Recruiting
9 P.M, Queens, New York
It was a stormy night. The rain was pouring and a harsh wind was knocking drops of water everywhere. It was a street in one of the districts close to JFK airport. A nasty narrow street, full of homeless people.
Everyone was running to their homes or to find a shelter and none of them was paying any heed to the dark and slime figure who had stood in a dark narrow alley which was in front of a club. A big flashing neon light banner was hanging in front of the club, carrying its name, “Sweat home”. Its red light was lighting up the hooded figure for a few seconds each time and gave it a creepy state. Drops of water were dripping from its black raincoat which matched its black jeans and boots. The hood of the coat had covered its face with its shade. The person’s clenched hands were in the coat’s pockets. If someone could see the person’s eyes they could evidently see hesitance in them.
Suddenly thunder lit the street. An ear-piercing roaring rattled the windows and the rain intensified. Like it was some sort of alert, the figure took a deep breath and finally stepped out of the darkness of the alley and into the street, and with a few long strides, it was in front of the club’s door. With no more hesitation, it pushed open the door and went inside.
Immediately light and warmth welcomed them. The figure pulled off its hood and revealed a woman with pale skin. Her mid-waist dark curly brown hair had covered her thin beautiful face and her rosy lips had beautifully added color to her pale face. But her eyes were a different story, sharp black orbs which could pierce your soul and see your darkest thoughts. She was indeed very beautiful, slim, and tall but dangerous nonetheless, although she even didn’t look like an adult.
The girl took off her coat. She had a cream woolen blouse under it. The club was so crowded and laughter and shouting had filled the air. The girl’s keen eyes searched the place and then found her targets. The corners of her lips slightly went up. Her eyes were fixed on two giant men with grim faces, sitting at the counter. Their very short hair and ready and muscular bodies were revealing their jobs; professional soldiers.
The girl opened her way to the counter and sat on an empty stool next to one of them who was a bit smaller than the other, just a little bit. His light brown hair matched his blue eyes and had styled his shaved handsome face. He had worn a white shirt with khaki cargo trousers. The other had light blond hair which almost made him look bald. He had a white T-shirt as well but with black Combat trousers and black boots.
The man next to the girl slightly turned his head and glanced at her. He then looked ahead again and grabbed his big mug in his hand and brought it to his lips. “kids.” He whispered before taking a sip of his coffee. The girl smirked.
Just then, one of the barmaids came and stood in front of her with a little notebook in her hand. Her light yellow short-sleeve dress and white apron were clean. Her golden hair had been neatly pulled back into a bun. “Hello, sweetie. How can I help you? We have a delicious chocolate cake but only a few slices have remained.” she said with a warm smile.
“Just a cup of coffee with three sugar cubes and no milk. Thank you.” answered the girl politely. Her voice was soft and smooth.
“Of course. In a minute.” Said the barmaid and she returned a few seconds later with a cup of coffee and placed it in front of the girl and then went to serve the others.
The girl looked around. Everyone around them was busy with their own business. She then looked at the men next to her. “good evening, gentlemen.” She said with a collected voice. The man who was distant from her pay her no heed but the one next to her turned his head to her. “Go and find someone else, kid.” He said. “I’m not really in a mood to talk to a child.” Something about this girl was disturbing him. Her eyes ...
The girl smiled coldly and placed her cup on the counter. “I know.” She said. “Sometimes it’s hard to obey some orders. Especially, if they are in contrast with your own rules.” Said the girl in a low voice so only the three of them could hear her.
The other man’s head who was silent till that moment jerked to her. Both men were looking at her with surprised and cautious looks.
The girl took her cup without looking at them and held it in front of her lips. “There is no need for violence, Mr. Harris. I have no danger for you and I don’t think it looks good you attack a little kid with a hunting knife in the middle of this lovely club.” She said calmly.
The man who had sat next to her, Harris in fact, slowly retrieved his hand which had gone to his back and placed it in his lap. His eyes were full of surprise. “Who are you?” asked the other man.
The girl placed her cup on the counter and turned to them. “I’m Susan Grays.” She said. “And It’s good to see you too, Mr. Bishop.”
***
Bishop and Harris were looking at the slim girl who had sat in front of them and looking at them with her odd eyes. Those orbs gave you an impression like she knew everything.
“What do you want?” Growled Harris lowly.
“There is no need to be angry, Mr. Harris. I assure you that I have no bad intentions.” Said Susan and raised her hands in surrender. “Actually, I’m here to offer you a new job.”
“You don’t know us. I don’t remember to see you before.” Said Bishop and examined the girl in front of him intently. His light brown eyes were sending daggers. Although she seemed dangerous, she couldn’t be more than 18. How the hell could she know them?
Susan smiled devilishly and her eyes shone. “Oh, I beg to differ.” She said and looked at Harris. “John Harris, 26. Graduated from MIT university in IT engineering at age 21. A genius in the field of computers. Joined Army a year after and soon found his way to special forces. A great snipper and hacker. Send to Iraq when he was 25 only to return a few months later, unsatisfied with his missions but still a part of special forces and a key asset. But be aware. CIA had added your name to their NST list, National Security Threats. You are under close watch after returning from Iraq.” Said Susan and then took her eyes off of Harris whose jaws had hanged open and turned to Bishop.
“Thomas Bishop, 28. Trained soldier and professional Commando of special forces. Graduated from National War College with A grades. Soon joined the United States Armed forces. A great asset for the CIA and Pentagon. Had special training missions in southeast Asia and so many secret missions all over the world. And now he is working for special forces. A close friend of John Harris and his leader in Iraq. Returned with him because of the same reasons.” She paused for a second and peered into Bishop’s eyes. “You too are in the NST list, Mr. Bishop.” She said lowly. She then took a deep breath and straightened her back. “This was only a brief report of what I know about you, Mr. Harris. I don’t go after those I don’t know to offer them this job.”
“What job?” asked Bishop after a moment without taking his eyes off of Susan. “Tom.” Warned Harris but Bishop raised his big hand and silenced him. Something about this girl made him trust her.
Susan dropped her head and for a mere second both men saw a shadow of hesitance in her eyes and the mask of womanhood went away from her face and she was only a teenager, but it was only a mere second. She took a deep breath, raised her head and the mask was on her face with the light of determination back to her eyes. She looked at Harris. “Do you know me? You must have been heard of me.” she said.
Harris thought for a moment and then his eyes grew wide with realization. “Oh my God. Are you her?” he asked excitedly and put his hand on his head. “That girl who hacked the CIA, Pentagon, and MI6 high classified databases at the same time when she was only 9.”
Susan smiled weakly and gazed at a distance. “very childish action. I only asked for money. I could’ve asked for the whole world.” She said bitterly and looked at the two men. “but yes, I’m the one.”
Harris laughed and leaned backward. “God, you are a legend between the hackers.” He said but quickly frowned. “But wait a second. You must be ... let me see ... only 16 years old now.”
“I look older, don’t I?” said Susan and chuckled bitterly. “that childish act to prove myself changed my life forever. I became a Global threat. And they even wanted to send me to a very special prison.” she said and then giggled. “Like they could have kept me there.” She whispered.
“Well, Ms. Grays.” Said Bishop. “Why are you here?”
Susan stared at him for a moment. His determination and seriousness while working were two of the things she liked a lot. “As I said, since I was 9, my life changed forever. Instead of killing me, a man took me under his wings and helped me to scape, but I was forced to secretly work for the CIA. And let me say it was not an easy 6 years, for I could see some nasty things and could do nothing.” she said and a shadow passed her eyes. “last year, somehow I managed to get out of there, and now I want to do something about all of the actions I wanted to do but couldn’t.”
“So you want to fight with the darkness, huh?” scuffed Bishop.
Susan was silent for a moment. “Is It not what you two did last night? To Let go the target you were supposed to kill?” the words came out of her mouth like a whisper, but that was enough for two men to sat upright and alarmed. Susan smiled triumphantly. Then she became serious. “I have seen so many innocent people died because of the greed of a man. So many people suffered just because someone wanted more power. I have seen so many dirty hands and I want to cut them off.” She said.
“And she turned the world to heaven and everyone lived happily ever after, yes? Honey, this is the real world, not a fairy tale that your mother read for you before sleep. Cut a hand, two others will take its place. You know nothing of this world, Ms. Grays, you are only a kid. It’s fouler than something you imagine.” Said Bishop angrily, obviously impatient. “I hate these genius kids who thought they are clever enough to change the world.”
“At least, I will try to save more people like Dr. smith.” Said Susan calmly with a weak smile and took her coat and searched her hidden pocket. Bishop’s angry words didn’t seem to affect her at all. Both men’s hands went for their hidden weapons unconsciously and that only made Susan’s smile grew wider. She pulled out a parcel and placed it in front of them and then stood. “I want to give you a chance to fight for what you believe in as well.” She said, placed the cash for the coffee on the counter and walked out of the club. She put on her coat on her way to the door and soon were lost in the outside’s darkness.
Harris and Bishop looked at the envelope silently. Bishop slowly took it and opened it. His brows went up. “What’s it?” asked Harris. Bishop pulled out two passports and two pieces of paper from inside of the parcel and handed them to Harris. They were tickets for a flight and faked passports for them.
“China?” asked Harris confused and looked at Bishop who was looking at the door. “What does she want to do there?”
Bishop didn’t answer. “She knew everything about Smith. She knew everything about us. That girl is an ultimate genius. What should we do now?” asked Harris.
“I don’t think she will do anything against us or we were dead now.” Answered Bishop.
“Can we trust her?” asked Harris.
“No,” answered Bishop. “We can’t.”
