(no subject)
Title: Induction
Pairing/Characters: Rester[AnthonyCarter] and Near
Rating/Warnings: None really
Summary: The story of how Near selected Rester to join the SPK and how he did it.
Length: 1140 words.
Author's Notes: As usual this was going to be something else but what the heck! for week 70 of dn_contest
Black halls. Wide open black halls. This was all the man known as Anthony Carter seen. To be honest it was disturbing for the man. They were endless. Tons of them, after each corner. No doors. Just a maze.
“I’ll be useless if I can’t even get through this.” the man uttered, searching around for a hopeful exit.
“Do you wish to give up,” a voice interrupted him. It was a boy’s voice, quiet but yet in a way arrogant.
“No, I was…merely…”
“You can be honest Mr Carter I know your overall intelligence is far below mine. You do not need to…what would the phrase be… butter me up.” Cue giggle.
Anthony raised an eyebrow looking up, still searching for an exit. He cracked a small smile, just for any cameras that may have been watching.
“Far below his intelligence? Gee. Thanks. And to think I’m considering working for this guy. Why does he need protection anyhow. With all the Kira killings perhaps he’s a criminal looking for safety. But then how could I save him anyway”
“No. I’ll make it. I just need a mo-”
Once again the man was interrupted. Not by a voice, but by a door opening from within the walls. It would seem he had found the hidden entrance, or was it triggered remotely? It didn’t matter. What mattered was his first trial was over.
“Twenty years in special forces and I’m like a rat trying to sniff it’s way to the cheese” he said, dusting off his trousers. He really wasn’t dressed for any kind of assault course.
“Were you ever a rat, Mr Carter?” said the voice, bluntly.
“It was just an expression”. He didn’t crack a smile this time.
“Were you ever a rat, Mr Carter?” continued the voice.
He stopped. Dead. Looking through the door unto a white room, anger slowly seething.
“No.” He kept it brief. He may have been a dog of the military at one time but he was a loyal dog. To think anything else of someone with his record was insane.
As he entered the white room it shut briefly behind him, which jolted him forward, persuading him to turn around to make sure his ears didn’t deceive him.
“Mr Carter,” the voice returned. It was becoming more bland, as if it contained no emotion. The arrogance beforehand may simply have been…imaginary.
“Yes,” he said, slowly and with a grunt. He was getting tired of this. No job outside of special forces was worth this. He hadn’t even met his employer yet!
“You will soon experience a shortness of breath.-”
“What,” he mouthed, looking up searching for some way out. Clawing at the previously open door with his hands, as futile as it was.
“Do not be alarmed. The following chain of events will not be life threatening. The injection you received prior to entering the building will see to that.”
“How-”
“It contained a chemical cocktail that would bore me further if I explained it to you. Just be assured, it will keep you in healthy condition while the psychotropic drugs take effect. The room will monitor your condition.” How could he be so calm while saying this, at his age. Was he some kind of psycho! “This is the final test Mr Carter. Choose wisely.”
Choose wisely? Choose what.
The room around him became blurred as his eyes failed him for the first time.
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“Mr Carter.” a voice awoke him.
“Y..e..s” he said, quite groggily. He wasn’t quite sure where he was, he had never seen this room before.
“How did I ge-”
“You never left Mr Carter. When the situation arose we sedated you and kept an eye on you. I hope you are comfortable.”
Anthony smiled. He knew that wasn’t even a question.
“Why?” It was a simple enough question and one that needed answering.
“I needed to know if I could trust you Mr Carter. The fact that you almost took your own life to save your country was admirable. Though in real life such a situation could never take place. Science can only progress so far and the test was designed to put you under stress.”
Stress, more like a slow mental breakdown. But he understood the need for trust. But he still didn’t understand. Even though in the room beforehand he was in a different country, arguing with a terrorist who had strapped him down, asking him for codes which he had, forcing him to almost take a cyanide pill which was infact, he sniffed his breath, a mint.
“What do you need to trust me with?” he said, finally starting to come around. His eyes locked with his would be-employers. He was a boy, around fourteen, with white hair.
“My life, Mr Carter. And you will do that.”
The boy spun around on his chair, picked up a document from a table and threw it toward Anthony, who caught it immediately. His reflexes were still there.
His eyes scanned it.
SPECIAL PROVISION FOR KIRA
“Kira?” Anthony blurted out, shocked.
But the boy remained calm. “Yes. I’m going to capture him.” He dropped his eyes before returning them to Anthony’s. “With your help, Mr Carter”
He didn’t even have to think about it. “I’ll do it.”
The boy nodded, “You’ll have to burn that document when you’re done. And we will also have to assign you a new name to protect you from Kira. All your details will be erased, your former life will be gone. Though I will move your family into a safe place, they will also be given new lives until we catch Kira”.
It was a lot to take in. But it was something that had to be done. The fact that him family would be safe was a priority he didn’t even have to ask for.
“So Kira can be captured?” he said, almost to himself but the boy interrupted him immediately. “Kira is no God, Mr Carter. Kira is a man. A selfish criminal and we will catch him.”
Carter nodded, browsing over the document.
“Please take your time. You may rest here until I return,” the boy stopped as if in midthought, putting together something. Carter could almost see his mind ticking.
“Your new name will be Rester. Anthony Rester.”
Carter nodded, taking in his new name before asking the question on his mind. “Who are you?”
The boy smiled for the first time. “I’m Near. L’s successor. And time is of the essence Commander Rester!” he said, picking up a robot and swinging it to the sky.
Carter laughed so hard at the prospect of this small boy acting so calmly with so much on his head but still being a child. But he knew one thing and he believed it. This was the boy who would save the world.