CHAPTER 1

FBI PROFILES - SPECIAL OPS DIVISION

Name: Natalie Burton
Age: 17
Height: 5'7
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Blonde
Partner: Jake Alderman

Name: Jake Alderman
Age: 18
Height: 6'1
Eye color: Green
Hair color: Black
Partner: Natalie Burton

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Natalie crept along the side of a old warehouse. The docks were deserted this time of night, 2 AM to be exact. She nodded to Jake, who was crouched behind some shipping crates on the other side of the alley. Natalie pulled her gun out of its holster and clicked off the safety. Her sensitive ears and a soft metallic noise let her know that Jake had done the same.

There was a window a good ten feet off the ground. A faint light could be seen from the outside, and soft murmurs indicated that a meeting was taking place.

Natalie felt the adrenaline rush that always came during a mission. This specific mission, to capture one of the city's biggest drug lords, was really not very complicated or difficult compared to some of her previous assignments. Nevertheless, she approached the situation with utmost caution and concentration.

Noiselessly, Jake stacked two crates on top of each other under the window, and climbed on top of them. He grabbed Natalie's arm and pulled her up beside him. He then leaned down and allowed her to climb on top of his shoulders. His stood up slowly, and inch by inch Natalie moved closer to the window. When Jake was standing straight up, Natalie was eye level with the bottom windowsill.

She pulled a small recording device from her utility belt and clipped a tiny microphone to the inside of the window. Then, all they could do was wait. They were specifically told that they were to let the meeting continue as usual, and try to detain the leader only upon his departure. Natalie listened closely to the conversation below.

"Aaron, you know we're in trouble."

"As always, Josh, you over exaggerate."

"Not this time. The cops are onto us. They'll have the FBI on our tail in no time."

A third voice chimed in, "If the cops raid us, our buyers will lose faith. We'll go under."

The room was silent.

The leader, called Aaron Williams, continued, "Gentlemen, I can assure you the Feds are no threat to us."

"Are you willing to take that risk and continue with business as usual?"

"Yes I am."

Natalie smiled to herself. If they only knew...

Williams began again, "Gentlemen, it has been a productive meeting. Thank you for your time."

Thank yous were murmured as the lesser suppliers left the building. Soon only Williams and his bodyguard remained. Natalie tapped Jake's shoulder with her foot signaling that the meeting was over, and jumped down onto the ground softly. Her partner followed suit and they went around to the front of the building. They once again took cover behind large crates and waiting for the drug lord to emerge.

After five minutes, Natalie began to get anxious. Suddenly, the noise of a machine gun roared, shattering the peaceful sound of the ocean waves beneath the dock. Shit, they know we're here, but how? Natalie's thoughts were interrupted by a second round of machine gun fire and she dived behind some trashcans as the bullets punched holes in the crate she had been hiding behind. That was a close one.

In the commotion, Natalie almost didn't notice a shadowy figure emerge from the building and run swiftly into the night. Natalie whirled around, took aim, and fired. Her efforts were rewarding by a cry of pain and Natalie yelled to Jake, "Cover me!"

Jake pulled his own gun and began to fire on the bodyguard who was operating the machine gun from the same window that Natalie had planed the microphone in. So that's how they knew we were here...

Natalie weaved in and out of the crates, running low to avoid any stray bullets. She was gaining on the figure, who was now staggering due to the pain. Natalie heard a cry and the gunfire stopped. Did something happen to Jake? Oh my god... But she shook her head. She had a job to do. Besides, Jake would come through, he always did.

Natalie tackled Aaron Williams, sending him to the floor with a thud. She grabbed his shoulder, and pulled out her handcuffs, her hands stained from the man's blood. Natalie smiled to herself. He aim had been right on - she didn't want to kill Williams, only wound him. They still needed him for information.

Natalie roughly pulled the man's hands behind his back and said, "This is Natalie Burton, FBI. Aaron Williams, you under arrest. You have the right to re-"

Suddenly, Natalie heard screeching tires and quickly turned around to see a black limousine racing down the dock, knocking over crates as it went. Natalie was blinded by the headlights of the car that was heading straight for her. She looked down at her prisoner, who was smiling.

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Two weeks later....

Natalie cringed as she saw the locks of her golden hair fall to the floor. Her sapphire eyes flashed around the barber shop suspiciously.

"Take is easy," a male voice came from behind her. Natalie whirled around and saw Jake leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets and his posture relaxed.

"I'm finished miss," said the barber softly, very wary of the obviously angry girl. Natalie looked Jake in the eye and said, "You better tell me what the hell the going on." Jake rolled his eyes and led Natalie to his car.

Natalie got into the passenger seat of a black BMW Z4 roadster and Jake started the engine. He didn't drive slowly by any means, but he didn't try to impress people with his horsepower. He turned on the radio to a rock station, remembering that Natalie hated country and pop.

"Sometimes this job can really be a drag," admitted Natalie to Jake and she hung her arm out of the window. At 17 and 18, Natalie and Jake were the youngest field agents in the FBI. They went to the same middle school and high school, but they had never really been friends. All that changed the day a man in a black suit approached the then-14-year-olds and offered them jobs in the FBI. They had undergone three years of rigorous physical and mental training. Even though they were only teenagers, they were the top field agents in the Bureau. After their first few missions, they had been made permanent partners and spent much of their time together.

"At least you're never bored on a Friday night," Jake retorted, looking at Natalie. She was 5'7 with medium length straight blonde hair. Her bright blue eyes sparkled when she was particularly happy or angry, which was quite often. She had a nice figure, but not too much so, as Jake often noticed. Her body was toned and lean from the years of physical training.

"Yea, what I wouldn't give to go to a party like a regular kid," Natalie said. Jake nodded his head, his short black hair falling in front of his deep green eyes. He was 6'1 and Natalie always had to raise her head up to look him in the eye. He was wearing a white sleeveless shirt, which showed off his muscular body.

"You promised you'd tell me why I have to do this…," Natalie said softly.

Jake pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned the radio off.

Flashback * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Jake!" Natalie screamed . Williams had wiggled his way out of her grasp and had managed to roll to the side. Now the limo was speeding up, and Natalie was directly in its path. She saw a figure leap towards her and push her to the side just as the limo passed. With more screeching of tires, the limo cornered around the old warehouse.

Jake released Natalie from his grasp and breathed, "Did he get away?" Natalie said nothing, but jumped up and looked around, searching for the man that had disappeared. Very faintly, she heard a whimper of pain, then footsteps running into the darkness. "He's getting to that limo. He's escaping!"

"We can't let him get away!" Jake said, "C'mon, hurry!" They ran around the side of the warehouse in time to see the wounded man enter a black limo that had nearly run Natalie over. Natalie and Jake took cover behind the shipping crates and opened fire on the car. To their dismay, the windows were made from bulletproof material. The car started and accelerated into the night while Jake and Natalie stayed behind the crates, powerless to stop the escaping felon.

Natalie shook her head. "How could we have lost him?" Disbelief flooded her system. "We've never failed before..." he voice trailed

Jake said something into his communicator, them pulled Natalie against his chest. "Don't worry, I don't think we've seen the last of Aaron Williams."
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"Natalie you know this is for your own good, Aaron Williams is after you," Jake said seriously, worry etched on his face. "You read the note yourself, he's out for revenge."

"I can handle it!" Natalie said, on the verge of tears. "Why won't anyone believe me?"

"The Bureau doesn't want you to get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt," Jake said soothingly brushing her hair from her downcast face.

That morning, Natalie and Jake went into the director's office to receive their next mission. Instead, they were shown a threatening letter that they had received from Aaron Williams. His drug ring had been disrupted due to the raid, and Natalie had permanently wounded his shoulder with her bullet. The note said that she would never be safe, that Aaron Williams would find her and kill her.

Flashback* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Natalie stared at the note in her hand. "What are we going to do?" she asked as calmly as possible. The director stared at the shaking girl and the pale-faced boy sitting in front of him.

"I have an idea, but I don't think you're going to like it. You are going to go into hiding,"

Natalie's head snapped up and her eyes blazed. "I will NOT run away from him! I won't let him keep me from doing my job!"

The Director held up his hand, "Natalie, we are going to enroll you in Preston Hall under a false identity. You'll stay there until we can find Williams and put him away for life."

Jake, who had been silent up until then, chimed in, "But isn't that a boarding school for guys?"

Natalie erupted. "A GUYS SCHOOL! In case you haven't noticed, I'm a GIRL! Won't a stand out a little?!?"

"Unless…" the director said with a coy smile.

"No way! No way in hell, do you hear me?"

"Natalie this is for you own good. No one will ever look for you there. You don't have a choice."

Natalie hung her head in defeat, while Jake stared unbelievingly at the Director.
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It had been decided that Natalie would dress as a boy and live at Preston Hall. Natalie was fuming that she would have to cut her hair, bind her chest, and live with a guy. She didn't have anything against boys, but she wouldn't want to live with one. Jake was sad about losing Natalie, but he agreed that she would be safe at Preston Hall.

"Now that you've got your hair cut, we need to get you some 'cool' clothes" Jake said jokingly to the angry blonde who was staring at the telephone poles as they drove by.

"I'll bet you're just loving this…"