Britain
Wednesday morning,Brit bounded out of bed at six. She was so excited to start her new job. And the best part? She got to ride in with Addison.
She got ready, ate a quick breakfast, ran back upstairs to put on a black pant suit, then changed into a sweater and skirt. Butterflies flitted around her tummy. Even with her first-day jitters, she could not stop smiling.
On the ride to ALPHA, Brit said, “I’m not sure if I’m more pumped about working there or riding in with you.”
Addison laughed. “You’ll love this job. It’s the best.”
Once inside, Addison dropped her off at Providence’s office.
Providence greeted her with a handshake before Brit eased into the guest chair.
“Your first day will be spent doing all the necessary onboarding tasks, starting with your government IDs,” Providence began. “First, I need you to give me an alias for when you work your cases. Something easy to remember and equally easy to forget. Mine is Elaine Jones. On Monday, I onboarded someone who chose Bob Jones.”
Brit laughed. “On purpose?”
“No, he didn’t know mine.”
“I’ll be Jules Marshall.”
“Jules it is,” Providence said.
“When you’re talking to friends and family, you’ll need a cover.”
“Artist.”
“Perfect,” Providence replied. “If you go into a case as FBI, stay FBI. One ID per case.”
“Understood. Why can’t I use my real name?”
“Britain Skye doesn’t work in federal law enforcement because ALPHA doesn’t exist. If someone needs to check your creds, you’ll be in the system as Jules Marshall.” Providence got busy working. When finished, she placed several picture IDs into a black, leather bag, and handed the bag to Brit.
“Your Welcome Bag,” Providence said.
Inside were the newly-made picture IDs for FBI, DEA, CIA, ATF, DHS, and State, along with a burner and a Glock.
“Welcome to ALPHA, Jules Marshall,” Providence said. “You’ll be a great asset to the team.”
Brit smiled. “I’m excited to be here.”
“Just a few items to cover with you. Ops get a chip inserted into their necks?—”
“Wait, what?”
“It’s for your protection,” Providence replied. “During the training period, we use a secure app. After the ninety-days, we’ll insert the chip.”
“You can’t be serious. Why would ALPHA want to track me?”
“If you’re kidnapped—and that’s happened before—you’re going to be very happy when we rescue you.”
“Makes sense, but it’s kind of invasive.”
“If you think that’s invasive, we need your DNA,” Providence continued. “The IT director has your laptop and he’ll get you set up on the system, then you’ll meet your mentor. Before you leave, I’ll add the tracking app.”
Brit handed over her phone. Providence sat beside her, showed her the app she’d downloaded from ALPHA’s secure site. Once the app was installed, Brit got her phone back. Next, Providence handed her a Kevlar vest. “This is yours. It does you no good hanging in your closet.”
With those housekeeping tasks completed, Providence brought her into the lab where the tech swabbed the inside of her mouth, then on to the conference room where Brit met the IT Director.
