Chapter 1

The feeling of being watched fell over him. He knew never to turn around. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a dark ally. He made a feint as if going to it but instead he just disappeared. He was standing on top of the building opposite to the dark ally. Down the ally from where he came a small human was prancing around in the shadows. When the light hit the figure all he could see was dark clothes and long strands of brunette hair. He turned and ran over the roof tops of the flat-top business buildings going in what seemed a random pattern.

Alexandrew Orion Knapp woke up quickly. He looked over at his bedside clock and saw he was actually late for once. He stood up and moving with easy mobility put on his clothes and shoes. He was halfway down the stairs to the bottom floor and kitchen when his mom called for him. He rushed down to the kitchen to find his mom holding an envelope. It was black meaning bad news for him. The longest he had gone without one of the black envelopes was two weeks.

"Mom, do you think you can just hold it until I get home?" Alex asked. He grabbed his toast from the plate on the counter by the toaster. "We'll just say I left before you showed it to me. Please!!!! I want one day of normal school." The entire time he was begging his mom to hold off from giving it to him his face hadn't changed in expression.

"Alright. But you better hurry and leave." Mrs. Knapp tucked the envelope into a pile of other envelopes.

"Thanks mom. Bye," Alex said leaving out the door at a jogging pace. It was two blocks to the school. Living in the city had some advantages but to Alex so much was a disadvantage. He hated the crowded streets. He hated the lights that never went out. He hated the trouble in school. He didn't mind the killings though. That part of the city he took in stride and never gave a second glance at it. He'd been in the city before but this city was the worse of all of them.

He arrived at Lukestrum High five minutes before the bell rang. The school looked more like a prison than anything. The fences had razor wire on them to keep thieves and other criminals out and the children in. The gate was a security lack but still a little hard to get through. The buildings, five in all, were painted white and had metal bars on all windows. The windows themselves were bulletproof and the doors were one foot thick reinforced steel. The school board had built it just for the kids and teachers safety.

Alex stepped into English just as the bell rang. Being the first day of school again this was the only class he had known of that he had. Mr. Strum, or so the board read, led this class. He was a short bald man with no facial hair. He was a little on the chubby side. The class had assembled before the rows of desks.

" Sit where you want class," the small man said indicating with his arm that the seats were waiting. Alex was the first one to take a seat he sat as close to the center as possible. After him the other kids started sitting down. To his left sat another boy. He had black hair that was short but his bangs hung over one eye. Behind Alex sat yet another boy. This one with curly brown hair that stuck out. In front of Alex sat a short boy with short blonde hair. To his right sat a girl. She had brunette hair that hung to the middle of her back. Her eyes were hazel green.

Alex stared at her until she shot a glance at him telling him to stop staring. He returned his gaze to the teacher while subconsciencously noting that most guys were staring at the green-eyed beauty. The teacher held a pile of lengthy papers. He started out calling names and handing the papers to the people that answered.

"Barnhill." A guy raises his hand and receives the paper. This keeps going till his name is called.

"Knapp." Alex raises his hand and grabs his paper. On it was his schedule. The calling of last names continued.

"Tan." The green-eyed beauty raised her hand. In one quick glance at her paper he had it mesmerized. Handy to have photographic memory. Something clicked in his head. He stared at his schedule in disbelief. They had the same schedules. Same teachers and everything.

Candace Rain Tan looked over her schedule. She forced all the information into memory. She folded the paper up and looked at her teacher. Mr. Strum looked like a nice guy and his class might be easy. This was a nice seat but all the guys acted like jerks. They just stared at her. She liked the attention but this wasn't what she really wanted. Most of them had lust in their eyes. Some had admiration. But the jerk to her left looked at her without emotion. His eyes were grey with what looked like real smoke floating through them. His curly red hair that just rested on him and looked wet all the time was attractive to her.

She put him out of her mind and watched the teacher. He started handing out sheets that contained class rules and how he graded. She grabbed one of the sheets out of the pile being passed down her row and passed the rest behind her. She spent the next thirty minutes taking small notes about the class.

Having just moved here from the country she had no friends. She didn't like the way the school looked. She didn't like the way the city worked. Chaos was one thing she hated.

She looked down at her desk. There was a small rectangular plate in the middle. She touched it and it came alive. A blue screen appeared with the class and Mr. Strum's name on it. Under his name were two rectangular boxes. One read username the other read password. She looked to her left and saw the red hair jerk at the same screen. The only difference was that he had a keyboard under his screen. She looked below her screen and saw another long rectangular plate. She touched it and it slid back revealing a keyboard.

Alex typed away at his keyboard. He gave the program a username and a password. It denied his password and username. He pressed control alt delete together and came up with a menu. He selected new user. He gave a username and a password. When it asked for his key he was bugged. He put in his student number assigned to him from his schedule. It was accepted.

The screen changed to a desktop view. Internet, school library, schoolwork help, and various other icons were already on there. He got rid of several he knew he wouldn't be using. By using the mouse ball and buttons that came up next to the keyboard he accessed the control panel. He found the security center and accessed it. He unlocked everything that was restricted on his name.

Alex looked up when he noticed Mr. Strum stopped talking. Everyone was looking at him. To his left he noticed that the chick named Tan had gotten to the login screen but no farther.

"Well ... well ... well ... Mr. Knapp. It seems that you have figured out the computer desks. You too Mrs. Tan." Mr. Strum went on to instruct the rest of the class on how to get on. He then showed everyone how to make their usernames and passwords. This entire time Alex scoped out the system. He put up his own protection for his username. When the bell rang Alex was packed up and knew the entire school system from the computers.

His next class was Chemistry. His teacher Mrs. Lestrul was beautiful and funny. Once again Candace Tan sat to his right. Once they had sat down they opened their computer screens and logged in. Apparently none of the other students had learned of the computer desks. Mrs. Lestrul came up the aisle between them and stopped right in between their desks. She looked down at them with a smile.

Alex was looking down at his screen when she came up the aisle. When she stopped he saw it in the reflection from the glass of the screen. When she smiled he opened up a program just for chemistry. He started inputting several elemental equations. When it came out it created a scent of perfume that Mrs. Lestrul wore.

"Congraulations," Mrs. Lestrul said in a whisper that only Alex and Candace could hear.

Alex looked at the outskirts of his desks and noticed two long strips of desk like those of what covered the keyboard and mouse. He touched them and out came two holographic projectors. In the air above the desk appeared one molecule from the perfume equation. Alex sat back enjoying the view.

To his right Candace got the projectors to show a nitrogen atom. She slowly added more elements until she had a molecule of dynamite.

Mrs. Lestrul walked to the front of the class where she then instructed the class on the workings of the computer desks. While she was doing this Alex went through the copy of the "textbooks" that were on the computer. By the time Mrs. Lestrul was done Alex knew the entire Chemistry book by heart. Great thanks to his photographic memory.

By the end of the day Alex had gone through Algebra two, English two, Chemistry, World History, Criminal Justice, and Gym. In each class Alex sat to the left of Candace.

When Alex walked into his house after his walk home he found the suite empty.

"Mom!" Alex called. "Mom! I'm home!" He walked into the kitchen and found two black envelopes. He sighed and set his backpack down. He grabbed one of them and then sat on the stool at the bar window. He opened up the top and let a letter fall out. He opened it and cursed. Of course they would hold his mom till he did what they wanted.

He opened the second envelope and let a second letter fall out as well as several other objects.

Dear Alexandrew Orion Knapp,

As of September 4, 2006 we the Organization must inform you that we have a new mission for you.

A simple assassination of a drug lord.

His name is William Allandra Merium. In this envelope you will find several pictures of him, a list of buyers, and

the blueprints to his mansion. Take care of him quick and fast.

And don't forget cover your tracks.

Senior Assassin,

Locust