Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice

Fledglings

As I pull up at work and reach behind my seat for my bag, a bus with blacked out windows pulls up next to me. Shit. I'm late. I was meant to be here before the Fledglings arrived. I can see Maggie, my assistant, jogging towards my car. Watching Maggie try to run can actually be quite comical. She has red curls that bounce whenever she moves and she teeters along on her six inch stilettos, looking like a mad woman from all the concentration it takes to not fall down. 

I climb out of the car and Maggie ushers me inside as fast as she can.

"Stall them!" I hiss at her as I run for the elevator. The elevator is small and you could only fit four or five people inside, so the Fledglings will have to be brought down in groups and wait outside the elevator, so I can buy myself a little more time. I run down the entrance corridor and head for the Training Room when Wade grabs my arm and pulls me to a halt.

"You're late, Jen." He smiles at me, though I am clearly not in the mood to be annoyed.

"Yes, Wade, I'm late. But you are not exactly helping me. I have to be in the Training Room by..." I check my watch, "...Three minutes ago!" I push Wade away and carry on running, making it with just enough time to get my shit together. I pull my pistol from the back of the waistband in my jeans and make sure I have a full mag. As the entire group of blindfolded Fledglings is led into the room, I make sure that my gun in held in plain sight at my side. They need to know who is in charge here. A nod from the leader of the security team is my cue to begin.

"Blindfolds off, Fledglings!" I bark, though I cannot help but feel a little sorry for them. They pull their blindfolds off and I can see the fear in their eyes; especially in the girls. I slide out of my jacket so that I am wearing nothing but my dark gray skinny jeans and a black tank top. The security team is leaving and I will need to be comfortable for this, so I am not even wearing any shoes.

"My name is Jennifer. You will more commonly hear me referred to as 'Agent 7392', as that is my agent number. When you finish your training programme, you will each be given an agent number. I am the person that you will report to several times each day. Lateness and disregard for the rules will not be tolerated in this department, am I clear, Fledglings?" The group nod in response. "Welcome to Skyline."

A boy with pale skin and sandy hair is the only person that dares to move. He looks around thirteen or fourteen, one of the youngest in the group. He takes a small step forward and raises his hand. I turn his way and raise an eyebrow.

"What's your name, kid?" I ask.

"James." He mumbles back, all the time eyeing the gun in my hand.

"Don't worry about the gun, James, I won't use it unless I need to. What's you're question?"

"What is a Fledgling? And what is this Skyline place?" James steps back again, still keeping a firm eye on my gun.

"Well, James, you are a Fledgling. That's what we call the new additions to the department. Skyline is an under the radar government project. We take out current and potential threats to national security as subtly as we can manage." I explain to the group. I tuck my gun back into my waistband and James speaks out again.

"Take out threats? What do you mean?" But he knows what I mean. I can see that he understands.

"We kill them. We are, to keep it simple, a government funded assassin unit. That is what you will be trained for. Any objections to your task will result in immediate deletion. Trust me, the last thing I want is for the company to have to delete any of you, but appropriate measures need to be taken to protect our organisation's privacy." Just as I finish talking, Wade and Maggie enter the room.

"These are the Fledglings?" Wade asks, beginning his inspection.

"Yeah, this is group twelve. They've been briefed on the company, so they can be taken to the other room to finish up." I answer, shoving my cell phone into my black leather messenger bag and hitching the bag up onto my shoulder. Maggie hands me her iPad with a message on it that I need to pick a team of ten from the group of forty Fledglings. I want to ask her why but I have learned that I must simply do as I'm told. My questions are not necessary. Wade obviously knows what I have to do, as he turns to me and inclines his head.

"Well, Jen, pick your team." I survey the group of what can only be described as children. It takes a while, but I pick my team.

A petite redhead that reminds me too much of Maggie for me to leave her, a tall and strong looking black boy with a puckered pink scar down the side of his neck, an olive skinned girl with fire in her eyes that cannot be ignored, a porcelain skinned young girl with chocolate hair and eyes that can't be any older than fifteen, several other boys and one more girl that stand out, and James. Young and inquisitive James that I can not stand the though of being deleted. 

"Good job, Agent 7392, that is your own personal team of Fledglings." I whip around to see Tyler, one of highly ranked company supervisors, standing with his hands on his hips at doorway. "Wade, pick your team. After wade has chosen, one more team will be selected. This team will consist of fifteen Fledglings, not just ten. The final team will be selected after a full day of training. You better show us everything you've got, because the five of you that are not chosen will be deleted." Tyler says nothing more and leaves the room. Wade chooses his team and the final twenty Fledglings are left stood in the centre of the room. We can see in their faces that all of them are thinking the same thing: game on. Because when you are playing for your life, you are not on a team anymore. These kids are alone in this, and they know it.