The young man led Benji and Madison deeper into the underground compound, where they were supposedly expected. Of course Benji knew his way around the compound, he still had a lot to think about. He threw a curious glance at Madison, who was now extremely calm, seemingly now indifferent to the scenery. Benji even wished he also had a switch that can turn him off like that. He sighed and continued walking.
If he was honest with himself, Benji knew that this was probably not going to end well. The message sent by Major Black did not only announce the chosen elites for the Technology and Software Development Unit and their leaders, but it also mentioned a couple more things that made Benji shiver the more he thought about it.
There were going to be special cohorts of distinguished individuals for every unit in the military. A few individuals would be chosen by the leader of the entire unit, to overseer the operations and make sure the unit is in optimum conditions at all times. These individuals would choose six soldiers in their units to assist them, naturally making them their leaders. Benji was now sure that Major Black was trying to set him up because he knew exactly that Benji and his colleagues did not really see eye to eye.
There had been instances in the past where even Major Black had to intervene, most of it when Benji was still an intern. Well, since we have already established that Benji was somewhat of a protégé, is should be reasonable to deduce that he was already gaining a lot of attention during his first year of internship. That did not make his colleagues happy. They made sure that his life was a living hell, even going as far as sabotaging his research. Or simply stealing it.
Benji remembered an incident that happened about 4 years ago. A few days after entering the year 3133, Benji received a call from the government's military service, inviting him to start his in-service training as a Data Analyst and Software Engineer. As part of their training, they were provided with realistic data from the military, and they were supposed to do research about it. They were supposed to provide the military with useful technical information that could assist them in defeating the enemy.
That was when Benji made a huge technical breakthrough during his research. He found a solution that would not not only be cost-effective, but also eco-friendly and provide satisfactory results. His rivals had other plans though. After finding out about his breakthrough, they got together and plotted against him. They stole parts of his research, and destroyed the original samples and copies, so that Benji would not have any evidence to prove anything. But because Benji was a hardworking and dedicated individual, he simply worked twice as hard as before. He argued that since it was his research, he could to it again, but better this time.
And that is why he did.
After working restlessly for six months, his research was finally complete. He had decided to ditch the mundane way of thinking and start thinking like his idol Major Black, who was still Captain Black at the time. It worked exceptionally well, too well even. He surpassed his original research, and obtained dozens of rewards. Even Captain Major himself was impressed. So impressed infact, that he personally recruited Benji into his unit, who quickly became one of his elites.
Of course it did not just end up there, but a thorough investigation was conducted a few months after the incident and the truth was finally revealed. Benji took a decision to not let it slide and drafted a detailed report about what happened. It included everything in detail, including the names of the perpetrators. This process was much easier because Benji was already known among the higher-ups as a distinguished young researcher. The perpetrators were punished accordingly, with most stripped of their profession and its privileges.
As expected, that course of action brew even more trouble for him, but Benji did not care anymore. He preferred being hated and called names like snitch and coward, rather that being a slave for another researcher. He honestly did not even what to think back about what happened after that. Some memories are better off buried.
He gritted his teeth as he followed the strong young man. All these past memories stirred up his emotions, making him a complete mess. He looked at the young man walking in front of them with measured, confident steps, oblivious to Benji's thought. The more he thought about this guy, the more he realized that he knew nothing about his other three colleagues. This young man infront of him could be either James Powell or Oliver...something. He already forgot what his last name was. Typical Benjamin. He also had no idea what to expect once they meet up with the rest of the seniors. The only person he knew was Madison and it seemed he was the only person she knew either.
On the topic of Madison...
He turned his head and looked at her.
'What the hell is she even doing here? How is she even her?! It doesn't make any sense!'
Benji had known for quite some time that Madison was in this field of profession as well, but that still did not answer his questions. When? How? Why?! Well it made sense really, partially at least. Madison had always been a smart and gifted student in high school, her academic achievements paling only to Benji in comparison. She was always second in class with remarkable results, but there was one thing she was not.
A nerd, a bookworm.
She was the gorgeous leader of the school cheerleading team. She also occasionally participated in the debating team as well, but some used to say even though she was good at it and won every single time, debating was not her interest. They had never even talked once back in high school. It was like there was an invisible barrier of class and status between them. The tension got even worse when it was revealed that Madison was his crush.
They also met almost a decade after high school, both doing training for the same profession. Even though Benji did not hate her, far from it actually, it still pissed him off the way she always seemed genuinely happy and excited to see him. He just did not get why she would troll him like that. She just had to pick this profession out of dozens similar ones. If Benji was honest with himself, he was definitely not ready to neither Madison nor his jerk-of-a-boyfriend. Maybe not even ever.
But that would not work, he still had to fulfill the promise he made to the bully.
Benji was going to kill him.
He did not know how, where and when, but he knew that it was his soul purpose in life. The reason he survived.
In truth, that experience really changed Benji for the worst. He was not that kind, carefree and easygoing kid anymore. The bully had taught him a valuable lesson: humans are even worse creatures than beasts. They did not care about others, only about themselves. They are greedy and selfish. They would even succumb to corruption because they are never satisfied. They are heartless and cruel, taking away countless lives everyday for their own selfish desires. So Benji decided to become one of them.
He decided to become one of these wolves wearing sheeps' skin.
He bargained that in order to slay a beast, one must become a beast himself. He used that twisted logic to create a five rule way of living, which he called an Order of Chaos. Observe, Learn, Adapt, Infiltrate and Eliminate. He has observed and learned everything about humans. How they lie and manipulate, how they pretend for one another, how they sabotage, how they kill without remorse and most importantly, how they coexist with one another, pretending everything is fine.
He has adapted to the way the humans think, feel and behave, to perfectly reflect the cruel world upon itself. Benji himself became cruel and heartless, greedy and selfish, and he is never satisfied. No one takes anything from him without consequence, perfectly crafted and well thought out revenge. Which was what he was busy plotting right now, and then Madison came, complicating everything. But that alone was not enough to stall his plans even by a little bit, no matter how much soft spot he had for Madison in his heart.
He had chosen to survive, and no one could convince him otherwise. He told himself he would always survive and put himself first.
The murder of his uncle had been a catalyst towards the hatred upon humans.
He decided then that he would become the villain.
"We have not been together for a decade you know, Michael and I. I ended things shortly after the first time he put you in hospital.."
Benji flinched and almost tripped on absolutely nothing. He realized that he had been staring at her all this time, grinning like a crazy person. She probably felt uncomfortable under his gaze and decided to say something. She shifted slightly and continued, her voice strangely subdued.
"..but he refused so I stopped pressing on the matter. But what happened on.. you know, that day, I basically forced the breakup on him."
She turned to look at Benji and spoke with an even tone.
"So you can kill the bastard jerk i do not care."
Benji flinched at the last sentence but then quickly regained his composure. He looked at Madison for a few long moments and and then turned away again. He did not say anything.
'I see. So it is like that huh.'
***
After a short while, the elevator came to a halt. The steel doors opened, revealing a spacious room with a round table at the center. Around the table, two people sat and four other chairs remained empty. Benji and Madison took two adjacent chairs and sat down. The young man who led them into the underground compound sat opposite to both of them, next to another young woman. Benji looked at the four other silhouettes gathered around the table, and then looked at himself.
They were truly an awful pair.
The second young woman in the room wore sunglasses. Benji did not know whether she did it for attention or whether she was blind, because there was absolutely no way in hell she wore them for the sun. They were literally deep underground. The young woman was stunning though, the sunglasses somehow added to that effect. She looked like she was the oldest out of the five, probably in her early 30s or something. She had short brown hair, and she was not any taller than Madison or Mr Muscles. Her military uniform fit her well sculptured body, so perfectly in fact it should have been a crime. As Benji was admiring the view, the woman suddenly turned her head and looked at directly at him.
"Is there something on my uniform officer?"
Benji shifted slightly and forced out a smile.
"Oh no no.. uhm not at all."
He looked away and sighed.
'So she is not blind after all. This complicated things...'
Before he could finish that thought, he heard a giggling sound coming from the other young man in the room. Benji had barely noticed him before, because of how unassuming he was. He also looked much younger than the rest of the individuals seated around the table, probably around Benji's age.
He had a mischievous grin on his face prompting Benji to conclude that he was going to be the annoying member of the cohort. His black hair was messily tied in a ponytail and his eyes had an electric green color. The lad was not exactly handsome, but his face was strangely beautiful, like a cute but haunted porcelain doll. Somehow, his smile grew even bigger when Benji turned to look at him.
"Sup. My name is Oliver Dunne, but you can call me Ollie. Nice to meet you."
'Sup?! Who even says that anymore? I mean this is the 32nd century for crying out loud. Yeah, definitely the annoying one. This is going to be a long mission.'
He forced a smile and replied in a hoarse voice.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Benjamin by the way and you can call me Benji."
Benji could swear he saw Oliver laughing quietly after he introduced himself. What the hell was the dimwit laughing at? Did his voice come out funny? Or maybe he was simply laughing at his name. What the hell was wrong with Benjamin?! Argh so rude!.
He was quiet for a few moments and then looked around the room. He realized that he did not even need to ask the other two for their names, they were basically out in the open. The woman opposite him and Madison was probably Agnes Rose-Anne. Since there are only two women, and one of them was Madison, the other was obviously Rose-Anne.
The masculine young man, whom Benji had decided to name Mr Muscles, was definitely James H. Powell. Honestly, his name suited him. He did indeed look like a James, whatever that meant. Just as he was pondering over those thoughts, the door suddenly creaked and opened, and a man walked in with confident steps. His presence demanded unparalleled attention, such that everyone in the room turned in unison and looked at him.
He wore the same military uniform as they did, but with slight differences. His uniform was littered with pins and badges, reflecting his accomplishments over the years. He had a sharp, handsome face with sparking grey eyes. He had short raven hair that danced slightly as he walked towards the table. He was not exactly tall and masculine, but not short and frail either, he existed in the perfect equilibrium. As he approached the table, all the soldiers who were seated around it suddenly rose to salute him.
"Major Black Sir!"
He sat down at the remaining chair between Benji and James, looked at them with a smile.
"Ah at ease soldiers. Please sit."
As they took their respective seats, his expression suddenly turned grim serious.