Argent Eye IV

19

"Ah, Millie, come in." Stark said when I appeared at his door- he'd left it open a little.

I walked in and closed the door behind me.

"Take a seat." He said, and so I did- he was just sorting through some papers as he spoke. "I just called you here to keep you updated on your training." He continued. "You seem to be progressing faster than we anticipated, which is why I want to lay out your next mission."

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

He looked up at me then, and smiled. "Why, yes." He said. "You handled your previous mission very well, from what Tina was telling me. Besides, I think that the job would be well suited to you."

"You do?" I asked. "Why's that?"

"We need you to go undercover as a school pupil." He said, getting straight to the point. "Not to say this offensively, but you can get away with looking like a teenager."

I chuckled. "Fair enough." I said. I mean, it was true. I'd never been one of those kids who looked older than they were, and even as an adult, I still didn't look my age.

"It's not just a one-day mission, either." He said. "You'll be sent to our Country Base, and will need to attend the school for a week or so, depending on the information you acquire."

I just nodded, surprised at the nature of the mission. Undercover? At a school? For a week? It sounded exciting.

"So what information do I need to acquire?" I asked.

"Well." Stark said, shuffling the papers on his desk into a neat pile. "The main focus of our work here is to register and monitor supernaturals, so that if they start acting out of line, then we can deal with them accordingly by getting in contact with the right people. Most of the time, it's easy- like, maybe there's a new werewolf in town, or an new Argent. However, sometimes we hear about... anomalies, if you like." He paused, looking at me. Clearly, I was one of those anomalies, but I didn't interrupt. "When we hear of these anomalies, we often need a little more information about them. In this particular case, we have reason to believe that there is a student with a strange kind of power. One we haven't seen or heard of before. We don't think she's Argent, or even any kind of supernatural we know about. Anyway, it would be beneficial for us to know what her powers are and what she's capable of. What her personality is like. That way, we can establish whether she is a threat or not. And that's where you come in."

I nodded again, following.

"We just need you to befriend her, and get as much information about her as you can. Whatever you do, don't become an enemy or anything like that." Stark chuckled, although I could tell he was deadly serious.

"Sure." I said.

"And also, you can't let her know about us- about the SED." He said. "By all means, if it comes to it, share your gifts with her. She might be more inclined to talk about her own powers if you did that. But you have to make it seem natural. Like you're just a new pupil at the school, and you're looking for friends. Perhaps you spotted her using her powers by accident." Stark used air quotations when he said accident- I understood what he meant. "Only then do you ask her about them. You need to go into that school as if you know nothing about them."

I nodded. "Okay, I understand."

"Good." Stark said. "I knew you would. Tina will be joining you, but she'll be on another mission. It would be beneficial for you both to have some kind of support from each other, too. You can train together when you're not on duty."

"Do I get to know where I'm going?" I asked.

"Yes and no." Stark said. "I cannot tell you where the Country Base is exactly, but I have no doubt that you will recognise some of your surroundings. You'll arrive at the Country Base at approximately nine thirty tomorrow morning, where you'll be briefed and given your undercover profiles. There, you can spend the day learning about your undercover self and the family you will be staying with. One of our agents will then come and collect you to take you and Tina to the house you'll be staying at. We have to make sure that your life seems as normal as possible, so there will be a family present at the house. They will pose as your mum and dad, and Tina as your sister. That way, if the school were to call home for any reason, then things will seem legit."

"Are the family supernaturals?" I asked.

"One of them isn't, but she's retired from the SED." Stark said. "She knows all about supernaturals and about us."

I nodded. "Okay."

"When you arrive at the Country Base, you'll be given new clothes, new IDs, and everything you need to start your life as a school sixth form student." Stark continued. "I will be contacting you daily to receive updates, but it's important that you also fill out a daily diary- we will give you this tomorrow. Write anything and everything you can in the diary about this girl- her appearance, mannerisms, favourite foods. Whatever you can." He paused. "Any questions?"

I thought for a moment. "I don't think so."

"Very good." Stark said. "If you do think of anything, then come and see me or call me. For now, you can go home. Get yourself some stuff ready to take- enough to last you a week at least. Then, I'll expect to see you here bright and early tomorrow morning."

I smiled, feeling excited all of a sudden. "Okay, cool." I said, and stood up. "Bye, sir."

"Bye, Millie." Stark said, and I left.

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