Be Human

Chapter 4

I blink the sleep out if my eyes to see who it is that I was about to choke. Blue eyes, long and dirty blonde hair, choice of clothing. It was Nicole Storm. She's a thief, and specializes in disguises and sneaking about. I remember reading her file, especially after I caught her trying to steal something from me. She's the same age as me, and wasn't exactly born with a lot. That may have been the cause of her stealing things. Over the years, she has gotten better at it and certain corporations started hiring her to steal files from other corporations. When she puts a disguise on, she has this habit of seducing the target, and then kills them. She specializes in CQC (Close Quarters Combat) and likes to use small weapons when it comes to firearms.

I looked into her eyes, and saw surprise within them. Then she smiled.

"Hey there," she said. "You haven't even reached first base yet. What are you standing over me for?"

I look, to see that I was practically straddling her. I glare at her, then get on my feet. I offer a hand in order to help her get up.

"Well, aren't you quite the gentleman," she said, taking my hand.

"Enough with the games," I said. "What are you doing here?"

She looks somewhat taken aback by this, as if hoping that I wouldn't ask. It's silent for a few seconds, before she responds.

"We're being called in," she says. "I was coming to get you, when I saw you all tense and sweaty on your bed. You were spazzing out when I decided to wake you up. That's when you almost, unintentionally killed me." She looked at me expectantly, as if hoping that I would apologize. I decide not to. She kind of brought it upon herself.

"Are the others in there, already?" I ask.

"Not when I left, but they might be there now."

I nod, and start to walk towards the door. I hear her giggle slightly, but as I'm walking out I hold up her phone. She gasps and starts to chase me. But I close the door as she's about to grab me. In the precious few seconds that I have, I go through her photos to see if she took any pictures again. When I'm not looking, she goes and takes random pictures of me, and keeps them for blackmail. I find a few, and delete them all.

When she opens the door, I toss her phone to her. She catches it, and makes a small little pout at me.

"Say, that wasn't very nice."

I shrug, and walk in the direction of the briefing room. I feel something rustling in my back pocket. I turn, and smack Nicole's hand away.

"You're slacking," I say, turning back towards the briefing room.

"No I'm not," she protests. "You're just always catching me, somehow."

I roll my eyes, and walk a little slower just to make sure she doesn't try anything like that again. As we're walking, we see a girl walking by carrying a tray. The tray held things such as pills, cough syrup, and syringes. I turn to see who it is, and I see that it's Jamie. Jamie Spear, my little sister. She turns as well, and stops dead in her tracks.

"David!" she says, trotting over to me, dropping a beaker in the first place.

"Whoa there," I say, catching it and placing it back on the tray. "I know you're excited to see me, but I don't want you getting on trouble."

She smiles, happy to know that I care about her. I crouch down and take a good look at her. Her dark hair brings out her purple eyes. I have no idea how they became purple, but who am I to judge? Mine are gray, with a small hint of crimson.

"How's your medical training coming along?" I ask. When I was sent here, she wanted to stay near me. They wouldn't allow her in, without doing something useful. She was too prideful to clean up rooms, and there was no way that I was gonna let her work in the kitchen. So, we decided that she would learn to heal injured soldiers.

"It's going well," she says, pointing her chin upwards. "I helped apply a cast today."

I smile, and ruffle her hair.

"Good," I say. "You'll be a full-on medic in no time." I stand up, and begin to join Nicole, who was waiting patiently.

"Where are you going?" Jamie asks, beginning to walk after me. I hesitate, deciding whether or not I should tell her. Jamie never liked it when I go out on a mission. She would usually wait by the Compound's entrance gate until I return. I sigh, and think to myself that she deserves to know the truth.

"I'm going to the briefing room," I say, slowly. She then looks surprised, then worried. Jamie never tries to stop me from going, she knows it's pointless. Then she looks determined.

"One day, I'm going to become a medic," she says. "Then I'll be able to go with you on a mission." I smiled, glad to see how determined she is about this. I then stand up.

"I'm sure you will," I say. "I'll see you when I get back, kiddo." Jamie smiles, and then scuttles off. I turn towards Nicole, to see a horrified expression on her face.

"What is it?" I ask, somewhat puzzled.

"You're supporting a child's idea to go out in the field, and possibly get killed!" Nicole says, somewhat frustrated that I couldn't see that.

"It's her dream," I say. "I don't want to ruin it for her. When she's older, she'll most likely come to her senses." I turn and walk away. Nicole hesitates momentarily, and then comes walking after me. We walk in silence, through the twists and turns of the Compound. We reach the briefing room, and I hold the door open.

"Why, thank you." Nicole says, winking at me as she goes in. I roll my eyes, and then go in after her. We enter to see Colonel Adams, along with Thane and Nathan.

"Finally," Nathan says. "What were you two doing? Making out?" Nicole snickers at this, but I just pick up a pen on one of the tables, and throw it at Nathan. It strikes him straight in the forehead.

"Enough," Colonel Adams says. "We need to focus for this." We all focus on Colonel Adams. Adams looks like he's in his mid-forties to early-fifties. His dark hair has streaks of gray hairs, and his beard is gruff and faint. He's a man of authority, especially in this Compound. Adams practically runs the show, and is in charge of most of the operations for the special ops squads. But he saves the best for us.

"Now that everyone's here," he says, looking at all of us. "We can begin. Thane, if you will."

Thane nods, and turns towards a large screen with a map of the Middle East.

"Recently, we've discovered that Compound Epsilon has been raided," Thane says, pointing at Greece. I sigh, this is the third compound to be destroyed. Who knows which one is next?

"They've taken some important files on a prototype weapon that Epsilon has been working on," Thane continued. "We need those back. Whoever these people are, they want to use our weapons against us. We can't let this happen." He has the map zoom in on Syria.

"Our recon drones have discovered the people who invaded Epsilon, and they are located here," he points to a city of Damascus.

"Strange place to make a hideout," Nathan says, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Sometimes," I say. "the best way to hide, is in plain sight. Either that, or they're hiding in their own little compound." Nathan nods at this, and turns back to the screen.

"You will be deployed here," Adams says, pointing at an area of considerable distance away from Damascus. "At a village where some of our men wait. They will supply you with everything you need."

"That's a pretty far distance," Nicole says. "How long will it take for us to get there?"

"Just about two days," Thane says. "Depends on how fast our camels are."

"Camels!?" Nicole exclaimed. "There's no way I'm riding on those things!" We laugh. We knew she would know to deal with it, but still not be happy about it.

"Alright, Phantom," Thane says, facing me. "Think we can handle this?" Nathan and Nicole face me as well. I hate it when they call me by my nickname. It makes me feel less than human.

"Yeah," I said. "We'll take care of it."

"Alright, Phantom Squad," Adams says. "Get prepped. You're leaving within the hour."