𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄━━━━Five Hargreeves

2

❝ Five Hargreeves ❞

Alex's first impression of the Commission was nothing more than an office building.

It was big, cold and scary. Sure they had a room for time and space traveling briefcases, sure they had a hundred flavors of yogurt in the fridge, sure they talked about murder like it was a math equation. But it was nothing more than an over glorified 9-5 job.

The actual building was huge, with so many sectors and hallways that Alex would have been lost twenty times over if it hadn't been for the person leading him.

His first day, the Handler— the blonde woman that recruited him— had led him through the maze of the corridor and into an old fashioned classroom with a projector that was playing a kids movie. At least he thought it was a kids movie until the little cartoon briefcase started to explain the basics of the Commission.

His head still hurt trying to make sense of it all. For his whole first week, he had no practical assignments, so he would just go outside and stand in the sun. It was everything he had imagined it would be.

Thirty years in a fucking facility. He didn't know whether to get mad or cry about it. In the end he did nothing.

The sky was paler than he thought it would be and the clouds were arguably his favorite. He loved all of it— the grass outside the building, the bird calls, the chatter of his colleagues, the colors that painted the sky every sunrise and sunset.

Time went on, as it does. When Alexander was younger, he still held out hope. His naive little fifteen year old self thought he would get out of the facility soon, that someone must be looking for him, that his mother would come to save him.

It was a childish notion of course. Hope.

He'd learnt not to let it get to his head anymore.

He remembered being a kid, thinking the whole bunker thing was a joke. He remembered thinking he was in a sitcom, something, anything other than the harsh reality he had to face soon.

Everything had seemed so much better when he was a kid. The colors had been brighter, the people seemed nicer, and his biggest problems had been what the scientists would serve for dinner.

And now he was working as an assassin. Great.

He wasn't complaining, god no. He'd take the Commission over his bunker any day. But he still longed for normality, for a mundane life like he saw in movies and tv shows.

At the Commission, no one batted an eye at the mention of violence, murder or torture, they discussed it like it wasn't happening to real life people. Real life people that were hindrances, Alex made sure to remember. He fit right in with those psychopathic assholes. All of the planned assassinations and quick kills were just part of normal lunch chatter.

The more time passed, the more Alex settled in.

He could get used to this kind of lifestyle.

He passed through all his gun and combat training with flying colors, excelling so much that even the Handler had dropped by to congratulate him. After that, it was easy to make friends.

For the first time, people his age (or at least he assumed them to be his age) sought him out. (him!) They wanted to talk to him, they liked to get to know him. They drank with him, laughed with him. For the first fucking time in his life, he felt something close to normal, the closest he would probably ever get.

He may not have had a childhood, or even teenage years. But he had the rest of his life to do whatever he wanted the way he wanted.

His first mission was simple enough. Something connected to a country gaining its independence. Alexander didn't question how his superiors knew exactly whom to kill to make time flow as they wanted.