Humans are one of the most adaptive species to have ever populated our universe. Even though the ever-changing scope of our universe is debatable from our perspective, Lukas was sure that the race that somehow managed to evolve through smashing stones together could in one way or another emerge victorious even in the worst possible terrain and circumstances.
While most people believe that whatever we have achieved, all this success is by virtue of our innate higher intelligence and creativity, and while they may have been essential factors, Lukas knew the main reason behind human evolution, greed.
Apocalypse, Ragnarök, Armageddon, there were many ways that astronomers had predicted the end point of our world, it was supposed to be someday in 2012, then 2020, then 2028. It was supposed to be a meteoroid so big that upon impact it would completely collapse Earth's ecosystem, or maybe the rise of a rogue A.I. that escalated a war bringing upon Earth a nuclear disaster.
Or maybe, just maybe, although unlikely it could be one of the most popular fantasy events that actually no one expected to happen, First Contact.
First Contact, a term coined in the early 60s, described as the point in our timeline when we have our first genuine interaction with an otherworldly being, an extraterritorial lifeform, and although there are many complicated scales and parameters that define the invader's intelligence, if one wanted to define them in simple terms it would be an alien. While there are plentiful stories and fantasy novels regarding how our world would change after gaining the knowledge that there really was someone out there, it wasn't something that Lukas was banking on.
Why because waking up, buck naked in the middle of a forest wasn't something he liked to do, especially on a Friday.
'There goes Plan A…'
Lukas thought as he scanned his surrounding briefly, throughout the last week he had gotten used to many peculiar things so the encompassing nature of the flora wasn't that weird nor the first thing to ring the alarm bells in his mind.
The trees were quite large, impossibly so and the forest was dense, and Lukas could just barely see around 10-15m around him. He calmed himself down and took a few deep breaths, it may have looked weird to a native if they saw a naked man standing still deep within the forest, alone with his eyes closed, but Lukas was having trouble taking all the information in.
'10…9…8…7…'
As Lukas counted down back from 10 to calm down, he counted the three things that were irritating him the most. First, since he woke up in the middle of a forest, he had no sense of direction, and even if it was currently daytime, he was on an unknown planet, and although there were tall trees blocking his view and he was quite sure there were 2 suns in the sky. Second, he could hear loud roars coming from all around him which wasn't a good thing because, third, he couldn't feel the familiar warmth of metal by his thighs.
All in all, not a good start to a weekend, well not that it started any better…
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{Earlier that week…}
{Atlanta General, Atlanta}
{3:12 AM, 23/02/2027}
"Alex-!!!" A sudden shout interrupted Lukas as he turned around to look at the frazzled appearance of the chief resident, Rebecca. "Get the crash cart! He's coding!" she yelled frantically while adjusting her white coat that had probably seen better days.
"Dammit, that's the 4th time today! He's barely hanging on…" Alex, another resident of the '24 class, ran along with Rebecca dragging a small trolley along with him.
"I got this, Page Dr. Hicks 911, then get me labs for Mr. Hendricks, the one in Room. 204…" Alex yelled towards Lukas while tearing through the hallway.
Lukas pulled out his pager and forwarded a 911 message to Dr. Hicks before hurrying toward another patient. It has been almost a week since he started as an intern at Atlanta General, and while the night shifts have been a thing of nightmares, he could manage drawing blood for a set of labs. Considering the limited number of nurses and staff on hand, Lukas had spent most of the night running. He checked Mr. Hendricks's vitals before starting, he seemed stable, his oxygen levels were okay and so was his blood pressure.
"Okay, the patient seems stable, drawing blood…" Lukas mumbled.
Throughout the week Lukas had gotten in a habit of mumbling to himself, he was encouraged by Dr. Hicks to do so as apparently, it was a good habit to develop, it was a good thing to always double-check your work on a mental checklist, although that acknowledgment was followed along with a few good-natured jabs at his clumsiness, so he figured that doing this due diligence in his mind would be an easier solution.
Lukas labeled the tube with the patient's name and patient number before placing the drawn blood in a plastic bag and repeating the process with the urine bag. His next destination was the lab in the radiology department.
Along the way, he smiled habitually at his co-workers, those who weren't rushing through the hallway anyway. He checked his phone for any messages before he closed it and hurried on his way.
"Labs for Dr. Alex, please make it quick," Lukas smiled at the girl behind the counter.
"No problem, Dr. Luke" the girl hesitated, her face a little flushed as her eyes darted to and fro Lukas's face as if she wanted to say something more, Lukas glanced at her nameplate, Drew.
"Thanks, you've been a huge help," he exaggerated a little on that account as he leaned on the counter a little bit, looking into her blue eyes he smiled, before rubbing the back of his neck, he spoke in a soft whisper and a hopeful look, "See you around?"
With a final smile, he turned and walked away towards an empty on-call room. He was a bit tired, plus he could get a page any second now, so he hurried to get some sleep in.
The on-call room wasn't empty but there were a couple of bunk beds available, Lukas went towards the closest one and lay down, he pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and clicked straight on Tinder. There were quite a lot of matched profiles displayed as he swiftly navigated to a profile named Rachel.
{Found a target for Plan A/B - Luke}
{? - Rachel}
{Drew West, Radiology- Luke}
{5 mins- Rachel}
After this brief convo, Lukas deleted the recent messages and typed 'You free tomorrow night?' before sending it and closing the conversation.
It took less than 5 minutes before Tinder pinged him again with several photos and a message. The photos contained images of a redhead in questionable clothing mixed with images of a document containing a short background check on Drew West.
[Name- Drew West]
[Current residence – 108, Sunrise Apartments, Atlanta]
[Workplace – Atlanta General, Radiology Dept(6yrs)]
[Relationship status – Separated, Dating on and off]
[Spouse details- {Will be back to u in an hour!}]
[Children- None]
[Tinder profile link- ######]
[Suggested approach - {Be forward, get her help on something, or suggest going for a cup of coffee to repay her. Her profile analysis shows she will respond better to a gentleman-type personality which inclines with the mission objective, we don't need this to be a one-and-done type link. Target third date…}]
[{Next report on Snap…}]
Lukas read the whole report before deleting the photos containing the information and the messages. He stood up grumbling as he swiftly made his way toward the bathroom at the end of the hallway. The small room was brightly lit and his gaze instantly focused on his appearance.
Lukas looked at his face, a little on the young side considering his age, along with the well-shaved beard that made him look a little more mature than he actually was. His eyes were a darker shade of grey, high cheekbones, and sharp jawline when accumulated with his smile formed two dimples on his cheeks. Lukas went through some quick facial expressions as he examined his face.
'Good thing Mel isn't here…'
Lukas chuckled as he took off his coat and looked at his black shirt, it was crumpled due to the all-nighter that he was pulling. Keeping note of this, he dusted his shoulders a little before washing his face with a few splashes. He pulled out his phone and opened Snapchat.
{Need a fresh Black shirt, a coat or jacket and get me one of my perfumes, I'll make contact with the target in an hour at most. - Luke}
{Starbucks, 15 mins- Rachel}
Lukas looked back at the mirror, he was a little on the lean side, never one to buff up too much he always preferred flexibility over everything else. Standing at 5'11'' he admired his figure one more time before chuckling and leaving.
'This is going to be a long 2 months…'
Lukas thought as he watched the somber atmosphere in the hospital, while there were some people smiling upon receiving good news most had sullen faces.
'Maybe I'll take Drew clubbing, it would provide a good getaway from all this depression…'
Lukas walked back to the main Reception at the ER dept as he clocked in his card to end his shift. He looked at the charts lying on the desk before searching for someone named Matthew Hendricks, he updated the chart stating the labs were given to the Radiology dept before he moved on towards the exit.
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{15 mins later…}
{Starbucks, Phoenix Mall, Atlanta}
{3:37 AM, 23/02/2027}
"Can I have a caramel Macchiato… and can you point me towards the restroom?" Lukas asked as he smiled politely at the girl standing on the counter, the outlet was mostly empty with a few doctors from Atlanta General taking a break.
"Luke come on over!" A loud voice broke his survey as he focused on Matt Davidson, a fellow intern who was being run ragged due to some mistakes he made earlier this week.
"In a minute!" Lukas replied before taking his purse out and tapping a credit card on the counter.
"So, Dr. Luke?" The girl asked, she was eyeing his coat and the logo of the Atlanta general. She certainly was pretty in a youthful way, so Lukas answered with a polite smile before pointing towards the restroom with a questioning raised eyebrow.
Seeing the girl nod, Lukas made his way towards the restroom, he entered the men's room and looked around, a brief flash of orange and he quickly saw a man hidden in a corner, he turned back to the mirror and talked to himself loudly, "Eyes?"
"Down" came the reply from behind him, right beside the entrance stood a guy with a blank expression on his face. Lukas easily sensed that something was off, so he closed the tap and looked back with a questioning glance.
"Why are you here?"
Bradley was a tall guy, one of the many things about him that had once irritated Lukas, standing at 6'2'', he was well built, packed with muscle, and he was standing straight, his usual arrogant and calm expression was ruined because of his tense shoulders and a blank face.
"You know why I'm here." There was no change in his expression, which increased the number of warning bells currently ringing in Lukas's head.
"Red?" Lukas asked hesitatingly. For the first time in a while, his composure was shaken. There was no suspense about why Bradley was here, this scene has happened many times during his career. But the absence of the joking Bradley already was telling him more than it probably should have.
"Black" was the reply, it was such a simple word, and well Lukas did ask for a black shirt earlier so maybe this was God's way of compensating him.
Lukas chuckled at the odd thought as he leaned against the sink, most of the strength leaving his body for a while as he looked at his face in the mirror.
"Maybe I'm a little narcissist…" he mumbled as he collected himself once again, he looked back at Bradley, it was his first time seeing Bradley with a distorted expression. Lukas nodded towards him to continue, "Your team has been put under my command…" he pulled a passport and ticket from his jacket and handed them over to Lukas.
"A fresh passport and ticket back to London, HQ expects you back in 12 hrs, sync watches…" He tapped a few buttons on his watch as Lukas did the same, a beep, and the timer was set.
"We will be abandoning Atlanta General as the primary location and move our operation to Atlanta Mediworld, the date of arrival of the Prime minister is…" Bradley was about to continue when Lukas stopped him.
"You weren't supposed to tell me the mission was labeled 'Black', nor were you allowed to tell me how this mission will be run moving forward…" Lukas pulled out a blackberry and started fiddling with it he gave Bradley a look.
"Please…" Bradley looked uncomfortable so Lukas hesitated for a moment and then nodded, "… The minister would still be coming here on the foreign visit in April, our objective is…"
Lukas tuned him out as he looked at the details he was inputting in the safe locker, a name, a phone number, and an address. He knew he didn't need to provide it and Bradley was easily capable of figuring it out, but it was still a process for him, and it helped him keep his calm.
Bradley was finished with his report and was trying to figure out what to say now, he had already exhausted all his available responses even if he had broken several rules in the process.
"3 Months and the safe locker will open…" Luke said as he extended his phone toward Bradley. Bradley was startled as he stared at Lukas, "3 Months?" This time limit was a little higher than they have ever set before. It was another sign, a sign that both of them didn't voice out.
"Open it and keep her safe, I know the bureau will provide her with protection but in case anything happens, I'm counting on you to stop it before it does," Lukas said as looked at the time of his flight.
'An hour and a half… should be a little tight but I can make it.'
"I will…" Bradley replied.
"Keep her safe…" Lukas said one more time and with a final nod, he walked away. He noticed the eyes of the pretty girl from earlier following his figure, but he moved away without saying anything.
"Dr. Luke your caramel Macchiato…" her shout reverberated in the almost empty outlet.
Luke hailed a taxi as he looked at the city one last time as he swiftly made his way to the Airport.
'What in the hell could have happened in just two weeks that a Black mission was issued…'
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{Same time somewhere else…}
{45 Pall Mall, St. James's, London}
{8:37 AM, 23/02/2027}
"…and what about Lukas who's this?" asked the Prime minister as he glanced at the last remaining file in front of him. The meeting has been going on for a couple of hours, there were just three people in the room.
Daniel Jones, the current prime minister of the UK, was a portly man with bleached hair and round facial features, his tired eyes looked towards the president of bureau 11, Richard Watson.
Richard was a retired colonel who excelled in espionage, he retired from the army to join the bureau and has been leading the department for almost half a decade now.
"Lukas is one of the only level 5 operatives who are currently active so he was selected for the initial exploratory mission…" Richard replied.
"Does he meet all the criteria?" Daniel asked.
"Yes..." Richard hesitated before he opened the file and started reading, "…Operative name: Lukas, he prefers no last name, born to Samantha and Alex Baker on 20th March 2002…" Richard stops for a second before continuing, "…As his parents were underage at the time of his birth, his paternal grandparents decided to have them sign off their parental rights and he was adopted by a young couple, Ivy and Mark Owen. On 14th April 2002, Ivy and Mark passed away due to a car crash and Lukas Owen entered the system."
Richard flipped a page, "… He spent some time with many families for the next few years but unluckily in the end, he was sent to St. Mary's Orphanage in London where he grew up. His IQ was tested at 158 during High school and thus he was recruited into Bureau 10 as a computer engineer, later he went on to study at Imperial College, London for a degree in psychology. Primarily a hacker his contributions were quickly noted, and due to his exceptional hand-eye coordination his application for a field agent was approved."
Richard closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment, "…Calm, unnaturally so in almost any scenario, one of the most gifted individuals to complete the training in bureau 11, capable of displaying an astonishing learning ability, excellent with almost any type of firearm but prefers a Glock 17 Gen4 pistol over any other. Lukas has been a field agent for 4 years now, completing well over 8 Red coded missions along with 26 other lower tired missions."
Daniel finally asked, "He has already been sent on 8 red missions, from what I know these missions are the ones in which the survival of the agent is doubtful... suicide missions?"
"Yes" replied Richard.
Daniel sighed and asked, "Immediate family?"
"Lukas is an orphan, one of the few who slipped through the cracks during the panic-filled early days of the 2000s caused by Al-Qaeda's Attack on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon, our government was on high alert towards outside threats. He knows about his birth parents but to our knowledge, he has never made any attempt to contact them, the only one he keeps constant tabs on is his sister Haley Baker, born to Samantha and Alex Baker in 2010 when they finally got married."
"Alright, that rounds up your 10-man team, I'm assuming Lukas will be the team leader?" Daniel asked, finally reading the file detailing the missions undertaken by Lukas.
"Yes sir," Richard replied.
"When's the debrief?"
"At 8 in the evening sir, Lukas should be back by then."
"Will he run?" Daniel asked, his faith in people has been a little shaken ever since that night two days ago.
"No, sir."
"I'll be there," Daniel said, his attention back towards the 10 files in front of him, as he started to memorize every single mission they had gone on.