The Big Four in Black

Chapter 1

I looked down at myself and brushed off my skirt nervously. I had rushed over to HQ as soon as I got the call. 'Great,' I thought. 'I wonder what boring job they've got for me this time.' But I was just trying to calm myself down. Perhaps this time it wouldn't be so boring, so commonplace, so . . worthless. I'd never been called to this briefing room before, nor had I ever met Commander Krain in person. I took a deep breath as the heavy doors slid open and the security guard ushered me through. Krain motioned to me to sit down in one of the soft leather chairs which were situated around the triangular white table. I sat down slowly, hardly daring to breathe. It was only after I decided that this definitely wasn't a dream that I saw the others in the room, and I could hardly believe my eyes, though, being a trained agent, I kept my feelings carefully hidden. They were Jack Overland, Merida MacDuth, and Hiccup Haddock. I knew Jack was from America, and Merida was from Scotland, but I was still uncertain as to Hiccup's original home. I snapped out of my thoughts as Krain spoke.

"Good evening, agents," he said, his voice deep and smooth. "This is a quick briefing concerning several unusual incidents which happened simultaneously this morning." He paused and flicked on the large screen on the opposite wall. "This," he continued, motioning to it, "is a clip from a security camera in Washington D.C. prison." The screen showed a darkened work yard, still as shadows. Then, all of a sudden, alarms started going off and people could be seen running toward the exit, with uniformed guards chasing after them. But for some reason, the guards seemed drunk, for they were slow and clumsy in their movements. However, my brain said, that couldn't be, for there was no alcohol allowed for either guards or prisoners in the facility.

The video stopped, and Krain flicked the lights back on. I blinked, and berated myself for not noticing they were off sooner. "The other two events were a breakout at the New York Asylum, and an unexplained explosion at Area 51, Nevada." At that I stiffened. 'Area 51? Weird.' "I'm sending you four out there to investigate. Hopefully, it's nothing important, but remember your training. Always suspect something. Now, this briefing is coming to an end, so here's any additional information you might need." He handed us each a set of papers, which I looked at curiously. "I'm putting Agent Overland in command of this team." He looked at us pointedly as he said that, and I chuckled inwardly. Upper FBI agents, especially from the S.B., are prone to bossing people around. Even if they say they're "taking control of the situation".

"I expect you to act like a team and get this solved ASAP." The four of us rose in unison and nodded. "Good. Dismissed."

I followed the other three out of the room thinking, 'I'm on a team!'

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