I woke up in a hospital bed. I don’t remember much `bout what happened.

All I do remember is going with Dome inside a container full of omegas in heat and... passing out...?

I was still trying to make sense of that day when I heard someone knocking.

The door to my room opened and Dr. Webb stepped in.

“How are you feeling, Sgt. Willow?” he asked.

“Fine...” I said with a frown. “What happened? I remember following Dome... then blacking out...”

“There was a rouge alpha in the team, he attacked you and went after Dome...”

“What happened to Dome, then? Is he okay?” I asked, concerned.

“He’s fine. It’s a good thing he wasn’t caught off guard.” I flinched at his words.

Was I caught off guard then?

How could I be?

When I have dedicated my life into protecting Dome?

“Don’t worry, there was no harm done, you were merely knocked out in a pheromone attack. The mission was accomplished with only one casualty...”

“Dewey...” I rubbed my face as I remembered about the young sergeant. “So... how’s Dome doing now?”

“As of today, he will be sent in another mission. You are now relieved of your duties.”

“Huh?” I stared at the doc, frowning. “What do you mean, relieved of my duties? Didn’t you say you’ll make me his permanent back-up?!”

“I said ‘perhaps’.”

“But...”

“Sgt. Willow, you are to wait for further instructions, as for the meantime, report back to your former squad. I will message you if and when you get a new assignment.”

“But – “

The doctor stared down at me. I kept my silence in front of a superior officer and simply raised my right hand in salute.

He left me alone in my room, seething, wondering what it was that I did wrong.

“Hello? Benito? Can you send me some churros? I’m craving for some.”

‘Sure, Alejandro, where you want me to drop `em off?’ said the voice at the other end of the phone.

“At the usual spot.”

‘Got it, man, I’ll ring you some, asap.’

I stepped out of the phone booth and made my way back to the hotel where I was currently staying.

I ain’t just gonna go back to my old squad. I ain’t buying this ‘mission accomplished’ crap from Dr. Webb.

The more I try to remember what happened, the more I get the feeling that there was something more about that past mission, and I can’t just let it go. But the more I try to think about it, the more my head hurts, and all I could think of is a field full of blooming roses.

“As if anythin’ `bout our last mission had anythin’ to do with roses.”

I went inside my room and waited for my phone to ring. It did, two hours later, with an address near where I was staying.

I took my keys and went to a ‘Waymart’ branch in the area. I was looking around in the breakfast section when a woman pushing a cart with a baby on it entered the aisle.

“Hey there, big guy, still alive?” asked a low voice from the woman as she came near.

“Yeah, your big bro’s a real survivor,” I said with a chuckle, “did you get what I asked for?”

“Yeah, took me a while. That D guy must be a big shot, judging from all the security I had to bypass just to get these files.”

“And did they notice anything?”

The woman chuckled softly and picked up the baby from the cart.

“You sound as if you don’t know me. I am the Silent Death. Tacido Muerte never leaves any traces,” she said, as if she was merely talking to her baby.

She went past me again, this time, stealthily dropping a small flash drive inside my coat pocket.

“Thanks.”

“Any time, hermano, anytime,” said the woman as she left the aisle.

I waited for a bit before picking a couple of cereal boxes and heading for the counter.

I wonder where he got the kid?

This was answered briefly when I saw a worried woman accompanied by a couple of store attendants.

They seem to be looking for a missing cart with a kid still in it.

I chuckled and patted the flash drive in my pocket.

I checked the drive as soon as I got back to my motel, making sure my laptop was offline before plugging it in. It contained files concerning my subject of interest – International Secondary Gender Police force’s Special Lieutenant Dome.

I had him retrieve these files 3 months ago, right after Dr. Webb told me `bout the good news, and as expected, it took this long even for my brother to hack into it.

“Hmm... The D.O.M.E. Project...” I read from the files, “How interesting...”

But nothing prepared me for what I was about to find out.

“I don’t recall calling for you, Sgt. Willow.” Said the doc when he opened the door to his office.

“You didn’t. I came here on my own,” I replied with a smile.

“And to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I’m here on behalf of the ‘Dominant Omega Mutation Enzyme’ Project.”

I noted how his left eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.

“What about the DOME project?” he asked me back.

“Well, nothin’ much, just that I want to be part of it.”

“You are not qualified enough to – ”

“Does he still have a neurochip in his head?”

Dr. Webb glared at me.

“Weren’t those devices banned by the UN `coz they were too inhumane?” I asked him, “I mean, who still blows up people’s heads in this day and age? Are we in a low budget spy movie or somethin’?” I laughed. “Or perhaps, you don’t view him as a person since he’s just an omega?”

“What do you want?” he snarled at me.

“Like I said, I want in. I want to be Dome’s permanent back-up. His partner. For life.”

The doc started laughing.

“DOME is a dominant omega. He’s stronger than all the strongest dominant alphas put together. You think he wants to partner with someone like you?”

“We’re already partners, as I’m sure you already know.”

“He’s just using you as a handy hole while he’s separated from his fated pair.”

“And he finds me very useful indeed.”

“And you’re okay with that?” he frowned at me.

“As long as he needs me. As long as I’m by his side.”

“He’ll leave you as soon as he gets back with his pair!”

“But not now. Not yet.”

Dr. Webb glared at me some more.

“You really are crazy, Willow,” he said, shaking his head. “I knew your brother was up to no good when he went off grid, but I never imagined he could dig that deep. Those files are highly classified. Have you got any idea what might happen to DOME if those files were leaked?! Those arrogant alphas on top would never accept him! And with all the discrimination in the force, just what do you think would happen to DOME if they found out that he’s an omega?!”

“I know,” I told him calmly, “That’s why I decided to get rid of all the files.”

I watched Dr. Webb’s podgy face change from irritation, to wonder, to surprise and last, anger.

“You wouldn’t?!”

He ran to his desk, went to his laptop, and hurriedly checked the files in what ever secret database they might have been.

Well, there won’t be much for him to check on.

And now, I am on my way home.

The doc got me court martialed.

They forced me to tell the location of the DOME files I downloaded – which I had already burned. Then they forced me to divulge the whereabouts of my baby brother, which I didn’t know.

They kept me for three days, and on the forth, was visited once more by the good ol’ Dr. Webb.

“You really are a tough one, Willow. Do you even know what you’re up against?” he asked, glaring at me, but all I could think of was how his double chin shakes like an upside down jell-o whenever he speaks. “I can make you disappear with just a snap, you know.”

“Then why don’t you do it?” I grinned, the metallic taste of blood still in my mouth.

“You are still useful to us.”

“Then use me.”

“We cannot trust you.”

“Why not? You know well enough that I would never betray Dome. You can even put a chip in my head, too, if you want.”

“You know we can’t use that anymore. Besides, that’s not the point.”

“You think I’ll side with him and betray you, then?” I chuckled.

The doc stayed silent.

“You still have my other brother,” I told him. “You still have Sergio.”

“Sergio is just an elementary school teacher. An ordinary beta who thinks that both his brothers are long dead,” he snarled. “It is Elias that we want.”

“And I told you, I don’t know where he is,” I replied, “You know yourself that he found out `bout me on his own. I would have preferred if he thought me dead as well.”

“He wouldn’t have traced you if you didn’t keep sending them money secretly,” he retorted. “Besides, I don’t believe that you don’t have any means to communicate with him.”

“Then don’t. I ain’t forcin’ you.”

I smiled at the doc whose folds of fat seem to vibrate with rage.

“I can take away your rank, Willow.”

“But you won’t, because you need me. I’m still valuable to you. Especially now that I know the truth.”

The doc glared at me once more. He knows it too. Of all the members of the Secondary Gender Police, I am the only one who has always come back unscathed in ev’ry mission. I have always been his first pick and have faithfully worked for him for the last five years without question. And it was all for the sake of working with Dome one day.

“Does working for that man really mean everything to you?” Dr. Webb asked, “He has a deep hate for alphas. You have no idea what he’s capable of doing!”

“I think I already have a pretty good idea what he really is,” I answered with a smile. “Especially in bed. And if that’s any indication, then yeah, I know what he’s capable of doin’, as much as I know what he really is, deep inside. So if I can be used as a tool to keep him sane, then so be it.”

The doc continued glaring at me, but this time, he held his tongue, he simply took a deep breath and shook his head in resignation.

“If that is what you wish... then so be it.”

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