RIDE OR DIE

Chapter 5

I could only stare at Ray when those words slipped out of his mouth.

You're now officially a commander of SEDD.

Most of the time when people get a promotion they'll be jumping for joy and shouting it from the rooftops, right? Well, I think it's safe to say that that wasn't the case for me.

Of course there's some part of me that felt a hint of pride in myself that I actually managed to climb the ranks. However, a bigger part of me was skeptical at the idea of me being a commanding officer.

"But I was just made Head of Weaponry last year," I pointed out. "And it's not just that, Ray. I would be jumping ranks too if I become a commander."

"Not 'if', Anna. You already are one," Ray corrected me. "And for the record, you were made head a year and a half ago, which technically means it wasn't last year."

"Big difference," I muttered under my breath.

"Oh, and just to refresh your memory, you were made a weaponsman straightaway after your inauguration," he added, smirking playfully.

"I still can't believe I was fourteen at the time, Ray. Who in their right minds would appoint a freshman the title of lieutenant? Sawyer apparently," I grumbled, throwing my hands in the air.

"Well, then you shouldn't have gotten so good at weapons knowledge, Chip. You brought that upon yourself," Ray chuckled as he spoke.

"Yeah, hold up. What happened to Sawyer anyway? Is he still in Sharpshooting or something?" I wanted to know.

"Don't worry, Chip. Yes, he's still in Sharpshooting and you both will be co-heads of the department," he clarified.

I heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good to hear."

"Just until he retires, though," Ray added quickly.

Come on...

"Alright, I'm beginning to think that the both of you overestimate my abilities far too much," I said to him. "I climbed up the ranks way too many times in my barely four years of being an agent, and I'm getting appointed rankings higher than people your age ever dream of having."

"People my age?" Ray raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yup," I confirmed bluntly.

Silence lingered in the air as I waited for him to make a comment on my almost yearly promotions.

"You know what Sawyer told me yesterday when we were thinking of assigning you the position, Chip? He straight up told me, and I quote, 'It's about damn time she gets there. Man, it's long overdue! Longer than my hair I'm telling ya'." He said that while trying to impersonate Sawyer's raspy rocker-like voice.

I laughed out loud at his impersonation that sounded more like a cat spitting out hairballs than the commander that I looked up to since the day I met him. And that was before I even started my training.

"You are off your rocker, Ray." I continued to chuckle.

Ray smiled for a moment, then gripped both of my shoulders and gazed into my eyes. "Maybe I am, Chip. But that's the exact thing I think of every time you refuse a promotion."

"Well, you can't really blame me," I mumbled, looking down at the floor for a moment then looking back up.

"All the veteran agents think the same way I do, Chip. You're so much better than the position you currently have. For Pete's sake, Anna! You already act like a commander on a daily basis. What more? People listen to you. They respect you and your opinion on things. All I'm doing is just making it official by giving you a formal title," Ray said passionately.

Silence was all there was from my end. I honestly did not know that people looked up to me in that sort of way. What do you say when someone tells you that you're respected amongst your colleagues? What should you say?

Well, I was never one to live up to expectations so...

I nodded my head firmly and opened my mouth to speak. "I'll be sure to do my very best as Head of Sharpshooting, Sir." I gave a playful salute.

"And I'm sure you'll do great, Chip." Ray flashed me a grin before letting my shoulders go and headed back to his desk to (most likely) carry on doing what he was doing before I came in.

I stepped away from the glass wall and went for my backpack on the conference table. Strapping it on one of my shoulders, I made my way to the door.

Before turning the knob, I whirled around to face Ray. "Is that all there is, or are there any more surprises you have yet to tell me?"

"Ah yes! I almost forgot. Come see me again after orientation, will you? Bring your friends with you too."

I inclined my head and opened the door. And just for the heck of it, I added, "Forgetting things, Ray? Gosh, age really is catching up to you, isn't it?" I managed to squeeze out before shutting the door behind me.

*~*~*~*

"I don't know how you do it."

A file was being slammed onto the coffee table as the owner of the voice got up from where he sat on the floor.

"Seriously, Anna. This is supposed to be my job, and you got it done before most of us have even thought of starting it. Like, what is wrong with you?"

"It's just like reading a book, Wyatt. You read through the deets and you either get it or you don't." I shrugged.

It's been about somewhat over an hour since I left Ray's office. All the time after that I've been cooped up in a little room we call, the Den.

The Den is simply a recreation room here at base that anyone at all can use to hang out or kick their feet up, whenever they want. Despite what I said, isn't at all 'little' in the slightest. Not only did it contain all kinds of games and its equipment, but even with the big flat screen TV and multiple pieces of furniture, the place was still spacious and uncramped. There was even a freaking kitchen set pushed against a wall with an island counter, and bar.

It's a lot, I know.

"But how is someone supposed to 'get' a person who they've never met?" Wyatt complained to me as he plopped face-down onto the couch behind me.

"You know, Wyatt," Johnny piped up from where he was seated at the round dining slash conference table in the room. "You could've avoided all this if you weren't so last minute. And knowing her," he gestured to me. "she got it all done by yesterday morning at home."

Wyatt lifted his head from the cushion he had buried his head into. "You can keep your unwanted thoughts to yourself, Johnny. It's not like they're gonna help me," he grumbled and went back to kissing the cushion. "I don't even know why I'm in Human Resources in the first place." His muffled voice sounded.

"You're great with people, Wy. Anyone would kill to have your social skills." I rested an arm on the couch, right by his shoulder. "If you're having a hard time memorising the initiates' profiles, just ask them. With the way you talk, you'll know everything in the files before the day's up."

And that was the truth. No exaggerations involved. Wyatt's natural charisma can brighten your glummest days without even needing to speak to you. He can make any closed off person laugh like a maniac in just a matter of minutes. The guy seriously doesn't even need to try! These qualities alone are enough to make him one of the best undercover agents SEDD has ever had.

Wyatt tilted his head so that his cheek was resting on the cushion and threw me a small smile. "I guess I could."

"But really though, you really should work on that last minute habit of yours." I smirked at him and turned back to the coffee table. "You can procrastinate your homework however long you want, but not when other people are involved."

He groaned out loudly and shifted to sit on the couch, wiping his face with a hand.

"What time will Gigi be coming in?" Johnny asked, curious.

I checked my watch for the time. 8:50 AM.

"A little over nine, I think," I proclaimed. "She'll be coming with Luca so I don't think she'll be too early."

He nodded just as Wyatt asked 'Who's Luca?'.

"You would've known if you read the files," I informed him in a sing-song voice.

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Well, at least I now know that he's an initiate."

"He's Gigi's cousin. Moved here from Connecticut," Johnny replied to him before sipping his coffee.

"You see, A? That's what true friends do." Wyatt said before walking over to the dart board by the door, plucking out the darts stuck there.

"Help each other cheat?" I deadpanned.

"Tell each other what they wanna know," he said, throwing the first dart at the board.

I scoffed at the reply. "So it would mean all the people I've interrogated before are my true friends then? Give me a break."

"I said 'each other', Anna. It means they both get answers to the questions they both ask."

"Well, I don't see Johnny asking you any questions." I threw at him.

Shooting another dart at the board, Wyatt called out to Johnny. "Hey, Johnny? Ask me a question, will ya?"

Hearing his response, I didn't bother to hold in my chuckle. The reason was mainly because his reaction was exactly what mine would have been.

Wyatt was two years older than we were. He was in the same batch as ours the year of our training. Like Hana, he's in Human Resources and is also a part of our Investigations Department. Our similarities in the way we speak and react to things made us quite close and he became an older brother figure to me.

"Alright, alright, Wy. Man, I don't wanna deal with your crap this early in the morning," I mumbled the last part just as he threw his last dart.

"Admit it, Anna. You're honoured to be the one to deal with my crap." He said confidently as he waved the other three darts my way.

Johnny, who had been silently studying the profiles written in the files at the conference table, suddenly stood up. After lifting the coffee cup to his lips and downing the last of its contents, he walked over to where Wyatt was.

"Well, that's probably because she's the only one who can put up with it. No offence, but your crap stinks," Johnny pointed out, taking the darts out of Wyatt's hand and throwing them at the board, two of them hitting a triple twenty.

"Not bad. Not bad at all," said Wyatt while patting Johnny on the back.

Just then, Johnny's phone started ringing from where it was at the conference table.

I got up from the floor and went over to it since I was closer. Taking the phone in my hand, I checked the caller ID.

"It's Nate," I announced and answered the phone. "Sup, Nate. Where're you at?"

"At the lobby. The twins are at it again. Arguing if the word is pronounced as 'ba-lo-ney' or 'bo-lo-nya' this time." I could feel him roll his eyes through the phone. "Just the usual. But anyhow, where're you guys at?"

"The Den. Hope you studied."

"Yeah, whatever. Be there in five." And he hung up.

I set the phone back on the table and turned around to face the boys who were talking amongst themselves. "Say, guys?"

They both stopped talking and looked at me. Johnny uttering an extra 'huh?'.

"Is it 'ba-lo-ney' or 'bo-lo-nya'?"

"Baloney!" they both said at the same time.

"Did you know that the original way to say the word is 'bo-lo-nya' since it's named after the city in Italy? Only when the food got introduced in America did the pronunciation get Americanized to baloney." I stated.

The boys just stood there blinking at me at the additional info. It lasted for at least ten seconds until Wyatt broke the silence and said, "Whatever. Doesn't matter."

I only chuckled at their confusion. Gotta love them.

Some time later, Nate came through the door with his black-rimmed nerd glasses, leafing through the sheets on the clipboard he clutched to his chest. "Just to check, how many initiates are there for the Under 18 class?" he said while looking up as he approached the coffee table, no forms of greeting whatsoever.

"Eight guys, four girls," I told him.

Nate hummed in reply as he took a seat in the middle of the couch, placing the clipboard on the table and continued flipping through the sheets. I moved from where I was standing and went over to sit down beside him.

"What are those?" Johnny asked as he sat himself on the other side of Nate.

"Summarized version of the profiles," Nate answered shortly.

"Why would you have it though?" Wyatt inquired, bewildered as he sat sideways on the back of the couch. "Where'd you get them from?"

"Knowing him, he definitely got a copy from Gigi. By the way, what's going on with you and her?" Johnny piped up.

Nate abruptly looked up from the profile worksheets. "There is nothing going on between me and Gigi." he said all too quickly then went back to studying the profiles, trying to act nonchalant.

Johnny opened his mouth to say something, but I reached over and tapped his shoulder before he did. He threw a glance my way to find me shaking my head lightly, mouthing 'later' at the same time. He understood what I meant and didn't press Nate any further.

"Okay. But what I wanna know is," Wyatt turned to lie down on the back of the couch so that his head was on the seat. "How the hell is everyone so...?" he trailed off.

"Prepared?" I suggested.

"...so prepared?!" Wyatt exclaimed.

Johnny cracked up at Wyatt's misery the same moment Nate flopped himself back on the couch. "That's what procrastination does for you," the latter said.

A string of incoherent profanities was heard, the voice sounded unsurprisingly like Wyatt's.

Our banter was shortly being interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

"That man is incorrigible," said the Latina who just walked in. "How the heck I ever put up with him, I'll never know."

"Travis?" I immediately asked. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to flirt with Hana again. He does that to almost every girl he sees, to tell the truth. Although, his pursuits have always been more playful than serious. But I couldn't know exactly how he is at his school since he doesn't go to Greenhill. Travis could be the librarian sitting behind the counter during recess for all I know.

"Not this time," Hana let out, sounding a little relieved but went back to frowning. "But it's my irritating pest of a cousin."

"Well, " Johnny shrugged and stood up from the couch and went for his phone at the conference table. "You do get irritated a lot so..."

Hana glared at the back of his head as she plodded towards where the rest of us were, and sunk into the seat that Johnny had previously occupied. She then leaned her head down sideways until she was laying on Nate's lap.

The scene playing out before us should have left us gobsmacked.

Keyword: should have.

If you haven't figured it out already, we're all really close with each other. So close, we're practically siblings. Although it's pretty clear that some of us see each other in different ways from the rest.

Whether they've realized it yet? Heaven knows!

I inconspicuously rose from the couch and silently walked over to where Johnny was leaning against the conference table with his phone in his hands. I held his shoulder and stood on my tiptoes to have a look at what he was doing.

"It's an invasion of privacy to spy on someone, you know?" he stated, not looking up.

"Meh." Was all I said as I continued looking at him scroll through Instagram. Johnny, the great friend he is, lowered the phone a little so I could see better.

From where I stood, I sensed Wyatt moving away from his position at the back of the couch and headed over to the fridge in the room to take out a Coke. He sat down at one of the bar stools at the island counter and brought out his phone to play a game.

The room filled with a comfortable aura. The 'lovebirds' were in their own little world, Wyatt was throwing profanities at his phone, and Johnny and I were now scrolling through (surprisingly) funny memes on Instagram.

So yeah, everyone was pretty much minding their own businesses until...

Give it to me I'm worth it,

Baby, I'm worth it...

"No no, wait! Not now! Argh!" Wyatt exclaimed at the sound of the song. It cut off before the next line of the chorus could be sung. Frustrated, Wyatt placed his phone on the bar and buried his head in his hands.

I'm unsure if he's upset because he lost whatever game he was playing due to the alarm he set, or that he sort of revealed that he's into Fifth Harmony. Not gonna ask, though. He's already grumpy as it is.

"It's almost nine thirty. Time to go," he said flatly as he stood up from the stool and walked over to us to grab his bomber jacket from the back of a chair.

I checked my watch to confirm the time and it read 9:20 AM.

Classic Wyatt. Sure, he loves to put things off to the last minute, but the guy definitely is never late. Another thing we both have in common.

"Yeah, let's go," I said, stepping away from the conference table. Johnny just shrugged and got his things before making his way to the door.

I headed over to the foot of the couch where I left my backpack. Picking it up and slinging it over my shoulder, I picked up Nate's clipboard and handed it to him. His lap was already bare of my best friend's head as he was still seated on the couch. The two must've somewhere in the past few seconds detached themselves from each other.

I scanned the room to make sure we didn't leave anything behind and exited the Den after switching off the lights. The others were already outside waiting for me.

"Conference Room Two?" Johnny asked.

"Yup," Wyatt answered. "Who do you think is gonna go undercover for our batch?" He asked as we all walked to where we were supposed to be.

"Well, Jess did it last year, so I would've guessed Travis, but they're both on desk duty," Johnny stated.

"It's a random draw, boys," Hana directed at them. "Let's just see whose name the Director pulls out of the hat."

As she finished her sentence, the elevator that we were approaching dinged open, followed by some agents coming out of it.

I quickly whistled loudly to get their attention. "Hold the door!" I called out as I speed walked their way.

One of the agents must have heard me since he used his hand to block the door from closing.

Walking up to him, I hastily punched the 'down' button and went inside the elevator to press the button that keeps the doors open.

"Yo, guys! Hurry up," I called the others. Not forgetting the man that held the door, I turned my head to face him. "Thank you, Stevens."

"Anytime, Radcliffe," 'Stevens' smiled at me and released his hand. Just as he left, the others came piling into the lift.

"What took you guys so long?" I queried, pressing the button to take us to the second floor. "Since when did y'all become a bunch of slow pokes?" I looked at them, expecting an answer.

It shouldn't be too usual, but I've known these guys for a long time now, and I know that people like Wyatt and Hana would be one of those who rush for the elevator like I did. Wyatt, because he hates being late, and Hana, because she hates to wait longer than she has to.

A 'meh' was all I got from Wyatt.

'Meh'?! That's all I get? Seriously?

I opened my mouth to say something, but the 'ding' of the elevator cut me off before I could speak.

Not wanting to dwell on something so trivial, I just sighed and exited the elevator with the others.

We made our way down the hall to the conference room, having small talk along the way. We obviously had no problems with the directions, so we reached there in no time at all.

Johnny was walking the most ahead of the lot since he's so damn tall. He reached the door to the conference room first, and knocked on it before entering. He held the door open for the rest of us and helped close the door after Nate - who was the last - entered the room.

The room had one large brown wooden table in the centre of it that could fit around thirty people. The agents that were already seated chatted amongst each other whilst waiting for the briefing to begin. Ray and his second and third-in-command were also discussing something from where they sat at the head of the table, side by side.

Since the gang and I were in charge of the Under 18 age group, our seats were towards the end of the table. Taking our places, we sat three-two with me, Johnny and Hana on one side, Wyatt and Nate on the other.

I unslung my bag and placed it on the floor at the foot of my chair. Leaning my arms forward, I started the conversation.

"So, would you guys want to be chosen?"

"Oh, I would," said Johnny. "Only so that I wouldn't have to change out of my clothes."

"Well, then you should have just worn the uniform and hoped to not be chosen instead," Nate voiced out his thoughts. He's been kinda quiet for the past few minutes, but that's no surprise there.

Nate has always been the introvert of the group, contrary to the rest of us who are pretty much really sociable. However, that's just how he is and how he likes it. Who are we to change him?

"But I like staying in regular clothes. I mean, who doesn't?" Johnny defended himself. "If you guys had a choice, would you rather wear a t-shirt or the jumpsuit?" He directed the question to all of us.

An understanding silence lingered in the air.

Obviously it's the former. That question was completely rhetorical! I mean, you'd have to take the whole thing off when you need to use the toilet, for goodness sake! That process alone would take almost a minute longer than just undoing a fly. And don't get me started on the gear...

Before any of us could say anything more, Ray and the vice-directors rose from their seats. And as common courtesy, everyone else in the room stood up in respect.

"No, no. Just sit down." Ray gestured his hands for us to sit, and we did as he said.

"Good morning, agents," he greeted us all.

"Good morning," the whole room sounded.

"It is currently nine thirty on the dot," Ray raised his hand and tapped his watch. "The time the initiates are supposed to register their names at the front desk. While they're at that, we're just gonna brief you all on what to expect for this year's initiation," he finished.

"Like every year," George Mathers, the second-in-command began. "We will be drawing names to determine who shall be sent to go undercover to see how the newcomers truly are in real life. The chosen ones are to analyze how their personalities are. Are they quiet? Are they loud? Are they cocky? And so on," he explained.

Once he was done, he looked to the side and nodded at the third-in-command, Matthew Bryson.

Commander Bryson reciprocated his action before turning to us to speak.

"We have no doubt that everyone in this room is perfectly capable of fitting in with the initiates. Now..." he reached down to pick something off the floor. "...let's find out who the lucky three are, shall we?" And he placed the top hat - I repeat, the top hat - in his hand, upside down on the table.

The other two directors did the same, but instead of top hats, Ray brought out a cowboy hat, while Mathers brought out a hard hat.

The room chorused with soft chuckles from the agents as they did so, including me. I personally love these little antics the superiors occasionally pull. Just shows that even 'old people' can be cool, you know?

"Alright, gentlemen. Shall we draw?" Ray directed to the men that flanked his sides.

All three of them simultaneously dipped their hand into one of the various hats - which must have already been filled with names - and pulled out a piece of paper each.

I would love to say that the atmosphere felt like how it was on the New Year's eve bonfire during the pairing, but the anticipation in the room wasn't at all intense. I could feel it a little coming from me and the gang, but the more senior agents just exuded dullness.

It was probably because of the fact that I have never been chosen before, but couldn't these people be more... I don't know. Hyped? Newcomers joining the division should be an exciting thing, shouldn't it? And the chosen ones would be the firsts to hang out with them, even before they know their mentors!

"For the Over 25s, we have..." Ray unfolded the piece of paper in his hands. His eyes glazed over the name, but didn't say anything for a moment. The suspense he created probably didn't work on the party poopers in the room, but I can unashamedly admit that it did on me. So what? I'm still a kid. Let me live, for goodness sake!

"...Agent Charles Dunn," Ray finished.

I craned my neck a little to glance at the front of the table where the senior agents were seated to find Charlie inclining his head at Ray.

Huh. I didn't know he was going to be mentoring...

While Charlie was being patted on the back by one of his 'dudes', Mathers wasted no time at all in revealing the name for the 19 to 24 class.

"Next up... Agent Rodriguez?" Mathers asked-spoke and looked up from the paper to scan for 'Agent Rodriguez'.

How could the second-in-command not know who one of the weaponsmen is? I shook my head slightly to myself.

Around the middle section of the table, a guy with short, curly black hair raised his hand to help Mathers put a face to his name. Sure enough, it was Carlos Rodriguez in the flesh.

Fun fact: Carlos was my assigned mentor when he was still working under the Under 18 age group.

It's always funny when the student manages to beat the tutor. And I'm not bragging or anything. My unexpected promotion this morning just supported the fact. Even during my initiation Carlos himself admitted that I was better than him in certain aspects, like shooting and combat. However, I have him to thank for teaching me my street smarts. I mean, I learned how to steal because of this guy!

"Yeah, you," Mathers pointed at him. What the freak?! "Be sure to be ready for later."

Hana who was sitting on my left nudged me lightly and whispered in my ear, "Rude much. Didn't even bother to say his full name." And I couldn't agree more.

"Okay, everyone. Last one for the Under 18s," Bryson piped up, probably trying to cover up Mathers' rudeness with his cheery attitude.

Unfolding the paper in his hands, he opened his mouth to read aloud.

Will this be my year?

"Gigi Rivera."

*~*~*~*

Hey! What's up, my beautiful readers? (If y'all are still there...) This chapter is so freaking long overdue and I'm frustrated at myself for not writing as quick as I should. But here it is at last...

I hope you guys like this chapter. Not much has happened here since it's more of a build-up to what is to come for the next one. But I promise that Chapter 6 will be more exciting. ;)

Also, thank you so much  @Eddy662 for the awesome cover. Let me know what you guys think.

But anyhow, I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Till then... <3