Trinity

Vanessa pushed these unwanted thoughts away and focused instead on her childhood. They had had a pretty average childhood, with a few twists. Alec and Vanessa were a part of sports teams and other school clubs, but they had other interesting extracurricular activities as well. Martial arts training started for both of them when they entered into kindergarten. By the time Vanessa and Alec started high school they had each obtained high ranks in several martial art forms.

They both also took gymnastics throughout the years. It aided them with a great deal of agility, balance, and flexibility. Their parents also enrolled Alec and Vanessa into yoga to give their minds the same precision and agility their bodies had obtained. Weapons training was soon incorporated into their after school training sessions. Either of them could practically use any object as a weapon, and could handle almost any weapon on the market.

All of this training didn’t just help them towards their futures; it also enabled them to excel in their schoolwork. Their training provided the pair with a great deal of focus, patience and determination. Vanessa and Alec both graduated at the top of their high school classes. Once they were old enough to understand, their parents explained about the ‘business trips’ they took. Alec and Vanessa were amazed by the revelation and were very excited to step into the fray to help out. Their parents completely understood their enthusiasm, but they were very adamant about their children going to college.

Anna and Sam’s death was not part of the plan though. Their passing took away two of the Covenant’s greatest members, and Alec and Vanessa were forced into filling their parents’ shoes. Years of training and education had prepared them for their official entrance into the Covenant, but they would both prefer to have their parents back. Vanessa lifted the trinity symbol off of her chest and brushed the bubbles off it. She kissed it once and pressed it back against her chest. Her eyes looked upward.

“I hope I’m making you both proud.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Trinity, Phoenix, please report immediately to the dungeon.” Muse’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“It took them long enough.” Vanessa mumbled as she began to dry herself off. “It’s show time.”

* * *

Alec pulled the flannel blanket closer around his shivering body. A chill night wind gently wrapped itself around the house. He was sitting on the balcony that was outside his bedroom. Most of his time at night was spent on the balcony looking up at night sky. There seemed to be a thousand points of light spread through the velvety blackness. His thoughts were also focused on his parents. Alec really didn’t have the chance to mourn for them. His mission was to make sure that Vanessa was okay. She might seem hard and tough, but he knew Vanessa better than that. Their parents’ death ripped them to their very cores.

A soft, musical twinkling sound echoed in the wind. His eyes trailed over to the dark spot in the corner where a wind chime hung. It was too dark to see it now, but he knew its spot from memory. Alec was frightened of the dark as a child, a fear that Vanessa still teased him about, and his parents gave him the wind chime to help calm his fears. They said that the beautiful music it made would scare off all the evil things he believed were hidden in the darkness.

His gaze returned to the night sky, searching out one star in particular. Alec’s eyes finally found the star, one of the brightest in the darkness. His eyes filled with tears, tears he refused to shed. Every time his parents went away on business they pointed out that star to Alec and Vanessa. They told them that anytime they were afraid to look for that star and know they would be looking at it as well. This way no matter how far apart, they were still linked together.

Alec closed his eyes as his body shuddered; fighting back the pain was becoming more and more difficult. After almost seven years the pain did not lessen in any way. He knew that he had to deal with it, but he had to remain strong for his sister. Alec knew how much Vanessa relied on him, even if she would never admit it. He thought back to his coming out earlier in the week. It certainly didn’t go the way he planned, but everything was out in the open now. Well, almost everything at least.

The one thing that Alec could never tell Vanessa about was Joey. Joey had been Alec’s best friend through most of grade school and high school, ‘had’ being the operative word. Alec made one of the biggest mistakes any gay man can make; he fell in love with his straight best friend. He then made the second biggest mistake by telling Joey how he felt. Joey was the only person that Alec had let know the real him, besides his parents and Vanessa. Joey did not react very well to Alec’s profession of love at all.

Joey knew about Alec’s martial arts skills and knew there was no way in hell he could beat Alec’s ass. Since he couldn’t attack Alec physically, he attacked him mentally. His words cut through Alec’s heart and soul. The worst part, if it could even get any worse, was that the falling out occurred barely a week after Alec’s parents were killed. Their death made Alec realize he had to tell Joey about his feelings. He didn’t want to regret losing Joey and having him never know how he felt.

Alec refused to let anyone in ever again. There was too much risk involved, and Alec dealt with too many risks and dangers already. He felt very fulfilled with his life though, even if there was no romantic aspect to it. After Joey’s outburst Alec never saw him again, which Alec felt was for the best. After having his heart ripped out and shredded to pieces he didn’t think he could ever forgive Joey for that. It was one thing that Joey didn’t return his feelings, but Alec thought he knew his friend better. Alec never thought for a second that Joey would push him away like that and say so many hurtful, evil things.

His self-induced seclusion was also the reason for other things, like his virginity. Alec knew early on in life that girls didn’t interest him at all. He never dated to throw off suspicion though. He was always so busy with activities that no one ever questioned his single status. By this point Alec had masturbation down to a very fine art form. With his twenty-fifth birthday rapidly approaching Alec didn’t worry about sex anymore. He had given up worrying about it a long time ago. Besides, he was giving himself a great deal of pleasure and didn’t have to be concerned about letting his guards down.

Alec’s job had quickly become the ‘man’ in his life. He could always depend on another mission to come in, another assignment that would require his full attention and focus. Down time had become one of the hardest things to deal with. Most people would welcome the time to relax, not Alec. His mind wandered around too much when he had free time on his hands. Alec was always grateful for assignments, giving his soul a rest from the demons that plagued him. Almost as if reading his mind, Muse’s voice echoed through the open balcony doorway.

“Trinity, Phoenix, please report immediately to the dungeon.”

Alec sighed in frustration upon hearing ‘the dungeon’ part of Muse’s message. He made a mental note to not let Vanessa help with Muse’s programming. Alec stretched his long frame, tossing the blanket back onto the chair. He took one last look into the night sky and found their star. The wind chimes still played their haunting, beautiful melody.

* * *

Vanessa and Alec rushed across the dungeon to the communication center. The screen had come to life the moment Muse called for them. The trinity and phoenix symbols slowly rotated on the screen. Muse’s voice echoed throughout the cave-like room.

“Incoming transmission from Covenant Headquarters.”

“Make sure the communication is on a secure line, and play when ready, Muse.” Vanessa commanded as she sat down.

“The transmission was broadcasted over a secure line, security level Alpha. I am decoding and unscrambling the information.” Muse replied.

“Level Alpha?” Alec’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t think we’d get top level assignments for another few years. We must be doing better than we thought, sis.”

“Our last few missions seemed to be a bit more intense than in the past.” Vanessa looked over her shoulder at her brother. “Level Alpha would probably require both of us to have major roles. Looks like we might finally get to work as an actual field team, bro, and one of us won’t be playing backup for once.”

“That could prove interesting…” Alec began.

“Decoding complete.” Muse’s voice interrupted. “Transmission now playing.”

The trinity and phoenix symbols faded from the screen and were replaced by an image of Stonehenge, the Covenant’s main symbol. The transmission was given by Muse herself, this helped protect the identity of the current leader of the Covenant. Secrecy was all-important to their organization.

“Good evening, Trinity and Phoenix, I hope this transmission finds you both relaxed and well rested, you’ll need it. The President of The United States will be attending the grand opening of a new family resort.” The Stonehenge image disappeared from the screen. A world map appeared in its place, a small red box appeared over a part of the Pacific Ocean. The screen zoomed in on the selected area and a small chain of islands was brought into view. “You are looking at the Terror Islands, a chain of three Pacific Islands that were bought by Terror Incorporated. TI is one of the leading amusement park companies currently in the world. They have created an amusement park on the largest of the islands. The park is called Isle Of Terror. Only one of the other two islands is being used. It is currently housing all of the park’s staff and the park’s storage facilities are located there.”

“This sounds kind of interesting.” Vanessa mumbled. Alec hushed his sister and she shot him a dirty look. The transmission continued to play.

“It has come to our attention that there will be an attempt on the President’s life during the grand opening. Our contacts have been unable to find out what the exact plan is, but we need both of you to stop the assassination attempt.”

“HOLY SHIT!” Vanessa exclaimed.

“Would you just shut up already?” Alec snapped at his sister.

“More information will be provided to you as it becomes available. You will be going in as part of an added security team for the park. This will enable you to have complete access to everything and anything in the park. You will need the normal equipment. There will be a contact for this mission, Backdraft. Backdraft will rendezvous with you when you disembark on the island.”

“What the hell?” It was Alec’s turn to be shocked.

“Would you just shut up already?” Vanessa asked Alec with a sweet smile on her face.

“This does not mean that the Covenant doubts your abilities in any way. This mission will be covering a large scale and will require three field agents.” The transmission continued over the siblings. “We have full faith in the both of you, and that this assignment will be successful. May your strength and determination prevail as it always does. Good luck, Trinity and Phoenix. All traces of this transmission will be deleted and purged for security purposes.”

The screen faded back to the trinity and phoenix symbols. Alec and Vanessa looked at each other in silence. They had tough missions in the past, but they both knew that this would go far beyond anything they had attempted so far. Their shock was quickly replaced with pride, pride in knowing that the Covenant believed they were the best agents for this mission.

“Looks like playtime is over, Phoenix.” Vanessa grinned.

“You’re damn straight, Trinity.” He replied with a grin of his own.

“Looks like you finally got your wish, tiger.” She said with a wink.

“What are you talking about, Nessa?” Alec asked in confusion.

“We are finally getting that amusement park vacation you were talking about.” Vanessa giggled.

Vanessa walked over to the ammunition storage and began packing. Alec glared at his sister’s back.

“Bitch.” He mumbled as he got their other gear ready.

“I heard that, Alec!”