by S. E. Weir
She mulled her thoughts on the day before. Link had been right to be concerned about the number of people at headquarters since she had counted well over sixty people in her perusal of the cafeteria. Of course, there were likely more in other places since Link and Jack hadn’t been there. So, Link had been right that there would be more agents.
However, nearly seventy people was a big difference from the thirty he’d said were normally there, or the fifty he’d estimated with spies back from assignments.
Phina sighed and stretched again before getting up. After her panic attack had subsided, she had spent some time before sleeping making sure she had a secure connection to the local network that wouldn’t be detected when she searched for the rest of the records she needed. She would do that and anything else that came to mind tonight.
It would have been brutal and taken a lot of time and patience getting evidence of the traitor solely through physical means.
She dressed quickly, admitting to herself that she was happy about having the skills and abilities she did. No one else could do the job, except perhaps for the Empress—and that would happen when hell froze over from the stories she had heard.
Patience was not a skill Bethany Anne exercised. Neither was staying quiet to see what others would reveal.
Nope, her Empress would be more likely to charge in, push fear into those who were suspected of being guilty. They’d piss themselves, then rush to confess every single thing they felt guilty about.
Which would be...immensely satisfying, Phina realized. Huh. No wonder the Empress stirred the pot so much.
Still, Phina had been tasked with this assignment, and her graduation and future were on the line. Anna Elizabeth had said she would have a team, and the Empress had hinted at something important to do once she was ready. Phina just needed to get her thoughts in gear, focus on her mission, and reveal the traitor before they did irreversible damage.
Yup. Piece of cake.
Dressed in her new gray uniform with her hair pulled back and her weapons strapped on, Phina headed out for breakfast. She didn’t quite ignore everyone out walking the halls or sitting in the lounge or cafeteria, but she did little more than acknowledge their existence with a nod, holding a pleasant smile on her face. Todd called it her Mona Lisa smile because it was faint and inscrutable, according to him.
After grabbing some fruit, yogurt, and eggs, Phina took an empty seat at one of the student tables. Taking a bite, she surveyed the other students at the table, most of whom were keeping an eye on her. The only student not gawking was the older, bigger guy.
“So, new girl.”
Phina glanced at the dark-haired human who was grinning at her with a glint in his almost-black eyes that she didn’t like at all.
He pointed to her waist and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “You know how to use those?”
She slowly chewed her bite to give herself time while she did a quick mental scan of this human and the rest of the students at the table. One Estarian, one Noel-ni, one Wechselbalg, one Yollin, one Shrillexian, and eight humans, one of whom was female. She had seen their files, but it was different being there in person and connecting the information she had read.
Aside from the female, they gave off a mix of curiosity, hostility, and lust. Most of the last came from the man who had spoken and appeared just a couple of years older than herself.
With a decision based on what she found in their minds, she switched her persona from quiet, calm, and impersonal to confident, unruffled, and slightly cocky. They wouldn’t have respected her or told her anything if she didn’t push back at them.
She shrugged and raised her eyebrows at the dark-haired guy, who was decently attractive. “You know how to use those?”
He glanced down at the knives at his waist. His grin turned hard for a brief moment with that lust growing. “I know how to use everything I have to the fullest extent.”
Phina expressed both surprise and disbelief, shrugging. “I’m not as certain as you are. If you were using your eyes and brain, which is what I was asking, you would see that I’m not interested. Thanks for the compliment, though.” She gave him a smile of apology and continued eating.
The avid watchers, both students and agents, let out chuckles that did little to diminish the fury in the man’s eyes.
“Dang, Blayk.” The Shrillexian grinned, his ears sticking out. “That was the best shutdown I’ve heard. Confident, cool, polite, firm, decisive. New girl, you’re all right in my book.”
“Thanks.” She threw him an appreciative smile and glanced around the table at the large helpings on most of the students’ plates. “Are you about to have an assessment too? Or is that just me since I’m new?”
“They’ll probably focus more on you since you’re new here, but we all have an assessment first thing today. It’s in the larger gym.” This came from the other woman in the group whose cautious tone indicated she was still making up her mind about Phina.
Phina murmured in consideration before nodding. “If your instructors are like mine have been, you may want to go a little lighter on your meal. Just friendly advice.” She shrugged and continued eating.
The older guy looked at her for the first time, allowing her to see his bright blue eyes. After a brief visual assessment between her plate and his, he silently focused on the fruit and eggs on his plate and ignored the heavier foods.
“What the hell, wolf man, you’re going to do what she says, just like that?” The blond human scowled at the large man like he couldn’t bench press most of the students at the table.
“Yup.” The Wechselbalg focused on his food.
Half of the rest of them looked down at their food regretfully and did the same, but the rest shrugged and continued eating.
Blayk continued staring at her arrogantly and coldly. Phina didn’t like the thoughts she glimpsed from the man and resolved to do a closer mental scan when things calmed down.
The group fell silent and focused on their food. She wondered if they were letting their nerves get the better of them.
After finishing, Phina followed them across the lounge, through the double doors, and into the large gym.
They all came to a stop inside the room. Phina slid to the side of the group to see what they were about to face. She groaned internally at seeing Jack Kaiser, Masha, and Shaw waiting for them.
Phina stretched to loosen her muscles as she listened to Jack.
The beta agent raised his voice. “Listen up, trainees. This is your assessment for admission into the advanced training program. If you do not meet our starting criteria, you will not pass go, you will pack up your stuff, and we will ship you home. Those who advance, we will be assessing your current skills so we can determine what level you are at and what techniques you need to learn. Any questions?”
The two-legged Yollin spoke up. “What does the assessment entail?”
“That’s a good question. You will find out the answer as you go. Let’s begin. Start walking around the room. Go!”
Phina’s amusement bubbled up, but she kept it inside as she turned to the right and followed the others around the room. She made sure to stay behind the front runners in the pack of students.
Shaw stood with the other two trainers while they discussed something, then they moved into position to divide the large room into three sections. All three focused on monitoring the students, evaluating their positions in the pack and typing notes into their respective tablets.
Phina focused on the group ahead of her, but on the turn closest to the man in question, she found him staring at her.
She nodded in acknowledgment and focused on her walk.
After five turns around the room, Jack called, “Jog.”
Easily picking up the pace, Phina had plenty of energy and brain space to begin making her assessments of the people around her.
The big Wechselbalg the others called “Wolfman” stayed in front, maintaining an easy lope. From the records, she knew his name to be Felan Ma
cNamara, a former Guardian Marine who had been recommended to Spy Corps by Peter Silvers.
Next in line and just to the side ran Jahlek, a Noel-ni, who proved to be just as quick as Felan but much lighter on his feet. Phina had seen Noel-nis move before and knew they had great reflexes and stealth, all skills that would help with combat.
Behind them was Blayk Atherman, someone she disliked on a gut feeling. His cold arrogance had rubbed her the wrong way. She noticed he hadn’t accepted her rebuff, either, which could cause problems later.
Then came Phina, and beside her was the blond guy named Jasper Kincade, who had questioned Felan earlier when the big guy had followed her advice. Jasper didn’t seem to care that he was getting in her way as they ran. He seemed annoyed that she easily avoided him, which made her think it was purposeful.
Of course, it didn’t hurt that she was only running at a fraction of her speed. It was all too easy to see his maneuvering coming. She decided that if he was going to be a bully, she would keep his attention on her so it didn’t shift to someone else. Phina knew she could handle it.
“Run!”
Felan and Jahlek picked up speed at Jack’s command. Blayk followed but couldn’t keep up the same pace. Jasper moved up to run next to him. They worked together to keep Phina behind them so she couldn’t advance. That was fine. She could have easily gotten around them anyway, but since she was aiming to portray only normal human speeds and responses, staying behind them suited her purposes.
She glanced at the Estarian who had moved up to her left and the Shrillexian who ran just behind Phina’s shoulder.
The Estarian named Nodin was one of the first of his species to be enrolled in Spy Corps, a fact that Link had been particularly interested in and proud of. Savas, the Shrillexian, was muttering under his breath. She decided to leave them alone, not wanting to hear something she might become upset about.
The time for mental snooping would come soon enough. For now, she just needed to get through her first day and accumulate her first impressions about everyone.
Jack called the instruction to begin their cooldown. As she turned the corner of the room, she glanced behind her and realized there were two humans trailing everyone else. The Yollin named Balehn hadn’t been much farther ahead but was still maintaining an even pace.
They were all directed to the large, thin mat in the middle of the floor and told to wait. Phina shook herself out and took the time to resume stretching. She suspected a skills assessment would be next and wanted to be ready. To her surprise, only a few others did the same. The rest stood around waiting. The other woman gave Phina the once-over as she moved into the group and began to copy Phina’s stretches.
Phina recalled the woman’s name, Regina McCall. She had been through the Etheric Academy and recommended to Masha prior to graduating. From the way she kept glancing at the older spy, Regina seemed to have a bit of hero worship going on.
After five minutes or so, the three assessors stepped forward from the corners where they had been observing the group. Phina didn’t have to use her mental abilities to know they had been assessing the trainees’ actions and responses.
Jack came to a stop and stood in front of them with Masha and Shaw on either side of him. Masha held her hands at her side as if ready to respond. Jack spread his feet shoulder-width apart, his arms crossed. Shaw clasped his hands behind his back at parade rest. They all had shutters on their expressions, hiding away their real thoughts and emotions.
Phina had never been so thankful for her abilities before. She was becoming certain that this assignment would be impossible without them.
Jack’s eyes glittered in anticipation. “Next, we will test you in unarmed combat.”
Well…now it would get interesting.
“Blayk Atherman.”
Shaw couldn’t help his gaze being drawn to the new girl, Phina. He mentally swore and pulled his eyes away, only to find himself staring at her again a minute later.
There was something different about her that he couldn’t pinpoint. Sure, she was gorgeous, but she either didn’t know or care. She didn’t act like a lot of other beautiful people. It wasn’t her appearance that drew him to watch her.
Perhaps it was a combination of things, like the way she moved and carried herself, the way she’d avoided Jasper’s attempts to trip her, and the way she unconsciously helped other people, as she had with Gina after seeing the other woman copy her stretches.
Shaw had a feeling it was something else, though, and that bothered him. He didn’t like not knowing things and liked being able to figure them out. It was part of what made him a good spy. He thought there had to be something more to why Phina was on the base than she had let on. His instincts were tingling a warning, and he took them seriously.
He exercised self-control and focused as Blayk fought first Masha, then Jack. He carried himself well, displaying his skills, but didn’t show anything extraordinary. Blayk had tired himself out by the time he got to Shaw and was easily taken down with a few strikes.
They went down the list. Most of the trainees proved to be on relatively the same level as Blayk, although a few showed greater skills or ferocity, such as the Yollin and Shrillexian. Jahlek used his natural agility and reflexes to avoid being hit. Attacking proved more difficult. Gina gave a decent showing, but couldn’t stand up to any of them long given her basic skills.
One human named Greg didn’t do very well at all and sat his disappointed ass on the mat after being downed within three strikes. Shaw had a feeling he wouldn’t make the cut and would be shipped off base after the assessment.
The Wechselbalg had been an entirely different story. His moves were fluid and smooth for his size. He fought in a contained and controlled manner, rather than the usual Wechselbalg method of allowing his aggression to take control to gain greater strength and ferocity. He did well against each of the trainers, his natural stamina sustaining him. Then again, Shaw knew the man from his former life as a Guardian, so he had expected him to have exceptional combat skills. They would see how he did with learning to be a spy.
Since the students were called alphabetically by last name, Seraphina fought last. Given her height, size, and projected experience, he expected her to perform similarly to the other human woman, although he expected her to do better given that she moved well and would have more experience through Greyson’s training.
Phina stepped up to Masha and held herself in a ready stance.
“Go!” Jack yelled as he stood watching with his hands on his hips.
Masha moved more swiftly than she had with the others, showing she had been holding back before. What had gotten into Masha’s head to be so aggressive? Shaw expected Phina to be beaten within a few strikes. If he hadn’t had control over himself, he would be staring with his mouth gaping open.
Phina moved quickly and smoothly, meeting Masha strike for strike. She dodged, curved, and deflected every hit, kick, and takedown Masha dealt out, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. After a full minute, Masha stepped back and gave Phina an approving nod.
Nodding in return, respect clear in her gaze, Phina moved on to her bout with Jack.
Jack eyed her cautiously now that he had seen some of her skills. He nodded, and they both settled in before Masha called the start.
Again, Shaw couldn’t help staring. Jack was renowned in Spy Corps for his combat skills. Yet this woman who was a full head shorter than him managed to deflect most of his strikes. She winced at the few that connected but kept going. She didn’t move any faster than human speed, and yet she fought at least as well as the Wechselbalg had.
Several of the students gasped or had their mouths open.
At the end of the minute, Jack took a step back almost reluctantly and gave her a nod, although Shaw couldn’t see much of anything on the man’s face, let alone respect or approval.
Finally, she approached Shaw, her gaze clear and steady as she sank into her ready stance. Then Shaw began the most inte
resting part of his whole day.
This woman gave as good as she got, deflected most of his moves, hit like a hammer, and hardly appeared winded.
As they neared the end of his minute, she enacted a difficult sequence of techniques that he recognized. The familiarity caused him to freeze just as she dipped into a roundhouse. She would have kicked him in the head—except she stopped just in time with her foot right next to his ear.
Phina’s measured stare contained a hint of confusion at his hesitation. She dropped her foot and stepped back, holding her arms at her side, ready to respond.
“You’ve trained with Todd Jenkins.” Shaw narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He didn’t add that he knew the man was her boyfriend from spying on her during his “vacation.” He had seen enough to know they were serious about each other. The fact that Todd had been training her when normally he only trained Marines? Shaw had a hard time wrapping his head around the whole thing.
Her eyes twitched in surprise and wariness before she nodded. “I have.” She spoke clearly.
“You would have had to train with him a lot for you to pick up his signature move.” Shaw found it hard to believe his former boss had trained this woman. Yet that move she made was as much a stamp of her familiarity with the man as a tattoo on her bare arm.
Phina shrugged as if she wasn’t concerned. Damn. She was going to give him trouble, he could just tell.
“All right, that’s it for hand-to-hand.” Jack clapped his hands, which broke the tension between Shaw and Phina.
She turned and walked away as if those three minute-long bouts were nothing.
Just who the hell was this woman?
Their three assessors moved them into a smaller room set aside from the main gym area solely for practicing with weapons.
The students were divided into three groups, one for each assessor. Phina had been—purposefully she believed—selected for Jack’s group. She did a quick scan to discern his reason and found that he believed her to be the most skilled hand-to-hand fighter in the group—which was accurate—and wanted to see for himself how proficient she would be in weapons—adequate but not amazing, she thought—as well as keep an eye on her. Which was concerning, but not surprising.
