The Eyes of Fate (Currently in Rewrite)

The New Guy

A Young Man

Washington State, USA

October 1st, 2019

Looking up at the building, the young man wasn't sure he had the right place. It looked like a cross between a castle and a farmhouse, massive and made of expensive looking stone but also rather practical looking. There was a massive bay of windows around the right which the young man assumed had to be bulletproof. The surrounding area was mostly open, with a pond around the back side of the house and woodlands next to it. There were some hills off to the left of the house, and a handful of smaller buildings scattered around which he couldn't even begin to guess at the purposes of due to how plain they all looked.

All in all, it certainly didn't look like the headquarters of the most effective team of mercenaries in the world, the Eyes of Fate. The young man had been expecting something businesslike in a metropolitan area, not a mansion in the middle of nowhere. The young man counted himself lucky that he had managed to catch a ride out this way, since he'd only planned on walking to his destination. There weren't even any guards around, just cameras.

Perhaps this wasn't actually their headquarters, but a testing ground. Surely a team like this wouldn't be putting their home address on a flyer, even though it had been well hidden on the dark web. That could attract all sorts of unwanted attention, from law enforcement to the undoubtedly numerous enemies that the team had made over the years.

All of this went through the young man's head as he walked down the gravel path toward the door. His eyes were alert for any traps, even though they would have to have been incredibly well hidden for him to have not already seen them. There was always a possibility, though, given the reputation of these people.

When he reached the door, the young man gave three sharp knocks, just as the flyer had said. The door swung open, seemingly on its own. He had seen the camera, however, in the eves above the door. It was about the size of his thumbnail, and the young man had to wonder if this was a test of his abilities or if he was overthinking it. The young man went inside and took a look at his surroundings.

The inside was well lit by sconces on the wall. The foyer had a large staircase that led up to the second floor and a massive chandelier hanging overhead. The walls had a pictures frames on them, with various city skylines and scenic nature views on display. The young man recognized the Las Vegas strip and the New York City skyline, but the others were a mystery. He also spotted several more cameras in strategic spots on the wall and ceiling, and he guessed that they probably had a combined view of the entire room to eliminate any blindspots. There were four hallways on the ground floor, one on either side of the stairwell and one on the right and left walls, leading off into darkness.  

The young man looked down each hallway, noting that the first few sets of lights turned on as he approached them. When he stopped at the rightmost hallway, he could faintly the voices of several people. Taking a deep breath, he headed off towards the voices. As he walked, the lights in front of him turned on when he approached them, and the lights behind him started turning off. The walls were more bare, only an occasional picture or piece of art. 

The young man kept his eyes peeled for any traps, but other than the regularly spaced cameras the house appeared to be normal. How could this be? If this was a testing ground, where were the tests? No guards to sneak past, no automatic gun turrets or tripwires set to mines. What kind of place was this? Where were the people he was supposed to be meeting with, or at least their proxies?

The young man was so distracted by his train of thought that he almost walked right past the door where the sounds of people were coming from. He shook himself for a moment before knocking on the door. He didn't receive an answer, and the noises didn't seem to die down, but he heard the distinctive sound of a lock clicking, so he tried the handle. The door swung open easily into the room.