Ocean Daley is an agent with Orca.
That interestingly name organization was founded some years back by Daley's now deceased father and his uncle Frank. The purpose for the creation was a simple desire to created a "future without war". To help achieve that implausible goal, they chose to go after it "one bite at a time". "Our mainstay is surveillance services, hacking and espionage. We work on a case-by-case basis. If it furthers our aim of achieving a state of world peace then we do it. If not we don't," explains Frank to a group of would-be new members, all teenagers like Daley.
When we first meet Daley, he has no knowledge of his older relative's true occupations or of Orca. Furthermore, the idea of turning a summer into a chance for more schooling is not anything he would imaging agreeing to. Obviously he is not an operative yet; his immediate future looked bleakly at having to spend the summer working for "his mother's irritating boyfriend", Andy. That less than admirable specimen was summed nicely by Daley's "waste of space" evaluation.
That is when Uncle Frank stepped in with his offer of an alternative, though Orca and its required lessons were not yet mentioned. 16-year-old Ocean Daley is definitely interested in anything that takes him away from his town and his boring prospects. But, school??
Well, perhaps when Frank promises "Little by little, we'll turn you into professional spies. You'll lead double lives and undertake missions for Orca. You'll be paid handsomely, travel internationally, have your wits challenged on a daily basis and be a catalyst to world events." Add in a caveat of "This is for real. Don't expect tuxedoes, cocktails and screws in the shower. We move in silence and shadow. Our work is only done when nobody knows it is us who has done it."
The handful of teens that were being offered membership into Orca, in addition to Daley who was invited out of merit, not nepotism, agreed, even after hearing the motto of Orca, "By shadow we craft a future of our own making".
Good Lines:
- Attitude of Ocean Daley: "School was little more than a holding pen for morons".