Head-Quarters

The HQ

It was an old building that most people didn’t even think was in use any more. Grey cement walls, windows crawling up the side like large, transparent bugs.  It was the kind you walk by on the street, not sparing it a second glance.  And that’s just the way the people who worked at the HQ liked it.

         If someone, by chance, wandered through the front door, he would find himself in a lobby that appeared to be in the middle of some serious renovation.  A security guard, incognito wearing the obstreperous orange safety vest of a construction worker, would go to him and tell him to leave, due to ‘danger’.  But if he managed to convince the poor soul on security that he worked there, he would be admitted through the heavy double doors into the actual building.

         Inside the HQ it was much more high-tech.

The stark white walls and black tiled floors immediately gave and striking first impression.  After only seeing the state-of-the-art computers that lined each of the office’s walls, one would think that HQ could have been the central intelligence office for the entire world.
And, to be honest, that thought isn’t too far off.

Chapter 1 – The HQ
August, 2032

I trudged through the polished halls of the HQ, suppressing a yawn as I made my way to my office, fancying the warm cup of green tea that would soon be in my grasp.  My trainers, making no sound on the marble floor, clashed horribly with my black pantsuit, but I could have cared less.  In fact, I frankly didn’t care about anything except the pounding headache that was budding from a severe lack of sleep, in combination with my lack of caffeine that morning.

When I reached the hall where my office was located, I glanced through the open door of the computer lab where I had been working the night before.  I only had left last night because I was called away to take care of some local security problem at an apartment complex.  Busy work, really.  Gave me a break from our current problem at the HQ.

Inside were two of my colleagues, James and Codey.  By the shadowed looks on their faces, they had spent all night in the lab.  Hmm, rougher night than mine, I s’pose.

James Dorian, who was busy spinning in his swivel chair, caught sight of me and smiled, his white teeth flashing against his dark skin.  The 28 year old was in command at our branch of the HQ, second only to White.  You wouldn’t think it, though.  Despite top grades and a sharp mind, the kid didn’t act like professional material.

“Hello, Sarah,” he said to me, suppressing a yawn.  He quit spinning and straightened his shirt, grabbing an extra mug that he drained the coffee pot into.  “Sorry we don’t have any tea.”  I took it and wrinkled my nose, but I sipped it anyway.  Caffeine was caffeine.

“Any news?” I asked, concerned.  When I had been called away, Codey had been in the process of receiving a message from our spies in America.  Codey Hewitt was our techie, a blacked haired genius fresh out of college.  At the moment he sat at the computer next to James and nodded noncommittally, pale eyes locked on the screen.

James’s determinedly cheerful attitude melted into a grimace.  “It’s not looking good,” he said, brows knitting.  “Neither country is willing to bend, and we’re not supposed to meddle with politics.  And now it looks like the AAA is going to launch an attack on one of the bases in the US.  Looks like we’ll have to let the big boys play, and clean up afterwards.”

“So you think we’re going to war?”  I sank into a swivel, glancing at Codey’s computer.  The HTML made my head spin, so I quickly looked away.

James sighed.  “’Fraid so, sister.  I’m afraid we are.”

+++++

“So, Dorian says there’s gonna be a war?  Wow.  That sucks.”  Maddie grimaced at me from across the lunch table.  I had just finished relating my meeting with James to my friend, and she wasn’t any more thrilled than myself.

Maddie smoothed her thick brown hair back into its messy bun.  No one knew exactly what she did in the HQ, because with her short temper and fiery personality, she wasn’t exactly spy material.  She was originally from Columbia, but had spent the majority of her life in the US.  When HQ recruited her, she took on the alias Maddie Phillips, and ever since she’s tackled all the odd jobs around the office, anything from fixing computers to acting as a hit man. 

“Hello kiddies.  How are we this fine day?”  A tall blonde boy fell gracefully into the chair next to me.  I grinned weakly up at him, and scooted over to give him elbowroom.  And he certainly needed it.  His tall and lanky frame would make anyone else look clumsy, but Nero had grown into his looks, and held himself with a cautious grace.  He was actually rather attractive, with his scruffy, sandy hair and freckles.  But our relationship was strictly businesslike, even though we had gotten to be good friends.  Nero was my partner, and most of my fame as an agent came from his help.  Heck, I could blast down doors and shoot criminals with the best of them, but I couldn’t tell a key from a lock-pick, and disabling security cameras was completely beyond me.

“Hey, Loring, You hear what James and Code found out from our spies?” Maddie asked grouchily.

“Yep.  White’s been furious, seems to think there should be something more we can do.  He knows the rules though, we can’t mess with politics.”  He occupied himself with his mashed potatoes.

“That’s stupid,” I stated angrily.  Nero looked at me oddly, so I elaborated.  “I mean, why can’t we interfere?  They’re being moronic; we’ve gone so long without a war, and we certainly don’t need another one.  The last one almost destroyed us.  Why shouldn’t we interfere if we’re the ones with some sense?”

Maddie’s intense gaze said she agreed, but Nero shook his head calmly.  “You know it doesn’t work like that, Sarah.  Since the HQ doesn’t have loyalties to any county, we can’t go messing around with their dealings.  I mean, we can’t afford being accused of favoring one side if there does turn out to be a war.  That’d be messy; real messy.”

I nodded in submission, still scowling.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up into Codey’s pale eyes.  “You three got to go talk to White, ASAP.  He’s been tense as a bowstring ever since we got that info.”  He shrugged sympathetically, jammed his pen behind his ear and went to get in line for food.
Nero sighed theatrically, and threw away the remainder of the lunch he had been picking at.  He elbowed me playfully as the three of us trudged out of the cafeteria, but I wasn’t in the mood for his antics.  I pinned him with a glare, and he threw his hands up in mock submission, his eyes feigning hurt.

  “Quit flirting, you two,” Maddie crowed over her shoulder.  I growled at the back of her head as Nero chuckled. 
We paused at the end of the hallway, where a non-descript door closed off my boss’s office from the rest of HQ.  Unlike most of the glass-walled offices in the building, White’s didn’t even have a window in the door.  Old man liked his privacy.

Nero heaved another dramatic sigh as Maddie knocked.  “Let’s see what the big man wants with us hapless minions now.”

+++++

The “big man,” meanwhile, sat behind his desk, sighing as he sorted through numerous reports that Codey had printed out.  His head snapped up when we walked in, and he stepped from behind his desk.

White was a big man; tall, trim, imposing.  His creased head was home to nearly white eyes, white hair, and a truly remarkable white mustache.  His suit was immaculate black cloth with a white shirt and white neck tie, and I secretly entertained the thought of him having a new suit ready to wear after every meal, just incase he should spill food on it.  That’s assuming the vampire even eats, of course.
He had this way with leaving you in absolutely no doubt about what he was thinking of you.  It usually made him fairly easy to work with.  He smiled thinly, and you could sigh in relief.  He frowned, and you’re dead.  It was a simple system.

That’s why it bothered me when I couldn’t see behind the craggy mask that veiled his face.  All three of us shifted nervously under his gaze.

“Well, you lot know why you were called here.”

“Actually, we don’t.”  Nero, contrary as ever.  White rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“I have a job for you three.  You’ve all heard about the… conflict, I’m sure.”  We nodded.  “We have information now, so we don’t need spies anymore.  What we need is action; we need infiltrators.  And that’s exactly what you three are good at.  You blend.  Well, mostly.”  He glared at me, and I blushed, fingering a lock of my hair that was bright magenta.  My mane was naturally coal black—like my eyes—save for that pink streak, which had been the focus of a tacit argument between me and “the big man” for a few months now.  I’m too lazy and cheap to re-dye it black, and since a half-inch of black root is already showing, I don’t pay too much attention to his dire threats.  White shook his head as if to clear it of vengeful notions.  “Anyway, Phillips, I’m placing you in the cadet training program.  We need to get a firmer grip in this war.  Loring and Lambioni here are going to cover for you, get information, that sort of thing.  Got that?”

“That’s messin’ with politics, I thought.  That’s cheating,”  Maddie commented coolly.

“Ah well, we’ll just have to bend the rules a bit, won’t we?”