by S. E. Weir
Masha gave her a reserved smile in welcome, though her eyes showed warmth. Jack wasn’t shy about his scrutiny, his demeanor impersonal and gauging.
“We will assess you first thing tomorrow.” The large man with icy blue eyes spoke in a controlled tone that gave no indication of his thoughts. Phina left those alone for now. She wanted to get a sense of everyone without her brain diving.
Meeting his gaze, she allowed only calm confidence and a little nervousness to show. “Yes, Beta Agent Kaiser.”
Jack nodded in approval at the show of respect before returning his attention to Link. “Masha can give her the tour. Let’s discuss the class schedule for the upcoming week.”
Link glanced at Masha, who nodded, giving Link the same smile she had given Phina but with even more warmth. Registering the hormones coming from the Were, combined with a similar warmth from Link, gave Phina the answer she had been missing about his relationship issues.
Holy fudging crumbs.
Well, now Phina had a secondary mission—Operation Get Link and Masha To Admit Their Feelings And Get Busy.
Alina would be completely jealous.
Masha followed Greyson and Jack with her gaze, annoyed at Jack’s dismissive gesture and longing for things she couldn’t have. It would be inappropriate to be in a relationship with her boss, even if she had any indication that her feelings were returned.
Which she didn’t see now and never expected to see. Masha was fine with her unrequited love. Her duty was to train the next group of spies to attain the same level or better as herself.
She wasn’t happy with it, but she was fine. She was always fine.
“Does that get as old and annoying as it seems?”
Masha turned to their newest student and found her gesturing at the two men walking away.
Did she mean the situation where Jack dismissed her ability to handle anything more than basic level classes and housekeeping tasks, no matter how much pushback she had given him over the years, and despite their equal rank? Or the other emotions she barely would even admit to herself concerning a certain alpha agent? Either way, there was no way Masha could respond to Phina’s question that would be appropriate. Though she got along well with the younger woman, Masha had to maintain the correct professional distance.
She settled for offering Phina an easy smile. “Ready for that tour?”
Phina nodded in agreement and Masha led her around the hangar, showing her the ships and training vehicles in the enormous room. While Phina glanced around in interest, she showed no surprise.
As they walked along the side of the hangar where the classrooms and living quarters were located, Masha gestured at a set of stairs that led to double doors. “Up there is the ops room where we monitor missions and the primary armory where we store everything we need for our assignments. Jean Dukes and Ron Diamantz keep us supplied. Beyond that are the teacher and staff quarters, which you will be unlikely to need to access.”
Masha noticed Phina giving the door at the top of the stairs a lingering glance as she turned to walk to the next section. She noted the action and tucked it in her mental file to think about later. She walked past the first set of double doors that were set on hangar-level and continued the long distance to the second, opening the door for Phina to peer in.
“You will see more of Wing One later. The Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma offices, archives, secondary armory, and conference rooms are in that wing.” Masha pointed at the corresponding doors along the corridor as she spoke, and when Phina nodded, she let go of the door and stepped around the young woman to lead her back to the double doors they had bypassed earlier. “This is Wing Two.”
She pushed aside the heavy doors and let them fall closed behind them as they went into the corridor. Masha took Phina to each door and let the younger woman peek inside.
“This is the ready room for all students and agents. One of the first things you will do is put together a pack to grab if you need to leave in a rush. Not every agent has the time to go back to their room and pack before leaving on an assignment if it’s an emergency. This way, you have your basic gear and necessities with you.”
The younger woman nodded thoughtfully. “I have one already, but it may need to be redone if you require more or different items to be included.”
A flash of surprise and approval swept through Masha. “That’s good to know. We can look it over when we reach your room.”
She showed Phina the fitness and weight training rooms, the gym where they did their cardio and group combat classes, the changing rooms, classrooms, and took her through another set of double doors at the end of the corridor.
“Here’s a lounge area where agents and students mingle. To the right are the student rooms where you will be staying. The corridor to the left holds the agents’ rooms, which you may or may not be invited to. Don’t go wandering down there on your own.” She warned Phina with a sharp glance. “Some of our agents don’t take surprises or unexpected guests well.”
The younger woman nodded, but Masha saw sparks of curiosity and interest, not caution or acceptance. She groaned inwardly and hoped Greyson’s protégé was smart enough to heed the warning.
“Follow me.” Masha walked through the lounge and into the corridor ahead, gesturing to the appropriate doors. “To the right are the library, study rooms, holo practice rooms, and movie room. Down on the far left is the laundry room. Everyone is required to do their own laundry, so don’t listen to any requests to get you to do theirs.”
Phina smirked in amusement but remained silent. Masha wondered what it would take to break her calm and get more of the passion she had seen during Maxim’s wedding. Something was off. Phina wasn’t reacting how Masha remembered, but perhaps it was a result of being in a new environment. She tucked it into her mental file.
Something to keep an eye on.
“And this...” Masha said as she swung into the large room through the double doors, “is the cafeteria.”
She saw Phina stiffen at the sudden onslaught of noise generated by the dozens of agents and students in the room. A few glanced up at their entrance, but Masha decided that Phina needed to be shaken up and have a trial by fire. It was her responsibility as an instructor to break down her students and hone them into better spies and weapons.
“Everyone,” Masha announced in her second-loudest voice, “please meet your newest fellow student, Seraphina Waters.”
She glanced at Phina to see the tightening in her cheeks that indicated gritted teeth.
Yes, kiddo. Show us what you’ve got.
Phina reeled in shock at the announcement Masha had given the entire student and agent body when she had wanted to fly under the radar.
Fat lot of good that would do her.
She gritted her teeth to keep from saying something inappropriate and settled on assessing everyone while they stared at her.
“Just Phina, please,” she said in a normal voice. She knew from past experience that keeping the extended version of her name just invited jokes and nicknames she would rather avoid.
“Of course.” Masha flashed a smile that caused Phina to wonder if she was hiding evil intentions. Masha couldn’t be the traitor. Right? Phina didn’t think so. But then, that was why she and Link had come here. She had to consider everyone until she could narrow the list down.
The two women walked to the line for food, Phina following at the side and a step behind so she could respond more quickly to Masha’s movements.
The buzz in the cafeteria rose, causing Phina mental strain as she worked to keep her shields high with everyone talking about her. At least, she assumed they were, but she didn’t want to check. She heard enough talk just with pieces of a conversation from the guys a couple of tables over.
“Damn, Shaw, get a load of the newbie.”
“I’ve got eyes, Farid.”
“Then you see those long legs of hers and those—“
“What I see is you getting a beat down if Kosolov
hears you, numbnuts. She doesn’t like unprofessional comments like that.”
“Yeah, but...”
The conversation got lost among the myriad other conversations in the room. As Phina waited behind Masha to get her food, she turned to survey the crowd.
Many faces were turned toward her, and the rest were in profile. She could still see the rough demographics with a few tables off to one side for the students and the rest with staff and agents.
The students wore grays instead of blacks to denote who belonged in which group. Most of the dozen or so students appeared to be in their early twenties. One student was a little older and larger. Harder, too. She decided to keep a close eye on him.
The agents were all shapes, sizes, and species. Most were humanoid. There was also a smattering of Estarians, Yollins, and Noel-nis among the humans.
When she turned to eye the table where she’d heard the guys’ conversation, Phina froze for a second before moving on to finish her perusal. She forced her breathing to remain even and her face to show only polite interest before turning back to Masha and grabbing a plate to fill with food.
Sundancer?
What? I’m doing as you asked. I snooped on Link’s conversation, and now I’m poking around.
Thank you. You know that guy you caught following us to All Guns Blazing last week?
Brooding rude guy who just sat and stared at you, yes. Hold on. He’s here?
Yup. I don’t know why I’m surprised he’s here since we identified him on the way here, but somehow I am.
I feel like doing bodily harm... I’m getting that from you. Fix your leakage.
Phina clamped down on the feelings inside her. Masha moved forward, leaving Phina to step up to get her food.
Sorry, Sundancer.
It was fast enough to fix it before anyone noticed. You need to either monitor your emotional fluctuations or strengthen your shields every so often. Or both.
I know. I’ll work on it.
Good.
Phina shivered as she took a few spoonfuls of the homestyle food and followed Masha to a table.
One of the earliest things they had discovered about her abilities was that when her shields were low, she felt everything that everyone in the surrounding area did, and by extension, so did Sundancer. She could also easily project her thoughts onto those around her.
They had worked hard on her shields to allow her to keep everything of hers in and everything of everyone else’s out. Ever since she had come out of her coma, her abilities had continued to grow, as if shaking out the pains from a limb that had fallen asleep.
It scared Phina sometimes, which was an admission she had only shared with Sundancer and Todd so far. She felt the need to prove herself to everyone, that their trust and faith in her weren’t misplaced.
After sitting down, she closed her eyes, feeling for her connection to Todd. From this far away, she could tell he was alive. She pushed a wave of love and affection to him so he knew she was alive, too.
“Phina?”
She opened her eyes to see Masha’s questioning gaze.
“Are you ready for this?”
Ready for meeting the onslaught of students and agents? Ready to ferret out everyone’s secrets? Ready to find the traitor who was selling out the Empire? Ready to get on with the next phase of her life?
She lifted her chin and nodded with a smirk. “Of course.”
Shaw contemplated the newest trainee with suspicion as he blocked out Farid’s inappropriate innuendos. Drey joined in, the leg-humping, brown-nosing cock-socket.
“I bet you can’t wait to get your hands on those tight pants, Shaw. You haven’t taken your eyes off her.”
Repressing the urge to punch the asshole in the face, Shaw merely raised an eyebrow. “I’m utilizing the skills we’ve been taught.”
He noticed his tacit friend grinning out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, yeah? They tell you the best way to get a piece?”
Farid nudged Drey with an elbow and a sly smile. “Told you he wants to tap that.”
He turned to glare at the two guys. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hang out with them anymore since they took very little seriously except their physical training and being the biggest man sluts they could get away with.
“For fuck’s sake, open your eyes, use your skills to act like trained agents, and look at the new agent in training.”
Shocked at his verbal thrashing, they did exactly what he’d told them to as Phina followed Masha to the table and sat down.
Farid began cursing under his breath while Drey’s mouth fell open and his native Russian dropped out. “Suka, b’lyad?”
Shaw bared his teeth in a scowling grimace. “Yeah, now you see it.”
“How the hell does a newbie know how to move like that?” Farid hissed in a low voice.
“Exactly.” Shaw wanted to feel vindicated, but there were just too many unanswered questions about this new student. He had even taken a couple of days of his break between training the students to find out more about her and follow her for a while after hearing that the big guy had been training someone unknown.
He hadn’t learned much except that she had a big group of friends she hung out with when she wasn’t working or with her boyfriend. What had surprised Shaw was her boyfriend’s identity.
He knew Todd Jenkins was as loyal as they came and a straight shooter. Shaw couldn’t imagine how he had ended up in a relationship with a spy in training. The only thing he could think of was that Phina was using him for something, and that made him mad as hell.
“Fucking hell, man.” Drey shook his head as his sexually driven admiration mixed with healthy wariness. “Think the Alpha knows?”
“He’d have to, wouldn’t he?” Farid had a certain amount of hero worship for their infamous leader. It concerned Shaw that it would blind him to the next issue.
“Well, that’s the question. If he knows, what’s the angle? And if he doesn’t, how did he miss it? Which brings me back to the angle.”
He had his suspicions, but he didn’t want to share them with his dubious friends.
“So...” Drey had yet to turn away from the admittedly beautiful woman. From his expression, his libido was getting in the way of his logical reasoning—again.
“So we keep our eyes on her. We find out her angle.”
The other two agreed, but Shaw got the feeling they would be more than willing to help with the first objective, and he would be on his own in regards to the second.
So be it.
It would take more than a beautiful face to keep Shaw from protecting the Empire.
I screwed it all up.
Phina?
I messed up, okay?
We’re going to talk about that, but right now, you need to calm down and make sense. All right?
Phina calmed at Link’s mental words and felt able to breathe without as much pain in her chest. She lay on her bed with her eyes closed. She had been working herself up all day. Phina felt surprised that Link could be this patient, but he had said he would take care of her.
Okay. I’m calm now.
Good. All right, now take it from the top. What happened, and why do you think you messed everything up?
Phina relayed how her day had gone and what she had overheard earlier with her ears and her mind.
Phina, I’m not seeing what the problem is.
I wasn’t careful enough! I should have adjusted my gait, but I was too busy thinking about everything and everyone else. Now those guys are suspicious of me, not to mention this guy Shaw who’s been following me!
Careful, Phina. Don’t get yourself worked up again.
She focused on her breathing as she waited for Link’s response to her screw-up.
Okay. First, those “guys” are some of the best agents we have. You know this because I showed you the files. Shaw is splitting his time between teaching and going on missions because he’s that good. Drey and Farid are horn dogs, but their skills are up ther
e, so they are often out on assignment. So, it doesn’t surprise me that they noticed something off about you because you are that good too, and it’s something those with training would notice. You just have less experience with hiding it, which takes time. It’s nothing to worry about.
Phina sighed, feeling drained after keeping her emotions in check. I’m not going to be able to hold back now. Not all of it. I’ll have to show my skills more at the top of the group instead of the middle, which will cause problems with the students.
If that’s the worst of our problems, we’ll count ourselves lucky, Link assured her. This could take weeks, Phina. It’s hard to hide that much of yourself for so long. This is probably for the best because now I have more reason to brag and talk about you to people and open up conversations.
So, you aren’t mad?
Nope.
Phina felt the rest of her tension leave her body, leaving her feeling boneless on the bed. Okay.
Link spoke unusually gently for the smart-mouthed, arrogant man he usually portrayed. You can do this, Phina. I have faith in you. Just remember to keep your speed and strength at normal human levels.
She smiled, but before she could mention her appreciation, he moved on.
Now, go to sleep and let me finish this. You interrupted me at the good part.
Ewww!
Stop it! Crap on a cracker, Phina! I’m watching a movie! Get your mind out of the gutter.
Sorry. Phina still shuddered as she began to withdraw.
His mental response grew quieter. She gets a boyfriend, and suddenly it’s pervert central. It’s a good thing I already—
Phina blocked him out. She had enough problems with nightmares. She didn’t need one more.
Ugh.
Chapter Eight
Gaitune-67, Spy Corps Headquarters and Base
Phina stretched her arms as she yawned, contorting to avoid smacking Sundancer. She took a peek at her tablet, happy to see she had a few more minutes to relax before she had to get moving.
