E.C.H.O.
Elite Controlled High-risk Organization
The room had no windows. Its walls were white and the floor a murky grey. All the furniture, consisting of a table and two chairs, were made of steel. There wasn't one speck of dirt. Stanly sat at the table. His brown hair was showing streaks of gray. Conner stood some way to the side, holding a remote which controlled the flat TV screen before them.
"It's a high paying client," Conner was saying. His black hair was neatly combed and, like Stanly, he was wearing a suit and tie. "One of our highest yet."
"Infiltration, surveillance, and retrieval?" Stanly asked.
"Yes, sir," came the reply.
"It sounds like it'll take time. The location especially makes it difficult...we'll put one of our young ones on it." Stanly leaned back, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Who do we have available?"
In response, Conner motioned to a lady standing outside of the door. She came in with a large folder in her hands which she placed before Stanly. Without a word, she scurried out of the room. Stanly slowly opened the file. A page with the picture of a girl in her teens stared back at him. She looked to be no older than sixteen.
"Gretchen is out on a mission...in Paris," Conner told him.
Stanly flipped to the next file.
"Carlos is in Chicago. Surveillance."
He flipped to the next.
"Too young," Stanly said himself as he flipped the page to a different picture. "Too messy with jobs." He was already by another picture. "Isn't Richard MIA?"
Conner peered at the picture. "He was found...but he's currently out of action."
Stanly grunted as he turned the page again. "I thought this one died."
"No, sir. Lilly had a break down after her last job...she's being reassessed right now..."
"Ah." Stanly nodded. He turned the page again and paused at another picture of a boy. "What about Lucas?"
Conner hesitated.
"He gets the job done and his identity's still uncompromised as well...if I've heard correct." Stanly looked up. "I believe he's available from tomorrow on. Besides, it's time to give him another job; that boy needs to be kept busy." He closed the file, showing that he had made his mind up. "Where is he?"
"Lucas?" Connor tapped the remote against his leg. "If I remember correctly, he's in the middle of a job." He paused. "Sir, are you sure?"
Stanly raised his eyebrows.
"He may be capable...but...do you really think he's suited for this particular job?"
"Yes." Stanly smiled as he folded his hands. "He's one of our best...even if at times he does things a bit on the extreme side." He pushed his chair back and stood up. "Contact him and let him know. He's to come back for briefing as soon as he's done with his current job."
Conner watched Stanly leave. Once he was sure he was gone, he let out a long sigh. "I certainly hope he's the right choice for this," he muttered.
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Lucas was hanging upside down from the vent. A ski mask was pulled over his face. He took a moment to reach up to his wrist. He fiddled with the digital watch, the black gloves making it slightly more difficult, and set it to countdown from eight minutes.
"Here we go," he murmured. He pressed 'start' and in the next second flipped so that he was the right way round. Landing on the ground, he unclipped himself from the rope. Leaning forward, he peered at what lay within the display case before him; a large diamond.
Pausing, Lucas shot a look behind him before he turned back around, cracking his knuckles.
"Alright." He pulled a gun from the holster strapped to his right leg. Without pausing, he sent a bullet into the case; shattering the glass.
An alarm went off immediately and yet Lucas ignored it as he snatched the diamond. He stuffed it into his pocket and whirled around to see that steel walls were coming down on all sides to trap the intruder. Not hesitating, Lucas sprinted for them. He threw himself down, sliding along the floor on his right side while holstering his gun once more. His whole body leaned back so that he was as close to the ground as possible, and he slid under the falling wall just in time to avoid getting crushed.
Before he had come to a stop, Lucas was on his feet.
"Hey!"
Hearing the yell, he turned to see three security guards had appeared around the corner. They were rushing towards him, hands moving to their guns.
Lucas didn't waste a second as he turned and sprinted down the hallway, the backpack on his back bouncing. He rounded the corner only to find two more guards, with Dobermans on leashes, waiting. Not pausing, Lucas opened the door to the room nearest him. He burst in only to find that there was no door out. A large glass window stood before him, overlooking the city. Below, the cars on the road looked like toys from the sixty-fifth story of the building.
Turning around, Lucas pulled his gun once more. The guards burst into the room and the dogs strained against their leashes, growling and barking as saliva flew from their mouths.
"Put the gun down and raise your hands!" a guard yelled.
Lucas snuck a glance at his watch. He had seven minutes and ten seconds left. Slowly, he began to raise his hands.
"Put the gun down!" the guard repeated. They all had their weapons trained on him. Suddenly, Lucas whirled. In one motioned he pulled the trigger of his gun and shot two rounds into the glass as he ran towards it.
Without hesitating, he threw himself against it. Glass shattered, and bullets zipped past him as the guards shot. Lucas was already gone. As he fell, he calmly holstered his gun. Then, he reached behind him and pulled the cord of the backpack. A chute flew out, jerking him to a stop before he continued to glide smoothly through the air.
As he soared above the city, leaving the stunned guards behind, Lucas jerked the mask off.
"Yeah!" he yelled as the wind slapped against his face and blew through his blonde hair. His green eyes sparkled as he headed straight for the flat roof of another building nearby.
A big grin was on his face as he angled his rapid decent right for the top. A figure came into view, the figure of a man who seemed to be waiting for him at the top. As Lucas got closer, it was visible that the man had his hands and legs tied and tape over his mouth.
Lucas' feet touched the surface of the roof and he took a couple of steps before unfastening the backpack and dropping it to the ground. He walked up to the man who was watching him with wide eyes. Noises were emitting from his mouth as he was trying to say something, most likely pleading for help.
Reaching him, Lucas pulled forth a switch blade. The man's eyes widened even further and he tried to move away. Ignoring his actions, Lucas reached out and tore the duck tape form the man's mouth.
"Please," the man gasped. "Please don't..." he trailed off in surprise as Lucas cut the bonds around his wrists. He followed by doing the same to the ones around his legs. "Wha..." the man began.
"I could tie you up again if that's what you prefer," Lucas told him.
"N...no!" he man protested.
Lucas glanced at his wrist watch. Four minutes and eight seconds remaining. He grabbed his backpack and quickly proceeded to stuff in the shoot.
"Markus Johnson," he said as he did so.
The man looked surprised as he heard his name. He had stood up and was rubbing his wrist. Lucas slipped the ski mask and his black gloves in with the shoot. As Lucas's back was to him, Markus didn't notice. Lucas also added the holster and the gun.
"Robbed seven stores, injured two people, and killed one in the process," Lucas continued. He opened a side pocket of the backpack and pulled out a memory stick. "You're wanted for murder."
"Who are you?" Markus asked suspiciously. "How do you know...?"
"I have a gift for you," Lucas turned around. He reached into his pockets and exchanged the memory stick with the diamond. He held the diamond up.
For a second, Markus simply looked at it his jaw fell open. "Is that...?"
"They call is the Eye of Isabel, worth six million," Lucas told him calmly. He put it into the pocket of the backpack he had just open and zipped it closed. "It's yours," he told Markus as he tossed the backpack over to him.
"W...what?" Markus asked as he caught the backpack. "Why...?"
A wry smile spread over Lucas' face. "We looked into you. Despite you're lousy past time...you're a guy with connections. You know buyers and sellers on the market. Sell it and deposit half the money in this location." He pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to Markus. However, when Markus tried to take it Lucas pulled it back. "Memorize it," he ordered. He gave Markus another second before stuffing the paper in his pocket. "Now, I would suggest that we both scram before the cops get here." He turned and walked to the edge of the roof. Then, he paused. "Oh yeah." He snapped his fingers. "If you don't deliver the money, we'll find you," he called over his shoulder.
He grabbed a rope that was waiting for him and clipped himself to it. Turning around, he was just in time to witness Marcus running for the door, the backpack with the diamond in it on his back. Lucas grinned before he began to lower himself down the side of the ten story building.
As his feet touched the ground, he looked at his watch once more. One minute and ten seconds left. He calmly pulled out a lighter with one hand and a cell phone with the other. He dialed 911 on the phone.
"This is 911, state your emergency," a feminine voice spoke on the other line.
"Hello?" Lucas put a panicked edge in his voice. "There's some crazy guy tearing through our building. I don't know what's going on, but he's got a gun!"
"Please remain calm sir," the voice spoke in a professional tone. "Could you give me your location please?"
Lucas looked at the building he had just scaled down. "Elm's Corporation, street 1151," he said, still sounding somewhat panicked.
"Okay sir, someone is on the way. Just sit tight and lock the doors. Don't go out..."
Lucas snapped the phone shut. "This better work," he muttered as he held the lighter to the rope. It light up at once and he watched the flame shoot all the way to the top. No sign of the rope being there remained as the flames caused it to pretty much disintegrate.
Once again, Lucas glanced at the watch on his wrist. It had reached zero. With a grin, he turned and calmly walked from the ally. On the way he passed by a dumpster and tossed the phone in. He walked from the ally just as another phone began to ring. Without pausing, Lucas reached into his jacket and pulled it out.
He answered it and began to walk down the street, looking just like any other seventeen year old teenager. Sirens sounded in the distance.
"You done?" A voice asked on the other end.
"Yes."
"Do you have it?"
"Uh huh." He pulled the memory stick from his pocket.
"The diversion?"
"In motion," Lucas replied as he rounded a corner, playing with the stick in his fingers.
"I'm assuming it'll work."
"Do you doubt me?" Lucas replied in a bored tone.
"No. It was just somewhat...eccentric."
Lucas grinned as he stuck the stick back in his pocket.
"But I guess it'll work. They'll be too busy questioning Markus about the diamond to notice that someone hacked their system, right?" the voice told him what he already knew.
"That's how it'll go." Lucas paused by a store and stared in the display window, pretending to show interest in the sports equipment. "By the time they figure it out, it'll be too late."
"You're pretty confident."
"Have I ever been wrong?"
"And you're sure your tracks are covered?"
Lucas replied with a laugh. "If Marcus talks what's he going to say? A teenager landed on the roof and just gave him the diamond? They'll declare him insane before they believe it." He turned away from the window. "Besides, he has the backpack, diamond, and gun. As a gift I left his prints all over the place too."
A police car tore by, sirens screeching. Lucas watched it disappear before he walked over to a crossing. He waited for the light to turn green.
"Alright then. You'll find someone at the rendezvous to retrieve the object."
"Roger that," Lucas replied. He hung up and began to cross the street. When he reached the other side he continued walking. Soon enough, he came to a park bench. A man was already sitting there, reading a newspaper.
Lucas sat down beside him. Pulling out his phone, he pretended to be texting. With his other hand he placed the memory stick beside him. The man picked it up and slipped it into his pocket without looking up.
"Good day?" the man asked as he turned the page.
"Very," Lucas replied. He pretended to pick up a call and held the phone to his ear.
"You have another assignment," the man spoke with the newspaper still held up in front of him.
Lucas froze. "Wait, what?" To any passerby it looked like he was speaking to someone on the phone.
"You start in two days. Return to base for briefing and then you'll move out."
"Hey, now wait a minute! I was told that after this one I could take some time off and start looking into..."
"It's an order from the top," the man with the newspaper replied calmly.
Lucas leaned back against the bench. He let out a sigh. "What is it?"
"Infiltration, surveillance, and retrieval."
Lucas sat up straight. His eyes narrowed. "What?" A gleam filled his eyes and a smile spread across his face. "It's not in the Amazon again, is it?"
"K13," the man said referring to Lucas' code name. He put the newspaper down. "How do you feel about high school?"