Into the Apartment He Goes

Agent Cartwright’s apartment complex consisted of a series of buildings spaced in an ordered manner. Each building had four separate apartments, spread between the two floors. Nick had an upper-apartment. Taylor silently crept up the stairwell, watching for any would-be-enemies. He paused before X’s apartment door and slowly turned the knob. It was locked. Taylor knelt down and picked the lock. He held his breath as he coaxed the door open and slipped into the room. The silence was eerie as he took in his surroundings. The dining room was to his left, with the kitchen connected to its far end. To the right stood the living room, with a hallway leading to the only bedroom and bathroom. It was dark; but Taylor didn’t dare to use any form of light, depending on his eyes to adjust to the darkness. From his crouched position, Taylor could not make out any living beings in the dining room, kitchen, or living room. However, he heard a slight murmuring coming from the single hallway. Taylor advanced to the noise, trying to discern the origin of it. As he got closer, he could hear two voices coming from behind the bedroom’s half-closed door.
“Mayhem and his games, I feel bad for this guy. Mayhem can’t just take what he needs, but he has to give this guy a personal hell,” said someone with a deep voice.
“Just be glad it isn’t you. Besides, that Cartwright fellow might never find out what happened. Think about it. He’s unconscious in an alley, covered with injuries, on a cold November night. He has a better chance of bleeding or freezing to death than getting up,” said someone with a Jersey accent.
Bleeding? They must have not seen him heal. Which means, he didn’t heal. Which means he’s in trouble.
“If I were him, I’d choose the first choice. I hope that guy at least looses a finger to frostbite though. My jaw still hurts from where he punched me.”
“Yeah, and my stomach isn’t doing so well; but, it’s nowhere near as bad as what Jackson got. He’s waddling like a penguin.”
Good for you, Nick.
“Poor guy will never be able to have kids now.”
“We better get going. Koven is probably getting impatient waiting outside for us.”
Koven?

CLICK

“Hey guys,” someone Taylor assumed was Koven said as he pressed the barrel of his gun against Will’s neck, “look who I found.”
The two men came out of the bedroom and looked first at Taylor and then Koven.
Koven continued, “Nixon is going to be ticked off when he finds out we did his job for him.” Koven let out an amused chuckle. “I can’t wait to tell him,” he said as he took out his cell phone.
“Wait,” the guy with the Jersey accent said, “how about we don’t tell him we have Taylor and let him stakeout the apartment until he finds out?”
“Even better,” Deep Voice said; and they laughed at the idea.
Koven relieved Taylor of his gun and pushed him down the hallway. Taylor knew that he had the best chance of overtaking his captors in the narrow hallway. Its size restricted movements, preventing the men from surrounding him; but once he made it to the living room, his chances of success greatly dwindled. Knowing this, Taylor turned on Koven and kneed him in the groin. He followed up by snapping his trigger finger, taking his gun, and knocking him out with a blow to the head. All this occurred in four seconds. By then, the two other men had drawn their guns; but neither of them shot.
“I don’t have any tranqs,” Deep Voice said.
“Of course not, Koven had them all.” Realizing his mistake, Jersey gave a sheepish grin to his partner.
Taylor smiled as he shot the two men. Then he tranquilized Koven for good measure. He pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed the number he wanted.
“This is Agent William Taylor. We have a missing agent, Agent Herbert Cartwright. I’m not sure of his exact location, but I know he’s in an alley in critical condition. I would search around West Schubert Avenue and the surrounding areas. Also check all the local hospitals. I also need a cleanup team on 738 West Schubert Avenue. On the top floor, apartment to the right, there are three people who need to be taken into custody.” He waited as the other person replied and continued, “Yeah, I have them tranquilized. It was done quietly, so the neighbors are probably unaware. They are Mayhem’s men, part of Bayer’s division. Make sure they’re put in the custody of John Astor. Ok, thanks. Bye.” Taylor entered the bedroom and found Nick’s keys, wallet, and cell phone lying neatly on his bed. Other than that, the room was in order. Taylor picked up the things and left the building.

Pop Goes the Weasel

Taylor contemplated the day’s work as he got into his car. He whistled as he saw the time light up on the car’s clock. 3:28 in the morning. This has to have been, the busiest day of my life. He stifled a yawn as he started to back out of the parking lot. I didn’t even get to buy some more coffee, with all this excitement. No pick-me-up in the morning. Oh, look at that, it already is morning. I wish I could just take the next couple of days off and sleep. After driving idly, letting his mind wander, for a few minutes, Taylor’s compassionate nature got him thinking about the mysterious Agent X again. After a few minutes of debating, he finally decided to give Nick a call. I’ll just make sure he got home safely. For all I know, he could have fallen asleep behind the wheel and rear-ended an old lady. Taylor let the home phone ring until the answering machine picked up and then tried Cartwright’s cell phone. No answer. He must be really out of it, or in serious trouble. Oh, come on, Will. Paranoia is setting in from lack of sleep. Nick’s just really tired like me. Probably didn’t even bother to take off his shoes before he plopped into bed. Uh, then why do I feel like I should check on him? Alright, I’ll just do a quick check and make sure. I won’t even get out of the car. Just see if his car is there and leave. Taylor changed his direction for X’s apartment complex and reached it in a couple minutes. Great! His car’s not there! It doesn’t mean that he’s not okay, but where else would he be this late? That’s when he saw the car. I recognize the license plate from the hotel. It was parked close to us when we were getting Matthews. I remember because I studied all the cars to make sure nobody was in them watching us. Taylor slammed his fist into the dashboard and started dialing his cell phone.
“Come on. Pick up,” he muttered to himself.
“Taylor?”
“Astor! Are you still at work?”
“Yes, why?”
“I think Mayhem found us.”
“What?”
“I just stopped to check on Cartwright. His car’s not here, but somebody else’s is. Somebody from the hotel we were staying at.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. We’re going to have to move Jean sooner than we thought. They might even have guys coming to get her now.”
“I’ll get a team ready for transport. You don’t want to go home Agent Taylor, not if they have guys at Cartwright’s.”
“I don’t plan to.”
“No, I know what you’re going to do; but you know as well as I do that going in there alone is like wrapping yourself up and giving an early Christmas present to Mayhem. Wait for backup.”
“You know as well as I do, Astor, that if Nick is in there, a five-second delay could mean death for him. I’m going in now.”
“Be careful.” and with that Astor hung-up.
“Don’t worry. I will.”

**********

Jean had decided to get some sleep and had successfully done so for the past half-hour. Now, her beauty sleep was interrupted by her cell door opening. After she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, Matthews saw two guards walk into her cell.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“We’re moving you early, Miss Matthews. We just got word that Mayhem sent off a crew to come get you. Follow us to the van. The rest of the transport crew will be waiting there.”
Jean followed the men into the corridor and followed them toward the end of the hall. They were three-fourths down the corridor when the door at the end opened up and out stepped a distinguished-looking man with a bullet-proof vest on over his shirt, followed by five more guards. The guard on the right of the distinguished man took out his gun and shot the two guards next to Matthews.
“That wasn’t Tom of Kevin,” he said.
“Now it’s nobody,” said the distinguished man. “Miss Matthews, are you all right?”
Jean nodded her head, not knowing what to think.
“Good, Lansky, you said Tom and Kevin were supposed to be here?”
“Yes sir.”
“Can I see your radio?”
“Yes sir.”
“Control base, this is Astor. Give me whereabouts on Tom Lyndon and Kevin Lassiter.”
“Roger that. Security cams show Lyndon and Lassiter posted right outside the cell door of jail block A.”
“That’s impossible. We’re standing right in front of where you say they should be, but we are the only ones here.”
“Sir, I don’t see you or your team showing up on the cameras. Something is wrong with the—There! Right there! It’s a loop sir. No telling what’s in that hallway.”
“I want this place on high-alert. We don’t know how many enemies could be in here. Some might be dressed like our own. We already killed two in here. Search the premises and find the source of the loop.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Astor,” Jean said, “the men mentioned a van outside with a transport crew.”
“Control, send men outside and look for a van that’s not supposed to be there.”
“Roger that.”
“Alright men, our job is to get Matthews out of here. Lansky, is—.” Before Astor could finish his sentence, the power turned off, sending the corridor into darkness. A few seconds later, a faint humming sound could be heard as the lights turned back on, dimmer than before.
“That would be our back-up generator,” Lansky said. “They must have gotten into our power grid.”
“Let the games begin,” Astor said.

Sleep Depravity

John Astor stared at the report the two agents had handed him earlier. “Boy, those two can be a handful,” he thought to himself right as someone knocked on his office door. “Come in.” William Taylor walked in and handed Astor another manila folder. Astor flipped through Matthew’s new life. “You’re sending her to Montana?” he asked.
“I heard that she grew up on a farm,” Taylor replied.
“Well, it looks good to me. We’ll send her ASAP.”
“I’ve got to ask you, Astor, is Nick’s real name really Herbert?”
Astor couldn’t keep a grin from spreading across his face. “You looked him up. Yeah, yeah, it is really Herbert Cartwright.” They spent a while laughing, and then Taylor asked, “Why does everybody at the Bureau call him Agent X, then?”
“He is really touchy about that name. Why, I don’t know, but he likes being called by his last name. That and the fact that he’s so mysterious got people calling him Agent X. Why did you decide to call him Nicholas?”
“Oh, when I was in 12th grade, I had a classmate named Nick. He was always quiet, rarely spoke. At graduation, one of the kids pulled out a gun and started shooting. Nick took him down so quickly, we almost didn’t see him do it. We were all pretty shocked. No one knew Nick could do that. Anyways, only one person was shot, one of the teachers, and he lived. I guess our Nick just reminds me of him, quiet and overlooked until he snaps into action.”
“Will, you had a messed up childhood.”

**********

Nick groaned. Could the Volvo in front of him be going any slower? He fought off the temptation to blare his horn and the urge to sleep. Mmmm…..wuh? I almost did it again. I should have just asked Taylor to drive me home, me and my pride. Nick watched as the black Volvo turned on to a side street. His mood improved until he realized that the only reason the Volvo had turned was because there was a roadblock ahead. He followed the black car onto the narrower side street. Nick started to drift into sleep when he realized that the Volvo had stopped. Stupid Volv—two cars swerved out of the alley behind him and blocked off any escape route. A trap! If only I wasn’t so sleepy, I could’ve seen this coming. Nick unbuckled his seatbelt and clicked off the safety on his gun, but it was too late. They had the element of surprise. Two of them had already reached the car and disarmed him with three more coming closer. Nick leaped out of the car and struck the taller man that was trying to subdue him in the throat with enough force to collapse his trachea. Nick followed up with a powerful kick to the other man’s groin. The others were on top of him now, striking any part of his flesh that happened to be available. “Stand him up!” a voice barked. Two of the men held onto Nick as a distinguished looking man with sandy blonde hair and cold, blue eyes stood before him. The two men Nick had struck were still lying on the ground. The one he had hit in the throat was clearly dead. The other was whimpering quietly.
“Bayer,” Nick said as he spat out blood.
“Ahrens or Herbert. Figures you would have a wimpy name. Of course we found out who you are.” He paused long enough to punch Nick in the stomach. “You caused me a lot of trouble taking Matthew’s like that.” This time he punched his captive in the face. Then he grabbed Nick’s face gently but firmly.
“What? You want a kiss, Bayer? Sorry I killed your boyfriend over there.”
“Cute,” Bayer said as he tightened his grip on Nick's face, “you still have a little fight in you. Don’t worry; we didn’t come here to kill you…yet. We’ll have her soon. You might want to worry about Taylor though.” He chuckled as he kneed Nick in the groin. “Message from Mayhem: don’t play the game unless you know the rules.” With that, he struck Nick on the side of his head. The last thing he felt was being dragged into an alley, thrown onto something that was soft and hard at the same time, and having something pressed into his hands. “Sweet dreams,” came Bayer’s cold chuckle, and Nick finally succumbed to cold, deep slumber.



**********



“I brought you some food,” Agent Taylor said as he came into Matthew’s holding cell, “You look like you can use it.”
Jean turned around and smiled when she saw what Taylor was holding. “Chocolate, how did you know?”
“My sister always said that she didn’t need my sympathy; she needed my chocolate. Look, you don’t have to be afraid. We’re going to get through this.”
“How can you be sure? What if relocating me isn’t enough? I’m surprised that Mayhem hasn’t found me already—“Worrying never helped anyone, so calm down. Bad things can happen, but you have to keep fighting for the good. Now, eat up. I’ll be here to check up on you in the morning, and there will be two guards posted outside your cell at all times,” Taylor said as he got up to leave.
“Agent Taylor?”
“Yeah?’
“Thanks. I just never want Mayhem to get his hands on my work.”
“Me either, Miss Matthews.”

Of Conflicts and Plans

“Imagine what Mayhem could do with that information,” Astor said. We were in Astor’s office, giving him the report and getting our orders.
“Probably sell it to China or North Korea,” Taylor replied.
“Yeah, but he can’t do that until he perfects and collects the formula, and for that, he needs Jean.” I said.
“And you, Nick. If he knows about you, he’s going to carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey to discover the secret of rapid healing.” Taylor paused and continued, “I think both you and Matthews should be placed in witness protection.”
“Now wait a minute! I don’t need to be protected, and we don’t even know if Mayhem knows about my “incident” yet. As a matter of fact, we should place you in protective custody. If Mayhem finds you, you won’t be able to pee without someone helping you!”
“It’s not the same thing and you know it!”
“Gentlemen! Settle down.” Astor shouted. We stopped and looked at him. He continued in a soft voice, “Look, X, Taylor was just looking after your safety; and, Taylor, X has got a point there too. You, Jean, and X are all in danger, but that’s what the job’s about. You are protecting this country. Alright? Now, the only one going into witness protection is Jean; but if she’s captured, which she won’t be, X will be placed into witness protection too. We have to assume that she’ll tell Mayhem everything.”
“Don’t call me, X.” I said quietly.
“Sorry, Cartwright.”
I sighed and tried to calm myself down. I know I’m not happy about the idea of being placed in witness protection, but I’m usually not this irritable. Suddenly, I started feeling woozy. My head felt like lead as I lowered it into my hands. My eyelids felt droopy. The only thing keeping them open were my stiff fingers.
“Are you okay?” Astor and Taylor asked simultaneously.
“Yeah,” I said, “just a little tired. I think I’m going to go home and take a nap.”
“Do you need someone to drive you?” Taylor asked?
“Naw, I got it.”
“Alright, just be careful.” Astor said. “Taylor and I will finish up here.”

And Now You Know Continued...

“Yeah, right. The FBI will protect me from Mayhem. I’m sure you’re aware of his capabilities. He’ll find me and you two before the week ends,” Matthews said.
“Well, what do you want us to do? We can’t just let you go. Mayhem will definitely find you then.” I paused to collect myself and started again. “Look, the Bureau, Agent Taylor and I, are gonna do our best to keep you safe, alright? Just trust us.” I replied.
Matthews stared silently at the table that was in front of her.
“One thing I want to know, Miss Matthews,” Taylor began, “is how did you heal?”
“To be honest, I’m not exactly sure. I have a pretty good idea, though.” Matthews sighed and continued, “I was the first person to be tested on; but it didn’t work. The cut I gave myself didn’t heal any faster then it usually would. We thought that it had been killed by my immune system, but --I don’t know-- maybe it was just dormant. Oh, the cut that I got while removing your watch is gone.”
I looked at my wrist and realized that it was gone.
“Well, like Agent Cartwright said, Miss Matthews, trust us. I would die before anything happened to you.” Taylor contemplated what he had just said, “That was a poor choice of words.”

**********************

Somewhere in the recesses of a place I can not name, a meeting was being held. One that a person wouldn't want to find himself attending, for the room had an eerie feeling that hung about it.

"These are the two men who took Matthews." said a man in a suit as he slid two manila folders across the table to another impeccably dressed man who was seated at the other side. "We haven't identified them yet, but we're getting close."

"When you find them, give the dark-haired gentleman the warning. Something about him tells me he's a mystery worth solving."

"What about the blonde?"

"Take him, along with Miss Matthews. He seems rather amusing. He might even make a good henchman."

"Yes, sir."

And Now You Know

"Well, well, if it isn't Cody Smith and the messed-up security gaurd."
That's how Jean greeted Taylor and me as we entered the interrogation room.
"Miss Matthews, you remember me." I replied.
"Mr. Mason, my life's work is living inside you. Of course, I remember you." Jean said.
"Please, call me Nicholas."
"Okay, Nicholas, what do you want from me, and who in the world are you?"
"As I said, I'm Nicholas, special agent for the FBI. This is my partner, William. What we want from you, Jean, is for you to tell us what your life's work is and to give us information on your boss.
"Ha, you're supposed to be two secret FBI agents, but you have no idea what's going on."
"We've got the basics down. Educate us."
"Well, I might as well tell you. As you know, I work for Genecorp. I'm part of a larger group working with the military to create the perfect soldier. Sam Miller and I were experimenting with rapid tissue regeneration. We finally engineered a cell that works like a virus. It infiltrates the cell and changes its genetic makeup, reacting to elements associated with healing, such as cortisol. You get the idea."
"Yes, rapid healing."
"Mayhem found out about this (probably from Miller, although he denied it) and contacted us. The only problem was that it hadn't been tested on humans. Our first human volunteer's immune system killed the cells before they could take over. Our next volunteer wasn't so lucky. the virus took over his body completely, and then his immune system killed him. After that we ran out of the cell. It was fairly expensive to make. We finally obtained some more samples. Mayhem came to consult us, and that's when you showed up. Amazingly, it worked on you. I have to admit, I feel a connection between us, Nicholas; which compels me to worry for you, both of us, actually. If Mayhem finds out about you, what you are capable of, he's going to turn you into a lab rat."
"But, why should you be afraid, Jean."
"I healed too."
We sat in silence for a while: and then I asked, "What about Mayhem? Do you know anything about him?"
"No, I never really talked to his men. It was mostly Sam."
"Well, thank you for cooperating with us, Jean. And don't worry, the FBI will protect you."

Sleeping Beauty, Meet the Wack Pack

I've been watching Miss Matthews sleep for a while now, pondering: my role in this story; Jean, the key to unlocking so many mysteries; if I used too much chloroform, for Matthews is still zonked out (I checked her vitals. She's fine.); and how Taylor managed to secure such nice accommodations. It really is a nice room, minus the fact that there are no windows and the walls and doors are bullet-proof (just a safety precaution). Taylor really can be helpful. Usually, the prisoners get a nice interrogation table and a chair. This room has a real bed, a cushioned chair, a vanity, and an adjoining bathroom (this one has walls). Okay, this is taking too long. She should be awake by now. I went over to check on Jean again. Huh, unbelievable! She's still out of it. I'm pretty sure the chloroform has worn out by now..... She's sleeping. Sure, why panic if you've been kidnapped, when you can catch some z's instead? "You are one weird girl, Matthews." Whatever, sweet dreams.

"Come on, Mag. It's no fun swimming alone." said a young male voice.
"You know we're not supposed to go swimming, today. The grown-ups won't check until tommorow." was her reply.
"Come on, it'll be fun."
Her face started to waver as she considered the proposition. Then her face turned blank. It was happening again. No! I stood watching helplessly as the room started to fill with water. The two kids stared at me coldly, zombie-like as they were slowly drowned. Now the water was over my head. I tried to swim up, but an invisible barrier kept me down. I kicked with all my strength, but to no avail. Finally, I ran out of air, and a light-headed sensation came over me. Down I sank into the depths. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was a hand breaking the surface and pulling me out of the watery grave.

There I was, holding a gun to an unsuspecting Taylor.
"Uh, no thanks. I don't bounce back like you do. Hey, are you ok?" Taylor said as he lowered my hand.
Apparently, I had fallen asleep while waiting for Jean to wake up, and Taylor had waken me.
"Yeah, sorry. Reflexes. Where's Matthews?" I said as I noticed that Jean was gone.
"That's why I came here. Astor had her moved to an interrogation room when she woke up-"
"Oh, so she actually woke up."
"Yeah, John wants you to be there for the interrogation."
"All righty. Let's go."
"Hey, man, are you sure you're okay. You seem out of it."
"Yeah peachy."

Still Sleeping

"Tada! Mission accomplished." Agent Taylor exclaimed as we produced a chloroform-induced sleeping Jean Matthews to Astor. "Ah, it feels good to say that."
Taylor convinced me to let him carry Miss Matthews all the way to Astor's office, and he insisted on taking the stairs (you can bet people stared). "It makes the victory complete" The kid has a lot to learn. John just stared wide-eyed at Matthews, who was still draped over Taylor's shoulder. Taylor would keep her like that until she woke up too. I rest my case.
"Give her to me." I said as I carefully took her from William and placed Matthews on my coat that I had just layed on the floor.
"Good thinking, Nick! Man, I love calling you that."
"Is she dead?" Astor asked.
"Far from it, my friend! We found her at Bayer's division. What a break."
"But, how can that be? Agent X, you shot her in the head. She had no pulse for crying out loud!"
"I know. When she wakes up, we'll be able to question her. For right now, we should prepare some accomadations for Miss Matthews." I said.
"Right, I'm on it." William said and quickly left before either of us could reply.
"Someone's really excited about uh, mission accomplished." John said.
"I know. He's an excitable fellow, but his enthusiasm's infectous. He was helpful on the case too."
"See, he's not too bad; but what's up with him calling you Nick?"
"Don't get any ideas. He decided that I should be called something other than X, and since I don't need any other nicknames, I told him to pick out a name. It's a total coincidence he chose Nick."
"Weird, right? I guess you have that look. Anyways, I'm going to enjoy calling you something other than Agent X."
"I never liked that name. I always told you to call me Cartwright."
"Ha, I totally forgot about that, X."

Author's Notes

I want to apologize for my slowness in updating my blog. I'm currently revising my storyline and some of my previous posts. I have realized that my previous stories haven't been to clear, like, who exactly Agent X works for. I plan to clear some of this up, so don't be suprised if you see that some of my older posts have changed a little. Also, keep in mind that I will try to update my blog every weekend. I also want to thank the readers of my blog for actually reading my blog. Feel free to leave me some "constructive" criticism, emphasis on constructive, peoples.

What's in a Name?

She should be awake soon.
"Who knew that chloroform could have such an effect on tiny people?"
"I would say petite."
"At least you got to use your chloroform, eh, X?"
"Sure, but don't call me X."
"Fine, then tell me your real name."
I snorted. "I always tell people to call me Agent Cartwright, but they always resort to X."
"Really? Why didn't you tell me to call you Cartwright?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't listen. Agent X is sort of my identity now, anyways."
"But I mean, don't you have a first name?"
"Not one that you need to know."
"Come on, I'm your partner. We're supposed to be able to at least call each other by their first names."
I could tell by Taylor's voice that this meant a lot to him.
"Fine, you can call me whatever you like. Just, pick a decent name."
"What about, Mr. Confidentiality?" Taylor said with a twinkle in his eye.
"Are you kidding? That's worse than X."
"Relax. I was kidding. Nick! You look like a Nicholas. How about it?"
I smiled with a deeper meaning. One, that Agent Taylor could never know. "Ok, you can call me Nick."

The Kidnapping

Bayer Inc.
10:00 P.M.

The upper floors of Bayer Inc. were quiet. Most of the employees had already left. The only remaining people were security guards or laggers trying to finish their work, so they could go home. Going up the stairwell, was a suave looking man. He paused at the security clearance. A fingerprint, a pass key, and a pass code. He swiped his keycard through the slot and pulled some silly putty out of his jacket, which he placed on the fingerprint scanner. He pulled it off and took out his notepad. He then flipped to a page that was covered with pencil markings. Pressing the silly putty onto the page, he made the fingerprint, he had just obtained, more defined. The man then, placed the putty back onto the scanner. He smiled as it beeped it's approval. All that's left is the pass code. 7-1-4-6-9-9-3. Once again, he smiled as the lock clicked. Agent X was right. The underpaid talk cheap. Taylor then headed toward Miss Matthews's lab. There she is. Go time.
"Jean Matthews, I presume?"
She started, then answered, "Yes, and who might you be?"
"Around here, Cody Smith. My boss, Mr. Mayhem, would like to talk to you about the experiment, but not here. We would like you to come with us."
"Mr. Mayhem wants to see me?"
"Yes, he would like to talk to you about the incident."
"He knows about that already?"
"Yes, but I must warn you, my boss does not like to be kept waiting. He may call at any second, wondering what took us so long." Taylor said as he pulled out his cellphone and stared at it like it might come alive at any second and bite him. "He might be having a good day though."
"Okay, lead the way."
"Oh, bring your research. He would like to discuss it with you. You know, I should really get this thing upgraded."
They headed out of the building with no problems. "Our car is over here." Taylor indicated a black van. "Just remember to be polite, and you'll have nothing to worry about." As he opened the door, out jumped Agent X. He quickly sedated her. The last thing she remembered was a familiar voice saying, "Goodnight, Miss Matthews."

Lunch Plans Continued...

"Ha, is that your solution to everything?" Agent Taylor asked.
"Pretty much." I replied.
"Well, as tempting as that sounds, I have a style of my own. Plus, I don't think we could drug her and drag her down all those flights without being noticed. What floor does she stay on anyways?"
"The one we're not allowed in. I'll tell you what. If you can convince Jean to come down to the parking lot, I'll take care of the rest."
"Sweet! Time to put on the charm."

Lunch Plans

"So, how'd your investigation go?" I asked Agent Taylor. We had met up in the lobby and drove to a small cafe' from there.
"Swimmingly, their security system consists of cameras on all the floors but especially on the top levels. Excuse me, can I get a coffee?" After the waiter bustled off, Taylor began, "Our pass keys can get into most of the important rooms, but not the top three levels. Apparently, for those you need-"
"A pass key, a pass code, and a fingerprint." I finished.
"Right, how'd you know?"
"People talk. I found Jean. The only question is, how to get her out of there."
"Matthews!?"
"Yeah."
"Sweet. The living dead. Do you think we can talk her into coming with us."
"Maybe, but I don't think we should chance it. If she sees me, she might go berserk, and then our cover is blown."
"But, she hasn't seen me yet. I can go get her."
"Yeah, but she still might not go with you. Plus, I want you to watch the security cams."
"So what do you suggest we do?"
"Chloroform."

The Underpaid

"Nice criminals." Taylor remarked as we were lugging our suitcases to our rooms. Once we were there, we went to work checking our rooms for bugs. "Clear," was Taylor's first words as he came into my room, "how about you?"
"That is how it would seem."
"Sweet! So what are you gonna do next?"
"I'm going to to get information on Jean. How about you?"
"I'm gonna check their security system around here."
"Good. I'll meet you at lunchtime in the lobby."
The first few minutes in my investigation had me scoping out the upper levels of Bayer Inc., casually of course. After a while, I found what I was looking for, a group of tired, grumpy, and underpaid workers. So, I walked over there and offered to buy them some drinks. After a few minutes of small talk, I found out what I really wanted to know.
"Yeah, things have been a little more hectic than usual." a man named Shaun Withers stated. " The boss has been tense lately, and that makes the hours drag on."
"Really?" I replied. "Maybe, he's expecting a visit from Mayhem."
"You think so?" his buddy Martin asked.
"No, that's not it," Shaun said, "cause I heard that they're working on some top secret project. That's why they brought in the lady scientist."
"And she is a looker." Martin replied.
Hmm, that sounds like Jean. As if on cue, the stair's door opened and out stepped Miss Matthews. The area I had chosen to sit at was well hidden from her view, but I could see her perfectly. Bingo. That's Jean alright, but how can she be alive?
"So, you've never been upstairs?" I asked the men as I realized that my jaw was hanging.
"Ha, no way. Select personnel only. I mean, you need a pass key(which is pretty easy to get), a pass code, and a fingerprint."
"Ha, I'm surprised they don't have an eye scanner too." said Martin.
"Actually, I think they're talking about installing one soon." Shaun replied.

Headquarters

"So, are we gonna meet Mr. Mayhem?" Agent Taylor asked on our car drive to Mayhem's headquarters.
Wornanheimer broke into rapturous laughter and finally answered after wiping his eyes, "Sorry, it's just that this is only the headquarters for Bayer's division. Even Mr. Bayer himself does not know where Mayhem's chief headquarters is."
"Oh, that's a shame. I would have liked to meet him." I replied.
"I would to." said Wornanheimer, "So, how long are you planning to stay at Bayer Inc.?"
"Just until we line up a new job." I said.
"Ha, yeah, banks don't rob themselves." Taylor added.
The car finally slowed down as we pulled up to a skyscraper with the words Bayer Inc. going down the side of the building. It was a hotel/casino until you got up to the higher floors which are used for Mayhem's dirty work.
"Here are your pass keys. They give you access to your rooms, and these ones give you access to most of the top levels. Your rooms are 64 A and 64 B. Feel free to roam whatever your pass key allows you to. It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Warehouse 42

"There it is, Taylor, Warehouse 42."
"Phfft, typical. Why do the bad guys always meet up in warehouses?
As we entered the warehouse, two figures emerged from the shadows.
"Ahh, you must be our new recruits. I'm Seth Wornanheimer, and this is Emilio Gabroltski."
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Wornanheimer, but we're not recruits. I'm Jim Ahrens, and this is my partner, Cody Smith. We came to Mr. Mayhem for temporary protection. See, we're in sort of a bind." I answered.
"Ahh, yes, yes, of course, but protection costs money."
"Indeed, Mr Wornanheimer. Cody, give them the money."
Taylor gave them the money and Mr. Gabroltski checked to make sure it was the right amount.
"Come, Mr. Ahrens, Mr. Smith. We'll take you to headquarters."

Memories

After Taylor left the room, John approached me.
"Hey, I didn't upset you, did I?"
"What do you mean?"
"When I said it makes you less of a target."
"No, it just brought back some unwanted memories."
"You know you can talk to me anytime?"
"Yeah, I just don't want to cause you trouble, not again. But what's the idea of pairing me up with another agent?"
"We were thinking about recruiting him to the CIA for a while now. And with the recent happenings, we thought you could use someone to watch your back."
"Yeah, but a kid? He's like what, twenty-five? That makes me fifteen years his senior. You know what happens to people who are close to me."
"He'll be fine. Agent Taylor knows how to watch out for himself. Just, keep an eye on him for a while. You are right. He's a bit green."
"Ha, don't worry. I will."

Six-thirty Sharp

Tick-tock tick-tock. Half past six and no Agent Taylor. On the other side of his desk, Astor twiddled his thumbs idly. "Sorry I'm late, bad traffic." Taylor stated as he was halfway through the door. "That's ok. Have a seat." was Astor's reply. Taylor took the seat beside me, and our meeting began.
"As you both know,"Astor started,"Agent X has an extraordinary ability, thanks to Jean Matthews. The problem is Mayhem wants those powers to, and if he obtains them, we'll have an even more dangerous criminal on our hands. For this, he needs what Jean Matthews knew. The papers that Agent X took pictures of were never found. We think that, while Jean's body was being taken away, the papers were stolen too. So, I want you two to infiltrate their organization and find out about as much of Matthews and Miller's work as you can."
"Uh, how do we infiltrate their ranks?" was Taylor's question.
"We have scheduled a meeting between you and some of Mayhem's men two days from now. You're supposed to be two hardened criminals running from the law. You figure Mayhem can protect you for a while. I've already put a criminal record for both of you in our database. Just make sure you're not caught speeding. This record is quite convincing. If you get stopped by the police, you're going to be sitting in prison for a while."
"Ok, but why both of us? I mean, I've always worked alone." I asked.
"Two heads are better than one. Plus, Agent William Taylor and I are the only people in the world to know about your powers, and we want to keep it under wraps. It makes Agent X less of a target.
"Wait, what happened to the geneticists who studied my papers? Don't they know about my powers?"
"They did, but they died yesterday in a freak biohazardous accident."
Silence fell upon the room.
"Weird." Taylor said.
"What about the doctor who examined me?" I asked.
"He was never told about what happened to you, just that you needed a checkup. I'll send you the rest of the deets later. Do you have any questions?"

Thoughts in the Dark

My thoughts went back to my coversation with Agent Taylor.
"You mean I'll never die?"
"Well, no, but you won't die from anything like getting shot or falling out of a building."
Almost impervious to death. Hmm, maybe that's what happened to Jean. No, I was in there long enough to see if she had gotten up. Why didn't I keep her alive for interrogation! Once again, my thoughts were interrupted, but this time by my cellphone.
"Hello?"
"Agent X?"
"Mm-hmm."
"This is Agent Taylor, sorry for calling you at such a late hour, but Astor wanted to see us in his office tomorrow morning."
"What time?"
"Six o' clock, sharp."
"Ok, will do."
"C'ya tomorrow then."
"Bye."
What can John want with me and Taylor.....

Genetically Enhanced Super Agent

Mmmm, it's been a while since I just relaxed. So far, I have nothing to worry about. My medical exam said I was just fine. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. As I opened it, I saw a very excited man.
"Agent X?"
I nodded that he was correct, and he continued.
"You'll never believe what those papers said! Oh, excuse me. I'm Agent Taylor from the Bureau. I was sent to give you the results of the papers."
"Yes, go on."
"Well, they couldn't really, exactly figure out what the papers said, but they were able to find out that Genecorp. seems to have created a gene that reacts to adrenaline and pain. When it's switched on, it reproduces cells that were damaged."
"Meaning?"
"That anybody with this gene could rapidly heal from any injuries."
"So, you mean-"
"Yes, you're practically immortal!"