The Writer's Games 2014: Mission #1 Entries

Fooled Again

By flyersfan5

Fooled Again

"We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone"

'''''

They're coming. I'm not exactly sure who, but all I know is they want one thing. I look down at my satchel as I run through the city streets; my memories from earlier today rush back.

As I step into work this morning, I would be blind if I didn't see all the chaos. People are shredding papers and destroying things that would be worth taking. I quickly pick up my pace and head into my boss's office. Inside he's dumping copious amounts of water and coffee on his computer, destroying the hard drive and anything worth seeing. When he looks up, I can see how frantic he is.

"It's about time you showed up Johanna," he says, half irritated and half relieved.

"I came as fast as I could after I got your call," I answer, taking a seat across in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Today was supposed to be my day off and I was planning on relaxing all of my muscles in a nice warm bath, but duty calls. "What's going on anyway?" I ask, referring to the destruction of his computer and the worried people outside his office.

"We got word from one of our moles that NSC is planning on ambushing us for the key and whatever else they can get their hands on, he says, sitting down in his own chair. NSC is our organization's (CSA) rival for as long as I can remember. They will do anything to get their hands on whatever we have; whether it's jewels or maps or money and keys, they will stop at nothing to get our stuff. The key in this case is a large, antique golden key from the 1700's that supposedly unlocks a box with a large amount of money. The NSC already managed to get the map for the box back in the 1900's, but they've never gotten the key. "So Jo, I want you to take the key and get out of here as quick as possible. I don't care where you go, as long as you have the key with you," my boss tells me.

I freeze. Part of me should be happy as I'm following in the footsteps of my family members who were agents like me; they all have guarded the key at some point and my parents were the last ones to do so until my father went missing and my mother passed away. However, I can't get over the feeling that I will somehow screw this whole mission up, but I have to put on a happy face. "I got this," I finally say.

My boss hands me a small leather bag that I'm assuming holds the key. "Take the helicopter, don't go to any airports because they will most likely confiscate the key." I nod my head and sling the bag across my body before letting the strap rest on my shoulder. I slightly wave goodbye to my boss before leaving his office and taking the elevator to the roof where the helicopter is waiting for me.

"I don't care where you go," I hear my boss's words in my head. Anywhere in the world huh? I've always wanted to go to Paris, but that would be obvious. After contemplating many times where I want to go as I wait in the elevator, I eventually decide on what to do. However when I get to the roof, my plans change slightly.

I see one of the pilots tied up on the ground and immediately my instincts kick in. I run to the door for the stairs and fly down the steps, avoiding the urge to look back as I know someone is following me. I take the stairs all the way down to the first floor and sprint out into the main concourse.

"NSC is here!" I yell into the crowd of frantic people before running out the door. Thankfully I managed to dress comfortably for this sort of thing. A thin, black, short-sleeved shirt, a pair of black leggings, and my trusty pair of tennis shoes make it easy for me to run through the city.

Which leaves where I am now, running through the streets of the city. I'm not exactly sure where I'm running to, but I make a turn down another street anyway. I turn my head around, my long brown pony tail flipping in the motion, and see two men chasing after me. I pick up my pace and head into the entrance of Jason's Park.

Jason's Park isn't your ordinary playground and benches type of park. Jason's Park has 800 acres with a vast amount of baseball fields, playgrounds, ponds, running trails, and open areas to keep yourself busy. In my case? To keep myself ample room to lose the men chasing me.

I decide to run down one of the trails and hope that the winding turns and forks in the trail would be enough to give me more time to get away. I take the opportunity to sprint down the path, hoping that they will lose sight of me. I turn around again and they are catching my tail.

I run out of the trail and onto one of the soccer fields. Suddenly, I'm tackled to the ground. I didn't think they could catch me; I thought I had a great enough distance where I could lose them. I squirm on the ground before I'm turned over. One of the men is pinning me down while the other digs through my satchel, looking for the key. Both men, at least I'm assuming they're men, are wearing masks that cover their faces.

"If you're going to take the key, I guess I have to see which one the members it is," I say as I dig my arm free and rip the mask off the man pinning me down. I gasp. "Dad?"

He looks exactly like I remembered him, except older and his eyes are bugged out. "Jo, I-I didn't expect our meeting to be like this," he manages to say. As much as I want to talk to him, I can't. He's working for NSC, how can I speak to him if he's working for my rival!

The other man manages to find the key and my dad grabs my hand and pulls me up before placing my hands around my back. "Johanna," he says as he handcuffs my hands, "the National Security Corporation is placing you under arrest for theft and accomplice to theft." I groan as I'm guided to their car, which is several blocks away due to all the running.

"Why are you working for them?" I finally manage to ask my dad.

He sighs before answering. "I've always worked for them. After stepping up in the ranks, I was finally placed out into the field. I was a mole for the Core Smugglers Association and was there for years, delivering information back to NSC." We walk a little faster to try to catch up to my dad's partner. "I didn't expect to be with the CSA for as long as I was, but I did manage to meet your mom and then you came along. It became harder for me to stay with the CSA if I now had a family, so the NSC faked my disappearance to get out of working there."

I look down. I can't believe it. The person I thought was my dad was obviously not him. We finally get back to the car and my dad and I hop into the backseat as his partner gets in the driver's seat. His partner pulls out onto the street and heads to what I'm assuming is going to be NSC headquarters.

"Did mom know?" I ask, barely a whisper.

"What?" my dad asks, turning to face me.

"Did mom know you were a double agent?" I say a little louder.

"No," he says. "No she didn't."

''''''

It's not my best work as I don't really do many action stories and also wanted to stay within the site guidelines and I think I did with this, so hopefully you like it! The quote in the beginning is from Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who

Flyersfan

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy"-Wayne Gretzky