Jonathan Mayers: Origins

Chapter Nine

The next few weeks were not heaven, however they were not the hell that Jonathan had been warned about. He was beginning to think Sunil and Matheus Plattenhardt were over reacting. The facility was like any school he had been to before, just that instead of Maths and English he was taught how to use a gun or how to disguise himself in a crowd.

In fact, he was even beginning to forget the grim intent of the classes. The teachers found ways to make the instructions pretty fun, which served to fuel the recruits desire to learn. In the first few weeks, Jonathan had already learnt how to disassemble and reassemble several types of rifles in less than a minute; he could wire a bomb ( he didn’t know how to make it detonate yet though) and in the judo lessons, he could now at least block one of the instructor’s attacks. This last achievement was particularly special, considering the Instructor was a Japanese criminal who had killed at least thirty people over a 6 year span, not with guns or knife, but by simply beating them to death.

And this was a common theme with all the instructors; all of them had been criminals at some point in their lives. In fact, some of them, like Kevin Millhouse, the espionage instructor, had been picked up straight from prisons all over the globe. How exactly they did it, Jonathan had no idea, but in all honesty, he didn’t mind.

But as interesting as the lessons, or the backgrounds of the instructors were, they simply couldn’t compare to the diversity of the group of recruits Jonathan shared the complex with. In all his years of schooling, he had never experienced such a vastly different set of energies, emotions and mindsets. He got on pretty well with all of them, even Zoria, who had slightly softened up since their first encounter.

Luan Grimaldo was undeniably the quietest of all the recruits. A 17 year old boy from Argentina, he never spoke up unless he absolutely had to. That being said, Jonathan learnt very quickly that he wasn’t one who took bullshit from anyone, and once he got worked up, a barrage of words (most of them swear words) ensued. He wasn’t particularly tall, maybe 5”6 at the most, but his muscles were well developed, leading Jonathan to believe that he came from a background where hard work was the daily routine. His bronze face was framed by a mop of curly brown hair, and he nearly always had an intense expression on his face, as if deep in thought. It was no wonder, then, that Luan was the best out of the recruits when it came to espionage, particularly picking up and analyzing information.

Xavier Pachelli was the oldest recruit, at 26 years old. Like Jonathan, he hailed from Italy, although his hometown was Naples. A good natured man, he always had kind words for everyone. His fair face always carried a smile for everyone. However, since he was undeniably the best when it came to the skill of manipulation, it left Jonathan wondering how much of it was really true. All he knew about Pachelli’s background was that he had to survive on the streets of Naples, robbing and killing for a living, and he had lost a younger sister.

Jack Armstrong, a 23 year old guy from New York, was the most skilled when it came to firing weapons. He could hit a target from almost any distance, and in the times when the recruits had been brought to the firing range, he was the most accurate, hitting the center circle almost every time. Tall, with dark brown skin and thick black hair, he wasn’t exactly the kindest or most sociable person, but that being said, he wasn’t completely mean or anti-social. He just kept to himself, only joining in when it was absolutely necessary. However, he wasn’t against helping others, as he had volunteered to help Jonathan with his shooting technique, a suggestion which Mayers gladly accepted.

Liam Grealish was quite possibly the closest thing Jonathan had to a best friend at the facility. His cheerful demeanor instantly drew him to the lad from Bristol, and the two of them were soon close friends. Liam’s pointed ears and light blond hair gave him the appearance of an elf, despite his tall stature, a fact which Jonathan constantly teased him on. Liam came from a rich family; his father owned a football team in the lower divisions of english football, and his mother owned a clothing line. Liam had joined JHF “just for the fun of it,” although Jonathan could tell that his father’s wealth wasn’t all to clean, and that JHF most likely had some part to play in it. Like the other recruits, Liam was skilled in a certain aspect, in his case, it was Hand-to Hand combat. No one had yet landed a blow on him in sparring sessions, and in fact, he had come the closest to landing a hit on the instructor.