1 Chapter 1

Two months might not seem like a lot of time but trust me it is. It had been exactly two months since my fight with Braxton and everything had just gone back to normal….save for the fact that I was now part of my city's most elite task force. But I'll get to that in a little bit. For now, let's start with my current situation.

"You're zoning out again," Ashley said, poking my face. "Are you not sleeping at night?"

I blinked and sat up in my chair. I was currently sitting in Algebra 2 and it was by far my most boring class on my schedule. You ever have those teachers who just drone on and on while the entire class is sleep? Yeah, that's Ms Fairview. She's a middle aged woman with dark red hair and grey eyes who made lectures feel like torture. She was a sweet lady by all means but her voice had the power to put people to sleep the minute she opened her mouth.

"Yeah I'm fine," I responded. "Just trying not to look like I'm dying of boredom."

Ashley laughed. "Ms Fairview does have that affect on people."

I glanced around to see that most of classmates were either sleep with their heads on their desks or on their phones scrolling on social media. I looked up at the clock and saw that there were about fifty minutes left in class but they seemed to be dragging.

I haven't heard anything from Mr Knight since I agreed to join his team, I thought absentmindedly.

After agreeing to help the Sentinels catch Alexis, I thought they'd keep in regular contact with me but I hadn't gotten a call or text from Mr Knight in almost two weeks and I was beginning to wonder if I had changed his mind about the whole thing. A part of me was stilling to piece together everything I had learned from him though. Alexis was now possibly the leader of a crime syndicate but how had she done it? What had she been doing in the past four years? I leaned back in my chair with my hands behind my head and stared at the ceiling. There was a strong possibility that I would eventually come face to face with her but what would the outcome be? As much as I wanted to crush her for what she'd done, I also had questions. Suddenly, the door to the classroom opened and in walked a man and a woman dressed in matching charcoal gray business suits with white dress shirts and red ties. The man looked to be about maybe thirty or forty with dark skin and coily hair cut into a taper. He was tall and well built and had a carefree expression on his face as he scanned the room before looking eyes with me and smiling politely. The woman beside him was short with raven black hair and fierce hazel eyes that radiated seriousness and authority. Her skin was tan with a small beauty mark underneath her left eye.

"Can I help you?" Ms Fairview asked, placing her marker down.

The man cleared his throat before speaking. "Hi, Ms Fairview. My name is Agent Whitaker and this is my partner Agent Kelly. We're here for a student by the name of Josiah Smith, is he in attendance?"

Everyone in the class turned to stare at me nervously as I rose from my seat. Ashley looked perplexed as her eyes darted from the agents to me and back again. Agent Kelly walked towards me briskly and stopped a few feet away from me.

"You're to come with us, Josiah, by order of Director Nathans. We've taken the liberty of informing your parents of this arrangement and have procured your belongings from your residence. You have ten minutes to meet us in front of the building," she said, her tone sharp and brisk.

"In other words, it's time Josiah," Agent Whitaker said, a slight chuckle in his voice.

I nodded, feeling my nerves tingle as I grabbed my backpack. I turned to Ashley and blinked twice to let her know to use her powers.

What the hell is going on? She asked telepathically. Are you in trouble?

I shook my head and thought the words 'I'll explain later' in my mind before following the agents into the hallway. Once we were outside the classroom, Agent Kelly turned to look back at me as we walked down the hall to the exit.

"Sorry about the formalities, kid," she said, her tone sounding slightly like an older sister. "Part of the job when we interact with the public. But yeah, it's time for you to begin your training with us."

"Where are we headed?" I asked.

"Sentinel HQ in Lombard," Agent Whitaker said, pulling out a set of car keys. "But before that, we're getting lunch so we can brief you. You like Wendy's?"

I stared back at him in confusion. "Uh…yeah?"

These were the Sentinels? The elite enforcers of the authorities who no one could beat? They seemed…..childish in a way. I felt like I was talking to two college students who were extremely chill and laidback but….there was no mistaking that the both of them were extremely powerful people. Agent Whitaker glanced back at me and cocked an eyebrow in concern.

"You alright back there? You look puzzled."

"Can we make a stop at a classroom? There's someone I need to see before we leave," I said, a face popping into my mind.

Both agents exchanged knowing looks but agreed as I led them to the school chemistry lab where I knew she'd be. I motioned for them both to hang back while I entered the classroom. Sitting at a table in the far right corner of the room was my girlfriend, Yasmine Knight. She had become the center of world since we had starting dating but ever since I had taken up her dad's offer, she had been distant with me. She was still affectionate and caring but I could tell she still wasn't happy about me being roped into all this just as our relationship was beginning to deepen. She looked up from her notebook when she heard my footsteps as I walked towards her. She was dressed in a white v neck T-shirt that was worn underneath a red and black flannel shirt, black jeans and a pair of black UGG boots that I had gotten her awhile back. Her curly hair was pulled up into a messy bun to keep it out of her eyes as she worked on her notes.

"Hey," I said timidly.

"Who're your friends?" She asked, pointing her pen at Agents Whitaker and Kelly who stood in the doorframe.

"They were sent here to come get me," I responded. "I start my training today."

"Cool," she said offhandedly.

She then went back to writing her notes as if I wasn't even there. I blinked in confusion as I stared at her, expecting her to say something else but she didn't. She just kept writing and flipping through her notes like she didn't even care. I glanced back at the agents who were making a point to look at something on there phones then turned my attention back to my girlfriend.

Say something, I thought.

"I came to say bye," I said lamely. "I didn't wanna leave without seeing you first."

Without bothering to look up, Yasmine responded, "Well you saw me so mission accomplished, right?"

I felt blood rush to my face but not from anger but from…my feelings being a bit hurt. I had expected her to hug me or kiss me or something. But it was as if I was bothering her by just being in the room. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing would come out. Was that really all she had to say? She wasn't gonna tell me good luck or see you later? Without another word, I made my way to the door, brushing pass both agents but making a point to slam the door as I left. I made my way to the exit, feeling tears in my eyes a bit but I wiped them away and banished any thoughts of Yasmine from my mind. If she wanted to give me the cold shoulder then I'd return the favor.

"Thanks to your little detour we've got about seven minutes left to get to our drop off point and hand you off to Agent Knight. So no Wendy's for you, bud," Agent Whitaker said.

"Whatever," I said quietly. "Let's just go."

Once inside the car, we zipped through the streets at a breakneck speed. Agent Whitaker swerved between lanes of traffic with frightening ease while Agent Kelly pulled out her phone and sent several messages in the span of a second. I was in the back seat watching the various buildings and people blur past as we turned onto 19th Avenue and sped through the intersection.

"You'll be staying at HQ for the duration of the mission. Training is everyday for six hours and you'll have various instructors but it'll all be one on one. You'll still have contact with your friends but it'll be limited," Whitaker said, looking at me through the rear view mirror.

"What're you guys gonna teach me?" I asked, genuinely curious.

Whitaker turned onto Plano Drive then pulled onto an expressway and floored it.

"Advanced hand to hand techniques, stealth maneuvers and intel gathering," Agent Kelly answered. "What can you tell us about Alexis?"

I felt myself internally flinch at her name but brushed it off.

"We were friends four years ago but I've never seen her use her ability ever. She operates through manipulation and information gathering. She can fight pretty well too," I said, thinking back to the time she took on five alphas at once and came out unscathed.

"How well?" Whitaker asked, swerving around a car and onto an exit.

"Whatever training she's had, she's basically untouchable in a fight," I said bitterly.

"You guys have fought before?" He asked.

I nodded. "Right after she exposed me. I couldn't control my powers before so I took to using hand to hand combat but she beat me. Badly."

"So she's not only skilled but possibly powerful," Agent Kelly murmured. "Qualities you'd need to run a black market operation and get several strong individuals to back to back you up. You still wanna go through with this, kid?"

I clenched my fist. Although I was still slightly apprehensive about this, I had to face the one piece of my past that had left me scarred. I wasn't going to run from her and let do what she wanted to other people like she had done go Braxton. I had been secretly preparing for our inevitable reunion. I could still remember the last thing she'd said to me before I left for Charter.

"No matter where you go, I'll always find you, Joey. Till infinity, right?"

I shuddered at the thought.

"Let's do it," I said firmly.

"We're here," Whitaker said in a cheerful tone.

We pulled into the underground garage of a huge gunmetal grey office building that was the tallest building in the surrounding area with stainless glass windows. We exited the car and entered through a door that Whitaker slid a keycard into and stepped onto an elevator that had buttons for floors one through twenty five but he pressed none of the buttons. Instead he opened a panel that had several different symbols on the buttons where the numbers would be. The button he pressed was an upside down triangle with two arrows going through it and a diamond in the center, the insignia of the authorities that was seen on all their buildings and uniforms. Whitaker and Kelly held onto my shoulders as the doors closed and the elevator shot upwards rapidly.

"We're taking you to meet Director Nathans first," Kelly explained. "She asked to speak to you personally before we begin your training."

"Why?" I asked, perplexed.

Whitaker shrugged. "She wouldn't say, just that she wanted to speak to you and get a feel for you."

I frowned at that. Why would the director of the authorities and Sentinels wanna speak to me personally? Had Mr Knight told her about me? If so, what exactly had he said that would make her send two Sentinels to pick me up at school and bring me here? So many questions were buzzing through my head but I couldn't come up with any plausible answers to them. I wondered what kind of person Director Nathans was. She obviously had to be powerful in order to in charge of not only the authorities but the Sentinels as well but besides that, who was she? I had never seen her many appearances on the news or attend any political events. She would always send a liaison for though things which made rumors circulate about her and who she was that made her so mysterious.

"One thing before you meet her," Kelly said, cupping my chin to make me look directly into her eyes.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"Nothing in this building is what it seems," she whispered conspiratorially. "Keep your eyes open and trust no one."

"Not even you guys?" I asked shakily.

"Not even us," Whitaker said, his tone deadly serious.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Whitaker and Kelly stepped off and looked back at me, their faces deadpan but their eyes holding a message to remember what they just told me. I nodded and followed them down the carpeted hallway, now more wary than I was in the beginning. We came to a stop at a pair of double oak doors with steel handles on them. The hallway itself was largely empty save for the occasional agent who would rush by as if they were avoiding this room. On the walls hung several pictures full of people who I assumed had been past directors but there was a startling detail about all of them that sent a chill up my spine. They all had the same cold and piecing steel blue eyes that seemed to pick you apart and read you like an open book. Kelly rapped on the door four times then stepped back. There was silence at first then there was the sound of something unlocking and then a very cold and stern voice spoke from the other side.

"Enter."

Whitaker and Kelly nodded at me.

I took a deep breath to steel myself. Whoever was on the other side was making me want to run but I pushed it down and placed my hand on the door. Taking a step forward, I pushed the door open and entered, Kelly's grim face being the last thing I saw in my peripheral before the door shut.