"Ultimately, it's up to you. But based on the way you reacted to Sasha over there, I'm 99% sure you'll say yes to them when they ask."
Hallie looked over at Sasha and smiled. He was probably right.
"If I did say yes, would you train me?" she asked, which made him scoff.
"You don't want me as your teacher."
"What, the guy with the medical degree who has experience as a both a surgeon and a healer? I know slicing open my hand to prove a point isn't exactly orthodox, but at least you're honest. You also have to be likeable if Lily keeps coming back here. Even if it’s only a little bit."
Alastair responded with a sigh.
"I think that's a yes," Lily laughed.
"It is, but we do this on my terms,” he said. “Back here tomorrow, bright and early, and bring some shortbread for the tea."
“Yes, sir,” Hallie beamed.
Chapter Fourteen
When Diana had been deciding where to set up the group’s base of operations, she and Will had discussed a few places, but ended up deciding that it would be best if they set up somewhere not too far from the Citadel, so it would be easy to strike. As the Citadel was nestled near Italy’s border with France, they chose a place across the border, on the Mediterranean coast. As they were camping out, it was important that it didn’t get too cold during the winters when they were staying there.
Their camp was made of a group of Guardians, Chosen, and those who had been forced to leave the order for various reasons, whether that was because they had wanted a family more than fulfilling their duties or other issues. Some had done more serious things than others. Diana’s opinion was that if she could be accepted after what she had done, then they could too. Will wasn’t so sure but went along with it.
People tended to come and go throughout the year, running recruitment missions or picking up tips from their contacts about other work they could be doing. If they could ingratiate their way into powerful organisations now, before the coup, then they would find it easier to pick up where the other Guardians left off when the time came.
Will spent the vast majority of his time with Diana as they tended to travel a lot more than the others. When they weren’t travelling, and he had time to himself, he tended to go off hiking around the local area. It was partly for his own enjoyment and partly to scout out the surrounding terrain in case the Guardians ever found out about them and tried to strike first.
Today, however, Diana had decided it was a good chance to get in some long overdue sparring practice. It would help them burn off the energy they had pent up over the long journey back from LA.
“That was a cheap shot,” he said.
“Yeah, well, you remember the first lesson I taught you?” she raised her eyebrows.
“Don’t let my guard down, I know, jeez.”
Diana smirked, then tried again, springing forward to try and disable him. Will deflected her grab with ease, twisting her arm behind her back instead.
“I’m wise to your tricks now, it’s been long enough,” he said.
“Not all of them.”
Diana tried to smack the back of her head into his nose first, but he dodged, knowing that move all too well. While he was laughing, however, she threw all of her force back onto him and he stumbled, sending them both crashing to the ground. Diana twisted herself out of his grasp and pinned him while he was still coughing at the dust.
“Do you yield?”
“We’re only just getting started.”
Their sparring matches quite often drew a crowd, as they were the most experienced pairing in the group. This time was no exception. As they traded blows, slowly getting tired and dirtier, Will thought he might be able to gain the upper hand, but he was distracted.
“Priy--OW!”
Diana punched him so hard in the face that he felt blood begin to trickle from his nose. His whole face was throbbing.
“Now that was a cheap shot,” she admitted, coming up to him so she could check whether she had broken anything.
“It’s fine, it’ll add character,” Aaren said from behind Priya, dropping his duffel bag onto the floor beside him.
“Diana didn’t tell me you were coming,” Will said, although it was difficult to talk with the blood, so he wasn’t sure they understood what he said.
“Probably wanted it to be a surprise.”
Will looked down at Diana, who shrugged innocently.
“I’d offer to show you around, but I think I have to start with a trip to our resident healer,” Will said.
Eshe was very good, she would have him fixed up in no time. Possibly without a scar as well.
“You should,” Diana said, carefully nudging him in the direction of Eshe’s part of camp. “I’ll clear up here.”
Will covered his nose with one hand and motioned for Priya and Aaren to follow with the other. The camp was laid out in lines, which started from the community area in the center, the place they were just sparring. Most of the tents were where people slept, but on side nearest the ocean, they had some amenities, including the small area where Eshe and the younger Chosen liked to hang out.
“Over there is where we stockpile the supplies and weapons which aren’t people’s personal stashes,” he said, gesturing to a shipping container that was locked up tight and guarded by at least one of their group, on a shift rotation.
“We also have bathrooms just through those trees, for a bit of privacy.”
“Actual bathrooms not holes in the ground?” Priya said, sounding hopeful that she wouldn’t have to squat between some bushes in order to relieve herself.
“Actual bathrooms. We didn’t at first and you wouldn’t believe the smell.”
“I don’t have to imagine,” Aaren said.
“Oh yeah?”
“My family used to go camping all the time when I was a kid. My Dad, Mom and three older brothers. It wasn’t pretty.”
Priya screwed up her face. “Gross.”
“Are your brothers all as tall as you are?” Will asked.
“They used to seem like giants when I was a kid, but I shot past them at eighteen, spent a couple of years hanging out at the local gym… They’ve looked puny ever since.”
Will grinned. He had always wondered what it would be like to have brothers, although he had been overjoyed when Hallie had come along. Some days he worried about how she was doing, even thought about going to see her, but he knew if he did that there was a chance he would never come back. He couldn’t abandon Diana, not after everything they had been through to get here.
“Who’s that?” Priya asked, pointing at Eshe, looking mesmerised.
Will could hardly blame her. Of all the people here at camp, Eshe was the most beautiful, with her huge brown eyes and thick, black hair. They had come across her when they had been visiting one of Diana’s contacts in Kampala. Will was a little ashamed to say that he had hit on her and it had ended badly, but Diana had managed to salvage things. They found out her Dad had been a Guardian who had committed suicide after being torn apart from his family, it wasn’t difficult to convince her to join them.
“What happened to you?” Eshe sighed when she saw Will approaching.
“Diana.”
“I should have known.”
Eshe looked at the pair who were following him and offered them a friendly smile.
“I see we have another two recruits.”
“This is Aaren and Priya,” Will said as he sat himself down on one of the crates outside her tent.
Aaren nudged Priya gently with his elbow as she was still gawping.
“Oh, sorry, hi!” she said a little too loudly, then retreated into herself, embarrassed.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Nothing will ever be as embarrassing as the line this one tried to use on me the first time we met.”
“I’m interested to hear this,” Aaren smirked.
“Please don’t. You tell everyone this story. Haven’t I suffered enough?” Will said.
&nb
sp; “I don’t know, maybe I should make an exception for the boy with the broken nose?” Eshe said, looking at the other two, who both shook their heads.
“Oh, come on.”
“The people have spoken!”
“Could you at least heal my nose first, so I don’t have to suffer through the physical pain as well as the emotional anguish?”
“Fine.”
Eshe held his chin steady with one hand and placed the other over his nose. The process was quick and painless, the bone realigning and the cut sealing up without any complaints from him. Other than the dry blood that was left on his face, he looked as good as new.
“That’s amazing,” Priya said, in awe.
“We’ve never had to visit a healer before,” Aaren explained.
“Well then, you must be taking good care of Priya,” Eshe smiled.
Will could almost see the spark between Eshe and Aaren. It looked like Mari might have some competition if Aaren and Priya hung around camp for long enough.
“Anyway, we should probably be getting on with the tour...” Will tried.
“You’re not getting out of me telling that story.”
Eshe grabbed his arm so he couldn’t escape. She had a surprisingly firm grip for someone who healed with such a gentle touch.
“Please, no.”
Eshe turned to Aaren and Priya, who were both keen to hear the story: “So, I was supposed to be meeting this friend of mine at her hotel. I decided to get a drink at the bar while I waited, when suddenly this guy swaggers over to me and says, ‘There must be something wrong with my eyes, because I can’t take them off you’.”
Aaren groaned, whereas Priya immediately burst into a fit of giggles.
“My shame is never ending,” Will despaired.
“We’re friends now, but if Diana hadn’t come over to save him, I probably would have eaten him alive.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Aaren chuckled, looking between Eshe and Will, then his Chosen who was busy trying to control her laughter.
“I think we’re going to like it here.”
“Good,” Will said.
It was always better if the people they recruited came to feel like a part of the community, it meant that there was a sense of solidarity between them.
“Now, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”
Chapter Fifteen
It had been three weeks since Kiara had started her training and she had been coming on in leaps and bounds. As soon as her exams were finished, she and Caleb started having sessions every day, all day if they could. She was pushing for progress as much as he was because she wanted to get out into the field as soon as possible.
While Caleb wasn't ready to take her on a mission just yet, he was willing to take her down to the MI6 building in Vauxhall to meet his contacts and see how it worked when they cooperated on missions.
When Hallie heard about this, she decided that she wanted to come too. She had been having lessons with Alastair on and off since their first meeting and she wanted to see what it was like to heal someone properly. Luckily for her, they did have people in recovery there who could do with a helping hand, so Caleb was able to convince them to let her come along. Lily too, to keep an eye on her.
Kiara had never been this close to the building before as she rarely wandered down this end of the city center, but it was intimidating. She couldn't see anything through the windows and there was no sign of life anywhere in the courtyard either. As they passed through the gate, she looked at the twisted, reinforced metal deterrents on top of the walls and squeezed Hallie's hand tighter.
If she hadn't been there with Caleb and the others, she probably would have backed out.
They were escorted into the building, where they were then scanned from top to bottom and thoroughly searched to make sure that none of them was going to try anything stupid.
Hallie normally would have made some sort of quip, but she kept her lips tightly shut so she didn't get herself arrested.
It wasn't until they stepped off the lift that the mood lightened up.
"Caleb!"
"Zoe," Caleb smiled, walking forward to meet the woman who was approaching them from across the office.
Kiara tore her eyes away from all the computer screens and found that Zoe was distinctly Latina, long brown hair with blonde highlights, brown eyes. The suit that she was wearing was all business, but she still found a way to work it.
The two of them hugged each other like old friends, a much warmer welcome than they had received downstairs.
"This must be Kiara, Hallie and Lily," she said, pointing them out correctly.
"How did you know?" Hallie gawped.
"I had to read all your files before I was allowed to give you access to the building," Zoe chuckled.
"Oh, that makes sense."
“I’ve gotta go over a couple of things with you before we can go on the tour,” Zoe said, getting straight to the point. “It goes without saying that you should keep snooping to a minimum. The less you know, the better. That way if you happen to be targeted or taken hostage, you won’t have to lie. Particularly you, Lily. I’ve never met one of your kind before, but try and stay out of people’s head, it’ll be better for all of us.”
“Of course,” Lily nodded.
“Don’t wander off, stay with either me or Jack at all times. Jack will to take you ladies to the recovery suite, so you can visit some of our agents there. Caleb and Kiara, you’ll be coming with me as we’ll be visiting the ops center and the training area where I’ve got a couple of people who want to try sparring with a Chosen.”
“Oh really?” Kiara said, raising her eyebrows at Caleb.
“I told Zoe she could put you through your paces,” Caleb said. “I didn’t want the trip here to be boring.”
“Mmhmm, sure.”
“And lastly, if you have questions, just ask us. We know what we can and can’t tell you, so if you ask us something we’re not allowed to answer, we’ll shut that down straight away. Got it?”
There were general noises of agreement from their group. They were pretty simple rules to follow. None of them had any plans to wander off or get into trouble.
“Great. Jack!”
A young guy with jet black hair and sharp blue eyes stood up from a desk nearby, smiling warmly at them as he approached. He was wearing a shirt and tie but had left his jacket on his chair, so he looked a touch less formal.
“If you’d like to follow me,” he said to Lily and Hallie.
“We’ll meet back up with you later,” Caleb promised.
Kiara gave Hallie a quick hug before she could disappear off.
“Have fun,” she said.
“Go kick some agent butt,” Hallie replied with a grin.
~
Hallie was being abnormally quiet, which probably hadn’t gone unnoticed. It was mostly because she didn’t want to accidentally cause a major incident, but she’d also learned to be quiet for long periods of time while she was having her lessons with Alastair. The healer could banter with the best of them. However, learning how to heal took a lot of focus. Neither of them could focus very well when Hallie was waffling on about her old family dog Fred and how he used to eat through shoes like they were part of a free buffet.
They had been out to visit a couple of old Guardians who Alastair had known for a long time. He was allowed to help them with any injuries and pains, so it was good practice for Hallie to heal minor complaints to get practice without breaking the rules. It wasn’t very interesting, though, and no real challenge for her abilities. That was why she had been so eager to come along with Kiara and Caleb, because it would be a good way for her to see what she could do without straining herself.
“Where are you from, Jack?” Hallie asked him as they walked along the corridor, trying to make light conversation.
“The slight twang you’re hearing is Irish, but I’ve been living over here since I was a little kid, so I don’t sound like I just rolle
d off the boat from Dublin.”
“Aha, thank you. I was sure I could hear something. I’ve been listening to a Scot barking orders at me all week, so I couldn’t figure it out,” she explained.
“Oh, are you talking about Alastair Dunn? He’s been in a here a couple of times since I transferred. Interesting bloke.”
“Interesting is one word for him,” Hallie snickered.
Lily looked amused too.
“He’s always been a big softie with me,” she said with a shrug.
“Who wouldn’t be a big softie with you? Just look at you,” Hallie laughed.
“I have to agree with Hallie. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a man in here who wouldn’t treat you like a princess.”
“It’s the big hazel eyes, right?” Hallie said.
“And the cute skirt.”
“Please, stop,” Lily told them, blushing furiously.
“Sorry,” Hallie said, even though she was not sorry in the slightest.
Hallie and Kiara had been working on a theory for a while now that Caleb and Lily quite liked each other. They always sat together at group dinners and could talk each other’s ear off for hours if they were left alone. Any chance that Hallie had to build up Lily’s confidence, she was going to take it.
“Here we are,” Jack said, pushing open the double doors at the end of the hallway to reveal a decent sized room which was geared up to both treat patients and rehabilitate them.
On one side, there was hospital equipment, beds, medical supplies and a couple of nurses milling around tending to people. The other side had a couple of treadmills, some weights, and an area for people to sit and relax.
Hallie wondered how many people actually passed through this place. She imagined that quite a few injured agents and spies ended up in hospitals instead, as they were probably found by the emergency services first.
“Zoe told me that you were looking to try to heal someone?” Jack asked.
“If someone doesn’t mind letting me,” Hallie said. “I’ve been training with Alastair for a few weeks now and other than a sore hip and a bump to the head, I haven’t had much to work with.”
Chosen_Book One Page 10
