The Revelation

Chapter 4

               The car came to a sudden halt. I was pulled back into the present by the sudden movement. Man, that day had been three years ago, I realized. Yet it seemed yesterday. That day was branded in my mind. It reminded me of the choice I had made…the way I had chosen the course for my life and a million other things…it was my present now.

              The driver was looking back at me, waiting for me to get out of the car. I realized that I was slow today, too lost in my thoughts. I quickly got out and thanked the driver. The driver nodded and took off again. I tried to clear my head, focusing myself to concentrate on the present and looked around. This was my regular spot for starting my missions. I was in one of the many small streets connected to AH-45 highway somewhere near red hills. It was the middle of nowhere. Maybe it had once been lived in by people, but a wildfire some years back had destroyed all buildings leaving the area completely abandoned. So of course it was a perfect place for them, and they had built a small building-like structure for themselves. But knowing them as I did now, I wondered whether they had been the ones to start the fire in the first place so that they can get the area to themselves… I knew what they were capable of and wouldn’t put it past them to do it.

           Many of my team had already gathered. I saw their silhouettes reaching across the street towards me. I looked down at my watch and noted that I was right on time as I made my way towards the figures standing in the shadow of the building.

        Suddenly, a limo came to a sudden halt right in front of me. It missed me by an inch.

      “Hey…”I began at the driver, a few cuss words ready at the tip of my tongue.

       Just then the door opened, and its occupants clambered out. I caught the face of the first person to get out the car by the moonlight reflected on his face and the words got stuck in my throat.

         “You…”I snarled at him.

          The man turned around to look at me. On seeing me, he smiled broadly and greeted, “Hey, long time. Good to see you again.”

           I felt another surge of anger build up inside me. The nerve of him to act so casual, I thought. I recognized those light blue eyes dancing with excitement and his face all too well. It was James.

        The people from the shadows emerged from the shadows towards us. I saw Joseph…wait, what was he doing here? He never came on the missions…maybe to brief us perhaps? Following him was my regular team head Louis and they joined us by the car.

          Joseph gestured towards me and spoke to James carefully; stressing every word, “Thomas, this is Rosalie.”

         He understood and so did I. It was another rule that we work only under codenames. Only the top people who recruited us knew our real names. It was good move to prevent any traitor amongst them to leak out any information that could get us all caught. I wondered whether the name Joseph, James and Louis were their real names. It probably wasn’t. As for me, I always worked under the name Rosalie.

            “Get into the car everyone,” Louis ordered.

            It was then that I noticed the only other person who had got out of the limo. I knew her as Nancy. We had been together on a lot of missions. She was first to get back in the car and James gestured me to follow. Ignoring him, I climbed in. The limo was simple on the inside with two seats which can accommodate three people each; placed opposite to each other. Nancy and I sat on the two corners on one side leaving a wide berth between us.