Chapter 1
Harry entered the room, carelessly tossing a briefcase aside. "You know those plates are delicate. You should handle it with more care" a deep voice boomed from behind an unnecessarily large armchair in the center of the room. The back of the chair was facing Harry and he could not get a clear view of the person seated in the chair. "I'm not an idiot. You should know that I handle my things with extreme caution" harry responded, removing several plates (stolen from the U.S mint) from various hiding places. He placed a set of twelve plates on the desk and was about to leave when he was stopped.
"Sit down Harry. We're not done yet" Harry's boss replied. "What now, Mr. Smith?" Harry asked, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. If Mr. Smith noticed, he did not show it. There was the sound of a click, and smoke lazily drifted from the chair. "Harry, I adopted you a year ago, I've let you join our organization and you've passed every test with flying colors. I'm just worried that your arrogance will cause your downfall" Mr. Smith said. Harry stared at the ground for a moment, sighed, and left. He walked through the building, deep in thought.
He left the building and walked down the dark ,silent street, his face burning. He remembered, one year ago, when he had gotten adopted by the huge man known as Mr. Smith. He was following his usual routine of training with his best friend, Jill, who was strong but nimble. They were in the middle of hand-to-hand combat training when he was called to the den mother's office. "Ooh, you're in trouble" Jill said, grinning. They had been the best of friends and Harry had a crush on Jill even though she did not know it. Harry had walked up to the den mother's office door, his heart sitting in his throat. He knocked and waited for an answer. "Come in Harry" the den mother beckoned. Harry cautiously entered the room, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground. He closed th door and waited for the offences that he thought was coming.
"Hi there, I'm Harold Smith and I'm here to adopt you" a huge man had said, sitting in one of the other seats in the office. Harry was torn... He wanted to get adopted and finally have a family but he did not want to leave his best and only friend he ever had. "I will go, but only on one condition. You have to adopt my friend Jill as well", "I wish I could but I'm here to adopt you. I'm sorry" was Mr. Smith's only reply. Harry was dismissed so that he could go pack his bags. Harry reluctantly packed his bags and never left the dormitory until the den mother came to fetch him. When he had reached the front of the orphanage, he broke down and cried.
Jill and the den mother were shocked. Nobody had ever seen Harry cry before. "I'll be back, I promise" was all Harry could manage through a stifled sob. Harry got into Mr. Smith's car and kept his eyes locked on Jill as he left with his "new father". Harry was snatched back to the present by the sound of a car alarm going off in the distance. That was when he realized that he had passed his apartment and he turnes around to make his trip home. When he reached his apartment he noticed one of the windows in his apartment was open and he never left his windows open when he wasn't at home. His hands instinctively reached for where his dual 9mm pistols usually were.
Harry found that he had left his weapons at Sector 16 (secret organization) headquarters. He felt the adrenalin coursing through his veins as he unlocked his apartment door. He slowly opened the door and snuck into the living room. As he looked into the room he saw the gleam of a gun barrel and instinctively dropped to the ground. He dropped not a minute too soon because as soon as he had dropped, a dart flew past him into the wall, leaking sedatives down the wall. He jumped up and ran towards the figure and gripped the stranger's wrist. In one swift and fluid motion he had twisted the stranger's wrist until the gun fell uselessly to the floor. He kept on twisting the stranger's wrist, half expecting the stranger to fall to his/her knees, but was surprised to see the stranger cartwheel to ease pressure on his/her arm.
As the stranger cartwheeled, the stranger's hood fell off and Harry surmised that it was a girl because of the long hair the intruder had. As he was momentarily distracted, the girl used the opportunity to try to punch him in the stomach. He instinctively caught her other hand, and that was when he was literally swept off his feet. The female intruder had meant for Harry to catch her other fist, leaving the lower half of his body vulnerable. She then used a sweeping kick to sweep him off his feet. Harry recognised the move and asked "Jill, is that you? Is it really you". "How did you know you sack of hammers" Jill replied.
Jill stood up and helped Harry to his feet. "What are you doing here?" Harry asked, seeming genuinely interested. "I'm sorry but I can't tell you" was Jill's response. Harry went up to her and hugged her. "Don't tell me you've gone soft. I've been gone too long" Jill said jokingly. " I haven't gone soft. I'd still be able to beat you in a fight any day" Harry said with a smile. Jill playfully punched him on the shoulder and laughed. Harry looked at Jill and he saw that she was even more beautiful than he remembered. He looke at her long, flowing, golden brown hair. He also looked at her flawless, tanned skin. When he looked her in the eyes, he fell in love with her all over again.
"Why are you staring at me?" Jill asked with a bemused look on her face. "I was just thinking about all the fun we had at the orphanage. To be honest I kind of miss those days" Harry lied. If Jill knew he was lying, she did not show it. Instead she just flashed him a smile, got up, gave him a peck on the cheek and left. He went to his room and lay on his bed, his mind brimming with the day's activities. He was so caught up in his own thought's that he did not notice sleeping gas entering his room through the air vent. He slowly lost consciousness and knew no more.
