her shoulder, walking slowly towards the door. Her strides were long, purposeful as she allowed the tenseness of the workout fluctuate throughout different portions of her body. Her green eyes sparkled as several of the people working out waved at her as she passed.
She threw open the door enthusiastically, her reflexes barely catching the door as she started to trip in to the hall. She straightened herself up, not looking up until the last moment when she realized that there was someone watching her. Her eyes widened as she realized the man that she was supposed to be meeting with was watching her with hawk eyes.
“Hi!” She smiled, putting her hand out with a smile, “ You were looking for me?”
The man’s hazel eyes narrowed in on her causing her to shift uncomfortably. He raised an eyebrow as she clenched and unclenched her hands, the urge to run her hands through her hair almost overwhelming her.
“Yes, Karen, I was looking for you. Is there anyway we can take this to your office?” He asked sharply, walking away from her. Karen watched him walk away from her with narrowed suspicion before taking off after him.
She didn’t catch him until he was standing outside of her office door with an exasperated look. She rolled her eyes at him, opening her office door before watching him enter in front of her.She shut the door behind her with ‘snick’.
“What do you want?” She said simply, leaning on her desk as he sat in front of it. “And just who the hell are you?” The man raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her. Karen took in the man before her with a critical eye.
His brown hair was short, perfectly in place. He sat in the chair with his back straight, no slouch seen from him, emphasizing his couple of inches that he had on her. His tan skin paled against the black suit that he wore. His hazel eyes stared at her, the look of judgement passing and swiftly telling her that in his mind she had failed.
“My name is none of your concern. I am here to offer you an assignment,” He stated, laying the folder that she never saw in his hands on the desk.
“What is the assignment? I have a president to protect. Part of the job, ya know?” She stated, watching as the man grimaced at her use of improper english.
“You will be teaching at The School of Evolutionary Teachings. You will specifically work with students in the art of hand to hand combat.” Karen laughed openly.
“Oh, that’s great! I finally work my way up to actually protecting the president, work less than a year, and I’m already back to working as a teacher.”
The man shook his head, “It’s more than that. You’ll be teaching-”
“Yes, special students that are specifically trained in war. Went there for about a year. Look, be truthful. You’re not taking me out of my job just to teach a bunch of hormonal kids on how to fight. Not without a good reason.” The man smirked as Karen cocked her head to the side.
“I guess you’ll have to find out why this is a good reason,” Karen smirked at that statement. Picking up the folder, she flipped through the paperwork.
“Why is there a non-disclosure agreement? It doesn’t even tell you what not to disclose!” Karen eyed the man who was smirking at her.
“You’ll have to take the assignment to find out, huh?” With that, he stood up and walked out the door.
Karen huffed, tossing the folder on the desk she leaned on and crossed her arms.
Covington, Virginia
June 7th
21:00
The sunset fell over the valley. The golden hues reflected off the ground, blending with the grass to give a rainbow effects of red, golds, green and purple. The beauty of the scene burned in the eyes of Breis as she wrapped the sweater closer to her body, attempting to keep the chill that was drifting towards her under control.
Her feet dangled off the edge of the bridge as she laid her head on the second row of planks that were there to protect wanderers from falling off. The sound of water lapping underneath her soothed the nerves that were still raw from the last assignment that she had been on. She wrapped her arms closer to herself, the sigh she never meant to fall echoing through the night.
She ignored the sound of familiar footsteps as they got closer, the same way she had ignored the cell phone that had been ringing non-stop all day, and the random folder that had found it’s way on to her kitchen table that morning. She knew. She knew those symbols, those words, the meaning behind them.
“You’ve been ignoring my calls, Breis,” The deep voice echoed in to her memories, pulling her from now to times when life was a lot easier and when that voice was the only thing that kept fighting.
“There’s a reason for that, Demon,” Breis stated, her voice cold, as cold as the night that was creeping up on her.
“Don’t call me that,” The man standing next to her stated, looking down on the world weary woman. Breis looked up and met the sky blue eyes.
“Did they finally do away with the nicknames, Ace?” Breis face tilted in to an imitation of a smile, falling more in the grimace category.
“No, the nicknames that were part of our team was removed from circulation. I go by--” Breis raised her hand to him, closing her eyes and tilting her head away from him.
“I don’t need to know the nickname. If I’m ever captured, they could use it to find you,” Breis opened her eyes to look back at the sunset, “You’ve grown.”
And he had. The last time Breis saw him, he was gangly teen with red with freckles and sparkling eyes. It was a shock to her system to see a fully developed man with long red hair that fell down to his shoulder blades, his sky blue eyes no longer sparkling but serious, hard. He wasn’t skinny, but filled out to his height. His skin was darker than she remembered, but still that irish pale that he couldn’t get rid of.
“That’s what happens when the last time you saw someone was when you were sixteen. It’s been what? 6 years?” Ace laughed as Breis continued to stare at the sunset. Breis said nothing, not even when he sat next to her on the bridge, his leg lightly touching her own. Breis let the scene take over, ignoring the fact that her past had once again came back to haunt her. Just not in her dreams this time, but in real lide, touching her, being here within sight.
“What do you want, Ace?” Breis finally built up the nerve to look at him, her eyes cold.
“ Come back to Evolutionary,” He said smoothly. Breis immediately shook her head.
“Never.” Breis said simply, as Ace tensed up next to her.
“We need you, Breis. You’re the best at spy tactics. There is no one better than you,” Ace stated simply. Breis watched as he twitched to a watch.
“That’s the watch he gave you,” She stated, as Ace began to openly fiddle with it, “What’s the truth, Ace? There’s more than what you’re saying.”
“I can’t tell you. Not until you join. I can’t have sensitive information in the hands of--” Breis got a sardonic smile.
“The hands of a spy, I know.” Breis pulled back from the plank, leaning back, “There’s rumors in the enemy camp that Evolutionary has been infiltrated by someone. It’s an open rumor.” Ace stared hard at her. “If that has any basis, then they’re trying to pull a team together to try to stop it, or figure out who it is. Even the enemy doesn’t know who it is. What’s the best way? Put the best together and hope they can figure out who it is.” Ace said nothing as Breis continued to watch his expressionless face. She closed her eyes and sucked on her teeth.
“So it’s true. They’re pulling a team together. Who else knows?” Ace sighed as he finally grimaced.
“I can’t tell you who. I can tell you that it’s some of the old group is involved,” Ace said through gritted teeth. Breis smirked.
“So they sent you, someone I knew, to try to convince me to come back to that hell hole with only the ability to give me minimum knowledge of who I’d be working with, and prayed that I’d be intrigued by the idea that it’s one big mystery.” Ace nodded as Breis stood up and shook her head.
“No.”
“Breis--”
“No. You tell them to kiss my ass! I’ve been spying long enough to know that’s a way to get my ass killed... or others.” Breis began to walk away as Ace jumped up and grabbed her arm.
“Listen to me, alright! I’ll accept that you won’t come back on that information. I’ve known you too long. I told them that their tactics wouldn’t work. They didn’t listen. So I dug up some information of my own, information they couldn’t be angry about me giving to you. The enemy knows who you are. You’re a wanted woman, Breis. They know who the Angel of Death is and it’s only a matter of time before they find you here. If you won’t do it for the thrill, do it to save your own damn life!” Ace panted as he watched as Breis’ face shutter from worry to cold.
“I knew this was coming for a long time, Ace,” He barely felt her hand land lightly on his face, “Nothing, not even my own death could convince me to go back to that place. But thank you for caring.”She pulled her arm gently out of his hand and started to walk away.
“And what about us that care, Breis? What are we going to do then?” Ace yelled as Breis turned for a second and looked at him.
“Remember me as Daemon and not Angel,” She said simply, shrugging her shoulder as she walked away and on to the wooded path.
Ace stood there until the sun went down, staring at the spot she had once been.