The Hole

The Hole was not what Hermans was expecting.

It took only half a day to travel to New haven, it was only an eight hour plane ride and from their an hour in the airport and two waiting and catching the bus. Eleven hours for a trip half way across the country was not so bad. What was appalling was the price of coffee, it was twice as expensive as the coffee within his homeland and from what he could tell it was not twice as good.

He looked down at the instructions which he'd been given as he got off the bus. He'd been told to wait outside the old Yale campus. It had been a place he'd been tempted to go to, in fact he had received a seventy five percent scholarship for medicine from them a few weeks beforehand. Even at such a generous discount he'd had to reject, he at the time couldn't afford the costs of living outside his home city, although now he didn't have a choice.

He sat down at a seat across the road from the campus and amongst the pristine green trees. The noise of the roads around him seem to dissipate as he sat at that seat and took in the surroundings around him. The sounds of chirping birds swept away the whirring of engines while the rustling of weaves the slams of feet against the ground. It was serenity.

This was a nice place to live. It was a peaceful place to live.

"You might as well be blood sobbing sitting down with your eyes closed," Joseph said breaking that peace and serenity. He sat down next to him, took a swig from a metal flask before sighing and putting the thing away. "Ozymandias is already waiting inside."

"Inside?"

"Just follow me," Joseph said grinning and walking off.

It can't be anything worse then I'm imagining, he thought to himself. It's just going to be an office building from the outside and on the inside it's going to be something different.

Hermans followed Joseph as he crossed the road and stepped onto the sidewalk which was parallel to Yale, however strangely enough he stopped and turned back towards him.

You're joking, Hermans thought to himself.

Joseph just gave him that ever familiar grin and smirk. He wasn't joking. The old Yale campus, castle and all, was government property? Since when?

"You look surprised," Joseph said.

"I am, how did--"

"There's nothing that a private institution won't do for money," Joseph said cutting him off. "Just had to find the right price, and don't get me wrong, it wasn't cheap, blood hell it wasn't. But hey, now you can feel smart while doing your job."

'Feel smart while doing my job?' That was certainly one reason to purchase an institute older then the country itself. Surely there were other reasons why they'd spent so much money on an a building such as the old Yale campus, or was it what usually happens with government? Was it that the interests' of a few had overcome the good of the many and forced the purchasing of this place.

"Welcome, to the Hole," Joseph said opening the door to the building and ushering him inside.

Hermans sighed but followed the man's directives. The inside of the building began was as he expected, limestone rock walls and renovated varnished floors. It was something that felt out of a fantasy novel however that fantasy was quickly blown away as he entered into a waiting room. Harsh iron walls, white sterile tiled floors and metal chairs filled this room. 

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Joseph said playing at a panel on the side of wall. "But this is where the real fun begins."

The room went quiet for a moment before the floor rumbled and the ceiling moved upwards. No that wasn't right, he was simply moving downwards, the floor itself was some kind of escalator, and he'd been standing on the platform. 

Joseph went and sat down in one of the metal chairs as the platform screeched and scraped against the wall. He had a smirk on his face and as usual a cigarette in his hand.

"This is the Hole," Joseph said almost proud.

The metal walls gave way to a glass pane which unveiled the true beauty of the Hole. Past the pane revealed a vast open hanger which seemed to stretch on for at least half a kilometer where engineers and mechanics worked diligently at various projects of their choosing. In the distance he could make out somethings, cars which were being fitted with all kinds of accessories, a plane with some type of special material that seemed to shimmer the light more than metal and...a boat? He'd heard the intelligence community was always open to spending ludicrous amounts of money on absolutely stupid projects, but couldn't they have thought to build it next to an ocean instead of underground?

Joseph stood up as the elevator stopped at another platform. "This is level 0, from here on the public has no knowledge of anything, this is on no books, no records, the few people who know about this are almost exclusively employed by the people that control the state. Even the president's knowledge of this is limited."

"Yet you're sharing this with me of all people?"

"Talent is not wasted, no matter where it's from and its opinions of the state that it serves. In the end all people have a breaking point and that is often achieved through opportunity," Joseph said. "This opportunity just come early for you love."

"Your talent are not yet known to even yourself," another cold voice said. Ozymandias stepped out from behind a wall of files and held up another folder. "You already know that we've been watching you for some time and we intend to craft you into a successful agent."

Hermans took the folder and looked at it for a moment. "What is it?"

"Your first assignment," Ozymandias said within his ever calculated voice.

Hermans raised an eye. "Shouldn't I go through some training or some induction."

Joseph snatched the folder out of his hands and pointed at it. "Your induction is right fucking here. Only after you survive a field mission does the agency determine whether you're worth training. If you die, well then that's that, but if you live, well then you're in for some training."

Joseph looked down at the folder once again. 

"You will be shown to your temporary residence now," Ozymandias said. "The operation will begin at 22:00 and you will be expected to meet Joseph at the preparation area."

"Preparation--"

"You'll be provided a manual detailing the layout of all necessary areas of the facility. Areas that are superfluous to your operations will not be made known to you."

With that Ozymandias stepped away and disappeared behind another shelf of folders. Only now did Hermans realise that he'd been placed within the center of a giant office. Hundreds of people surrounded him walking diligently at computers with green and white interfaces.

 "You've come early," a more refined voice said from behind.

Hermans turned around. A tall gaunt man with long grey hair stood their. He wore a neatly pressed black suit with a white handkerchief in his breast pocket. Although he was tall he had a cane which made him seem smaller then he really was.

"Director," Joseph said shaking the man's hand.

The director shook with his cane hand and smiled at Joseph as he did. "You've collected our new agent?"

Joseph nodded and pointed towards Hermans. "Hermans seemed overjoyed with the opportunity to work with us."

The director sighed but nodded. He turned over to Hermans nodded towards him. "Son, has Joseph introduced you to everyone else on your team?"

Hermans reluctantly shook his head.

The director eyed Joseph for a moment. "How about your room?"

Hermans shook his head once again.

The director turned back over to Joseph and scowled. "Let me guess, you've already given him the details to his first assignment though haven't you."

Joseph looked away but slowly nodded. 

The director sighed. "If you and Ozymandias don't get your recruitment acts sorted I'll send other people to do it for you."

Joseph sighed before walking off. "Follow me Hermans."

The director nodded towards Hermans before he took off after Joseph.

Joseph managed to catch up to Joseph who was walking at a reasonably fast rate. They walked in silence for about five minutes as they travelled through a labyrinth of winding steel corridors and hallways before stopping at a single door with the writing Team Babylon, upon it.

"Now I warn you," Joseph said as he stopped at the door. "Some of the faces inside may surprise you in both good and bad ways. And I warn you do not stare."