Going Undercover

Chapter 1

*Jason POV*

"Her name is Eleanor Parkinson" he says, pushing the file towards me.

"Parkinson? You don't mean...?"

"John Parkinson? The man who took down David Matthews? That’s exactly who I’m talking about” he answers, leaning back into his chair.

“Well, what does Eleanor have to do with any of this?” I ask, confused

“Jason, think. If a man takes down the leader or an army, and the DM army out of all of them, of course the followers are going to target him. Which of course means his daughter is in danger” Danny says, with a ‘duh’ tone in his voice.

“Has she been targeted before?”

“Once. But that’s once too many” he replies.

“What happened?”

“She was walking home from college, when a man grabbed her from behind. Luckily her bodyguard was watching her a few metres back. He shot him before anything else happened” he starts. “Of course John got over-protective, and basically banned her from leaving the house. Well mansion really”

“So, what do I have to do? Protect her?”

“More than that. A week after she was banned from going out, she ran away. She left a note saying she wanted a normal life, with an education. John has been trying to catch her for weeks now, but Eleanor did a good job of covering her tracks, we couldn’t find any internet presence. All information, all pictures just vanished. Not even John Parkinson knew where she was” he answers.

Wow, she must be good if she can hide from John Parkinson. But then I guess she learns from the best. I look back at my mentor, who still has his mouth open.

“But…?” I ask.

“Last week, we found a lead, to James Grove College in Salt Lake City. Of course, sending in middle-aged men with guns isn’t exactly subtle. If the David Matthew army found out she was missing, they would be everywhere. That’s where you come in” he finishes.

“What do you mean?”

“James Grove College has over 6000 students. And we are looking for one girl. We need you to go undercover and find her, protect her. Bring her home if possible” he says, with a hopeful tone.

Go undercover? That’s crazy. Surely there are better ways than this?

“Undercover? But I’m 24. How am I meant to pass for an 18 year old?” I ask.

“This is college, not high school. The age ranges from geniuses at 12 to late bloomers in their 30s. You’ll be fine. And you can easily pass for 21, maybe 20” he states.

I turn my head to face the small mirror on the wall to look at my reflection. Do I really look like a college student?

“Are you sure this is going to work?” I ask doubtfully.

“Jason, we have no other plans. And this is the daughter of John Parkinson we’re talking about” Danny answers. I look at him, and I knew this was the only option we had so far.

“Fine. Give me the file” I say, not having any idea what I was getting myself in for. He slides the file even closer to me, and I scoop it up and walk towards to the door.

“Good luck Jason. And don’t let us down. Imagine if this worked. We would have John Parkinson’s approval” he says, making me stop.

“No pressure” I mutter, before leaving the room. I open the file, and I read my next assignment.