CHAPTER 3

July 17th, 10:10 AM
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office Block B

John entered his office. It was empty. He didn’t know what the note was about, but he didn’t care. Not as long as it was letting him go after Jade. A hand rested on his shoulder, and a consoling voice came soon after. “Hey, Big John. Sorry about all this.”

John turned around, and met Noah’s gaze. Ben stood behind him. Noah, Agent 43, was the group’s weapons specialist. He knew everything there was to know about every gun, grenade, and knife that existed. He didn’t look the part, however- his dirty blonde hair fell on an angle across his forehead, partially touching the rim of his thin glasses, giving him a boyish look. He was shorter than most of the other Agents, which somehow made John uncomfortable, but Noah took pride in it.

Noah’s partner, Ben, also gazed at John with sympathy. Ben was the tactician of the group. He had analyzed and planned out every mission John had ever been on with the FBI, and most went off without a hitch. He was only a few years older than John, but looked much older than that. He had gently greying hair, and his sad blue eyes looked sadder today.

“It’s okay, guys. We’ll get her back,” John replied to his teammates, then paused and corrected himself with, “Them.”

“We?” Noah asked.

“I went to see the big guy upstairs. He granted me permission to go along.”

Ben’s eyebrows went up. “Really? How’d you do that?”

“I don’t know,” John said with a smirk. “Ask Rebecca.”

Noah smiled. “Well anyway, that’s good news. Always good to have the whole team…together.”

Noah and John exchanged a short glance. John gave a shallow smile, turned around, and started packing for the trip. “Where’s 45 and 46?” he asked.

Noah replied, “Ethan and Faith? They’re probably already on the plane. You know how efficient they are with their time.”