Spymaster

 Noah quickly stuffed his notebooks into his bag, and got ready to leave the classroom the moment the bell rang. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough, and his desk was surrounded by guys with nasty smiles before he could even stand up.

“Nice watch you have there, new guy. You might scratch it in PE, why don’t I hold onto it for you?” asked a blonde-haired guy, Daniel. He looked around at his friends, who were whispering and laughing with each other, a clear threat in his words.

Noah looked around, but nobody in the class was looking him in the eyes. The teacher had long left, being the last person to want to stay behind. None of his new classmates wanted to interfere, and their uncomfortable expressions made their feelings clear.

With a sigh, he tugged the sleeves of his long sweater down. “I’m going to take it off to keep in the locker room, you don’t have to worry about damage. My watch is cheap, you wouldn’t like it anyways.”

Looking at Daniel’s now-narrowed eyes, and the pause in the whispers around him, it was clear that wasn’t the answer he wanted. Quickly moving forward, he grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled the sleeve down.

With a snort of disgust and another glance at the crowd around him, Daniel looked at Noah with a condescending smile. “You think I didn’t see it when you checked the time? All gold, it was so shiny I could see it from across the classroom.”

He snatched the watch off his wrist before Noah could protest for a moment. Twirling it in his fingers before putting it on his own wrist, Daniel whispered under his breath as he walked away. “Probaby Daddy’s money, anyways.”

Soon, there was nobody left in the classroom but Noah, and an inconspicuous boy in the corner of the classroom. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh of lamentation, feeling annoyed by the incident on his first day at Central View High.

“Why did you need me to do that, anyways?” He said, seemingly to himself. There was a moment of silence, since nobody was nearby, and he had checked outside the door.

“Tracker in the watch, as well as a recording device and a small mic. Daniel’s father works for an enemy of ORION.” came a voice from behind him, as the only other person present there stood up and walked over.

The boy- Adrien, according to his nametag, but that was definitely not his real name- took off his glasses, revealing the cold, harsh green eyes distinctive to Dagger of ORION. He sat on a desk in front of Noah, just as imposing as always, even in a high school uniform.

“No suspicion, and a smooth bait. I would almost want to praise you, if I didn’t know how painful it was to get you to this level of expertise, having trained you for a year.” Dagger said, slow and calm. His tone was the same as always, slightly mocking, making sure the listener never knew his true feelings.

“How many more missions like this one do I have to complete?” asked Noah, pushing his feelings of embarrassment aside. He hadn’t been the fastest learner in the world, but he had worked as hard as he could.

“Mission? Don’t kid around.” Dagger let out an undisguised snort of amusement. Wiping away non-existent tears of laughter, he leaned forward and bared his teeth. “That was like a task, and that’s being gracious. You’re not even at the third level yet. If you keep doing these small-scale tasks? You’re never going to pay off your debts at this rate.”

Noah couldn’t help the tears of frustration building in his eyes, vision becoming blurry. He didn’t regret for a moment going to ORION to get funds for his father’s hospital bills. Just seeing his tired but happy face at home everyday made everything worth it.

However at moments like this, he couldn’t help but despair for his future. He was never going to pay off the debt, and he would forever be under ORION- no, Dagger’s- control. He clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth.

But, he knew what he had to do. He knew what his father would want him to do- not that he would ever tell him about what he had gotten into. Looking up at Dagger’s blank face, he narrowed his eyes. “Train me a little more, and I swear I’ll become your best agent. I’ll complete so many missions that there’s no way I won’t pay off my debt.”

The ORION agent’s wide smile instilled terror in his heart. Dagger’s reputation as the most terrifying trainer in the west coast branch of ORION came to mind, seemingly contrasting with his age, which was around min.

“You better keep up. Your codename is RTC-325, until you gain a title like mine at level four. I’m looking forward to crushing your spirit.”