The loud sound of the alarm blaring through all corners of the house made me jump out of bed. The alarm indicated that it was time for a meeting with The Conversion. I checked the time. It was 6:00am.
I stretched and yawned as the sleep slowly cleared from my eyes. I quickly got dressed in a black top, black shorts and white sneakers, just in case we have training today.
There's a high probability that I may not go to school today. I packed all the things I would need in my backpack before leaving the room.
My mom came out of her room the same time I came out of mine. She had two coffee cups in her hand and was already dressed in her corporate clothes for work. She obviously woke up before me.
"Good morning ma" I greeted.
"Good morning darling, you ready?"
"Yes mom"
She handed me a coffee cup.
"Thank you"
"Let's go"
I took fast gulps of my coffee as we made our way down the stairs. The heat of the coffee aided in driving away the sleep in my eyes.
In my house, there's a secret room just by the corner at the end of the long corridor that we always kept locked. If you didn't look hard enough, you wouldn't even know it was there. In this room, we keep weapons and other gadgets.
It had pitch black walls. There was a very long metallic table in the middle with suitcases that contained all sorts of guns and other heavy machinery. There were different sizes of guns lined up on the walls along with other spy gadgets we use.
You think it's cool, yeah? That's not even the good part. Wait for it, there's more.
In this room, there's another door at the left which has a five step staircase that leads to another door. The last door has a secret code that only my mom knows but it recognized my fingerprint in case of an emergency.
My mom typed in the code and the door opened.
This room had two stripper poles with holes underneath them that were large enough to fit a person in each of them. The poles led to a long tunnel and at the end of the tunnel leads to The Conversion head office.
Where else would we have our meeting if not underground? We are a secret agency, after all. Nobody would ever suspect. For this reason, most of the agency's workers live closely together in this estate. This way, it was easier for them to construct the tunnels.
My mom and I grabbed hold of each pole and jumped into the hole. I closed my eyes as I slid all the way down. The speed of the fall can make your eyes turn if you kept them open.
After a minute or two, at the end of the hole, my mom and I landed on the floor with a heavy thud. The effect of the coffee plus the tiredness in my eyes made my head spin.
"Sorry love" my mom told me.
"Thanks"
I closed my eyes in an attempt to make the room stop spinning. After a few seconds or more, I finally regained my consciousness as well as my balance. We walked down the lonely hallway then parted ways. My mom had to get to work while I had to get to class.
The Conversion is divided into different sub sections, kind of like a normal school. Children of Operatives get recruited at age eight. We get taught spy lessons, spy rules, history of great spies and other historical espionage activities, missions, self-defence, weapon use and other subjects.
We also write exams which will determine if you can move to the next level. They also teach subjects that normal school teach (like physics, chemistry, biology etc). The only difference is we combine it with the International Spy Curriculum.
The Conversion runs lectures from Level 1 to Level 10. At the end, if you graduate with high grades, you automatically become an agent for the agency but you can still go to a university if you want to further your education.
In most cases, this isn't necessary because the agency teaches you everything you need to become a detective, a CIA agent or any other criminology inclined occupation.
Most of the students here are full time students but I'm a part time member because my mom insisted that I go to normal school in order to learn how to live a normal life.
I opened the door to my Level eight class for "Mission" lessons. We have this class with the Level sevens. The classroom is just like a normal one but its more technologically advanced. It had tables and chairs as normal and a huge white smart board in front, a projector hung down from the middle of the room. There were also spy gadgets on the walls.
Presently, only four students were in class.
I was confused. Where is everyone else?
"Hey guys" I said as I entered.
The teacher isn't around which made things a lot weirder. Our teachers were always on time. I only had an hour to attend this class then I go home to change and prepare for school.
"Hey" they chorused except for Victoria.
Victoria is a self-centred girl from Pakistan. She thought she was better than everyone else because her dad is one of the top executives of the agency. My mom is an executive too but you don't see me acting like a backyard snob.
"Vicky, I'm greeting you" I said.
I can't just be ignored like that. Who does she think she is?
"Morning" she mumbled.
I hissed at her.
"It's a bit too early for that, innit?" Mike teased.
I took a seat at the front row and joined their conversation.
Most of them here lived in the school as boarders. In this class we have;
Mike: The athletic one. He's really tall and dark skinned. He's an expert in missions and mission planning as well. He thinks logically and fast. He's also good in sports most especially basketball because of his height. Rumour has it that he likes Chen.
Victoria: The snobbish ajebutter. She's an expert in calculations and technology. She has blue eyes and long brown hair. Once, she single-handedly hacked the CBN'S (Central Bank of Nigeria) software to enable us break in for a mission. She's a literal computer genius.
Chen: The feisty fighter who is never seen without her katana. I don't know why she bothers with it. We aren't in the Middle Ages, its 2021. She's half Nigerian and half Chinese. She's an expert in taekwondo and self-defence in general. At a mission in Singapore, she fought her way through security and disarmed a time bomb all by herself even though she was never taught how to. Rumour has it that she kind of fancies Mike as well.
Choi: He's Chen's twin brother. He's also an expert in taekwondo, just like his sister. He's great at using weapons, guns and gadgets. He's learning how to manufacture them too. He is the best person I've seen that handles weapons with precision. He never misses, unless he means to.
And then there is me.
Ada: expert at nothing. I'm just trying to make it out of life and high school alive. THE END.
The Conversion partners with foreigners who have to live here in order to work full time for the agency. Hence, the reason why we have a lot of racial diverse operatives.
"Where is everyone?" I asked them.
"We were called to assemble here for an important meeting" Mike answered me "Class is holding somewhere else"
"Oh. Am I also included?"
They all nodded.
Interesting.
"Why though?" I further inquired.
They all shrugged.
"Maybe we'll get activated" Chen suggested.
Getting activated meant being a full spy. By that, I mean, you'll be fully trusted to go on really important missions here and overseas. During missions, you get to live in fancy islands, drive fast cars and stay in expensive hotels while tracking down our enemies.
These are missions that involve saving the world. This is every spy's dream. Only few spies get activated before graduation. Some graduates don't even get activated till a few years or even at all. It all depends on your level of intelligence, diligence, level of being responsible and agility.
"Activated?" Mike asked "This early?"
"So?" Victoria spoke "It'll be great. Relax"
"Or maybe we're in trouble" Chen added.
"Trouble?" I echoed "I haven't done anything"
"Yet..." Michael added.
I laughed.
Our conversations were cut short by the entrance of Mr Davis, one of the mission managers. Maybe he will throw more light on our gathering here.
We all stood up.
"Good morning, sir" we greeted him.
"Morning all" he responded "What is our motto?"
We put our right hand on our left shoulder.
"United we stand. Divided we fall. It's every Operative for himself. The Conversion for us all"
"What do we stand for?"
"Justice and Peace in our countries. Unity in our racial diversities. Allegiance to the agency"
"Why do we fight?"
"We fight to redeem the blood of our fallen members. We fight to make our world a safe place"
"Take your seats"
We all sat down in anticipation.
"Forgive my lateness. There was an issue about the innocent killing of a young boy" he said.
"Who did it?" Chen asked.
"The SARS officials"
"Oh, not again" Victoria whined.
I gripped my pen in annoyance. When will this stop?
The SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) is a Nigerian force unit created to deal with crimes associated to robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling, firearms and so on.
Instead, the recent news stated that they went after young boys who drove fancy cars, had dreadlocks and wore designer clothing. They would inquire the source of their wealth and even kill innocent people (not all the officers did this). The news kept getting worse. Some women even complained that they were raped by the officers. Each new update was worse than the last.
"It's being dealt with. Let's dive into the matter of today. I know you're all wondering why you are here"
Mr Davis was a tall dark man, Nigerian too. He looked like he was in his late thirties or something. He put his hands in his pockets and walked round the classroom as he explained.
"Due to your consistency and skills, five of you have been chosen for a very important mission that will come soon. One of you will be the main Operative while the remaining four will act as backup in case something goes wrong"
We all cheered. Our bodies were filled with excitement. I can't believe this. My very first important mission.
"Sorry to say but why us though?" Mike asked "Why not one of the level ten students?"
Choi threw a ruler at his head.
"Oww!" Mike exclaimed.
"Shut the hell up" I murmured "Do you want him to change his mind?"
"We are sending you because we have to be less suspicious" Mr Davis explained "They won't think we'll be sending teenagers"
"Ohh" we chorused.
"Hold on" Mr Davis touched his earphone. It seemed like someone was speaking to him from the other end.
"Okay" he said "I'll send her in. Ada"
"Yes sir" I responded.
"Go to the conference room now. The Council wants to see you"
Everyone looked at me in confusion. Even I was confused.
The Council is a group of four elderly and very experienced spies. Name anything a spy has to go through, they've seen it. They've watched the rise and fall of nations. They've been on the most dangerous espionage missions you can ever think of. Since they are experienced and elderly, they decide on special matters of the agency.
The Council has never requested to see any student before. They leave the matters of students to The Board of Student Affairs because they have bigger matters to deal with. What could they possibly want with me?
"Okay sir"
I was very nervous. Did I do something wrong? I got up and left the classroom. I walked down the hallway till I got to the Conference room.
I knocked.
"Come in"
I opened the door and was immediately hit with sweet smell of cinnamon. The Council were seated at their table. You could feel an aura of power just by looking at them. They consisted of two men and two women. The women were both Nigerians while one man was Asian and the other man was American.
My mother was at the table as well but she doesn't look too happy. Why is my mom here? She isn't a member of The Council.
"Good morning" I greeted.
"Good morning" they replied.
"Have a seat, child" one of the women said.
I sat down on the seat next to my mother. She didn't even acknowledge my presence.
"Mom, what's going on?" I whispered to her.
She didn't answer me. Her head was hung low as if she was in deep thought.
"I know you're wondering why you're here?" Mr George said (one of The Council members). He's American.
"Yes sir"
"Let us get to it then"
He walked over to the smart board. The lights went off, the only light was being emitted from the board.
A man's picture of just his face was projected unto the board.
"This is Mr. Charles Adewale" he explained.
Charles is a fair man with a bald receding hairline. Everyone knows who he is. He's a very popular politician in Lagos. I heard he'll be running for a major election soon.
"He is the owner of CiDon company. Have you ever heard of it?"
I nodded.
"Yes sir" I answered "It's a stationery company. They provide stationery needed for schools and organizations"
The Council members looked impressed with my answer. They smiled in approval.
"You do your research" Mr George said "Well done"
My mom still remained silent.
"Charles has always been generous. He's about to launch a new invention to add to his pen collection, a new retractable point pen that can erase its work. He wants to distribute these pens to as many students as he can for free, as a way of giving back to the community and also to mark his 50th birthday. He announced this on the news last week"
That's a good thing to do. I still don't understand what all this has to do with me being here.
"That's nice of him" I said.
"You think?"
Well yeah. He wants to donate his products to students in need. Isn't that a good thing?
A new picture appeared on the board. The man looked very familiar. I kept racking my brain, trying to remember where I saw him.
"This is 'Ace'. This is the man that killed your father"
Now, I remember where I've seen him. He's the man who came into our house that night. Memories came rushing back in an instant.
I brought my report card to my dad.
We rejoiced at my success
He cuddled my mom lovingly
I was happy. We were a happy family.
They came in and attacked us
He shot my dad.
All of a sudden, the room felt like it was spinning as anger rushed through my veins. Now I know why I recognized him. My fists clenched at the sight of him. This bastard killed my dad.
"Ace is working for Charles. When we found out about this, we knew something was fishy. Ace never does good work for people. Never!"
"So? What do I have to do with this?"
"Charles is hosting an excursion in his factory for two days. He will invite the best students from top three schools in less than two months' time. We will make sure you and your other team mates are on that list"
"How?"
"Leave that to us. Your job is to find out what Charles is up to. Perhaps it's just a harmless generous gesture or maybe it isn't. Whatever it is, it's your job to find out"
My job to find out? I could get killed in this mission. This is a man who killed my dad. What makes you all think he would hesitate to kill me?
"This is a very dangerous mission. That's why I selected the four candidates to aid you. Five of you would have to train excessively. Nothing should go wrong. We're choosing you as the leader because you have what it takes"
I opened my mouth to say something till the opening of the door interrupted me.
"She's the one you chose?" an angry Victoria screamed as she barged into the room "She's the one who gets to lead?"
"What a rude entrance" a female council member complained "You couldn't knock?"
Victoria completely ignored her.
"Why her and not me?" Victoria questioned.
See, Victoria has always made me her rival for no reason. I think it's because of the time I beat her ass in karate class despite the fact that she's in a higher level than me. It sucks to get beaten up by a junior. It really made her embarrassed because everyone mocked her for weeks. Ever since then, she has made me her sworn enemy.
"Because Ada has capabilities that made us choose her" Mr. George explained "She's our best option"
No, I'm not. I wonder the capabilities I have that made them choose me. There's nothing special about me. I'm not a natural leader. I can barely even talk to my classmates. I would gladly hand over the mission to Victoria. I don't want to die.
"No, I am" Victoria argued.
"You're highly irresponsible. Just look at your behaviour"
"But I-"
"OUT NOW!" my mom ordered.
Wow, mom. Now you wanna talk? Great.
Victoria glared hard at me then left.
Everyone let out a loud sigh as soon as she left.
"That girl" Mr George shook his head then turned to me "We will get back to you. You will spend the day training. The preparation for the mission starts now. You won't be going to school today"
Not like I'm going to miss anything in school anyway. My mind flashed back to Justin and how we connected yesterday. I waved off the thought as soon as it came.
He's probably nice to me now because he's new. When he starts making cool friends, he'll forget all about me.
"Thank you, sir"
I stood up and took one more glance at my mother before I left.
She still sat there quietly staring into space...very deep in thought.