by Kelly Oram
“My worst?” I thought of the crater in Las Vegas and cringed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Well, perhaps you could take it a little easier on us than you did on Visticorp,” Major Wilks allowed with a chuckle.
He glanced around the group and clapped his hands together. “Romeo,” he barked. “Get the Angel to Dr. Haggerty in Medical. She took quite a beating today, and I want to make sure she’s okay. Everyone else, get some sleep. I have a feeling we’re going to have a busy day tomorrow. Dismissed, gentlemen.”
The guys all hooted and cheered, as if getting a few hours of sleep was the best news any of them had ever received. I completely understood. I was envious of them all. With a few welcoming greetings to me, they scattered like roaches, and were gone.
I climbed out of the truck, expecting to see something straight from the Syfy channel, but the room we were in just looked like a warehouse that they used as a garage. It was a large room filled with various military vehicles. It was a little impressive knowing that the entire thing was beneath the ground, but otherwise it was nothing spectacular.
Ryan held a door open for me that led into a long corridor. Again, it was nothing to write home about—light beige walls, linoleum floors, and fluorescent lighting. It was a hallway like any other in an office building, just with less décor and no windows. I sighed, disappointed. “For a top-secret military base, this is kind of a letdown. I guess the military is more about function than form.”
Ryan nodded, frowning at the walls. “The building could definitely use a little personality, but the training center is nothing to scoff at, and you should see the command center—so awesome.”
We turned a corner into another corridor that looked exactly like the last one, and came to an open door. Bright light spilled from the room into the hallway. The infirmary matched the same decorating scheme as the rest of the compound—spotless, cold, and impersonal—just more brightly lit. It looked sort of like a cross between a regular doctor’s office and a small hospital.
It was a lot larger than I’d expected, and had a lot of equipment all crammed into the one office. It consisted of labeled cupboards and sterilized counters with a couple of examination cots. Behind them was a variety of very expensive life-saving equipment. I recognized the MRI machine from my visit with Dr. Rajeet this morning. Had that visit really only been this morning? This day definitely won for Longest Day Ever.
A woman in a crisp military uniform sat with her back to us, hunched over a desk. She was poring over a folder of files that looked suspiciously like the ones Dr. Rajeet had shown me. Ryan knocked on the open door and pulled me into the room. “Dr. Haggerty?”
The woman swiveled in her chair, beaming a bright smile at Ryan. She was as harsh-looking as Major Wilks—a military woman to her core. Somewhere in her mid-thirties, she was tall and slender with pale skin, dark-brown eyes, and brunette hair pulled back into a severe bun. If not for the warm smile that seemed out of place on her, I might have been afraid to sit on her exam table for fear she’d take pleasure in torturing me. I wondered if the smile was always there, or if she simply had a weakness for Ryan. I was guessing the latter when she stood and greeted him, saying, “Heya, Goldilocks!”
Ryan looked at me and sighed playfully. “The ACEs have a thing for nicknames.” As if I hadn’t figured that one out yet. “Romeo and Loverboy are bad enough, but the good doctor here likes to torment me the most with Goldilocks.”
I resisted a grin as I glanced at his shiny golden-blond hair styled very much like Captain America’s. (After the Cap gets his modern makeover. Not his dorky World War II haircut.)
“Could be worse,” I said, voice flat. “Your hair could be green.”
Ryan scanned my hair, then dropped his gaze down the entire length of my body and back up. His expression turned to one that made my pulse spike and my mouth dry up. “I think it’s hot.”
I scoffed. It was definitely not hot.
“What made you decide to go green, anyway? I thought you hated it.”
“What do you mean? It’s always been this color.”
“Underneath, maybe.” Ryan pulled a phone out of his pocket. “You went to great lengths to make sure no one ever saw it. You always wore colored contacts to hide your eyes, too. See?”
He handed me his cell phone, and I gasped at the image on the display screen. I’m not sure what I found more startling: the raven-haired, jade-eyed girl looking back at me, or the fact that she was sitting on a bed with Ryan in what looked like a college dorm room, scowling playfully at whoever had taken the photo. Both Ryan and I had lipstick smeared all over our faces. We’d clearly just been caught making out.
Ryan laughed at the look on my face. “I see you’re still not a fan of my favorite picture of us.”
I had to shut my eyes. This one photo of my past was more than Tony had given me in the last six months. So many cruel lies.
“Jamie? You okay?”
“Sorry.” I took a calming breath and shook away the bad thoughts. “I’m fine. It’s just…Tony—er, Teddy told me we didn’t have any pictures together because we’d been locked up in the lab and Visticorp didn’t allow us to get our pictures taken. How could I have been so gullible?”
Ryan’s arm slipped around my shoulders. “Don’t do that to yourself. It’s like you said. You didn’t have much of a choice except to believe him. It wasn’t your fault. You had no memory. He took advantage of you in the worst way. You can’t beat yourself up for it.”
I blushed when Dr. Haggerty cleared her throat to remind us we were in her office. She gave me a kind smile, then looked at Ryan. “Are you going to introduce me?”
Ryan’s hand fell from my shoulder to the small of my back, and he pushed me forward. The soft touch shot chills up my spine. Very, very good chills. Ryan sucked in a breath through his nose and rolled his shoulders as if suppressing a shudder of his own. It made me wonder if the chills I’d felt were physical and not just in my own head. Had Ryan felt them, too? Did that always happen between us?
“Dr. Haggerty, meet Chelsea’s Angel. The guys have taken to simply calling her Angel. Or Jamie works, too.”
Dr. Haggerty extended a hand to me, and her adoring smile turned curious. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”
At both Ryan’s and my confused looks, the doctor handed me a hospital gown. “Major Wilks called ahead and briefed me of your attack. Did you really put your head through a cement floor?”
I grimaced and offered a shrug, hating feeling like a freak. “Not all the way.”
Her eyes scanned my body and quickly zeroed in on my neck. Nobody had said anything, but I’d seen the bruises from where I’d been strangled after my shower earlier; they looked awful.
“Does your voice hurt?”
I shook my head. “It’s not bad. My neck’s pretty sore, though.”
She nodded as if that made perfect sense. “Anything else hurt?”
“Aside from every muscle in my body?”
“Yes, aside from that,” she said with a smile.
“I still have a raging headache. But the double vision, nausea, and dizziness have all passed.”
“That’s good. It’s probably just a mild concussion, then. I can give you something for the headache, but we need to do a CT scan and an MRI to make sure there’s no swelling, fractures, or internal bleeding. I also want to double check and make sure there’s no permanent damage done to your larynx.”
I’d known this was coming, but I still looked at the backless cotton gown in her hands and sighed.
“Quick and painless,” Dr. Haggerty promised.
“I know. I just…tests.” I shivered. “If I could have nightmares, I’m sure they’d be about being locked up and tested on.”
“I’ll stay with you,” Ryan offered while Dr. Haggerty said, “If?”
I answered Dr. Haggerty first. “I’ve never dreamed since the accident. I don’t know why.
”
Dr. Haggerty cocked her head to the side. After thinking about it for a moment, she nodded. “It makes sense that you’d have a few other side effects from your brain damage than just the amnesia. The damage was mostly done to your medial temporal lobe, but not all of it.”
I sighed. “So you’ve seen Dr. Rajeet’s files, then?”
“Yes.”
I wasn’t surprised. If Major Wilks talked to Dr. Rajeet after the superbreak-in, of course they’d have asked for copies of my scans. “So…” I swallowed thickly, bracing myself for the answer to my next question. “Do you agree with Dr. Rajeet that the damage is permanent?”
Dr. Haggerty’s face melted into a sympathetic smile. “Yes. I’m sorry. Your memory is essentially dead, and there’s simply no way to bring it back to life.”
The news was just as crushing the second time. Ryan placed a soft kiss to the side of my head. “You survived, Jamie. At least we have that much.”
I sucked in a breath, forcing my emotions down, and nodded. He was right, after all. At least I was alive.
Dr. Haggerty handed me the medical nightgown. “Why don’t you go ahead and change, and we’ll get your examination over with? You look exhausted. I’m sure you’d like to rest.”
I nodded again, and both Dr. Haggerty and I looked at Ryan. He didn’t seem to know what we were waiting for. “Time for you to leave, Goldilocks,” Dr. Haggerty said.
The guy frowned—no, he pouted—at the request. “I’m going to stay with Jamie.”
I lifted the gown in my arms. “Not if I’m changing into this thing, you aren’t.”
Ryan’s eyes dropped to the gown and he grinned. It was a wicked smile that made my breath catch. He leaned down and put his lips to my ear. “I’ve seen you in a lot less, Sunshine.”
My body wanted to melt, but my dignity wouldn’t allow it. I gave him a little zap, just enough to let him know he’d better watch himself. He grunted and pulled away, but the smile never left his face. “Good night, Jamie. Come find me as soon as you wake up tomorrow.”
Major Wilks was waiting for me when I finished my medical exam. The diagnosis was as I’d expected—a mild concussion and lots of bruising in my neck. I’d be stiff and have a headache for a few days, but then I’d be fine.
“She needs rest,” Dr. Haggerty warned Major Wilks when he asked me if I’d like to take a walk with him.
“Just taking her to her sleeping quarters,” Major Wilks promised.
“No wake-up call in the morning.” Dr. Haggerty all but stomped her foot as she gave the order. “Let her sleep.”
“You have my word, Doctor.”
As soon as the door to the infirmary was shut firmly behind us, Major Wilks pretended to shudder. “That woman terrifies me. She’s the only person in the world who can order me around and get away with it.” His gaze cut to me. “So don’t get any ideas, Angel.” His harsh words were made playful by the twinkle in his eyes. It was the first hint of personality that I’d seen from him. It gave me hope for the man.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, not agreeing one way or the other.
My answer made his eyes crinkle around the edges.
We turned a corner outside the infirmary into another empty corridor—I was going to get so lost in this place—when Major Wilks broke the silence. “As I mentioned before, the ACE division and the existence of PACs is very classified information. There aren’t many who will know who and what you are. But anyone with access to this base has proper security clearance, so when here in headquarters, you are allowed to speak openly and be yourself.”
“That’s…interesting.” I took this in stride. The idea of being safe around a whole group of people that knew my capabilities was such a strange concept to accept.
Major Wilks raised a brow at me. “Tyson and Abiodun seem to appreciate it. And I know they enjoy having a team they can be honest with and trust.” He set his gaze forward again and held his hands together behind his back as he walked. “Because of the nature of our organization and our dependency on complete secrecy, the ACEs are a very tight unit, sort of like a family. You might be surprised at how happy you could be here. Having friends you trust, being able to be yourself, and using your gifts for good.”
I reached up to rub my head. “I know what you’re trying to do, Major, and it does sound appealing, but I just don’t know. I think Ryan’s right about me having an inability to take orders.”
“You could do it, if it were from someone you respected.”
He sounded sure that he could earn my respect. I wouldn’t admit it to him yet, but from how he’d handled me so far, I suspected he could earn my respect, too. “It’s tempting, Major, but there’s more to it than that. Ryan mentioned my parents, which means I have a family out there somewhere. I have a life out there. I may not remember that life, but I want it back. I have so much to learn, to catch up on. I’ll help you with Donovan, but I’m not sure I could commit to anything more than that right now.”
Major Wilks nodded. “Perhaps we can consider Donovan a trial run, then.”
He stopped in front of a door with a number plate on it. The number was covered with masking tape and someone had scribbled Angel on it. They’d painted a yellow halo above it and hung a pair of plastic angel wings beside it. Major Wilks smiled at the display. “The men are excited to have you here. Whether you decide to stay or not, I hope you feel welcome while you’re with us.”
A little lump formed in my throat as I looked at the decorations on my door. It wasn’t much, but it was oddly touching. And the welcoming feeling, the sense of family—of belonging and companionship—was something I’d needed desperately since the moment my new life began. “Thanks, Major.”
Major Wilks opened the door and then handed me the key. Not to disrupt the overall theme of bland the base was going for, my room was small with off-white walls, a tiny closet, a dresser, and a single twin-size bed topped with a plain gray blanket and a single pillow—plain white, of course. My pink and black luggage was sitting on the bed and brought the only color to the whole room. There was a door next to the closet that Major Wilks informed me was my bathroom. I was afraid to look, and yet I was relieved to know I didn’t have to share one.
“I am so not living here. This place is more depressing than a convent, and if they expect me to keep that bed made with military corners like that, they really don’t know who they’re dealing with.”
Major Wilks laughed. “It’s not so bad.”
“Yes, it is.”
“At least you have your own private space. The rest of the guys sleep in one big room on the other side of the facility and have dorm-style showers.”
I shuddered. He was right. It was better than that.
But not much.
“Fine. I’ll sleep here. For now. But I am not making my bed.”
“It’s a deal, Angel. Now, if you don’t need anything else, get some rest and come find me when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll give you a tour.”
I had no idea how he expected me to find anyone in that maze of boring, identical halls, but I was too exhausted to care. I said good night and barely made it through the process of brushing my teeth and washing all the crusty tearstains from my face before I fell asleep.
. . . . .
Sleeping in a room with no windows—especially evil east-facing windows—was bliss. I slept like the dead. I knew the instant I woke up that I’d slept a long time. My body felt rejuvenated and hollow all at the same time. I was well rested and hungry. Still, starving as I was, I took my time getting ready before daring to leave my room. Not that I needed to impress these guys, but I kind of did. Yesterday I’d been beat up and exhausted, and on top of that they’d all seen me throw up and ugly cry. I needed to regain some of my dignity today.
Green hair, yellow eyes, and all, I could clean up pretty good. When I opened my suitcase, the short jeans skirt with the sparkly back pockets was right on the top, so I figured why not? I coupled the skirt with
a purple tank top and a pair of Skechers. Ryan would have to live without the tall boots. I pulled my hair back in a high ponytail and went a little heavier on the eyeliner than normal, needing to feel intimidating after showing so much vulnerability yesterday. After that, I grabbed the tiny pouch with Teddy’s microchips and ventured out in search of some food.
The place wasn’t as empty as it had been the night before. People roamed the halls with purpose, all of them in a military uniform of some kind or another. None of them were familiar. Major Wilks said the ACEs were a very small organization, so obviously more people used this base than just them.
As I walked down the hall back the direction I’d come from the night before, it became clear that, whether they were ACEs or not, everyone recognized me. When anyone saw me, their eyes widened or they did double takes. Most, after getting over the shock of seeing me, forced nervous smiles, but none of them spoke to me. Guess I’d succeeded with the intimidating look.
I stopped a group of five soldiers. They were all younger, like me; two of them were girls, which I found a bit relieving, as this had been a bit of a boys’ club so far. “Hey, does this place come with a map?” I asked. “I feel like a freshman on my first day of school.”
They’d been laughing and joking with each other, but the laughter came to an abrupt halt when I stopped them. They were shocked that I’d spoken to them. It took them all a second to process what I’d said, and then one of them smiled. When I smiled back, they all relaxed. “You get used to it pretty quickly,” one of the girls said. “What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know, actually. I’m supposed to find Major Wilks.”
“Oh. Right.” The girl flushed, as if embarrassed that she hadn’t figured that out on her own. “His office isn’t far. At the end of this hall, take a left. His office will be on the right. He should be there. If not, try the rec room, or the gym. The ACEs usually spend most of their free time there. They got back from some top-secret mission pretty late last night, so they got the morning off.”
The girl’s friends understood before she did, and I had to hold back a smile as I watched her realize what that super top-secret mission was. When her eyes bulged, I laughed. “I guess the secret’s out. Thanks for the directions.”
