Unbreakable, a Action story

Chapter 1

Chapter One

War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.

-William Tecumseh Sherman

June 12, 2021 3:03 PM

James walked in wordlessly, his face pulled in a grimace, and placed a briefcase on the table. Without sparing a glance at me, he started pulling out papers, pictures, and a voice recorder, which he placed on the middle of the table and switched on. Finally, he glanced up, smiling too sweetly. "Matthews… how have you been?"

I straightened my shoulders and sat up a little taller. "Well, you know… other than the fact the agency I've been with since I was sixteen is accusing me of being a traitor, I'm just fine." My voice was as dull as my glare was resentful.

"Yeah, well you make it hard to take your word for it." He gritted his teeth lightly and cleared his throat. "Alright, so I have some questions about your last mission…" he mumbled as he searched through his papers. "Ah, yes. The Unbreakable was put under your protection and supervision. You were directed to teach him hand-to-hand combat as well as artillery and mental strength. Despite your success in particular areas, you still managed to fail the assignment." He glanced up with a raised brow and cleared his throat. "Well, how in hell did you manage that?"

"Yeah, yeah, I failed because I let the guy have a conscience? I'm sorry, but if someone doesn't want to go kill innocent people, I'm all for sparing him. Any moral code left in me wouldn't do that to a person."

"You're an agent, damn it! You don't get to have a moral code. You do what you're told," he yelled, slamming his fist on the table. "Now, I'd be more careful choosing my words if I were you."

I scoffed. "Okay, my morals aside: it as a failure because he had morals that he was unwilling to compromise. I'm glad for that."

He stood up suddenly, letting the chair fall behind him. "I'm trying to get you out of this hole, Ria! You don't know half the shit they're saying about you. Is it true? Are you aiding the mob? What about what your parents fought for? What about when you put that hole through Vincent's head?" He breathed deeply, and let his voice calm down, "This won't look good on your record, you know?"

I clenched my jaw. Every instinct was ordering me to keep my mouth shut. I wanted to follow my survival guide and lie my way out of this, but I couldn't. I had to keep talking. I had to buy time.

"Ria, why don't you just start at the beginning?" he suggested, leaning back in his chair. "I've got all night."

A smile tugged at my lips. "So do I."

.!.!.

May 13, 2021

Ria swung her fist, sneaking a strong punch to his jaw but throwing herself off balance in the act. She scrambled into a crouch as her opponent recovered. Panting, she wiped the sweat off her forehead before lunging at him again. He manoeuvred his body, pinning her down.

"Had enough, Matthews," he spat as she wiggled, trying to free herself.

"Not in your dreams," she smirked as she swung her leg around his neck and pulled him off. Before he could recover, she had her knee to his throat—a winning move.

"Alright, alright! Get off me!" James gasped for air. Grinning, Ria pushed herself off him, sticking her hand out to pull him along. "Not bad, girlie." He rubbed his neck, grinning at her.

"Not bad yourself," she breathed, bending over to catch her breath. "Wanna come over for a movie tonight?" she asked as they moved off the mat. "Clare will be there."

His cheeks shaded red. "Well, it would be rude of me to decline your offer…."

"Why haven't you just talked to her yet?" she laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Ria, it's not that easy to—"

"Agent Matthews, I.D. 0093216. Report to Floor 52, Room 102. Immediately." a monotone voice read out on the speaker.

James face scrunched in confusion. "Level 52? How'd you manage that?"

Everyone in the training room was staring at her, their faces masking her own disbelief. "I don't know," she said, shaking her head. Important people went to Floor 52—generals, political visitors, the President—not just anyone.

"Agent Matthews." A bored-sounding woman approached her.

"That would be me," she muttered as she threw her hair into a bun. The women stood a good eight inches higher than Ria. Her nose was stuck in the air as she glanced over Ria; she emanated a no-bullshit attitude. Surrounded by the training sweating agents, her face betrayed simple disgust.

The woman fixed Ria with a quick glare before resuming her icy demeanour. "I've been sent to fetch you." She looked seriously displeased to be on this duty. "I'm Agent Gee." Ria's mouth almost hit the ground.

"Agent Gee. The Agent Gee?" She eyed her with suspicion; she'd expected her to look different, and not so disgusted by the sight of sweat. After all, she'd trained in this very room, years before she'd gotten her major promotion.

Gee smirked, "The one and only. Now, if you'd hurry up and grab what you need—I have better things to be doing than collecting minors."

"Can I shower first?" Ria asked, glancing at James who was shoving stuff into his bag while keeping an eye on them.

"No, I'm sure if they just had to go ahead and make it a public announcement, they're expecting you right away." Gee snapped impatiently.

"Alright, let me just grab my stuff, at least." She bent down beside James. "Do you know what's going on?" she asked lowly so Gee wouldn't hear.

His head shook slightly. "Ria, they don't just call anyone up there. Seriously, get going! And fill me in later." He grinned at her and swung his bag over his shoulder. When Ria turned around for Gee, she was already walking away.

It was awkwardly quite between the two as they made their way to the elevator. Gee used her pass card and inserted a code to get it moving. Silence the whole way up. Once the doors opened, Gee exited without a glance back, while Ria scrambled to follow her. She tried to pull herself together to seem more professional, but gave up once she saw she was the only sweaty one on this floor. Curious glances sized her up, but she ignored them.

"Alright," Gee said once they'd entered a conference room. "Wait here." Gee left. Ria took this moment to map out her surroundings: a long table stretched the length of the room. A stack of papers neatly lay at every seat marked "Unbreakable. Classified." Her curiosity piqued, she moved closer to the table.

Ria looked back at the door, afraid someone would walk through, but the room remained still. She felt naked without her guns, mentally shaming herself for having left them in the locker room. Licking her lips, she reached to open one of the files.

"Tisk tisk. Looks like you're off your game, hon," drawled a voice from behind her. Ria quickly withdrew her hand and swung around. Green eyes narrowed in on her. "Curiosity killed the cat, Agent."

"Satisfaction brought it back?" she said with a raised brow to mask her racing heart. His presence was more stifling than Gee's; her fight-or-flight instincts were kicking in. She checked him over quickly, assessing what weapons he might have on him: three. Knife in left pocket, small back-up gun at his ankle, and the standard one in a holster at his hip. He looked well built, but she could beat him in hand-to-hand if he wasn't quick on his feet. Ria played out a scenario in her mind for disarming him.

He smirked and slid into the room, taking a seat at the table. "I'd sit quickly; they're almost here," he muttered, nodding to the chair beside him. She fixed him with a glare and took the chair opposite instead.

"You don't trust people, do you?" he asked, smirking. "

"People usually don't deserve trust," she replied.

He laughed at her. "Fair point. But pick your battles—I'm the least of your worries, hon."

Before she could ask him what he meant, a larger group of people walked in, all taking their seats, wrinkling their noses at her smell. Most of them looked in their fifties, but each held at least one weapon, and their distant, cold eyes suggested they knew how to use them.

The man who took the pace at the head of the table was tall and sturdy. Colouful ribbons decorated his uniform. "Thank you for joining us today, Agent Matthews," he acknowledged her with a nod. "I'm sure you're wondering why you've been called here, and for good reason, but first we must debrief you on what's led us to this decision. Agent Turner?" He prompted the man who'd been talking to her moments before.

The mischievous look was gone from his eyes, replaced with the same distance and coldness as the others in the room. He opened the first page of the booklet before him, and the others followed. Ria quickly mirrored their actions.

The first page was a picture of a young man, probably in his twenties, surrounded by huge body guards. "We've narrowed in on Mario Vergo. The last four years have been relatively quiet after his father was killed—" he glanced at her "—but they've stepped up their game. More and more citizens are joining the riots; they seem to have obtained more updated artillery. We've discovered some of our ex-special forces paying him visits. In light of how bad the situation is becoming, project Unbreakable has been sped up. It was a sucsess and we are ready for our next move. The Unbreakable, though equipped to survive and fight, needs training." Agent Turner sipped his water, marking the end of his briefing.

Ria's eyebrows knit together as she turned the pages. Images of a tired man—pictures of his DNA morfing into something else. Pages of reports. Ria glossed over them: "DNA modification" "Revival needed during second dose."

When she looked back up, all eyes were on her. "Sorry?" She asked, managing to keep her voice even.

A couple of people rolled their eyes.

"She's not ready for this!" Agent Gee snapped, slamming her fists on the table and standing. "Why are we calling on some minor Agent to take this project? Send someone who knows what they're doing; send me." Gee fixed Ria with a glare.

The man at the head of the table stared Gee down. "We've discussed this, Agent." His voice was a growl, demanding attention. She tightened her jaw and reluctantly took her seat. The man turned to Ria now, the coldness he showed Gee leaving his face. "I know this must come as a shock to you, Agent Matthews. We've kept this from the minor Agents to ensure we don't raise suspicion from the mob. But what we need to know now is if you're willing to train the Unbreakable. Your parents were some of the best Agents this place has ever seen, and we've been keeping tabs on you, too. First you and your partner got rid of Vincent Vergo, and since then every one of your missions have been beyond successful. You've scored top in the intelligence tests as well as perfect in your training with artillery and hand-to-hand. We like you to take on this task."

She smirked at his praise, "Well, you expect me to say no after that?"

He smiled at her. "Good, good. Agent Turner will help you settle into this role, as he has been leading it so far."

People began leaving, but Turner and the boss stood back. "Matthews, please understand that this information is highly sensitive. There will be no speaking about this to anyone." He stared her down for a moment before exiting.

"Well, you sure hopped on that opportunity fast, hon."

Ria turned to Turner and shrugged, "You take what you can get to climb the ladder."

He smirked. "I just hope you're ready. We don't want the latter caving in on you," he mumbled, walking past her.

Ria followed silently as he weaved his way through the building. He never looked back to see if she was still following him; she almost lost him when he took the stairs instead of the elevator and flew down them faster than she could. He was quick on his feet. No wonder he was on level 52.

She lost count of the levels around the 34 mark. Her body tensed once she realized she was heading into a basement—there was no basement on the general map each agent had. He slowed until Ria was next to him when they exited the stairwell.

"So this is our basement. These seven lower levels are where we do our experiments—"

"But those are levels 23 and 24," she stated, confused. The whole situation bothered her more than it should. Was it the secrets? Not a chance. Every soul that worked for the agency kept secrets for a living. More so it was the lengths they had gone to lie about it. But what should she expect? They were an agency of murders and liars; her only consolation was that they murdered and lied for good.

Agent Turned smirked. "There's a lot more to this building than you know. But, as I was saying: the experiments take place down here. Lately, all seven levels have been in full swing for the Unbreakable project. I guess, when creating the perfect soldier, even scientists of different specialties can work well together," he chuckled as if his joke were funny. .

"So, when do I meet this Unbreakable?" she asked as a security guard pattered her down.

They walked to a door as he dove into explanation. "Now. But it's important for you to understand that he has no recollection of who he was before the procedure. He's like a very mature child. A man with a clean slate. His whole DNA structure has been rewritten. He is nothing like he once was."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked

He opened the door and the governor's son sat strapped to a chair; drool slowly dripped from his mouth. His breath was eratic and his face seemed exhausted, a little scared, and strong all at once. His sleep brought no peace to his face. Needles pumped different liquids into his wrists and throat. He was naked save for a blanket over his lap. Metal plating covered his forearms, shins, and parts of his torso. The skin around looked raw, still. He was a lab rat on the declining slope. This was a success?

Ria's mouth fell open as she abandoned her collected expression. "How?" was all she managed to say.

"When the mob started moving, volunteers stepped up. He was the first. He easily passed all the tests, so there wasn't really a better option. We figured that the people would follow a familiar face. Don't talk to him yet." He walked to a light and flicked the switch. Carson Kolar jerked to a start and stared at the pair.

"Good afternoon, Unbreakable. Your training will start tomorrow. How are you feeling?"

He seemed to struggle for words momentarily. "Never better."

"Good, good." Turner grabbed a stack of papers and started shuffling through them. "Still having dreams?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. But they're becoming less and less vivid." He seemed to get better at talking the more he did it. "And I've been eating more," he spoke eagerly—like a child dying to impress a parent.

"I see that—well done. Unbreakable, this is Agent Matthews. She will be training you. Remember talking about that?"

His eyes finally shifted to her. She squirmed under his thoughtful gaze. "Yes, I remember. But she doesn't look strong enough."

Her eyes widened. "Really, now?" she seethed. "It isn't about brute strength, you idiot, it's about hitting each target perfectly. You look like you'd trip over your own feet before you even had a chance to get anywhere close enough to throw a punch." Ria glared at him, and clenched her fists at her sides.

Agent Turner cleared his throat too loudly: a reminder not to speak.

"Yes, I think she'll do," the man strapped to the chair finally said with a smiling plying his lips. "When do we start?"

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