Argonaut - The Kinetic (Part I)

Prologue - The Recruitment

Prologue – The Recruitment

19th Nov 8:22 PM

Three figures walked calmly through the trees in central Nevada, oblivious to the fact that they were being observed. A series of hidden cameras throughout the area had been watching them for some time, silently recording their activities. The rest of their force had stayed behind; three was all that were needed for this.

About half a mile away in the living room of a small hotel, was Eric Tanner. The rotating chair he sat in was surrounded by small screens that displayed what was being recorded on the camera feeds. Around twenty-five years old, with shaggy brown hair and a five o'clock shadow, this man had rented this hotel room for a very good reason. He knew exactly where these three figures were and what they were doing there.

He also knew that these figures were not as human as they would have liked you to believe; that was why they hid their faces behind the black hoods they wore. Even without the long bladed staffs they carried they were a force to be reckoned with. They were hunting someone that had passed through the very area they were in barely two minutes ago; a woman that looked a only few years younger than him.

Tanner smiled to himself. Looks were very deceptive when these people were concerned. She may look like a young woman, but she was definitely much older and infinitely more dangerous than any human; much like the pursuers. He had always admired the hunters' ability to cover ground; they had caught up to their quarry remarkably quickly.

Still, the one they were hunting did have a broken foot. The bones in it had been shattered in a confrontation not too long ago, where the others of her kind had been killed. If she didn't have this injury there was no doubt that she would double back and tear them to pieces. It would usually take more than three to take down one of her kind, as the pursuers had demonstrated mere minutes ago when they had killed the rest of her team.

At this point a second man walked into the room, he was taller and broader than the first man, and the black combat fatigues and assault rifle he carried marked him as military.

"Eric Tanner?" he asked.

"Yeah, can I help...?" Tanner asked as he span around in his chair, trailing off as he saw the man's weapon. 

The soldier saw this and put his gun on the table, raising his hands defensively. "Relax Tanner; I'm not here to shoot you."

"Then why are you here?" his eyes never left the weapon on the table.

"Recruitment drive. We've been watching you and your research for a long time; my superiors believe that you would be a valuable asset to our organisation."

"And which organisation would that be?" Tanner asked, narrowing his eyes.

The soldier's face remained clean of emotion. Tanner was curious, that was good. "We're called the B.N.R.D."

An eyebrow raised slightly, "B.N.R.D? Never heard of you."

"Few people have, and we like to keep it that way. All you need to know is that we're very interested in you, your research, and them." He gestured to the monitor at the last part.

Tanner barely managed to contain himself; he had been waiting too long for someone to take notice of his work, far too long. His time had come.

"I think you already know my answer," he smiled at the soldier before turning back to the monitors.