Deck of Cards

Chapter One | Mentors

The Inauguration Excursion occurred once per year, as Chase and Alessia had organized. This was the time when the newest members of the Deck of Cards were introduced to the leaders: the "Jacks" from around the nation. Each of the six Jacks was identified by name, face and title and was the most respected members of the ring.

What about the King and the Queen, though? This young duo is the most feared in the nation: the organizers of the ring. Due to the risk of  a lower level member ratting everyone out to the police, no last names are given. The identity of the King and the Queen are kept the biggest secret of the ring; a secret that only the Jacks are made aware of. Everyone knows that two of the six Jacks are the legendary King and Queen, but only the imagination can create ideas as to who those two can be.

"I think the Queen is Kiernan," Luca immediately heard a hushed voice mumble beside him. There were a total of six new members of the Deck of Cards, with Luca Bioletti standing among them. The whole atmosphere of the room was intimidating; something he wanted nothing to do with. Why couldn't he be stationed somewhere else? Why did he have to spend all of his free time with a bunch of criminals that would shoot him on the spot if he was found out? The nerves were beginning to flood his nerves, rush his body and he could feel himself going numb.

"Snap out of it," he heard a familiar voice growl in his ear and he turned to find the beautiful girl he had been searching for standing beside him. "You look like you're gonna pass out, Luca, at least look presentable," she continued, that typically demeaning tone lingering in the harsh words. It wasn't his fault that he had just graduated from the academy a month prior. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't prepared for this intense kind of situation. His breath hitched in his throat as he heard a familiar voice boom through the room, causing all eyes to look towards the front.

The Excursion had begun two days prior and Luca had already gotten to know each and every person in attendance. Of course, the new members of the ring constantly surrounded him, but he was not here for them. He cared about the six that were calling the shots; the six that were standing in the front of the group of six new members. He raked a hand intensely through his dark locks, his expression morphing from one of fear into a neutral, emotionless one as he watched the blonde girl walk across the floor.

That was Kiernan, the one that everyone assumed was the Queen and ran everything. Her long legs took agonizingly slow steps across the floor, the heels of her shoes echoing through the dead silence of the room. That smug expression of hers lingered on her pale face, her icy irises darting at all six of the faces surrounding her. It was as though she was looking past the surface of each new member and looking deeper, searching for something. When her eyes landed on Luca, she paused and he could have sworn that he witnessed a soft smile replace that frightening gaze.

"My lovely Eights," the tall girl greeted, her Chicago accent breaking the fearful silence of the room. Whenever any of the Jacks spoke, everyone froze. No one moved, no one even breathed. No one knew what these people could do if any rules were ever broken, and Luca did not want to be the one to find out. Elianna, on the other hand, looked unamused, as though she wanted to just arrest the girl right then and there.

"Blend," the boy whispered with an almost mocking undertone to the simple word. He caught a glare from the tanned girl beside him, knowing that if he continued to speak, she would have been more and more tempted to pull her weapon right then and there on him.

"Yes, that's right. You are all officially the Eights of the Deck of Cards," another voice stole the thunder away from the girl on the small stage and Luca's dark eyes flickered to meet those of Tanner, the one that had served as his own Jack for the past month or so.

The structure of the Deck of Cards was much simpler than Luca could have expected. On top rested the mysterious figures of the King and the Queen. They ran the game, they set up the plans and they were in charge of everyone around the nation. Behind them stood the almighty Jacks, the six girls and boys in the front of the room that had all six new members wrapped around their fingers. They each were in charge of a city and the sector of that city. Kiernan was the Jack of Chicago and Tanner was the Jack of New York. Behind Tanner, though, appeared the four missing Jacks: Brielle of Houston, Micah of Los Angeles, Chase of Denver and lastly, Alessia of Miami. The next in the line of power were the ten cards. These were the members of the gang that had been involved for the longest period of time. They were, as Luca had learned during the initiation period of the last two days, in charge of the weapons and represented the support for the Jack. The nine cards were the geniuses of the group, but not in the creative way. They hacked the security systems and made sure that the plan was technologically flawless. The eight cards, finally, were the new ones. They typically gathered the money while the others did the rest of the work.

The Deck of Cards is organized, efficient and admirable. That is what makes them the most dangerous crime ring in the United States and that is why the FBI has sent in two of its top students to attempt to break them down from within. It has been up and running for approximately a year and have robbed thirteen banks throughout the nation. They are disguised with masks and dark clothing and the King and Queen make special appearances. They have been involved in ten out of the thirteen robberies. Luca and Elianna had been sent into the center of the ring in order to discover who lies beneath the Queen of Hearts and the King of Spades.

"Congrats," a female voice chimed loudly, causing all eyes to look to the left of the room. There stood the most flawless girl that the boy had ever laid his eyes upon: Alessia, the Jack of Miami. "But don't think that you're off of the hook," a devious smirk painted across her full lips, a glimmer dancing through her eyes. "We're not done testing all of you. There's one more test and trust me, it's the most important," she explained, her eyes lingering on the worried faces of the eights in the room, lingering ever so slightly on Luca.

"Interning," Chase emerged from behind the group, standing close to Alessia and draping his arm lazily around her petite shoulders. She casually ducked out from under him and rolled those bright eyes of hers, which caused a silent chuckle to bubbly out of Luca's lips. "You will be spending the rest of the excursion with one of us. And by one of us, I mean someone different from your hometown Jack," he took a dramatic pause, letting his words dance in the silence, filling everyone's minds.

"Curious yet?" Kiernan broke through once again, flashing a dazzling smile before stepping down and revealing a bag. "It's time to pick the names, so, I'll go first," she announced, reaching into the bag and yanking out a name. One by one, everyone was called.

"Elianna," a deep tone bounced off of the walls, catching the attention of Luca's partner. "You're with me, sweetheart," Tanner smirked, causing yet another soft chuckle to break out of Luca's lips. Everyone had begun to pair off, leaving the tall boy wondering whom his mentor was.

"I guess that means you're with me, Luca," He heard that velvety voice from behind him, a chill trailing up his spine. The way his name rolled off of her tongue made him weak at the knees and when he turned out, the sight of that smirk on her lips made him realize that this was about to be much harder than he originally assume