Bullets and Beauty

Chapter 1

        It was 7:30 in the morning when my alarm went off. I wake and sit up with a start, blinking sleepily as soft light from the rising sun filters through my curtains. I stretch for a moment before smiling, letting the music from my alarm play out and heading to my closet to get dressed for the day. Five minutes later, I am heading down the hall to my sister's room dressed in jeans and a dark purple t-shirt. I shake my head as I hear her sleepy groans of grumpiness. I sweep into her room, turning off her fan and opening the windows with a flourish, taking a moment to glance at the brightening sky. I smile; "Time to wake up Annie. The sun is up, the sky is blue, and it is the dawn of a beautiful day!"

Annie grumbles and burrows her head under her blankets as I sit down on the bed next to her. I study her stubborn form for a moment before speaking cheerfully "Annie, we have two options here. You can get up of your own free will, or I can pull these covers off your bed and then go out and shut off the air conditioning until you wake up from the heat."

The covers come off just enough for me to get a glimpse of her grumpy face. She squints her eyes at me. "You wouldn't."

I grin, standing up as she shifts into a sitting position. "I would and you know it. Come on girl, there's no time to ignore your alarm today. We have school, and then we're going to the park to meet George."

Annie looks at me in surprise as she gets up and heads to her closet. "We're meeting George today? When was this arranged?"

I walk over to her mirror, twisting my hair into a quick but secure bun as the muffled sounds of my sister getting ready comes through the closet door. "Yesterday evening. I got a text on the burner phone saying to meet at the usual spot for an assignment." I finish fixing my hair and turn as Annie comes out dressed in black jeans and a green t-shirt.

She comes to stand next to me, elbowing me good-naturedly out of the way as she brushes her own hair. She meets my eyes in the mirror before speaking; "I thought we had a few weeks off after that last mission. I mean, we did save the entire western power grid." She finishes brushing her hair and pulls it back into a messy ponytail.

I shrug, and shoot a grin at her. "Don't tell me you aren't going stir crazy on this vacation. Besides, it has been a week. I'm surprised they held out this long." She finishes her hair, and we migrate to the bathroom.

I turn on the water, quickly washing my face as my sister laughs and says; "That's true. I am more than ready for another mission. Any idea what that might be?"

I shake my head, blindly reaching for a towel to dry my face. "No, he was very secretive. More mysterious than usual which is really something. We're going to have to wait until we meet him after school to find out." My hands find the towel and I dry my face.

Annie sighs, setting down the toothpaste. "That dude get can on my nerves. He never tells us anything! It's like talking to a brick wall." I laugh shaking my head, and we finish getting ready before heading downstairs.

We quickly pack our backpacks, each grabbing some yogurt for a fast but satisfying breakfast. We chat idly among ourselves until the clock reads 8:00 and we finish up our breakfast and rush out the door with a quick kiss goodbye to our parents. We jog down to the bus stop, getting there just as the bus pulls up. We step up, heading to our seats, and slide in next to our friends as the bus pulls away. Annie and I are next to each other, in the last row of seats at the back of the bus. Annie start chatting happily with some friends while I take out a book and start reading. I am vaguely aware of the conversation around me, and it turns to George and his mysterious message. Apparently the entire team had been contacted. I sit back and let my mind wander as Annie fills everybody in on our part of the message.

I smile as I start to reminice. I have been a part of The Freedom Foundation for about three years now. The foundation works to promote freedom and research, as well as a variety of diplomatic opportunities. I had joined at 14 years old as a way to get some high school credit, and for the many and varied opportunities it offered to high school interns. Four months into interning there, I had been offered a job of sorts. The Foundation had put together an unofficial task force to help in situations where other authorities and forces couldn't. We were to work in the enforcement and undercover division of the foundation, and everything about it was top secret. In the beginning there were only four members. Malina Stone (myself), James Kingston, Rosaline Jones, and Peter Thane. Each of us had certain skills that the Foundation thought would be invaluable to the team. And it worked. We had helped to stop terrible things, and protected the security of freedom as well as diplomatic relations time and time again. Two years passed with just the four of us making up the team. About a year ago, we got some new members. Annabelle Stone (my younger sister), Liam Price, Juliet Holloway, and Tommy Martello. Now I am 17 years old and the team has doubled its original four members. We still go on missions given to us by George. He is our supervisor. After all, you can't have a bunch of kids who run around saving the world left unsupervised. George is there to make sure that we never get in too far over our heads, and he does a fine job of pulling us back up when we do. I grin slightly remembering all the good we've done.

I am snapped out of my reverie when James taps my shoulder. I glance at him, and find him grinning at me. He leans over the back of his seat to face me. "Why so quiet Stone? And what's the smile for? Thinking of someone special?" He teases while wiggling his eyebrows.

I laugh, shaking my head. "Not by any stretch of the imagination, but nice try. I'm just wondering what craziness George has cooked up for us now. He was very mysterious, even more so than usual. He also seemed a bit too smug for my liking."

James tilts his head, and the others exchange glances. I look over at my sister, but she is just as confused as I am. Annie cocks her head to the side and narrows her eyes before smacking Liam on the shoulder. "Hey!" Liam yelps, "what was that for?"

Annie fixes him with a probing look before pinning the others in her gaze as well. "Alright guys, what gives. Something's up and I want to know what it is and why Malina and I are out of the loop." I say nothing, sitting back and sweeping a steely gaze over the others as Annie interrogates them.

Liam shifts slightly and then catches himself, adopting a neutral expression before speaking again. "What? Nothing's going on. And if there was, Malina would definitely know about it right? I mean, her and James were pretty much the founding members of this team. She's always in the loop for stuff, and you are by association because I doubt there is much, if anything that she doesn't tell you." Annie narrows her eyes further, glancing at me for a moment.

I catch her gaze and shrug slightly, shaking my head. I don't have a clue what's going on this time. Annie nods before turning back to Liam, her eyebrow raised. She lets him sweat for a moment, but one look around at the rest of our friends and she can tell that answers will not be forthcoming. Finally, she sighs settling back in the seat next to me. She gives the rest of them a pointed look before speaking. "I know something is up. But don't worry, Malina and I will figure it out if it's the last thing we do." She nudges my shoulder with a grin. "Isn't that right?"

I smile slowly, a syrupy sweet and unnerving smile that I know the others are terrified of. "Absolutely Annie. But I bet we won't have to wait too long. I'm sure George will explain everything after school today." I settle back in my seat, picking up my book again. "Until then, all we can do is wait."

Annie frowns slightly, not content with the waiting idea. She looks at Liam again and he squirms as she debates with herself internally about whether or not to try interrogating him again. She finally shakes her head and sits back with a look of annoyance. I smile slightly. If it had been anyone else, Annie would have pushed until she got an answer, as would I. But this is our team, and we do trust them. Even if Tommy is practically vibrating with excitement about whatever the big secret is.

Within the next few minutes, the bus pulls up next to the school. There is a collective sigh as people stand up and brace themselves for the long day of learning ahead. I grimace internally as I remember that I have math first period. We exit the bus and the team splits up, each of us going our separate ways to our respective classes. James and I have math together so we enter the classroom together and find our seats. We share a look as the bell rings and class starts, before opening our text books and diving into the world of Algebra with matching pained sighs.