His friendly smile was gone as he fixed me with a stern look, causing the nervousness that faded to reappear in a flash. “There are things you’ve seen and experienced that you can’t quite explain. I know you're confused and maybe even a little frustrated, but there is a very important reason for all the secretiveness.” He pressed multiple buttons on the camera and pointed it at me.
“What’s the camera for?”
“Before I explain anything further, Adin, I need you to swear that none of what we discuss today will leave this campus. It’s vital that you agree to this.”
Was the subject matter so serious that I needed to swear on camera to shut up about it? Apparently. “Okay… What do I say?”
“Just repeat after me, I, Adin Anderson hereby swear that any subject matter or topic discussed today relating to Addison College is confidential and will not be spoken of outside the aforementioned premises, or to any persons besides Addison College staff or Addison College dorm students. Failure to do so will result in punishment that is seen fit by Addison College.”
The last part of the little speech confused me. Why only dorm students?
“Okay, begin, Adin.”
I looked right into the camera and mentally went over what Dean Dexter just said before repeating it word for word.
“Very good.” He pressed a few more buttons and again pointed the camera at me. “But we’re not quite done yet; there’s another confidentiality video we need to complete.”
“Another one?”
He nodded. “Yes, don’t worry, just repeat after me. I, Adin Anderson hereby swear that any subject matter or topic discussed today relating to Project Vita is confidential and will not be spoken to any other besides the dean of Addison College. Failure to do so will result in punishment that is seen fit by the dean of Addison College.”
Project Vita? I repeated what he said robotically.
“Alright, now that we have the formalities out of the way, we can finally get down to the nitty-gritty.” The older man put the camera down and focused on me. “There are a number of sensitive subjects that we’re going to be discussing. I'm not going to lie, some may…” He paused and shook his head. “No, some will shock and surprise you, so try to stay calm and listen to everything I have to say. But if you have any questions during, feel free to interrupt me. It is imperative that you grasp everything that I explain to you. Do you understand?”
Finally, it was the moment of truth. My chest tightened, and I shifted in the chair trying to get more comfortable, but nothing worked. I glanced up at the dean, hoping he didn't notice the episode. Just relax, Adin. Wiping away the beads of sweat forming on my forehead, I exhaled to even out my ragged breathing.
Dean Dexter smiled. “I see that you are ready now.”
Maybe he had noticed.
“I'll start from the very beginning. Addison College was founded in eighteen, seventy by a group of various scholars and quickly rose to prominence as a powerful institution, breeding many of our country’s finest. Still today, it is recognized as one of the most influential, academic institutes in the entire country.” He leaned forward. “And while that is common knowledge, what isn’t is that Addison College now serves primarily as a covert ops establishment to an elite organization. We are not officially part of the U.S. military; however, we do only accept contracts from them.”
I kept the shock from showing on my face, and believe me; it was no easy task. Covert Ops? Military? The words were recognizable but still didn't make much sense to me at the current time; they just weren’t part of my world. He might as well have been talking about dragons and unicorns.
“You took that better than most, Mr. Anderson.” He smiled, studying me.
His comment made me think. “Does… Candace know about all of this, too?”
“All of our recruits do.”
So what, I was supposed to believe the best friend that I've known basically forever was a part of this military group or whatever is it that he called them? Was it also the whole reason for my being here, so they could recruit me into their little army? I remember playing a war game as a kid where you played a covert ops agent, they were basically like spies, and I wasn't exactly James Bond. “So, you want me to join your group? And what does all of this have to do with my father's research?”
“Don't be so hasty, Adin. To complete the entire puzzle, you need all of the pieces.” Dean Dexter extended his arms out.
I guess he had a point; there was still too much I didn't know. “Okay… So what exactly is this group of yours?”
“Covert Ops - we are a clandestine organization that carry out classified missions. When the government needs something accomplished that needs… discretion, they call on us.”
“How many of you are there and why have I never heard of you?”
“You've never heard of us is because we do not exist. We have no name, and there is no documentation to prove otherwise. If you knew about us, we wouldn't be doing a very good job.” He smirked briefly. “And to answer your other question, the number of official organization members in active service is classified, and there are currently sixty-six recruits at this facility, sixty-seven if we include you.” He let the last part hang.
“Why so few?” How did they get anything done with so few members?
“Because all of our agents are hand-picked by current staff or organization members. You yourself are actually a bit late to be recruited, but because of certain recent events, we made an exception.”
“What events?”
“Your father’s research.”
“Who recruited me?”
“I did, actually.”
I paused, watching him. “Why?”
“I know you think you're solely here due to your father’s research, but that's only half of the truth. You know, we've actually met once before, at your father's funeral.”
Funny, how come I didn’t remember that? “We did?”
He nodded and sat back. “It makes sense you wouldn’t remember, a lot was going on at the time, and I was only there for a brief moment, but I digress. My point is, I saw something special from the moment I met you. I didn't know exactly what at the time, but it's only made itself more apparent since then.”
Was he talking about my transformations? He had to be. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at him with a questioning look.
The man clasped his hands and set them on the desk. “Yes, I know all about what's been happening to you.”
This time, I failed to keep the shock from my face. “How do you… Are you the one that's been covering everything up?”
“Yes, well, not me personally, but a few of our agents concealed the event regarding the unfortunate incident with that young man.”
Taylor. “Even the airport incident?”
“Yes.”
“Why? What is my father's research, what the hell is happening to me? Please tell me.” I shook my head in disbelief, desperation raising my voice. I was done being kept in the dark and wanted answers - now.
“What I'm about to tell you is even more classified than the previous information I just divulged. That's why I made you complete another confidentiality video. You must discuss this with no one other than me, not even Candace Green, do you understand?”
“I do understand… but what if I did tell someone besides you about this?” I couldn't help my curiosity.
“Like you repeated on camera earlier, you would be punished.”
“Has anyone ever broken the rules?”
“There was one instance.”
“What happened to them?”
“Death.” His gaze didn’t waver.
He was joking, right? Death? That was the penalty? Was that even legal?
“Sorry about that,” He finally let out a chuckle. “I couldn’t resist.”
I sighed. It seemed the Dean of Addison had a sense of humor.
“Anyway, before your father passed, he was working on a grand scale assignment called Projec
t Vita. The basis of the project was to create a unique virus that could genetically alter the physiology of a person.” He waved one hand. “For example, major illnesses to lesser ones such as cancer to diabetes would be completely eradicated. It could even speed up the recovery of damaged nerves or broken bones - a truly universal drug. The virus….” He paused again to glance at the ceiling. “We’ll simply call virus X was intended for general population use in early development, but we found that it had other properties that could be used to aid organization personnel. Better mental focus and increased stamina to name a few. We estimated the effect of such a drug would increase field operation success greatly.” He raised a finger and smiled. “You could see how valuable that would be to us. And that point finally brings us to you. When your father, Andrew passed away in a lab explosion on this very campus almost a decade ago, an alarming amount of information on virus X was also lost. We’ve searched, dug, and scrambled for more, but have recovered an insignificant portion of the lost research. But as I wrote in that letter a few months ago, what we have recovered recently states your name several times throughout certain sections. So, we deployed agents to gather more information on you –”
I shot out of my seat, nearly tipping it over, not having registered much of what he said passed virus. So, a virus was inside me? My entire body shuddered with disgust. I felt violated and infected. But worse than that, betrayed. “So, I was injected with this virus by my…” The words came out thick as I grabbed the dean's desk for support, a sudden wave of weakness hitting me.
Dean Dexter was beside me in an instant and put a hand on my back. “Breathe, Adin.”
I took some deep breaths with closed eyes and sat back down once calm. “Did you know…?” I looked up into his blue irises, searching for the truth.
He stood against the edge of the desk, still in front of me. “No, not until the day we saw you do what you did to that young man.”
After a bit, I averted my eyes to the bookshelf on the far side of the room. My father had injected me with this virus sometime when I was a kid. My mind was still reeling at the absurdness of the situation. I mean, this was my life, not some comic book! “So… you were spying on me?” There were moments it felt like I was being watched. It was an eerie feeling, and now I knew where it came from.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it spying.”
I would.
Dean Dexter put on a reassuring smile. “Like I said, we were just gathering intel and didn't want to cause unnecessary complications in your life unless certain you were crucial to our future endeavors. And in what we discovered with your abnormal transformations, you absolutely are.”
“But you sent me the letter explaining the research, the day before my first one. Weren't you interfering with my life then?”
His eyes opened as he nodded. “Ah, well that was a total coincidence. You see, once we witnessed what you could do your capacity in coming to this school completely changed. Out of the thousands of students that come to Addison, a majority of them are just that, students. Originally, you were to come to this school as just a regular student and if you could provide any info about Project Vita, then great.”
Now it made sense why they only let such a small number of students live on campus, to better hide their secrets. “So, now instead of a student, you want me as one of your organization's agents?”
“Recruit, yes.”
“And as a guinea pig.” I wasn't stupid, I knew that was the most important factor in why they wanted me.
The dean gently smiled. “Also, to help in our research, yes. It's glaringly obvious virus X inside you has advanced into something… unforeseen. At best, we’ve only managed to come up with incomplete strains of the virus, and even with our cheap imitations, they increase field success by almost six percent. But you…” He leaned forward and stared at me with starry eyes. “You have no military nor martial arts training, and yet took down two trained Korean soldiers, single-handedly. It is truly remarkable.” He shook his head. “I’m not sure why your father injected you, but it is in both of our interests to find out what exactly is happening to you.”
So those masked men at the airport really were soldiers as Candace said; attacks like that weren't unheard of with us currently at war with North Korea. Gazing down at the floor, I clenched the wood arms of my chair until it hurt and when I couldn’t take it anymore let go and looked back up at the dean of Addison. “I’m sorry… but I’m no spy or soldier, or whatever it is you want me to be.” I shook my head with my mind firmly made. “I’ll do my best to help your research. And if you’re still offering, I’d love to be a student –”
“Who are you?” He shot out of the blue.
“What?”
“Who are you?” He asked again, slower this time.
“Who am I?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand…”
He waved his hand dismissively in the air. “You said you’re no spy or soldier - then who are you?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out.
And after several seconds of uncomfortable silence – well for me anyway, he sat up straighter. “Let me tell you a short story. There’s a man who lives his life unknowingly in a made-up world. One day, a group of strangers inform him of this fabricated world and give him a choice; stay safe, but 'asleep' and ignorant to what’s going or 'wake up' and face incredible danger, but forever change the world. Which one do you think he chooses?”
Of course I knew the answer. “To wake up.”
“Bingo!” He popped off his desk, which in turn made me do a little bunny hop in my chair. “Do you know why?” His eyes were full of anticipation.
I thought about the story for a moment, digesting it. “Hm, kinda sounds like The Matrix.”
He suddenly started coughing into his hand, making me look at him with a raised eyebrow. Then, he cleared his throat and sat back against the edge of the desk once more. “The answer is because not knowing the truth, being ignorant or running away because you’re scared of the unknown would be a fate worse than death.” His expression was hard. “There is never going to be a moment in your life where it’s the right time to do something special. Sometimes, you have to create it.”
“B-But I don’t know anything about fighting… The only reason I’m not dead right this second is the virus... I’m nothing special.” I dug my heels into the carpet floor. Just the memory of fighting those two Korean soldiers terrified me, even now.
He shrugged. “Maybe you’re right and are just an average kid with no real shot at being a covert ops agent. Maybe it could’ve happened to someone else. But it didn’t.” His gaze drilled into me. “You’re here right now. You were injected. You have a virus inside you as we speak.” His voice then softened. “Ill-gotten gains can be made good, Adin. I know this isn’t what you chose, but sometimes when you’re knocked off your path, you discover talents you never knew existed. Let me make you into something special.” He spread his arms wide. “Let Addison make you into something special.”
I stood as still as a statue, but inside me was a symphony of chaos, my heart hammering and head swimming in lightheadedness. “But I…”
“Too many times we as human beings have robbed ourselves of tremendous opportunity because we choose what’s 'logical.’” Dean Dexter took a few steps and grabbed my hand to place it on my heart; the rhythmic beating vibrated through my palm.
“Your mind is a wasp’s nest of fear and doubt, don’t pay attention to it. But instead, listen to your heart – it will never lie to you.”
I peered up at Dean Dexter then down at my hand pressed against my chest, not sure what to do. But after a moment’s hesitation shut my eyes and retreated to a place deep inside me, searching for an answer, searching my future. What do I do? I’m scared. I could be a nurse like my mom, or even do something with computers. But something pulled at me from every direction at that moment, nearly ripping me apart and sneering at the notion o
f being normal. Just another blip passing momentarily through this existence we call life. It was then I knew the answer and opened my eyes to meet his. “What… what happens if I join?”
A huge smile stretched across the dean’s face. “I'd like to put you through a battery of tests to determine what exactly is happening to you. And your life as an organization recruit will begin. If you accept of course.”
I took the biggest breath of my life and nodded. “Okay, what do I need to do?”
“You’ll go for an aptitude test to determine what classes and dorm house to place you in. For all, intents and purposes, this is still an academic institution, so you will have normal college classes and basic, organization training classes. Our school ambassador will explain the rest to you.” He patted my shoulder. “For now, get some rest. I know I've unloaded a lot on you today.”
I cleared my throat. “Actually, sir, I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“The girl I was with…. Noir. I met her on my flight in Miami. What was she doing there?”
He nodded. “Ah, I see you've taken an interest in Miss Ancel. She was returning from another mission. Meeting you and then stumbling upon those terrorists was purely chance.”
“Oh, that clears it up for me then, thanks.” I stood up and walked to the door but paused there when he spoke again.
“Remember, no one is to know of what we spoke about today, not even your family.”
“I know.” Once out of his sight, I immediately slid to the floor against his office door and covered my face with both hands. Why was I agreeing to all of this? The life I had known before was completely gone now. Could I even handle all of this? An agent for an organization who didn't even have a name; I laughed out loud. “You have got to be kidding.”
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