"I really don't like this disguise," Rebecca commented. Her hair was now dark brown, her colored contacts made her gray-blue eyes look brown, and her mask made her face look too strange. It didn't seem right. Rian's disguises were much different than the HIA's style of disguises.
"The more you hate it the better. Now let's go!" They had gone back to the plane, due to Rebecca's request of having a disguise.
"Fine." Rebecca muttered.
****************
Abaca, Fiji. He’d always wanted to travel to the tiny tropical island off of Australia, but now he knew the trip would be ruined.
Conner’s worries were eating at him, and he realized how hungry he was. He set the coordinates to where he needed to land and switched the plane into autopilot. As he moved back towards the rear end of the plane, he couldn’t help thinking about what he had left behind.
The ASW (Agency for Specialized Weapons) had looked pretty demolished, but he couldn’t give up hope that there would be any survivors. He had a bad feeling about what was about to come, a weight in his stomach that wouldn’t go away. It seemed like many Agencies had started taking sides. The HIA had already been attacked by the CGG (Chrys Ghoad Gang), the SIASS (Society to Improve America’s Secret Systems), and the FNTTMS (Society to Improve America’s Secret Systems) before it allied with the GCA (Global Conservation Agency). The ASW had been allies with the HIA for a long time, and was recently destroyed by what Conner believed to be the SSAWPS (Secret Society to Augment Women’s Political Status). There were various agencies connected to the HIA around the globe, but Conner now wondered how effective that would be once the real fighting started. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was a secret organization nobody knew about yet that was forming alliances with their enemies. He wondered if the UCAPS (Union to Cure America of Privileged Societies) had somehow survived.
He worried about Rebecca. Thinking about her recent attempt to suicide made him sick to his stomach. Someone had done something truly horrible to her mind, and he wasn’t sure if she had fully recovered. He thought about the dreams and the coincidence that theirs had been the same. Then he wondered if maybe someone was playing with his mind. The FNTTMS was continually becoming a larger threat because of their new discoveries. But why would the FNTTMS want them to have the same dreams?
He shook the thought from his head as he grabbed an apple from the fridge. He smiled at his idea to even have a refrigerator in his Techni-shard plane. He headed back towards the front of the plane and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get thoughts of Rebecca out of his head.
He wondered what she was doing about the ASW explosion. Was she looking for survivors? Had she found any yet? He wondered if she had told anyone about it. He took a bite out of his apple and sat back down in the pilot’s seat.
He hoped she wasn’t putting herself into any danger.
************
“You don’t know me, but there is a secret organization known as the Supreme Assembly of the Great Unprecedented Brotherhood. The leader, Gideon Mather, has begun an organization that he calls the USS, the United System of Societies. The FNTTMS, the SIASS, the CGG, the SSAWPS, and what is left of the UCAPS have all joined this organization under their supreme leader, Gideon Mather. They are looking to defeat agencies all around the world, and as soon as they have enough numbers to try to overcome the HIA, that is what they will do.”
“Who are you and how can I trust what you say?”
The informant paused, glaring at the agent standing in the shadows. “I cannot tell you my name, but I will have you know that I am a friend of one of the sons of this Gideon Mather. His name is Lawler, and because he informed me of this I have made it a point to stop their organization, for who knows what agencies they will come after next?”
The agent had no choice but to believe what he was hearing, but he was still skeptical. “Why are you telling me this?”
The informant sighed. “Your corporation is the strongest of all. That is why the USS wants to come after you the most. Our organization requests that we join in alliance with your agency to better help you and aid you. In return, we ask the same.”
The agent paused, thinking. He didn’t know what the Administrator would do, but he was almost sure that his next actions would be for the best and that the Administrator would approve. “We accept on terms mentioned in our Treaty of Alliance. We accept the alliance of the Secret Training for America’s Respectable Soldiers. The STARS and the HIA are now allied to assist each other in resources and battle.”
The informant smiled and exited through the door. As Agent Spencer Bowers walked back to his car, he wondered how the Administrator would react once he heard of the alliance that had just been made.
***********
"What do you think Laura was talking about?" Kalyia asked Imraan softly.
"I don't know.... It seems that Agent Pang's been with these guys almost her entire life. She's probably more on their side than ours." Imraan commented.
"Do you really think that she would betray us?" Kalyia questioned.
"I don't know... You noticed how she switched to Dutch all of a sudden? Why would she be hiding us from something?" Imraan said.
"And what about that 'other place' that would be this agency's last resort?"
"Probably somewhere close by that's more powerful than Denmark right now." Imraan guessed.
"Oh, you're not even close,” came a voice.
"Laura! We, uhmmmm, we were just- " Kalyia exclaimed in surprise as Laura walked up to them.
"Stop it, Kalyia, I know what you're talking about. I'll only speak in Danish if it doesn't concern you." Laura replied.
"The language wasn't Dutch?" Imraan asked.
"It's a common mistake among Americans." Laura replied, as if she had to explain that for lots of people.
"As for the 'other place', Agent Olsen didn't know whether he should trust the two of you or not. The last resort is a very guarded secret among this agency. He couldn't tell amateurs like you so quickly, despite my being here." Laura explained.
"How does he know that we're amateurs?" Kalyia asked.
"Number one, it's very easy to figure out, for various reasons that you shouldn’t bother yourself with. Number two, I told him," Laura said. "Now stop talking, trust me, and follow us quietly."
****************
"So you'd like to join this organization, Miss Ryans? For what purpose?"
Rebecca looked around the room. She had walked in without anyone to recommend her; so as a result, they were testing her in an empty white room with only a speaker and a hidden microphone.
"I support your cause and wish to fight for it!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"And do you have any training?"
"A little bit of martial arts, but that's it."
"Do you work for any other organization?"
"No."
"You will be tested so that we can see your 'martial arts' capabilities. Please walk through the door to your left and continue down the hallway until you enter the arena. Thank you for your interest in SSAWPS and we hope you don’t last."
Rebecca did as they instructed and entered what appeared to be an arena a bit like the HIA's, but without the high technology. Suddenly, a wooden puppet appeared in front of her and, reacting, Rebecca round house kicked its head off.
"Rebecca, control yourself. You just did a medium level martial arts kick. A 'little bit' of martial arts training wouldn't leave you with that much skill." Rebecca thought to herself.
The testing was very easy, especially compared to the HIA's entrance test, but Rebecca managed to make it look hard for her, but manageable.
The loud speaker in the arena then came on and said, "Congratulations, Miss Ryans, you've made it into the SSAWPS. Please continue through the door to your right."
****************
"Quiet!" Ignea commanded.
"We've been hunting these tunnels for three stinking weeks! And the only things we've found are a few guards and an empty room. Can't we take a break in the sun?" Anitania, Ignea's advisor, complained.
"We've been sent on a mission! We must capture their leader before the DANE organization escapes!" Ignea replied harshly.
"But we've been down here in the sewers for three weeks! Surely they've seen us coming and ran for it! We're almost out of rations and energy anyway!" Anitania argued back.
"No! We must succeed!" Ignea replied. "We must!"
****************