Chương 19: Leadership

Elijah and Jonathan pulled into the parking garage beneath a glass and steel office building in Crystal City. Looking out of the passenger window, he noted several vehicle types that appeared frequently in the spots and noted a fair number of Teslas. The juxtaposition between the small, sleek, and eco-friendly vehicles being parked across the lot from a Humvee was not lost on him.

"This is it?" he asked Elijah. As the SUV was put into park, Elijah pulled out his phone to check his messages.

"Temporary headquarters," Elijah confirmed while pocketing his device and opening the door.

"They needed somewhere close to DC but… not too close. Some higher-ups are still really nervous about the entire Awakened situation." The security checkpoint inside the lobby told him just how nervous people were. He couldn't help but be impressed at how fast things were adapting. A man in nondescript tactical gear stood beside a young woman in business casual clothes, her eyes glowing with a faint blue light.

It was odd to think of military-grade tech meeting supernatural powers, mostly because Jonathan had seen them as two separate worlds. Because technology didn't work within the Rifts, it led to people relying on their own powers and more primitive weapons. He wondered if there could be a skill that might improve the use of modern firearms. I have a skill that improves an axe strike. Why not? He made a mental note to ask Elijah about that later.

"ID and System verification," the operator requested. He was professional, but Jonathan could tell by the way he was gripping his rifle that he was tense. Despite his obvious discomfort, Jonathan was impressed at the man's trigger discipline and muzzle awareness. The woman with the glowing eyes stepped forward.

"I'll need to scan you both." She raised her hands, and he could see her eyes glow brighter for a moment as she looked at him.

"Jonathan Reeves, Berserker. Level 12?" Her eyes widened as the last statement turned into a question. Jonathan stayed still, noticing that the Marine had tensed behind her.

"What else does it say?"

"That's all I can see. I've never gotten so little information." Elijah stepped up.

"We're here to meet with Director Matthews. Mr. Reeves has received specific permission to be here, and the necessary paperwork should have been prepared before our arrival. Were you not expecting us?" A young lieutenant hurried forward, tablet in hand.

"Agent Carter? Mr. Reeves? I'm Lieutenant Parker. I'll be escorting you to Director Matthews." He checked his tablet for a third time, clearly nervous about handling someone of Jonathan's power level. As they rode the elevator, Jonathan watched Crystal City's morning traffic through the glass wall. Just a few months ago, he realized that this was some random office building in the DC metro area.

With the sudden change of events, it now housed an organization dedicated to managing tears in reality and people with superpowers. The lieutenant's tablet chimed again, drawing another anxious glance.

"Lieutenant? You're not an agent, like Agent Carter?" Looking over his shoulder nervously, the man shook his head.

"N-no, sir. I'm not sure if I'm going to accept the government's initiative program. There's still a lot up in the air about the Hunters Association." After a pause, he added, "No offense meant, Agent Carter." Elijah shrugged and grinned at Jonathan.

"I see. Well, there's no reason to be so nervous, man." Jonathan gave a pat on the man's shoulder.

"Is this your first time escorting someone who's Awakened?" Parker managed a weak smile after the impact with his shoulder, "First time escorting anyone above level 6, sir. I'm just still getting used to all of this." Aren't we all? Jonathan had the thought just as the elevator chimed and the door opened to barely controlled chaos. The entire floor buzzed with activity, and he could see a mix of military personnel in tactical gear and civilians in business attire.

Some moved with purpose, while some conversed casually between workstations. As they stepped onto the floor, he could hear conversations about Rift locations and team deployment strategies.

"Director Matthews' office is this way," Parker gestured before leading them past a cluster of huddled people. Over the nearest shoulder, Jonathan could see a map of the North East, and he wondered if they were tracking Rifts on the large graphic. Passing the last of the desks, he saw empty energy drink cans and coffee cups. They moved into a hallway at the back of the open office space, and the wall to their left made his steps falter. Jonathan looked at the photos. So many.

The photos were small, no larger than a cellphone screen. Each had a handwritten date on the photo, along with a name. He stopped walking and looked at the wall, wondering if Marcus was up there somewhere, lost in the sea of faces. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Sir?" Lieutenant Parker said as he noticed the pause.

"Just a moment," Elijah said quietly. Jonathan looked through the photos for a time, all in the same position as a standard deployment photo. Soldiers in one uniform or another, standing in front of an American flag. Some did their best to look tough, while others smiled. Most of them just looked like children to him and he wondered if he looked that young when he joined. He continued to look and couldn't find Marcus, even when he found the general date range on the wall that matched his mission timeline.

For the first time, Jonathan had a shocking realization. He'd been hurt and angered when he lost Marcus. He'd been determined and suicidal when he entered the first Rift. He'd been numb and desperate as he fought for the last week through different Rifts with Elijah's help. Despite his background in the military, his view of the scenario had been clouded by emotions. Seeing the wall of missing or KIAs, Jonathan realized that they were at war.

If the photos on the wall didn't have all those who had died in a month or so since Rifts had arrived, then this was easily the largest loss of American life in generations.

"Jon," Elijah said. He nodded and felt heat rising in his chest as he followed after the young pair. Director Matthews' office turned out to be a hastily converted conference room. There were three screens that dominated one wall, each displaying a different map and different Rift activity metrics. A desk had been pushed to the far end of the room and now sat covered with papers. The Director stood as they entered, and Jonathan took in the man.

He was dressed in more casual clothes, with cargo pants and a tactical holster on his thigh. He crossed the room and met their small group in the middle, giving Jonathan a firm handshake.

"Jonathan Reeves," Matthews said while gesturing at a chair.

"Thank you for coming. Agent Carter, Lieutenant, that'll be all." After they left, the man gestured to the chair again, "Please, have a seat. Coffee? It's terrible, but at least it's hot."

"I'm okay, thanks." Jonathan took the offered seat and noted how Matthews positioned himself to keep the three screens in his view.

"Interesting setup you have here."

"Temporary but functional," Director Matthews replied while taking a sip from his own steaming mug.

"We're adapting as fast as we can, just like everyone else. Though I suspect you've seen more actual combat against these things than most of my people combined." Even though it wasn't posed as a question, Jonathan could hear the underlying interest in his tone. He thought about making a snarky comment about actually seeing very little combat since he had a tendency to blackout, but he thought it wouldn't be the professional response that the Director was looking for in this meeting.

Been spending too much time with the kid. Matthews turned to one of the screens, tapping a few buttons on a remote. The map disappeared and was replaced by what looked like an organizational chart.

"Agent Carter's report said that there were some other Awakened in the last Rift you were in. The Untethered, are you familiar with them?" Jonathan nodded, "I met them in the Rift. They seem pretty adamant that they're on the righteous path of freeing oppressed, Awakened people from the government's thumb. Pretty anti-government and were trying to give me a recruitment pitch." He kept the information about Marcus that Sandra mentioned to himself. Director Matthews gave a tired snort.

"That sounds like them, alright. I'll tell you what we know about them. They've organized faster than we have in some ways." He made the admission while clicking another button on the remote, and several nodes on the screen were highlighted.

"While we were still trying to establish protocols and send researchers out to the Rifts to perform tests, they were already moving. They aren't bogged down with the same levels of bureaucracy that we are. Even with the ability to declare this a national or global emergency, the administration needs to handle things carefully for fear of rebellion and mass chaos. Frankly, none of us were trained for anything like this." Jonathan chuckled and nodded.

"Honestly, their recruitment pitch is… compelling. Our analysts say that many people of the younger generations will almost assuredly side with the Untethered or at least the various Guilds that are popping up."

"Guilds?" He waved dismissively.

"It's some sort of term coined from video games. It just refers to an established group, like a company or organization. There are several small ones, but by far the largest is the Adventurers Guild, which is the backer behind the Untethered. Their message really seems to draw in the people who believe the government to be controlling or an unnecessary step in the hierarchy.

Some of the more tamed individuals just want to have the potential to explore this without us stepping in, while others shout from the rooftops that the world is changing and our government is outdated. It's the latter that makes the administration nervous."

"Understandably so. The sort of talk that starts riots." The director pulled up another screen showing classified documents with timestamps from the first week after Rifts appeared in early October.

"We made mistakes early on. Some of the higher-ups made panicked responses after initial losses, which led to more issues. Then, by trying to contain information and get a handle on the sudden appearance of Rifts, it led to deaths that might have been prevented. The Untethered uses these failures in their recruitment." Jonathan leaned forward, studying the documents.

"These are from Joint Base Lewis-McChord."

"Yes. We—" The door burst open, which cut Director Matthews off mid-sentence. A man in an expensive suit strode in, radiating authority and displeasure. This must be Deputy Director Sullivan, that Elijah warned me about. He noted how the Director's posture subtly shifted.

"Director Matthews, I wasn't aware Mr. Reeves was already here." Sullivan's tone suggested this was exactly why he'd chosen this moment to interrupt.

"I trust you're discussing the appropriate channels and protocols for Awakened operations?"

"We're discussing Untethered's recent activities," Matthews replied evenly.

"Given Mr. Reeves' experience—""His unauthorized activities, you mean?" Sullivan cut in, turning to Jonathan.

"While your power is impressive, Mr. Reeves, operating outside established protocols puts everyone at risk. We can't have powerful Awakened acting independently, giving Untethered more ammunition for their propaganda." Jonathan felt his temperature rising but kept his voice steady.

"With respect, sir, while you were establishing protocols, people were dying. Still are."

"Which is precisely why we need structure and control," Sullivan insisted.

"Director Matthews may believe in a more... flexible approach, but I—" A sudden alarm cut through the tension. All three men turned to look at the flashing screens that displayed a nearby Rift.