He poured himself one before they continued on. She entered a windowless office that could have been any CEO’s office in Anytown, USA, save for the non-existent view. A large desk with an executive chair stood in front of built-in bookshelves. Two guest chairs faced his desk. A small round conference table with four chairs filled the corner of the room. On the wall across from his desk, six monitors hung on the wall—all of them dark.
No surprise there.
There was nothing in Luther’s office that would identify him as the occupant of the upscale space. No photos, no awards. The desk was void of any paperwork or even a computer.
“Please, have a seat.”
She eased into one of the guest chairs as he got comfortable in his. He grew silent for a few beats. Was this some kind of tactic to get her to start babbling? He’d summoned her, so she would stay silent.
He opened a desk drawer and extracted a laptop. After typing in a few keystrokes, he turned the device around so she could see the screen. He’d pulled up her internal FBI file, which included her entire case history for the past decade, along with her personal profile. She’d never seen it before and skimmed the information.
Her ex-husband was listed, along with their daughter. Her eyes caught the words Divorced and Deceased before Luther repositioned the computer so he, too, could see it.
Then, he toggled down to Current Position and replaced FBI Undercover Agent with ALPHA and everything in her profile was replaced with the word REDACTED.
Gone was her work history. Her personal data was no longer visible. All that remained beside her name was the word ALPHA.
That one word had changed everything.
“Congratulations, Providence. You’re now an ALPHA operative. Going forward, no one searching for you in our database, or any other government database, will be able to review your case history or learn anything about you.”
What the hell is going on?
“I had no idea a meat packaging company wielded that much power.”
He chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “ALPHA controls everything, yet it remains the most secretive organization in the federal space. Decades ago, we were conceived by Justice, yet we stay completely buried beneath layers of bureaucracy, so we don’t appear on any org chart. We don’t exist, except to a handful of need-to-know individuals.”
“What is ALPHA?” she asked.
“We are an elite group of operatives who hunt down and capture our country’s most violent criminals.”
“How is that different from any other law enforcement agency, including the FBI?”
“We target men and woman who have been arrested, tried, and convicted for the most heinous crimes. Child molesters, rapists, serial killers. DNA evidence links the criminals to their victims, but they’ve gotten off on a technicality or they’ve escaped from prison. As soon as they get out, they start killing again. What differentiates us from other law enforcement agencies is our motto, ‘Dead or alive’.”
Providence stared at him for a beat. “All right. I’m curious. What will I be working on?”
“One of my operatives—make thatformeroperative—needs an assist and you’re the perfect person to partner with him. You’re tough, you take zero shit from anyone, and you get the job done.”
“So, I’m plucked from my career and now I work for you? I don’t have a say in this? Maybe I liked my career and I’m not interested in teaming with one of your ALPHAs.”
“Oh, I think you’ll enjoy working with this one very much. If, after this assignment ends, you want to return to undercover work with the FBI, I’ll make that happen.”
“Just like that?”
He nodded. “Just like that.” Luther pushed out of his chair. “Our IT Director has your laptop. Swing by and see me before you head out this afternoon. I’ll have your weapons and other items.”
As he escorted her down the hall, she glanced in the offices and saw people working. Some on their phones, others on their laptops.
“Why aren’t you introducing me?” Providence asked. “Isn’t that first-day protocol?”
“I’ll leave that to your new partner.”
“The suspense is killing me.” Her sarcasm was not lost on Luther, who offered another easy-going chuckle.
They entered the conference room and he introduced her to Felipe, ALPHA’s IT Director. “I’ll be back.” Luther left, closing the door behind him.
After welcoming Providence to ALPHA, Felipe began setting up her laptop. “If, for some reason, you misplace this, call me immediately.” He gave Providence his phone number.
