JSA

Stopping next to a shop's display window, I stared into the glass. But it wasn't the antique clock I was interested in. It was the reflections.

Tall man, early forties, and wearing dark jeans with a dark overcoat. He was busy ordering himself something from the local hotdog stand, but as I watched he kept glancing my way.

I could have sworn I had seen the same person outside my apartment when I left.

A tail. Looked like a little detour was in order.

I continued down the sidewalk. He followed ,hotdog in hand. Hurrying, I turned into a side alley. Before he had a chance to walk into there as well, I opened a door and slipped into the building.

It was a community soup kitchen. One that I had volunteered at myself. I had made many friends among the homeless people of the streets.

But right now, it was going to serve as my escape route. I quickly weaved my way through the small crowd towards the back door.

Emerging into a back street, I ran for a distance. Finaly slowing down after running a few blocks, I looked behind me.

My tail was nowhere to be seen.

Pumping a fist in air, I started climbing the staircase of the apartment building next to me.

When I reached the story I was looking for , I ran to room #214. I knocked, using the complicated pattern that Matt had created for this purpose.

Fifteen knocks later, the door opened and I hurried inside.

Everyone was already there. I glanced at the clock. 15 minutes past the meeting time. Late again. For like the third time that month.

"You're late!" Spencer sing songed annoyingly.

"Yeah, I know that genius." I retorted, throwing my purse unceremoniously onto the bed.

"What happened this time?" He teased. "Your alarm clock suddenly stopped working."

"No. If you must know, I had to get rid of a bogey on my six."

"Bogey what?" Brenda laughed.

"A follower." I explained.

"Why didnt you say that in the first place?" Spencer asked.

"Way less interesting." I protested.

"If you are finished" Miss Anonymous said, sarcastically. "Please take a seat."

Miss Anonymous was an alias (Duh!) for the elderly women that headed our group. She didnt look like much, but she was one tough old lady. Something that we had all learned right away. While she didnt have much to do with our work, she was the one that handed out our missions from her superiors.

She looked at me. "Are you certain that you lost your follower?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Alright then, let us get to the task at hand."

I, with my ability as the narrator, am going to hit a short pause button here, and quickly introduce my companions with you readers.

Starting with the oldest, is Brenda. Officially, she is the women in the chair. You know, the one that tells us where to turn through our comms; warns us of possible interfering activity etc.

Unofficially, she is like the Mom is the group. She also has this fun ability to laugh at nearly everything, which in turn makes the rest of us laugh.

Next is Matt. He is our #1 field agent. Undercover operations; field missions; midnight projects......you get the picture. Outside of work, he is one of those people that can bring life to the party if he is comfortable with his company.

And then Eva. She usually fills the role of "getaway driver". Nearly scares her passengers to death, but she does the job well. And unofficially, she is one of my closest friends.

Enter Mariana. She is another one of our field agents. Same job description as Matt. With her sense of adventure, she has a knack of pulling off the missions that no one thinks we can complete. Unofficially, she is my rollercoaster companion, and another good friend.

Can't forget about Spencer. He is a field agent, same as Matt and Mariana. His unofficial trait of being the group clown and joker was sometimes brought into work as well, when we needed someone as a diversion. His sense of humor and outspoken honesty was what usually kick started our parties.

Next come Amelia and Jen. Amelia, like Brenda, is "woman in the chair." And Jen is our hacker. While Brenda and Amelia map the field agent's game plan, Jen digitally breaks into any locked door, website, or security that's in the way.

And then there's me. I'm Anna and the fourth field agent. So Technically, I get to do all the cool stuff.

Okay, now that you understand the roles of the characters, let us continue.

"Your mission this week is infiltrate a company called Star Industrials. They are a shipping company that imports a variety of products. Recently, we got word that they may be importing illegal stuff. Things like weapons and drugs to sell on the black market. Now, we don't know this for sure. So we need you to check into it, and either expose it as false intel or collect information so we can take it down."

Miss Anonymous checked her watch. "I have to go. Here are the folders containers some more specifics." She handed them to me. "Best of luck." She said, before leaving abruptly.

"Gee," Spencer whistled. "You would have thought that over the last two years she would have mellowed out a bit, and maybe even dropped some praise for our past accomplishments. Guess not. She's as terrifying as ever."

Matt laughed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Something about her eyes, makes me feel like a three year old that got caught playing in the flour."

"Aww, dont worry guys!" Eva teased. "We girls will keep you safe."

"Now now, children. Let's get to work." Brenda said, laying out the folders on the table.

We all gathered around. As was our tradition, we all clasped hands and bowed our heads for a prayer. We took turns praying for the success of our mission and the safety of everyone.

"And have mercy on the bad guys we set our sights on." Spencer ended.

Author's Note= Someday I might use this as an intro to a longer story with a little more excitement. But for now........hope you enjoyed.