Lucas decided that there was nothing to do but turn in. He could put the snooping around aside for the night. Auden came by as promised to check that all the guys were in the dorm.

"Nathan been showing you the ropes?" he asked Lucas.

Lucas nodded.

"As expected. Can't count on Brian for something like that."

"Heard you," Brian said from where he was lying in bed.

"Yeah," Auden said before setting off to leave for the next room. "Try not to set off any fire alarms this semester, Nathan."

"That was one time!" Nathan protested.

Auden didn't reply as he had already left.

The boys turned in and Lucas found sleep claimed him pretty fast. He woke up when he felt a presence near him. Automatically, Lucas reached underneath his pillow. Not finding his knife there, he remembered where he was. Slowly he turned over to find Nathan grinning down at him while holding his football.

"Tuesday. Practice at seven," Nathan told him cheerfully. He tossed the football at Lucas who caught it as he sat up. He shot a glance at the alarm clock to see that it was six.

"We're lucky coach decided on seven. One semester it was five thirty every morning," Nathan told him as he pulled off his shirt and exchanged it for a jersey with the number twenty one on the back.

Lucas didn't reply as he swung his legs out of bed. Getting up early wasn't a problem.

"Don't bother with a shower," Nathan told him. "We'll have time right after practice."

Lucas looked towards Brian's bed to see that the boy was fast asleep. By the fact that Nathan wasn't bothering with keeping his voice down, Lucas guessed the other boy was a pretty heavy sleeper.

"What time does class start?" Lucas wondered aloud.

"Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at eight," Nathan told him as he grabbed a pair of football cleats and began to pull them on and lace them up. "Tuesdays and Thursdays at nine to let teams have morning practices." He looked in the direction of Brian. "Must be nice to get to sleep in when you aren't in sports," he added wistfully.

Lucas grabbed the jersey Nathan had dropped on his bed the day before. Apparently the coach had told him to pass it on.

"Number thirteen, just like you requested," Nathan said as Lucas opened it up and stared at the number.

Lucas couldn't resist a snort. It was typical of ECHO. His code name was K13 after all.

"Don't know why you'd want an unlucky number," Nathan said.

"I don't believe in superstition," Lucas told him as he headed for the bathroom with the shirt.

Nathan watched, as though wondering why he didn't change there. Yet when Lucas made a show of grabbing his toothbrush and some toothpaste, the question disappeared from Nathan's face.

Lucas stuck the toothbrush in his mouth and began to brush his teeth. Being shirtless is going to be an issue, he noted. Especially if there are government operatives around. Normally people would believe if I told them something, but the operatives will know the difference. He kicked the door shut before pulling off his shirt. Turning to the mirror, he stared at the scars that stood out. A finger went to his shoulder and traced across the old bullet wound. The knife slash across his chest had healed well, but it was still somewhat pink. At least the rope burn around my neck isn't noticeable anymore, Lucas noted. That had been a painful one he had achieved when he had almost gotten choked in Morocco.

Despites the numerous scars from his neck down, he was sure his back looked a lot worse. Were there no government operatives hiding in the school, he could have just brushed it off as something he had acquired from the accident. Yet no operative would be fooled. They all knew what scars from battle looked like.

I'll figure it out if the problem ever arises, he told himself as he pulled on the jersey and finished brushing his teeth. Coming out of the bathroom, he found Nathan waiting.

"Dude, you probably want to take your school stuff," he advised. "We won't be coming back here after practice."

Lucas nodded and grabbed the backpack ECHO had packed for him. Nathan had his own too. Nathan. The two guys left the room and began to head down the hallway. From the room beside theirs, Lucas caught sight of a pair of eyes watching him through a slightly ajar door. As soon as Lucas turned, the eyes disappeared and the door closed with a 'click'.

Threat? Lucas wondered as they continued. He had recognized those eyes from the day before. Jamie, the name flashed through his mind as he remembered what Auden had told him. He stored the possibility of a threat in his mind and turned his concentration to where he was going. Along the way, he reached a hand into the outer pocket of his backpack. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled out what looked like small see through patches with a tiny black dot in the middle.

As they walked Lucas places three of them along the walls in the hallway by simply brushing his hand against it. Nathan didn't notice a thing, and if anyone was watching through the cameras in the hallway, it wouldn't look like he was placing bugs at all.

Lucas felt satisfaction as they exited the hallway. He could check the images and conversations later on his laptop.

They headed to the cafeteria only to find it already pretty full. Guys dressed in various sport outfits were all around, inhaling their breakfast as though it was the last meal they would ever see.

"My advice," Nathan told Lucas, "don't eat too much. Coach tends to make you spit it all up again during warm up if you know what I mean."

Lucas decided it was better to listen. He placed a bug under the table the sat at while eating. Once done, they headed for the field. A whole group of guys were already there, all wearing the same colored jersey with different numbers on the back.

"S'up," Jordan nodded as he saw them. He and one other player were the only ones wearing a different jersey from the rest.

"You the new guy?" a player asked as Lucas and Nathan reached them.

"Lucas," Lucas told him.

"Darin," came the reply.

More guys came until Lucas counted twenty two altogether. A few gathered around him, curious, and introduced themselves.

"Alight, lads!" a voice, with a thick British accent, called.

The guys all turned their attention to the man who came towards them. He had a shaved head, a clipboard in one hand and a hat in the other. A whistle hung around his neck and he looked well built. His grey eyes scanned over the boys before him.

"Hope you all didn't pig out at breakfast, cause we're doing our bleep test today."

There were groans all around.

"You know the drill," the man, whom Lucas could only guess was the coach, told them. Another man, somewhat younger and lanky, was hurrying over to join them on the field. He too, had a whistle. "We already had tryouts; this is just the final check to see if you all really are fit. You don't pass level nine and you can take the test again tomorrow afternoon. Fail then and you're off the team."

Lucas had no idea what he was talking about, and yet everyone around him seemed to know all too well.

"If you want a chance to play first string, or keep your position on it, I expect level eleven. No exceptions. Got it?"

The guys muttered 'yes'.

"I'll be nice and take suicides out of the mix today."

There were a few sighs of relief.

The other man had reached the first, looking completely out of breath.

"I believe we had a new team member join us today?" the coach said as he looked around. "Lucas Johnson?"

Lucas raised a hand and all eyes turned on him.

"Good to see you've made it," the coach said. "We could use you out there. This semester we're aiming for regional champions. Right lads?"

There were enthusiastic replies all around.

"Welcome Lucas and treat him like you do each other, okay?" the coach added. There were a few grins exchanged. The coach seemed to notice right away. "There will be no hazing this time," he said firmly.

"Ah," someone groaned.

"Why?" someone else muttered.

The coach scowled. "Because last time we ended up with the fire brigade screeching in here. It cost a fortune."

At the word 'fire brigade' a few guys snickered. The coach ignored them.

"Not to mention someone ended up getting drawn on his face with permanent marker. It last more than a week if I remember," he added as he shot a meaningful look at one of the guys. "So this time around you're simply going to have to welcome your new teammate by sweating together on the field."

Lucas wasn't sure what hazing was, but he somehow had a feeling that it wasn't too bad that he had to miss it.

"Alright. Three laps around the field for warm up and then we can get started with the test."

The guys paused.

"What are you waiting for, ladies?" the coach asked.

Turning, the guys sprang into action and began their jog. Lucas stood for a moment before he, too, turned to join them.

"Johnson?" Lucas assumed the coach meant him.

Stopping in mid stride, Lucas turned. The coach beckoned for him to come over. Lucas did so without hesitation.

The coach looked him up and down, as though analyzing him. Lucas did the same, though not as noticeable.

He looks like he would put up a good fight if it came down to it, Lucas noted. However, size doesn't determine the outcome.

"You look in good shape," the coach said. "I'm looking forward to seeing you play. From your record passing the bleep test shouldn't be too bad."

Lucas shrugged, he had no idea what he was talking about.

"I'm coach Duke...and this," the coach jerked a thumb at the skinny man next to him, "is my assistant Keller."

Keller nodded at Lucas and Lucas nodded back. The boys were already coming around and going into their second lap around.

"Now that our intros done, you can join your teammates for the last two laps," coach Duke told Lucas.

Lucas simply nodded before he turned and joined the guys in their jog. He was glad for the physical exercise. At least he would keep in shape.

Nathan sped up and fell into step beside him. "Coach give you an awkward welcome?" he asked.

Lucas didn't reply.

"He's alright most of the time. But if he wants us to win something he sometimes goes...how would you say it?" He turned to Jordan who appeared beside him.

"Off his rocker," Jordan helped out.

"You would know as his fellow countryman," another guy commented.

Jordan rolled his eyes.

A whistle blew. "Stop wasting your breath on chit chat!" coach Duke yelled.

The guys continued the rest of the way in silence. Upon finishing their warm up jog, they all headed to the middle of the field. Lucas noted the two lines with cones which were twenty meters apart. All the guys spread out behind the first line and so Lucas did the same. He noticed the set of loudspeakers set up nearby.

What is this? He wondered. He could only guess it was some fitness test, yet he had never heard of it before.

"Alright, lads." The coach switched something on. "You know the drill."

"Start of level one," a feminine voice came from the speakers. "Beep, beep, beeeep." At the last beep the guys all started a slow jog, one next to the other, at a steady pace.

Lucas fell into step beside Nathan. Why is everyone so slow?

As they reached the other line, the guys stepped over it just as another 'beep' sounded. As one, they turned and headed back to the other line. When they reached it the 'beep' sounded and they turned around again. Lucas did as they did, looking as though he knew exactly what he was doing.

This continued for a minute before the feminine voice spoke again. "Start of level two," she announced.

As Lucas and the others continued to run between the lines to the beeps, he began to catch on. It seemed as though the aim was to always reach the other side on the beep. Each minute when the level rose, the beep would have shorter intervals, thus making the guys increase their pace.

By the time they reached level eight point five, guys were beginning to fall behind.

"That's one miss, Mark!" coach Duke called out.

They continued to nine point one.

"Third miss. Mark and Paul, out!"

The two guys left the group.

Lucas had finally caught on to how things worked. If one didn't make it in time for the beep to the line, it counted as a miss. Three misses and one was out. He continued to push on with the guys. He had to admit, it was a lot harder than it looked. Though the test had started off slow, they were going a good pace now.

They passed level thirteen and only six guys were left, Lucas and Nathan among them. Lucas shot a glance at the guys next to him. His lungs were burning and yet he refused to stop. The competitive part inside him pushed him on.

"Nathan, one more miss and you're out," the coach warned.

At level fourteen it was just Lucas and one other member remaining. The guys from the sidelines cheered them on. Just as they reached level fifteen, Lucas dropped out. He was done. The other guy ran only two more lengths before he too, gave up.

"Alright." Coach Duke looked pleased as he wrote down the last two results on his clipboard. "Not too bad this time, lads." He looked up at the guy who had stayed in last. "As expected, Gustavo. Good job."

Lucas shot the guy a look. His guess was that he had to be Brazilian. Both his accent and look gave it away.

Gustavo grinned at the praise. He stood bent over, catching his breath.

"Lucas, you too," the coach added. "Looks like you practiced while you weren't here." He turned to the others. "A newbie made it farther than most of you. Shame on you."

The guys didn't seem to care.

"But I'm still impressed. No one below nine." The coach looked around at the tired faces. "Guess I'll give you all a reward. How about we practice your shots on goal and then scrimmage?"

There were 'yeahs' all around; two guys high fived. Jordan picked up a pair of gloves and pulled them on. The other guy dressed in the same jersey as him did the same.

"Johnson."

Lucas looked up to see the coach had turned to him.

"How about we start off by you showing us that killer shot of yours?"

Lucas pointed at himself in surprise.

"You've got this," Nathan told him as he placed a hand on his shoulder and passed him the ball.

"I won't go easy on you," Jordan said as he walked past him and took his position in the goal.

Lucas paused. Feeling all eyes on him, he slowly put the ball down. Not good, he thought as his eyes darted around. They zeroed in on the goal where Jordan clapped his hands together once before bending his knees. Looking ready to intercept whatever came at him he twitched his fingers.

Suddenly, Lucas wished he had spent more time studying football. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he ran through his options.

a) Go for it, take the shot. No fun without a risk.

b) This is the perfect chance to drop to the floor and conveniently fall unconscious.

c) Tell the coach he can't do it. Spin some story as to why not.