Jenny sighed as she walked down the steps of Park Street Middle School. Aaron with another meeting, Meg with her extra classes, Taylor with her wushu club. Even Allison had to stay behind today. Man, she hates Mondays.

With nowhere to go to, and no one to hang out with, she began walking home with only her thoughts as company. Her mind wandered to the conversation before class.

"I know, but...I can't really blame him. After all, he's the only-"

"He's the only what?"

"Nothing."

She could have kicked herself for almost letting it slip. Really, she ought to be more careful if she wanted to keep it secret.

Soon, she had reached a torn down building with ragged curtains and a crumbled roof. To others, this could easily be passed as garbage, but to her, it's home.

She opened the doors and stepped inside. It was pitch black, and she could vaguely make out the tables and sofas.

She immediately heard a gunshot on her left. Her eyes widened, and she moved swiftly to one side, dodging the bullet by inches.

"You've improved, Jenny. Well done!"

The lights clicked on, and no one would have guessed how it looked like inside. It was complete luxury. Expensive rugs covered the floors while sparkling chandeliers dominated the ceiling.

"I'm home, Mr White." Jenny placed her bag on one of the leopard-printed sofas.

"I can see that." Mr White smiled warmly at her. "No need to be so formal, Jenny."

She nodded, before joining Mr White on the sofa.

"Where is Aaron?"

"He has a meeting at school."

"I see." He stood up and clapped his hands. "Well, why don't you go and have your lunch? It's already in your room."

"Okay. Then I'll be going now."

"Training starts at 4!"

"Yes sir."

She sighed as she made her way up the stairs. 13 years have passed since Mr White took them in. Ever since their parents died a mysterious murder, she and Aaron have been orphaned.

Mr White was kind enough to let them stay and had treated them like a true father. But Jenny never thought that of him, much as she was grateful. No one could replace her parents.

When Jenny was 7, and Aaron was 8, they found out that Mr White was the boss of a secret agent-training company. Mr White took this chance to train them, starting from the tiniest challenge to the toughest obstacles.

"You can't tell anyone about this. Alright, Jenny?"

"But why? I've always wanted to invite some friends over!"

"You just can't. You have to understand. You're different."

And so, she kept quiet. She doesn't talk about her past because she didn't want to remember it. She doesn't talk about her home because she wasn't allowed to. She never talks about her parents because she doesn't have any.

She opened the door to her room. As promised, a tray sat on her desk and as usual, a feast was prepared. She had mentioned before that simple food was just fine with her, but she was brushed off and told that Mr White doesn't have a wife or children, and if he did, this would be the life he gave them.

She finished her lunch and got on with schoolwork. She wasn't as smart as Meg, who excels in everything, but at least had an education where she was taught in things that could help with the agent life.

It wasn't long before 4 o'clock came. Aaron had arrived home an hour earlier, popping in to check on Jenny. They met in the hallway and raced to the training room. Mr White was very strict about being on time, after all.

"Ah, Jenny! Aaron! Right on time!" Mr White greeted them and received bows in return.

"What are we going to do today, Mr White?" Aaron asked energetically.

"What we did last week. Strengthening our weak points."

Mr White wasn't the kind of person who forces you to do something and watch by the sidelines. Instead, he lets his students decide on what to do and joins in. Aaron goes for shooting range, as he didn't have such a good aim as Jenny.

"Don't you have any work today, Mr White?" Aaron asked as he picked up his earmuffs.

"Oh no. They went back early today."

"Ah."

Jenny joins Aaron for shooting range, partly because she couldn't think of anything else to train, and also because she wanted to make up for lost time with her brother.

Mr White prepared the targets at about a few metres away from them. No one could really hear the sound of the guns, for the walls were soundproof, perfect for training.

They stopped after a few minutes to reload. Mr White took their places, aimed and fired. After all, even the master might get a little rusty. He was about to fire again when they heard a howl outside the window.

"Hm? What could that be?" Mr White stood up.

"Surely it's not a wolf?" Aaron went to the window and peered outside.

An injured dog was pacing back and forth. Part of its neck was brutally ripped off, revealing its flesh. It was covered in blood, and was breathing unevenly.

"Aww. Poor thing. It must've been attacked by bigger dogs." Aaron said.

"We should help it, Mr White." Jenny looked at him. "It's hurt pretty bad."

"Yes, we should. Open up the window, Aaron, and bring him in."

Aaron did as he was told. He unlocked the window and pushed it open. But just as he was about to call out to it, its head turned towards them with a crunching sound, and it lunged at Aaron, growling fiercely.

"Aaron! Watch out!" Jenny moved her arm to close the window, but stopped when she heard a gunshot.

The dog fell to the ground, and it lay there, twitching, before going limp. A puddle of blood started to flow out beneath its head. Jenny gasped.

"Well, that was quite a shock." Mr White pocketed the gun.

"Mr White, you-"

"It was for your own safety. I'm sorry I killed it, but it clearly isn't well. If I had been one second late, you could have been hurt."

He closed the window and sighed.

"Training ends early today. Get some rest. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

They nodded in a daze as Mr White went out of the room. He can't be blamed, they knew. He was just trying to protect them.

"Come on, Jenny. Let's go." Aaron walked towards the door, but halted when he realised that no one was following him. "Jenny?"

"Hm? Coming."

She followed Aaron out of the room and slightly shook her head. She had a bad feeling about this.

---End of Chapter 2---