The TALONS Files: the chronicles of telepathic agent Ryan Dart

An Epic Doomsday Weapon

21

After the training, Ryan found himself in the Debrief Room. 

Ryan was looking forward to this moment all day.  Here, he would discuss his dream, or mental link, or whatever it was.  Declan had told him what he saw, while witnessing a sword pierce a slithering reptile, was real.  Ryan wasn't actually there.  He was inside someone else's head.

Ryan wasn't totally comfortable sharing his story in front of a group. He had established a comfort level with Declan.  These strangers made him leery, especially when sharing something seemingly so personal.  After all, last night's episode was like a bad dream.

Declan sat at the head of the table, the LED paneled wall's images flashed behind him.  He waited patiently as three students had filed in.  One of the students was Chloe.  She was smiling at the same boy from yesterday.

Today, his blonde hair was perfectly parted, making him look very professional.    The afternoon sun danced in his cool blue eyes, as his perfectly sculpted face seemed ready for a movie set.  His Asian friend sat next to him, wearing holey jeans and a black anime T-shirt. His hair was Bruce Lee style, kind of a bowl cut.

Across from them, a pretty Asian girl beckoned Ryan to sit next to her.  She was small, about five-two and Ryan wasn't sure if she weighed a hundred pounds.    He could tell, by glancing at her build, that there were muscles underneath her yellow sweater.  Along with her autumn leaf sweater, plain black leggings made her look hip, yet professional at the same time. Her hair was straight, as a ponytail stretched past her shoulders.                 "Hi,"  She said. Her warm brown eyes greeting him enthusiastically, as her face bubbled with delight "I'm Mai Lee.  I'll help you train, you'll be my partner in the field."

Ryan got a sense that he was meeting the well rounded, studious type. You know, nerdy, but in a nice, social way.  It also seemed that she was probably a decent athlete.  She wasn't going to break any world records, but she'd definitely hold her own in a soccer game. 

She seemed nice, but she definitely didn't have Chloe's glamour.  Ryan was disappointed, and she could see it on his face.  "Look this isn't the dating game or anything, chump.  We're here to perform some important espionage."

Ryan shook his head.  "Yes I know, but I was just hoping to get someone..."

"A white blonde girl with pretty blue eyes?"  She said with a pout.

'Now that she mentioned it, yeah that would have been cool.' "Not what I was going to say."

"But it's what you meant, I can read your thoughts jerk!"

Ryan swallowed hard, and said,  "Right, man this is going to suck."

"Keep in mind, this is a partner assignment, not a blind date.  Besides, Gunner's,"  she moved her eyes to the shredded blonde haired boy across from her.  "More my type."

Ryan's face soured.  "OK, I get the point."

Gunner flashed a broad smile towards Ryan, offering his hand.  He was surprisingly nice,  "Hey Ryan,"  The boy said with aggressive politeness, his thin husky voice came across very assured.  "I'm Gunner, we've heard a lot about you and I'm genuinely thrilled to be working with you.  That psycho code name is a bunch of BS.  It's because Dick, and I'm not going to call him the Director, has a problem with Declan.  You're Declan's prized find."

  Ryan was never anybody's prized anything.  He always felt that he was the person no one wanted people to see.  Ryan cowered a bit, as Gunner continued. "This is Phong, he's not only Telepathic, he's great at computer hacking and electrical rigging, stuff like that."  Phong timidly stretched his hand to greet Ryan.  Ryan let go of Gunner's hand and stretched it towards Phong's.  "Very Nice to meet you."