The Agents

Shane Andrews

Some, surrounded by landmarks and big city life, would consider growing up in the nation's capitol exciting enough. Nevertheless, all of these are less than mundane for Shane. Since childhood, he and his best friend Mark had dreamed of becoming secret agents. Shane's childhood consisted of mini-adventures ranging from hunting the elusive Mr. Wiggles (the neighbor's cat) at the age of five to uncovering Mr. Parson's (apartment 4C across the street) secret affair with Marcia (of the sophomore homecoming court) at the age of twelve. However, while his love for intrigue increased with age, Mark's suddenly dropped off upon entering High School.

Shane was always the heavier fan of the spy genre, having a complete collection of James Bond, Avengers, Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, and other such tapes, and can usually quote them from memory. His fantasy life had always consisted of blowing up the bad guy of the week, using the gadget, saving and - upon getting older - seducing the girl, or all of the above. In fact, this heavy fascination hindered him from passing the C.L.U.B.'s recruitment exam.

Like most dreamers, Shane has never pursued gaining any of the talents he imagines having, lacking any training in covert actions, martial arts or weapon familiarity save for what he has seen on film. The closest he has come to foreign languages is the "D" he is currently getting in second-year Spanish. His physical prowess is average for someone his age, but many years in front of the TV have made him softer than agency standards.

All of this will change upon entering the C.L.U.B. Shane will be pushed to his limits to catch up with the other agents, and will surprise himself, his instructors, and fellow agents with his capability. As par for the course, he will establish typical relationships; most notably the rivalry with Dirk and the crush on Vi. He will be rode hard by Alpha at first, pushed to quit, but will eventually prove himself to be a reliable agent and therefore of use to the agency.

Violet "Vi" O'Shea

Violet O'Shea knows what it is like to be an at-risk agent. Her membership in the C.L.U.B. cost her everything she knew, but rewarded her with a new lease on life. As a child growing up in Ireland, she knew what terrorism was about and the costs that had to be paid. Her two older brothers had died in bombing attempts before she was five, and her father was a lieutenant in one of the radical branches of the IRA. By the age of ten, she was unable to read, but could put together a pipe bomb in three minutes.

Two years later, Vi's life was turned upside down. It began with an American coming to town to act as a bodyguard for a visiting British ambassador. I was her father's intent to assassinate the dignitary, but instead had a rare accident that killed both him and Vi's mother. Feeling as though the assassination was her father's dying wish, Vi took it upon herself to complete the job. Her attempt was foiled, however, by the timely interruption of the American. After a brief stand-off, he managed to not only get her to defuse the bomb, but also broke through her emotional walls to reveal the scared little girl inside.

After a drawn out trial process, the American filed adoption papers for Vi and brought her back with him. For the next several years, a strained father / daughter relationship developed. Once the two finally began to draw close, the American received new orders to take over command of the C.L.U.B.

Vi, now seventeen and a ranking agent, is the lead demolition expert. Her personality is friendly and outgoing when off assignment, but becomes the example of efficiency when on the job. Between her personality and attractiveness, she is the most popular girl in the C.L.U.B. Though still having a very pronounced Irish brogue, her background is rarely discussed and off limits. Like most of her history, her relationship with Alpha is considered top secret. Seeing the two of them on the job, you would never know that they were father and daughter. As far as personal relationships go, Vi is non-commital, knowing first hand how dangerous the life is. She is often the object of affection for a good percentage of the males, especially Shane and Dirk. She tolerates Dirk due to his skills as an agent, but dislikes him personally. Upon meeting Shane, she finds him entertaining and develops a friendship, but forbids herself from feeling more.

Walter Penniworth

The Penniworth family has had the best of everything for five generations. Sending their only son to the best school was expected, no matter the cost. At the age of three, Walter's future was set into motion for his eventual inheritence of the family fortune and business. The fact that he tested at a genius level at eight was just an added bonus.

The government, however, managed to provide the monkey wrench for these plans. During his testing session, Walter not only excelled beyond expectations, but was also able to figure out the true purpose of the tests. While the parental Penniworths refused to allow the "extra-curricular activities" of joining the C.L.U.B., Walter arranged to not only join, but accelerate his education process while his parents believe that their sixteen year old son is still at Overton Academy. In actuality, Walter has already graduated with three scientific degrees and is working on his doctorate.

While Walter has experience is the sciences, his true love is in being a gadgeteer; the very reason the C.L.U.B. recruited him. As with any "spy group," the C.L.U.B. uses gadgets galore, all of which originate from Walter's mind. While he does not excel in the physical activities, he more than makes up for it with his intellect. In other words, he is the preultimate nerd, and his appearance shows it. Ranging from the coke-bottle bottom glasses to the suit with bow tie, Walter dresses the part.

What is unknown by the majority of the organization is that the appearance is just a façade; Walter dresses as a normal teenager off hours. He strives to look his part to play on their expectations and apply his own level of distance between himself and the others. It is only once someone works to get to know "the boy behind the glasses" that he allows them into his real world.

One such person is Shane, who is drawn to the gadgeteer, but befiends the boy that everyone treats as a social outcast. Walter finds himself, for the first time, drawn into honest teenage relationships by way of Shane, eventually becoming the secret member of Shane's click. This also allows him to get to know Vi and becomes the emotional baggage-handler for the both of them.

Dirk Williams

Captain of the football team. Honor roll student. Voted most popular and most likely to succeed his senior year in high school. Voted Prom King both Junior and Senior year (with different queens each year). In other words, Dirk Williams is the boy every teenager wants to be, and he knows it, making him the boy no one really likes. Led by his ego, Dirk has no problem running roughshod over his "underlings", and usually fails to see the fruits of his actions.

The effects of this are compounded by his activities in the C.L.U.B. His natural charisma and athletic prowess also excels him in the spy business, but his talents do not stop there. He has mastered three forms of martial arts - including armed and unarmed combart - and is a crack sharpshooter. He is the living embodiment of a super spy. As such, he believes that he is above the other agents and treats them as second-stringers and "sidekicks to his starring role." He is also convinced that he is God's gift to women and will attempt to seduce all who cross his path. Many of the female agents in the C.L.U.B. have given in to his pursuits, save for Vi, which has made him all the more determined.

Between his egotism and Shane's general attitude towards things, it puts the two instantly at odds. The tension increases as Shane starts to excel and Dirk finds himself with the potential for competition. The fact that Shane will not automatically acknowledge Dirk as the better man and agent is a foreign concept to him, and soon leads to out-and-out distain. The final insult is when Shane grows close to both Vi and the nerdy brain-boy Walter. Dirk will do anything within reason (short of putting himself or his reputation at risk) to see Shane fail. Unfortunately for him, the best chances he gets are when the two of them are teamed up, but it would cost him as well. Their success rate together improves, and are therefore teamed up more often. Neither man is happy about this.

"Alpha"

Little is known about the man called Alpha. He volunteered for military service at the earliest possible age, serving in the Green Berets during the Vietnam War. Afterward, he worked through to earn his commission and eventually the rank of Captain. After ten years in the military, he was accepted into the Central Intelligence Agency. While his records are sealed for this times, it is known that he has earned four metals of valor.

Having never taken the time to gain a family - and in fact never stayed longer than a week in any one relationship - he found himself drawn to the little orphan girl that attempted to kill his assignment in Ireland. Having seen how the judicial system worked for juveniles in foreign countries, he lobbied for custody of Violet. Finally winning custody, he retired from the CIA with full commission to dedicate his life to raising his "daughter". For the next two years, he strove to be a "normal" father, with neither of them truly having a concept of what normal was. In the end, however, the two found a common denominator in a love for action and grew close.

Two years ago, he was once again called to the Agency. They were looking for a new bureau chief for their top-secret underage squad, the C.L.U.B. After several discussions and stipulations. He became Alpha. His first recruit was Vi.

With the only sign of his fifty-plus years being his salt-and-pepper hair, Alpha is as physically and mentally fit as any field agent. He is a master of multiple forms of combat and speaks at least seven foreign languages fluently. While he is not prone to showing off, he has been known to knock a student down a peg or two when needed. As good as Dirk is, he has been put down on at least three occasions by Alpha.

Remaining distant and aloof, Alpha treats all C.L.U.B. agents the same, consistently keeping his feelings from them. This aids in the secret of Vi being his daughter. The only violation of this rule is Shane when he first joins, as Alpha is against him being there. Over time, however, Alpha will become ambivalent towards him, which is hs backward way of accepting him and treating Shane as one of the agents.

Jeffrey and Jillian Andrews

As the "loving" parents of Shane, the Andrews are the perfect examples of self-absorption. Jeffrey is a political consultant for the senator from Los Angeles, who is currently serving his fourth term in office and recently celebrated his 65th birthday. As such, his presence is almost non-existant. Jillian is a modern homemaker, staying at home paying more attention to the local and political gossip than to Shane. As such, it is not difficult to keep them in the dark about his extra-curricular activities. Occasionally, they will gain just enough information to cause him momentary panic or grief, but in the end will prove clueless.

Mark Nelson

Living three doors down from Shane, he and Mark became fast and best friends at a very young age. When most children played cops and robbers, cowboys or superheroes, they only played spies. Their imaginations would transform a yoyo into a swing line, a berry into a mini-bomb, or a candy bar into a taser gun. No pretend obstacle could stop the two of them, and they were inseparable.

Things began to change as the two entered middle school. While Mark still loved hanging out with Shane, the different schedules exposed him to new people and the two began to see less of each other, if only slightly. This slight change allowed Mark a level of social growth that, when the C.L.U.B. issued their covert test to the seventh graders, allowed him to score better than Shane.

Entering high school provides enough challenges as it is, but when you are recruited to serve in a top-secret organization, it leaves little time for a social life. Mark was also faced with guilt of being able to do the thing his friend loved most and not being able to share it with him. These tensions drove the two friends further apart, though Shane refused to let go of the friendship.

Meanwhile, Mark worked hard to prove himself a capable operative, though he never managed to excel past Dirk or grow close to anyone in the organization. In fact, his spy career was rather mundane until he rescues the first daughter from the assassination attempt. The good work done by this is countered, however, when Shane discovers the secret of the C.L.U.B. The line between friendship and duty gets strained, though he never has to make the final decision.

Mark's death has a pronounce effect on Shane. When first introduced to the concept of the C.L.U.B., he sees it only as fun and games; exploiting the discovery for membership. However, when he is confronted with the death of Mark, Shane sees the seriousness of the job and, instead of running from it, embraces it to excel.

Return to The C.L.U.B.