Warehouse 12, Astron City

***

The tall man behind the table finally spoke.

"Lieutenant Lance Davis. Welcome. Please sit down."

Lance felt sudden ease. He sighed and exhaled deeply. His heart pounding decreased. More than a familiar face, a hero, celebrated by many, a memorable monument made for his unequaled level of service to the country, but to some extent, he was not sure if it was good or not.

On the other hand, he was the black operatives Department Head. Maybe he needed somebody to do his assassination missions, off-the-books from government authorities.

Nonetheless, he was calm now. If he was targeted then he was already dead years before.

"I know who you are. You are Commander James Johnson." Lance turned around and saw Kate, the woman he acquainted with last night at the bar.

At that moment, Lance knew that the letter was legitimate for the reason that Kate was under Commander James Johnson. He sensed no hostility from Kate nor from the Commander.

Kate lowered her gun.

"This is just a precaution, Lieutenant. In our line of work, we always carry a backup. Just in case. " Kate smiled like that seductive smile she gave last night.

Kate pointed to the empty chair signaling Lance to sit down. The Lieutenant lowered himself to the said chair and slouched lazily with his legs spread beneath the table.

"I know you'll come," Kate smirked.

"This better be worth it, Kate," Lance responded.

"Lt. Lance Davis, a.k.a Eagle Eye, a.k.a The Unkillable, a.k.a Red Sparrow Hero." Commander James spoke snappily. "You are quite the celebrity; your track record outshines your superiors and made stories of your works which have reached the top level of this organization."

The Commander slammed a thick folder, thumping on top of the table. The sound reverberated to the walls of the empty warehouse. The cover of the folder printed his name and the logo on the top center. A logo that was unknown to him but from the looks of it, it was from a black operations department.

Lance opened the cover of the folder and showed the confidential mission records that he was in. He noticed Mission Red Sparrow with some reports and details of the mission.

He just glanced for a bit and closed the folder. He knew everything in that file and closing the folder prevented him from another episode of remorse that would uncontrollably remind him.

"This is Agent Katherine "Kate" Brown, she is one of my undercover operatives. I believe you two met in the bar yesterday." The Commander introduced.

"You almost got me." He referred to what happened last night.

Kate replied, "Maybe a few drinks more and you will crack." Kate laughed softly.

Then Lance glanced back at the Commander and said. "Why am I here, sir?"

"You are summoned back to service under my command. Your country needs you, son."

Lance replied, "I am retired and living a good life, sir. Why should I go back to serving the country?"

"You have a special set of skills that I really need in my missions. Your sniper skill was top-notch. Two days ago, Captain Luke and his elite team were wiped out, leaving only Captain Luke alive. I believe you and Luke are friends."

Lance was surprised to hear Luke's name again. He thought that his friend had died in a plane crash. He even attended his funeral. His family mourned for him. This confirmed that the rumors were true, covert operatives were converted to ghosts by killing them publicly but on paper.

"Luke is alive?" Lance was perturbed.

"You served together during the rebel wars 5 years ago. You two in a team we're unstoppable. You killed rebel militants that I could not even count. Records told me that around 200 to 300 militants were killed in your tours combined."

"The rebel wars are over, Commander", Lance interrupted.

"It is starting again, son," The Commander continued. "Our intelligence officers have gathered information via Satellite that there is a large camp and a lot of personnel movement situated in Mt. Elberus. We suspected that this is a new growing rebel camp fortifying their men for another imminent attack on Astron City. They are preparing for payback since their attack years ago."

The Commander slid papers with Satellite imaging onto the table. Lance glanced at them and it seems the formation of the men are strategically situated like military units. The satellite image only shows bright lights which represented people and the dark area was the forest. He was a bit convinced inspecting the slides.

'These scumbags are fortifying again like ants. When will this end?' Lance thought.

These were the classic works of black operations and highly confidential military operations - satellite espionage, spy drone imaging, and assassinations. These operations were kept secret so as not to give panic among the public. Otherwise, this will give unrest among the civilians in Astron City. Hence, public officials may push city lockdowns. It would surely hurt the City's economy, and all Hell would break loose.

The Commander continued, "We are trained proactively son and we have to act sooner before they manage to get stronger and heavily armed."

"What is in it for me, Commander?" Lance was hesitant about the idea. Although, it excited him to hear the offer. But he feared again losing comrades during missions. 

Kate leaned on the table while standing rigidly and said to Lance with direct eye contact,

"We need to stop this Lieutenant. This is a sacrifice we should make for our country. Imagine the innocent lives lost that day during the attack. The collateral damage is vast. We cannot afford to have a second attack on the city again. Besides, you're having financial problems, right? You're also having trouble with your marriage. This would be a big break for you, and your wife would be happy"

Lance kept silent, knowing that Agent Kate was right. He and his wife have so much misunderstanding that Angela planned to file for a divorce.

He insisted on not signing the divorce papers hoping to make amends for a better and stronger relationship in the future. He was hoping for a silver lining for their marriage but was uncertain how to achieve it.

Kate paused for a moment, looking at Lance, and waited for a word from him. Impatiently, she asked, "So are you in or out?"

Lance looked at the Commander then back to Kate

'Should I answer this now?' Lance thought.

Kate and Commander James's faces gave him a stare that told him that a decision needed to be made immediately, and could not wait for another waking day. Their expressions were blended with impatience and an offering of hope.

'It would also be the greatest honor to work closely with 'the' Commander James Johnson, so why chose otherwise?' Lance thought.

"This is unbelievable. I'm in. When can I start?" He finally uttered the words, with a hint of excitement but full of uncertainty. The unknown outcomes made it rousing.

Kate replied, "We will stage your death. We need you to die and become a Ghost. All operatives in our Department are dead by records. You will have a hero's funeral and everybody will weep and say great things about you. After that, we will proceed to Blackwolf base camp."

Lance flinched a bit while hearing those words from Kate. To die and leave his normal life with bitter memories with her wife. The happy life he promised to her was now far beyond grasping.

"Why become a ghost?" Lance confusingly asked.

"We have missions within the territories of rival States. If you get caught and found out that you are our operative, this could spark another inter-State war. We cannot afford that for now. Our Nation is still reviving and recuperating from the rebel attacks."

Lance hesitated at the thought of dying. He will never have had the opportunity to make amends with her wife and he had unfinished businesses with the people he knew. He had debts to pay and his wife cannot carry the burden alone.

Lance explained everything to them his predicaments. But Kate assured him that they had made moves to pay his debts and his wife will receive $ 5M to cover all debts unpaid and house and car mortgages. All are set for his funeral, his records will be wiped out and considered deceased in all Government archives.

Lance understood the terms.

"Ok then… when will I die?" He eventually asked.

The Commander smiled and extended his hand to Lance with an open palm with an intent to close the deal. "We will give you 4 days to prepare, son. Kate will contact you as soon as you are ready. Glad to have you aboard, soldier."

Lance extended also his hand and grasp strongly the Commander's hand and shook once.

"It's a pleasure, sir." He saw Kate's smile.

'I hope my decision is right. I am sorry Angela. This is for you.' Lance thought.