Pilot

Max awoke in his apartment, a beeping sound emitting from one of the twelve TV sets that were on in the room. He sat up, grabbed a remote and turned up the volume on TV 3. 

He had been sleeping on the couch a lot lately; a bed didn't feel right to him anymore. Something was missing and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Not just yet. He turned his attention to the TV; Letterman was chatting with a contestant from "SpyGame". 

The contestant was a tall lad, bald, and sat relaxed in the chair. Max thought he had seen the man before, though he wasn't sure that he had ever seen an episode of the reality TV show.

His cellphone rang; he reached for it and tapped the pad.

"It's a go," the feminine voice said on the other end. "It's got to be good." 

Max taps the cellphone off and looks up.

He's startled for the moment, as he finds himself sitting around a table in Bunny's, a seedy strip-club owned by Fat Eddy. 

Around the table sits: a monk, Callan; an off-duty detective, Dex Washington; and a mysterious woman who just went by the name of Wraith. He knows these people, he has been with them a few times now, and they are starting to become a family.

Felix Gavin is coming back from the bathroom. He sees Max sitting there, looking distracted.

"What's the matter, Max?" Felix asks, slapping Max on the back. Felix slides into the chair next to him.

"How long was I here?" Max asks; he checks his watch to see that the time is 8pm.

"You walked through the doors about a half hour ago," Felix replies. He looks at Max, trying to read his face.

"15 hours," Max mutters.

Max looks down at his clothes: jeans, a neon orange t-shirt with the words "Pilot Episode" on it.

"Did anyone just feel that?" Max asks.

"Feel what?" Wraith asks. She is dressed in black clothing and her hair is shoulder length.

"Something," Max says. He realizes that the rest don't sense what he is going through.

Around him the others sit there chatting, waiting for their contact who has the information they need. Max's cellphone buzzes.

"Isn't this all too convenient?" Max asks Callan. "Us being here, sitting around all of sudden - like waiting for something to happen?"

Cellphone buzzes again.

"Life is mysterious, Max," Callan replies. "It's these mysteries that keep us alert and on guard."

Max brings the phone up.

"Make it look good," the voice says. "The teaser had them intrigued enough. The next scene determines the outcome. Do something freaky in a few seconds."