X-Team: The Black Project

Lost Friend

[9:45 am Fri, 2038]

James stood in his apartment, cooking breakfast. He cracked two eggs on to the hot pan that let out a faint sizzle. He took four strips of bacon out of a container in his fridge and placed them on a pan next to the one cooking eggs. He placed each down nicely and started to heat them up. After every couple of seconds, he would move them on the pan with a spatula. The smell of bacon and eggs flowed throughout the apartment. Once he saw they were done he turned the heat down to zero and slid the food he had made onto a plate. James sat down at the bar across from the stove and began to eat his breakfast.

After he finished his food he got a call from Briggs. Briggs was the captain of the squad James lead. James would tell Briggs what he wanted him to do and Briggs would relay the message to the squad and how they were supposed to do it. James had only been leading the squad for a couple of years now. Before that, he was partnered with a higher level agent named Henry Smith.

"James, something has come up. We need you to come in, immediately." Briggs informed.

"Wow, you sound almost serious. What did Director Colely forget how to tie his shoes again." He jested

"No, James. This is something real, now get down here, now." Briggs told with the trace of sadness.

James got dressed in his suit, this time mostly white. He grabbed his keys and walked into his private elevator. he pressed the button that leads to the basement and started to descend. A few seconds passed and he had made it to the basement. He walked 10 feet to his car in a private parking space. The car was a white and black Chevy Camaro. James found out being a trained spy and assassin did have its perks, like being paid lots of money. He smiled and hopped into his car. He fired the engine and it roared. James used the large centre touchpad and turned on automated driving. The car left the parking spot and set off to the CIA headquarters now located in Seattle after a terrorist attack destroyed the base in Virginia.

James thought about what was going on at the base. He was thinking that a new info broker stepped in for Jeronimo or a terrorist threatened national security. The usual for an experienced agent of his age. None of his theories would, however, be correct. The car parked itself and then shut off. James walked into the headquarters and signed in with his badge, he briefly spoke to the woman at the desk and then left to the 30th floor via elevator. He arrived into a meeting room and saw Directors Colely, Marshal, Neave and Watson, as well as Briggs. They were all looking at five individual copies of a mission report.

"Good you're finally here, maybe you actually do care about your job," Colely said with attitude.

"I know right, nothing says not caring about your job like doing it flawlessly." James shot back.

"Yeah, as if," Colely said plainly. Colely had never liked James, ever since James came to work as a fulltime agent, Colely has been against him.

"Gentlemen, Please. Now, James, It is well known around here about your friendship and the ended partnership with Agent Smith." Director Marshall stated as she opened the mission report.

"Henry? Yeah, we go back a long while. He was the one who trained me after Marcus died. Isn't he on some mission in Europe?"

"Well James, that's just the issue. He's not, at least not anymore." Director Watson addressed.

"Then where is he, what's he doing. He's fine right." James asked.

"He's dead," Marshall said bluntly.

"What?....." James questioned, trying to process what he had just been told

"He was on an undercover mission working for an arms dealer, named Heath Malcolm somewhere in Europe when his cover was blown and he was captured by the dealer. Late last night they sent us a video of his execution." She slid an electronic tablet to James.