Four Years

School

The summer flew by and soon enough, Kieran was off to college. There wasn't much of a send-off, just his parents and he packing up what he'd need, loading a truck, and driving to his campus.

There he picked up his welcome packet and class schedule.

Within a few hours, his dorm was set up, he knew where his classes were, and he was ready to go.

His parents insisted on taking him out to dinner to say goodbye before going home themselves. As expected, his father gave his advice on life choices before telling him he was proud of him and giving him a hug. Then his mom told him to take care of himself, gave her life advice, straightened a few hairs that were going astray as she asked him to keep making her proud, then she gave her final hug and kissed his cheek.

After seeing them off, Kieran turned to his dorm room with his hands on his hips.

He was the first of his roommates to arrive so the dorm was generic or barren beyond his personal spaces. It felt a little lonely, but he knew the others would arrive over the next few days.

This was a new beginning. He was on his own for the first time. Sure, he'd go home to visit over holidays and in the summer, but it wouldn't be the same since he'd never fully call his old bedroom home again.

In a blink, his roommates arrived, got settled, and classes began.

Then Kieran's days filled up with lectures, studying, his work at a part-time job near campus, and keeping in shape towards spring. His roommates liked to go to a lot of parties so he sometimes went with them, but he found that he wasn't one for their kinds of parties so he often left early.

As expected, he didn't really make any friends, and only a few girls were interested in dates, but nothing got serious.

Soon enough, spring added baseball and summer gave him a break home to visit his parents before fall started the process over again; a pattern that would repeat until he graduated.

While school progressed, Kieran was playing baseball and working on his accounting degree, he had no other life plans to worry about yet.

When fall came back around, Danny was getting used to his schedule.

Thanks to Kieran, he had a job to provide spending money. Then his classes went on much like before. The only difference was that his days lacked the comradery Kieran had brought, even in his general silence.

He thought of Kieran once in a while, but he didn't think the older boy thought of him much, if at all. Kieran would be busy with school, work, sports, and perhaps a social life if he was fortunate enough to find someone of a similar mind in the larger social pool that the university represented.

All in all, Danny's life went on much as it had before.

Even the Marshals reached a point of less concern when he fell back into the shadows. Most of his classmates still didn't know what to do about him. They didn't understand his perspective of the world, couldn't keep up with him in class, and didn't seem interested in trying to get past his defenses. A few girls seemed to like his looks, but few were interested enough to show that, and he wasn't usually interested in return.

What did change was that he had to start making plans. What was he going to do after graduation?

Becoming a cop was no longer a top priority. But, that left him with a lot of options, and little direction.

Much of Danny's sophomore year was spent wrestling with this conundrum in an effort to figure out what direction he should take his junior year. That way, he'd have time to select his classes, research colleges, and make some decisions.

First, though, he needed to find a direction.

Going through his hobbies and interests, Danny thought about art, math, computers, comics, and track. Running track wasn't really a viable option, what could he do with running? Art was a similar issue, he could sell his work, but it wasn't a certain option since artists had a reputation for starving. Comics were a niche market but more viable as career options. However, math and computers had more options and opportunities. Tinkering with them, he settled on accounting and computer engineering. Finances and tech were a part of life so he had security in the future.

Next was a matter of choosing which college or university to attend.

There were a lot of options in the country! He pulled up a lengthy list of what he had to choose between and began crossing things off if they weren't interesting, viable, or an option. Then he took the highlighted list and went to work narrowing it down. Eventually, he had his top six options lined up and organized by his reason of choice.

During his junior year, he applied to his colleges and lined up his classes to support math and computers.

Senior year, things started out as planned. Acceptance letters rolled in from his choices with exciting welcomes all the way around. His classes progressed smoothly and he excelled at each of them which made him more certain of his choices.

His birthday threw him for a loop in the spring. Was he going to remain in Wit-Sec or not?

Senior

Kieran didn't expect the change that hit him senior year.

One of his professors called him into a meeting and started talking about his future and his abilities. Then he transitioned into talking about serving his country. When the conversation was wrapping up, a question got dropped, "Would you like to serve your country?"

That was a big decision! Kieran couldn't make it on the spot.

His professor agreed for him to think about it and they'd have another meeting later.

For a few weeks, Kieran juggled the pros and cons of what he'd been asked.

Did he want to leave his family and the life he'd chosen behind? His mother was strict but very loving and attentive, and his father had supported his mother's discipline while also having his own supportive attention. Kieran loved them dearly and didn't want to lose them. Then the life he'd chosen was pretty basic. He intended to play baseball and then he had accounting to lean on as a backup. But, it was still something he enjoyed and it left him with the freedom of choice.

On the flipside, serving his country had a greater purpose. He could save lives, he made a future for those who came after him, and he would be supporting the perspective his parents had raised him with. His father was very God, country, family, and baseball while his mother was God, family, and country.

Family versus country, it was a difficult choice for him.

Making a call, he spent an evening talking to his parents. He didn't share the depth of the decision he was making, but he sought their advice. They seemed to be pro him doing what he could towards helping those in need.

After their conversation, he set an appointment with his professor/recruiter. He had some specifications for the safety of his parents, but he accepted the offer of being an agent.

On his birthday, Ellen presented him with a choice, and Danny had to choose. What name would he take?

The Marshals gave him until summer to make his decision, so after a meeting to learn his options, he settled back to cross-compare.

Ultimately, the complication for Danny was Ellen. She'd been an aunt, a mother, and a friend to him so he wanted to keep in touch with her. His mother, he couldn't remember ever having much of a conversation with her. Sure, she'd told him things at various points, but she usually drifted through her days in blank silence.

Based on that, he came to a conclusion. Danny Brooks would remain in Wit-Sec. He would be able to keep in touch with Ellen, he could be there for his mother if she needed him, and he couldn't safely return to Neal Bennett anyway. When it came down to it, his life had changed when he was three and it would never be normal or the same.

With his decisions made, Danny continued to work through his classes, do his after-school job, and competed in track towards his scholarships.

Then one afternoon, he'd finished his classes for the day, his track meet was ending, and he was getting ready to go to work when he noticed a suspicious-looking car parked across the street. Watching it, he couldn't see the license plate, it was a generic car that a lot of families chose so it blended in, and there was a man in sunglasses and a hat watching him from the driver seat, but the feeling he got at seeing it scared him.

Once he knew he'd been seen, the man pulled out and disappeared into traffic.

Still standing there going through an internal debate, Danny almost didn't notice his coach approaching until he was asked if he was alright.

"Someone was watching the practice, they left after I noticed them, but something didn't feel right." Danny knew that his coach, like most of the staff, didn't know about his past or situation. The Marshals had only shared part of the story with those necessary in his freshman year.

After a few questions, the coach asked him to point the person out if he saw them again, then he asked if Danny needed a ride or something.

Feeling more cautious and sensitive than usual, Danny declined the ride, but he felt it pertinent to tell Ellen and the Marshals as soon as possible.

Getting excused, he went to the office but the staff vaguely aware of his situation was gone, he couldn't reach Ellen, and the Marshals were sending a car to tail him. He was given their details and instructed to remain in the office until they arrived.

Receiving the follow-up call that the Marshals were present, Danny made the trip to his job with the escort before they observed his work from across the street.

His evening was generally uneventful, but after closing, he was doing his cleanup work when a drunk called to him from the alley as he hauled the trash. They were calling for a 'Neal Bennett.'

The man he worked for intervened enough to keep the stranger from approaching, but the alternate name and Danny's reaction also caught his attention, "Is there something wrong?

Trying not to reveal the extent of just how much was wrong, Danny still knew he was pale and trembling. "Someone was watching our track meet, then he seemed to be addressing me but I don't know him or that name. I was abducted when I was a kid so anything that reminds me of that…" It was a little lie, but his life potentially hung in the balance and he wasn't allowed to tell the truth per the agreement with the Marshals.

Although his boss seemed skeptical like he could sense the lie, he didn't push the matter.

They finished the work and as they were locking up, one of the Marshals 'happened' by playing a friend of the family and offered Danny a ride. He accepted since he didn't want a repeat of his childhood abduction.

Turning to his boss before he left, Danny did mention that he wasn't sure when he'd transition towards college. It wasn't true; he thought he'd be transitioning very soon. They'd been found again and the Marshals were likely to respond quickly considering what had happened before.

Looking back one last time as he crossed the street, Danny saw his boss pause to watch them leave. The man had been around for a while so he seemed to sense something of what was happening, but he probably didn't have a clue what the broader picture was.

As expected, the Marshal gave him a ride home, a few minutes to pack his limited possessions, and then the process of moving began.

Danny disappeared that night, and sometimes he wondered if anyone really noticed.

Sure, someone else got to be valedictorian in his place, he didn't finish any of his classes, and he didn't show up for track or work the next day.

Instead, he was given the name Bryce Larkin, his identity was given a more subtle position in his class rankings, a fake graduation, and he was sent to Stanford University. He went for the planned degrees, but at a different school under a different name.

Thank you, everyone, for reading, leaving kudos, and commenting/reviewing, :D