Project Red Achilles

A young man stood quietly at the side of the road. He had a sorry look to him. It wasn't the type of look that would attract pennies, instead it was a more reserved look. He had a jacket and clothes around him. They were one of the few things he had left and they were on his back.

"How fucking pitiful," Herman groaned to himself.

Only a few streets over would be the house that he'd called home only a few days before. It was a warm, comfortable but not lavish house, he had his own bedroom and was fed every evening, that was more than he could ask for. The 'greatest generation' was an amazing one but they weren't perfect, they'd taken him in and when he no longer suited them, they threw him out like garbage. What was he to expect really? This had been the case for so long. Should he really have thought this time would be different, charity is never free and never lasts forever.

He reached down into his pocket. He had fifty dollars to his name. Two would be enough to get him to the airport and the airplane ticket itself should only be about thirty five or so. That left him with around ten dollars. Ten dollars to purchase food and house himself somehow. He didn't even know where he was going. He'd purchased the ticket in such a frenzy he hadn't even read the fine print, but if he pulled out now then he'd lose most of the little money he had left.

 Guess this is just my lot in life hey, he thought sighing to himself.

He closed his eyes and sat down on the seat of the bus stop. He'd only need to wait a few minutes and-

"Herman?" a voice asked.

Herman opened his eyes.

"That really you Herman?"

"Yes Billy, it's me," Herman said.

"Fuck me, you look like shit," Billy said.

Billy was a year older than him, but with the bushy black beard he had he looked at least ten years older. His black hair was short and his eyes a deep brown. He was about as scary as you got at this time of night especially with the black trench coat he wore.

"Well I'm not sure I'd look anything but," Herman said with a sigh. "Being kicked out your home is not the most pleasant of experiences."

"I can imagine," Billy said before lighting a cigarette and offering it to him. "Where you going now?"

Herman took a puff, he was technically breaking a law but at that moment he didn't care. The laws of a country that failed him didn't matter. 

"At the moment, the airport," he said holding out his plane ticket.

"And after that..." Billy strained his eyes trying to read the print on the ticket which was stupidly small. 

"New Haven."

"You're going west? I thought you said you wanted to go east and see the great irrigation projects."

Herman chuckled. "That was before I was made redundant and homeless. I need a job, not a fucking dream."

"I get the idea," Billy said trying to sound as sincere as he could, he was terrible at that though. "Although it's a shame you won't be able to attend college."

College, university, higher education, those are all far out of reach now, he thought to himself laughing. "What you going there for?"

"Maths and then probably to econometrics and market analytics," Billy sighed once again. "Although you should know that as we were going to study the same thing."

"Yes, we 'were'."

In the distance the bus hurtled around in the midnight. It was a small and cramped thing, it would've been barely large enough to fit more than a class of kids in. Although around here in the middle of nowhere that was more than enough.

"You getting on?" Herman asked Billy who simply shook his head in response.

"Hey Hermans before you go, take this," he said before handing him a ten dollar note.

Hermans nodded towards Billy. "Thank you Billy."

The bus pulled up beside the two and slammed opened it doors.

"Don't thank me, just get on the damn bus."

Hermans followed his friends word and got onto the bus. It seemed empty apart from the driver. Guess that's what you get when you leave at three o'clock on a Saturday morning. 

He sighed handing the driver his ticket before taking a seat down at the back of the bus as it pulled away. He sat on a window seat and watched as his small country town of Aetheling disappeared into the distance. The only lights of the town that could be seen were that of the service station and bus stop itself. That was to be expected considering that the population of the place barely exceeded two thousand. All the kids somehow knew each other and it wasn't uncommon for the richest of families to only be that way by children marrying each other and inheriting their parents wealth. Yet that was now all behind him, he'd been made redundant and thus useless, and useless people didn't survive out here. 

You've really made a fool of yourself haven't you, Herman thought to himself as the country whizzed past him. I thought I'd learned to be better then this, I guess I'd thought wrong.

Memories seemed to flash into his mind as he passed Aetheling High School flash by. They were good memories when he'd been able to enjoy the simple things in life such as going to school and learning about calculus or the classics of English literature. Good times, good people, good--

"Hello, are you Mr Newman," a voice asked from the front of the bus.

Herman looked up to see a tall and slender man. The man wore a tight-fitting trenchcoat, wore a scruffy black beard and had short messy black hair. The man himself looked alot like Billy although it was easy to tell that he was at least within his late twenties. Herman looked past the man and noticed that the bus driver had stepped outside the bus to smoke a cigarette. 

Am I seriously about to get robbed, Herman wondered to himself before straining his fist in preparation for a fight.

"Yes that would be me," Herman said standing up from his seat. "Is there anything you would need of me?"

"A bit of your time that's all," the man said walking over towards him. "Do not worry I'm not going to hurt or rob you."

"Well that's excellent to hear," Herman said sarcastically.

The man walked up to Hermans. The man was bigger than he'd thought and would've been at least six foot. He was also far skinnier than he'd initially thought.

The man went for his pocket and Herman quickly threw a punch in which the man without any effort threw to the side with a open palm hand block. The man raised an eyebrow at Herman who quickly stepped back.

"Again, I'm not here to hurt you," the man said pulling out what appeared to be a wallet from his pocket and holding it up. 

The wallet folded down to reveal a badge and a familiar logo, it was of an eagle hugging a shield with a star in it's center. While on the other side of the wallet was a badge that he didn't recognise, it was of a red phoenix upon a blue shield.

"What does the CIA want with me?"

The man smiled and pulled out what appeared to be a small notebook. He scrolled through a couple of pages before he began reading from it.

"Herman Harry Newman, graduated from Aetheling High School," the man looked down at his watch, "four days ago. Graduated top of his class in mathematics, literature, physics, chemistry, German, Japanese and global politics. Head of Arkansas mathematics team, among a large degree of other accomplishments and credits. You are a well read and accomplished man."

"Such 'accomplishments' unfortunately do not save me from the foster care system," Herman said.

"They may not, but they do put you on a list."

"A list?"

"A list for potential recruitment from all agencies, whether it be foreign or domestic, you're a prime candidate for recruitment."

Herman sat down within his seat once again. "And let me guess, you got to me before any of the other's did?"

"That appears to be the case," the man said.

Fuck, Herman thought to himself. He really didn't need the CIA, the FBI and any other intelligence service shadowing him for the rest of his twenties. That would drive even an oblivious person insane.

"I presume you're here to hire me?"

The man nodded. "That is my assignment, the result will be inescapable. What matters is whether you come willingly or not."

"Cheery stuff indeed, I either come out of here unconscious or blind presumably." Herman sighed and through his plane ticket up into the air before catching it. "Fine, tell me the details."

"I can't tell you the details only the rewards," the man said truthfully. "A pay roughly six times median wage which equates to roughly thirty thousand dollars a year along with a car and house of your choosing within a certain confined geographic area. Along with this if you desire to go to college you may and it will be paid for by the agency."

Hermans chuckled before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "Between that and likely homelessness that really isn't much of a choice is it?"

"As I said before we weren't giving you much of a option." The man pulled something from his pocket and placed down in front of Herman. "When you get to the airport and are getting to travel through security show this to them. We'll talk more then."

The man after that left, disappearing into the night and leaving Herman alone in the bus. Herman sighed before grabbing the item from the man and turning it around.

"This is not how I thought the day would end," he said leaning back in the bus seat while holding the exact same badge of a red phoenix upon a blue shield.