Here Begins a Story

Howdy, howdy! This fine Friday morning I have the great pleasure of presenting for the first time, the first chapter of a story, as yet unnamed, co-authored by myself and the lovely Miss Hope Elisabeth! (Just as a side note: The story is not yet completed and we will try to have a new chapter written each week. 🙂 ) Anyhow, we have really enjoyed it so far, and I hope you will too! It was started in honor of a dear friend of our who really likes riddles and codes and such. Feel free to crack the codes before the characters do if you want! So without further ado…

I just couldn’t resist showing y’all a gorgeous Texas sunrise!

Chapter One

     His mission completed, Adrian mounted the stairs to the directors office. He was confused by what he had read. Why was the director hiding this from them? The answer was obvious, but he didn’t want to believe it. A mistake? A blind? His mind ringing with questions, he entered the room. He walked straight up to the director’s desk and slammed his backpack down on it.

“You’ve been bribing politicians. I want to know why.”

“Your report, Agent Hawkes.”

“Why?” Adrian demanded again, his brow was furrowed and his voice was firm.

“Your job requires unquestioning obedience to orders,” the director put special emphasis on the word ‘unquestioning,’ “Agent, what is the status of your mission?”

“Completed.”

“And the hard drive?”

“I have it; but what are you going to do with it? Bribing is illegal. It’s against God’s law and the law of this country, the very law you say you are trying to enforce.”

“It is for the good of the people.”

“I saw what was on here,” Adrian said, drawing the hard drive from his pocket, “if you don’t make some quick cash, you will be found out, right?”

“That’s classified information, you did not have authorization to read that file.”

“Sometimes I can’t wait for permission, director. This is not what I signed up for. I wanted to help people, to stop crime. Now we are the criminals.”

“Agent Hawkes, you signed up to obey orders-”

“Not if they’re wrong. I signed up to protect, not deceive.”

~

Adrian leaned over Dillon’s shoulder trying to focus on the figures on the computer screen. He was utterly amazed at how his friend could maneuver through the file so swiftly. Thoroughly enjoying the fact that Adrian had no clue how to work the computer, Dillon kept a flowing status report using all the most confusing technical terms he could think of, rattling them off like he would the alphabet. Adrian nudged him,

“You don’t want to attract too much attention,” motioning to the other people at the different computers around the library, “that girl keeps looking at us.”

The girl that he was referencing sat across the room from them apparently engrossed in a book on the Russian language. Her blonde hair was loosely plaited, and her grey eyes  somehow seemed mysterious as she swiftly scanned the pages.

Dillon glanced up from his work. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to typing rapidly,

“She’s looking at a book, Adrian, quit bugging me!”

“Well maybe so, but if you keep rattling on about the arithmocratic implausibility of this and that, you’re a sure target for curiosity.”

“Come on, bossy, it is’t all that serious. You are so uptight!”

“Isn’t anything serious to you?”

“Important things are.”

“Yeah, like what?”

“Hawkes, we just struck gold.”

Dillon clicked on the icon inscribed with the letters E.L.I.A.S. The file opened, showing a series of letters and numbers.

“That’s not looking much like gold, Dillon,” said Adrian skeptically.

“This is what we were looking for; I had to use almost all my brilliance just to get past the securities blocking it. Do you have a pen?”

“Brilliance?”

“Yes, brilliance. I am brilliant, a genius, outstanding… You have to admit it, you couldn’t have done this without me. Now give me a pen, you are dulling the blinding effect of my sparkling intellect!”

“Whatever.” Adrian fumbled among the loose articles in his pocket. Dillon took the pen he offered and tore a sheet off the sticky pad next to the computer.

“Hey, Hawkes, can you see the date this was written?”

“Um…no? I don’t see a date.”

“Just read off the numbers and letters to me and I’ll write them down.”

Adrian read them slowly and quietly so that no one else in the room would hear.

“Thats enough to make anyone dizzy,” Adrian sighed as he finished. He glanced up to see if the girl was still watching them.

“Dillon, get the hard drive and lets get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this place.”

“No sweat, boss. I’m getting.”

He made a big show of taking out the drive in slow motion, and folding the little paper until it was just so. Adrian snatched both from him and put them in a special compartment in his backpack. Swinging it up onto his shoulder he headed for the library door, calling to Dillon,

“C’mon genius, your chariot awaits.”

Dillon hurried to catch up with him as he strode towards the car,

“Finally someone recognizes my obvious intellectual superiority!”

Adrian stopped and leaned against the open car door,

“Intellectual superiwhatity? You wouldn’t know sarcasm if it hit you in the face.”

“Yeah, right.”

Dillon slammed the door of Adrian’s jet black Mini Cooper behind him. Adrian stood for a moment looking out on the traffic in the crowded street. Dillon sure knew just how to push his buttons. He watched as a motorcycle darted in between the stopped cars. Great. Downtown Dallas at rush hour was the last place he wanted to drive.

“Hey, boss? You coming?” Dillon called from the open window.

“Yeah.” Adrian took his place in the drivers seat and sighed as they joined the line of waiting traffic.

Well, there it is! Y’all have a blessed week, and thanks for stopping by! (Let me know what you thought of it!) Blessings, Sarah Leana (P.S. I think I use these !!!!!!!!!!!!! things too much. 🙂 )

© Hope and Sarah Arendse 2015