Solitude

Chapter 10 (The Eye 9.1)

CHAPTER TEN

            Alex found herself in front of the steel double doors of The Eye, seeing it again after how many years made her remember everything – from the very first moment she stepped inside those doors to the day she left the place she called home for years.

            It was a rainy night and little Alex were cold and shivering, she’s being carried by her father and her mother is following them. They entered an abandoned building and she wondered why. Why is her father taking them to an abandoned building on a night like this? Shouldn’t he be taking them in a warm, dry, and comfortable place? So, why this building?

            She jumped when she heard the sound of metals clashing somewhere in the dark, truthfully, that sound scared her that she wanted to cry. But she won’t, her father told her that big girls don’t cry over small things, and she is already a big girl.

            When the big doors opened, the light flooded through the whole place that made her blink. What she saw after going in would never be erased from her memory. The huge lobby painted in cream with soft couches, the huge signboard that said “The Eye” at the back of the reception desk, the nice smiling lady who greeted them, and the blaring lights on the ceiling arranged in a very odd way.

            They were taken to an office – which later she discovered as Carter’s office. She couldn’t help but noticed the people rushing through, talking about things she didn’t understand, the people in small cubicles, facing their computers – she had never seen such number of computers in her life –, and some people yelling  at each other on the other side of the glass walls in language strange to her.

            A man walked in the office wearing a big smile directed to her father, in her young mind she concluded that maybe they know each other. What surprised her was when the strange man also greeted her mother, questions such as how could he know her mom popped in her mind. As she looked around the office, she noticed how huge it was – the carpeted floor, the huge dark mahogany desk, the paintings, the photos, the comfortable couch she’s sitting on at that moment, and the computers on his desk which are obviously expensive.

            How could her parents know such a rich person? The sound of her name interrupted her thoughts. She found herself being introduced to the strange man that surprisingly is her godfather. She gave him a small shy smile that he responded with a grin and right at that moment, she decided that she like him.

            Alex grew up in the small but huge world of The Eye, and as she grew older and became more mature, she realized what The Eye is all about. She was taught that The Eye is like a secret agency of the government and yet at the same time not. It is connected to the CIA, the FBI, and the Interpol, but the files of the agency is on its hands and could never be inspected without proper consent. The agents working inside go undercover every time, that is why every agent connected to The Eye is trained in a very special way.

            The training is not all about physical and how to fire a gun. Agents have to be experts in every martial arts known to man, they have to learn how to sing, how to dance, how to act, and how to be domesticated. It is needed because there will be instances wherein an agent will have to play as a dancer or a very simple person who seem to just go on with the flow.

            They specialized in infiltration. Though it’s the most dangerous and the hardest thing to do, each and every one of them have to learn how to infiltrate and how to pretend as if you’re one of those people you are targeting. They have the power and the license to kill anybody that will hinder the investigation, but as much as possible, they avoid that situation.

            Alex became an official member of The Eye when she turned fifteen, by that time she already passed every exams and every trainings she had to undergo. She got her license and her whole family celebrated that night. She was very, very happy and looking back, she regretted being that happy because after that is a heartbreak that made her world fall apart.

            It was an ordinary Tuesday and nothing interesting happened but a phone ring changed it all. The phone rang almost eleven that evening and only a few agents are left on the work area after the call was answered, a panic call rang around the whole building waking up every soul that was around that night including her and her mother.

            When they entered the work area, the very first thing they noticed is the grim set on Carter’s face, as if something very bad happened. Well, based on the panic call, it sure looked like something terrible had happen, maybe they lost another comrade. Just the thought of it made Alex sweat because in this agency, they are all family, from the newest member to the oldest.

            Her mother asked what’s wrong and based on the sorry eyes of Carter as he looked at both of them, made her blood run cold. She stood there paralyzed when she heard the words “missing” and “assumed dead” and “body found”. The dinner she had earlier climbed back on her throat and she rushed to the comfort to throw it all up.

            After a few minutes, the reality was sinking into her. Her father’s dead, he’s not coming back, dead, not coming back, those words kept on popping in her mind. she slumped on the floor, feeling defeated, holding her head in her hands, and trying to control the sobs coming out from her.

            All the dreams, the promises, and the plans that were made by her whole family for their future was gone, just like that. The smiles, the laughter, that voice that belongs to her father was gone. How could she ever face life again if a huge part of it had been taken away so abruptly, without a warning or sign? What would she do now, now that the one they lean on to would never come back? She just sat there and let the darkness take her, hoping that it would dull the ache on her heart.

            Alex woke up with a start, forehead sweaty and tears running on her cheeks. She didn’t want to wallow on the past and for years, they’ve been trying to move on – she’s been trying to move on. But now, here she is, back to square one, back to the misery, but she won’t just stand in the corner this time, she’ll do something for her, for her mother, and for their family.