Day 57: Lieutenant General Charles Berg's Office

[das_berg]

Between yesterday's trip to Doyleton and today's visitation hours, it had initially been difficult to find the time to meet with any of the Institute's subjects. However, the administration under General Aguilar had proved themselves efficient in maintaining order while covering its true identity for the sake of the civilians. Given who was in

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[its_the_mileage]

Indy'd kept an eye out all shift for someone to come tell him he had a visitor, so when two of the staff led him out into the main hallway at shift change, he didn't think much of it. Until he realized they weren't taking him across the hall to the lobby. They hadn't gone far, but all of a sudden there wasn’t another patient in sight

[das_berg]

The officer knew the moment his first visitor had arrived. His pocket watch was precisely set, and Berg had been clear about what time his subordinates ought to send him here

[its_the_mileage]

Berg: one of Aguilar's top flunkies, if not the actual second in command around here. Indy recognized the voice from the intercom. The few announcements Indy remembered Berg's making had been informational, coupled with warnings about insubordination. He didn't recognize the uniform either, although it was clearly that of a senior officer.

Equally clear was that Berg was exerting his authority. Indy felt like trying to get the answers he needed by way of a quick punch or two, but even if he could take the officer, the place must be crawling with other soldiers. For now, he'd have to play along to have any real hope of learning anything from this meeting.

Grim-faced, he backed off and sat in the leather chair opposite the desk. He didn't quite match Berg's ramrod-backed posture, but he did make a point of sitting up straight to show he was going along with the program here. "All right."

[das_berg]

"Good," Berg replied with a nod. Although he wasn't necessarily opposed to offering Dr. Jones a cup of coffee, he could tell the man was intent on getting to his questions. There was no reason to prolong their discussion simply for the sake of doing so.

With that, he easily sat down in his chair. Linking his fingers together, he rested his hands on the clean surface of his desk.

"I can understand why you're curious to learn more about your father's situation," he added after a moment. "However, our people aren't 'keeping' him anywhere. If he says he's driving from his home every week to come visit you, then I imagine that's exactly what he's doing."

[das_berg]

Berg looked up from his watch just as his next appointment appeared in the office. Once again, his people had made certain that he arrived no sooner or earlier than ordered. After tucking the watch back into his pocket, he rose from where he'd been sitting and offered a polite smile.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kirkland," he greeted. "Or...would 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' be more accurate?" His expression grew a little dry. "'England' is certainly less of a mouthful, though, so I'd personally prefer to call you that instead. Is that acceptable?"

He gestured toward the seat in front of his desk. "In any case -- please, take a seat."

[das_berg]

"Very well," Berg replied. "England it is, then." That would make life easier for the both of them, so he was perfectly content with the choice.

Either way, England didn't look particularly pleased to be in his office. Berg supposed that was a consequence of not properly informing him ahead of time, but he'd already gone over all that when setting up the appointments. The less commotion they caused, the better.

Unlike before, this subject didn't immediately launch into a string of questions. Berg supposed he was waiting to gauge the situation a little better before charging right into things. Perhaps that resulted from the experience of an old nation. He was accustomed to dealing with higher stakes than most beings, after all.

"I don't suppose you'd like a cup of coffee," he added after a moment.

[allroadslead]

Sam had meant to go look for Dean-just to see how he was doing (...and all right, maybe to see what else he could get out of him, too, which, yeah, made him feel a little bad, but it was important)-but that plan solidly went the way of so much for that when they decided to kidnap him while he was still technically kidnapped and had been for the past three frigging weeks.

This was the definition of his life.

"Hey, what the hell-" Sam spun around, and then everything felt like it was spinning. The sensation was way too familiar after he'd spent a whole night experiencing it every time he walked through a door.

Sonofabitch.They hadn't tied his hands which made it easy to shove the blindfold off the first chance he got. He blinked, instinctively zeroing in on the nearest person-one person, actually. Even if it hadn't been for the uniform, the man was unmistakably military. His eyes settled on the three stars on the officer's shoulder, then narrowed. Like the rest of the soldiers, his uniform wasn't anything Sam recognized. The old

[das_berg]

Once again, Sam Winchester reached his office at the exact time Berg expected him. He was starting to think he could set his watch to his own appointments. Berg placed the gleaming pocket watch onto his desk, and turned to fully face the man in front of him.

"Well, you could simply ask and discover the answer for yourself," he replied with a quirked lip. "I will say that I don't intend to waste anyone's time, however." Rising from his seat, he calmly observed Sam's body language. He didn't appear happy to be here, but that was understandable. Given the fact they were also welcoming several visitors onto the grounds today, he'd likely thought he had someone waiting for him up front.

"I'm Lieutenant General Charles Berg," the officer added. "You were brought to my office because I'm interested in personally meeting with as many of you as possible." He glanced toward the seat in front of his desk. "Why don't you sit down and make yourself comfortable?"

[allroadslead]

The watch caught his eye, mostly because of the sheer lack of them around here. Or the ones that did exist apparently just didn't work. As far as weird went, that one was pretty common-clocks stopped all the time around the paranormal and he'd already figured out awhile ago that time was stable like dynamite around here

[das_berg]

Berg inwardly sighed. He'd just answered that question, and he hated repeating himself. However, if the man wanted more clarification, then there was no reason to hold back.

"I don't have any ulterior motives, if that's what you're asking, Mr. Winchester," he responded evenly. "You've been here for nearly three weeks, which makes you more experienced with the Institute than many of the others who are currently here. That's partly why I'm interested in discussing anything you may wish to talk about."

After reaching out to grasp his watch, he lifted it from the desk and tucked it back into his pocket. "But since our time is short, I will start with a simple question for you." Calmly regarding Sam, he linked his fingers together and rested them on top of the desk. "There's a man known as Marc who's been broadcasting radio messages at night. What can you tell me about him?"