Jae's heritage

         Jae turned away from the frosty window. Her eyes, normally sparkling with a mischievous glint, were dull.
         The sound of a car were fading away, along with Jae's last family. Despite her attempts to be happy for her brother, it proved almost impossible.
         Another one bites the dust, Jae thought, sliding down against the wall. She didn't know if she would ever see her brother Michael again. The violence of battle in China had become so violent that despite the number of troops America sent out, the injured and dead just kept coming.
         The room around Jae was spotless. Jae didn't accept anything else. Like her appearance and attitude towards others, the room deflected scrutiny and interest, clean and frigid. Not one chair or other object was out of place.
         Jae had been trained to be cold, unyielding, unemotional. She had built not so much a shell as a tank around her heart, desperate to protect it from more harm. Whereas Jae had become frozen and strong, Michael had become emotional and warm. People liked Michael, emphasized with him. People dealt with Jae. She frightened people, because they didn't understand her. Michael did. He was the only one who could find a crack in Jae's armor.
         Jae put her head in her hands, her carefully constructed persona crumbling around her. Her navy suit was wrinkled, but for once, she didn't fix it. A single tear slipped down her cheek, but she made no sound. Jae took a breath and lifted her head, brushing back the loose strand of blonde hair that had slid from her bun.
         Jae glared at her briefcase, making a split decision.
         She was done with being an executive.
         It was time to become a spy. Time to come into her heritage as the daughter of both an FBI agent and a CIA agent.
         
         “You are Jae Televonan?” the man said with awe.
         Jae nodded coldly. “Yes.”
         “Daughter of James and Becca?” he said, eyes wide.
         Jae gave another sharp nod. “Yes.”
         “I'll tell the director immediately.” the man said, scuttling off.
         Jae folded her hands behind her back, her appearance as immaculate as ever. This contrasted sharply with the turmoil within. By this time, Michael would be at the military training space, preparing for battle. Jae was about to enter a service that had killed her parents and left her scarred for life. She had been tortured for information as a child for just being related to a spy. If she was caught...
         Jae shut off her inner voice and relaxed in the silence. Doubt was worthless, as was fear. She had learned that a long time ago.
         “The Director is ready for you now.” the little man said, returning. Jae nodded, and followed him down the dusty hall.

         “My name is Jae Televonan. I am 26 years old, and daughter of James and Becca Televonan. I want to become a spy. I have been training to be one since I was a child. It is my hope that you will allow me to continue training and enter the field as an agent.”
         The Director, a man with trimly cut nails and hair listened quietly. He thought for a moment before nodding. “You will be tested first. If you pass, then you will train. But I must ask: Why now?”
         Jae hesitated. Before Michael left, before her shield slipped for a brief moment, she would have simply smiled coldly and give a vague answer. But this Jae was willing to give a tiny, albeit obscure fact. “It is my heritage.”
         “Your heritage.” the Director said. “If you say so.” The Director pulled a stack of paper towards him and scribbled on one. He signed it at the bottom. “Welcome to the agency, Jae. Pass the test and you will become an agent. It will not be easy. The work of a spy is dirty, thankless, and bloody. But someone must do it. And you must never tell anyone you are one of us, unless it will further your mission.”
         “Understood.”
         
         Word count: 690