The 7 Plan

Chapter 1

   I know they're searching for me; I know I have to get away. I sprint across the gritty shore, running from the surreal events that flash in my mind. What did I just do? The words float in my mind, but I couldn't concentrate on them right now. The only thing I could focus on was escaping. I push my feet harder against the rocky sand. For once I was grateful for the darkness, which would at least spare me a few minutes. Sirens ring in the distance, and sweat dews on my forehead. I had never done anything like this before; this was my first real "mission". My slender hand pats the thin transparent suit on top of the worn pocket of my dark pants. I feel the slim, silver disk through the thin material, and relief mixed with a wave of nausea rolls through the pit of my stomach. I was still thrilled by what I did to get this confidential disk, but I also knew the danger my actions put me in. What did I just do? Once again, the words flow through my mind. I shake my head, hoping to dissipate the thought.

  All of a sudden, I hear shouts and barks from down the beach. I whip my head around to find a party of police and their guard dogs dressed in that clear armor with its black and yellow badge on the shoulder. They were a few yards down from where I was. They could catch me. I turn and sprint with all the strength I could muster, ignoring the burning sensation engulfing my raw muscles. My team's practically invisible ship was a little ways off. I would be able to make it, if the officers don't notice me anytime soon. A snarl rips through the salty air just then, and a panic courses through my veins. I didn't dare turn around, because I could hear the thudded paws of a dog pounding on the sand, coming towards me. Oh no, I'm going to die. I hear several footsteps, and foreign screams of death threats toward me, but all I could focus on was the furious pounding of my heart. I'm going to die. My sore feet hit the charred wood of the dock, and a spark of hope flits through my system. I could see the speedboat hidden in the distance. The bustle of footsteps on the dock carries in the night breeze, and I pick up my soft sprint as I reach the edge of the boat. I swiftly jump in, and just as quickly I was off, grateful that my trainer, Charles, had insisted he come. Relief floods through me as the reality of it sunk in, I made it.

  I look back at the dock, amused by the confused expressions on the officers' faces by my sudden disappearance. My trainer and I head to the ship, hidden in an uncharted cave in the middle of the Pacific, where the rest of the team waits. "Get it?" Charles asks as he calmly drives the boat. I nod my head, but uncertainty fills my body. What did I just do? 

          I forced back my eyelids; the pain throbbing in my chest was too much to bear. I was immediately enveloped by a comforting darkness; this place was my only refuge now. On the rare occasions that I had time to myself, that is. It was a room in the heart of the ship, one of the few places not encased by the one-way mirrors that made up this vessel. There were no lights and no windows, just darkness. I was peacefully able to drown in the sea of my thoughts. This memory was always one that haunted me over and over; I couldn't seem to shake it from my mind. It was the night of my first mission, and we were stationed in Division 2 – which I've been told used to be called Europe – gathering classified intelligence. The disk I stole was confidential knowledge about the government of Division 2E; we were doing this for every Division on the planet. But even then I had a feeling that something wasn't right. So why did I stay here? Charles... The familiar stab of pain ripped through my heart again as the word entered my mind. Even so, I couldn't stop the tiny smile from surfacing onto my face. I remembered the man who was my mentor, the man who saw my potential to become one of the team's best members, the man who I fell in love with, and the man who soon became my loving husband.  The man who is now dead.

 This team was where I met Charles, at the time the Second in Command and employed to be my mentor. Everyone on this ship was forcibly recruited into this team – the Determinators. It was a team composed of two members from each subdivision's army. We were secretly watched, and then one day were kidnapped and taken to the team's covert ship.  It was secretly formed after the world had gone into mass chaos from a nuclear war, where all the Divisions had been completely destroyed. Most of the population had been wiped out as well, although there were a few of us who remained. None of the subdivision's governments, or intelligence agencies, know about us. Boss, who formed the Determinators, knew how to keep out of the world's watchful eye. He created it because our team was "determined" to restore peace to the planet.