Sarah whirled Nick’s front door open; some how she knew it would always be open. Open for her. She marched across the lobby, her high heels stomping on the marble tile. She went down the stairs Nick had led her to the day before. She pounded on the basement door. Nick came to it, unlocked it, and let her in. All the computers were on, but the gym lights were out.

“Are you ready?” he asked. The shadows were dark but in a way, they illuminated his face, making him look old and depressed and taught. This is not the way Sarah had looked at Nick before, but now she understood. She understood how his outgoing and off-the-wall personality he displayed to an audience of fans was nothing like him, and in so much that, inside, it affected him. She understood why he was so dedicated; she understood why he couldn’t give up fighting. She understood him.

“Yes,” Sarah said confidently.

He nodded, as if in acceptance, and took her to the buzzing computers. “Know anything about these?” he asked, sitting down in front of one of them, not wide eyed yet not blinking.

She raised an eyebrow. “A little bit.”

“That’s not enough,” Nick said between clenched teeth. Had his voice changed?

He clicked around on the computer screen a few times. A picture of a rickety house came into view. “This is your first mission.” He looked into her eyes when he said it, and said it slowly, as if he wanted to remember this moment. “This is it.”

“Mission?”

“Yeah, sounds cool doesn’t it?” He smirked, then grew serious. “Naïve.”

Sarah disregarded his remark, not to stop an argument, but out of respect.“What about it?” She asked, referring to the house.

Nick turned to her again. “Sapphire’s last mission was getting this information for me. With it I found out one of Intergang’s leading drug lord, Rudy Caldwin, hanging out here.” He tapped the monitor screen.

“So you want me to go there and beat this guy up or something?”

“No, he’s useless-almost. All drug dealers are cowards and wannabe gang bangers,” he assured. “There is a difference, despite what people think.”

“So…what’s the point?”

“He works for Intergang.” He said it as if that was the answer to everything. “Caldwin has got to know something. Knowledge is power.”

“This guy must be a god,” Sarah concluded.

“Exactly,” Nick agreed. “Hence the name crime lord. Speaking of names…”

“What?” Sarah asked, curious.

“You need one.”

“I need a name?”

“I don’t think it would do if I called you ‘Sarah Martin’ every where you went while we were working.”

Sarah thought. “Wait, we work together?”

“Of course!”

“I thought you needed partners cause you can’t do your own dirty work.”

Nick eyed her evilly, and Sarah winced. “I put in my part,” he hissed, and shoved something in her hands. “Always wear this piece in your ear so you can hear me. The necklace has a mic that you can talk to me in.”

“Sweet!” Sarah squealed, putting the gold pendant over her head and draping her ebony hair up and over it’s chain. It hung at the base of her throat.

“Ebony,” he concluded.

“Ebony,” she said. She understood. That was her little code name. Her excitement grew.

Nick introduced her to all the other little toys and gadgets she was going to be working with. Tons of weapons, most not life threatening, communicators, and other odds and ends.

“Don’t go out there,” he started, “don’t go out there, thinking it’s going to be so easy. I know what’s going through your mind. You’re so excited about going out there and catching the bad guy, coming back unbeaten and invincible. It doesn’t work like that, Sarah; you won’t want your life anymore. All you do is become obsessed until you’re killed or until you walk away and don’t look back. Personally, I rather be killed.”

“Ok, I understand” she said simply, looking down at her necklace. Nick knew she was smiling inside, trying to hide her uncontrollable excitement from him.

Nick sighed. “I guess you learn the hard way. Get your stuff together.” His chest heaved. “It’s time.”