As they walked up to the entrance, Darien looked around, trying to see some indicators that this was a government facility or what they would be responsible for here. From the outside, it looked like any other office building, with the only distinguishing features being the color of the bricks or the numbers on the door. Inside the front lobby, it was the same situation. The complex looked like any one of a thousand others he had seen, complete with a directory next to the elevators listing off all of the businesses. He nodded towards it to point it out to Susan.
“Please tell me you didn’t expect it to say ‘secret offices’ on one of the lines,” she whispered at him while they waited for the elevator doors to open. All he could offer in response was a sheepish grin and a weak smile.
They got off on the third floor and Darien was disappointed. He had secretly hoped that the agents would have to push a secret combination of buttons and then they’d descend into a hidden underground library, but he’d never admit it even to Susan. Then again, given how well she knew him, he probably didn’t have to.
They walked into the office for a law firm, based on the sign printed on the window next to the door. The receptionist behind the front desk looked up but didn’t offer any objection when the group walked past to the offices in back. Clearly she had to at least know Callie and Amber. When they reached the office in the corner, the agents halted, both making the effort to stand a little straighter. Callie reached out and let her hand rap on the door a few times in quick succession.
“Enter.”
The room they walked into was not overly large, but had a window for one entire wall that looked out over the parking lot and street beyond. The opposite wall was covered with bookshelves filled to the point of overflowing with some law books resting sideways on top of the shelved reference tomes. A large desk, made of some dark wood polished until it reflected the fluorescent lighting, rested at an angle near the back wall. There was a single chair behind it and two resting in front. One corner of the desk housed a computer, with the monitor on an arm twisted away so that only someone behind the desk could see it.
A man stood behind the desk and off to one side, near the corner. He was dressed in a pressed suit, with his tie tight at the base of his throat. His short blond hair was cropped almost to the point of being shaved, and his stance as well as his body posture betrayed someone with a military background. He didn’t come around the desk to greet the newcomers but gestured to the seats across from him.
“Welcome Darien and Susan, please come in and have a seat.”
He offered no words of dismissal, but it must have been implied. As Darien and Susan walked into the room and took the offered chairs, their escorts left and closed the door behind them. Darien heard the latch click shut with a solid thud. Hopefully that wasn’t a portent of things to come.
Chapter 12
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Darien. I’m sure that you have a lot of questions and I’ll be willing to answer those that I can when I get to them. Until you are officially a member of our team, I can’t divulge everything, but my goal is to make sure you leave here more informed and convinced that you want to be in our employ.”
The commander took a few steps over to his chair and sat down in it, wheeling himself forward so that his knees rested under the desk. Once situated, he reached out his hand as a greeting.
“My name is Karl Astor, and it’s an honor to meet you both. As I’m sure you’re aware, we’ve been following you for a while. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you face to face and interact with you in person. As I’m sure you can appreciate, being a Sheynan means that you are a person of interest. Even just being a shifter is rare, but your talents far exceed that rarity. Yes, we know what you are and have been watching you for a while.”
“I’m not the only Sheynan.”
“We’re familiar with Miss Ellison and also your interaction with her during your Texas incursion. We firmly believe that her reason for going there was related to your presence. If I may be so bold, what was her interest in you?”
Darien sat up a little straighter in his chair and crossed his arms in front of this chest. He didn’t like the turn that this conversation was taking. “Didn’t you promise to share information with me and let me know what was going on? I thought that was the deal, not that you were going to ask me for the details you couldn’t figure out with your spy satellites or whatever.”
It was clear that Karl had the power in the situation, but before he got too far down the rabbit hole, he wanted to know what he was falling into.
“I do apologize. I was simply following the route of conversation. You’re quite right, I promised to tell you who we are and answer your questions. You must have several. Rest assured, we’re not looking over your every move with cameras and recording every action you take. To put it bluntly, while you are powerful and unique, you’re not that important.”
Karl leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands a few inches in front of his face. With a subtle lowering of his head, he looked up at both Darien and Susan, making sure to shift his gaze from one to the other and include both in the conversation.
“Our organization is an official branch of the U.S. Government, funded and supported by politicians who are well aware of the presence of shifters and the dangers they could pose. Imagine security footage of a person breaking into a bank, shifting into a rat or spider, so that all of a sudden normal walls or bars are no longer an opposition. There would be fear and public outcry. How would we even be able to imprison someone like that without putting them in a glass box with only a micro filter for ventilation?
“There would be hysteria and panic, things which are not good for the stability of this country; things that our superiors and those who write our paychecks desperately want to avoid. Thus, we are called in to mitigate these potential incidents and, if any do occur, keep them from reaching the eye of the public. That is more or less what we do and what we’re responsible for.”
“You’re basically master spin doctors in public and the guys in the dark vans who make things disappear? Does the job come with a lifetime supply of sunglasses, too?”
He decided to stop the smart ass comments when Karl didn’t respond, not even physically. He sat and maintained a dead pan stare that made Darien feel the need to squirm. He mumbled an apology and held out his hand for the other man to continue.
“While that may be a gross exaggeration and over simplification borne out of too many conspiracy theories, the idea is somewhat correct. We are the safety that makes sure things don’t erupt and become unmanageable. At the same time, we also research our own nature. Not a lot is known from the scientific side about our abilities. We believe that with appropriate research, we can further enhance what we are each capable of.”
“It’s easy to make bold claims without having anything to back it up. Other than knowing about me, how do we know that you really do what you say? If you know about the Shadows, I think you can understand why we’re a little hesitant.”
“I can understand, and in fact applaud, your discretion and caution. No, I am not surprised at your response and would expect no less based on your personality profiles. We take great care in selecting potential employees. Simply having the ability is not enough. You also need to prove that you would be capable of performing under pressure and within our set parameters. For example, consider your associate from Packwood, a Mister Cole Townsend. Did you know that he was a shifter? Have a look at this.”
Karl typed a few keys on his computer, his fingers flying faster than either Susan or Darien could track. He waited for a few moments, then reached out and pressed a few buttons on the touchscreen before swiveling the monitor around on its arm. Both Darien and Susan could see it, even if they had to lean forward to read the details.
The right side of the screen was filled with a picture of Cole standing outside of a bar on a winter night, judging by the snow and heavy jacket he had wrapped tight around his body. Th
e left side had details such as his full name, birth date, place of birth, and the fact that he could shift into a deer tick. The next line on the profile had a warning in all capital letters that said MENTALLY UNSTABLE. It went on to describe how he had an abject hatred for shifters because of an irrational sense of feeling that his power was useless compared to other shifters. From there it went on to describe his alcohol problems and incidents of violence, including a murder three years ago at a small town in Idaho.
After a few moments, Karl turned the monitor back around. Darien chewed on his lip as he thought of the wealth of information included in that small profile. If they had that information on Cole, how much information did they have on him? Or on any other shifter? Did they know who all the shifters were in the United States?
“As you can see, one of our primary purposes is to keep track of the shifters and to make sure that none of them pose a significant threat to the good people of this country. Most of our missions are simply information gathering.”
Susan held up her hand to interject. Karl nodded in her direction as he dropped his hands to rest in front of his chest with the fingers interlaced and his elbows on the arm of the chair.
“You said ‘we’. Does that mean you’re a shifter too, or are you using the general ‘we’ meaning everyone in your organization? I’m guessing you have quite a few shifters working for you since you know about them.”
“We do have several shifters on our payroll, yes. I am not one, but I am privy to a lot of knowledge about them given my security clearance. You might find yourself in a similar role, given the information that you already have through your relationship with Darien. The number of people we can safely employ is severely limited, so there’s always more work to be done. This offer of recruitment is not just for Darien because of his nature, but rather for both of you.”
“What are you proposing?”
“We want to hire you both. Susan, you would be a member of the operational staff, and Darien we were hoping you’d be an agent. We believe that your capabilities would make you invaluable in the field. Your being a Sheynan would also help to catapult our research division forward by leaps and bounds.”
“I don’t want to be a lab rat.”
“And no one is expecting you to either. It’s no more difficult than a blood sample or wearing a few sensors as you shift. In truth, if we limited you to such a status, it would be severely hampering your potential as well as our potential gains. No one wins in that situation. Not to mention the impossibility of holding you captive. We have no delusions of attempting to keep you in a place where you have no wish to be.”
Darien bit his tongue. Of course they couldn’t hold him, not like that. But he didn’t doubt for a moment that they would be willing to use Susan to their advantage. Especially if she was in one of their facilities. How easy would it be for them to remind him of her tenuous situation?
“As I’ve said multiple times, this is an offer we believe that would be mutually beneficial. You’d be able to have a normal life once again. You’d be able to do simple everyday tasks like going to the store and hosting dinner parties without needing to worry about being watched or kidnapped the entire time.”
“What’s your offer?”
“There’s the standard competitive salary as well as health benefits. We’d also be able to supply a level of protection that you can’t currently achieve by being on your own. Both the Shadows and the Arm found you at your cabin in the mountains within a week of each other and in less than a year. Our protection would keep them at bay indefinitely so you could live a normal life, or as normal as possible, all things considered.
“Finally, we can provide you a sense of direction and camaraderie. You would have a group of people that you could learn from and share your secret with without worrying about being turned in or discovered. Not only that, but you could learn quite a bit from your fellow shifters. While the Arm and the Shadows have said the same thing to you, our offer of camaraderie comes without their hooks and a far greater budget.”
“A normal life? Aren’t we officially dead?”
“We’d arrange for new records and identities. Of course, you would not be able to contact anyone who currently believes you to be dead. But that’s not much different than your current situation, I would think. But with our blanket protection, you could build a new life, amongst those who are like or know of your kind. There’d be no reason to hide.”
For a few seconds, there was silence in the room. Darien’s brow furrowed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He used the moment to glance over at Susan and saw her chewing on her thumb. He didn’t know what they should do. He wanted to talk it over with her, but didn’t want to do so in front of Karl. The commander looked at them while they exchanged looks but no words.
Karl reached down to one of the drawers of the desk and pulled out two spiral bound books. He spread them out on the desk, pushing one towards Darien and the other towards Susan. The title on the first page read “Medical Benefits, Disability Packages, and Retirement Considerations”.
“My superiors have authorized me to make a formal offer. In addition to the benefits described in these packages, there’s the salary I mentioned. The benefits are the same and you can take the time to read through them after our meeting is concluded. The starting rate for a field agent of your talents would be one hundred and eighty thousand, after your training regimen is completed. The rate for a base operator is ninety thousand, which includes payment during training since yours will occur on the job. In addition, as a couple, you will be granted a residence in the state of your assignment. That will be a house, not base housing.”
He paused to allow the offer to sink in before continuing.
“What I propose is this. Take a week to finish up healing and think about the offer. During that time, I’ll make sure that Amber and Callie are at your disposal to answer any questions that you may have. They’ll even share details of some of the work they’ve done for me in the past, so you can get a feel for what our organization is about and what will be expected of you. At the end of that week, let me know your decision.”
“And if we refuse?”
“You’ll be escorted off the military base and free to go in whatever direction pleases you.”
Once again, Darien stole a glace to Susan. She had already turned to face him and offered a small nod of reassurance.
“That sounds like a plan, sir. We’ll see you in a week then.”
The three of them stood up to offer handshakes and farewells. As if on cue, the door opened and their escorts walked back into the office. The car ride back to the temporary housing was quiet, with only the sound of the wheels on the pavement filling the car. Darien stared out the window and wished the car would go faster. His legs bounced up and down the entire trip. He needed to talk to Susan in private, even if every word was heard by someone spying on their home.
“Here you are, door to door service. What more could you ask for? I’m guessing your meeting with the commander went well?”
Darien and Susan both nodded in response.
“All right then, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow. Boss wants us to come on over and see if you have any questions or anything. Probably around lunch time. Would that work?”
“That works just fine. Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem!”
As soon as Darien and Susan were in the house alone, he turned to her and started talking with all of his words running together.
“Did you see the file that they had on Cole? That’s insane. I can’t imagine how big the file must be for me or for Bridget. I didn’t have to say her name. He knew who I was talking about immediately.”
Susan cut him off by putting her fingers up to his lips. He stopped babbling and waited for her to speak.
“Come on, let’s at least make dinner while we talk. It’s a lot to digest, and I think better if I’m using my hands.”
With a nod, Darien walked into the
kitchen, grabbing a couple of onions from the basket on the counter. He tossed them to Susan and she set up near the sink, starting to cut into the vegetables and peeling off the outer skin. Darien continued the conversation as he rooted through the pantry to see what else they would need.
“Do you think it’s real? The whole idea of living a normal life? I mean, I know that it seems like it on the surface, but we’d have to be available for their beck and call the whole time. I know he said it wouldn’t be military housing, but somehow I doubt he’d just let us live anywhere we wanted.”
By now, Susan had finished chopping the onions and had tossed them into a sauté pan where they were getting a nice sizzle. The doorbell rang, interrupting Darien’s train of thought. Were Amber and Callie back? They didn’t know anyone else on the base, except for the doctor and the physical therapist.
Darien walked to the front door and opened it without bothering to look through the peephole. Darien saw who was standing in the doorway and froze, hand still tight on the door handle.
It was Erik’s father, Senator Charles Wellington.
Chapter 13
The next thing Darien saw was a fist.
Darien dropped to the ground and landed hard on the carpeted floor. Charles walked into the house, reaching down to grab Darien’s shirt and keep him close, but Darien crawled away backwards, sliding across the carpet. Charles continued to rush forward, his face red and tight as he tried to grab Darien without saying a word, only making a strangled noise in his rage. He managed to get a hand on Darien’s pants and pulled the younger man close, slamming his fist into the gut. He brought his hand back and let it fall again as Darien tried to curl up and protect himself.
“Stop!”
Susan stood in the entryway leading to the kitchen with her eyes wide and a hand held out with her fingers splayed. Charles looked up and saw her, and his features softened. He stood straight, and dropped Darien to the floor. He stumbled back a few steps before he collapsed on the ground.
The Torn Soul (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 3) Page 9
