The undercover saga continues! Woohoo! Let's do this!! Read parts 1 and 2 if you're confused.

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"Your wife is scary."

Donovan said nothing to Mason's comment and merely continued to watch Carter's progress across the campus back to the dorm room.

"Have you ever thought that she's pretending to be who she is around you and only now that you're married will she eventually reveal the person she's always been and it will be a person you don't know?"

At the high level of stupidity of this question, Donovan look at Mason but didn't move beyond that. The look seemed to be all Mason needed to continue with his line of thinking. He gestured to the computer screens.

"What did we just witness?" he asked. "We witnessed Owens being someone so unlike her that it felt real. Could that be who she really is? Has she been lying this entire time?"

Donovan returned his gaze to the screens. Was Carter's level of acting surprising for the type of person she was? Sure. Donovan could understand where Mason's amazement and shock came from.

But what Mason hadn't seen were the late nights and long hours when he worked with Carter. They perfected her mannerisms and even her tone of speech. Carter transforming herself into someone unrecognizable from the person she was wasn't alarming. It only showed him her level of skill and dedication to her job.

"I mean how do we know that the Owens we knew is the real Owens? It could all be a lie."

"Mason."

Mason rested his elbow on the armrest of his chair, his manner telling Donovan he was ready to drag this argument out until the end of time.

"Shut up," Donovan said.

Mason's face fell and he shifted back in his seat. "Fine but if one day you wake up and you don't know the woman you married then don't come crying to me."

"You would be the last person I'd come to."

"That may be but I'd be the first one to say I told you so."

Donovan said nothing. He wondered how Carter had put up with Mason for all those years in high school. Though from the way they bickered, he figured that must be how. It was easy to deal with someone who annoyed you if you could tell them exactly how much they annoyed you.

Though despite both their clear annoyance with the other, they remained... what? Not friends, that meant some kind of bond and he didn't know if what they had could be called a bond. In a strange way, they are archenemies. Dramatic but true. Archenemies need each other, they give each other a goal to strive for, the other's defeat. It fit but didn't at the same time.

Donovan sighed and stretched his arms before resting his laced fingers on the back of his head. He had no idea what to make of Carter' and Mason's relationship but this mission was giving him a lot of firsthand interactions to try and decipher it.

"Is that sigh because you're sadly coming to the conclusion that I'm right?" Mason asked. "If it is you're accepting this hard truth better than I would imagine."

Donovan decided to cut Mason off before he became convinced that he could share the same banter with Donovan as he did with Carter.

"Mason, you believe Carter would turn into someone else because you've lived a lot of your life hiding who you truly are from the world. You believe that one day you'll show your true colors and the people around you will leave you." He locked eyes with Mason. "Carter is not you."

Though the words weren't said with any malicious intent, they were meant to cut off Mason's idiotic triad and from the rigid way Mason sat, Donovan knew his statement had done its job.

Donovan looked away, giving Mason space to hate him silently in his mind. He knew he would, most people hated it when you laid out the truth. Especially a truth that they didn't want spoken.

"Oh, good, you're both still alive."

Donovan spun around in his chair as Carter strode into the room. He smiled at her as she looked at him to Mason. When her eyes narrowed, Donovan knew she was assessing the situation and Mason's silence. A rare occurrence and so merited thought.

Mason rose and grabbed his phone. "I'm going to get us something to eat. We have two hours before Donovan makes contact with Jackson." He paused next to Carter. "You were convincing, Owens. I almost didn't think you were threatening."

He left the room and Carter stared at the closed door for a long second before facing Donovan.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Mason wanted to banter with me and I don't do that."

"So you said something he didn't want to hear and that shut him up?"

Donovan nodded.

"Ah," Carter said.

She sank into Mason's vacated chair and propped her feet up on the desk. Donovan held back a smile, the bashful, shy girl nowhere to be seen. This was Carter. This was the forceful girl he knew.

"You did well," he said.

"I know."

The statement wasn't pompous, but almost...disappointed.

"What is it?" Donovan said.

Carter rested her chin in her hand. "He's sweet."

Donovan didn't respond, sensing that a quick comeback wasn't what was needed, though he wasn't sure where her thoughts were taking her.

"He's really sweet," she said. "And completely innocent."

It clicked for Donovan.

"We're not lying to a criminal," he said.

"How can we deceive someone who is completely innocent in this situation?" She slouched in her chair and laid her head back on the chair. "I didn't think about this part of the job. Lying to a criminal to catch them and bring them to justice feels easy. They are someone who should be off the streets, someone who needs to be stopped. But lying to a boy who is a victim of his father's actions... I don't know how to make peace with that."

She raised her head and leaned it on her fist, staring at Donovan with turbulent eyes.

"I understand it's our job, it's the mission but..."

"I understand."

They sat there in silence, neither of them looking at the other. After a while, Carter focused on Donovan.

"No answer or solution?" she said.

"I think it's hard to have one. What you're saying is true, we're lying to someone who doesn't deserve to be lied to. People would say the ends justify the means but they fail to take into account that in the process to that ends someone will get hurt."

Carter nodded solemnly. "Did we get into the wrong line of business then?"

"Do you think so?"

"No because when I made the decision to join the FBI everything felt right. I felt... I felt like it was what I'd been working towards growing up without realizing it."

Donovan knew what she meant, it was the same feeling he had when he decided on the path to the FBI. He'd been raised to protect, to serve, to defend.

"If we capture Jackson's father," Donovan said. "It would mean Jackson would lose a father."

"But it also means that Jackson will have the option of living an honest life, without the chance of being corrupted by his father."

"Is that enough?"

"I don't know. But for him, I want to be as genuine as I can. When it ends I don't want it all to be a lie."

"Likewise."

Carter rested her head back on the chair and Donovan watched her. He understood her struggle, it was the same one he'd faced when he'd first taken on the job with Link. Almost everything he did and said was to conceal who he was. It wasn't until he met her that he found someone he could genuinely be himself with.

He knew what had to be done for his job but that didn't mean it was ever easy.

The door to the dorm opened and Mason strode inside.

"Is the silence because Donovan is coming to the realization that you could have been lying to him for the entirety of your relationship, making him believe he dated a decent human being?"

Donovan sighed and ignored Mason, clearly his comment hadn't discouraged him.

"Only you believe that I'd have to lie to convince someone I'm a decent human being," Carter said.

"I've known you for years, of course I think this," Mason said as he set down two take-out bags on their small table.

"I'm only to you what you are to me," Carter said.

"The thorn in my side that will eventually kill me?"

Carter spun her chair to face him. "If I annoy you more often will that bring a quicker end to your life?"

"And leave the world to try and handle you? Not likely to happen."

"I have Donovan to handle me," Carter said.

"Ha! Like he can handle you. He goes all puppy dog around you."

Donovan rose and Mason instantly shifted away. Donovan fought a smile, it was reassuring to know that Mason had a good dose of fear towards him.

"Let's eat," he said. He wasn't Carter, he wasn't going to verbally spar with Mason. "We have two hours before I make contact and we need to discuss what Carter learned about Jackson."

Nodding, Mason relaxed and pulled out a third chair, planting himself in it. Donovan sat next to Carter and noticed the tiny smile she wore. Clearly, she hadn't missed Mason's reaction to Donovan standing either.

********

Donovan collected his bag and checked the mirror. Like Carter, his appearance was perfectly curated for the persona he would be playing. But his persona vastly contrasted hers. Where she had to give off a shy, approachable vibe, Donovan had to be the epitome of the Cool Guy.

Everything from his styled hair to the expensive but simple black t-shirt tucked into designer jeans, to the leather jacket to his shoes. Though it all seemed like basic pieces anyone could buy, he wore it with an air of confidence that made it something more than it looked.

"I'm leaving," he said, at the door. "Are you going to be okay with me gone?"

Mason scrunched his face up in a mixture of disgust and skepticism. "I know you find your wife irresistible, but believe I would rather be stabbed to death than touch her."

"I meant," Donovan said. "Will I find you still alive when I get back?"

"Do you think I have that low of self-control?" Carter asked, spinning around.

"You forget that I've now spent two weeks working alongside Mason."

"Ah, you have a point."

"Ha. Ha," Mason said, twisting back to face his computers. "You are both terrible people, if someone comes for us I'm saving my own skin and letting you both be taken."

"Mason, if anyone came for us," Carter said. "We'd have to be the ones to save your skin. On your own, you'd die."

"I can take care of myself."

Carter smacked the back of his head and he winced. "Ow."

"I'm going to hit you again, block me."

She swung with her left hand which Mason tried to block but only managed to be hit again with Carter's right hand.

"I made my case," she said. "Donovan you should get going. I've hit Mason twice, that should satisfy me until you can get back and keep me from doing more damage."

Fighting a smile and feeling reassured they'd be fine left alone, Donovan stepped out of the dorm room. He walked down the hall, through the common area, and out of the building without encountering anyone.

But once he hit the sidewalk and headed towards Jackson's current class, he was among students.

As he moved, he felt the attention he drew. Girls he passed by stopped mid-sentence, heads turned.

"You make any more people look at you and you're going to have to pay for the chiropractic bills," Mason said.

"I never knew you in a leather jacket could look so good," Carter said.

"Please don't flirt with your husband while I'm right here," Mason said. "This equipment is expensive and I might projectile vomit all over it."

Donovan said nothing as they bickered, all too aware of the surrounding attention. It felt unsettling having almost everyone he walked by stop and look at him.

Growing up with his brothers, he never thought himself to be all that attractive since no matter what girl he met if she met his brothers she fell for them. Protecting Link he'd made himself look just good enough to distract people from focusing too much on Link.

In college, he hadn't needed to play that role as much since fewer people cared about other students' lives. At Quantico and in the FBI though there might be some people who appreciated his looks, the job was what mattered most.

But today was the first day he did everything he could to be attractive, to be the type of guy every girl wanted to be with and every guy wanted to be.

Though the looks and broken conversations proved his efforts effective, he worked not to shrink from the constant attention.

"Do you see Jackson?" Donovan asked.

"Yes," Mason said. "He's headed your way."

Donovan scanned the quad filled with students. When he spotted Jackson, he quickly searched for someone nearby. Spotting a pretty girl walking by herself and staring at her phone, Donovan moved in to intercept her.

"Hey," he said.

The girl look up with a wrinkle of apprehension but when her gaze fully landed on Donovan, her apprehension vanished and her expression brightened. The reaction was expected but still, after years of not receiving these types of responses, it felt strange.

"Hi," she said. "What's up?"

Donovan threw a glance at Jackson, who steadily made his way toward Donovan's position.

"I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of professor Eden's class?" Donovan asked the girl.

The girl smiled. "No problem. It's through that archway and the Astor building." She shifted her body, all over her actions announcing her attraction to him. "If you need help, I could walk you there."

At that moment, Jackson passed Donovan and Donovan reached out for him.

"Hey man, there you are," he said. He turned back to the girl. "You know, thanks for the offer but I'll have to pass. Dude, where have you been, I'm been trying to call you."

Looking startled but not saying anything, Donovan guided Jackson away from the girl.

"Sorry," he whispered. "But do you mind playing along for a second, I need to get away from her."

"Uh... Sure," Jackson said.

Donovan laughed and smiled, nudging Jackson like he'd told a joke. He glanced back and found the girl watching him but with only a mildly puzzled look. Donovan let out a breath as he faced forward.

"Thanks, man. You know how hard it is when a girl is trying too hard to get with you and you want none of it."

Donovan felt bad for saying it since the girl seemed like a fine person. But he saw as his words had their effect. Jackson felt blustered by being put on the level of Donovan.

Jackson nodded but he was working too hard to make it seem convincing. Donovan looked back again and the girl was gone.

He held out his hand. "I'm Dorian. Yeah, I have a pretentious name, I blame my parents."

Jackson smiled and shook Donovan's hand. "Jackson."

"Do you go by Jack or Jackson?"

"People call me Jack."

Donovan heard the message beneath the state, people called him that but it wasn't what he preferred.

"So Jackson, where are you headed?" Donovan asked.

At the use of his full name, Donovan noticed that Jackson smiled a little and relaxed his shoulders.

"Not sure. I finished with classes for the day." He glanced at Donovan. And Donovan saw his want to draw out the time they were seen together. It was clear Jackson hadn't missed how people looked at Donovan. "Where are you going?"

"I was going to grab coffee before my next class. Can I buy you one as thanks for saving me back there?"

"Sure."

As they headed to the closest coffee shop, Donovan eased Jackson into conversation, giving him room to talk and encouraging him with questions. He struck a balance between being interested but not eager.

By the time they arrived at the coffee shop, he had Jackson relaxed but still working to put himself in a positive light to impress Donovan. They ordered coffee and took a table near the entrance.

"Donovan," Mason said, in his ear. "Carter is on her way. Try not to get overly jealous and throw Jackson through a window when he starts flirting with your wife."

Donovan didn't react to Mason's words, though he wanted to but knew Mason was using the opportunity where Donovan couldn't reply as a cause to a jab in. Clearly, Donovan's early comment had left a mark.

"Mason," Carter said. "Who do you take my husband for?"

"I don't know, he could be capable of anything."

Donovan tuned out their voices and focused on Jackson who was eying the notebooks Donovan had set on the table. Though it fit more with Donovan's character to only have a computer, the notebooks did their job.

"You have literature with Howards?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah, but I've missed a few classes."

"I have that same class. I could help you." Jackson cleared his throat and sat back, trying to appear nonchalant. "I mean, if you needed help."

"Uh," Donovan said, pausing as if embarrassed to even need help. The moment of small vulnerability made Jackson ease back even more. "Thanks."

"Here," Jackson said. Pulling out his phone. "We can exchange numbers."

Donovan paused again, needing to not appear too eager. After a second, he took out his phone and entered the number Jackson gave him. As they finished, the door to the coffee shop opened and Carter walked in, back in the role of a shy girl. At seeing Jackson, her eyes brightened and she smiled, moving towards him. But when she noticed Donovan sitting at the table as well, she faltered.

"Kat!" Jackson said, surprised.

She eyed Donovan warily but softened her expression as she turned it on Jackson.

"Hi," she said. "Funny running into you here."

Jackson laughed and Donovan sat back, crossing his arms. The slightly offended posture stopped Jackson from laughing and he motioned to Kat.

"Sorry, earlier today we ran into each other, literally," Jackson said.

"Ah," Donovan said.

Carter took a step back. "I'll run into you some other time, Jackson." She ducked her head and shook it. "Shouldn't have made the same joke. Sorry."

The bashful, embarrassed act worked, Jackson leaned forward and Donovan saw as he wanted to reassure Carter.

"I'll run into you later," he said.

She smiled, nodded, then hurried away.

"She's cute," Donovan said.

Jackson whipped his head around, but Donovan merely smiled easily.

"No worries from me," he said. "Clearly you have dibs."

Donovan checked his phone.

"Are you leaving?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah, my next class will start soon." He rose and Donovan noted how Jackson looked as if he were casting his thoughts around for something. "Maybe I'll take you up on your offer of help."

At the slightly noncommittal tone, Jackson stood as well. He gestured to Donovan but tried to make it seem natural.

"You know, my friend is having a party tomorrow," Jackson said. "You could come...if you want."

Donovan took a step back. "Send me the details. Might stop by. See you around, Jackson."

Before he turned away, Donovan saw how the mix of a vague promise but backed with remembering his name landed on Jackson. It solidified Donovan in Jackson's mind as The Guy To Be. Or the one to be friends with, if possible.

"You both are freakily talented," Mason said. "And it looks like we have a party to plan for. This is where my talent lies."

Donovan didn't respond. He knew he'd done his job well. But he couldn't help but understand how Carter felt. Jackson was a good kid. He deserved better than having two agents lie to him to get to his father.

Donovan only hoped that somewhere in the process he could be a little bit more real with Jackson than their first interaction.

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What the water guns!

First Carter being a shy girl now Donny boy being the Cool Guy! This is wild!

You got a trio chapter you know what that means, yup! I have come to collect your thoughts on the dynamic of them! 🗯💭💭😎

While we are on the subject of this chapter I just gotta say...

*hits table* Where is my archenemy, huh?! When do I get a guy who will banter with me to the point of insulting but also have a good heart so the insults aren't truly malicious and he's also good looking and really good with computers and we've secretly been besties since high school...

I'm just describing Mason...

Dang! 🫤 For a second there I thought I was really describing something attainable in reality. Gosh darn it fiction! Once again dashing my hopes and dreams! Curse you characters that feel so real! *falls to knees* Whhyyyyy!! 😫

*Stands back up* Okay, I've accepted it, let's move on.

I find the dynamic Donovan is creating with Mason so funny because it's so completely different than what Mason has with Carter.

But it makes sense, Donovan isn't going to do the whole run around thing, he cuts to the heart of an issue and moves on.

Haha! This is going to be fun seeing how this develops!

As always vote, comment, follow but only if you wish you had an archenemy like Mason!

Comment shout outs from Rumors

🙈❤️

None of us knew it

Straight facts!

Awwww ☺️

I forgot to mention it but...
I GOT A KELLER BROTHER HOODIE AND I LOVE IT!!
(Also if goes so well with my BTS hat!)

Isn't is so cute!!!