Jason Steed Royal Decree

by Mark A. Cooper

  The woman stopped at a reception desk. He followed and looked at the woman behind the counter.

  “Hello, Jason.” She smiled. “Quentin is expecting you. I’m Jane, his secretary. If you ever need anything, just ask. Please go in.” She got up and opened a door next to her desk. Jason walked in and noticed a man sat behind a desk working on some papers.

  He glanced up and went back to his papers on his desk as if Jason was insignificant. His secretary closed the door behind Jason. He looked around the room. A large American flag was on the back wall. Other walls had pictures of old aircraft, mostly black and white pictures. One picture caught Jason’s eye. It was Quentin Roosevelt Military Academy, the American school he had attend a year earlier.

  “Sit down boy,” the man said. Immediately, Jason could tell he was American. Jason sat in front of the man’s desk and said nothing. The old man looked up and came around to meet him. Jason noticed he was in a wheelchair. The old man shook Jason’s hand. Jason thought he looked about seventy. He was bald and had a bad scare across the right of his face.

  “Hello,” Jason said.

  “I would love to know what is going through your mind right now?” the old man asked, nodding at Jason.

  “Yeah, it would start with who are you and where am I?” Jason said.

  “You don’t recognize me?” the man asked.

  “Oh yeah I got it. Elvis Presley am I right?” Jason said.

  The old man wheeled himself back behind his desk. He was clearly annoyed with Jason’s remark. “I can see why they suspended the entire academy now.”

  “Academy? What’s that got to do with anything, and why do you have a picture of it on your wall?” Jason asked.

  “Let me explain. I’m Quentin Roosevelt. You went to the academy that was named after me. I had hoped you would recognize me from some pictures they have hanging on the walls. You were there for a few months.”

  “He was killed in World War One and was about twenty, not….” Jason paused, trying not to sound rude. “You are older, give or take sixty years,” Jason said.

  “Correction, I was shot down over France in July 1918. They never found my body. I was brought back here, barely alive, with no legs and a burnt body, but I can assure you I never died.”

  “That would make you about…” Jason started.

  “Well it’s 1976 now so seventy nine.”

  “Um, yeah. Why didn’t you let people know you were alive?”

  “America had its fair share of Roosevelts. I could do more here with my family in its place.”

  The door opened and closed again. Jason turned to see Dexter Delong join them. “Morning, sir. I see you’ve met him,” Dexter said taking a seat next to Jason.

  “Yes and the short time you acted as his father you obviously never taught him any manners. Still, that will change.” Quentin said.

  Jason sat quietly, waiting for an explanation. Eventually, he spoke to Quentin. “Why am I here? Am I in trouble or danger?” His voice broke off. He started to get worried.

  Dexter spoke first. “No Jason, you are not in any danger and not in any trouble. We’ve been watching you for a few years now, ever since the Jakarta massacre. We heard about an eleven-year-old boy who, not only recovered the cassette, but rescued the Marines and flew an aircraft back to Australia and landed it even after being hit by shrapnel. Since then, you were on our radar. We’ve been trying to find a way to extract you and bring you here.”

  “Why?” Jason asked.

  “I thought it obvious. However, that damn George Young sent you undercover and almost got you killed. Somehow, you survived that, and just when things looked like we could approach your father, you were whisked off to the Academy,” Quentin said.

  “We were about to make our move, but when your father was held captive by the Vietnamese, you went AWOL and travelled half way around the world to rescue him,” Dexter said. “To be honest, we didn’t think you would survive that. However, you did, and again when you got back to the UK, George Young sent you undercover to spy on the IRA. You discover it’s your uncle and closed that case.”

  “No, it was Scott that worked it out,” Jason said.

  “Ah yes, the brilliant Scott Turner, has one of the highest IQ’s in Britain. We looked at him too, but he’s not got the full package to be a candidate. You do,” Quentin said.

  “Scott has the full package. He’s really clever, he knows more than any teacher at the school, and can work out a puzzle in seconds,” Jason said.

  “Agreed,” Dexter said, placing his hand on Jason’s knee. “But he can’t fly a plane, kill with his bare hands, take on five or six adults, climb a castle with his bare hands, swim, or run like you. And we didn’t get a special request to bring him here like we did you. ”

  Jason moved his knee away from Dexter’s hand. “What special request?”

  “Let’s just call it a Royal Decree.”

  “Do you want me to work for the CIA?”

  “No Jason, most of the CIA works for us,” Quentin said.

  “Us?” Jason asked.

  “Infinity. We have various agencies working for and with us, such as the American CIA, the British MI6 & SAS, the Russian KGB, the French SDECE, the German BND, Australian ASIO, and so on,” Quentin said.

  “What do you do?” Jason asked.

  “Jason, we do what you do, but on a much larger scale. We train the very best to be the best. Quentin Roosevelt was here as a boy, he became a fighter ace in World War One before he was shot down. Many others have come here, such as a brilliant young man who came here in 1886 aged twelve. By 1895 he was in Cuba acting as a spy for us. 1896 he was in India with the British army. Two years later, he was sent to Sudan and in 1899 to South Africa for the Boar War. Eventually, he was caught and imprisoned. Of course, with the training he had while at Infinity, the prison couldn’t hold him and he escaped,” Dexter said.

  Quentin continued. “I met him here in 1916. He was always close to Infinity, so much so years later we persuaded many to push him into power in Great Britain. Hitler needed to be stopped. We needed to stop him. So, he became Britain’s Prime Minister.”

  Jason’s mouth opened wide in amazement. “Do you mean Sir Winston Churchill?”

  “Why of course, and with Franklin D Roosevelt as US President, we had what we needed to help us steer victory.”

  “Wow, have you had other famous people come here?” Jason gasped.

  “We currently have two Presidents and a Prime minister, countless foreign secretaries, military commanders. They all started here and learnt the trade,” Quentin said. “And we feel you have what it takes to become part of the team.”

  “I don’t want to be a Prime Minister. I want to join the SAS or MI6,” Jason argued.

  “We didn’t exactly plan on making you Prime Minister, Jason. You don’t fit the bill. You are more hands on, much more suited in the field. Yes, The SAS or MI6 are perfect for you. But for now, you are a very valuable commodity. No one suspects a boy. The training Wong Tong gave you is better than we could possibly train you with martial arts. However, you are a lousy shot with a gun, you have not been taught how to defuse a bomb, how to break into a high security building, pick a lock, steal a car without a key, or amputate a limb,” Dexter said.

  “Amputate a limb?” Jason cringed. “Why would I want to learn how to do that?”

  “Imagine you are on a joint mission and someone with you gets badly injured. Can you stitch a wound? Amputate a leg that has gangrene? You need to be trained in all aspects of military first aid.”

  For over an hour, Jason listened to Quentin and Dexter explain everything. He was to attend the school and do some subjects up in the main school such as math, English, and languages. However, weapons & target practice, bomb making, planting, and defusing lessons will be down here. Other students would also learn martial arts, but no doubt Jason could teach the instructors a thing or two. He would be taught all aspects of military training, parachute landing, and f
irst aid.

  At Infinity, all students are elite. They are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest and toughest kids in the world. The more he heard, the more he liked it. Until he found a flaw in the plan.

  “Does Brenda or my dad know about this?” Jason asked.

  “Of course not. George Young didn’t and your father does not need to know,” Dexter said.

  Jason looked disappointed. “I don’t think that will work. I made a promise that I won’t ever lie to my father.”

  “It’s a white lie Jason. He just needs to know you are okay at this school. He doesn’t need to know all the subjects.”

  Jason paused before answering. “I lied to him once and got spanked, but worse was I disappointed him. I didn’t just promise him. I made the promise to myself that I would never lie to him again.”

  “From the reports I’ve read on you Jason, I couldn’t imagine anyone spanking you.” Quentin smiled.

  “He’s my dad.”

  Dexter studied Jason before coming up with a solution. He suggested that Jason be selective with the information he gives his father. This way, he would not have to lie. Jason reluctantly agreed, but it didn’t fit well with him. He was unsure what he would tell Scott. So for now, he put it out of his thoughts.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Jason was shown around by Dexter. It was much larger than he had first imagined. He was given his own room; it shared a bathroom with five other rooms in the boys block. Jason would later meet his fellow students. They were all currently out on a three day hike across Belgrad Forest. The large rugged forest situated just outside Istanbul was often used by Infinity for training purposes. They would be returning later today.

  He was shown to his room and told to change into his new uniform. He was surprised to find his suitcase on the bed and his toothbrush and comb laid out in the bathroom for him. His closet contained several uniforms—he same black pants and black top with the Infinity Global logo on the chest. He tried it on and it fit him perfect. He wondered how they knew his exact sizes. His room was fitted with a comfortable bed, TV, and radio.

  His first lessons would start the following day. For now, he explored. This was cut short when he found the gym. He stripped to the waist and worked out performing karate katas. He spent the next hour attacking a punch bag with various kicks, punches, and chops.

  Jason was so consumed on the bag he never noticed three boys enter. They stood and watched him for a while before coming closer. He punched the bag in rapid succession and finished it off with a roundhouse kick.

  “Keeah,” he shouted as he gave it a final blow. Sweat trickled down his chest. He brushed his long blond bangs out of his eyes and noticed his audience.

  “Hi.” Jason panted.

  “Whoa! So you’re the great Jason Steed we have all heard about. I can’t wait to spar with you. I heard you are one of the best martial artists ever to have come here.” A boy walked forward. Jason guessed he was around fourteen, Asian, with large rimmed glasses. “I’m Kevin,” he said.

  The boy took off his shoes and socks as he approached Jason and stood in a fighting stance. Jason was already out of breath but went along with it and matched the stance. Immediately, Kevin stood upright and took a step back.

  “This is non-contact right? Just sparring. I want to see if you are as good as they say you are,” Kevin said nervously.

  “Sure,” Jason said.

  They faced each other, both balancing on the balls of their feet. Jason concentrated, trying to gauge his opponent. He didn’t want to hurt Kevin but didn’t want to look foolish either. He figured if Kevin was a student at Infinity, he would be better than average at karate. His thoughts were quickly confirmed.

  Kevin stepped forward and tried to sweep Jason’s front leg away. Jason lifted it clear and threw out a dummy kick to hold Kevin back. Kevin attacked with a roundhouse kick and switched to a sidekick. Jason stood aside and blocked. He threw a dummy kick again. Kevin had guessed the move and attacked back, narrowly missing Jason’s face with his left foot. The move was too close for comfort. Jason leapt forward, spun, and threw a roundhouse kick at Kevin. “Keeah,” Jason shouted.

  He pulled his kick. His foot just touched Kevin’s ribs, but it was enough to knock him back a few feet. Kevin stood back and bowed. “Wow, you’re fast. Good point. You have to teach me that move.” Kevin smiled. He walked forward and shook Jason’s hand.

  The second boy was younger. Jason thought he looked around twelve. He spoke with a German accent and called himself Karl. He took of his shoes and socks, followed by his shirt. Jason was surprised how well built he was for his age. His body was slender and muscles well defined, much like his own body.

  “Can I try?” Karl asked.

  Jason nodded and stood in a fighting stance. As soon as Karl stood in the same position. Jason moved forward fast. Before Karl could do anything, Jason had swept his legs from under him. Karl fell to the ground, and immediately, Jason pounced on him, pinning him down. He pulled his right arm back and struck stopping an inch from Karl’s nose. Karl’s eyes almost popped out of his head.

  “Holy smokes,” Karl said. “That was pretty scary.”

  Jason smiled and lifted his sweating body off of Karl. He lifted Karl up from the ground.

  “Thanks, Jason. It was an honor to get my butt kicked by you,” Karl said.

  “Really?” Jason asked.

  “You are just thirteen and you have already been shot at and killed people. You don’t know how lucky you are! Not many of us have been on real missions yet, just the older students,” Karl said, almost bowing.

  The third youth introduced himself as Connor. He was fourteen and from New Zealand. He removed his shirt, revealing a stocky and very muscular physique. Jason had never seen someone so young with such a well-developed body. “Good day, mate,” Connor said.

  “Hi Connor, nice to meet you. Australian?” Jason asked.

  “No mate, I’m from the land of the ‘All Blacks,’” Connor said.

  Jason thought for a second. He wasn’t into any sports apart from martial arts, but the ‘All Blacks’ were the world’s greatest Rugby team. “Oh, New Zealand. Cool.”

  “So Jason, you think you could do that to an All Black?” Connor asked.

  “You’re not an All Black Connor,” Kevin said.

  “Not yet, but my dad was and my older brother Vic plays for them,” Connor argued.

  “Do you do karate as well?” Jason asked.

  “Nah mate, Judo and rugby are my sport,” Connor said. “They say you have a black belt in judo as well as karate, is that right?”

  “Yes,” Jason said.

  “Think you could stop me?” Connor asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I bet I could pin you up against that wall,” Connor said, pointing at the wall that was some twenty feet behind Jason.

  “No way, Connor. He will kick your arse,” Karl said.

  “Try it.” Jason smiled.

  Connor ran forward towards Jason as fast as he could. Jason blocked Connors right hand, but Connor’s left hand wrapped around Jason waist. He picked up Jason, spun him almost upside down, and kept running. For several strides, Jason struggled in vain. Connor was rapidly approaching the wall at an alarming speed, and it was clear Jason was going to be used as his cushion.

  Jason’s right arm was hooked over Connors head, unable to do anything. His legs were almost on Connors shoulders. Jason had his left hand free and was left with only one option. He grabbed Connors private parts and squeezed. For a few steps, Connor ignored the pain and kept going forward, his powerful legs striding towards the wall. Jason’s weight was nothing to him, so Jason squeezed as hard as he could.

  “Agh! let go,” Connor screamed, falling to his knees. He dropped Jason, who wrapped his legs around Connor’s neck and twisted, throwing Connor onto his back. Using all of his strength, Jason held him in a headlock until Connor submitted.

  “That was cheating! Yo
u grabbed my meat and two veg,” Connor complained.

  “I knew you wouldn’t be able to pin him against the wall,” Kevin laughed.

  “He cheated and grabbed my package,” Connor complained, rubbing his private parts. “Steed, you cheated.”

  “Come on, don’t make such a fuss over such a little thing,” Jason joked, wriggling his little finger at Connor.

  Kevin and Karl roared with laughter. Connors pride was hurt. He glared at Jason. He started to walk away, still holding his private parts.

  Jason walked towards him. “Hey sorry, Connor, no hard feelings? I had to do something, mate, you was gonna crush me against the wall,” Jason said, holding out a hand of friendship.

  Connor stopped and smiled at Jason and shook his hand. “Okay, but you ever touch me there again and I’ll…” He was interrupted before he could finish.

  “Believe me mate, it’s the last place on Earth I want to put my hand again,” Jason said. “How many other students are here?”

  “Fourteen with you.” Kevin nodded towards Jason. “Us three, seven girls, and three older boys, all sixteen.”

  “Oh, I thought there would be more,” Jason said.

  “We generally hang out together and keep Connor out of trouble,” Karl said. “It’ll be cool if you want to hang with us as well.”

  Jason smiled and looked at Connor for approval. He thought Connor seemed to be the one in charge. Connor grinned and nodded. The boys spent the evening together bringing Jason up to speed on everything.

  He discovered it wasn’t very often that someone new joined them at Infinity. They had all been told in advance Jason was coming and his accomplishments. Not even the older boys had done anything as daring as Jason. Mostly, they were planted to find out information, act as lookouts. The most common use for them was to access secure buildings, posing as teenage thugs who broke in looking for cash. The real objective was secret information that could be used by Infinity on criminal organizations or terrorists.