Elite

by Joseph C. Anthony

  More and more agents and facility employees poured into the arena, and by eleven-thirty it appeared as though anyone who wasn’t currently on assignment was there. Suddenly, loud hip-hop music began blaring out of the speakers surrounding the arena. This got a reaction from the crowd as some started cheering while others felt motivated to get up and dance, Charlie being one of those people.

  Norma looked up at Charlie who was standing and gyrating his hips next to her – practically in her face – and shook her head and covered her face as if to deny any association with the worm-like white boy.

  Immediately following the hip-hop song was a hard charging rock song, prompting Charlie to transition from grinding the air to strumming and fingering it like a guitar. Daniel recognized the song as one of his favorites by a band named “Twice Over,” and bobbed his head along to the familiar beat.

  By the time the clock finally struck noon everyone in the arena was fired up from the combination of rhythmic beats and anticipation. At exactly 12:00 P.M., the music faded out and Richfield and Blank made their way into the arena, provoking a loud, enthusiastic cheer from the crowd.

  The two men made their way into the combat ring. Richfield held a wireless microphone in his left hand.

  “Good morning,” Richfield said into the mic and over the loudspeakers, prompting everyone to quiet down and listen up.

  “It has been quite a second quarter,” he continued. “We’ve had more assignments come in the last three months than we did in the first six combined.”

  Richfield paused while the agents gave a polite round of applause. The mood in the room had transformed from enthusiastic excitement to nervous tension in the blink of an eye.

  “We’ve also had a number of agents show drastic improvements in their training regiments, making our agency more dangerous than ever. We truly are the Elite.”

  The crowd let out a slightly more rambunctious round of applause this time around, appreciating the compliment from their leader and celebrating all of the effort the agents had put in as a team.

  “We’ve also added a new member,” Richfield noted, turning to look up at Daniel as if he had known exactly where he was sitting. “And he has not failed to impress every last one of us.”

  This also drew a reaction from those in attendance as the agents in the arena clapped and cheered for Daniel. He felt Charlie reach out and grab him by the shoulder, shaking him in an encouragement. It was all he could do not to blush.

  He looked up and happened to make eye contact with Jitters who was sitting about fifty yards away in the section along the wall to his right. He had a smug look on his face and had opted not to join the other agents in congratulatory applause.

  “All of these factors meant for a long process of trying to decide who fits in where as it pertains to rankings,” Richfield resumed, taking back control of the room.

  “Mister Blank and I were up into the wee hours of the morning hashing out these rankings, giving what we felt to be very fair evaluations of every one of you. There has been a significant amount of change this quarter, more than I can remember ever having in any previous quarters.”

  This drew a nervous rumble from the crowd as everyone now felt even greater uncertainty of where their name might fall on the big digital board hanging on the south wall.

  “We know how important these rankings are, and believe me we do not take them lightly. We hope you take your ranking in stride, and use it to either motivate you to continue your success, or to continue bettering yourself as an agent. So without further delay…”

  The room sat dead silent as Blank handed Richfield a single piece of loose-leaf paper. Richfield held it out in front of him, and began reading the names.

  “Number forty-three…” he began.

  Daniel held his breath. He would understand being ranked last, but deep down he really didn’t want to be.

  “Barbara ‘Babs’ Donovan,” Richfield announced as the first name appeared on the big board next to the number forty-three at the bottom.

  Daniel noticed a woman to his left, hugging the people who were sitting around her. He concluded that she must have been Babs.

  The crowd remained silent.

  “Forty-two,” Richfield continued, “Fredrick ‘Finch’ Maynard.”

  Another name popped up on the board, and another agent received encouragement from those around him.

  “Forty-one…Gabe Samson. Forty…”

  Daniel heard Charlie take in a breath behind him.

  “Charlie Barner.”

  Daniel heard the air pour out of Charlie’s lungs with a sound of defeat behind it. Shifty patted his friend on the back to console him.

  Richfield continued, listing off name after name, each time Daniel expecting to hear his name called, and feeling more and more anxious each time it wasn’t.

  “Thirty…Eric ‘Shifty’ Robinson.”

  Daniel turned in time to see Shifty shrug and turn to Charlie. “Another nice, even number,” he said in a lame attempt to cheer up Charlie.

  Eric Robinson, Daniel thought to himself. It was the first time he had heard Shifty’s real name.

  Richfield continued up the list. It was usually pretty easy to pick each agent out of the crowd as they heard their name called. Some reacted with positivity, while others with disappointment. It was also common to see reactions from agents as they heard another name called out in their previous ranking, signifying their movement up the ranks.

  As Richfield approached twenty, Daniel found himself getting very nervous. He quickly realized though that he wasn’t as nervous for himself as he was for Norma.

  “Twenty-one…”

  Daniel clenched his fists and held his breath, knowing that if Norma’s name was not called that would mean that she had succeeded in her goal of making the top twenty.

  “Tom Tipton,”

  “Yes!” Daniel whispered excitedly under his breath. Without thinking he turned and grabbed Norma’s knee, shaking it in excitement. Daniel felt a bit sheepish when she returned his gesture with a mild smirk, communicating simple satisfaction and nowhere near the level of excitement that Daniel felt.

  “Twenty…” Daniel turned as he heard the number called out. He was interested to find out if Charlie’s prediction would come to fruition, and also realized that this meant that he himself had made the top twenty.

  “Emily ‘Bunny Lass’ O’Malley.”

  Daniel chuckled. “Bunny Lass” was the nickname for Emily O’Malley, the daughter of two Irish immigrants who had moved to the States when she was six years-old. It was by far his favorite nickname of any agent. When other agents said it, it was always accompanied with an awful attempt at an Irish accent. It was strange to hear Richfield say it in such a flat, even tone.

  “Nineteen…Norma ‘Gene’ Amiri.”

  Daniel turned to Norma, with far less enthusiasm this time, to find her nodding in approval. He was happy for her.

  But where would he fall?

  With every new name that appeared on the board Daniel anticipated his to be called next, but Richfield kept moving up the rankings list, hitting every number and still not calling out Daniel’s name.

  After Richfield began announcing the top fifteen Daniel could feel the room begin to stir. Maybe it was his own self-absorption, but Daniel felt as though much of the conversation going on around the room was centered around him.

  By the time Daniel was able to double-check to make sure Richfield had not already announced his name or skipped a number, he was announcing the top ten.

  “Ten…Tobias Crain. Nine…Eddie ‘Groucho’ Knowles. Eight…Manny ‘Jitters’ Costello.”

  Daniel’s eyes immediately shot over to his left to Jitters. Jitters was standing up, staring right back at Daniel, a look of utter disgust on his face. Not only had Jitters failed to meet his absurd goal of making the top five, but this meant that he was now ranked lower than Daniel, something that Daniel knew was shredding him up inside.

  Dani
el couldn’t help but feel a certain amount of pleasure at Jitters dismay.

  “Number seven...” Richfield said, this time taking a slightly longer pause before reading the name, “Daniel Hart.”

  Suddenly the room erupted as the volume of hushed conversation in the room suddenly rose a few decibels.

  “All-right!” Charlie blurted, putting Daniel in a playful headlock.

  “Way to go buddy!” Shifty said, rubbing Daniel’s head.

  Daniel couldn’t believe it. Richfield had ranked him in the top ten. He wasn’t sure he deserved the honor, but he was certainly glad to have it.

  The rest of the top six played out pretty much the way everyone expected to, with Ace coming it at number two and Titan remaining at the top, but everyone’s concern was still on Daniel’s surprise seventh place ranking.

  Daniel didn’t even hear Richfield round out the rankings and wrapp up the event before leaving the arena. He just sat, staring at his name on the top quarter of the board, next to the crooked number known to all as “seven.”

  Behind him he could hear Charlie defending the ranking to the agents who had now gathered around them.

  “He’s two-for-two on the obstacle course!” Charlie pleaded. “How can he not be top-ten?”

  Norma slid down into the seat next to Daniel.

  A non-enthusiastic “Wow,” was all she said.

  “You said it,” Daniel replied, not taking his eyes off of his name on the board. “I’ve never even been on an assignment,” he said, questioning his own ranking.

  Norma nodded, searching for the right words too say. It didn’t seem as though she fully agreed with the ranking herself.

  “You are just as capable as anyone on that board,” she pointed. “Probably enough so to carry you while you gain experience and start to hone your instincts. This should be easy for you. By the end of the year I think you will have earned that seventh place ranking, and I think that is why Richfield put you there.”

  Daniel exhaled, putting on a fake smile as he turned to Norma. Wise, tough, and sexy – she just kept getting more and more appealing.

  “Then I guess I have work to do.”

  Chapter 15

  Daniel bobbed and jabbed as he sparred with Elise during his Monday morning training session. Less than twenty-four hours ago Richfield had displayed supreme confidence in Daniel in front of the entire agency by naming him the number-seven ranked agent, and he had found a new determination to live up to the expectations that had been placed on him.

  Daniel wasn’t sure whether he had truly begun to master Krav Maga, or if Elise was taking it easy on him. He guessed the latter, but he found himself able to land a couple of good shots as they danced around the mat in their combat stances. He knew that if he were in a real fight for his life, those couple of shots would have been all he needed to take down his opponent, but while sparring with Elise he thought it would be a bit excessive to pump up and use super-strength to knock her out.

  This theory was reinforced when he realized that she was actually teaching him a lesson in protecting himself. As he threw a wide punch with his right fist, Elise quickly under the punch and quickly shot up on his right side, throwing a counter-punch of her own and connecting with the right side of his head. His natural reaction was to throw his hands up to cover his head, providing her the opportunity to follow her punch with a knee to the gut. He felt the air forced out of his lungs as his arms fell to his torso, guarding his stomach and chest.

  But Elise was one step ahead of him. She jumped on top of him, using his shoulders for leverage, twisted around and wrapped her legs around his neck, then reached down and grabbed his chin with both hands. She threw her entire body backward, pulling Daniel to the ground with her. He felt her squeeze her thighs as tight as she possibly could around his neck, crushing his windpipe. She continued pulling upward on his chin, leaving him unable to replenish his body with oxygen.

  He was unable to escape as she maintained an unbelievably tight grip on his chin and neck, and without being able to take in any oxygen, there was no way for his abilities to help him. He had to tap out.

  After several quick taps on her impressive thighs, Elise released her grip, allowing Daniel to gasp for air.

  “You have to keep your guard up,” Elise instructed Daniel as he managed to bring himself to his feet.

  He began expanding his lungs, taking in and absorbing large amounts of oxygen with each breath, enabling a quick recovery.

  “You can’t give in to your natural impulses so easily when you get hit,” Elise continued lecturing. “Every time you do that, you leave another part of your body vulnerable to attack, and a trained combatant will be able to anticipate that.”

  Daniel nodded in understanding. These are all things he had already known, he just found them to be more easily said than done.

  “What about when I attack?” he asked. “When I threw the punch I left myself open for a counter attack on that side. How can I avoid that?”

  “The simplest answer,” she replied, “don’t miss.”

  The two exchanged smiles as Daniel brought himself upright and prepared for another bout. Just then a loud banging came from the direction of Richfield’s office. Daniel glanced up to see Jitters stomping his way along the balcony that looked out over the complex from the offices and classrooms.

  Immediately after the announcement of the rankings the day before – and more importantly immediately after the announcement that Daniel had been ranked one spot higher than Jitters – Jitters had gone on a man-hunt trying to find Richfield and Blank so that he could protest their decision. Unfortunately for him, the two men had made a point to make a quick exit from the building the instant they left the arena.

  Jitters instead used the after-party in the lounge as an opportunity to take his frustrations out on Daniel.

  “You don’t know who you’re messing with!” He shouted, pointing a stubby finger at Daniel.

  “What the hell are you talking about Manny?” Charlie responded, coming to Daniel’s defense.

  But before Jitters could reply, Titan walked up to the table. Jitters stepped back, expecting Titan to take his side, but Daniel knew better.

  A big, white smile spread across Titan’s face as he reached out a monster paw to shake Daniel’s hand.

  “Welcome to the top ten big guy,” he said with the voice of a jolly black giant.

  “Thanks Titan,” Daniel said, shaking the top agent’s hand and directing a satisfied glance at Jitters as he did so.

  Jitters looked up at Titan in disbelief before turning around and storming off in a huff.

  This morning Jitters had been waiting for Richfield when he got to his office, and by the way Jitters had slammed the door on his way out, it was safe to assume that things had not gone his way.

  Daniel chuckled as he turned back toward Elise, ready to go another round. But before they could get started, a voice called out to him from above.

  “Danny!”

  Daniel turned to see Blank leaning over the railing outside Richfield’s office.

  “Come up here!” he instructed.

  Daniel turned to dismiss himself from Elise before making his way over to the stairs that led up to the office level. As he climbed the stairs he wondered if Jitters had actually succeeded in convincing Richfield to change the rankings. But if that were true, why did Jitters look so pissed off?

  Probably because he’s always pissed off, Daniel thought to himself.

  He laughed at the thought, but in all honesty he wouldn’t be surprised if it had happened. Jitters probably did deserve the position more than he did.

  He hurried his way up the stairs and across the walkway until he finally arrived at Richfield’s office on the other side of the building. Blank was waiting for him outside the office.

  “Come on in, Danny Boy,” he said.

  “Daniel,” Richfield greeted as he reviewed some papers on his desk. Then he picked up one of the sheets scattered acros
s its surface and handed it to Daniel. “You have been challenged.”

  Daniel glanced over the typed form. There were blank spaces throughout that had been filled in with someone’s chicken-scratch, and a signature at the bottom that appeared to belong to one, Manny Costello.

  EPSF Ranking Challenge Request

  I, Agent Manny Costello challenge Agent Daniel Hart to hand-to-hand combat in the Challenge Arena to contest the number 7 ranking of the Elite Security Agents. By doing so I acknowledge that should my challenge be accepted I surrender my quarterly ranking and should I lose may be re-ranked wherever deemed fit.

  Manny Costello

  Challenger

  I, Agent accept/decline the challenge of Agent , and acknowledge that by accepting this challenge I surrender the right to my quarterly ranking, and should I lose may be re-ranked wherever deemed fit. Should I decline, I will accept the current ranking of my challenger, and all other agents above my challenger’s current ranking will improve their standing by one.

  .

  Challenged

  Charles P. Richfield

  Director

  “Official,” Daniel said sarcastically. He was really beginning to dislike Jitters.

  “So do you accept?” Richfield asked.

  Daniel looked over the form again.

  “Should I? It looks like if I don’t I just move down to eighth. Is one ranking really worth fighting over at this point?” He asked.

  Richfield leaned back in his chair and let out a disapproving pfft. “Do you want to look like a pussy?” He retorted.

  Daniel was taken aback by Richfield’s comment. He didn’t realize the alpha-male image was so critical around here.

  “No one ever turns down a challenge, Danny,” Blank added from behind Daniel. “Especially not to a cocky prick like Jitters.”

  Daniel turned to Blank with a look of slight surprise. Maybe it was the stress of determining the rankings for the agency, but these two were not in the mood for holding punches today.