The Text

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August 2016

A blonde-haired woman wearing a bright green trench coat walked down the streets of a bustling city, her nose buried in her phone. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw an alarming text message. The sender was unknown to her as she tried to figure out why this person would send her a message like this.

The sentence "Come to the abandoned office building around the corner. More instructions will be given." was displayed on the screen. Confusion flooded the woman. She is just an ordinary employee working in the fashion industry, why would anyone target her? She debated whether or not to comply with the text message's request, half-fearing that her life would be in danger if she didn't. Steeling her resolve, she decided to head to the old office building and get to the bottom of this.

When she arrived at the building, her bright blue eyes bulged as she saw how worn the building was. The windows were boarded up with pieces of wood and the building itself had vines covering it from top to bottom. It reminded her of the orphanage in the children's book Madeline, but this is not exactly child appropriate. She carefully went up the steps and pushed the broken glass doors open before heading inside.

"Hello? I got your text message and came here like you asked me to!" The woman yelled, her voice echoing through the building. "My name is Clara Kent, what's yours?" Clara called out again. "Why does it have to be so dark in here?" Clara muttered as she felt around for a light switch. Finding none, she activated the flashlight function on her phone to help light the way. "Thank you, technology," Clara whispered to herself, being careful not to step on anything that might cause her to plummet to her death.

The young woman then passed an empty office that had a brand new oak desk in it. Why would someone go through the trouble of putting a new desk in this dump? Clara thought as she ventured into the office. There was a note on the desk, written in an elegant script. Clara picked up the paper and scanned the words written on the crisp, white paper.

"You have been chosen to be a member of Katana, a top-secret government organization of international spies. When the time comes, there will be someone named Philip to take you to an undisclosed location. Remember! Do not speak of this to anyone, if you do, then we at Katana will have no choice but to eliminate you from the face of the Earth."

"Me? A spy? You have got to be kidding me! Sure, I can keep secrets, but I'm no female 007!" Clara exclaimed, her eyes glued to the note as she read it over and over. She let out an annoyed huff as she slammed the letter down on the desk, producing a loud boom as she did so. Clara then turned on her heel and left the building to continue on her journey home.

Later that night, as Clara laid herself in bed, she tossed and turned as she thought about the note. "Why would they pick me? What makes me so unique? I never fought anyone! What if they expect me to take part in hand to hand combat?" Clara thought worriedly. "What if I fail a mission, and they decide to get rid of me permanently?" The blonde thought again, her mind filled with worst case scenarios.

The next morning, as Clara got up to get ready for work, a knock was heard at her door. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she went to open it. "Is your name Clara Kent?" A tall, sharp-dressed man wearing dark sunglasses asked. "Yes, I'm Clara Kent. How may I help you?" Clara asked. "I'm going to need you to come with me, Ms. Kent. We have no time to lose." The man said matter-of-factly. As the words left the man's mouth, all colour drained from Clara's face as yesterday's events came flooding back with a vengeance.

The man then pulled out a dark pillowcase and put it over Clara's head. He then tied her up with a pull tie and dragged her away from her home. Clara tried to free herself from the man's tight grasp on her arm, but he was too strong. She tried to scream, but her voice was drowned out by the loud whirring of helicopter blades. The man pushed Clara into the chopper and closed the door. The helicopter then took off toward the outskirts of the city and beyond with Clara in tow.

A few hours later, the helicopter landed in front of a fancy skyscraper. The man opened the door to deboard, taking Clara with him. He took her inside and rode the elevator to the 47th floor. The man then went into a room that looked like the Green Arrow's underground lair and sat Clara down on a chair. He pulled off the pillowcase, cut off the pull tie and stood beside Clara as an older, silver-haired man appeared before them.

"Welcome, Clara, to Katana." The elderly man said, his voice smooth as silk. "Who are you? What am I doing here? Why did you choose me?" Clara asked as her anger rose. The man didn't reply. He looked at Clara with a stern expression on his face and said, "Your questions will be answered in due time, Clara. For now, you are to begin your training immediately. Take her away, Philip." The man ordered. A look of shock flashed across Clara's face as Philip pulled her up from the chair. "Training? What training?" Clara asked as Philip led her away. "You will find out soon enough, Clara." The man said with a smirk. "Let's see if you have what it takes to be a Katana agent."

Author

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