Five
1049 Words
Kevin woke up to the sound of an alarm ringing by his bedside. He turned to switch it off in his sleep, and groaned when his hands couldn't find the alarm. A few minutes later, he woke up and stretched, did a few push-ups then headed for the shower. When he was out, there was a note on his bed telling him to head to L's office. He opened the wardrobe to see a stockpile of clothes that looked like they would fit him, put on some shorts and a tee shirt and headed out of the room.
A few minutes later, he arrived at the office. He could hear muffled talking inside and knocked on the door, not sure if he was supposed to or not.
The door opened and Kevin went in, seeing L and the rest of the gang. They had a bunch of files spread across the table and were all talking animatedly, as if they were trying to discuss something important.
"Hello, everyone."
L looked at him, and smiled. "Hello, Six. Well all of you can leave now. I would like to talk to Six alone, please."
The rest of the gang got up and left the room in silence. L watched them go and waited for a few moments before addressing him.
"Take a seat, Six."
He did so, and they both sat in silence.
"So, did you settle in comfortably?"
"I guess?" He had a look of uncertainty on his face. "I mean, it's not like I have much of a choice, do I?"
"You don't. Well, you will soon."
"How, exactly?"
"You'll see. Anyway, you're probably wondering why I called you here, aren't you?"
"To be honest, yes."
"It's nothing major. I wanted to go over the rules of our line of work with you pretty quickly."
"Alright."
L paused for a moment and cleared his throat before continuing. "We're a tightly run organization, and our entire existence revolves around three rules and the way we apply them to different situations in our lives and work."
"So, rule one is..."
"Loyalty. Your loyalty must be as unwavering as it is absolute. You must understand that the Institute now owns you, and you must be willing to protect its best interests at all costs."
Kevin smiled awkwardly. "And the second?"
"Secrecy. The Institute's strength lies in that very word. On no account will anyone outside there know who you are, what you do, and where you do it."
"That's understandable. And the third?"
"Dedication. It's the backbone of everything we do, and we are committed to it with all our heart. The Institute's mission is a noble one, and we take it very seriously."
Kevin smiled. "Okay. Are we done here?"
"Yes. You can go back to your room and relax for a bit. You can have the rest of the day off, since it's your first."
"Alright. Thanks, sir."
"I am not your superior, Six. You can address me by my name."
Kevin nodded and left the office.
When he got back to his room, he took out a small notepad and wrote the rules down.
He then took a longer shower, then headed out, and went straight to the cafeteria. He was really hungry.
Kevin took a tray and was about to head to the food counter when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Hey, newbie."
"Hello, Four. You here for breakfast too?"
"Of course. I've been here for longer than you have, so I'd better enjoy this privilege."
Kevin smiled and got his food, then sat with him.
"What do you have in mind for today?"
"Well, we all have missions now so I'm probably gonna do some prep later today. Have you come up with your style yet?"
Kevin felt an unfamiliar spark in his brain, one that he would eventually come to associate with brilliant ideas. "Yeah. Did a little thinking and it hit me."
Four looked interested. "Tell me about it, and I'll tell you mine. Deal?"
"Alright. Well, my whole thought process is to get them to be at their most vulnerable before killing them."
"So, a kidnapping situation? Take them hostage and torture them?"
"No, not really," He laughed off the idea. "I mean I want to f**k them. Like really good, and then take their lives just after they nut."
Four paused and looked at him for what seemed to be the longest three seconds of his life.
"Alright, Six. That is some next level s**t right there. But I'll admit it, it sounds kinda cool."
"Thanks, Four. What's your plan?"
"Well, I usually infiltrate whatever organization they own. Start at the bottom, work my way as high as I can get, then sabotage it all and watch the target die in a work accident. It's strenuous, but the satisfaction at the end is incredible."
"Damn, you're an assassin-for-hire?"
"More like a contractor." He grinned.
"Okay, so do we just go kill a person or are we given targets?"
"We are given targets, and we choose how to eliminate them."
"Do they have to be killed? Like, do they always have to be murdered?"
"I suppose it can be anything. But most of the time, murder is the option."
"Alright. So, when do we start?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Okay."
Four stood up. "I gotta go. I have a console in my office that's calling my name."
Kevin looked at him, and then stood up too. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yep. Don't be late, Six."
"Don't worry about me."
He was heading out of the cafeteria when he ran into Five. She smiled at him and waved, and he did the same.
"Hello, Six. How was your first night?"
"It was alright, I guess. What's yours doing, Five?"
"My job, Six. It's what we do, isn't it?"
"Yeah. So, what are you up to?"
"Nothing special. I have some time off so I'm catching up on the books."
"I was gonna check them out eventually. Should I come with you?"
She smiled. "Of course. What sort of literature are you into?"
He struggled for answers. "I've been reading a lot of Edgar recently."
"Really? I love his work. I think the library has a couple of his books. Let's go check it out."
- Writer
