Mason Armstrong: Secret Agent

Chapter 5: Briefing Room

"Ah Mason, glad you could join us at 08 hundred and 15!" Mason walked into the Briefing Room slowly, but not too slowly, to see Mr Johnson and the Head of Research towering over a circular desk.
"Sorry, sir. M-my alarm didn't go off"
"If you knew how many times I had heard those exact words, you'd have stopped at 'sorry sir'!"
"Yessir."

The Head of Research was not a tall man, but was unfortunately born with an abnormality causing his head, and all its features, to grow at a much faster pace. This, combined with hours upon hours of studying for every subject in school, led him to be the youngest person to receive not 1, not 2, nor 3, but 5 doctorates. He did this at the age of 13, and was immediately recruited for the role of Head of Research. It also left him the inspiration of many caricature drawings and the butt of more jokes than anyone else in the service. These were things he was blissfully unaware of, and not even Mr Johnson could bring himself to tell him.

"Mason Armstrong, your mission revolves around the discovery of an island in the Pacific. This island is over 70 miles in all directions, yet does not appear on any satellites we can find. It was noticed during a circumnavigation by Pilot Langford, who flies the Spitfire 2018, our newest and best plane." As the Head of Research said this, a hologram rose out of the round table. It was of a hardened man, with short black hair, a grizzly grimace and a little bit of stubble around the chin.
"While crossing the island, we lost contact with him, and it appears his plane went down. His last known location was only a few miles in. We sent in our top researcher, Miss Tulip. She's the only person I know too clever for doctorates, and also the youngest researcher at this facility". Another hologram rose. This one was of a very attractive girl, only just 17, with long black hair, a pretty smile and full lips. Mason felt himself blush, and Mr Johnson narrowed his eyes at him.
"Is this going to be a problem? Because if you can't be professional, it won't take long to find a replacement..."
"No Sir. Not a problem."
"Good. Miss Tulip was sent to find out the origins of such a large island, and to recover any data or equipment from the Spitfire. She accomplished both of these tasks, before disappearing off the map, and we lost contact. The body of the pilot, according to her report, was not present. Her knowledge is very precious to us, and we cannot afford to lose it. With such a landmass appearing unexplained, we need to know if anything... dangerous is going on. So, your mission is this: work out the reasons for the loss of contact with both Langford and Tulip, find and rescue Miss Tulip, and, if possible, bring the body of Langford back."
"Yessir"

Mr Johnson cleared his throat.
"Mason, one more thing. We have a policy here of never telling our recruits who we are or what we do until it is absolutely necessary. As an active field agent, you have reached that point. This service is the ICPA, the International Calamity Prevention Association. We have no government ties, and all the world powers pay us large sums to ensure nothing, anywhere, can pose a threat to the human race. Therefore, I don't need to tell you what happens if any of our missions fail. The potential for that circumstance could be world-threatening. So do us a favour, and get the job done, will you?"
"Yessir. I'll do my best."
"You're best is good enough, young man. Oh, and don't expect to run into any natives while in the field. The island should be uninhabited if it only recently popped into existence. You are dismissed"
"Yessir. Very good sir."
Mason left the Briefing Room with a pounding heart, a massive smile, and a feeling that adventure was just around the corner...