2 Hours! For 2 hours, all Daniel did was to stare at the dirty blue walls to the left of the bunk bed where he was lying.

They had safely arrived at the army camp 3 hours ago and after showering; while all others went to the gym, he stayed back at the barracks.

He was left alone with his thoughts for 2 hours. But after that, the silence of the badly maintained barracks was finally broken by Bogart who entered the barracks.

“What happened Dan? Are you okay?” Bogart asked.

“Yeah, I am fine. Thanks for the concern. It's just that I am a bit tired.” Daniel replied.

Daniel expected Bogart to walk out of the room after that but instead, Bogart seated himself on the bed next to Dan.

“You impressed me today. So young and yet so brave. I wonder how you get such bravery.” Bogart said.

At this, Dan's heart become heavy as the reason for it was Daniel's painful past. “I get my bravery because I have nothing to lose.” Daniel slowly got up from his bed and then continued, “All the soldiers here, they have someone they love who is praying for their return. Even you have a caring wife waiting for you to come back home safely. But me, I have no one.”

“Oh, I am sorry, kiddo. Must be hard for you. I heard about your mother from Mike. He said that she passed away when you were very young. But what about your dad?” Bogart asked.

Daniel's face rose up, and he looked straight into the eyes of Bogart, the way he always did when he wanted to prepare somebody for what was coming to him as Daniel knew that what he was going to say might be hard to believe. “My dad was the leader of Red Force.”

“What? You mean to say that your dad is Joseph Smith? Th-The leader of Red Force, which is by far the most successful task force?” Bogart asked.

“Yes, he led his team bravely in so many missions. But one day, he never returned. I waited and waited for him to come back safely like he did every time but that time, he didn't. People think he didn't have any family but it was because he never mentioned that he had a family as he was infamous among Keuka Organization. This was when I decided to join war, to accomplish what my dad hadn't. But, even after trying my best, I had lost in all my battles.” Daniel's eyes were now teary as he told his story.

“Oh come on, you're extremely skilled and brave. You know why I came here! I came here to share with you a good news for you. You'll certainly like what's inside this letter.” Bogart went through his pocket and produced a small white envelope. He handed it to Daniel.

“It says it's from Eagle Force. Do you know what Force this is” Daniel asked.

“You never caught up with the news, did you? All the governments of the world had invested a tremendous amount of money and resources on this force. They call it 'The Final Try'. Much news about this force isn't disclosed to the public though, so I can't tell you any further about this. But, you just got selected for its tryouts. If you pass it, you'll be a part of this team and if you really want to fulfill your father's dream, that's your best opportunity.” Bogart said.
“Thanks, Bogart sir. I can't believe I am part of such a great mission!” Daniel exclaimed.

He tore the linings of the envelope and carefully took out the white piece of paper. In it was written in bold words 'You are approved for the selections of Project Eagle.'

Beneath it was written in small letters 'We'll come pick you up at 5:00 AM sharp.' And below it was the signature of Kent Lin.

“Ugh, seriously, 5:00 AM!” Daniel muttered.

Bogart let out a laugh and then said “Alright kiddo, I'll wake you up, don't worry.”

“Thanks. Anyway, I guess I'll go to the gym now. Mike is there too, so I will tell him the news too.” Daniel said getting up from his bed.

“All right, I got some work to attend now.” Bogart said, getting up from the bed and then went out of the room.

Dan got himself refreshed and then went to the gym where he saw Mike on the treadmill. He chose the treadmill right next to Mike.

“Oh, Daniel, there you are. You missed out all the fun. I and some others went out to the forest surrounding our base. We found a really beautiful lake there. You wanna go check it out?” Mike asked.
“Don't mind if I do.” Daniel replied with a smirk.

“Okay then, let's go before it's dark.” Mike shut off the treadmill and got off it. Daniel followed him.

They came across their certain other friends as they walked through the dull gray corridors of the base.

Finally, they went past the guards guarding the camp and out into the dense canopy of forest.

“Just a little walk from here now.” Mike said.

---------------------------------------

For a long 1 minute, the only noise that could be heard was the dragging of their feet and the chirping of birds but after that, they finally reached the lake.

The reflection of the sky had made the small lake a bright blue color. The sun sprayed sparkles all over the lake, glittering it with gold.

Daniel took out his mobile and captured the scene.

“Just open your shoes and dip your feet into the water. The cold water will completely refresh your mind, believe me.” Mike said.

Daniel did as he pleaded and dipped his bare feet inside the water. At first, it was very cold and unmanageable but slowly, it started getting manageable.

“Feeling better already?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, I do.” Dan replied.

However, just then, he remembered the Eagle Force test.

“I have a very good news to share with you. I got selected for the Eagle Force tryouts.”

“Eagle Force? Man, that's really great. Why didn't you tell me before? You know what? Don't be angry if I say that I'm a bit jealous of you.” Mike said.

“Ah, no problem. If I get selected, I'll really miss you.” Daniel admitted.

“Yeah, me t-” suddenly Mike collapsed to the ground flat on his stomach, his back revealing a tranquilizer dart that was attacked to his body now.

Daniel immediately took cover behind a tree with wide trunk and tried to get a glimpse at the guy who had just shot Mike.

But, whoever shot Mike was well hidden behind the dense vegetation and all that could be seen was the black portion of his dress.

Daniel took out his radio from his pocket and spoke on it “Its me Daniel, I am at the backside of our base. There are some people here wh-” before Daniel could finish, another person fired a tranquilizer dart at him from behind!