It had been almost an hour since we'd gotten into the black car, and there I was, holding my outdated flip phone and staring at the 'No Signal' message displayed on the screen. I'd heard so much bullshit that I bet I could write a best-selling fiction book about this shit, just by writing the exact same words of the nonsensical explanation Gardens just gave me.

  "Uh-huh… Let me get this straight…"

  "Sure, go ahead."

  "So you're saying that you're part of a Secret Service organization that works in the shadows to dismantle the organized crime underworld and its various factions, which you call gangs…"

  "That's right."

  "… Also, you're telling me that I know too much now, which means I'm obligated to be part of this organization too. Do I get that right?"

  "Exactly!"

  "Well, what if I just said no?"

  "Then I'd have to kill you and dump your body in the nearest river, unfortunately."

  "..."

  "Hahaha, I'm kidding!"

  "Heh, you got me, Link! Thank goodne-"

  "I'd just have to kill you. The cleaning department would get rid of your body."

  "O-Oh..."

  I want to live my life alone, leave me be!

  "So what's your final answer, Gus?"

  "I guess I don't have much of a choice, huh?"

  "We always have a choice."

  "Yeah, right... But the answer is yes."

  Fuck it, I have nothing left to lose anyway.

  "WONDERFUL!"

  As the car turned onto a dirt road, somewhere on the outskirts of town. Heading towards a large farm. It wasn't long before we reached this old barn, where whoever was driving the car parked right in front of the open entrance.

  "Where are we?" I asked, as we got out of the car.

  "This is the Academy." he said, pointing to the barn.

  "The Academy? You mean this old barn is the infamous Academy?!"

  "You'll see, just follow me."

  "Okay..."

  We entered the place, which was just a normal barn. At least until Lincoln approached a pile of hay that was stacked in one of the corners, pulling one of the bunches to the side, revealing a sort of secret trapdoor. He opened it and started to go down the ladder.

  "Come on, man!"

  I guess I don't have any other options at the moment, right?

  So I followed right behind him, going down that endless straight ladder.

  When we finally reached the bottom after a few minutes, I was shocked to look around me. It felt like I was in some kind of classic spy movie, as I was in the middle of this advanced technological facility, almost resembling a tech lab, I would say.

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  "Wow..."

  "Mr. Bronson! It's a pleasure to meet you."

  When I turned around, I saw a somewhat fit old man with a proud gray hair mustache and a monocle, wearing a stylish black suit complete with gloves and all. He greeted me, as Lincoln walked off into the other room.

  "And you are...?" as I adjusted my glasses, still looking around the place.

  "I am Agent X, the Operational Director of this Academy."

  "Oh, nice to meet you too."

  "Now give me your documents, like ID and everything. Your mobile phone too, please."

  "Uh... Sure, here you go."

  He turned to the side of the room and threw everything I handled him into a small furnace that was there. The heat was so high that from the moment he opened it, we were all hit by the heat wave emanating from it. Everything burned to ashes when he closed the lid.

  "Perfect! Now you shall be known only by the name 'Agent G', a secret agent in training."

  "Agent G? Why 'G', then? If you don't mind me asking..."

  "An agent is assigned his letter of the alphabet accordingly, to feel more familiar with his former name or nickname."

  Hum, so that's how it works... Wait a minute, 'Agent X' as in Xavier? Damn, it would be cool if the old man could read my mind too! Even better if he was bald and in a wheelchair, haha!

  "Now is not the time for jokes, Agent G." the mustachioed man declared.

  HOLY SHIT!

  "I-I... No, I was just... I..."

  "Today you will begin your training."

  "Heh, sure... Wait, what?"

  At that moment a beautiful brunette woman, also wearing a black suit (in her case, without a tie and with an open shirt, revealing her delicious bust). Her skin was tanned and shone to perfection, her hair was perfectly silky and long, her lips were full, with a seductive crimson lipstick. Her figure was perfect, like an Olympian goddess, her eyes were... Wait! BELLA?! WHAT THE FUCK, IT WAS REALLY HER!

  "This is Agent B, she will be your mentor from now on." the director introduced her to me.

  "BELLA?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

  And as soon as I said that, her grace went down the drain as the veins on her forehead began to pop out in anger.

  But could you blame me for my shock? She was definitely Isabella Rodriguez, my ex-girlfriend from high school... Hmm... She may or may not have been my only girlfriend ever, I'll leave you with that open question. The fact is, she was crazy and we ended our turbulent relationship before she left for college. I haven't seen her since.

  "Oh, my sweet, sweet subordinate... IT'S AGENT B NOW, AM I CLEAR?!"

  "Heeee- Yes, ma'am!"

  "It's good to know you two are going to get along."

  That's a nice sense of sarcasm, good job, old man! And a nice mustache too.

  "..."

  What's with the awkward silence all of a sudden? Whatever, it's not like I give a damn anymore.

  "We're all finally here!" Link - I mean - Agent L said as he came back into the room, now also wearing the full black suit and gloves.

  "What do you mean by that?"

  Wait a moment, let's think about this now that the shock is wearing off and I can think about things a little more clearly... How many letters are in the alphabet, like 26? Okay, since I was named 'Agent G', that means the letter G was up for grabs, leading me to think that there are less than 26 people at most in this entire organization, which is worrying. And besides, Gardens just suggested that the four of us here might be all of the current members...

  "We have uh... a few other members too, don't worry." Agent X muttered quietly.

  THE OLD MAN SURELY JUST READ MY MIND!

  "A 'few' others, huh?" I said to the group, without thinking twice, "That's reassuring."

  "Agent G..." Bella - oh, right - Agent B caught my attention.

  "Y-Yeah?"

  "BE RESPECTFUL TO THE DIRECTOR!" she yelled, as she punched me brutally in the gut.

  "AAAGGHH-... S-SORRY!"

  "It's okay, it's okay." said the old man, continuing his speech, "More importantly, now is the time to begin your training, Agent G."

  "Welcome to the team, G!" my longtime friend then congratulated me.

  I guess there's no turning back now...

  "T-thank you."

  After a few more moments of chatting to get more details about everything, the director and Agent L left the briefing room, leaving me alone with my crazy nightmare ex-girlfriend.

  "Uh... So I guess we could-" I tried to start a conversation, but was cut off relentlessly by her.

  "Silence!"

  "Wow, that was rude as f-"

  "SILENCE!" she yelled even louder.

  "Alright, alright! Relax, geez..."

  "It's 'Yes, Ms. Agent B' to you!"

  "No way, that's so stupid, haha-"

  "NOW!"

  "Yes, Ms. Agent B, ma'am!"

  "Good. Now we're ready to begin."

  "Begin what exactly?"

  "Your training, idiot!"

  "Oh, that's right... I almost forgot."

  "Shut up and follow me to the training center." as she headed for the nearest door, "Let's go!"

  "Damn, still the same bossy bitch as always, I see..."

  "..." she stopped and then looked straight at me, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

  "EEECK-... YES MISS AGENT B, RIGHT AWAY!"

  Then I too left the room, following Bella to wherever the hell she was taking me, to begin my training or something, which I'm worried sick about due to the fact that she's insane!

  Can you believe all the things that have happened in the last six hours or so? Because I couldn't, nothing felt real! Everything felt like a convoluted nightmare that involved all the loose ends of my past... Really, that was some crazy shit.