To be as Elusive as a Dream

01

7 March 2000

0900 Hours

Sent From: Agent Phantom

Addressing: New Recruits
Subject: Class

Recruits, you have exactly one hour until your class, located in Area 16.45. Do not fail to be there. No matter what, do not give away your intentions.

Burn this letter upon receiving it.

That is all.

{O}

"Yo, sorry, but can you add soy foam? My girlfriend is a pain in the ass, lemme tell ya."

"Sure thing sir, one special coming right up. How do you want the foam?"

"Cold, like ice."

A tall man stood at the counter of a local coffee shop, waiting for his drink. While most of the people in this room certainly were average looking, he wasn't. His hair was neon blue, sticking straight up due to hair gel. He wore heavy white face makeup, and silver bracelets covered his arms. Of course, all of that was explained away instantly by his clothes, the uniform of a nearby high school known for gang fights and drug activity.

Most people avoided eye contact with the man, opting to look out the window, stare at their drink, or another person instead. The man knew this of course, but he didn't mind. This was the way society treated him, but that's how he wanted it.

Outcasts always get to have more fun.

When he was given his drink, the cashier nodded at the man. She was a tall woman with short hair complementing her long lashes. Her name tag said, "Inko." Inko rang up the man and watched as he slid his credit card across the counter. She swiped.

"Doing anything today, sir?"

"Just a meeting with friends at 9. Thanks!"

She nodded and waved him off, watching as he left the shop. She went to sorting money in the register, and when no one was looking, slid a tiny piece of paper under the stack of 1000 yen bills.

{O}

4 people waited at a bus station. The neighborhood was quiet, with only the abandoned playset on the front of someone's lawn making noise every time the wind blew. It was eerie, but the stillness was even worse. Luckily, it was broken as an old greyhound marked as number 1645 rolled up to the station, the axles groaning. The four got on and sat in silence, watching the bus go on. As soon as they were in the countryside, the bus driver started talking.

"Congratulations. None of you idiots were late this time."

The blue haired man snorted. "Don't even try, Agent Shit. You're the one who messes up half of the transportations."

"Its not my fault that Phantom's messages are vague as fuck. Hell, 1 could do a better job at sending memos than Phantom."

The one woman on board rolled her eyes. "Please boys, stop trying to be intelligent. Its failing miserably."

"Oh don't you even start, Number 5663." The driver snapped. "You nearly shot Agent Freeze Frame on your first day of classes."

"Well it wasn't my fault that Agent Freeze Frame was between me and Agent 7032. I still don't know why you hired him! He sticks out like a sore thumb in public" She cried.

"At least his hair isn't blonde." The quiet and small man in the back said. The woman ignored him entirely.

"I honestly question the decision maker. Choosing 7032 was the biggest mistake someone could've made."

"Shut up, all of you." A young woman in her mid twenties climbed on board. Her hair was a luscious brown, falling around her face like the pictures in magazines. She slid off her red coat and slid into the seat behind the driver. "Honestly, if you want to not die on your first mission, then stop arguing so loud that my husband can hear you."

The blonde girl blanched. "Ugh, Agent Venus. You have no idea how fantastic it is for me to see you again."

The woman lifted an eyebrow. "Do you like, wanna not have a job?" Her voice was not at all like it had just been, instead becoming obnoxiously nasal and dragged out. It sounded like a Valley Girl accent.

The blonde cringed. "Fine. What's today's class? Languages? Fighting? Disguise?"

The bus driver cut the brunette off, obviously to her chagrin. "You're going to each spy on and collect information on one of your superiors."

"Our...superiors? Like, other spies?" 7032 worried.

"Yes other spies. Did you not go to school?" The lady snapped, returning to her regular voice. "Listen, each of you gets one person to spy on for the day. Report back one secret you learned to HQ. Person with best secret gets to skip tomorrow and have a free day."

The 4 trainees looked at each other. A day off would be amazing.

"So, 5663 will be spying on Agent Widow. 7032 on Phantom. 9014 on Agent Catman. 8830 on Agent Ascot. Any questions?"

No questions were raised. The woman smiled. "Well then, that'll be all. Your reports are due in exactly one week's time. If you need resources, contact me, Agent Shit, or Agent Nike. Do not ask the others, got it?"

"Yes Madam." was the response she got. The bus pulled over in front of an old barn. "Go get em' kids." The bus driver cheered. "Just like I'm about to get some-"

A slap and a yelp of pain could be heard as the doors of the bus closed shut.

The 4 of them shared a look before laughing. Agent Venus was more fun that she looked.

{o}

5663 groaned. "Ugh, why did I have to get Widow? Hey, 8830, wanna switch?" She complained.

"No."

"Come on! I'll owe you!" She begged.

9014 glared. "He said no."

"Fine." 5663 pouted. "What about you 7032? You willing to switch?"

7032 blanched. "Are you kidding? No matter what, I lose!"

"Maybe you deserve to lose! Loser!"

The two agents started arguing loudly, each insult becoming more and more vulgar than the last.

9014 grabbed 8830's arm. "Let's go."

The two male agents walked on the gravel road to the base, each step making a crunch. 8830 shoved his hands inside his suit, stooping over and slowing his pace to match 9014's. The two men traveled in solace down the path, leaving 7032 and 5663 behind. The tall brunette's aura was mysterious, but so was his companion's. They'd both seemingly come out of nowhere, but then again, so had everyone. No one knew each other outside of the agency, or if they had, then they would've been forced to forget.

"You nervous?" 9014 asked softly.

8830 nodded, drawing out an old Zippo lighter from his pocket and flicking the lid open and closed. He didn't remember where he got it, but he'd held onto it from childhood.

They reached the warehouse where they worked. It was disguised as an old farm, and it did produce crops, but they were minimal and low scale. All the operations were held within the grain silos. The two agents split from each other and headed towards their separate target's offices.

Agent Ascot, huh?

This'd be interesting, especially considering she wasn't here currently. She was stationed in the city.

He slipped in her office, placed a bug on a leaf of her Hydrangea plant, and slipped into his desk in the trainee's office.

Might as well get some work done while he waited for her to come back.