Eve shook her head, suddenly overcome with embarrassment.
"My God. You've been in this world how long...thirty years?"
"Twenty-five. Twenty-five years."
"And you never met any others with abilities? Never even knew there were others? How lonely."
"You have no idea."
The room filled up with seven more people as Eve and AJ continued talking. As Eve looked at all the people in the room, at all the others like her, she wondered how she'd ever believed she was alone.
When the door opened again, the room fell silent, and all eyes followed Agent Yu. She put her briefcase on the floor alongside the table centered in the front of the room and faced them. "Welcome to the Special Procurements Initiative," she said, a faint smile curling her lips. “You’re officially our first class of trainees.”
“First?” asked AJ. “Awesome.”
Agent Yu nodded. “Yes. But you’re not the first people with your skill that we’ve had here at SPI. It’s taken us a while to find more of you and to put together an actual training curriculum suitable for your specific skillset. I’ve waited a long time for this moment, and I’m looking forward to helping you excel here.”
She grabbed a remote off the table and pointed it at the ceiling. A screen projected on the wall behind her. “Mr. Kim, do you mind getting the lights?”
Seated near the door, an overdressed man—he was the only person wearing a full suit and blazer—rose and flipped the light switch.
“As you know, SPI has chosen you because of your unique skill, what we refer to as your ‘cloaking’ ability. As a refresher, let’s walk through what SPI is and our role in keeping this country safe. I’ll apologize upfront if this part and the next few minutes feel redundant, given the individual conversations I’ve already had with each of you before today,” said Agent Yu turning to the next slide, which showed the official seal of the Central Intelligence Agency next to an aerial photo of the headquarters in Virginia. “SPI is an initiative within the CIA, and we focus on matters relating to the buying and selling of sensitive or dangerous defense materials.”
AJ’s hand shot up. “I’m sorry, but can you explain what that means again?”
A few people chuckled while others stared at Agent Yu for a response.
“In a nutshell, it means SPI is charged with interrupting weapons purchases and trade in dangerous items that could put our country at grave risk,” Agent Yu replied.
Satisfied, AJ relaxed in her seat.
“As you can imagine, the work requires a high level of infiltration and stealth that, for years, has been undertaken by some of our best-trained field operatives. They’re good at what they do. I should know, considering it’s how I started my career at the agency.” Large letters—Special Procurements Initiative—appeared on the screen above a photo of Agent Yu and a white man with thick blond hair and disarming green eyes. “When we discovered the existence of those with your cloaking ability, we knew we needed you. To be, in a sense, invisible is what any agent worth their salt desires most. But for you all, invisibility isn’t a metaphor. It’s a literal reality. We knew your skill would enable you to achieve what some of our regular field operatives couldn’t. Total infiltration. In other words, a task that could take a regular operative months or years to complete, a cloaker could do within hours. This was a revelation.”
During the presentation, Eve couldn’t help but notice that the agent only spoke of the ‘cloaking’ ability. Doesn’t she know about the super strength? Or wait...do the others have super strength? As she listened to the agent describe the early years of SPI, she puzzled over these questions. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt it was best not to mention it for now.
***
For lunch, Agent Yu led the trainees down a wide but winding hallway that terminated at a large cafeteria already brimming with employees enjoying their lunch break. She directed them to a table in a far corner. "Lunch is complimentary. Grab what you like and mingle. In one hour, we'll return to the meeting room."
AJ nudged Eve. "The morning was awesome, huh? One month of classes, then we’ll be in the field like real ass super spies."
“In field training, technically, since our entire training lasts for six months. So, in six months, we’ll be real ‘super spies’.”
“All I know is I can’t wait to kick ass in the field. It’s like I was meant for this,” AJ said, beaming.
"Yeah," Eve replied, distracted by the smell of food. "I’m just a teacher, so I’m pretty sure I’ll suck at it. We’ll see. Also, I think I smell tortillas or something. I wonder if they have tacos."
AJ pointed at a sign that read "El Paso Cantina."
Eve smiled. "Perfect. I'm starving."
"Miss Cooper," said Agent Yu, approaching her. "When you get your food, please join me at that table. There are a couple of people I'd like to introduce you to."
Eve's gaze followed her finger toward the table in the farthest corner and closest to the window. Two middle-aged people, a woman and a man, were engaged in what appeared to be a rather serious conversation. She recognized the blond-haired man as the one from the presentation slides. His green eyes flashed on her for a moment, and he smiled. His smile perturbed Eve for reasons she couldn't understand.
"Look at you, making an impression with the bosses already," AJ exclaimed to Eve, as Agent Yu departed.
She wished she shared AJ's enthusiasm. "Let's see if the tacos are any good."
"Well, we’re not in Pilsen, so let’s keep our expectations low," AJ quipped.
Eve laughed. "True."
After she'd filled her tray with food—three tacos, chips and salsa, churros, and a Fanta—she headed to Agent Yu's table. She dreaded having to make small talk with strangers when all she wanted to do was gobble every morsel of food on her tray. When she reached the table, she pasted a smile on her face and sat her tray before her.
The two strangers introduced themselves as Doctor Catherine Thomas and Agent David Grobeck.
"Miss Cooper, how are you enjoying your first day?" asked Agent Grobeck with a Southern accent.
Eve ate a piece of the chicken and corn tortilla before responding. "Good so far. One of the trainees and I were talking about how ready we are to get to work."
"I'm glad to hear it." Agent Grobeck’s voice was as cool as his eyes.
Eve noticed Agent Yu wasn't smiling but merely sipping her coffee. She looked at the woman who hadn't said more than a dozen words. "Doctor Thomas, what is it you do here?"
"I'm the staff psychiatrist," she answered.
"Technically not 'staff' since she's on contract from FordTech. But she's been with us for years, so she might as well be," said Agent Grobeck.
Agent Yu cleared her throat and coughed. "I'm sorry. Water went down wrong," she explained, covering her mouth.
Eve regarded her with increased curiosity.
"I've worked with a lot of gifted people over the years," said Doctor Thomas. "Some more gifted than others."
"All uniquely equipped to defend our freedoms in this era of widespread terrorism," Agent Grobeck noted.
Eve consumed the last of her taco and took a sip of Fanta. "I don't think terrorism is any more widespread in this era than in previous eras. Just different weapons and, in some cases, different victims."
They were silent for a moment until Agent Grobeck spoke. "That's an interesting perspective."
She looked from him to Agent Yu to Doctor Thomas. "I'm honored to be part of something so important."
Agent Grobeck chuckled, cracking a smile for the first time since she'd sat. "It's our honor to have you here. Please let Agent Yu know if there's anything we can do to help ease the transition into SPI. The culture here can take some getting used to, and we're here to provide the necessary resources to make that shift as smooth as possible."
"Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity," Eve replied.
Agent Grobeck rose, buttoning his blazer jacket and extending his hand again.
>
Eve stood and shook his hand.
"We'll see you around, Miss Cooper," said Agent Grobeck before he and the doctor made their way toward the exit.
Eve resumed her seat and looked at Agent Yu who was wearing a stern expression and sipping her coffee. "Agent Grobeck and Doctor Thomas can be a little off-putting, I know. Anyway, eat up. You'll want the energy for the second half of today's orientation."
"What's the second half involve?"
"Hours of practicing your cloaking ability. I like to mix in some practice with the boring stuff, just to keep things interesting."
Eve's eyes widened. "Awesome."
***
Eve closed her eyes and all light and sound faded. She recoiled at the sensation of cool air brushing against her exposed arms. Her nose crinkled at the pungent smell of Lysol or another cleaning product, and she retreated further into her mind, shutting down all her senses until there was nothing. Just a dark, empty void.
"Miss Cooper, as you can see, has complete control over her cloaking," said Agent Yu, disturbing the silence that had enveloped Eve. "She moves in and out of it with incredible ease."
As Eve opened her eyes, she gazed at her peers seated around the room. Part of her felt like that little girl on the playground again, with all the kids staring at her, except they weren't laughing. They weren't staring at her because they couldn't see her. She was invisible.
“How often have you used your skill before now, Miss Cooper?” asked Agent Yu, standing next to an invisible Eve.
I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t admit to shoplifting recently, or when I used my invisibility to sneak onto a party yacht with a bunch of rich white people. “I—well, not much. I was always afraid to,” Eve answered, assuming a half-truth was the best response.
Agent Yu’s gaze swept over the class. “What about others?”
Their answers ranged from “not much” to “just here and there” to AJ’s enthusiastic “all the time!”
“I would sneak into department stores just before closing and swipe clothes,” AJ explained. “At the beginning of eighth grade, I did it enough times that my mom didn’t even have to buy me new clothes for the year. I’m talking good, quality stuff we could never afford to buy.”
“Didn’t your mom ever wonder where you were getting the clothes?” asked a chubby man near the front of the room.
“She already knew, found out about it when I accidentally went invisible at an arcade one time. I’d separated from her to go to the older kids’ side of the arcade. She thought a pervert had snatched me or something, since I was only ten. I was on my last few tokens playing Tekken when she found me—told me she saw my disembodied head and almost fainted. Messed me up because I was so close to beating Kazuya for the first time.”
Everyone laughed, and Agent Yu smiled.
AJ shrugged. “Anyway, she had me stealing stuff out of the grocery store sometimes after that. So she didn’t care about me stealing clothes for myself. She figured I was a sign God was looking out for her, since she could barely afford to take care of me.”
“Fascinating example. It’s my hope that with your generous salary and benefits, you won’t feel compelled to use your ability for criminal activities anymore,” said Agent Yu. “Has anyone else been using their skill as often or as long as Miss Taylor? How old were you when you first used your skill?”
"I was five, according to my mom," said Samuel Kim, sitting at the farthest end of the table. He had pulled his dark hair into a ponytail.
Eve listened as they shouted out when they discovered they could be invisible. Five. Ten. Eight. Thirteen. They were all young when they found out. I wish I had known these people when I was a kid. Do they have any other abilities?
The chubby man’s hand shot up.
“Yes, Mr. Rossi?”
“I was eleven. By high school, I was pretty good at it.” Travis Rossi suppressed a giggle and averted his eyes for a moment. “I used it to scare one of my history teachers. I went to his class after school when he was packing up, and I got him to change my grade on the mid-term by...uh...pretending to be God. I don’t even remember what I said, but it worked.”
“Shit, why didn’t I think of that?” AJ laughed.
“These are some hilarious examples, and I see you all are not scared to break the rules. You’ll need that spirit here,” said Agent Yu. “But I also see from these stories that many of you have gotten very comfortable with cloaking. I’m happy to know that because I’ll be pairing you up soon based on your comfort and skill level, so be sure to turn in the questionnaire that you got at the beginning of this meeting. Now, let’s return to Miss Cooper because I’m sure her legs are tired from standing here so long.”
Eve shook her head, although no one could see it. “I’m fine.”
Agent Yu instructed her to become visible again and cloak once more. She repeated this request two more times, and Eve performed on command.
"Notice that there's no struggle. Despite the fact that Miss Cooper hasn’t spent much time using her ability, she’s learned how to use it the way any of us use our limbs, with little to no conscious thought, as if it's impulse or instinct. Impressive. From what you all have told me, I assume many of you are as capable already. If you’re not, this is how you have to become if you intend to be successful in the field.”
The door squeaked open, and a few people turned to watch Agent Grobeck enter the room. He gestured for Agent Yu to continue and seated himself near the back.
"I want you all to understand that it doesn't matter how young you were when you first discovered or used your ability. It doesn’t matter how often you’ve used it. You're all starting at pretty much the same point at SPI. Once I’m sure that you’re comfortable with cloaking and able to do it instinctively, we will move on to technique." She turned to Eve—or where she imagined Eve was standing.
Eve stepped out of the dark void and reappeared.
"Thank you for demonstrating, Miss Cooper."
Heading to her seat, Eve looked at Agent Grobeck, who offered a half-smile and a nod. She sat next to AJ and turned her attention to Agent Yu.
"Now," said Agent Yu, "Let's—"
"Do you have the ability?" asked a blond woman with smeared freckles.
"No. I don't," said Agent Yu.
"Then, how can you teach us anything about our ability?"
This elicited grumbles and a "um-huh" from around the room, while others merely folded their arms across their chests and waited for Agent Yu to offer a valid response. But the question appeared to have rendered her temporarily speechless.
"That's a legitimate question," said Agent Grobeck, his voice low but commanding.
All eyes turned to him.
"I assure you that Agent Yu is a more than capable teacher, but I'll admit that what we're attempting here is a novel experiment. As such, it has its limitations. We're asking you all to take a giant leap and trust us in this endeavor. Might I suggest, Agent Yu, that we adjourn training for today a couple of hours early—it's just after three—so that you and I can discuss our trainees' concerns and adjust the training accordingly?"
Agent Yu nodded. "Let's call it a day, everyone. Training will begin again at eight tomorrow morning. You're dismissed."
AJ looked at Eve and shrugged. "You want to go for drinks?" she whispered.
Before Eve could answer, she heard Agent Grobeck calling her name. "Hold that thought, AJ," she replied. "Give me a second."
Agent Grobeck joined Agent Yu at the center of the room. As Eve approached, he smiled. "Miss Cooper, thank you for demonstrating. I was watching from outside and didn't want to interrupt your demonstration," said Agent Grobeck.
Eve smiled. "Thank you."
"Agent Yu and I have agreed that you, given your demonstrated control of your cloaking as well as your teaching background, would be the perfect co-instructor for this skills training."
"Are you asking me—"
"To co-teach the skills training alongside Ag
ent Yu. Yes."
"I..." How the hell did they come to this decision in less than a minute after dismissing the class?
"Are you interested in taking on that role?" asked Agent Yu.
"We're sure the trainees would take well to having one of their own training them," Agent Grobeck added. "Because it'll require greater demands on your time, we'll increase your trainee salary by five percent."
Eve quickly did the math in her head and looked at the agents. "Okay. I'll do it."
He shook her hand. "Excellent. Agent Yu will have your revised salary agreement ready for you to sign tomorrow morning."
Once he departed, Eve turned to Agent Yu.
"I'll look forward to working with you tomorrow. I'm sure the class will appreciate it." She gathered her laptop and briefcase.
"Thank you, Agent," said Eve. "I didn't think I'd be teaching again so soon, but I'm excited."
Agent Yu nodded curtly and left Eve alone in the room with AJ, who was standing with her mouth hanging open.
"So it's the first day and they’ve already promoted you?" teased AJ.
Eve laughed. "What was that you were saying about drinks? I think this is a cause for celebration."
"Damn straight," AJ said, grinning. "We're getting tequila shots, and you're paying Miss-I-Got-A-Raise-On-My-First-Day. Come on."
***
Eve crossed her legs and reclined on the sofa as she sipped a cocktail. Sitting beside her, AJ hummed along to the soulful music coming from the speaker and chugged an IPA. Instead of talking, they soaked in the ambiance, watching the other customers. Throngs of people were lingering near the bar and slow dancing to the music or ordering drinks.
"How does it feel?" asked AJ.
"Huh?"
"Being the chosen one and all? I mean, I feel like SPI has big plans for you."
Eve smiled. "SPI knows my teaching background, so I guess Agent Grobeck figures this role would be a good fit for me."
AJ shook her head. "Nah, it's not just that. I think that guy Grobeck has his eye on you."
Eve and the Faders Page 5
