At ECHO headquarters, Lucas had studied the layout of the town nearby as well as the school's. While he knew that going in person would be a good idea at some point, he also noted that it had nothing to do with his objective at the moment. On top of this, the realization that he would be going to play football every day, until he accomplished his mission, flashed through his mind.

"Thanks, man," he told Nathan. "But I think I'm going to stay behind today."

"Suit yourself," Nathan shrugged.

"I'll come with you," Raymond offered.

Nathan turned to glare at him. "You're just hoping my sister will be there."

"Your sister is coming?" another guy, who overheard, asked.

Before he knew what was happening, Lucas' desk was surrounded by guys clambering to try and get close to Nathan as they begged to go along.

"Back off you vultures!" Nathan told them as he tried to break free of the group and escape the classroom. "I'm not taking any of you with me!"

"Awe come on man." There were protests all around.

Lucas watched in amusement as Nathan broke free and darted from the room. A few guys followed him out of the door before the bell rang for class to resume.

Muttering in disappointment, guys filed back to their desks. Lucas leaned back, trying to come up with an idea of how to train for football later on. Nathan won't be here...so I can't get his help. He twirled his pencil, nothing the teacher was saying going into his mind. Maybe some of the other team will be up for it...then again, he scowled, will they notice my lack of experience if they practice with me? He stopped twirling the pencil. What about ECHO? He shook his head. No. This is a trifle matter. I'm expected to take care of it myself.

By the time classes ended for the day, Lucas had come to a conclusion. He would watch some technique videos and try out what he could. It wasn't exactly the first time he had to take a crash course on a sport. There had been jobs where he had had to know a lot about all sorts of competitive sports...yet it was definitely a first for trying to develop enough skill for a sport to look like he had grown up playing it.

The bell rang. Packing together his stuff, Lucas crammed it into his school bag before heading off to his room.

It was empty when he got there. Not bothering to think about where Brian was, he grabbed his laptop and plopped down on his bed.

Time to learn the rules, Lucas noted. His fingers flew across the keyboard. It didn't take long to find what he wanted.

Lucas sat back as he read one rule after the other. His trained mind stored piece after piece as it skimmed over the writing. Flash memorization; it had been something ECHO had drilled into him. It was vital when working, memorizing the smallest detail in the fastest way possible. This technique had gotten him out of trouble more than once.

When the door opened, Lucas glanced up to see Brian enter.

"Hey," the other boy said.

Lucas nodded in greeting. He watched Brian dump a backpack by his desk and sit down. The boy pulled out a text book and started reading. Turning his attention back to his laptop, Lucas pulled up some video clips. He plugged in headphones and proceeded to watch bits and pieces of actual football matches. When he felt that he grasped the rules, especially off side and a foul verses an acceptable tackle, he watched a few more clips on training to develop skills.

It took him two hours in total before he snapped his laptop shut. Changing out of his uniform, he grabbed his football.

"See you later," he told Brian as he walked to the door.

Brian didn't look up but simply raised a hand in goodbye.

Lucas headed for the fields. He had wondered if it was the best place to practice as anyone could watch, however, he also knew that people would easily just brush it aside that he was doing extra training. It was no secret to the coach, or team, that he wasn't up to level at the moment; they just didn't know he really was playing the sport for the first time in his life.

Putting the ball on the ground, Lucas looked up towards the goal. Shots? He wondered. Shaking his head he decided that shooting could wait. From the games he had seen, ball control and team play were more important. When it came to an actual game he would pass the ball more than take shots; not to mention he could easily pass it off to someone else instead of having to make the shot himself.

"Right," Lucas muttered as he rolled the ball under his foot. He remembered the clip he had watched. "Here it goes." He began to job, dribbling the ball as he did so. At first he looked down at it, but when he got the feeling, he looked up, concentrating on controlling the ball without looking.

He continued to do so until it felt more natural and less forced. Yet Lucas knew that to really improve he would have to practice more than just one day. Changing routine he went to doing other little exercises with the ball he had seen online. Remembering the exercise to the smallest detail was fine, doing it right was harder.

As he continued to practice a smile spread across Lucas' face. Training had always been vital to preparing for any situation so that he would stay alive; it was a serious thing. However, for the first time in what he felt was forever, Lucas actually felt enjoyment from trying to learn something new. As difficult as it was trying to learn by himself, there was something about playing around with the ball and trying to bounce it as many times as he could with his feet and his head, which really made him relax. On top of this, he wasn't picking up scratches and bruises or in danger of getting seriously hurt with one wrong move. Training at ECHO required absolute perfection; there was no playing around.

"Someone's out practicing hard." The voice made Lucas stop what he was doing. He turned to see Auden stand there. He had skates slung over his shoulder. Behind him, more guys were walking past, talking and laughing; it was the hockey team.

"Practice went late," Auden said as he saw Lucas' gaze on the skates. "Not to mention these are my old skates. Forgot I left them here. Now I have to find a place for them or I can't fit my new ones in that small locker."

Lucas only nodded. He brushed a hand across his forehead, wiping away the sweat.

"By the sight of you I'm guessing you've been here a while," Auden said.

"You could say that," Lucas replied just as lights went on, bathing the fields in light while the sky slowly darkened.

"What you doing, bro?" A guy Lucas hadn't seen before, left the walking group and stopped to drape an arm around Auden. "New student?" he asked as he took Lucas in.

Lucas nodded.

"Football player," the new guy noted. He was somewhat more bulked, his brown hair cropped short. "The sport played by gentlemen and watched by hooligans...or so they say," he added.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. He looks like he could be a challenge in a fight, he thought. Danger? Perhaps...

"No offense man, but kicking a ball around compared to what we do on the ice...owe!" the new guy complained as Auden slapped him across the back of his head.

Auden grinned at his reaction. "Ignore Banster," he told Lucas. "Did you have dinner?"

Lucas' eyes widened as he realized that he must have missed it. "I forgot," he admitted. He couldn't believe he had been so distracted.

Auden grinned. "Well you're in luck. They tend to keep extra for when teams have late practice. Come eat with us."

"Yes do," Banster added. "Let's have a little talk of what real sport is. You know, the one where you actually get to smash your opponent..."

Lucas couldn't help but grin. He rolled the ball back and flicked it up with his foot, catching it as though it was the most natural thing when he had only just mastered it. "Sure." He walked over to join the two.

They walked to the dining room, following the rest of the hockey team who had already disappeared inside.

When they entered, most of the team was already seated at a couple of tables they had pulled together to make a place big enough for everyone to fit.

Lucas followed Banster to grab a tray of food. Auden was behind him. When they walked to the table Banster spread one hand out.

"Hey fellas!" he yelled. "We brought along a guest, so be on your best behavior!"

Eyes turned into Lucas' direction. Feeling the tension in the air his muscles coiled in response. His instincts had kicked in; he was ready for battle if the smallest signal was given. High school, he had to remind himself as he tried to relax.

"Soccer player?" someone asked eyeing the football he held under one arm.

"It's called football," someone else scolded him.

"Not where I come from," the guy shot back.

"You're a minority," came the reply. An argument broke out at the end of the table.

"Never seen you before," another guy commented as he stared at Lucas curiously.

"New student," Banster replied as he put an arm around Lucas' shoulder. "From what I hear, he's in Auden's dorm."

"Hah, good luck," a guy said.

"Hey!" Auden protested as he sat down. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're dorm is crazy," came the reply.

"Nah, best dorm out there," someone else disagreed.

"Then why does dorm 3 always loose the dorm competitions," someone challenged.

"Cause we feel sorry for all the other losers."

"Aren't you the losers for never winning?"

Lucas sat down across from Auden. Banster sat next to him as the rest of the table broke out into an argument as to which dorm was the best.

"So, how are you finding the place?" Auden asked as they ate.

A potato flew by, narrowly missing Lucas' head as it plummeted off the table. Someone had bad aim amount the arguing guys.

"It's..." Lucas watched the rowdy boys out of the corner of his eyes. One guy grabbed another and snaked an arm around his neck. "Interesting," Lucas finished.

Auden grinned. "Amen to that." He paused. "I saw Nathan earlier. He said you struggled somewhat in training today."

Lucas wanted to narrow his eyes; he resisted.

"The accident...it must have been hard. You really ok with playing again?" Auden asked.

Lucas relaxed as he realized that was all there was too it. "I'm fine. I just need practice to get back to what I used to be," he said.

"Accident?" Banster asked as he caught drift of the conversation. His eyes widened slightly. "You're that new guy!" he exclaimed.

News gets around fast, Lucas noted. Guess the back story ECHO came up with might be more attention catching than planned. He saw Auden shoot Banster a look that seemed to say "drop it". It did the trick.

There was a bang and the table shook. Lucas glanced across to see that two of the guys, who had still been arguing about which dorm was the best, had tried to settle their differences by arm wrestling. The result was a broken plate and spilled food.

"Hey, captain, keep your team in check," Auden said; it was directed at Banster.

"Not my problem," Banster replied. "Let them have some fun."

"So irresponsible off the ice," Auden sighed.

Captain, Lucas stored that piece of information. He had to admit that he would have never guessed Banster was in charge of the team.

"Like you're much better. Most unlike a dorm head I've ever met," Banster shot back.

There were snickers all around. A yell interrupted as two glasses with water tipped over thanks to some arguing guys. Water went all over the table, causing guys to jump up and back away.

"Alright," Auden stood up. "That's it. As dorm head, and since our captain seems incompetent," he shot Banster a meaningful look, "I'm going to try to end this madness of an argument before you break anything else." Heads turned in his direction and silence settled. "Firstly, Connan, it's called football."

There was a 'yesssss', emphasized with a fist pump, from the guy who sat next to Connan.

"Secondly," Auden faced the rest of his team. "As to which dorm is the best, it's obvious...dorm three is unbeatable."

Potatoes flew the air towards Auden who yelped as he tried to duck.

Banster held up his empty plate to protect himself from any misfires. "They'll have a blast cleaning this up later," he muttered.

Lucas automatically caught a potato which would have hit him if he hadn't stopped it. He didn't comment but just took a bite out of the vegetable as he watched guys all around him chuckle and laughed as though they had not a care in the world. He felt intrigued by this kind of behavior. It was something new; different to what he was used too. In ECHO things were always serious. He couldn't understand this new carefree attitude.

In the end all the guys, including Lucas, had to stay behind and help clear the floor of all the potatoes that lay there. No one seemed to mind as they just talked and laughed as they did so. A game of hockey broke out when some of the guys decided the potatoes were pucks and the brooms hockey sticks. A cafeteria lady had to come over and break it up. Realizing they weren't welcome any more, the guys headed out for their dorms, each going to do homework or simply hang out before curfew.

"You skate, Lucas?" one of the hockey guys asked as the others were leaving.

"Never tried it," Lucas replied. It was the truth. He had done skiing and snowboarding, but those were the only winter sports he had touched. Not to mention, he had never done them for fun. No, usually guns and high speed chases were involved.

"Drop by some time," the guy called.

"Yeah," Banster agreed. "It'd be a good chance to see a sport that real men play."

"Maybe I'll take you up on that," Lucas replied before saying his goodbyes and heading back to the dorm. There was something about hanging out with the guys that he had never felt before; never had he been around so many others his same age group...well not ones that didn't want him dead.

Remember, his mind warned, some of them may be government operatives. "Right," he muttered, "Don't get attached." It was the philosophy that had kept him alive so far.

Dorm three was in chaos as he entered it. Guys were running around, papers being thrown from room to room. Auden had headed off with some hockey guys to hang out, so he wasn't there to call order; if he would have anyway, Lucas wasn't sure.

A guy sprinted past the ECHO agent, narrowly avoiding a collision.

"Give it back!" another yelled as he ran in pursuit.

Dodging a bunch of dudes, Lucas made it back to his room. He shut the door behind him, blocking out half of the noise. Turning, he found Brian was no longer there. Nathan, however, was lying on his bed. As soon as he caught sight of Lucas, he jumped to his feet.

"Man, you totally missed it!" he exclaimed.

"Missed what?" Lucas asked as he only half listened and dropped his football in the corner. He kicked off his shoes and headed for his bed.

"Things got crazy in town," Nathan's eyes were wide.

"Oh yeah?" Lucas picked up his laptop before flopping down on his mattress.

"Dude, there was a shoot out!"

That got Lucas' attention. His head snapped up. "A what?"

"Shoot out," Nathan repeated.

Lucas' mind spun with scenarios. "Robbery?" he asked.

"Not as far as I could tell." Nathan pulled a chair closer and sat down, facing Lucas. "Amber and I dropped by a restaurant to grab a bite to eat since we were going to miss dinner..." Lucas assumed that Amber had to be Nathan's sister, "And all of the sudden the shooting just started." Nathan shook his head. "It was crazy, man. People were screaming and everything just became a blur. One of the shooters ran right past out window; looked to me like he was being chased by a whole bunch of guys in masks."

Masks? Not a robbery, but whatever was going down the people didn't want their identities exposed...

"It was like a shoot off between two sides..." Nathan continued. "Weirdest part was that the cops didn't turn up for a bit...and when they did they did I swear I saw one of the masked guys talking to them. They didn't even arrest him!"

Influence on cops...it couldn't be...could it? Lucas' mind whirled. Were there government operatives in town chasing someone down? But who and why? As far as he knew he was the only one directly on the job from ECHO.

"Amber told me I was crazy and that I couldn't have seen the end part...but I know what I saw. Those cops were talking with some of the shooters like it was the most natural thing." Nathan shook his head. "I heard when I got back that the school's going to ban anyone from going into town for a while...they should be announcing it tomorrow. Sucks dude, we won't be able to go to for a while..." the rest of what Nathan said was lost to Lucas as his mind continued to race.

If it was a shootout involving government operatives it couldn't just be coincidence that it was near here when the object is... He scowled. Looks there others who after the object too. ECHO had said nothing about competitors, yet it wasn't impossible.

The door opened and Brian walked in. He looked deep in thought about something.

"Hey, dude!" Nathan whirled to face him as he seemed to realize that Lucas was no longer listening. "You missed something in town..." Nathan began to tell Brian all about the event. The other boy didn't seem that interested.

Lucas sat back on his bed. He slowly opened his laptop. I'll call Zack later and see if he knows anything about anyone else aiming for the item. It bothered him. For if there were then it would bring things to another level; for he would be in for a race against another group.

Switching his laptop on, Lucas switched it to safety mode so that any hacking device wouldn't see what he was really doing. He searched for the signals of the bugs he had placed earlier. When he didn't find them he hesitated. His fingers paused above the keyboard before they rattled away. If he couldn't access the live feed, then he would have to break into the black box function.

It took some time, all the while Nathan was telling Brian about his trip. Finally, Lucas got through. He opened the black box only to find that his screen showed nothing but static. He thought it over for a moment before he suddenly remember one of his classmates from earlier on holding his phone and complaining about it suddenly seemed to have stopped working.

Electro pulse, Lucas realized as he slowly closed his laptop. It was a device, used in high security places, which sent out a pulse that fried all electronics in the area. Has to be a special one to not affect students' laptops, but it hits cellphones and bugging devices; that means it gets rid of students using their own cellphones and having unmonitored conversations. He was lucky, for ECHO had made sure to build an anti-pulse into his cellphone, yet they obviously hadn't done it for the bugs.