Agent Goldfinch

Rewind

Rattywriter  this early update's for you ;)

Maybe it'll help if I rewinded a bit? Let's see...

June 1st, 2023

I was so relieved. School was finally over and I had a whole summer to relax until yet another year of school that would drain me physically and mentally.

Just as I was lying in the grass with a boba and a hat over my eyes, I soaked up some sun and began to relax without the stress of ten page essays when a shadow loomed over me, blocking my sun.

Tipping my hat back, I asked, "Do you mind?"

"Actually, I do," came the reply from the extremely buff shadow.

I bounce to my feet "alright, I'll move." Once I stand up, I see how tall he is, and his glittering eyes. His jawline could cut diamonds (okay, okay, I know that's cringey) and his hair has just the right amount of curl that it falls adorably over his eyes.

Ugh, unfortunately he's hot.

"No, no, please, stay."

He's definitely a paid actor.

"Why?" I tease, feeling really confused.

"You are Vanessa Payne, right?"

"Yeah, but why would you need to talk to me?"

"Do you trust me?"

I should not trust this mystery hottie. I mean guy! I don't know him, I don't know what he's up in, I don't know how he knows my name, I don't know why he needs to talk to me.

But yet... I have a feeling about him. He gives off a magnetic energy that instantly draws me to him, makes me trust him unquestionably.

Not good.

"What's your name?"

His eyes flicker, "Tate. Tate Crown."

Oh god, even his name is hot.

"I trust you more than I should, considering you're a total stranger," I pause to put my book in my Taylor Swift tote bag,"But I'm dying to know what you want to tell me."

"Is that a yes?" His lips curl up.

"You won't kill me, right?"

He chuckles, "Not you."

Ugh, I know, I know, I'm dumb and gullible and I trust too easily and I should be more cautious and it was a spur of the moment decision.

But screw that.

"What do you want to tell me?"

"Come with me."

Yeah, I don't know how I became a secret agent either.

I follow him out of the park until we reach skyscrapers. Instead of going into any of the buildings, we kept walking, and I accidentally tripped on the kerb.

In the blink of an eye, Tate grabs my arm.

"You good?" He pulls me up effortlessly, his muscles flexing against his black t-shirt.

Okay, maybe it wasn't totally an accident.

"Yeah, but tell me Tate, why should I trust you?"

"Have you ever heard of the intelligence agency Birds of a Feather?"

I squinted "Uhhhm, no. That sounds like something out of a movie."

"Well," Tate says as we turn a corner, "it's as real as can be."

In front of us is a rather desolate looking convenience store with peeling paint on a sign that reads "Sparrow Convenience".

We go inside and it's dark and dank. Tate walks straight to the back of the store, shooting a quick nod at the man sitting behind the counter and leads me to a row of boxes. He shifts the stack like it's nothing, revealing a shiny white door.

"The Birds of a Feather have a junior training academy." He places his hand on the door and it lights up.

Like in a movie.

The door opens. "And we're recruiting you to be part of it."

What.

Actually.

What is happening.

Am I alive?

Not real.

Definitely a dream.
Or a movie.

I stumble through the door, still very much shell shocked and Tate follows me, shutting it behind him.

We (sadly) didn't automatically enter something that resembled the 2016 Barbie spy film.

Instead, we enter a boring looking office. A woman sits behind the IKEA style desk. Her face is sharp and severe with her short, shining silvery hair curling lightly beneath her chin. Despite looking around sixty, her blue eyes burn.

"Hello Ms. Payne."

"Um, Hello Ms..?"

"Steele."

Intense.

"Ms. Steele." I smile.

"As Agent Crown should have filled you in, I trust you know about our junior training academy?"

"Not much." I admitted.

Ms. Steele looks down at me. "Ms. Payne, I have been running this junior training academy for twenty two years, and I have only personally met with trainees before their training four times. You stood out."

"Pardon me, but I don't quite understand. I'm less spy material than anyone I know. I can't run a mile or hack into secure databases."

Ms. Steele's eyes roam a sheet of paper in a file folder she's holding. "Your grades aren't anything groundbreaking, you're not as strong as our other recruits, not exactly a tech wiz or an acrobat. But you can be molded. Because you don't particularly stand out in one area you have the potential motivation to master all of them."

"You're recruiting me on a... hunch?" That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard and in the last hour I've heard some pretty outrageous things.

"I'm recruiting you because you have drive, because you're fiercely stubborn, and because I see something in you. And twenty five years in this business means I'm rarely wrong."

I open my mouth to say something but she's sliding a thick Manila envelope across the stark white table.

"This," she jabs the folder, "is an assortment of information packets, an acceptance letter, and promotional flyers for legitimacy for Camp Egrets, an exclusive science sleepaway camp that lasts for two months."

Her icy eyes bore into me. "The same length as the first section of our junior agent training program."

"Small problem," I speak up, "my parents are never going to believe this."

"We're sending over an agent in," she paused to look at her watch, "two hours and thirty-five minutes. I would suggest getting home and showing the acceptance letter. Training starts in three days. Transportation will be provided. If necessary, we'll figure out how to contact you. Any questions?"

I shake my head as I stand up from my chair, overwhelmed. "Wait, actually, I do have one: how did you find me?"

I look up, but she's gone.

"What..?"

"She does that," Tate's voice comes from the doorway. I'd almost forgotten he was there. "Let me take you home. It'll be faster."