Prologue
Wow, where do I begin? I guess I’ll start with introducing myself. My name is Meghan Henderson. I am currently fifteen years old, just started high school, and I have a secret. I am a secret detective agent. Of course, I am not a lone wolf. I have my friends Chloe, Vic, and Rini to help me in missions.
How did we start this you ask? Well, about eight years ago, we were playing at a park just like any typical seven-year-old kid would. This stranger came up to me. I know what you are thinking, stranger danger.
“Hello, young lady, would you mind if we talked?”
“I don’t talk to strangers.” I snarled.
“What if I said I knew your parents?”
“What if I said that rug on your head is really obvious?” I jabbed at the stranger.
“Well, that’s a little rude don’t you think?”
“And what makes you think a man your age talking to small children is appropriate?”
He stood there silent, and then spoke up.
“You’re a little verbose for your age.”
“What?”
“You know big words. It's supposed to be a compliment.”
“Oh, thanks, I guess, what do you want?”
“I just want to talk.”
“You’re already doing that with me.”
Now I know what you’re thinking. I’m a smart mouthed child who acted like a brat. Usually when adults talked to me, I would turn them away from my big mouth, but not this guy. He was different. My friends came when they saw me speaking to him.
“Meghan, do you know this man?” Rini asked.
“No, but he says he knows my parents.”
“Oh yeah, what’s her last name?” Vic questioned him.
“Henderson. I know her mother personally. Her name is Pamela.”
“Whoa…” all of us were amazed.
“I’ll make this quick. How about we head over to my office and we’ll talk about what I want to discuss with you girls?”
“I don’t trust you,” Vic said cautiously.
“That’s okay, I’ve alerted your parents and you’ll be safely returned to your homes once this meeting is over.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Chloe said doubtfully.
“There’s cookies and milk in it if you guys agree to come.”
“Okay, I’m in!” Chloe said.
We went with the man despite what we were told. He seemed like a good guy, though he had a really bad wig to hide his bald spot. After we made it to his office, he started talking again.
“Okay, here’s the reason why I brought you girls here today. You girls are special in ways that ordinary people cannot comprehend. How would you girls like to be agents?”
“You mean like spies?!” Rini asked.
“Yes, but you will be investigating special cases in a secretive setting.”
“So what you are saying is that we would be solving special cases that are not released to the public?” Rini asked.
“Yes, wow, you are smart for a seven-year-old.”
“That’s our Rini. The brains out of us four,” Vic said rocking Rini back and forth.
“Now, to get started, I need to pick out a leader for you girls. One of you must carry on that duty.”
“I will!” Chloe, Vic and I raise our hands.
He noticed Rini was the only one that didn’t raise her hand.
“Rini?”
“I’m no leader. I like to work in the background helping behind the scenes.”
“Well, you will get what you want since you were the only one who didn’t volunteer.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Now, you three, tell me why you want to lead your group.”
“I want to be the head and be respected.”
“Please, you didn’t even take care of your goldfish and guess where he ended up? In the toilet,” I said bursting into laughter. Chloe then scowled at me.
“Hmmm…alright, Victoria, your turn.”
“I feel that a leader should create stra-te-gies… yeah, that’s the word.”
“What kind of strategies?”
“Plans of attack.”
“Just as a leader should do, alright, Meghan, your turn.”
“Well, most people can’t take leadership roles because they weren’t born with it right?”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Well, I believe being a leader should have responsibility.”
“Like how so?”
“Like babysitting, you leave a person in charge of your kids and that person has to feed the kids, bathe them, give them attention, and, of course, make sure they go to bed on time.”
“Are you using that as an example of what a leader should be like to their teammates?”
“Yeah.”
“A little unorthodox example I may add. Alright, I have heard enough. Victoria and Meghan, will you two come with me, please? This will determine who will be the leader.”
We went into another room that was dark for some reason. What we didn’t know was that it was a test rather than listening to a person’s thoughts. I didn’t know if I really wanted to be in charge. I guess the adrenaline from the other girls’ excitement got me riled up. The man spoke up.
“Alright, I’m going to say something nasty and I am going to observe your behavior. Ready?”
“Yeah,” Vic and I said in excitement.
“Victoria, you’re ugly.”
Vic kicked him in the shin.
“Oof, alright, give me a minute. Okay, Meghan, you’re stupid.”
“And you need to do a better job of choosing wig qualities to hide that shiner of a head of yours.” I teased with a smirk on my face.
“Meghan!” Vic cried out.
“It’s not that bad I’ll have you know!” He deflected while trying to fix his wig.
“Hold on, could you remove your toupee so I could get a toothpick to clean in between my teeth from all those cookies I ate?” I chortled with him some more.
“Now hold on a second, young lady. This is supposed to be a test.” His voice grew sterner.
“And obviously, you’re failing your own test, who’s the stupid one now?” I said leaning in on the table getting into his face.
“What will your parents think of this when I tell on you?”
“And I can tell my parents that you like to stalk and perv on little girls.” I kept smirking.
“Meghan! That’s not a nice thing to say!” Vic cried out.
“What’s wrong, mister, are you getting angry?”
Honestly, I think I had more fun poking into him than taking this seriously. I mean, if was able to dish it out, then he should take it in. All that mattered to me at that moment was having the upper hand. It almost always worked on my teachers and the principal at my school. But my dad had another word for it – manipulation.
“Okay, the test is over. Meghan, do you always act like this?”
“I don’t see anything wrong with it.” I shrugged as I sat back down in my chair.
“Sir, I’m sorry, Meghan can be a real jerk if someone tries to push her around.”
“It’s alright; I’m not bothered by this. If I were, I wouldn’t be in this line of work.”
“So, all that frustration was all an act?” I huffed in disappointment.
“Yes, it was for you to see that I was offended and I could notice if you felt sorry – which you didn’t. Now, we will move on the final test.”
The man showed us a simulation of where lifelike dummies were getting shot by other lifelike dummies. There were bloody, flesh-like appearances that we saw. While Vic freaked out, I just watched silently with no emotion.
“Meghan, do you see what is happening?”
“Yeah, people are getting shot and killed in this simulator.”
I said unamused.
“Does that bother you?”
“I’ve seen it on my mom’s TV shows a lot. They don’t bother me.”
“Did it bother you when you saw it the first time?”
“No, if you really want to back my word, call my mom, she’ll tell you.”
“No, it’s okay, I believe you. Meghan, there’s someone I want you to talk to.”
“Am I disqualified?”
“No, you’re not.”
“Is she our new leader?” Vic asked.
“No, she’s not. Honestly, she is going to be evaluated because I’m a little concerned about her.”
The man showed me another man in his office.
“Meghan, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Kurtoch.”
“You’re making me talk to a shrink?”
“Meghan, please…” The Director sighed in annoyance.
“It’s alright, sir, I’m not troubled in the slightest. Meghan, would you please come in?”
“Okay.”
I went into psychiatrist’s office. He seemed nice, but I just didn’t say anything for a while.
“Is anything troubling you?”
“No.”
“What about your family? Tell me about them.”
“I have a mom, a dad, a dog, and a kitty.”
“What are the dog’s and cat’s names?”
“They’re named Skipper and Sylvester.”
“That’s nice; do you get along with anybody at school?”
“Only Vic, Chloe, and Rini.”
“Okay, any hobbies or sports you are participating in?”
“Dancing Jazz.”
“Oh, that’s nice, are you a good dancer?”
“I’ve been told that.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you ever cried before?”
“No, but that’s kind of random to ask.”
“I’m just seeing what you are feeling is all. Do you get mad?”
“Rarely.”
“Ever feel sad?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what sadness feels like?”
“Not really.”
He kept asking me questions and then he let me go meet some of my friends. He talked to the man in the suit.
“So, any findings on Meghan?” the man said.
“Her biggest issue is lacking empathy. She doesn’t really feel any remorse over anything.”
“Dr. Kurtoch, did you find keys to any kind of mental illness?”
“No, sir, her mind and cognitive skills are top notch. What would actually fix this problem is if she were to face a traumatic experience.”
“Like what kind of experience?”
“I don’t know, a car accident, the death of a loved one, something tragic that would scar her, the list goes on.”
“Would you think she could be suitable for a responsible position like watching over her teammates?”
“Oh, yes, she could. I would question if she was suited for any position that has to deal with huge responsibilities, but yes, she could pull it off. Also, her emotional state would be a huge advantage when encountering any enemy.”
“I see, thank you, doctor.”
The man came back to us to make an announcement.
“Girls, I would like for you all to meet your new leader… Miss Meghan.”
“What?!” I cried out.
“Congrats,” Vic said stoically.
“Meghan, your duty is to your team and as well as civilians in danger just like Rini’s, Chloe’s, and Vic’s. I expect for you to keep that in mind as you take on this heavy position.”
“Yes, sir.” I said still baffled over the Director’s decision.
“Alright, girls, let’s get you sworn in, and I’ll take you all home.”
That was a day I would never forget. Meeting the Director of the secret organization and being given the opportunity of solving special cases that should be handled by special officials other than the FBI. I still don’t understand why I was given the position. What the next eight years would bring was endless training and our first mission in Canada last year. However, the Director told us to brace ourselves for the most dangerous mission we would ever encounter. I wondered if we would face any missions while starting high school. We would all find out soon enough.