Chapter One: Introductions

Classified: RIMTEC "Lone Wolf" Program Progress Report 1 (censored for security reasons)

Shipment of new trainees received this morning at 0600 hours. Eleven males and three females rounds the count out to fourteen exactly, two more than expected. The additional pair was added at *****'s request. The girl is suffering from PTSD following the murder of her parents and older brother last fall; she will either prove to be useless or highly effective depending on her reaction to the training methods. The boy has a past record of being socially awkward. It will be interesting to see how he copes with the team orientation of our program.

Here's the complete list of trainees, including the extra two:

1A - Bluff, Tony

1B - Garcia, Gabriel

2A - Anderson, Cynthia Annette

2B - Bell, Brenda

3A - Morgan, Emery Eric

3B - Walters, David Madison

4A - Worthington, Gregory

4B - Carson, James Edwin

5A - McDonnel, Ashlynn

5B - Milligan, Peter Carl

6A - Greenbay, Joseph Edison

6B - Chang, Jack

7A - Wittman, Jan

7B - Carter, Bella Matilda

Will supply details as requested. - ******

The other children were talking with each other in hushed voices, speculating and even joking a bit as they waited to be told what to do. Jan sat in the cheap plastic chair (come on, couldn't they at least afford wooden chairs in a facility as expensive as this?) and stared at the wall. His head was throbbing dully and he rubbed his eyes, trying to alleviate the ache.

"Are you tired, honey?" asked the brown-haired woman who had brought them here. Her voice was honeyed and sympathetic. Jan turned his head away and ignored her. Let the adults think what they wanted.

"Don't worry, this will be over soon and then you can sleep," the woman persisted, laying a soliciting hand on his shoulder. He twitched away from her, and she sighed and left him alone. At last.

His cold blue eyes flickered over the others. They were all the same age as him (give or take a few months), but most of them were bigger. They bragged and boasted, proud of their extra inches of height, but Jan knew that he could beat any of them if it came to a fight. Even at the age of ten, he knew how to hurt people.

A door on the other end of the room slid open, and a man entered. He wore grey fatigues and had his hair cut short, but he didn't have the bearing of a military man. He seemed more like a scientist. His face was handsome but bland, his eyes hidden behind round glasses. Jan thought that he looked almost bored.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Rockfort Island Military Training and Evaluation Center," he began in a loud, falsely cheerful voice. The few children who had not noticed him immediate stopped and sat down, giving him their full attention.

"My name is Tom Creed," the man continued. "I'm going to be your teacher for the next five years, so let's learn to get along well. I'll call you all by your last names. You call me Mr. Creed or Sir. Got it?"

"Yes, Mr. Creed!" they chorused. Jan mouthed the words. Got to keep up appearances.

"Very good," beamed Creed. "Let's do roll call. I'll call out your names and Soldier Numbers, and I want you to respond with a nice, loud "Here!" Okay? 1A, Bluff."

"Here," said the biggest of the boys. Brown hair, brown eyes. There was even a tiny bit of brown fuzz on his upper lip. Despite his size, Jan didn't think he looked like a bully.

"Good," said Creed. "1B, Garcia."

A slender Spanish boy with a fine, dark face and black curls raised his hand. "Here," he said, his accented voice soft.

"Good. 2A, Anderson."

"Here!" cried a chubby blonde girl with pigtails. Her voice was shrill and bouncy.

"Good. 2B, Bell."

An African-American girl, who was sitting next to Anderson and seemed to be her friend, stood up. "Oh yeah, I'm here!" she said, throwing up peace signs before sitting back down.

Creed paused slightly and seemed about to reprimand her, but continued. "…Good. 3A, Morgan."

"Here," said a skinny boy with golden curls and a foolish grin. He giggled afterwards, as if he said something hilarious.

"Good. 3B, Walters."

"H-h-here," stammered a boy with glasses. He looked terrified to the point of throwing up.

"Good. 4A, Worthington."

There was only silence. Creed's face hardened, and he said, more sharply, "4A, Worthington."

"Here … sir," said the boy in question. His head was shaved, and his lips were fixed in a sneer. A born delinquent, his parents had probably sent him here so they wouldn't have to deal with him when he became a teenager.

"Good," said Creed, with emphasis. "4B, Carson."

A boy with dark, slicked-back hair, nodded. "Here."

"Good. 5A, McDonnel."

"Here," said a red-haired boy with an angry frown on his face. Definitely the sort to take out his frustrations on younger, weaker kids.

"Good. 5B, Milligan."

"Hew," lisped a round-faced kid who looked like he was no more than eight. He was the only boy there who was smaller than Jan.

Creed's face softened a little, and he actually cracked a smile that didn't look fake. "Good. 6A, Greenbay."

A boy sitting in the corner, whose face was mostly concealed by his baseball cap and windbreaker, muttered, "Here."

"Good. 6B, Chang."

"Here, sir!" exclaimed a Chinese boy, with a happy grin that didn't reach his eyes.

"Good. 7A, Wittman."

"Here," said Jan mechanically.

"Good. 7B, Carter."

Jan turned his attention to the last child, a girl who was sitting next to him. Her dark brown hair, slightly curly, was tied back with a blue ribbon and fell down to her shoulders, revealing her sensitive face. Her lips trembled and her green eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

"Here," she whispered.

"Speak up," said Creed, ruthlessly. "I didn't quite catch that."

She raised her voice to a whimper. "Here."

"Good. Alright, that wraps up the introductions. I'm sure you're all eager to get started with your training, but it's getting late, and you've all had a long flight. You'll go eat dinner and then head to your respective rooms. Our facility here is a little small, so I hope you don't mind sharing rooms. It'll be a good chance to make friends, right? You'll be rooming with the person who shares your number."

Immediately, all of the children looked around for their roommate. Anderson and Bell gave twin squeals of delight and hugged each other. Milligan, the little one, looked at the red-haired McDonnel and cringed.

"I guess we're sharing a room," said a small voice at Jan's side. He looked around to see Carter staring at him with teary eyes. She sniffed loudly and scrubbed her face with the sleeve of her cardigan.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just tired. What's your name? I'm Bella."

"Jan," he replied.

"Jan?" she echoed. "That sounds pretty exotic."

"It's German. Spelled J-A-N, pronounced 'yawn'." There were undertones in his voice that said, 'don't mess it up'.

"This way, children," said their brown-haired attendant. "Follow me in single file. No pushing, Ashlynn."

McDonnel, who had been shoving Milligan along by his collar, scowled and said, "I told you, my name's Ash."

Jan joined the end of the line. Ahead of him, the other children were crowded in a big knot, but he stayed a few feet away. He didn't like to touch other people if he could help it, or even get too near them. Back at the orphanage, he'd been able to walk through the cafeteria at lunchtime without bumping into anyone.

And yet there was someone near him. He could feel the presence just behind him, hovering and fragile. It was his 'partner', Bella Carter. Jan sighed and moved a few inches away, reclaiming his personal space. If she was this clingy all the time, he thought, the next five years were going to be a real pain.

A/N: All right, that's it for the first installment. I'll try to update pretty regularly :) Reviews, as always, are both helpful and highly appreciated. Thanks for reading! ~ Dr. Kitten