Lightbringer | Kai Parker Fanfic

One

I guess we could say it all started with a gift from Alice. We can discuss later how much of a gift it turned out to be but for me, it was a chance I didn't dare believe in until the moment I saw my parents' house grow smaller in the rearview of my car. I was really, actually, undoubtedly leaving our little town on the Canadian border for a new, wonderful and unpredictable adventure: college.

Of course, as anything coming from Alice, it did not come for free; I, second lieutenant of the clan, was certainly not to set off somewhere completely out of the family's reach, and my choice of a college definitely wasn't my own. I was being sent where one of us was needed, being assigned to a case and expected to assess and report the situation, as in any other mission. The way I occupied my free time and kept my cover rolling was not the clan's concern and knowing that, knowing how much I craved for a normal existence and an undergrad education, Alice had volunteered me.

My rank and my willingness to go undercover on a campus had been an advantage in the negotiations; the elders knew what I was capable of and didn't oppose any objection, so only my father was not overjoyed with the idea of sending me so far from home for a mission that wasn't limited in time. Fortunately, Alice was head of the clan: her decisions were law.

As a result, I left on a sunny morning of summer and drove south all the way from Vermont to Virginia, all packed up and ready to attend classes at Whitmore College. As I drove and drove for hours, windows open, music loud and hair in the wind, I couldn't stop smiling to myself, not once. I remember casting a glance to the file resting on the passenger seat every now and then, just to remind myself that I wasn't entirely free, that I was on a mission. Regardless, going undercover as a student was the best thing that had ever happened to me and still today, I am very grateful for it.

I remember pulling into the parking lot that first day, already wearing my nice-college-girl uniform as I called it. Of course, I couldn't just go around wearing my dark combat leathers: I needed to adapt to my environment and so, my wardrobe was now mostly composed of plain blue, white or green tank tops, jeans shorts, summer dresses and cute shoes. My hair, naturally brown and usually held up high on a tight and flawless ponytail was now a nice golden shade of blond and loose on my shoulders. Good-bye for now, witch-hunter look, hello sweet-freshman-Andy.

This look I had chosen for myself didn't render me any less lethal, but I would definitely come across as an innocent and average college human, who could fit in and get discreetly acquainted with all my targets for investigation. No one ever really pays attention to the nice girl next door looking around, so that was my plan; and it worked for a good while.

That same day, after I was done dealing with the paperwork and moving in, I took care to show up at the Scull Bar downtown McKinley, where I had scheduled an interview for a position as bartender. Alice had not fed me the details but I knew it had been a great deal of indirect networking to have my curriculum appear on top of the pile and be selected by the manager. I remember Dominic didn't have much time for me that day: he showed me around, introduced me to a few staff members that were here and after a short Q and A, gave me a contract to read and sign and said my first shift would start the next day at noon.

This side job was a perfect opportunity for me: a bar was always a good place to hear gossip and I knew one of my targets was working there. Besides, it would actually help with my fees and everyday expenses; plus, it was a place where I felt rather confident and somewhat at home. Indeed, after graduating from high school, I knew there was little chance for me to ever attend university, which didn't stop me from wishing and dreaming – maybe a little too loud to go unnoticed by my family. I was already an active member of the clan and, when I was not on mission somewhere in the States or over the border, I was a bartender at a local bar in our town, Zola's, and saving money in hope to take a couple more courses online next year. Now I didn't need to save for online courses anymore, since attending classes had become real, but the experience collected at Zola's would be put to good use.