Both Jason and Garrett seemed a bit surprised by the kind words. Usually G.U.A.R.D agents showed them the same amount of distrust that the public did.
“Although your assistance the other day wasn't necessary, what you did for us certainly saved many lives.”
Agent Hardine's attitude towards Jason was much different than their previous meeting. Jason smiled humbly at the compliment.
“I hear G.U.A.R.D is interested in some of the latest weapons technology we have available,” Garrett said trying to be a part of the conversation.
Shaw Enterprises was currently ranked number one in defense, but second in weapons. Stockton Incorporated currently held the top spot for weapons. Shaw Enterprises was hoping that their latest batch of weapons would put them ahead of the competition. Jason was certain that Garrett's assistance in the development process would prove to be the deciding factor.
Shaw Enterprises, specifically, David Shaw, Jason's father, was initially leery of Garrett working for the company. Unlike Jason, Garrett did not come from wealth. While Jason made his first million dollars by signing a contract, Garrett made his by stealing that contract.
Known as the best in his field, Garrett lived the life of a professional hacker. He was so good that he got to the point that he would hack confidential government files just for fun. He was eventually caught and faced many years in jail for his crimes. Luckily for him, someone high up on the chain saw fit to use Garrett's talents. Instead of serving more prison time, he was contracted, to test the safety of government files.
The government’s top tech members would create non vital programs and code it with their best security defenses possible. His job was to try and bypass the security defenses and download it to another server without giving away his location. For each task he was assigned with, he passed with ease.
He was then asked to create security measures that would be impossible for anyone else to hack. After successfully making the government’s security systems virtually impossible to break, his services were no longer required. For awhile he lived his life without hacking, but the urge to hack was too strong.
One day while having the TV on, he happened to catch news of Jason Shaw. He listened as the reporter talked about Jason’s return home and joining his father’s company. He watched as cameras showed footage of Jason signing the contract on his first big sell. It made him sick. For fun, Garrett decided to hack Jason’s account and steal just the money Jason made from his first big sell. He hacked the account with ease and celebrated his successful conquer. His celebration was short lived as Jason tracked him down and confronted him.
Somehow, as weird as it may seem, the two men had respect for one another. Jason was impressed with Garrett’s ability to steal from him. He assumed his account was as secured as an account could be. Garrett was equally impressed with Jason’s ability to track him down. At some point during the confrontation that resulted in Jason breaking Garrett's nose, a job at Shaw Enterprises was offered to the troubled hacker.
Much like his work with the government, he was asked to make their security systems the best they could be. Reluctantly Jason’s dad allowed Garrett to work for the company; it was a decision that proved to be beneficial.
“I was aware that you gentlemen would be visiting soon, but I wasn't told it would be today or what the purpose of your visit was,” Agent Hardine said.
Usually, any visit to a G.U.A.R.D facility was accompanied by Mr. Connors with supervision from Commander Sullivan. That wasn’t the case on this day. Neither of them were anywhere in sight and he found that a bit odd.
“We’re here to check the security of this facility. After the near breach last week, the President has authorized us to run some tests,” Garrett said.
Agent Hardine had an interesting look on his face. He was a suspicious man by nature. It was his job not to trust anyone; it was one of the things that made him so good.
“Seems to me that would be a job for Stockton Incorporated, considering they're the ones that constructed this prison,” Agent Hardine replied.
Garrett chuckled, “That was then, this is now. Stockton Incorporated didn't have me working on their systems. I'm the best there is at computer defense and the President wants me to make sure that everything is secure in light of last week.”
“I’m going to need conformation on that.” the agent said.
Agent Hardine pulled out his cell phone and began dialing someone. Jason placed his left hand on the phone and stopped him from doing so. The Agent had an intense look on his face and if Jason didn’t remove his hand, he was going to do it for him. Jason took his hand off of the agent’s phone and pulled out a piece of paper signed by the President. Agent Hardine looked over the paper carefully and scanned it for authenticity. Satisfied, he slid the phone back into his pocket and led the two men inside the facility.
“Agent Mallory, this is Jason Shaw and Garrett Blake, members of The League of Protectors. They have been authorized by the President to test the security of our systems.”
Agent Mallory had a suspicious look on his face. It wasn’t that he or G.U.A.R.D had anything to hide; the problem was the fact that the men checking the systems were both Post Humans. Agent Mallory’s mistrust was very easy to see and Garrett did not appreciate the suspicious looks he and his co worker were receiving.
The two agents and the two Post Humans reached the door that led to an elevator. Once there, Agent Hardine and Agent Mallory had to be scanned for facial and hand recognition. In addition to that, the two agents had to input their personal code for entry. Those responsible for the safety of the facility weren’t taking any chances. Jason and Garrett took notes while the two agents waited for entry confirmation.
“What are you guys writing down?” Agent Mallory asked abruptly. He suspected they were copying the access codes.
Jason walked closer to the Agent and showed him his notes. On the paper Jason simply noted that the two agents followed protocol and that the security system responded correctly.
“We're just here to follow orders like the President wants,” Garrett said annoyed by the distrust.
Agent Mallory shifted his attention to Garrett and demanded to know what he wrote down. Garrett raised his eyebrow and refused to show the agent.
The door opened and the Agents were granted access to the elevator. Agent Mallory was not satisfied; he pulled out his sidearm and directed it towards Garrett.
“Agent Mallory what are you doing?” Agent Hardine shouted.
Agent Mallory kept his attention directed at Garrett. Jason rushed over and placed himself in front of Garrett.
“I’m sure you’ve read the report on me, a simple bullet will have absolutely no effect on me,” Jason reminded the Agent confidently.
“He’s right, he’s got a dense body structure that shields him from almost any physical harm,” Agent Hardine added.
Agent Mallory had no interest in the list of extraordinary attributes Jason possessed.
“What does your friend behind you have to hide? Why won’t he show me what he wrote down?” Agent Mallory asked.
Garrett stepped in front of Jason to confront the agent. “If Jason wants to show you what he wrote down that’s fine, it’s his prerogative. I on the other hand don’t feel the need to show you anything. I’m not obligated to do so and I find it quite disrespectful that you feel you have the right to question me.”
Agent Mallory did not budge and he kept his gun pointed at Garrett.
“Agent Mallory, holster your weapon. These two men are our guests and they have a job to do. We will not be responsible for preventing them from doing their job.” Agent Hardine said.
Agent Mallory gave Agent Hardine a hard look and then acquiesced to the agent's command. He slid the gun back into its holster and then begrudgingly led the Post Humans inside the elevator.
“How many prisoners does this facility hold now?” Jason asked changing the subject. Agent Mallory did not respond.
“
We have over two hundred prisoners here now Mr. Shaw. I would have to check the system to give you the exact number,” Agent Hardine replied.
Garrett raised his eyebrow. “Isn’t that something you should know automatically?”
Agent Hardine gave Garrett an annoyed look. “It is if I was a guard here at this facility. My job is to track them down and bring them here. Knowing the exact number of inmates is something I leave for the fine crew here to know.”
“214 inmates are here. Does that satisfy your curiosity?” Agent Mallory asked smugly.
Garrett smiled; he ignored the agent and began walking around the room. 214 prisoners was a rather large number. Jason was a bit surprised with the amount of prisoners the facility had. Jason made a mental note to get Garrett to pull the files of each inmate inside the facility. He wanted to be absolutely certain that only those that deserved to be there were. The last thing he wanted to do was help aide the wrongful imprisonment of anyone.
Garrett took notes on the efficiency of the elevator. They were heading to the very bottom of the facility, so the ride down was a bit longer than most elevator rides. There were a lot of floors to the facility. The elevator came to a stop and Agent Hardine was the first man out. Garrett was the next man to exit the elevator followed by Agent Mallory. Jason Shaw remained inside.
“Mr. Shaw? Are you coming?” Agent Hardine asked.
Jason shook his head. He decided to check out some of the inmates for himself. Agent Mallory was visibly upset by Jason’s request. He was even more upset when Agent Hardine gave Jason the go ahead and instructed Agent Mallory to go with Jason.
Agent Mallory got back into the elevator cursing silently to himself. The elevator went back up and opened when it reached the corresponding level. Agent Mallory and Jason Shaw got out of the elevator and began walking around. Jason took out a device and began scanning the prisoners.
“Hey, what’s that?” Agent Mallory asked. He placed his hand on Jason’s chest in an attempt to stop him from walking.
“This little device will confirm the identity of the prisoners you have here,” Jason replied.
Agent Mallory stood in front of Jason preventing him from moving forward. Well, not really, because truthfully, Jason could easily move the agent out of his way if he so desired. Luckily for Agent Mallory, that wasn’t Jason’s desire.
“How dare you come here and accuse us of putting people here illegally?” Agent Mallory asked angrily.
“The same way you can stand there and accuse me and Mr. Blake of trying to sabotage the facility. Let’s face it, neither side trusts the other and I’m okay with that. My job is not to get you to like me. My job is to look after the security of this facility and the safety of its occupants,” Jason replied.
Agent Mallory huffed. “I don’t believe checking on the identity of these inmates are any of your concern!”
Jason chuckled and pushed his way past Agent Mallory with the extreme ease. “What you believe and what is fact are two different things. The fact is, I have authority to take any measures I deem necessary in keeping this facility secure. Right now, I deem it necessary to check the identity of every prisoner here.”
Agent Mallory begrudgingly followed behind Jason cursing silently to himself. Cell by cell Jason stopped to confirm each inmate’s identity. Profanity, derogatory comments and obscene gestures were hurled at Agent Mallory as he passed by the prisoner’s cells.
There was no love for the agent. Several of the inmates recognized Jason Shaw as well. G.U.A.R.D had more captures under their belt than the League, but The League had their share as well.
The inmates viewed both Jason and Agent Mallory as the enemy and desperately wished the inhibitor field that kept their abilities suppressed would fail. Jason continued checking each cell while the prisoners continued with their onslaught of verbal attacks. Jason reached the last cell on the right hand side and noticed something didn’t quite seem right. His eyes locked with Erik Masters.
8
Distress Signal
“Did you ever think when you signed up for the military that one day you would be doing this for a living?” Garrett asked.
Agent Hardine thought about the question and chuckled. In all his years of living, defending the country from another evolution of humans was not something he had in mind.
“I always thought our greatest enemy would be the Chinese or Russians, not a group of humans with extraordinary powers.”
Garrett laughed,“I always thought it would be some hostile alien race!”
Three other technicians inside the room looked at Agent Hardine and Garrett Blake with surprised expressions.
“So what do you think of us?” Garrett asked as he sat down and began going over the systems.
“Excuse me?”
Garrett chuckled to himself realizing the last thing they were talking about were aliens. He rephrased his question. “Post Humans, what do you think of Post Humans?”
Agent Hardine thought about the question for a moment. It was a tough question for him to answer and he didn't want to say something that was offensive. “I think Post Humans are a great threat to this world. For example, you have the ability to communicate with electronics correct?”
Garrett confirmed.
“So at any given time you can walk up to an ATM and tell the machine to give you money. Do you see what I mean? That type of power is dangerous.”
Garrett understood where Agent Hardine was coming from. Thanks in part to his time working with the League, Garrett had encountered some pretty dangerous Post Humans. These were the type of Post Humans that had the ability to wreck havoc whenever they saw fit.
Seeing how Garrett possessed no offensive abilities and had very little training in combat, he often felt worried when The League went on missions. If they couldn’t stop these criminals and G.U.A.R.D couldn’t either, then who was left to protect the world? Thoughts like these often plagued Garrett’s mind.
“To be fair, your team has done the best job possible for the public image of Post Humans. There’s no denying the contributions The League of Protectors have made. The problem isn’t what you guys have done; the problem is what you guys are capable of doing. Regardless of how much good you do, you’re always going to be looked at as Post Humans and that's always going to concern a big group of the population.”
Sadly Agent Hardine was correct. Garrett knew deep down being labeled a Post Human would always have its drawbacks. Being of Caucasian descent, Garrett never truly understood the struggles minorities had. Now, however, he understood it well. He was a minority now. He and anyone like him was the new object of persecution. It sucked.
“Is that what you see when you look at me Agent? Do you see a Post Human?”
Agent Hardine smiled. It wasn’t too often he got a chance to converse with a Post Human in this manner. Usually he was interrogating them or being insulted by them. Having a regular conversation with one of them, he found refreshing.
“When you and I talk, you look at me and sure, you see a person. You see a man, but somewhere inside of you, you distinguish me as a black man. Correct?”
Garrett raised his eyebrow; he wasn’t exactly sure where Agent Hardine was going with this.
“No matter what I do, no matter what my intentions are, no matter how much we have in common, you still recognize me as different. You still recognize me as black.” Garrett nodded hesitantly.
“That’s not to say that you have an issue with me because of my skin tone, but you recognize that there is a difference between us. You have no choice but to recognize it, it’s human nature. It can be something as simple as one man being short and another being tall. It can be one man being big and another being small. No matter what we do, we recognize the differences.”
While continuing to listen to Agent Hardine's explanation, Garrett jotted down notes concerning his readings from the computer system.
“So, to answer your question, yes, I see you as a Post Human, because that�
��s what you are. Do I despise you for it? No. Do I recognize it and become leery of it? Yes. I will always be more guarded when it comes to Post Humans. It’s of my nature and it’s my job. It's no different than when a Black person looks at a White person or vice versa. There's a difference between us and that's something that's always going to be on our mind. ”
Garrett appreciated Agent Hardine’s truthfulness. He found himself liking the agent even though the agent basically admitted he was guarded around him. Agent Hardine’s explanation planted a picture into the minds of how humans think. Garrett had a better understanding now than he did before.
“Agent Hardine, come here and check this out!” Garrett shouted. His urgency caught the agent by surprise. Agent Hardine rushed over to the screen to see what Garrett was concerned about.
“Do you see this?” Garrett asked pointing to a specific area on the screen.
“Yeah, what about it?”
Agent Hardine wasn’t too familiar with the computer systems at the facility. Garrett Blake would have to be more descriptive and explain the problem for Agent Hardine to comprehend what the issue was. Garrett tried to explain the problem again.
“This reading is for the Inhibitor Field. Do you get it now? The levels are fluctuating and dropping rapidly!”
Agent Hardine’s face dropped. His mouth was slightly opened and the color of his skin began to drain.
“Agent Hardine?” Garrett shouted. The agent snapped out of it and got back into focus. “We need to get someone down there immediately!” Garrett shouted.
Agent Hardine got on his radio to inform the others, but just as he was getting ready to do so, the power went out, shutting off all communication on that floor.
“Well that can’t be good,” Garrett said doing his best to try and remain calm. “I knew I should've stayed at the office!”
Jason stared at his readings thoroughly to make sure he was seeing things correctly. “Who is this man here?” Jason pointed to the man in the last cell on the right hand side.
New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age Page 6
