Legacy (Completed)

Chapter 2

I did the first thing that came naturally to me. I threw my head back and laughed. I didn't hold anything back, expecting the "government agent" to join in and tell me this all some hoax that one of my friends pulled off.

But he didn't join in. He sat there and stared at me blankly, letting me laugh out my nervousness. My incredulity. I settled down shortly after, my eyes searching him for any sense of joke. He was completely serious.

"Why would I help you?" I asked, my tone dropping to a more sassy one. "Not only did you kidnap me, but you've been stalking me all my life? For all I know, you made the majority of this stuff up to seem credible," I spoke back snippily. In truth, I wanted to see what he knew. I watched as a bit of confusion passed over his features, before it was masked back up. With a hidden smirk, I peered into his brain.

What he was confused about surprised me.

'She was kidnapped? But I didn't order that. I'm go-' it was like he realized I was listening in, because his mental barriers shot up. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Don't think I'm dumb, Jacqueline. I know you read minds, and other things." He lowered his head slightly, looking out from under his brows at me in a knowing way.

I leaned back in my chair, my teeth snagging my bottom lip up as I chewed. I examined him, my eyes seizing him up as he stayed still under my gaze.

"How can I help you?" I answered back reluctantly. The man's body relaxed as he folded his fingers into one another.

"I need your help in the capture and containment of Rizal Briones," he spoke, his eyebrows shooting up sincerely. He leaned backwards a bit as if to leave the request on the table for me to contemplate. But there was nothing for me to contemplate. My eyes widened in horror on their own accord, as my mouth dropped open in shock.

"Rizal Briones? The most wanted man in North America?" I screeched, my eyes rolling in exasperation as I shifted uncomfortably in the metal seat. "How do you expect me to catch him? Can't you government people run facial recs on him? DNA analysis?" I questioned, my voice pitched and breathy with desperation.

"I'm glad you asked that," he responded snootily, a smirk ghosting on his lips. He flipped the tablet that was facing me around; his fingers danced over the tablet screen as he moved around to find what he wanted. Soon enough he turned the device around to show me a picture of a man with no features on his face. My lip curled unintentionally in disgust.

"This is Rizal Briones. His ability is that people forget they ever met him once he leaves their sight. The more people remember him, the stronger his power becomes. This is what happens when you take a picture of his face. As soon as you leave, it becomes featureless so you don't remember who he is," the agent explained, allowing me to take in his profile.

It was completely blank aside from his ability and name. Generation 1: L-0090: CRIMINAL. My eyes went back up to meet his as he whirled the device around again, closing the edges and powering it down.

"How do you expect me to help you if no one remembers what he looks like?" I inquired, my eyebrows lowering in confusion. He shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.

"No one in our force is a Legacy. We scanned through the database, checking for possible matches of Legacies that would have an ability to counteract his," he alluded. I mimicked his pose, raising my eyebrow. My hands tugged uncomfortably against their binds, and I brought my attention down to them.

"Can I get these things removed?" I questioned bitterly, jerking my wrists around excessively to get my point across. He nodded, beckoning my hands forward with a wave of his own. I complied, resting them against the table counter as he pulled a knife from one of his pockets. In a single fluid motion, he slid the blade out, cutting my binds off of my hands. I rubbed my irritated wrists before meeting his eyes again.

"Thanks. So, I was the best match or something for Rizal?" I jumped back to the topic beforehand, watching him nod his hands with a shrug.

"The agency believed that with your abilities, you'll be able to help track down Rizal Briones faster than the organization alone could ever dream of," he announced their reason to me, causing me to hum under my breath as I pressed my hands flat to the table.

"And you planned that I would be willing help you without any incentive or reward?" I scoffed, pushing against my hands to stand up. "Don't mind me as I leave this joke and carry on with my normal, everyday life." I turned, heading towards the plain door, when his voice stopped me.

"We'll be willing to pay two million dollars for your services, the capturing of Rizal Briones, and... for your unfortunate arrival circumstances." I paused, snagging my bottom lip as I chewed on it thoughtfully. Two million dollars is a lot of cash. Is it really worth all the problems I'll face though?

"I don't know..." I drifted off. That's enough to pay off my student debt, buy my own house, and still have plenty left over afterwards... I think I'll take the tw-

"We'll raise it to five million dollars," the agent interrupted my train of thought.

"Deal," I responded instantly. The man stood, a smirk on his face as he reached his hand out to me. I accepted it, shaking it firmly as we sealed the pact.

"Glad to have you on board." He smiled, his mustache raising to a somewhat creepy look as he gestured for me to walk with him as he opened the door. I followed behind, my eyes looking for any other people.

I didn't see any. I looked over, watching as the man reached to click a button of a device within his ear.

"Somebody find out where Castellano is and bring him down to central." His finger left his ear, presumably ending the order he had given.

"Did I really have a choice?" I asked, deciding to ignore what he had said into his earpiece. A mask slipped over his face as I grinned knowingly at him. "Even if I didn't comply you would of held something over to me to get me to comply. What? My parents? Best friend? Brother?" I crowed at him, watching with satisfaction as he squirmed a bit uncomfortably.

"You didn't really have a choice, no," he half answered. I hummed knowingly under my breath as we continued down a corridor with a glass door at the end. Behind it, all I could see was a metallic looking wall.

The door opened soundlessly, revealing the noisy bustling on the other side. People hurried to and fro as we walked around a circular platform. They talked on earpieces, nodding to the agent beside me respectably before continuing on. Our feet made metallic sounding steps as we walked across the floor tiles. Unmarked doors lined the wall to my right as we went around, some people bustling in and out revealed glimpses inside. Most of them were office areas.

The wall gave way after a short trip, and my eyes widened in awe. We were on the second story, and below, people were situated in curved rows as they looked at sliver sized computer monitors. Their hands swept in the air as they scanned through data, their eyes reflecting the light.

Above them in the wall opposite sat projected screens, at least half a dozen. Two held maps of the world: one the Western Hemisphere, and the other, the Eastern Hemisphere. Red dots flicked on them, new ones popping up and other ones disappearing. Another one ran through a rapid green code against a black screen. The last three slipped through various profiles, showing real time video of the previous profile that was shown.

"Well, Jacqueline, welcome to the Directory of Legacy Operations."