Chapter One - The World We Live In
Riley and Piper were not always friends. Quite the opposite – the two were sworn enemies from the time they were toddlers. Piper saw Riley as a challenge; not only was he older by a year, but he had to excel at everything, causing her endless aggravation. From the time she started walking, she made it her mission to better him in all things, no matter what the cost. Riley accepted the challenge with relish. He regarded her as an irritating little mosquito that was always buzzing underfoot, thwarting his every move, and he took immense pleasure in squashing her whenever the opportunity arose. As they got older, Piper grew stronger and quite wily and soon it was she that was squashing him at every opportunity. Both would rather die before admitting their skills had developed to such a high level because of their fierce competition. War was declared, with no holds barred. They blatantly went out of their way to make sure the other did not prevail; they were shameless in their rivalry. Their instructors always had to keep an extra eye on them because there was no telling what plans they would have cooked up for one another on any particular day.
So, it was not an uncommon incident when Piper was found locked in the mess kitchen cold room where she had been sitting freezing for hours. Everyone knew who the culprit was, but Piper refused to give him up. Payback was very sweet. Not long after that, Riley was discovered trapped for most of the night in one of the massive garbage bins, stinking of rotten fish and who knows what else. Everyone knew who the culprit was, but Riley refused to give her up. It did not escape the notice of many involved that Riley’s family had not missed him; they really could not care less whether he was home or not. It was Piper who eventually left hints so that the Night Patrol would discover him.
Piper and Riley were born in the Facility, both under unusual circumstances. Piper was very premature, her birth fraught with drama. Riley’s mother kept her pregnancy hidden, and nobody knew about Riley until he was born by emergency cesarean.
Training in the Facility usually begins before birth with the fetus’s brainwaves going through alterations using advanced sonar technology. These adjustments enhance all the senses and natural abilities. Both Piper and Riley had to be adjusted and enhanced later than was usual while being kept in highly-advanced incubators.
The world they live in has been through a considerable amount of upheaval within the last sixty-odd years. It started with a complete shutdown in 2020 when a highly infectious flu virus hit an unsuspecting human race. Despite the low mortality rate, it caused worldwide panic, bringing everything to a near standstill and people lost all trust in their governments. Protest action against the compulsory vaccines that the authorities tried to impose on the public erupted into rioting that spread worldwide. Whole cities burned, fear snowballed and fed upon itself. Humanity was in danger of obliteration.
Then the World Committee stepped in. They rallied all the armed forces worldwide and forced the nations back to normality. A vaccine effective against all the COVID-19 strains was developed. People were happy to trust the Committee, and the virus soon became of little consequence. As peace finally fell over the earth and people gratefully put their lives back together, the World Committee was seen as saviors and heroes by most. During the meltdown, progress and development almost came to a halt. The Committee limited public access to technological progress, encouraging instead the building up of all the earth’s natural resources and sustainable development. The world has slowed down considerably, and life is not so bad.
The Committee is the supreme power. Those against the suppression or who want the power for themselves are a constant threat to their absolute rule. The Committee has therefore severely restricted the Web and shut down general internet access. Smartphones have become obsolete. In some ways, the world has almost fallen back into the dark ages, but there are unlimited funds when it comes to the necessities in life. Nobody goes hungry, everyone has a roof over their heads, everyone has free access to healthcare, education, and essential services. Everything must be Committee-approved.
Massive cities have been built, known as the High Cities. There is no crime in these cities, everyone has a job, the streets are spotless. Underneath each High City is an Undercity. Dark and evil deeds are rife in the Undercities. The Committee turns a blind eye to what happens in the depths if it does not interfere with those on the surface. When the lines start to blur, the Facility is sent in and those who think they can live a double life are dealt with permanently.
When it comes to their own security, the World Committee spares no expense. The Facility is where they train their top-secret army of Operatives and assassins. Without the formidable force of the Facility, the Committee would not have the complete power they now enjoy. There is no such thing as CIA, FBI, or MI6: all top-secret missions and assignments belong to the Facility, and the Facility belongs to the World Committee.
The Facility looks like a massive army base. Nobody on the Outside is aware that behind those massive walls and rows of razor wire, there exists a lethal army of individuals. Most on the Outside do not care. Stories of a special Committee force are generally dismissed as hearsay – scare tactics to keep everyone in line.
The kids in the Facility do not experience the normal childhood of those born on the Outside. They are in training from before they can remember. As toddlers, the children start learning self-defense, beginning with basic hand-to-hand combat moves. At this stage, they are already disciplined and attentive. By the age of five, they have been introduced to the handling of knives, firearms, and various lethal weapons and by the middle of their fifth year, they can take any gun apart and re-assemble it blindfolded. These children are tough, strong and exceedingly fit, with abilities well beyond those of an average child their age. Physically and mentally, they are years ahead. When they reach the age of ten, they have developed into the ultimate soldier, but training is far from over.
The Facility kid’s education includes the more traditional syllabus of the Outside schools and they all complete university level within their seventeen years of training. Every child's unique skills and abilities are honed and nurtured until they become specialists in their various fields.
Piper has the same abilities as her mother. Olivia is a Black Wing Death Angel and has highly developed senses and skills akin to mind-reading that are beyond ordinary understanding. They can both read people with astonishing accuracy. They can read body language as well as feel a person’s thoughts and intentions. These talents also allow them to hide from others, able to disappear from prying eyes in a second. Their powerful senses enable them to detect their enemies from a distance, making it impossible for the hunted to escape the hunters.
Piper’s father, Jace, is a sniper specialist. His status as a Double Black Wing Griffin makes him a formidable and fearsome foe. He is a highly-respected leader; his team will gladly follow him into hell itself.
All Special Operative families in the Facility consist of only one child. Parents work full time and they are sometimes away on missions for extended periods; they do not have time to bring up more than one child in the required manner. Fellow classmates are considered as family, and they form a tight bond. Years of research have proved that a soldier growing up in an active and involved family environment is more effective than a clone manufactured and brought up in a laboratory. Families teach values and form strong bonds, giving a soldier reason to fight heart and soul, to stay alive, and to return home.
Piper often trains with her parents, Olivia and Jace. They are tough on her; they are uncompromising and do not let up for an instant. It is a hard life, and the people who live it are far from frivolous. Life is too precarious to allow for any hidden agendas. When they laugh, it comes straight from the heart; when they love, it comes directly from the soul. They feel with intensity, and they look after their own; they cannot, and will not, be crossed.
Chapter 2 — Seraph Wings At A Price
Late one evening, thirteen-year-old Piper hears voices coming from the sitting room. Her folks must have returned from their latest assignment; they usually go out as a team, hating to be separated for more than a day.
“Black Seraph Wings? Are you sure?” It is Olivia’s voice.
“Couldn’t believe it myself. The kid is something else,” Jace replies.
“You are talking about Riley – Shanty’s Riley?”
“The very same. Who would have thought?”
“Unbelievable.”
Her parents are both wearing their usual cotton pants and vest pajamas, lying next to each other on the carpet with their bare feet propped up on the couch.
“Hey, guys.” Piper flops down next to Jace and props her bare feet up alongside his. “Glad you are home safe.”
The couch is hardly ever used for actually sitting on.
As a toddler, Piper loved it when her parents lay on the carpet to chat and relax. She would jump and bounce all over them and use their propped-up legs as a ladder to get up onto the couch. Not much chatting or relaxing happened when ‘Miss Madam Piper’ was around.
“Hey, Pipes.” Her dad reaches over and ruffles her hair. “Your ‘bestie’ Riley got his wings tonight.”
“Oh?” Piper tries to act like she does not care either way, but lately, she cannot stop her heart from hammering in her chest every time she sees him - or hears his name. “So, how did he do?”
“Well, to put it mildly,” Olivia says with a smile, “you sure know how to pick ’em.”
“Sheesh, Black Seraph Wings? I am not surprised he gives you a hard time.” Jace playfully elbows her in the ribs.
“Yeah, well.” Piper laughs. “I taught him everything he knows.”
Inside, her heart is smiling. Wow, that is awesome. She feels proud of Mister ‘Pain-In-The-Ass’ Riley.
When the Facility kids reach the ripe old age of fourteen, they are taken out individually with some of the instructors to make their first official kill. The Committee gives all the orders. There is no information about the target; it is all on a strictly need-to-know basis only. The goal is to go in, complete your mission, then leave. No frills, no fuss.
The assassin is tattooed with a particular ranking on completing the mission. Black Wings are a top rank. One does not mess with a Black Wing.
A Black Wing Seraph is rare. For a fourteen-year-old kid to attain that, he must have a vast amount of courage with ice running in his veins; either that or he is harboring a tremendous amount of rage.
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Piper notices that Riley is quiet and withdrawn in the training sessions that follow his first completed mission. He does not join in the continual ribbing and joking around with the other twelve fit and exuberant kids in the class.
This morning starts with a run around the perimeter of the Facility. It is many miles long, some of it through a forest and over rough and challenging terrain. Piper tracks Riley, keeping him in her sights. His six-winged tattoo flexes between his shoulder blades and plays over his shoulder muscles as he runs. When the runners reach the forested track, she cuts through the trees and lies in wait for him a little ahead. As he runs past her, she launches herself at him like a mountain lion and takes him down. When the dust settles, she is sitting on top of him, pinning him down by using a neat hold that Olivia taught her. The rest of the class run by; there are many lame comments and much laughter as they disappear into the trees.
“Sheesh, Squirt, if you want me that badly, you only have to ask.” He tries for a joke, but he cannot hide the haunted look in his green eyes.
Piper frowns down at him; she is not sure what she is supposed to say. She is supposed to dislike this guy intensely. Getting to her feet, she pulls him up.
“Um, Riley.” She keeps a hold of his hand. “Are you okay?” That should do it, straight to the point.
The question takes him by surprise. He stares at Piper for a while, and she can see a battle raging behind those dazzling eyes of his. Eventually, he drops his head down and his strong shoulders slump; he shakes his head, keeping his eyes from hers.
An iron fist clutches Piper’s heart at the sight of her big, invincible, all-time sworn enemy looking so broken. Without thinking, she reaches out to him and slips her arms around his waist. She holds him close.
“I am sorry, Riley,” she says, her mouth close to his ear.
Riley feels overcome by Piper’s sudden concern, the soft look in her golden eyes, the warmth of her body, and her arms around him holding them close together. He buries his face into her neck, his arms going around her waist, pulling her closer still.
Scenes from the other night flash through his mind: the look of surprise in the eyes of his target, followed by hopeless terror. The hot blood that spurted over his hands; the smell of fear and death; the gurgle of the last breath – within seconds, that life was no longer.
Riley squeezes his eyes shut and holds onto Piper like it is his life that is draining away. Lifting his head, he looks into those bottomless dark gold eyes, then down at that delectable mouth. On impulse, he dips his head and kisses her. For a few seconds, their lips melt together but as soon as he moves to deepen the kiss, Piper pulls back fractionally.
“Now you are trying your luck, buster.” She speaks against his lips.
Her arms have loosened, and she pulls back further still. Sparks fly from her eyes.
“Try that again, and I will deck you. And don’t think for one minute, Mister Riley, that it will not hurt.”
Riley feels the ice that has encased his heart for the last few days melt and shatter. He can, at last, breathe again, and his eyes start to dance. His mouth twitches, then he starts to laugh. Piper is mad at him; all is right with the world.
