With A Ghost

Prologue

In a crowded club, a particular figure blended in perfectly. He turned and faced the wall.
"He took the bait," he spoke into his mic.
"Stay alert, Gabriel. Silas, Nathan,' Kota ordered.
"On it," Nathan spoke.
"I'm right behind,' Silas informed.
"Room's clear," Victor announced. After checking the cameras outside the room, he spoke again, 'Hallway's clear too, with the exception of you two and the target."
"Now's the time. Everything good?" Kota asked.
"Positive," Silas answered.
"I'm ready," Nathan followed.
The target, a young looking boy, around 18 years, turned the doorknob and entered, closing the door behind him, except that he didn't get to close it. A strong pair of arms pushed it open. Two young males entered the room, one of them locking the door behind them.

Too shocked to immediately understand the situation, the target stood frozen, staring at the two unexpected figures in front of him. He opened his mouth, but the words couldn't escape him as Kota, who had been waiting in the room, spoke from behind him, "No one's going to hurt you. Before you say anything, please, listen to us."

An SUV stopped at one of the back doors. Kota, Nathan and Silas, who was carrying an unconscious boy, hurried inside the vehicle.
Once they were a safe distance away from the club, the driver let out a sigh. 'Did you have to make him faint?' Dr. Green asked from the driver's seat.
'We didn't even touch him,' Nathan defended.
'Let's hope he just got intimidated by Silas. I'm going to have to check him. Kota, switch.'

'It is, therefore, safe to conclude now that the Mr. Rodriguez is, in fact, just a victim. He is being sent to a facility that will care for him. He should be back with his family in approximately four weeks,' Mr. Blackbourne spoke. Letting the corner of his mouth curve upwards ever so slightly, he addressed his family, all of whom were sitting around a large coffee table. "Congratulations, team."
"I believe we will be receiving a damn good number of favours for this. We can take things easy for a while, can't we, Mr. B? " Gabriel stood up and stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "The past week's been such freaking rush. I need to get some shopping done too."
Nathan groaned. "Shopping for what, Gabe?"
"Not for you, rest assured. Silas needs pants. Doc needs new shoes."
"Actually," Dr. Green intervened, "I don't think you guys will be getting the break you imagined." He sighed and gave a sympathetic smile. He felt tired, and looked tired.
'What do you mean, doc?" Victor asked, sitting up straight.
"The Academy wishes to assign us a manager again," Mr. Blackbourne answered for him.
"What?" Nathan almost jumped from his seat.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Gabriel fell back onto the couch behind him. "This has to be the twentieth time!"
"Actually, it is the tenth time," Silas said, rubbing his forehead.
Victor only groaned.
"Quiet," ordered Kota, though he looked quite annoyed himself. "Let Mr. Blackbourne finish."
After they all settled down, Mr. Blackbourne resumed, "As you all are aware of, the Academy started a course six months ago that involves its members in helping individual teams for a certain period of time. The experience helps in learning more about different team coordination and such. It is, of course, not mandatory for any member or team. However, our family has been subjected to nine managers so far, and as far as Dr. Green and I are aware of, we are the only ones who are strongly advised to not refuse. There are no rules within the Academy, but it is wise to follow the Academy's suggestions." Mr. Blackbourne paused to study the frowning faces of the boys seated in front of him, expecting an outburst. When it didn't come, he continued, 'The reason they have given us is that our family consists of varying individuals, and managers would be leaving with a lot of knowledge that would be unattainable elsewhere, along with a few other reasons."
"I don't believe those are anywhere near the prime reason we are being assigned manager after manager," Victor said, meeting Mr. Blackbourne's eyes. There was a tension in the air.
"You are correct, Mr. Morgan." He was met with stunned silence. He has never directly confirmed this before. "The Academy has a secret motive. Dr. Green and I have dismissed several possibilities, so we are left with one likely scenario." He paused again, studying them. "Do you trust the Academy?"
There was a collection of 'Yes', 'I do', 'Of course we fucking do" and 'More than anything else in the world except you guys' (that was Silas). Had they been other people, non-members of the Academy, they would have suspected being set spies upon for unflattering reasons. But this was Academy. In the Academy they trusted.
"The Academy has sensed a threat around us - that was the conclusion we arrived at. The managers had been assigned to report daily activities. A third person sticking around may be able to notice different aspects by chance, and limit our safety being risked." Mr. Blackbourne is not one to assume blindly, so every word he said was always taken into account with the utmost relevance. "I talked with a few members involved. They have admitted to this being a safety measure, but they refuse to go into details."
"Why not? If we know about the dangers, we can be more careful. We'll take care of each other more." Nathan protested.
"The initial plan involves us acting like we are not aware of anything amiss. And if that is what the Academy thinks is best, we will follow it up to a certain extent. We do not know much, so it would be wise to just carry on as normal and follow the plan. If things turn troublesome, we will negotiate. We will go against suggestions if we have to."
"Just how many managers do you expect to put up with?" Gabriel asked impatiently. "It's the tenth time! The tenth. Fucking. Time. What kind of danger are we talking about? Is it Victor? Is the paparazzi after us? Is it an ax murderer?"
Victor winced slightly.
"Sorry man. You know I didn't mean anything by it," Gabriel said, his voice softening out of guilt. Victor shook his head and smiled at him in reassurance.
"We are not certain of anything. We cannot make aimless assumptions," Dr. Green said, then he looked at Mr. Blackbourne, smiling, "Why don't you tell them the bit of good news?"
Everyone looked at Mr. Blackbourne curiously.
"Dr. Roberts felt that it would do you lot some good if you were to know that this will be the very last time we will be assigned a manager, unless we wish for one."
This announcement was met with approval from everyone.
"How long with the manager are we talking about?" Kota asked.
"The usual. Two weeks and three days."
"We'll make it," Nathan grinned.
"Gentlemen, our manager will be starting. You are not to bombard her with questions involving our situation. Let her do her job while we do ours. Be ready by eleven tomorrow - we are to meet Miss Sang Sorenson."