To make it look more like a random break-in, they often took tins of spray paint and painted graffiti on the walls. Often breaking in at weekends and copying the secrets they needed. On Monday, the staff would notice the break-in and graffiti and assume it was just kids. They would never check to see if secret files had been tampered with.
The other advantage was, should they ever get caught, they could use the same story until a member of Infinity could get them released. Infinity had so many contacts with various law enforcement agencies and government secret services that any member of Infinity would not be held for very long.
Karl, Connor, Kevin, and Jason sat in Jason’s room on the floor eating peanuts, mostly by flicking them in the air and catching them in their mouths. They told Jason their own special abilities. Karl explained he could hold his breath for nearly fifteen minutes. He also was a brilliant swimmer and top marksman. He was a member of the German army cadets. His record scores as a marksman and his ability to hold his breath under water were noticed by Infinity so he was recruited.
Kevin was from South Korea. His teachers suspected he was a boy genius but further investigation found he had a photographic memory. He could read any schoolbook and remember all the answers. Infinity use him for gathering information. He was also a black belt in Taekwondo and was studying for his Second Dan. He was one of the youngest in South Korea to achieve black belt at age eight.
Connor came from a sporting family. He won the New Zealand junior weighting competition at age ten, beating many fourteen–year-olds. He held a black belt in Judo, plays for the Junior All-Blacks Rugby team when he is home, and can run a hundred meters in eleven seconds. His burst of speed and power for a young boy made him a perfect candidate for Infinity.
Jason learnt from his new friends how some of the girls could climb a sheer rock face, a twenty-five story building. They made excellent cat burglars. All the students had a great natural gift that gave them an ability to do the unexpected. In espionage, using a child no one would suspect was a useful tool that Infinity had been utilizing for decades.
*
At five am, the early morning buzzer went off. Jason had been instructed the day before. He slipped on his jogging pants, shirt, and shoes and ran to the main hall. He met up with Karl and Kevin, as most of the other students arrived. Jason pulled his long bangs over his eyes. Everyone was looking at him, being he was the new student.
“Where’s Connor?” Jason asked Kevin.
“He’s always the last one here,” Kevin said. No sooner had he said it and they heard someone break wind loudly behind them. Most of the students complained. Jason turned and saw Connor walking towards him waving his hands at his back-side.
“Oh that one’s gonna be ripe mate, all those peanuts we ate.” Connor laughed. Kevin, Karl, and Jason all sniggered.
A girl who Jason guessed she was about fifteen glared at the boys. “That’s all we need, another gross immature boy. I thought you were more grown-up Jason. There is nothing funny about Connor. He is disgusting,” she said. Jason thought she sounded American.
“It was just a fart. We all do it, even stuck up Canadians like you,” Connor said. The girl raised her nose in the air and strode off. Connor turned to Jason. “Don’t take no notice of Mosquito Bites, she thinks her poop doesn’t stink.”
“Mosquito Bites?” Jason asked, not knowing why she was given that nickname.
“Yeah did you see her chest?” Connor laughed.
“No,” Jason said.
“Exactly. I’ve seen bigger mosquito bites,” Connor said.
Jason roared with laughter. He knew it was wrong to tease someone, but the casual way Connor mentioned it in his Australian accent made it all the more amusing. Jason took an instant liking to Connor and was already feeling comfortable with his new school.
The large door opened and the students followed the corridor. It went back up to the school room 1G. They all made their way out onto the school running track. Waiting for them was a well-built man in his late forties wearing a black tracksuit with the Infinity logo. Jason suspected he was ex-military with the way he carried himself. He walked with his chest un-naturally sticking out. He has a baldhead. Jason couldn’t work out if he had lost his hair or shaved his head.
“Okay, for the sake of our new recruit, Mr. Jason Steed, I want twelve laps, and anyone I think is slacking will do twenty laps.” He paused and looked at the group of youths, many still yawning, some with hair un-brushed and sleep still in their eyes. “Go,” he barked.
Jason followed the others and kept with Karl, Kevin, and Connor. He stayed a few paces ahead of Connor. He didn’t want to be behind him if he still had gas and be in the direct firing line.
The pace was much faster than he had expected. By the tenth lap he had to push himself to keep with the others to complete the last two laps. When the run was over, they had to perform push-ups, sit-ups, and finish with what they called a warm-down lap of the field.
By six thirty, they all left the school field and returned downstairs. To anyone arriving at the school after six thirty in the morning, there was no evidence that the school track and field had just been used. Infinity kept the fourteen students hidden as they had done for decades.
The students showered and ate breakfast. By nine, they had some lessons upstairs in the main school. Here, they would mingle and make regular friends with the international students. However, for certain lessons, they would go back downstairs to perform lessons in subjects normal school children would never do.
Jason’s third lesson was gun practice. He was a novice with a gun but the only one in the class who had actually shot someone before. Karl was by far the best shot in the class of fourteen but was interested in knowing what it was like to shoot someone.
When the lesson was over, Jason turned in his goggles and ear protection. He threw his paper target in the trash. He had hit it just three times out of thirty shots. Karl, on the other hand, had drawn a smiley face on his paper target with bullets and had his target at one hundred feet compared to everyone else who had targets set at between twenty five to fifty feet.
At lunch, Karl, Kevin, Connor, and Jason sat together in the canteen upstairs in the main school.
“Jason, how many have you killed with a gun?” Karl asked.
“Shush, keep your voice down,” Kevin hissed.
“How many Jason, what was it like?” Karl asked again quietly.
Jason tried ignoring the question, but after he repeated it, he finished his mouthful and suddenly looked very serious. “The first person was with a knife. I have also used a gun, a grenade, and once my fist; the impact also broke two of my fingers. Killing someone does not make you feel sad or happy. You feel empty and very ashamed.”
The others looked wide-eyed at each other. It was Connor who spoke first. “You killed someone with your fist, just a punch?”
“I hope you never have to, but it was a situation where a friend was killed in front of me. I had no weapon, just my hands. I was told by my karate master never to use the punch until I’m at least sixteen because my bones are not fully developed. However, I had no choice,” Jason said glumly.
“What gun were you using when you shot someone? Does their brains splat out everywhere?” Karl asked.
“I don’t know much about guns. When you shoot someone or you see someone get shot and the person’s eyes are looking at you one second and turn lifeless the next, it’s not something you wish to remember or talk about.”
“Do you get nightmares?” Connor asked.
Jason signed he wasn’t comfortable with the questions. “For those who I hurt or killed, no, it was they or I. But I still see someone who died in my arms almost two years ago, my friend Todd Johnson. We were both eleven, and he was shot.” Jason eyes glazed over.
“Hey enough of this,” Kevin said. “This is no way to treat our new friend. I’m sure he would rather talk about girls. Did you see any you like Jason?”
Jason cleare
d his throat and wiped his eyes. “I never got a chance to see much of them yet. Do you guys have girlfriends?” He smiled and nodded thankfully at Kevin for changing the subject. Kevin smiled back and nodded, his dark Asian eyes watchful and warm. Kevin was the smallest of the group but seemed the most mature.
“Nah, I don’t yet, but I have made out with one. Most of the Infinity girls think they are too good for us, and it’s hard to date the girls up here because they may ask questions,” Connor said.
“Questions?” Jason asked.
“What he means is, you can’t get too close to the international students. What if they ask why they only see you for certain lessons or where you live? Then you would have to lie. Not much of a friendship is it?” Kevin said.
“Tim is a sixteen-year-old student who is downstairs with us and Infinity. He goes out with a student up here. He has to be very careful what he says and admits he hates lying to her,” Karl said.
*
The afternoon’s lesson comprised of military first aid and a class on picking locks. Jason never thought he would ever find a school that he would enjoy. The truth was, he loved it at Infinity. He slowly became a good shot, was able to pick most locks, and became efficient in first aid. Martial arts were good exercise for him. For the most part of the lessons, he showed off his moves and enjoyed sparing with the other students.
He had put off calling his father. He was concerned he may have to lie to him. Although rather than Jason do most of the talking, his father did. He informed Jason that the traffic was getting so bad in London that it made sense for Brenda to stay at the house on a more permanent basis.
The call lasted over ten minutes. Once it was over, Jason realized that he hadn’t been asked much. The call was very one sided. It struck Jason that his father had become very close to Brenda and seemed to sound more alive, even younger. It was nice for him to know his father was happy, and if Brenda made him happy then he would just accept her into the family as well. His mother had been dead now since his birth thirteen years ago. It was time his father found someone who he could care for and would love him back.
Scott Turner wasn’t so easy to talk to. He had far too many questions for Jason. On the third attempt to change the subject, Scott stopped him and asked him what was wrong. Jason told him he couldn’t say anything over the phone and Scott accepted that. He was far too smart to be lied to, and he was one of the only people in the world apart from his father who he trusted, so he would never lie to him. That made it hard to answer Scott’s questions. Jason never called Catherine. He sent her a letter.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The days turned to weeks and the weeks to months Jason wasn’t sure how he felt about the prospect of taking six weeks off for recess. He wanted to get home to see his father, Scott, and Catherine. On the other hand he loved the school. He had never been as fit as he was. The morning run and long workouts suited him. He had become close friends with Conner and was amazed by his strength and will power. Conner could bench press two hundred and thirty pounds. For a fourteen-year-old, that was incredible.
An announcement over the speaker system called both Connor and Jason to report immediately to Quentin Roosevelt’s office. Both boys ran down the corridor pushing each other into the walls on the way to try and get ahead, even attempting to trip each other up and both laughing. They were still both giggling when they called to go into his office. Dexter sat at the large conference table next to Quentin, along with a female student. It was the Canadian girl who Conner called Mosquito Bites.
“Something amusing Conner?” Dexter asked.
“No sir, we raced here, and he tried cheating pushing me into the wall.” Conner grinned.
“That’s a lie. I would have beat you here but you kept bumping into me and holding me back.” Jason laughed, bumping Connor with his shoulder.
“Well it’s good you two get on well. Do you know Cameron?” Dexter asked.
“Yes sir,” Both boys answered together.
“Cameron, how well do you know Connor and Jason?” Dexter asked.
She looked at the boys and turned her nose up at them both. “Connor is crude, loud, smelly, and immature. As for Jason, we all heard what a superstar agent he was before he got here, but he seems to follow Conner around laughing at his stupid jokes. I’m surprised Jason isn’t more mature.”
“Who are you calling smelly, you stuck up b…” Connor stopped himself. “Stuck up Canadian.”
“I’m thirteen not thirty. So what if I laugh at Connor’s jokes? Some are really funny, especially what he calls you,” Jason snapped back.
“Oh yeah, what does he call me?” Cameron cursed, climbing from her seat.
Quentin started laughing and applauded. All three students stopped arguing and looked at him. “Perfect Dexter, just perfect. They will be ideal.” He smiled.
“Um, really?” Dexter asked, looking puzzled.
“Of course, have you ever met three teenage siblings that don’t fight and argue like that?” Quentin said.
Dexter stood up from his chair and walked over to the light switches. He flicked them off and turned on a projector. An image of a man in his forties climbing out of a car surrounded by four men in dark suits came on the screen. Dexter used a sword he took from the wall and pointed at the image with his other hand on his hip. He posed as if he was in a sword fight.
“This is William Weinstein. He lives here in Turkey part of the year. He also has homes in Switzerland, America, and Moscow. He was born in Leningrad, Russia and is probably the world’s largest underground arms dealers—” Dexter was interrupted.
“That’s strange, I thought it was Jason Steed’s uncle who was the biggest arms dealer.” Cameron sniggered. Jason gave her a dirty look and looked away again.
“No Stuart Steed is one of many smaller dealers who buys from Weinstein and sells directly to military terrorists like the IRA. Weinstein supplies countless dealers like Steed, many to South American rebels, drug cartels, African rebels, and many in the Middle East. Basically anyone who wants to start a war and over throw a government, they would get weapons from a supplier like Stuart Steed, and he would get them from Weinstein,” Dexter explained
“Can we stop using my uncle’s names in this conversation?” Jason asked, feeling embarrassed.
“If you say so, Jason. But it’s not our fault, most have us have a family tree, you must have a cactus…. Because everyone’s a prick.” Cameron sniggered.
“You can’t argue with an idiot. She will drag me down to her level and beat me because she has so much experience,” Jason snapped back. “Can we leave my family out of this?”
“Yes of course,” Dexter said hiding a smirk. “We have reason to believe Weinstein will be staying at a castle in Bodrum here in Turkey for three weeks. We can’t be certain but we have the information from a good source. If it’s true, his twin children will be with him, both age fourteen, called Ela and Fahad. Ela likes clothes shopping and pop music, and Fahad likes sports, mostly Rugby and martial arts. Both children are given private tuition, but have be known to mix with local children the same age.”
“We will be sending you three to Bodrum. I will be going as your father. Your mission is to get to know Ela and Fahad and find out the whereabouts of Weinstein. Cameron, we know you love to shop. Connor is probably better than anyone his age at Rugby, and Jason is to martial arts what the bible is to religion.”
All three sat quietly for a while, before Jason spoke. “We sound different. I’m English and speak with an English accent. Connor sounds Australian, and Cameron sounds American.”
“I don’t sound Aussie. My accent is from New Zealand,” Connor argued.
“And I don’t sound American. I sound Canadian,” Cameron said.
“To anyone else, you three all speak English with an accent from here or there. To Ela and Fahad, you will sound just like you have travelled around from school to school because your father works around the world, just like their father has,”
Dexter said.
“As I’m the oldest, I take it I’m in charge,” Cameron said.
“Ha, no way. What skills have you got apart from being able to parade out like a model?” Connor said. “And not a good model at that.”
“I’ve been on two missions, and I’m the fastest lock picker and pick pocket at Infinity,” Cameron snapped back.
“That’s nothing to what Jason has done. He should be in charge,” Connor said.
Jason said nothing. He was amused by the pair arguing. He watched Quinton’s expression, who remained quiet, his watchful eyes absorbing information.
Dexter sighed. “No one is in charge but me. Connor, this is your first mission. You can learn from Cameron and Jason. All you have to do is act as a normal dysfunctional family. The arguing makes it more real. We leave in the morning. Until then, you tell no one of the upcoming mission. It’s top secret.”
Connor and Jason went into Istanbul in the afternoon. It was the first time Jason had been out into the city. He was surprised how well Connor knew his way around. Jason found it to be a soup of medieval buildings and poorly built modern construction trying to push and smother the older traditional buildings out of their way. Connor took him through back streets and alleyways, past hidden mosques and churches, thriving market gardens and local bazaars. Jason marveled at the large mosques, with their large domes and massive towers that threatened to spike the clouds that passed overhead.
Connor admitted to Jason he was excited to be finally going on a mission and better still to be going with Jason. He hoped he would have a chance to see Jason in a real fight. Jason took it all in his stride. He was pleased to be going with Connor; he made him laugh. He wasn’t sure what to think of Mosquito Bites. She did seem to think she was better than everyone else. Jason told himself it must be because she was older.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
The next morning, they met with Dexter, and a car picked them up. From there, it drove them to Bodrum. The journey took just over fourteen hours. Cameron constantly complained about the heat and how much Connor was sweating. Dexter sat up front with the driver. The three students had to sit in the back. Eventually, Cameron swapped with Jason just so she would stop complaining about Connors sweat. Connor was not overweight, but he was stocky. His head sat close to his shoulders. At times, depending how he was standing, he looked like he had no neck at all.
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