Chapter 1

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Chapter 1

 

            My name is Jason. Before that, it was Bryan. Before that, it was David�"which is technically my birth name that my scummy parents gave me. Except, nobody knows that. If anyone asks, my name is Jason Bloom and has always been Jason Bloom.

            You see, I work for the Government. Or more specifically, the CTA�"which is an abbreviation for “Call To Action”. Unlike the FBI or CIA, which are household names, the CTA only handles serious situations. You know, the kind of situations where if someone orders Shrimp Linguini instead of Crab Linguini, it could be the start of World War III.

            Anyway, let’s just cut to the chase. I mean, I could go into all the details of how the agency adopted me when I was six, trained me in martial arts and other handy spy techniques, but that’s not what you want to hear. You want to hear about my latest mission, don’t you? My toughest, most complicated mission that I’d ever gone on, and trust me when I tell you that I’ve been on a lot of missions…

           

            Anyway, it all started when the Head Director of CTA called me into her office. Hardly anybody ever gets called into her office, and when they do, it’s not normally a good thing. The last guy that got called in there was never seen again, so I’m sure you understand my hesistancy.

            “Dude, why are you so worried? You’re like the most perfect agent ever,” My best friend and roommate, Tanner, asked me as we played video games in our dorm.

            “It’s the General, dude. She’s not exactly the kind of person that calls people in for a pat on the back and a lollipop,” I argued with him. Tanner was a total optimist, which was annoying sometimes, especially when you were pretty darn sure the future wasn’t bright.

            “Yeah, but you haven’t done anything wrong,” Tanner shot me a raised eyebrow, “Right?” He paused the video game just to show emphasis.

            “Right,” I shot him a glare, “You know I’d never do anything bad. At least, nothing bad enough to get sent to the General.”

            Tanner laughed and unpaused the video game, “Yeah, yeah. Wait, isn’t your appointment at 2:00?”

            I jabbed the joystick on the controller hard, “So? What time is it?”

            Tanner snickered, “2:05.”

            “S**t!” I jumped up, accidently kicking Tanner in the nose. I grabbed the shoes nearest to me�"a pair of flimsy sandals�"and started running like hell across campus to the main building where the General’s office was located.

            Unfortunately for me, a cheap pair of flip flops in the dead of winter don’t offer the best protection. Halfway across the lawn, I actually kicked them off and went barefoot.

            The main building was only about two stories high, but done in all stained glass windows that were pretty hard to clean�"or so I’d heard.

            I burst through the Automatic sliding doors, out of breath and looking like an idiot, I’m sure. Even Sonny, the super-nice receptionist, crinkled her nose at me.

            “Jason,” She pursed her lips, “Here for your appointment with the General that started almost ten minutes ago?”

            I nodded, “Yeah.”

            Sonny pressed a few buttons on her laptop before gesturing me to go in. As I walked across the slick lineoleum floors, I thought of what the purpose of this meeting might be. Like Tanner said, I was the perfect agent who never did much of anything wrong. I know that sounds like I’m totally bragging right now, but it’s true. All the oddball missions they threw at me? I passed those with ease. I was a blackbelt in Martial arts, a registered CTA Sharpshooter, etc. What possible reason could the General want to see me, unless maybe she really did want to hand out lollipops with a pat on the back?

            I opened the door to her office, and paused in the doorway to take in my new surroundings. I’d often heard the General’s office was just as cold and unwelcoming as her, but I’d never believed it. Everything was done in neutral colors with smooth glossy finishes. Her desk held nothing personal; no smiling photographs of loved ones, no messy crayon drawings addressed to “mommy”…just nothing.

            “Ah, Mr. Bloom, so pleased you could finally make it.”

            I looked to see the frowning lady behind the desk. Grey hair tied back into a tight bun, sharp facial features, and a navy blue suit without a single lintball.

            “I’m so sorry,” I sent her my most charming smile, “I lost track of time doing some charity spy work.”

            The General snorted, “Ah, is that what the kids are calling video games these days?”

            I blushed, embarrassed the General had seen through my lie, “Uh…yeah, sorry. Anyway, I was wondering what this meeting was about? Am I getting promoted?”

            The General sighed, clearly annoyed with me, “I see being ranked number one field agent in your age group clearly went to your head.”

            I started to apologize, but the General silenced me, “Mr. Bloom, I don’t have time for idiots with big egos. I have business to attend to. Perhaps if you listened more often, you wouldn’t have to ask idiotic questions. Now, may I go on without further interruptions?”

            Shocked at her tone of voice, I nodded. Clearly, the General was not one that you could charm with a killer smile and a few nice words.

            “Do you remember the lesson about code names taught by Professor Hilton to your class?” She asked me.

            I nodded, “Yes, he said we were given the name and social security number of someone who has died, AKA our code names. He said they did this because nobody can trace a secret organization if all the people working for the organization  were technically dead. For instance, my code name is Jason Bloom.”

            The General smiled slightly, like she was proud, “Exactly. Well, last night we received intel from a search engine that the name ‘Jason Bloom’ was entered into a social security match.”

            My eyes widened, “Social security match? You can only access that kind of hardware if you work for the government or if you’re a hacker. So, I’m guessing we’re dealing with option number two then?”

            The General nodded, “Yes. Now, of course our security team was alerted immediately and was able to stop the hacker before she could trace your code name Social Security number back to the CTA. But, the Hacker is persistant. No matter how many viruses or firewalls we put up, the sad truth is, eventually she’s going to trace the number. And if she does, she could potientally expose the CTA.”

            “Do we know why this hacker is looking for me?” I asked.

            The General rolled her eyes, “Quite an ego you’ve got there, Mr. Bloom. I had security do some digging on the hacker. We found that she’s not looking for you. She’s looking for information on her deceased brother, Jason Bloom, who happens to be the boy whose identity we swapped for your code name.”

            That was all fine and dandy, but I still had one more question, “What do you want me to do about the hacker?”

            The General pulled a file out from her desk, “Unfortunately, we can’t isolate the threat online. The hacker’s expertise go beyond just a young lady looking for information on Google. We can’t risk a code exposure and�"”

            I grinned, “Are you asking me what I think your asking me?”

                The General grinned back, “Jason, how would you like to go on your very first assassination mission ever?” 

Author's Note

Please comment if you think this book is worth pursuing into a novel. Thanks ;)

Reviews

[Sue Hart]

It was a good teen plot. Do me a favor and go in and do a spell check and correct that. There wasn't much but it's easy to fix. Then, you should read The Rising on this site, I'll put it in your read request list. It's only two chapters but it gives you an example of some top notch writing with this kind of topic. I promise, you will love the read. This is how I taught myself to polish my writing. I studied those award winning novelists and saw how they told a story. There's a lot to learn there. I wouldn't make suggestions to anyone who didn't have the potential and you do. This is a solid write with a good lead and a killer page turner. I worked on my book, Memories, for two years to iron out the kinks. Now it's got potential. You take the time and you will reap great rewards.

[Princess Cat]

Thank you! I will make sure to spell check it and I will definitely read The Rising. I understand that this definitely needs some kinks ironed out--but thank you so much for the corrective criticism and suggestions!

[Sue Hart]

You are welcome and I appreciate your attitude of accepting my suggestions without insult. You are a good writer who could come to greatness. You have it in you.

[Emmy]

Wow I really like it, especially the beginning! I couldn't help but laugh in the middle, and the end left me on the edge of me seat! Nice!

[Princess Cat]

Thank you and I'll be sure to keep you updated!

[Miles W.]

This gave a good overview of the world of the story without going info dump mode right from the start. It gave us a character we are going to follow, a conflict he has to resolve, and a nice ending to a good first chapter. Very good job.

[Laur]

great! left it with a solid cliffhanger!