Just Another Messy Ending

BILLIE JOE’S POV

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"So… the whole tinted window thing isn't just in movies..." I murmured, resting my elbow against the arm rest on the side of the Mercedes door.

The man in the car next to me didn't reply, he just made a non-committal noise and kept his eyes trained on the road. I couldn't help but turn in my seat slightly to study him. His raven coloured hair came down over his ears and contrasted against his pale skin, making the definition of his jaw more obvious. The jacket he wore hugged his slim figure well, as did the black jeans that wrapped around his legs like a second skin. He was undeniable attractive. Of course, I had no name to match his face.

Just a day previous to the car journey, my parents had been contacted by an unknown number and a long conversation pursued, one that I couldn't make sense of from only hearing one side. I had no say in the decisions made there and then; I was just told to pack a bag because I would be leaving the next night. Leaving my friends, my family and my life behind to go with this unnamed man. Why would I go with him, you ask? Because I had no choice. What the government says goes. Yes, this was a government thing; they have been keeping an eye on me and identified me as useful to them. So there I was, in a car with a stranger being taken to a location I didn't know about because they wanted to train me.

"How much have you been told?" The other man murmured, still not turning to look at me.

"Not much, but then again, I don't know how much there is to tell that I should know" I replied honestly, letting my gaze settle on him.

"Do you know where we're going?" He questioned, his tone subdued and quiet but not threatening.

"No"

"Good" Well okay then...

“Do you know why you’re here?” he continued, his tone as level as last time.

“To train. No idea what for though”. My response caused him to shake his head slightly, making his black hair swish gently in front of his eyes before he shook it away again. The shake seemed to be more to himself than to me though.

“They really should inform you better before you get in the car, I hate having to explain” he commented off handily before continuing. “I’ll sum it up simply. You’re part of my team now. You follow my orders, you don’t question my authority, got it? As for what I do and why you’re here, I am indeed here to train you. I’m here to teach you skills you’ll need when you work out in the field. I won’t sugar coat it – when I say field, I mean working in the underworld. Spying, hacking, assassinations, whatever the government wants. Don’t be alarmed by those words, this isn’t the mafia. Our targets are only those who truly deserve to have justice brought down on them, those who cause nothing but pain in the world and just scream undesirable. In other words, we’re like secret agents, if you want to compare it to a movie, but without the need for suits. We still have code names though; to give out your full real name would be stupid. The other people in the squad should warm to you reasonably well, but don’t expect them to trust you immediately. Many have tough backgrounds – which you shouldn’t ask about, by the way. They’ll tell you if they want. Everyone will tell you their code name and most will tell you their real first name, but no one will tell you their last, so don’t expect the information or give out your own. Be prepared to be in close confines with your team mates, you’ll share a bunk room. Don’t make enemies within your team, these people are your allies and you may have to trust them with your life. I think that’s everything…” he rattled off all of this without giving me time to interject, meaning I just sat there, trying to absorb as much as the information as I could. “Any questions?”

For the first time since the car journey had begun – just over an hour ago – the mysterious man turned to look at me while he spoke.

“Yeah, what’s your code name then?” I asked, wrapping my arms around my torso. The air conditioning in the car was making me chilly and I didn’t feel like asking the man to turn the heating on.

He studied me for a second longer before looking focusing on the road again. As we turned off of a main road and started driving down a smaller dirt one, I realised we might be nearing our destination. I also realised he hadn’t answered my question, it was almost like he hadn’t heard me judging by the way he gave no response at all.

We drove in silence for a short while before the car slowed to about ten miles per hour. I would have thought that this was our destination except for the fact there were no buildings or anything in sight. Still, this whole thing had been unpredictable so far; the ‘base’ could be underground for all I knew.

“So, you might want to rest, from here on the journey is going to be long and pretty boring. The roads are identical and there is nothing of interest to be seen. It would be wise to rest yourself” the man commented off handily. The car began to pick up speed again after went over a rather large bump in the track.

Obviously going to be a bumpy ride then…

I nodded cautiously to the man and shifted in my seat so my head was against the car’s closed window. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it was hardly going to be luxury sleeping inside a car.

I let my eyelids droop, trying to fall asleep even though my mind was whirring from the events of the past twenty four hours.

I shut my eyes, trying to fall asleep even though my mind was whirring from the events of the past twenty four hours. I was just slipping into a semi-conscious state, that short space of time somewhere between lucid and asleep, when I heard a New Jersey accent start to speak again.

“And the name’s Gerard, by the way. Code name’s Party Poison or Party for short”.