In one of the many Royal Military Academies in Britain, a ceremony was held.
But it wasn't just any ceremony. It was the one that confirmed that this group of about 15 people were finally part of the SAS, the Special Air Service, the best special forces unit in the world.
This handful of men and women, underwent the hellish selection process of the army, during 5 long months. Including various tests to challenge their physical and mental abilities.
Among the elite soldiers of the United Kingdom, there was what the instructors and recruits called a "little genius". A 22 year old man, named Maalick Gamble, who was not present in this cohort.
What differentiated him from the others was not so much his body, but his tactical sense and his risky and controlled approach to hostile situations.
Needless to say, that this is how he passed all the SAS selection tests. Despite the fact that he had no service record.
The new agents exchanged glances with only one question "Where did Maalick go?" as they received the fruits of their efforts.
The famous beige beret with the insignia of the special force unit above, representing Excalibur, which could also be called the winged dagger, because of the haloed flames.
Below the sacred sword was the SAS motto, "Who Dares Wins."
This graduation ended with the man who trained them, pushed them to their limits and destroyed the weaker participants. The terrible Chief Instructor, David Brown.
He stepped up to the stage to give a speech about what was about to come.
Everyone knew him, even among the army staff.
He was famous for his involvement in the creation of Colombian units to fight the drug cartels in 1989. And for his participation in the operations Tangos and Ensue, aimed at arresting war criminals, during the Yugoslavian War.
Before David could begin his speech that he had prepared the day before. The number 2, coming out of this promo, asked a question to the veteran, cutting him off at the knees "Chief Instructor, I would like to know before you start your speech about what we are going to do, the war against terrorism, the values of our unit and all that. Where is our little ..."
He gave her his famous look. The same one that made the weakest crack, during the first 4 weeks of training. It made her close her chattering mouth, to which he still hadn't gotten used to.
As for the other soldiers, they were smiling at each other. Some of them couldn't even stop laughing at this comical situation.
David gave them a murderous look, to stop the laughter.
The veteran stepped down from the stage to face the woman, Jane Cooper.
She had tomboyish looks, short brown hair and a wild attitude for the special forces.
The only woman in the selection, sublimated herself during the last phase of their training, the "Combat Survival". In which, the candidates must escape from an area while being pursued by agents of the SFSG, the Special Force Support Group, as well as resist a "tough" interrogation for 24 hours.
Less than a few inches from her face, the former special forces officer tells her in an authoritative voice "Mrs. Cooper, just because you are the Commander's daughter, doesn't mean I can't punish you for your lack of discipline. Here, for your trouble, you're going to give me 50 push-ups."
Then David came up with a better punishment for her behavior "No, everyone is going to do 50 push-ups!"
The new soldiers stared at Jane for a few seconds.
But they didn't dwell on it. They didn't want instructor David to add more push-ups to them, because according to him "When someone screws up, it's everyone who takes!" he shouted, crouching next to the offender.
Yet, even with this punishment, she persisted in wringing an answer out of him "Sir, you still haven't answered my question. Where is Maalick?" she said as she did her pushups.
The instructor sighed, 'Jane Cooper, always so incorrigible about respect'
Despite this gap attitude, David still answered her request, "He asked me if he could leave early and I gave him permission. That's all"
Jane's eyes were wide open as she heard the words come out of his mouth, "Huh? The little genius asked someone for something? To you, of all people? Why did he leave?" she said slightly out of breath.
The former soldier pulled his cap down lightly "That's none of your business"
His answer only made her more curious 'Interesting'
As she did her final pushups, she thought about him.
Maalick was clearly not the warmest person in the universe. In fact, he was super cold. He never talked about himself or his past.
He just went through the various phases brilliantly, alone, like a robot. However, he would discreetly help the participants a few times, instead of doing what he was told.
Which got him into a lot of trouble.
The time passed so fast while thinking about him, that Jane just noticed that she had finished her last push-up.
She was the first to get up, with a few drops of sweat on her forehead. The veteran David announced to her with a chin up, "If you want to see him, you better rush to his room. He'll be leaving soon."
Jane gave a military salute and shouted with gratitude for the months of training "Thank you, sir!"
She ran as soon as David nodded, flattered by her words.
Through the corridors of the Victorian architecture, covered with military posters, signs for veteran's meetings and briefing rooms.
Jane arrived in front of his door. She opened it without knocking to see the little genius.
She had never seen Maalick in civilian clothes. But it was definitely worth it, considering how he was dressed.
The first one in the formation was a black man, with dark hair cut very short in a progressive layering. His brown eyes gave her the impression that he was analyzing a thousand things at once.
He was wearing an old leather aviator jacket, which was a little too wide for his shoulders. A tight black t-shirt, revealing his prominent abs. A grey jean and some old black and white sneakers.
This outfit showed off his 6'1", and his 2000's basketball superstar physique extremely well.
Jane was so amazed that he was so well dressed that she could only say a "Fuck" while articulating each syllable.
Obviously, Maalick was used to Jane coming in and out of the room like that, because he began to pack several neatly folded things into his gym bag, as if she had never been there.
She blushed a little, as she remembered the words that she let slip out of her mouth.
Obviously Maalick had a lot of things to do. He did not speak to Jane.
He took the last items from his belongings, that is, the beige SAS beret with the badge, which he stuffed into his bag. And a gold cross, with a name attached to the jewel that she could discern, 'Margaret', which he put in his pocket.
Then he put his bag over his shoulder and walked to the door.
Nevertheless, the young woman wanted answers to her questions. She blocked his way by using her body to form an X cross "So we leave without saying goodbye, genius? And who is Margaret? A hidden girlfriend?" she asked jokingly.
Maalick was surprised that she knew that name.
But he remembered that her father, the current Commander of the British Army, had done a stint with the SRR, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment 'I'm guessing that she had learnt some things from him'
But Margaret's name echoed in his head. Memories were beginning to emerge.
Her face half-crushed by the stone rubble, her body deformed by the blast, encased in one of the many body bags in New York, outside Grand Central Station.
It was reduced to another structure destroyed by a terrorist attack.
'Don't think about that. You need to focus on the present, on your goals, on him' he thought, trying to convince himself on the last word.
"I don't have time to play your little question and answer game. So move" he said hurriedly.
"Nah, nah, little genius. I want to know who Margaret is and why you're leaving so early" she replied with a smirk.
Maalick hated people who smiled, he hated smiles and he hated more than anything else this cursed cross, which became heavier and heavier in the pocket of his pants.
It reminded him too much of that man, no that monster, that fucking terrorist. Happy Face.
Jane could see that it was pissing him off. The veins in his neck were popping out as if his blood pressure was too high, which was not normal.
Maalick had shown an impressive composure during the different phases. Even under the blows, insults and psychological torture of the instructors, he didn't snap.
But there, she had just found one of his weak points.
That's why she stepped aside.
For the new soldier, it was enough to have found something about his life. In her eyes, he was no longer a robot or a genius. He was a man with qualities and faults, like everyone on Earth.
The young man walked through the door of his room and walked down the long hallway. Maalick tried to push the memories with Margaret deep inside him. The good as well as the bad.
But Jane had finally found a piece of his past, of his life before the army. She desperately tried to keep her mouth shut.
But her curiosity was stronger, and a question as hot as electricity managed to escape her lips "Why do you have a cross pendant? Didn't you tell me you that you didn't believe in God anymore?
Maalick stopped. It was a legitimate question. After all, he was one of the few people in this country who did not believe in God.
As he struggled to hide his anger and sadness, Maalick replied, "Because that's what killed her"
On that answer, Maalick went on his way. And Jane felt incredibly embarrassed, ashamed and stupid to have given in to her temptation.
She wanted to tell him that she was sorry. That her curiosity was just a bad habit. And like Pandora, she had unleashed a flood of poisoned gifts that took the form of his memories, his love, and his purpose.
Unfortunately for him, there was no hope in this version.
Jane stood there, planted in the ground, watching Maalick move further and further away from her. Until he opened the doors to the military academy.
The storm was out that day. The rain was falling as if a torrent was coming down from the dark clouds, decorating the emotions of Maalick.
"It's raining," he affirmed as he looked up at the sky, waiting for some kind of sign that Margaret had told him about.
She told him that 'It would appeared when he will need the most'
He shook his head at the thought. He remembered why he joined the army, why he trained so hard, and why he still had that gold chain.
'I'm doing all of this to put a bullet in that bastard's head' as he clutched the necklace tightly in his pants.
Maalick then took out his phone. Looking at the time, he realized that it was 1:04 pm.
'Shit, I'm going to be late. Before I go there I have to go to the florist and...'
He had to get home, to revise the plan he had been working on since he was 16. Find and kill Happy Face (HP).