Chosen by Fate, Rejected by the Alpha

1118 Chapter 103- Juniper – Undercover Part 1 (VOLUME 6)

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Juniper

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When it was time to leave for the DOE headquarters, I wasn’t nervous at all. I was confident that I would be able to do what I needed to. I knew that I would be able to maintain my cover story, and make everyone there think that I was Janelle Downs. And I knew that, even though I wouldn’t be where the heart of the action was, I would be able to find out some very useful information.

I knew that not everyone was as optimistic about my mission as I was, but I knew that there was a reason that I was needed for this mission. I would show them all that I was a vital part of this mission. I would prove to them that they needed me here. And for crying out fucking loud, I would make sure that Paul knew that I didn’t need him to guard me every minute of the day.

For one thing, he wouldn’t be with me while we were at the DOE. Yeah, there might be times when we were together, but for the most part, according to what Kirk had told us, even the married couples were kept separate for a majority of the time. This Colonel asshole was a real fucking dick when it came to women. I just knew that I was going to get along with him splendidly. If he would just let me be alone in the same room as him, I might be able to put an end to this whole thing before anything else started to happen.

That wouldn’t happen though, not with the way that the Colonel was reported to be. He wouldn’t let any woman be alone with him unless they were proven to be quiet and meek. He needed them for physical attention and that was it. The moment that a woman started to have ideas around him, that was the end of their usefulness. It sounded so disgusting and primitive that it made me want to roll my eyes.

I just couldn’t believe that someone like that Colonel had the audacity to call us animals, beasts, and monsters when he treated people like that. I was surprised that there were any women in all of the DOE that would sleep with him. How they could stomach his bullshit was beyond me.

Together, me, Paul, Carter and Landon traveled with Kirk from the airport that we magically arrived at via Trinity’s door, to the DOE headquarters in Benkelman, Nebraska. We had been correct in assuming that this was the city that they had taken up residence. It was perfect for their needs because it had all that they wanted in a population. Absolutely no super natural beings, and a pure white population. It was as closed off from other influences as it was possible to be.

.....

The headquarters itself was underground. That was also something that I had anticipated. They couldn’t be open about what they were doing. Or about the fact that there were more DOE members than there were citizens of the actual city. There literally were only six hundred and seventy-three people that lived in Benkelman, yet there were over seven hundred members of the DOE that were living in the underground caves that connected several basements on the outskirts of the city’s limits.

These basements, as Kirk had explained them, had been enlarged and connected back in the days between World War I and World War II. They were meant to act as new homes for the citizens if there were any bombs that were dropped near the area. They would live out their time in the underground if they needed to. That hadn’t happened though, so most of them had gone to ruin.

Over the first week after the announcement of the super naturals that were living among the humans, the Colonel had commandeered these buildings that led to the entrances and exits to the underground system. The homes that they were in had been empty, so it didn’t take much for him to acquire them.

After the Colonel got the homes in his possession, they quickly worked on sprucing things up. And to the eyes of the community at large, there were only another dozen residents in their little part of the world. Just some people living in those four access buildings. In truth though, there was far more than that.

I followed the others into the first of the houses that was on a street in Benkelman. The street was just called Old 34, no suffix like road, street, avenue, or anything like that. Just Old 34, nothing else.

The inside of the house was clean. It was clear that the women of the DOE were keeping things as clean and orderly as possible. There was no evidence that the place had been empty for years. It looked like a well maintained family home now. And the yard was also very neat and orderly.

I saw four people in the main part of the house, all curious as to who the newcomers with Kirk were. They eyed us suspiciously as we were taken to the stairs and down to the subterranean levels. I did my best to act like I didn’t even notice them or their quizzical looks.

Kirk was met at the bottom of the stairs by a man that I had never seen before. However, I did recognize his voice when he spoke.

“Thank you, Barcland.” Mr. Doe said as he looked us over.

“You are welcome.” Kirk nodded. “I brought them just as you asked me to.”

“Barcland?” A man about the same age as Kirk called out. “Where have you been?” The man looked similar to him, like he was a brother or something like that. They both had brown eyes, of a similar shade, and they both had brown hair, but they looked like they were completely different in every other way, and that all came down to the way they held themselves. The new man was a lot more confident than Kirk was.

“Barcley, what are you doing here? I thought that you had a mission to complete.”

“I got back this morning. Uncle Barcster said that he didn’t know where you disappeared to.”

“Well, Dad wasn’t aware of it. Mr. Doe asked me to fetch some new recruits for him.” Kirk looked over at the man that had greeted us at the bottom of the stairs.

“Indeed, I did.” He nodded. “Thank you for bringing them here, Barcland. I will take them from here. Come to see me later, I will have you show them around and to their quarters.”

“Why did you bring a woman?” The man, Barcley, sneered the words at me.

“She was invited to join her husband.” Mr. Doe told him in a tone that didn’t allow for arguments.

“Whatever.” Barcley stormed off, ignoring Mr. Doe and Kirk altogether.

“That man needs to check his attitude.” Mr. Doe shook his head. “He is too much of a loose cannon.”

“My cousin has always been like that.” Kirk sighed. “I will go and let my father know where I was. I am sure that he is angry with me.”

“Just tell him that you were on a mission for me, Barcland. That will clear it all up.” Mr. Doe patted the younger man on the shoulder before he walked away. “You four, follow me. It’s time to meet the Colonel.”

“Understood.” Carter said as he started to follow after Mr. Doe.

We were led through the winding tunnels under the ground. It felt vaguely claustrophobic in the corridors, but the rooms were large and seemed normal, if a little dark. When we reached a large door that was guarded by two men with guns, I was sure that we had reached the Colonel’s office.

“Stand down.” Mr. Doe told them as they moved to step in front of us. “They are with me.”

“Sir, the Colonel has said that he doesn’t want-.” One of the guards started to protest, but Mr. Doe interrupted him immediately.

“I said stand down. Do you want to be on the receiving end of my anger?” the man visibly flinched at Mr. Doe’s words.

“No, Sir.” He spoke in a voice that didn’t betray his fear at all, but his eyes showed it clearly enough. He was terrified of the man known as Mr. Doe.

Now that we had successfully dealt with the guards at the door, Mr. Doe led us through the entryway and into the room beyond. It was indeed an office, and a very large one at that. It also looked like he had just recently moved into this space, like this part of the tunnel had been blocked off until just the other day.

“Ooh, what do we have here, Ashton?” The Colonel was clearly talking to Mr. Doe, so that was the first clue to his identity.

“I have brought some new recruits to meet you, Colonel.” Mr. Doe smiled at him and then looked over at the four of us that were waiting in the background. None of us flinched. None of us looked scared. None of us responded at all. We were as calm as we could be.

“I’m impressed. They are not as scared of me as the others are. Where did you get these ones from?”

“They were part of a new independent group that I tracked down in Florida. They are very good at what they do, so I thought that they would make great additions to the team.”

“Well, all except for the woman. Women have no place in war like this.” I felt my hackles bristling at the Colonel’s words. I wanted to hit him, but I needed to maintain my silence.

“She is good at what she does. She has been supporting these three since they started out. She can join the other ladies.” Mr. Doe took the focus off of me and I was glad, if the Colonel focused on me too much, he might sense my attitude toward him.

Not only did I not want the Colonel to sense my hostility, but I didn’t want him to know that I was using magic. I had been working slowly at manipulating his perception of us. I wanted him to trust the guys completely, enough to put them high up in the group. It would be a lot easier this way. I knew that I was going to be with the other women, that was fine, but these three needed to be part of the inner groups so that they knew what was going to happen in advance.

“They look capable, that is for sure.” The Colonel nodded in agreement with Mr. Doe. “They are welcome to join, permitting that they swear allegiance to me and me alone.”

“They already have.” Mr. Doe told him, the words sounded truthful, even though they were bold faced lies.

“Wonderful. Have someone set them up in the dormitory. Oh, and you.” Mr. Doe turned to look at me with narrowed eyes. “The women are only permitted one night per week with their husbands. Be sure to follow that rule or you will be out of here. And I don’t mean that you would be free to go. Once you join the DOE, you are in it for the rest of your life, one way or another.” The threat was plain in his words. ‘Comply or die’. Well now, wasn’t that just a pleasant thought? I wonder how many of his own recruits he had already killed, or that he planned on killing eventually. That wasn’t a comforting thought.

“Yes, Sir.” I nodded at him, not giving anything away.

“Very well then. Follow the rules that Ashton here gives you, and we won’t have any problems at all.” The Colonel was more than a little unhinged. I couldn’t believe that anyone in their right mind would follow that asshat around like he was a God. Then again, they probably weren’t in their right mind, and that was the problem. They would have been as crazy as he was. And that was why Mr. Doe wanted to put an end to all of this nonsense.