Still, this is amateur writing, I know that much.. but like any mangaka, you get better the more you practice.. ^_^ I'll leave it to you guys to comment on the rest.
Lex Zenkoff felt a burst of adrenaline as he heard the building explode into flames. He always got a rush from these things. Of all the countries, this had been the one he had wanted to target the most. His hatred had been so strong for the Americans he wondered why he had not done more to ensure a more prolonging pain for the general. The man had gotten it easy, with only a few seconds to witness his own death. The Americans proved to be an overconfident and stupid lot. All of it wasn’t just for the rush of it. He had come to the base for a reason. He had had his eyes on this mission a long time ago, knowing about the development before some even knew about its existence. He had been itching to steal it and now he had the chance to. Naturally uncle Morrisson had let him take this assignment. It was also Morrisson’s idea to recreate him as the visitor. Who knew it would be so much fun plundering government bases? So far his project had been a blast. A plane an hour later brought him into Venice where he relaxed in the countries beauty overlooking the bustling streets and beautiful coast. It had been a satisfying day’s work, as days go… A knock on the door, made Lex turn, and with a quick twist, he opened the door to find a bell hop carrying a large envelope. “For you sir…” the bellhop said politely, despite the fact the two were practically the same age. Lex thanked the bellhop and closed the door, the letter in his hands. He had immediately checked the note for explosives or wires, making sure the note hadn’t been tampered with.. It was clean. Opening it with careful fingers, he removed the seal and opened the letter. It was blank, a simple piece of white paper with absolutely no writing on it. Lex snorted. Sticking his thumb onto the bottom left corner of the piece of paper, he waited for the tiny machine implanted in the paper to scan his finger. A noisy ring from the paper told Lex that the paper had accepted his fingerprint, and he placed the strange document onto a nearby desk, drawing the curtains, and locking the doors. A hologram sprang to life from the once empty paper, and a one foot figure of someone slightly older then Alex with dark brown hair and brown eyes was staring back at him. A thick pair of square glasses enveloped the area around his face and a full beaming smile played across his lips. “Morning Lex,” the hologram had begun in a British accent. Lex nodded to the hologram. “I assume you had a smooth time in Arizona?” Lex smiled showing the whites of his teeth. “You always know I do Jack….” “How were the grenades? Charming little things aren’t they? Lex grinned. “I had fun with them…” he replied recalling his delightful encounter with the general of the base. “I…put them to good use.”
“That’s what I like to hear mate, you know how upset I get when you don’t try out all of them!” chirped the man excitedly Some would consider the comment a joke, but Jack had a very progressive nature. Mostly nothing could stop him when he was in his mode. He was always saddened if Lex did not try out all of the models. Lex chuckled. “Don’t worry, they all work pretty well. I think I liked 3 the best.” Jack nodded approvingly. “Knew that one would catch your eye- it’s surprisingly compact and light. Easiest to carry and quickest to use! We also made it in the shape of a yoyo, a liquor bottle, and Nerf ball…Lex laughed. Jack had a knack for being incredibly strange in the designs and randomness in the shape of his devices, but most of them did the job. Jack had flunked out from a prestigious private school as a mechanics engineer, working with all sorts of machines. He had been expelled for creating a fully functional bomb.. and brining it to class one day. The Company had seen his talents and immediately invited him into the organization. Jack, like Lex was the youngest of his group and was a good friend, assigned to him by the company, each agent with their own techie. Lex had immediately liked Jack, the moment he had talked to Lex. He had become the fun, geeky brother Lex never had. He had been an expert in all the sciences, even if his first passion had been technical inventions. That’s what Lex had liked about Jack. He was an extremely intelligent man and he never let anything bother him. It was wonderful because Jack’s thinking was practical and efficient. He made everything seem simpler, and he was not as boastful or proud as the others techies were. Of course, there had always been a rivalry amongst the group, but everyone knew the “Jack of all trades” always was number one. They made a perfect match, mostly because Jack had also enjoyed working with the teen agent. Jack had been looking up on a sheet as he spoke to his young friend. “You’ve been assigned to a spy mission and you’re going to have to leave Venice tonight.” Lex raised a brow. He had rarely been assigned as a field agent spy, he hadn’t done that line of work in years. His talents lay in espionage, arson, and full out contract murder. He recalled a moment when he was 9 when his father and a company agent had agreed where Lex would specialize. His father did not approve of Lex being a spy, discouraging him by calling field agents, “pawns on a chessboard” His father had told him work of the kind was everchanging. Spies were replaced as quickly as anyone could blink and those that were caught would be cut off permanently without any help. Field work, even exciting, was the most dangerous, and his father had not wanted him to work for the company as a spy. It had seem rather hypocritical for his father to say so, as the man himself was a spy, but his father had insisted on turning him towards other fields. Lex had been wonderful agent when he began training as a spy. At age 5 he had been able to memorize profiles and backrounds, as well as lie his way out of a paperbag. He had been a natural the moment that he had begun learning the field, he had almost made a game out of spy work until his father had stopped him, giving only one reason on his 7th birthday. “Son, the spy trade, is twisted. “You’ll find out things you don’t need to know, and you expose yourself if you aren’t careful… You’re a good spy Lex, but I can’t risk you…” That was all he said about the matter, true pain in his eyes. It had disappeared another moment later and the subject was never brought up again. Lex’s birthmother had also been a mystery too, but Lex’s father had promptly refused to tell his son…not until he had turned 17… Lex sighed, though he truly didn’t care, his 17th birthday was coming up soon, but it did not seem to matter. What had been promised would be lost forever. Years ago, his father had passed away by strange circumstances. Lex had forgotten everything…he couldn’t even remember what had happened to kill his father. He rarely thought about him anymore…it was as if Victor Zenkoff has simply vanished from existence. After his father left, Uncle Morrison had taken him up as his own son.. He told Lex to be pampered by a mother would ruin his career, and he was right. He should know, since he was the “president” of The Company. Lex knew he had the edge because he had no feelings or ties…. He had come to realize that harboring feelings would run a risk for him and the person…and he certainly didn’t need someone else to protect. Most would have considered the thought to be a selfish act, but all good spies knew that it was the most logical and efficient way to do work.. There was no mess, no obstacles.. that’s what Lex had loved about his job. He could care less about anyone else, more so because he had no one to care for, but he had never thought of it that way. It had made him the perfect agent in the company, fighting only for his own life and the companies. He became just as talented and intelligent as anyone working for the company, and even more so. After his father, Mr. Morrison had taught him everything he knew, and made him a better man. He had given Lex all the most difficult assignments, eventually bringing the boy to the top. Morrison was just too good to him. “Does Uncle Morrison know?” asked Lex “Morrison assigned the mission to you.” Jack replied, his eyes were puzzled because usually it was Morrison who let Lex do whatever he wanted. The mission must have been important if Morrison had assigned it to Lex. “What’s the assignment?” Lex finally asked. Jack looked onto the info’s sheet. “US again, were sending you out to retrieve the two last keys.” Lex turned a curious eye, though he realized that it was only reasonable for the same agent to follow up on a the following missions. “What does the company want with these keys anyways?” He asked his friend. Jack shrugged. “Beats me, but assignments are assignments, do you want to take it?” Lex shrugged. It would at least be interesting; another chance to challenge his skills and it obviously was of some importance to Morrison if he wanted Lex assigned for it. It had been a while in spy work though…. Maybe he would even get a chance to find out what the Company wanted with these keys. “I’ll take it.” Lex decided. Jack nodded and began scanning the info sheet. He muttered out the words to Lex” As happy coincidence goes, the people developing the counter weapon are a family.. they live in Connecticut. They go by the name of Alabasters. Mother is Jane Alabaster, father is Kent, their both engineers working for the American government, but their registered jobs are two professors at local universities. “Lucky me.. Lex muttered, Anyone else?” “Yes, they’ve got a daughter name Shane…”Does she know anything?” he asked, though he already knew the answer. Most of children were expected to not know about their parent’s second lives, if they had one. “Nope….just an ordinary daughter..” He nodded. It was the ordinary.. “Starting tomorrow, your name will be Drake Hoffman, you just got back from a trip in Europe and you’re a new student at Reymore’s Private Institute. You have an uncle in the UK supporting you after your parent’s died. Lex sighed. The comment was not far from the truth. His father had died a while ago when he was 10, and he had never known his mother. Your objective is to get into the Alabaster family. Get to know them, find the blue prints and get rid of all traces. Lex nodded. He had already been analyzing ways to get into the family, just like years of work had taught him to. A smile passed his lips as he formulated the perfect plan. It would require using people…but he dealt with that all the time. There was no honor among spies. They just did their jobs like good little pawns. He smirked. “I bet you 10 days tops…” hologram Jack quipped from behind Lex. The boy smiled. “You give me too much credit Jack.” “Your new house is right across the Alabasters, and we’ll be sending you with the location when you reach the plane.” Jack continued. Lex tutted. “They got rid of the neighbor didn’t they…” Jack nodded. “You know our work is important Lex, you’re going to need the space anyways. I’m sending you a black suitcase with your equipment. It should be at the new house. Now get going, you’ve got a lot ahead of you.” Lex made a face at hologram Jack. “Will do mother.” The hologram receded from the piece of paper, and a loud beeping began emitting from it. “This device will incinerate in 5 seconds. Step away please,” said a crisp, educated voice. Lex let go of the piece of paper, and the paper burst into flames. The flames crackled in a self contained explosion and left only ashes on the counter. Taking the ashes, Lex went to the window and let them spread through the waterways below. Taking his briefcase and belongings, he left the suite and went to the hotel reception to return his keys. Calling on a taxi he bought a ticket to the US, emerging from a restroom, his hair dyed a crisp brown gelled straight. The boy wore loose tan khakis with a tight blue sports shirt, and wore a sad face, that of a boy who was being sent to the Americas alone without a family to walk with. The flight attendants at the security check points didn’t even bother to look at him twice as he had given her his passport, there eyes filled with sympathy. He had thought they had learned their lesson after the tragic plane crash by the middle easterners….At the baggage check, Lex watched as his backpack read cleanly on the monitor. A smirk spread across his face as he walked away. He would have to tell Jack his new compartments worked well. He didn’t even have to disguise the double shot pistol in the front pocket. The plane had boarded early in the morning and went backwards in hours. Lex had just enough time to brush up on his English and take a quick refreshing nap. Suddenly the rigid jerk of the aircraft shook Lex awake as he turned to hear the speaker phones activate in the cabins. “All passengers, our destination has been reached, welcome to New York, and enjoy your stay.” Lex walked off the plane, his face returning to the young boy, saddened and without a family. Yet again as he was searched baggage and all, The man that had waited to greet their passports did not seem to care for Lex’s simply brushing away. Besides, what could a timid little kid do to a country like this? Quite a lot, Lex knew, but he kept the thought to himself. . He had arrived at his new house in Connecticut and hours later by jumping onto a second plane, and took a taxi fare all the way to the house in Wiltshire. It was a fairly rich suburb with large two story houses. Reaching for the keys of his house he clicked it open. The place was magnificent. Hardwood floors and lush colored carpets filled the bottom and top floors. Everything had been cleaned, the furniture shined and the appliances and equipment gleaming. The place had been vacant for a week, as everyone had assumed that Mr. Rogers had sold out his house in search of one in Florida. But in truth he had been taken out by the company the day he left the house. Slamming the door shut, he absorbed the beautiful room and full view. He was finally home, or at least, temporarily home. He turned to see a black suitcase lodged between two shoe racks. He pulled it out. It had been engraved to him from Jack. It was the equipment Jack had promised. Opening the case with a special lock, he took out its contents whistling a happy tune. Setting it up all around the house, Lex skipped a few beats. He had successfully made it back in the US to play a few more tricks on the Americans. He had so much in store in so little time, but he’d decided he would prolong it. The conditions here were absolutely wonderful. A pity he had to steal from them. Sitting in the sleeping quarters of the original residence, Lex began to type away on his laptop doing much needed research. He had first planned to approach the two engineers directly, but that had seemed too quick… He had decided to take a separate window by going for their daughter, an action that was both discreet and natural for a boy his age... It would require much more work, but he enjoyed the chase. A name popped up from his government search, and a list of data of her current height, eye color and other descriptions were listed. A brief summary of her past was written amongst the data of her. Lex had read with interest. Apparently the girl, daughter of two highly paid professors, used to have a nursemaid, when her parents were working nonstop on their great projects. The nursemaid had died when Shane was 9, leaving the girl to grow alone, doing without anyone’s help. After the incident Shane had become very dedicated in studies and the Institute, where her parents had sent her. She had currently been residing at the institute as one of the best and brightest…she held the top rank in all subjects, including the physical examinations. Lex raised a brow at her impressive profile. With such a perfect list who could resist the challenge? He gave a large sigh as he flopped onto the king sized comforter. Tomorrow he would meet this Shane, and see if he couldn’t change a few things.. Popping a blue pill into his mouth, he swallowed it down, and drifted off to sleep.
sad