The Unnamed Agency: Magic On Earth - If Magic Did Exist, #7

By Matt Deckman

Marcko and Trisha have been working at the agency their entire lives. Now it’s time for them to retire. They are only 25 years old and are let go. They were the best agents that their boss had, but they’re let go. Why?

Amy is a Sergeant in the Black Squadron. Her name O'Connell implies that she has a connection to Ryan and Melissa O’Connell, and even Isabella O'Connell. But nobody seems to take her seriously. Being stuck in the same position for years does that.

Even if she has the Old Breed inside her, her particle count is only 110 billion. She isn't able to fight well against others magically. So she utilizes what she can: her physical strength. Being 6’ also puts her just under Randolph Montgomery's height, the current leader at the Black Squadron. With a particle count of 175 billion, he is the strongest there is at the Squadron and refuses to let in anybody else. The policy has become: strength is stature. No strength, no stature.

Things are seriously wrong now. The Black Squadron has drifted and Marcko and Trisha have set their sites on the Black Squadron. It doesn't look good.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matt Deckman
• Release date: May 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386245308

Book preview

Notice

Copyright @ 2016 Matthew B. Deckman All Rights Reserved.

Distribution is only through channels on this website and CreateSpace, a print-on-demand company.

The story line gets progressively darker and more mature.

Links

The Unnamed Agency: Here

Website: Magic On Earth - If Magic Did Exist

Social Media:

Twitter: @moeifmgcdidexst

Facebook: Magic On Earth - If Magic Did Exist

Reviews:

When you finish this book, I would really appreciate a review on the site you received the book from. Thank you.

The First Cyborg: Mindy

Chapter 1

Amy groaned again at the work she was doing. She looked at the clock and saw it was only 2:30, 15 mere minutes since the last time she looked.  The work she was doing was agonizing and tedious, especially since she had to do it all by hand.  She wished she could just type it up and be done with it, but that was later.  This method was part of the grunt work she had to work through to get anywhere now.

The changes to the system were stupid; it was easy with just doing everything on the computer, but they said it didn’t build character or discipline if the lower ranks didn’t do it by hand first.  She hated the system and wished that they could go back to even just ten years ago when computers were still being used freely.

Hell, every other agency used them freely, but not this one.  They had evolved as they said it, but it was really a de-evolution and it was crazy to say that, as the last time Amy had checked, it was the digital era.

Ugh, Amy groaned again, she wanted the day to be over.

Amy, quit it, Gregory said. He was there helping Amy with the grunt work, but not doing the actual report.  While the grunt work was boring, it had to be done.

But it’s not fair, I get stuck all day inside, doing this stuff while everybody else gets to go outside and on real missions! Amy complained. That was another thing she hated, she always got stuck with the grunt work, but then again, that’s how it was these days—those with the lower magical abilities got stuck doing crappy chores such as paper work while those with higher magical abilities got to go outside and do missions. 

Essentially, if you were weak, you got the crap jobs. If you were strong, you got the good ones.  Since her magic wasn’t anything spectacular, she didn’t get anything spectacular.

You can’t help it that you’ve only got 110 billion. That’s what you were born with and those magic boosting shots are expensive, Gregory stated, Just bite the bullet and you’ll eventually make your way up the chain of command.

But I’ve been here for several years and nothing, Amy was anxious to get out of the room she was in. It was a basement, no windows, just a single door.  She had been ordered by Randolph to stay in the room until she was done with the work.

Not with Randolph in command. It will forever be a hierarchy system with him in charge. I wish things could go back to the way they were… Amy complained.

But we can’t, so we need to suck it up and deal with it, Gregory said as he handed another sheet to Amy, come on, you’re slowing down. I came down here to help you get this done and over with so you could get out of here early…

If only I could train to get stronger, but all the facilities are locked down…I don’t see how they expect someone in my position to advance if they aren’t given the means, Amy whined.

Because someone in your position isn’t meant to advance because you can’t advance… you’re not strong enough magically and that’s all there is too it… Gregory stated.

Amy hated the way things were run now, far too much of a power hierarchy, its past was much, much better than its present.

Amy tried to keep her mind on her work as the time slow ticked by and eventually it did become 4pm.  Gregory finished his piece and handed it to Amy. She included it in her report, stood up and put everything into a manila envelope. At last, she was done and headed out of the basement.

She looked around the offices until she found Jennifer and handed her the envelope, Everything is in there for Randolph.

Thanks Amy, I’ll give this to Randolph in a few minutes. Try to have a good evening, Jennifer waved at Amy as she walked out. Jennifer had sympathy for those who were in the same ranking as Amy. The lower power people were made to do the hard, grunt work.  That’s all they did, grunt work; ranging from cleaning to paperwork… it was basically every job that wasn’t desired or wanted by those in the higher portions of the hierarchy.

Prior to this last council of members, things had been run differently.  Very differently. So differently in-fact that even their tech systems were much more sophisticated than the rest of the world.  Now, they were on par, if they could call it that. Jennifer definitely did not approve of the current system, but she was in the middle; she wasn’t the weakest and wasn’t the strongest, so she couldn’t exactly make policy.

Only Randolph could really make policy and he was an asshole. Egotistical asshole who considered himself the ultimate being. But he certainly wasn’t.

As Amy walked out, she was steamed. She hated how Randolph controlled everything.  Like some of the girls around the squad said, he may be eye candy, but he was an asshole.  He was built, muscular and had short blonde hair with blue green eyes, and larger than normal ears, but that’s all he had going for him, his looks and his looks alone. Everything else tied to his ego and him being an asshole.

He wasn’t one of those assholes that you’d got used to, he was just an asshole who needed his ass kicked—severely kicked.

As Amy stepped outside into the bright sun, she felt a cool breeze on her neck and soon her chest as she opened up her jacket, a flat black jacket. It went down to just above her ankles, as required by policy.  She looked back behind her at the site of their headquarters: the Black Dome. The Black Dome that housed the Black Squadron, the strongest military force on the planet.

Amy doubted that they were the strongest anymore, as Randolph only had a particle count of 175 billion.  There were some Elites that had higher, but he wasn’t accepting recruits anymore…they were short-handed, stuck at 88 members. They had been so for a while. By policy, there should have been 100, but that didn’t matter anymore.  Not many Elites wanted in, the numbers were so small you could count them on one hand.

She had a one hundred foot walk to get back home.  She had no car, which wasn’t a big deal, she could teleport home, but they weren’t allowed to teleport any closer than the Black Dome parking lot, which was the one hundred feet. It was an absurd rule put into place about 10 years ago.  Apparently, a rune was damaged, and they didn’t fix it—or rather, they couldn’t fix it because half of the knowledge that was used to create the rune was so complicated that nobody knew it.  Some had suggested to dig into the archives, which more than likely held a lot of answers, but it was forbidden to look into the archives unless necessary or granted permissions.

Amy was one of those who couldn’t access the archives because she wasn’t high enough and every time she asked, she was denied.

As soon as she was outside the parking lot, she teleported home.  Or at least what she called home. It was a small apartment in Sapluusana. It was in the city, one of the older sections of the city.  It had two large rooms, a small kitchen and eating area and a living room.  The two large rooms, one was a bedroom, the other a smaller…much smaller bedroom that she just used for storage and a bathroom that had a small shower.

She would have moved into something bigger, but her salary wouldn’t allow it.  Once inside, the locks she used were magic and had a certain magic encryption to them.  She closed the door and locked the dead bolt.  The encryption was also in the archives, but Jennifer had managed to get her information from the archives after Amy had her place broken into because of a stupid dead bolt.  Since she used the magic encryption, her door was safe. It re-enforced the frame, door and lock itself.

Amy tore off her jacket and tossed it onto one of the chairs in the living room.  She immediately went into the bathroom and started brushing her hair.  She looked at her reflection in the mirror.

What starred back at her was a 28 year old FireElf; one of the newer hybrid species. Chin length blonde hair, and from what she could tell, very similar in color to her ancestor, Isabella O’Connell. She also so dull red eyes from the Pyro-Cliptic clan. She had hoped that since she had Isabella’s bloodline in her that she would have gotten the ultra beastie gene, but a cousin of hers got it and was basking in the glory.

As she brushed her hair, she also looked over her average frame: she was almost as tall as Randolph, but he had more bulk to him and Amy had little figure in terms of attractiveness.  She barely had B cups and her hips were fairly slender. That was one of the other things that put people off from her, while Randolph was 6’2", she was almost as tall as him, which meant she was pushing 6’. She was unusually tall for her build, which was what probably accounted for her extra slender frame.

Once she had her hair brushed, she stretched and heard her back crack as well as a few other joints. As she stepped out of the bathroom, she heard the doorbell ring.  When she looked outside, she saw that it was Bruce. Bruce was a human that worked at the Black Squadron and while he had magical capabilities, he was in the same boat as Amy; he did grunt work, usually cleaning.

She unlocked the dead bolt, which was her signal to him to come in.  She then went to the freezer and took out a pizza, popping it into the oven.

Hey Amy, noticed you dashed out fairly quickly today, Bruce said as he closed the door.

Yeah, I couldn’t stand it down in the basement…you want a beer? Amy opened the fridge.

Nah. Besides, it seems like you need it more than I do, he grabbed her jacket, opened the closet up and pulled a hanger from it.  After he put the jacket on the hanger, he put the jacket into the closet and closed it.

You’re like my mother…doing my laundry, Amy said as she flopped down onto one of the chairs.

Someone has to look after you, Bruce said as he sat down.

God today was a long day…always the same bullshit, day in and day out. Nothing important, just grunt work. For once I’d like to get some important, actual work.  But all Randolph ever has me doing is bullshit paperwork that I can’t stand, Amy ranted.

Maybe he’s grooming you for something, you never know… Bruce tried to keep an optimistic perspective on it.

HA! I high doubt that! He’s a worthless piece of shit asshole… Amy took a swig, He cares of nothing but himself. Hell, we’re at 88 members and nobody wants to join because of him. I mean, seriously, 88 members! There are other elites out there that have more power, but he won’t let any of them come aboard because they’re stronger! That’s the only fucking reason!

I’m sure there’s more to it than that… Bruce was trying to put some sort of positive light on it, but the way that Amy went sometimes, it was hard to.

"Yea, I’m sure as well…like keeping his throne as the boss of the Black Squadron. And tomorrow, we have to do everything all over again…which reminds me, he’s probably boing to think that Jennifer did the report, just like he always does.  He doesn’t think I’ve got the brains to write up a report. I’ve helped people with their reports and he’s said good job to them, even after they’ve admitted to him, to his face that I helped them.

And when I get help from someone, he thanks them and says way to be a team player.  But me, he tells me that I need to do better!  Why doesn’t he just fire me already and send me somewhere?! I’d get out of that place for once and I’d probably make more money anyways! Amy bitched.

Why don’t you just quit then? Bruce asked.

Because I’ve worked too fucking hard to get where I am today to just throw it all away over an asshole like him… Amy sneered and took another swig.

Amy continued to rant about work and how Randolph was an ass for a while, all along Bruce just listening and watching Amy.  It was obvious to several of the other Black Squadron members that he liked her, however, it was also obvious to those same members that she was as oblivious as a doorknob to his attention or rather, his attention to detail about her.  He knew quite a few things about her; that she liked plain pizza, her favorite drink was strawberry lemonade, that she liked chocolate ice cream and that her preferred flower on valentine’s day was a rose, but her favorite was the lady slipper.

He knew things about Amy that most others didn’t. But then again, most others didn’t care enough to know.

Amy had finished ranting and saw that Bruce had zoned out as his eyes were glazed over and looking at nothing in particular. Amy had seen this before in Bruce; he was thinking.  He was thinking about something in his past or present and when his eyes glazed over, it usually meant that whatever he was thinking about held great value in his heart.

Amy got up and walked over to the oven and checked on the pizza and found that it was finished. She tossed the empty beer bottle into the recycling.

You hungry? Amy asked, hoping that Bruce would snap out of his trans.

Yeah, I’m hungry, Bruce got up and went out to where Amy had the pizza. She slid a two slices onto a plate for Bruce before doing the same for herself.

I don’t mean to be rude, but after this, I’m going to grab a shower, watch tv- probably till I fall asleep, Amy parked herself on a bar stool, So after another hour or so, I’m gonna kick you out.

Nah, don’t worry about it. After I’m done with food, I’ll get out of your hair. We all need alone time. Especially us, the lower rankings. But honestly, you should be much higher than some of us, especially me. I’m human for Christ sake and I get out of that place more often than you.

If you want my opinion, I think Randolph either has it in for you or he finds something about you attractive, Bruce stated as he chomped into his first slice.

Amy looked at Bruce with a blank face for a second before exploding with laughter. Only after a few minutes did she finally recover, That’s a good one Bruce…you’re kidding right?! Amy still had the chuckles, "If Randolph ever had a thing for me, don’t you think with the size of his ego, he would have asked me by now?"

Not necessarily. It may very well his ego or pride that his holding him back from asking you out. Think about it, he took another bite, If Randolph is so worried about appearances, then not only would his image be ‘tarnished’, but his ego and pride would be smashed as well if he asked out one of the lower ranks in the Black Squadron. People would see it in a way that you’re using your looks to get ahead, and that would mean you’re also shallow.  So he’s treating you this way to try and let you know he likes you and try to get your attention… Bruce tried to explain.

Amy shook her head, not buying a word of it.

After Bruce finished eating, he bid goodnight and headed out.  Amy locked the door and checked everything before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.  As she closed the bathroom door, Amy turned the vent fan on for 30 minutes before turning the hot water on.  Once the water was to her liking, she took her shirt and pants off before looking in the full length mirror she had.  She knew that she looked fragile, she could see it in her frame. However, with the training she received from the Royal and Elite guard, and from the Black Squadron, she was anything but fragile.  She had hoped the training would have given her some bulk, but because of her height, her body’s slender profile didn’t really show it. 

My body is a joke…how on earth…better yet, why on earth would anybody find me attractive? Amy took off her bra and panties before stepping into the shower, I barely have B cup breasts, just enough of an ass to prove I have one… Amy shook her head, I’m too freaking tall really. Amy felt the water pelt her back and wet her hair.  It turned a duller yellow than what it was.

I could always just grow my hair out like Isabella did…but that wouldn’t do me much…I just don’t have the frame for it… Amy breathed.  She knew it wasn’t worth getting down and depressed about, but she really didn’t have much going for her anymore.  While she had the training to be good at her job, she just could do her job because of her limitations.

Going back to the Elites would get her more money because of her training and her veteran status as an ex Black Squadron member, but it would only prove to a bunch of people that she didn’t have what it took to stay a Black Squadron member.

Amy groaned in anger. Her situation pissed her off. When she thought about the situation, she got angry and that heated up her core, which meant that the water started burning off when it hit her skin.  Soon there was a buffer between her skin and the shower- the water never came into contact with her skin.

Dammit… Amy sighed and realized that she had heated up again.  As she breathed, her core lowered and the water hit her skin. She stood, not realizing she had squatted. She lifted her foot to see if there was any tile damage.

Thankfully not, as she stood on two feet again.  She raised her face into the water and let it hit her.

After a moment, she reached for the wash cloth, lathered it up and started actually taking her shower.  After she felt the cloth touch her entire body, she let the water rinse the suds off and looked at a plastic bag that was hanging from a suction cup.

It was full of her toys that she used in the shower.  It was one of the reasons why she never let her friends use the shower. If she had to, she put it under the sink.  Amy opened the bag, and pushed the various ones around till she grabbed the realistic looking one with a suction cut base and a wired remote.

Amy figured she needed to distress and what better way than to have an orgasm.  It wasn’t the way she preferred, but she didn’t exactly feel like going to bar or someplace to hook up, and shag a one night stand.

She placed it on the tile that would work, slid down on it and started the motor.  As it went to work, she bounced herself up and down on her knees, trying to simulate the motions.

Only minutes later did she climax and pull herself off it. Still shaky from the typical, quick experience, she pulled the toy off the tile, rinsed it and put it back into her bag of toys.

Destressed again…, physically anyways, Amy said as she turned the water off, stepped out and dried herself off. After dressing in her night cloths which basically consisted of an extra-long shirt, she watched tv until she passed out.

* * * * *

Amy came out of her teleport at the edge of the parking lot and walked the distance to the lobby doors of the Black Squadron.  As she entered, she nodded to the receptionist, greeting her.

Amy, Randolph wants to see you in his office. Something about a report you did? the woman said.

Amy waved in acknowledgement and walked through the door that led to the offices area.  Jennifer nodded morning to Amy as Amy walked up a flight of stairs to where Randolph’s office was.

She knocked on the glass doors, Randolph overlooking the cargo bay area. He glanced around to see Amy there and waved her in.  As she sat down, he started.

Do you know why I asked you to come to my office before getting to work? he asked, disappointment already evident in his tone.

Something about a report that I did? Amy asked.

Yes, something about a report that you said you did, when I have my doubts about you actually doing it… Randolph explained.

And why do you think I didn’t do it? Amy asked. She had been through this before.

Because it was too well done.

Gregory DesVolcane did help with the data entry, but I did develop and create the report… Amy stated.

Yes, yes, always Gregory. It’s almost as if I should just give him the work if you’re always going to be asking for his help…

He volunteered, Amy sighed.

Randolph was about to speak when he glanced back at the sigh.  He saw a defeated Amy. He quickly went back to looking out at the Cargo bay.

How many records were in the report? He asked. If he could confirm that it was indeed her work, he’d give her a break.

There were 622 records. More males than females.  Average sentence was for 12 years, average amount of marijuana was 4 oz, average amount of cocaine was 2 kilos, Amy monologued. She knew that he’d ask her for details and started giving them.

Randolph raised a brow and looked back at Amy again, Really, you seem to have this report fairly well memorized… did you spend all night reading it to make sure you knew it inside and out?

Remember that I don’t have a computer and I don’t take work home with me, Amy glanced at him, her eyes meeting his before she looked back at the desk.

His eyes narrowed and he thought better of responding. It was true, she didn’t take work home with her and she didn’t have a computer to take home to do work.  He thought for a second and looked at her face one more before making a decision.

Amy, I’ll grant you access to the upper level training facility. That way you can get a chance to boost your ranking, He stated.

Amy perked up and he saw the reaction in the glass. He smirked and turned around before tapping the monitor a few times and typing on the keyboard, I just granted you access, so your badge will work. Give the system 10 minutes and you’ll be set.

Amy nodded, Thanks.

Dismissed.  Randolph watched Amy leave and when she was gone, he called in tech support.

When they arrived, he gave them orders, get a laptop setup for Amy. I don’t care what model, make, power, age…just get one together so she can do some work from home. 

They nodded and hurried off. Randolph turned back to the glass and continued his looming over the Cargo Bay. He had seen low morale in Amy and he didn’t want her to quit. If she willingly quit then others would do the same and the numbers would drop even further.  He couldn’t afford to lose any more members. They were only at 88 and were spread thin as it was. He also didn’t want to bring any more members onboard- that would mean that there was a possibility of him losing his seat of power, and losing what he had created. He, Randolph Montgomery, the weird kid at school, was in-charge of the Black Squadron.

Amy immediately headed towards the locker room to get changed so she could weight train for a bit.  The best way to get herself boosted was to strengthen her body.  The only downside was that the gym she had access to didn’t have sufficient weights.  Now, with the one that Randolph just granted her access to, the weights available to her were quadruple of what had been available to her.

As soon as she could, she tried the access door and it slid open. Her badge was now able to access the facility.  She immediately went to the weight sets to see what she could actually do, since she had gone to the maximum weights on the other set.  Even this room had ‘evolved’. Instead of having one giant training center, there were individual training centers, each designated with a weight class.

A few heads turned as she sat down at one of the machines and set the limit to something others thought she wouldn’t be able to lift.  Some actually snickered.  Once she was situated and gave the effort, the weights moved as if by a god. There were several guys standing there, in shock and awe at what she was moving.

Dammit, not heavy enough, Amy said and added more weight.

You’re using magic… that’s cheating, one of the several guys said.

Yeah, not cheating, since the rune at the door stops you from using magic in here, Amy pumped the iron again and felt the resistance, finally!

She spent the better part of the morning in the training room. It was a joyous thing to feel the burn of weights again. After lunch, she went to work in her office.

Randolph tried to think of other things that morning as he attempted to get his work done, but what occupied his mind was the look on Amy’s face. It had concerned him and he didn’t know why, which also bugged him. After lunch, he called for a council meeting; the only objective he had was to get Amy off his mind.

Once Amy’s work was done for the day, she headed back to the gym to work out more. She wanted to get all the gym time in that she could so she could advance- that and she never knew when Randolph would revoke it. He had done that on several occasions.

This training session was different though; she kept her mind focused and kept pushing her physical limits. Amy kept pumping more and more iron, focusing on the intensity. She wanted to open her governor but had no success. Opening the governor was a lost art and she wanted to get it back.

She had read online that all the Black Squadron members at one point were able to open their governors which allowed them to excel on the battlefield.

For a moment during the intense lifting, she thought she nearly had it, but it failed as she had to put the weights down.

Trying to open up the governor? a voice came.

Amy looked over and saw Randolph there. She wondered what he wanted and wondered why he was there.

Yes, Amy said defeated.

It’s a lost art. Give it up. I’ve tried and I can’t get it. If I can’t get it, nobody can… Randolph said as he looked around the gym.

And what makes you sure about that? Amy thought You think that if you can’t do something, then the world can’t do it? What ignorance…

Anyways, the training center is getting locked down. Someone said you were still here and I’m here to tell you to go home for the night. You’ve already logged 6 hours of training here today, so that’s more than enough… He dictated.

Amy got up and left. There wasn’t any use trying to argue with the man. She would have to figure out a way to get more time in at the gym and try to force the governor open.

Amy’s night repeated from last night; pizza, beer and a shower. She didn’t bother with the same activities, as the stress wasn’t going anywhere and decided that she’d rather drink herself into a stupor for the night.

* * * * *

As Amy walked into the Black Squadron dome the next morning, the reception perked up, Randolph wants to see you again…you’re getting the attention of the big man huh? she was cheerful.

I’d rather not get the attention of Randolph… Amy mumbled. She didn’t want anything to do with Randolph and didn’t want him trying to get into her pants…even if it was just for a once and done type of thing.

When Amy was outside his office, Randolph looked up and waved her in. He was working at his computer instead of looming and he grabbed what looked like a bag from the floor.

This is your laptop. There is a power charger, a jump drive and several CDs in there. I see that you took a college course in computers, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to figure it out. You also have an account so you can remote in and work from home. I want an extra 4 hours of work from you each week. They will be counted as overtime… Randolph said.

And why are you giving me a laptop? Amy asked. He was being too kind, too generous to her.

I don’t know. Something says you’ll do good, so just take it before I change my mind, he sneered and thrust the laptop into her hands. 

She accepted it and took it with her after he waved her out. Instead of going to the gym that morning, she went to her small office and booted the machine up.

Most laptops those days had ultra-low powered, ultra high performance chips in them.  As Amy booted the computer up, she could tell that it was old and slow.  She searched for the model number and found that the machine was nearly 10 years old.

Good god…8 cores with level 2 stacking? 8 GB of RAM?! What the hell do they expect me to do with this thing? Amy said as she looked at the specs.

Level two stacking indicated that there were two levels of cores, like stories in a house. And the standard for RAM to cores was one core per gigabyte.  Those days, it was level 3 stacking, sometimes level two with side steps.

Ok, well, time to optimize… Amy did what she could and dug into the start-up sequence and found tones of things she could disable, which she did.  Afterwards, she uninstalled useless garbage and cleaned the hard drive up afterwards.

I swear, the techs we have are useless… Amy shook her head.  As she finished up, she realized it was noon and went to work on what she should have been working on.

Chapter 2

Marcko, are you done yet? The C.O. called.

Just about sir, Marcko replied. He was just about finished cleaning out his locker. He had occupied it for close to 15 years.  He was now 28 and it had served its purpose.  Marcko was getting too old for the jobs at hand, but he had good money and had developed a working relationship with his partner, Trisha.

She did the same work that he did…they both worked the covert missions for the unnamed agency and they were both being forced to retire.

Marcko closed the door and walked out.  He had a duffle bag of stuff and that was all he owned, along with the money in his account. He had eaten, slept and lived at the barracks for his entire life. He owned nothing outside of it. As he walked out, he saw Trish was leaving the woman’s locker room as well.

Any idea what you’re going to do on the outside? she asked.

Not a clue. I’ll probably stay in a hotel until I figure out what my next move is going to be, Marcko replied.

Ditto. Do you want to get a single room as we could use the time to bounce ideas off each other and get a sense of direction? Trisha raised a brow. She had grown comfortable working with Marcko. He was no nonsense and wanted to get the mission completed, just like her.

Sounds better than trying to figure this situation out alone, he stated.

They both walked outside the double iron doors and into the court yard.  An officer was there, waiting.  He handed them each a single envelope and saluted them, in complete silence.

Trisha looked in it and saw a grand. Marcko raised his brow and held it for three seconds before lowering it.  Trisha caught it and gave a slight nod. The raised brow meant money, at least the left one did. Holding it determined the amount of zeros behind the figure. If he had raised it twice and held it, it would have indicated two thousand.

Afterwards the officer saluted and left.  Marcko and Trish watched as the gates were opened and they were allowed out.  As they stepped out beyond the gates, the gates closed and were sealed once again.

Well that’s it, Trisha looked back at the gates, we no longer work there…forced into retirement before we’re 30…

We knew this was coming 3 years ago. So it was no surprise to us at 25, Marcko stated.

Yes, I know the history. I was just enjoying it now since we were able to work together without issue… I burned through partners like crazy… Trish complained as she started walking.

First, I’m going to the electronics shop a few miles up the road to get a laptop, and hopefully they have something worthwhile, Marcko started.

Ok, get two laptops and I’ll get a room at the Gaylord hotel, Trisha stated and walked.  The hotel had been around for a very long time.

It took them several hours of walking to the shopping area that had the Gaylord and the electronics shop. Marcko went to the electronics shop and browsed their laptop line up.  After seeing the low end laptops, he immediately went for the high end laptops and grabbed two with the largest screens available, as well as extra RAM and solid state drives.

The cashier was surprised at how much he was getting and when the total came up, he swiped a bank card that he had opened up 10 years prior. He knew that this day would come and had been saving up ever since. 

Trisha? He dialed her burner phone as he walked out of the store, You have a room number yet?

Yes, sending you the information now… Trisha said on the other end.

Marcko ended the call and waited for the information, which showed up seconds later.  Really, Trisha, the fifth floor? Marcko sighed. Usually they had gotten a room that was on the ground floor, that way they could make a quick escape.

I guess its ok since our situation has changed, Marcko shook his head and started towards the hotel.  It took him mere moments to get to the hotel, then another few