Titus Ch. 02

"I didn't ask you to stick anything out for me Sarah. There's just no reason for me to go. I'm not unhappy here, so I see no issue."

"Are you happy though? Are you happy with your current existence Titus?"

He had no answer. He just looked at her, thinking about whether or not he was happy.

"That kid has brilliance in his eyes Miss; it's just that no one can see it. Rather, he doesn't let anyone see it. He's intelligent, witty, and can think on his feet. He's way too good for this place, and isn't in the same category as the pond scum that lives here, and frequents this bar. I've known him since he was a kid, and he's always showed a shitload of potential. But for as much potential as he has, his lack of ambition is just as powerful, if not more so, and he's a lazy dick. I used to preach this to him every day, but he'd just shrug me off, and never changed. All I've ever wanted for Titus is to leave this place, and be happy. I haven't seen him smile a happy smile since I met him, and that isn't right. I didn't want this life for him, but then again, I'm not his father, and didn't have the right to tell him what to do. Look here Miss; please get him out of here. Even if he refuses the job, knock him the fuck out, bind his arms and legs, and DRAG him out of here. I genuinely care about him, and can't bear to watch him waste his life like this. I'm sure you know the statistics and the life expectancy these kids have; even if you don't, just look around this bar, and you won't see a face older than 30. I don't want that for Titus. Please; get him out."

After Sarah finished saying this, she looked at Titus, who was just rooted to the spot, head down, and his hair hanging off his head, providing a screen that blocked his face from view. She saw two droplets fall from beyond the screen, onto the floor.

"George...George said that?"

"Yes, he did."

With that being said, Titus walked past her, and disappeared into his room. She heard a lot of things being opened and closed, things being thrown about, and things breaking. After about 5 minutes, he emerged with a small bag, and walked up to her.

"Sarah, I accept your job offer, if you're willing to have me. I can't let George down any more than I already have. I'm ready to go when you are."

Sarah just smiled, and nodded at him. Inside though, she was doing back flips, and fist pumps, and break dancing. She REALLY stuck her neck out for him, as none of her superiors wanted to even consider hiring someone from O.N and having them accepted into their ranks, and Sarah had to put quite a bit on line for him to even get the slightest chance of joining.

"I'm ready Titus. What about your apartment and everything else?"

"Yeah, you're right. One second."

Titus walked over to the fridge, and opened the door. Then, he turned around, and walked towards Sarah.

"What did you do that for?"

"Well, the rats lost one of their own when it tried to get a piece of cheese from my fridge, so this is my way of making it up to them. Now if you're ready, let's go."

Sarah smiled at him again.

'Despite his massive flaws, he does have a few good points as well.' She thought to herself.

"Yes, I'm ready. Let's go." And with that, they both walked out, and Titus locked the door to his apartment one last time.

As they walked to the lift, Titus looked over at Sarah, who seemed to be more relieved than anything at his accepting her job offer, and wondered just how much she had stuck her neck out for him, and why. The lift ride was made in silence, and he noticed Sarah bracing herself, as she was about to head into that awful fog once again. She exhaled, and steeled herself. This made Titus respect her just a little bit, as she hadn't recovered from her 1st experience in the fog, yet didn't say a word about it. They got out the lift, and rushed to her car. The trip outside was gruelling for Sarah, but they got to her car, and got inside quickly. Once inside, she started the car, and set off.

"Well now that I've agreed to join N.A.D.S, care to tell me about the job you had us do last week?"

"I'm sorry Titus, but you agreeing with me hasn't automatically landed you the job. There's still one more thing you have to do."

"What; you being serious? Fucking hell, what do I have to do?"

"Well, normally there is a test that potential recruits have to go through. This test is usually held for those who will fill the administrative positions within N.A.D.S, and not the actual 'field agents' so to speak."

"What exactly did you tell these guys about me Sarah?"

"That you were extremely strong and talented, and that we had to move and hire you, before you were picked up by some crime lord or something."

"So you told them that I'm strong, yet you I have to take a test that weak candidates have to go through?"

"Um, yes, that's the current situation."

"So how do you guys usually get the 'field agents'?"

"Through scouting; we usually look for elite children, and have them trained. There aren't that many who can withstand the training and those that do usually become squad leaders, and have a small team assigned to them."

"Is that how you joined N.A.D.S?"

"Yeah, that's how I joined; or more accurately, how in was found, and then joined."

"It makes sense then, why I have to do this shitty test. I'm from O.N, and I'm a criminal at that. If they had seen where and how I lived, I don't think they would have even allowed me to take the test."

"Yeah, unfortunately, I have to agree with the last part; you are one filthy mother fucker."

"Well that's really vulgar language now isn't it?"

"Shut up Titus; you've been swearing since we started talking earlier tonight. Tell me though, why didn't you take all of the money after the job? I mean, everyone else was dead, and you could've just taken everything. Instead, you only took your share, with a slight pay cut. Why?"

"Believe me, I thought about it. I seriously did, but something just didn't feel right about taking their money. I mean, Hernandez did say before you socked him in the face that he didn't need payment from you in the form of money, so I just took money from him. I didn't take the full amount, because I didn't complete the job, as one person was still alive. I know, it's weird for a criminal to have morals, but like I told you; I only work to make enough to sustain myself, and 9 grand was more than enough. Anyway, we're at the gate now. This is marks the end of my being a resident of O.N"

"Does it make you feel sad? Or happy? Or anything?"

"Nah; not really. O.N is just a place to me, just as N.N is. George is the only person who matters from O.N, and I already told him I'd see him again. However, I am excited to be breathing in some fresh air again, that shit was really cool." Titus said, as the car pulled up in front of the gate, and Sarah gave the guard her permit, causing him to signal towards the guard post. With a "KA-CHUNK!" the ground started vibrating, as the gate opened. Once open, the guard signalled that Sarah could drive on, which she did. After crossing the threshold into N.N, Titus opened the passenger window, and smiled while he inhaled a massive breath, smiling at once again being able to breathe fresh air.

"Thanks Sarah. Although not much in my life is particularly great, being able to breathe this shit into my lungs, is fucking fantastic."

Looking at Titus, Sarah felt as though all the effort she put into securing guy a shot was worth it. Sure, she didn't know him from a bar of soap, but what George said to her in the bar really touched her. She hadn't expected to see genuine love in that place, but it was obvious that George loved Titus, as Titus himself loved George.

"You're welcome Titus. And it appears we made it in time. It's just before midnight, which means we met the deadline. Now we have to drive to HQ, and get you ready for the test."

"Wait a minute, what time does this thing start?"

"At around 6 am. HQ is 3 hours from here, and then we have to get you inside, and have you registered. Once that is done, you should as much sleep as you can before the test starts; although this test is for admin positions, they don't really give you any 'admin-like' things to do In fact, it'd be great if you just got some sleep now as well as it's all combat and stealth, testing your skills, because at the end of the day, if a large enough threat does breach the gates, all of our members need to mobilize and fight. We don't have enough members who are strong enough to do field work. Our numbers aren't dismal, but they aren't that great either."

"Okay, but I don't really need to sleep just yet. If you want me to perform at my optimum, get me something to eat. I work on energy, not rest."

Sarah looked at him with a smile.

"What's the point of you storing up energy, if you rarely use it?"

"Shut up. It's a pain running out energy when you're using it, so it's better to make sure that there is always something to tap into."

"I guess I have to agree with that." Sarah said laughing.

'That's actually quite a nice sounding laugh; not rough and crude like I'm used to. It's really nice. I want to hear it more often.'

After the 3 hour journey to HQ was almost over, and they had gotten Titus a meal, he looked over at Sarah, who was starting to feel quite anxious.

"Well, I have a question for you; just how far have you put yourself out for me? What did you have to offer in order for me to get this chance?"

"Don't worry about that now ok? Just focus on preparing yourself for the test; even though you're really strong, it'll still be difficult if you let your guard down."

Titus just dropped it, and nodded, before looking out the window of the car. He noticed that they were now in what looked to be some sort of industrial park, filled with trees, wonderfully maintained grass, and expensive buildings and cars. They then pulled into a building that looked like a warehouse, and parked.

"Ok Titus, follow me and let's go. People will be expecting us, and will also know who you are, and where you come from, so expect some hostility and looks of disgust, okay?"

"Okay, no problem. Let's go."

They got out of the car, and walked towards the door. Once they entered, there were 2 men in suits, wearing dark shades. One of them looked at Sarah.

"Morning Captain. I assume this is it; the thing from O.N that you convinced the higher ups to allow to take the test?" He said, giving Titus a look of utter disgust. When he noticed that Titus didn't react in the slightest, this pissed him off.

He stood directly in front of Titus, and looked down on him, both literally and figuratively, as Titus wasn't the tallest of men. The guard tried intimidating Titus, but Titus didn't even acknowledge the big man standing in front of him.

"Sarah, didn't you say we have some sort of time limit? Let's go inside before we miss it."

"SARAH?! YOU WILL ADDRESS THE CAPTAIN PROPERLY LOW LIFE SCUM!!!"

"Come on guys, just let us through. I'm really tired, and have been driving all night."

"But Captain..." the 2nd guard said

"We just don't understand why you're going so far, just for this piece of—"the 1st continued before being interrupted

"Enough! Let us through."

"Yes Captain." He said, voice filled with hate as he moved out of Titus' way.

They walked through the door, into a smaller room, that was plain white with a lift at the back wall. Sarah then placed her right hand on a pad next to the lift, as a red line went up and down the length of her hand, making a scanning sound.

"Ooooh, that's some high tech shit there Sarah." This made her giggle a bit.

'Even her giggle is nice, and so is that hand.'

The scan was completed with a beeping sound, and the doors to the lift parted, as the hydraulics made their trademark sound. They both walked in, and the lift went down.

"We're headed underground?"

"Well this isn't exactly a skyscraper now is it Titus?"

"Shut up. Boy, it must've been hard work building this base; fuck, am I glad that construction isn't my occupation."

Sarah just sighed, and wondered if he'd actually be able to pass this test. When the lift doors opened, and they both walked out, almost everyone stopped what they were doing. It appeared that they had entered some kind of lobby, and were heading towards a reception area of sorts. Every single look Titus was getting was filled with disdain and disapproval. He could even hear people whispering as he and Sarah walked past. They were saying some pretty derogatory shit about him, but he couldn't care less. He was there for George and Sarah, and other opinions didn't interest him in the slightest.

As they approached the reception area, Titus noticed that Sarah gad gotten more and more tense. She really was putting something important on the line for him here, but he knew she wasn't about to tell him. They reached a desk, and a very serious looking woman was sitting behind it.

"So this is him?" She asked, in an uncaring voice.

"Yeah it is. Just give me a second to talk to him ok?"

"Fine, but don't take too long."

She pulled Titus to the side, and looked him in the eyes. He had to look up slightly, as he was shorter than her.

"Okay, this is where you and I part ways. They'll be injecting you with some kind of drug that knocks you out for a bit, and they'll conduct some tests to see if you're healthy or not. After that, they'll dump you in a room with all the other people. I'm not sure whether or not they know where you're from, but that doesn't matter, as most of them will be resting anyway. If you need to, get some rest, otherwise, prepare yourself. They usually have a group, then individual tests. And one more thing; they will be gunning for your lives. People do die during the test, and all of them have signed an indemnity form because of it. I didn't bring one with me, so—"

"Sarah; even though I'm just some guy from O.N, you've put something pretty important on the line for, and although I don't know what it is, I take it everyone else does, otherwise, they wouldn't be hating me this much. Whatever it is you're risking, it's not going anywhere. Don't worry; not only am I going to pass the test, I'm also going to dominate it, and make sure that nobody taking the group test with me dies."

And with that, he turned around and walked over to the receptionist.

"I'm ready for the drug. Where do we get injected?"

"Through there, but 1st I'm going to ask you a series of questions...

Titus found himself waking up in a strange room that was dark. He couldn't see shit, but could hear about 9 people breathing in the room.

"Fuck. I said all that cool shit to Sarah, but it's going to be a pain just taking this test, but now I'm responsible for the lives of 9 other people as well? Fucking hell, that's what I get for trying to be manly. But this woman is risking some important shit for me, so putting in a little effort is the least I can do."

Just then, he heard some of the people wake up, and after a while, started talking.

"Have any of you heard? We'll be taking this test with someone from O.N. Apparently some Captain told them that if he fails the test, then—"

"Attention all candidates, the test is about to begin. Remember that you guys are considered the elite amongst your peers, and that is why you are taking this test. Even if you should be killed, you will die as one of the elite. With that being said, best of luck to you, and do your best."

"Pssh, that's just bullshit to make these guys feel important. Sure, they're stronger than those who died alongside me last week, but they're still all weaklings. It's going to be a fucking hassle keeping them alive.'

All of a sudden, he sensed 10 people enter the room, and could feel that these people meant to kill.

"Listen you useless idiots, 10 people have just come in to kill us all! Pay attention, and don't do anything stupid! We can't see them, but they can see us. They'll probably try to kill us in one shot, so try to notice where they are before they attack!"

"What? Who are you? What are you talking about? No one has come in..."

'SHIT! USELESS WEAKLINGS!'

"Lightning; Reflexes!"

The golden glow surrounded Titus' body, with the streaks snaking off his arms and legs. This didn't do much for visibility; however they could all see his outline. That however, was only for a second, as he ran towards them. He caught guy, who was driving a flame enhanced blade straight towards the back of one of the candidates, and gripped him by the wrist twisting his arm behind his back, and holding it there. He then chopped the joint, popping his elbow out of its socket, before doing the same to his shoulder, leaving him to fall to floor, screaming in pain.

"Pay attention! There are still 9 more people in here, who are gunning to kill you!"

He then noticed two of these people coming up behind him. He elbowed the 1 to his right in the gut, and gripped the back of his head from over his shoulder, throwing him over his shoulder, and slamming him into the ground, before going down on one knee and driving a fist deep into his gut, causing mini streaks of lightning to spark from his fist, causing the room to light up a bit. With the second guy, he spun around, still on one knee, placing both hands gently on his stomach.

"Lightning; Surge!"

The room lit up properly this time, and the golden lightning streaks danced around the guys torso, and he screamed in agony, before passing out on the floor. Titus then stood up, with his eyes closed, and listened for the remaining 7. When he heard 2 of them, standing next to each other, about to attack one unsuspecting candidate, he rushed off in that direction, and upon getting in front of them, pushed off his right foot, bending his left, his heel almost touching his ass, spinning around, he brought his leg high, and swung it down in an almost looping motion, catching the 1st guy on the cheek, hearing a crack. As his right foot touched the ground, he pushed off of it again, repeating the motion and catching the 2nd guy on the cheek, hearing it crack as well. This double spin kick was completed in the blink of an eye, and he landed gracefully on his right foot, left still bent, resting his left foot on his right thigh.

Four of the more competent candidates had taken advantage of the light Titus was giving off, and had taken care of the guys who were left. Once they were all taken care of, the voice that spoke earlier, spoke again.

"Erm, well done to all of you; you all showed great skill and ability in not only avoiding being killed, but also incapacitating your foes. Well done. That ends the group Test. Now for the Stealth test. You will each go through a door, into a room, in which there will be 5 men. Get through the room without being noticed, or knock them all out to pass. Good luck to you!"

'Shit, more moving around in the dark? Maybe I'll just speed through.'

With that, a door opened in front of him, as well as 9 other doors. He realised that a few people were going to die in those rooms. He walked into his, and the door closed and locked itself behind him. Lightning Reflexes was still active, and was at risk of giving his location away.

"Lightning; Speed!"

He activated Lightning Speed with Lightning Reflexes still active, and set out to accomplish his task. He was running when he sensed his 1st target to the left. In an instant, he had chopped that guy on the back of the neck, knocking him out. He did this with the remaining 4 as well, and knocked all of them out in less than a minute; the fastest anyone had ever completed the Stealth test. The door on front of him then opened, and he deactivated both techniques, before walking through the door into an empty room. There he sat down on the floor, and waited for the guy to start speaking on the microphone again. After about 10 minutes, the man spoke again.