Chapter V - H.Q. 1 (The Iron Building)

The sleek black vehicle pulled up next to a shabby shack of a convenience store. An elder man and woman were tending it, the woman behind the register as the man checked dates on their stocked products. A disturbingly large amount of products filled bags behind and beside him, making Thomas 'Duke' Watson pale slightly. He knew numbers, and this amount of exiting food items screamed of potential illnesses that would breed here readily.

"Hey, dude. Get your head in gear, buddy. They're leaving us behind." J.E.X. gently patted Thomas on the shoulder, calming the nervous looking male smoothly. He led 'Duke' by the hand, following Grace who travelled behind Lenore and Caleb readily. Those two were dangerous, that much he could tell by the way they moved and spoke. Even J.E.X. seemed uncomfortable around them, though he did his best to put on a good face for Thomas and now the nice and pretty lady called Grace.

"Hey...do you think they're planning something?" Thomas gently tugged on Jareth's sleeve, trying not to slow them down as they spoke softly. He could feel the old lady watching them as they headed to the swinging door that led to a grubby storage room in the back. Her eyes were...wrong. To dark and to curious, like he was prey instead of a possible customer. He didn't like how his arms and neck goose-pimpled with the sensation of her eyes on him. Where were they being led, and why did it feel like they were rushing right towards a violent end...??

"Everyone is planning something man, that's just how people are. The question is if what they're planning is good or bad, for themselves or for a group. The young girl seems...scary, but more on the side of making things work. It's the older male that we'll need to watch, okay? Squeeze my hand if you think you can do that." Thomas squeezed J.E.X.'s hand with his, nodding and calming down. before his hand was let go of.

"Cool. Now let's go see what these crazies want with us. Since they had applications from each of us, I have little doubt they know more than any of us really feels comfortable with right now." His eyes thinned, gently touching the grip on the shotgun before stuffing his hands deep into his jacket pockets.

Exiting the back of the store through the grody storage room, they all three slowed to a halt as Caleb and Lenore spoke softly to each other. Grace, Jareth, and Thomas all gazed on in surprise at the structure towering at the end of the alleyway. It was massive, but had been crafted just carefully enough that it cast minimal reflections and shadows around it. The sunlight itself seemed to filter through the building, and if nothing else almost appeared as if it came out of the other side cleaner, warmer, and sharper than it has entered.

"...I guess I shouldn't ask, but...is that where you're taking us?" Grace's voice was a little bit guarded now, knowing absolutely nothing about what they were all heading into. She was most definitely curious, but not thick enough to overlook the potential for danger and becoming trapped. Especially when it was looming right in front of her. The air around the looking structure seemed to him with something a little cold and calculating, if not with some intent of cruelty. They all stood there with concern aside from the siblings, almost sensing a continual thin shock through their nerves and over their flesh as the hairs along the nape of their neck stood to attention. The most concerning aspect was that none were certain if it was fear causing these reactions, or a reason far less friendly than their own inner turmoil.

"...So. Are we heading in to get you all registered, or would you all prefer to hang out here in this grubby alley?" Caleb arched an eyebrow at the trio, a taunting smirk creasing the edges of his lips as he watched and waited. He waved Lenore to head in and get three packets ready, then leaned against the wall and took a slow and soft breath. "The creatures are in there too, but safely contained. If anything else is bothering any of you, please just spit it out. I'd like to get this situation handled so I can proceed with the rest of my working day."

Thomas nibbled on his lower lip in thought, then sighed and shrugged a little bit. He wasn't sure about Grace, though she seemed hesitant about proceeding further with this strange young male. He had a strong estimate concerning Jareth, so knew it would have to be him making the decision if they were going forward at all if it came down to the two of them making the choice. "We'll head in, but I think it's time you cleared the air for us. We shouldn't be going in to this blind, so I want to know anything we can about this company we're essentially in the hiring stages of working for."

Caleb paused as a thin eyebrow rose in surprise, before he laughed gently. His eyes were dangerous looking for someone that was laughing so casually, which bothered 'Duke' deeply. He let it go for now though as the young male began to speak with them. "There's two groups of people that are broken into several dozen teams each working in our company. Our name is an acronym that will be explained once we're done with your hiring papers and assigning equipment, though the name of it is B.O.P.G.U.N. in case you wanted to know.

"As for what we do and about the groups themselves, it's a little complex to explain to you fully before you're committed to the cause. I can at least tell you though that we're essentially the good guys, keep the monsters away from people so they stay blissfully or in some cases miserably unaware." He slipped his hands deep into his pockets and yawned softly, studying the three quietly for a moment. "If nothing else, the two groups are divided into intelligence gathering and field work. It's fairly straightforward, even if we can't talk to the public in general about it in to much depth. We mostly have to report everything unexpected to the public as scientific experimentation for the government. Wether we tell them it was accidental or not depends on the severity of the results. ...Any more questions?"

Thomas blinked in surprise, then rubbed his chin and nodded softly. "I guess that explains why there's so much cloak and dagger feeling to this whole thing. What about the two elder males that left the interview?" Caleb laughed and waved it off calmly.

"Two old guys that didn't even get to see the weapon tray? Yeah, they don't have much to offer aside from being interviewed by an eccentric young male over an odd variety of foods at an open-ended lunch assessment. It's easy to ignore folks that chatter on about things that are substantial just because they're different from normal. It happens all day, every day, in thousands of cases when a new generation of people gains a voice and some standing ground in the world. There's nothing there to push against. I feel extremely secure in my thoughts on this matter." He waved it off calmly, before stretching out as much as he could and then waving the trio to follow after him as he began to walk towards the building again.

"Our headquarters is going to be your home after you're done with your paperwork. If there's anyone you need to contact before you essentially vanish from the world, there's phones and computers inside. We have a week to get everything cleared up before we begin your training. I'd also suggest a shower and trying to set up your room however you'd like before dinner. We have a lot of ground to cover."

Thomas remained silent as they entered the building and each received a numbered key to a room on the second floor. His only thought was that he had no one he wanted to reach out to any longer. Well, minus the little girl from the bus. That incident in the heavy rain running from the screams and blood-splatter on the fogged windows of the violently rocking vehicle had marred him. That day at work he had seen it, though. He had just gotten fired, and a crumpled ball of paper had caught his eye on the way out of the break room. A hiring event...which he had just finished and finally gotten to see some of the creatures that had altered his entire life.

He shook his head, shivering softly as he thumbed a kid's scrawled note in his jacket pocket. "...I have one. Though she's fairly young, it feels important that she know how to reach me. ...Reach us even. We should keep the innocent ones safe, right? So if she's already had an experience with these things, shouldn't we make a note to watch out for her until she can choose to join us?"

Caleb's eyes were shocked for a moment, before they thinned dangerously as he grabbed at a memory. "...The phone call. Briefcase man from the bus... He had mentioned that he and two others made it out. Jeez, what an oversight. I'll need to talk to one of my groups about their data gathering tonight." He sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, then looked at the three. "...Grace, Jareth. Head on in and get yourselves organized and contact whoever you need to. ...Thomas and I have some business to discuss, it seems."

The shadow of the building swallowed them each as they approached and entered, and only Thomas eyes were full of doubts. The organization may have good intentions possibly, but something was seriously wrong with the boy leading them all into the lion's den. He was sure he was less than casually heading right into a death trap. Which he had now made himself a main target of.