Author: Brent Dax [email protected]
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: "William" now; future chapters may include later episodes.
Keywords: William, future; future chapters may add other keywords.
Summary: William Scully finds himself in an FBI school-crime department,unaware of his powerful allies and even more powerful enemies.
Disclaimer: I don't own the people you recognize. Life is ridiculous like that. The people you don't recognize probably belong to me. You can use them, but please mention me and don't do anything age-inappropriate with them.
Archiving: Go for it--just send me a link.
Feedback: *PLEASE*! I have no idea how good this is or if I should continue it. Praise, constructive criticism, and advice should be sent to [email protected] or posted as a review of this story; flames should be sent to the bit bucket.
Dedication: to Darci, as always.
4. E-mail
July 10, 2014
William sighed as the instructor started lecturing on the SSD. He'd read the brochure--he knew all of this. Maybe it's for the idiots who didn't pay attention, he thought. He frowned and started taking notes.
"The School Security Department was formed in 2008. I'm sure you all remember the terrible crimes committed in schools that year. There were seven school shootings, twelve large gang fights, and two terrorist incidents. The total body count was well over three hundred.
"Obviously, Congress had to do something. Their first attempt was the Clinton School Crime Act of 2009, which funded programs to train teachers to use guns and keep an eye on students. Unfortunately, that didn't work too well--the teachers couldn't get close enough to the students to find anything out. There were 183 deaths that year.
"So the FBI told Congress that it would figure something out and report back to it. In late 2010, the School Security Department meetings were held in secret, to avoid public outrage; the first agents were recruited in 2011."
William added the part in his head that the instructor didn't say. They recruited primarily orphans with exceptional minds and bodies and gave them the training they needed to be Special Agents. They promised them college scholarships, gave them guns, and sent them to find the gangbangers, school shooters and terrorists before they struck. Not that any of them minded being recruited--for many, it was the best thing that had ever happened to them.
"In 2012, there were 23 deaths--all of them would-be attackers."
The instructor turned a page in his notes. "It's important to note who knows about SSD and who doesn't. Law enforcement does; virtually all principals do; many teachers do; and most of the foster-home system does. It's an open secret in Congress and the Presidency. And that's about it. You must keep your cover as well as you can. That's what today's class is about."
The instructor started talking about how to cover up activities. William ignored this; his handheld was recording the lecture anyway. Instead he started up an instant-messaging application on his handheld and sent a message to Danielle.
W> Are you finding this as boring as I am? D> Yup. D> Find out anything about the shooter? W> Not yet. D> The thing that troubles me is that he shot at you, not me. W> He probably had another cartridge waiting for you. D> Or a bullet.
William's handheld beeped gently--an e-mail had arrived. He read it and switched back to the IM app.
W> Crime lab results arrived. No fingerprints, no DNA. D> Argh. I don't know how they'll ever catch this guy.
The teacher cleared his throat and started explaining their reading assignment for the day. William shut down the IM app and wrote down the assignment.
William was studying later that night when his handheld beeped. He picked it up and read the e-mail.
To: William Mathot [email protected] From: (unknown) Subject: Meeting Meet me on top of your building at 9pm. I have some information you need to know. It is imperative that you come alone. --DT
William checked his clock. It was 8:15. He grabbed a jacket and the gun they had given him. He'd be ready for anything.
Well, anything except what actually happened.