The Red Army

{George}

It was dark. Wherever I was it was dark. I tried to move my hand and when I realized I wasn't tied down to anything I looked around.

Okay… Am I dreaming? I thought.

I heard people cracking their knuckles and laughing. "Damn! Triple X picked some good ones this year! And this one is a real hottie!"

A light turned on and I was able to see a group of people surrounding me readied their fighting stances. One of them threw a punch at me and I dodged it. I grabbed the person's hand and used my magnetic powers on them as I grabbed another person and they stuck to each other.

I used my wind power to try and fly away but some of the people in the group had the same type of power. I'm going to assume that these people are Agents because they flew up and grabbed me in mid air, yanking me down to the ground. After I crashed I got to my feet.

"Get up! Show me why Triple X was so interested in you before you even graduated!" I looked up and saw an Agent sneering at me. He looked like he hated me and for what reason? I had no idea and I didn't care to find out.

I got to my feet and tried to fly again but this time when the Agents that could fly tried to grab me I used my magnetic power and those Agents stuck together as they crashed to the ground.

The Agent who was sneering at me turned into a snake and he charged at me and I used my firepower and launched a fireball into his mouth as he tried to eat me. He immediately turned back into a human and coughed and howled in pain.

The other Agents watching us fight couldn't stop laughing at the Agent who was coughing and howling in pain.

"That's enough," I heard someone say. Then I saw him. He was the man from the choosing ceremony.

It was Triple X but he wasn't in his soldier uniform he was dressed in a white t-shirt and green camouflage jeans. He had a tattoo of a small red flag on the side of his neck. He walked over to the Agent who was still coughing and handed him a bottle of water.

The Agent drank from it and Triple X had a look of amusement on his face. "Agent 2B, what the fuck is your problem? Let me guess you told these Agents that I ordered you to have them test Agent 722, right?"

Agent 2B looked up at Triple X and snarled. "What's so special about this guy anyway?"

Triple X looked around at the other Agents and sighed, "Alright you guys show's over." He looked at me and Agent 2B. "You two, come with me."

Agent 2B got to his feet and crossed his arms like a defiant child. "I'm not going anywhere with a slut like you!"

My jaw dropped in disbelief as to what I just heard. No one in their right mind would dare insult their congregation leader unless they had a death wish.

Triple X turned around and looked at Agent 2B and snarled. "Excuse me? You wanna run that by me again Agent 2B?"

"I'm not going anywhere with a slut like you!" Agent 2B said slowly. "Is that clear enough for you darling?"

I blinked. Are these two having relationship problems or something? They need to keep me out of it! I have no idea what's going on and I don't want to know.

What happened next happened so quickly I barely had time to blink. Triple X put Agent 2B in a chokehold and held him there for a moment. After that happened I heard a little click and when I looked up I tried not to laugh because Agent 2B had a dog collar around his neck.

"You're lucky we're friends or I would've had you fired right here and now. You dared to disobey me and humiliate me in front of my Agents. The fact that I favor you has gone to your head hasn't it?" Triple X sneered.

"I don't know what you're-" Agent 2B started.

Triple X grabbed his neck and squeezed. "You need to remember who calls the shots around here, Agent. And that's me. And when you're in my presence you behave just like every other Agent is supposed to behave. Got it?"

He let go of Agent 2B's neck and Agent 2B just snarled at him. He squeezed Agent 2B's neck again. "I'm expecting you to give me an answer, Agent!"

"Alright fine then!" Triple X snapped after Agent 2B refused to answer him again. "We'll do this the hard way. I'll drag you back to my office and you will be in pain and humiliated for your actions. I call the shots around here and you will come with me whether you like it or not."

Triple X grabbed Agent 2B's collar and then looked at me. "Come along Agent 722! I have something to discuss with you after I deal with this idiot."

I nodded and didn't say a word as I followed him to his office.

***

{Triple X}

I couldn't believe that my second-in-command named Liam would go so far as to disobey my orders and try to bully George. I swear being in a relationship with him is starting to make things more complicated than what they need to be.

Once we got to my office I escorted Liam to the backroom that's attached to my office. I made sure to have room so that there were no windows or vents so that an Agent can't escape. That is where I take Liam to punish him if he disobeys. Lately I've been thinking about firing the guy but I want to hang onto him just for a little while longer. At least until I get the two people that I want to be with to fall for me.

A lot of my Agents know that I don't just commit to just one person. I've been with multiple people at the same time and I always tell the people that I'm with that upfront. So if they don't like it then they can choose not to be with me.

I have no idea why but suddenly Liam has decided that he wants me to be in a monogamous relationship with him and him alone. I guess he didn't like the fact that I was also dating another Agent. I tried my best to spend as much time as I could with both of them. Not to mention the other Agent was completely fine with it. That is until I saw Liam give the cadet money and told him to never come see me again. He even threatened the poor guy if he did come to see me that he would track his family down and kill them.

Ever since I saw Liam do that I made sure to tell any Agents that were friends with him that if they followed an order about killing someone's family that I would do the same thing to them. The other Agent did come to see me because he rejected Liam's money and Liam did try to have the Agent's family killed when I stepped in.

I had the other Agents that tried to carry out Liam's orders fired and their memories wiped. At this point I'm leaning towards firing Liam and having his memories wiped as well.

When I escorted Liam to the backroom I dropped him down on the bed. He tried to pull me closer to him so that I would kiss him but I refused. "Nope. That's not what you're here for. You're here because you've been a bad boy disobeying my orders. Tsk, tsk, I expected you to be better than this and not let the fact that we're in a relationship get to your head. Well, I'm going to fix that for you. Our relationship ends today."

"What!" Liam gasped. "Why?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why would I want to be with you after the many stunts you've pulled to keep other men away from me? I told you from the very beginning that there would be more people involved in the relationship. It seems that you're not okay with that. You've used your relationship with me to bully people until you get what you want. Did you think I didn't notice that? Well, as I just said, we're no longer dating and you're going to stay here until I feel that you've learned your lesson."

"You can't do that to me!" Liam shrieked.

I smirked. "I can and I will! At least you have a blanket, a pillow and a mattress right? You should be fine. I'll bring you something to eat later."

I closed the door and immediately Liam started to bang on it with his fists shouting, "Let me out of here!"

"I call the shots around here and you're not getting out of here until I say so! So goodnight!" I shouted.

I couldn't stop laughing as I heard Liam continue to bang on the door as I walked out to my office.

***

When I went out to my office I saw George sitting across my desk looking completely confused.

I chuckled as I took a seat across from him on the couch. He turned to look at me. "Uh, what's going on? Did I do something wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nah, you didn't do anything wrong. But my second-in-command's just jealous that I put you on my list before you graduated."

He tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because of how quickly you developed your abilities. I watched you spar with other cadets and your fighting style is rather interesting. A little rough around the edges but interesting," I said. "And before you ask I was able to plant a mole from my congregation to watch you and other cadets that I feel should be a part of my congregation. I'm not the only leader that's done this. As a matter of fact, every leader does this. And seeing how you fight now it seems like you might need a mentor to help you hone in on your abilities."

"So exactly what is my job here?" George asked.

"You'll be a regular Agent just like your sister-in-law Agent 36," I responded. "Have you ever killed anyone before?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well you're going to have to deal with that. Sooner or later, you'll get so used to it that it won't even bother you anymore. And you have to keep in mind that you're just following orders," I said.

"I see," He said. He looked at me as if he didn't know what to think. But then he regained his composure. "So, who's going to be my mentor?"

"I can only think of one person who is the best in the business for the Reds," I said. "His name is Trainer Shawn. He's got no bias for you and no bias against you. He always takes a neutral stance with the Agents he trains. It'll be hard but I know you can prove yourself. You'll be a low ranking Agent of course. But with hard work you'll make it to the top. Even though you were once an outsider?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I was an outsider?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well duh! You're a part of a congregation now. So I think the term outsider no longer applies to you."

He nodded. "Makes sense to me."

"So, you'll report to your mentor tomorrow morning at 6am!" I said.

He looked at the clock. "But it's only noon!"

I shrugged. "You can chill out for the rest of the day. Besides with that stunt Agent 2B pulled this morning I think you've earned some rest. Because tomorrow, the real work begins. You're dismissed."

"Yes sir," George said. He stood up and left the room.

***

{Branden}

When I got to the café during my lunch break I got my tray of food and sat down at a spot where I thought was going to be quiet but I guess not. Two other instructors decided to take their seats right next to me.

"So you're the new boot camp instructor huh?" One of the instructors said. She was a young woman about probably in her early twenties. She had her blonde hair up in a ponytail and wore the standard uniform that all instructors wear. That is a white t-shirt and olive green jeans along with black steel toe boots.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm Instructor Branden, and you are?"

"Instructor Olivia at your service!" Instructor Olivia said proudly.

The man that sat in front of me and rolled his eyes. "Seriously? We're all in the same job so I don't think we have to be so formal on our lunch breaks." He turned to me and smiled. "Anyways, I'm Instructor Ben. But please just call me Ben."

Instructor Olivia snorted. "Fine since we're in the same job just call me Olivia."

"Okay then, just call me Branden," I said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Hey Olivia, did you hear about that stunt Agent 2B pulled yesterday morning?" Ben asked.

Olivia shook her head. "No, what did he do this time?"

"He tried to beat the crap out of a new Agent. Triple X had his eye on the new Agent before he graduated boot camp!" Ben said. "I bet that pissed off Agent 2B with his fucking jealously."

She shook her head again in dismay. "Well if that's not a bully move I don't know what else is! Why does Triple X continue to let him get away with that shit?"

Ben shrugged. "I have no idea. But from what I heard the new Agent sure put up a good fight. I also hear he's a total hottie!"

Olivia gave Ben a suggestive look. "Oh, a total hottie huh? I'll be the judge of that, where is he?"

Ben looked at the watch on his wrist. "It's almost 1pm so he should be training right now. And don't go getting any ideas Olivia, he's gay!"

Olivia snorted. "As if that's ever stopped me before."

She stood up and took her lunch tray with her.

"You know what, I'm kind of curious too," I said. "What was the ID number of the new Agent?"

"Agent 722," Ben answered.

My eyes went wide when I heard that. "That's George, my cabin mate!"

I stood up abruptly. "I'm going to see him train while I can, it was nice meeting you. Maybe we can have lunch together at another time?"

Ben chuckled. "Sure. See you later."

***

{George}

I charged at Trainer Shawn again and he dodged me effortlessly.

Trainer Shawn groaned in annoyance. "Seriously? Yes, just keep throwing noodles on the wall to see if they stick with that move! Do you expect to get anywhere in a fight with a move that obviously isn't working?"

This had to have been at least the fifteenth time I've tried charging at him. But what was I expecting when I was fighting a seasoned Agent and not a regular cadet?

"Pause for a second and think about your next move before making another silly mistake like that again," Trainer Shawn said.

I did as I was told and started charging at the guy to catch him off guard.

"Ser-" He started to say when I jumped and did a backflip over him. I used my wind power to make a small tornado.

"Not bad, but not enough," He said. Right when I was going to claw at him while turning into a Puma, he grabbed my tail and yanked it.

I fell to the ground and changed back into a human. "Ow!"

Trainer Shawn chuckled. "You know what they say, no pain! No gain!"

I got to my feet.

"Tomorrow, you'll be going on a mission and you'll have a partner of course," Trainer Shawn said.

I perked up. "Really? What's the mission?"

He shook head. "I don't know. But I guess you'll figure it out when you meet your new Boss at Cornwall Security Agency. If you're going to be a regular Agent you'll report there."

I paused. "Wait a minute. Cornwall Security Agency? Isn't that the same Agency that Agent 36 comes from?"

Trainer Shawn nodded. "The very one! But you'll be in a different division because you'll be what's considered a low ranker because you're just starting out. But when you're not on a mission you train with me."

I nodded. "Yes sir!"

Trainer Shawn dismissed me for the day and to say I was excited was an understatement. I was super excited because I would be reporting to the same place that Eve reports to. Although I'm not really sure that she reports there anymore considering she's an Enforcer now.

I was so happy that I didn't know that Branden was back from his job sitting on his bed reading a book until he looked up at me and said hi.

"Well there's the Mr. Hottie Agent that Agent 2B is already jealous of!" Branden said.

I paused. "Huh?"

"The little stunt Agent 2B pulled yesterday morning. That jerk! But everyone seems to think that you're pretty hot. And you're not bad on your fighting skills either," Branden said.

I frowned. "I don't understand. Why is this such a big deal anyway?"

Branden's jaw dropped. "Seriously? Agent 2B is dating Triple X and Triple X has let Agent 2B get away a lot of shit because of that. From what I hear Triple X actually punished Agent 2B this time around. It makes me wonder what you did to make Agent 2B jealous like that?"

I thought back to the conversation that I had with Triple X yesterday. "I think it might've had something to do with the fact that my name was on Triple X's list before I graduated from boot camp?"

"Yeah that would do it. He probably thinks you're a threat to him or something like that," Branden said. "Anyway, what's got you so happy right now?"

"Oh, I found out what my job is! And I'm going to be a regular Agent!" I cheered.

"Well that's great news!" Branden said. He paused. "Have you ever killed anyone before?"

I shook my head. "Nope. But I'm pretty sure I can deal with it when the time comes."

"Wow, I'm glad I only trained to be a boot camp instructor! I mean sure it's not the most glamorous job but at least I don't have to worry about killing anyone," Branden said.

I nodded. "I know. But I'm so happy I can't wait to start my job."

There was a short silence when I broke it, "So what's your job like?"

He shrugged. "It's not glamorous or anything like that. I just train new cadets during boot camp. I put them through the paces, make sure their fighting forms are correct and that they have basic knowledge of different weapons that could be used on the battlefield, etc, etc…"

"Sounds… Interesting…" I said.

He snorted. "Yeah."

"I got an idea," I said. "Let's play twenty questions."

Branden raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well we are cabin mates, don't you think we should get to know each other?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah sure why not."

That's what we did. It wasn't like we had anything else to do anyway considering we just got off from our jobs a few hours ago.