Sleeper Cells

by Sandra Y. Desjardins

  “We’re training in Colombia,” he said after stepping into the bathroom. He sat on the counter. It was something he had done a few weeks ago because Vanessa had called hysterical and refused to wait until Kat got out of the shower. The next day, after he heard the shower going, he stepped inside, and sat on the counter. They had chatted about his day and decided to make it one of their daily rituals.

  “Is the training going to be super intense?”

  “I don’t know, they seem to be coming up with new stuff a lot lately—”

  “Jason?” She stuck her head out of the curtain to see what had made him stop mid-sentence.

  “Someone is here,” he slipped out of the bathroom.

  She finished her shower quickly and donned her bathrobe, then headed out of the room. She followed the delicious smell of coffee and stopped short when she stepped into the kitchen.

  “Hey, Sniper Girl,” Andrew stirred sugar into his mug.

  “Andrew,” she smiled and took her mug from Jason. “How are you this morning?”

  “Sleepy. I’m sorry for all the back and forth on the exchange and for totally falling asleep on you.”

  “It’s no problem.” She couldn’t help but grin when Jason moved behind Andrew and mouthed the words I told you so. “Did you hear from them?”

  “They’re gonna be there in forty-five minutes, so you’re probably going to have to skip breakfast, which is a shame because it smells delicious.”

  “I’ll let the team know you’ll join us in progress,” Jason flipped the omelet.

  “Thanks,” she grabbed a piece of toast and headed toward their room.

  She changed into a fresh uniform and swore under her breath as she laced up her boots. She pulled her hair into a bun, grabbed her jacket, and headed downstairs. Andrew and Jason were leaning over the center island reading different sections of the newspaper as they ate her omelet. She rolled her eyes. She hated weekends.

  “I’m ready,” she walked passed them and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

  “Great. Jason, thanks for breakfast,” Andrew said.

  “No problem,” Jason leaned against the island and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You think Katarina will make it to Colombia in time for training?”

  “I don’t think so," Andrew said matter-of-factly. “We have our training session right after the exchange to meet the newest member of our team, so I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “New team member?” She asked while waving to Jason. Andrew placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her up the stairs to Jason’s office.

  “Yeah, we lost two of our members because of that glitch, so they’re restructuring a bunch of teams—”

  “Glitch?” She asked.

  “Yeah, I told you we had to take out two of our team members because they had some wiring issues, remember?”

  “Yeah,” she stood in place of the beams.

  “Well, the Agency has found that some of our kind seems to have some type of glitch. Are you ready?”

  “Yeah,” she wasn’t really, but she didn’t have a choice.

  “So, anyway,” he said when they arrived at their destination. He walked toward the door in the warehouse and opened it for her. “They won’t say what the glitch is, but it’s apparently happened enough times that they’re restructuring so that teams are complete again. Well, maybe not complete, since we are now so few in number that our traditional six-man teams are a thing of the past. They’ll just be four now, so shit will get tough depending on the mission.” He rubbed her back and laughed. “It’s a good thing you’re my sniper now, with your history—”

  “Excuse me,” she tried to hide her surprise. “I’m sorry. I thought I just heard you say that I was your sniper.” She chuckled.

  “You are,” he stopped long enough to look at her. “They made it official this morning. You’re mine, and Ariel’s team keeps Wyatt. And we get to meet our fourth later today.”

  “Oh,” she nodded and kneeled by her weapon case. “I hadn’t heard.”

  “Is that going to be a problem?”

  “No,” she said a little too loudly. “Not at all,” she smiled when she looked back at him. “It just gives me more time to enjoy the Pacific. I spend so much time staring out at the Atlantic that the change will be nice.”

  “I do prefer it. It’s a little cleaner looking if you ask me.” He sat and pulled his weapon apart and started cleaning it. “So our fourth is gonna join us shortly and sit in with John while I make the exchange.”

  “Shouldn’t John be making the exchange?”

  “Nope, I forgot to tell you that I’m team leader now. They put John in comm and our fourth will be on foot with me.”

  “Oh,” Kat said as she set up her weapon.

  They sat silently while she adjusted her sight. She made sure to remain in the prone position long enough to regain her composure. She was experiencing such an overwhelming urge to scream that she needed to keep still or she was going to give herself away.

  “Hey, guys,” John walked through the door, a female at his heels. “This is Michelle. Michelle, this is Andrew, our team leader, and this is Katarina, our sniper.”

  “Blessed be,” Michelle nodded toward them.

  “Blessed be,” Andrew said, assembling his weapon, and then standing. “It’s good to have a complete team again.”

  He pulled up the warehouse blueprints and signaled for everyone to come over. They took seats at the small table and Kat listened as he went over all the same material he had the night before. Kat couldn’t help but catch glimpses of the newest member of the team and wonder if she was a purebred or defective Hybrid.

  Kat had been on the fence about Andrew until a few minutes ago. He had seemed entirely too laid back to be a purebred. But now she wasn’t sure, perhaps his hospitality had been his way of making her comfortable because of the change. But she was positive that Johnny boy was as pure as purebred could get. It seemed like every team needed at least one of those square pegs to be complete.

  That one word resonated through her mind and she had to swallow a lump that formed in the back of her throat. This was her team now. She had somehow been selected to be pulled from her team and was now thrown in with people she had never met before and knew absolutely nothing about.

  “Any questions?” Andrew looked at each of them.

  “No,” they said as Kat shook her head.

  “Good, let’s get into position. These guys should be here shortly.”

  They got into position and made the exchange with no problems. They all went back to John’s house, a huge home in Sunnyvale that wasn’t far from their office building in the Silicon Valley and Stanford University. Both of which John commuted to far too often. Kat walked along as John gave them a brief tour. She was grateful when they made it to his briefing room, which was a seriously high-tech suite that would have left Ariel green with envy.

  Elder Jay came online and welcomed Kat and Michelle. Michelle went into a brief introduction and gave her history. She currently resided in New York and had recently helped terminate her former lifemate. Kat flinched when Michelle said it and had to look down at her hands for the rest of the briefing. Michelle proceeded to say that she was glad to be in California and was looking forward to becoming John’s lifemate and making herself comfortable in her new home.

  Kat excused herself the moment that Elder Jay went offline. She locked the bathroom door, then ran to the sink, and leaned on it. She pulled her hair out of the bun and ran her fingers through it several times, then turned on the water and splashed some on her face. She was having information overload. The change in teams was beyond shocking. And to hear that her new teammate had helped kill her lifemate made Kat sick to her stomach.

  Kat didn’t know how she was going to manage working with her or any of them, for that matter. She sat on the toilet as she pulled her hair back into a bun, then flushed the toilet, and examined herself in the mirror. As much as she
hated being different, she wouldn’t want to be any other way. Not if it meant doing something so cruel.

  She found everyone eating sandwiches in the kitchen. She sat quietly as John went over the details of how he and Michelle would officially meet. John was scheduled to fly to New York that week for a conference and they would begin a long-distance romance that would last approximately three to six months before Michelle officially moved in.

  Kat didn’t have to worry about back-story. She was Andrew’s sniper, so only needed to accompany them on missions, and then she could return to her life in D.C. Thank goodness. She hated every second of being around them. She finished off her lunch and was glad that Andrew volunteered to walk her to the teleporter. She bid farewell to John and Michelle and followed Andrew up the stairs.

  “Isn’t it funny how we all have these in our home offices,” he pushed open the door and walked toward the closet. “And how you stood knocking from the inside the other night when you came over.” He laughed.

  “What’s so funny about that?” She stepped in the center of the beams. “It’s polite to announce yourself. I know it isn’t customary, but having lived with humans for so long it was nice to know when someone had arrived.”

  “I’d imagine that would help with shock value, especially when you have deranged humans obsessed with you.” He walked to the window and leaned against the ledge. “Not that you have to worry about that guy. They check twice a day to make sure he’s still safe and sound in his padded cell.”

  “Do they?” She looked at him curiously.

  “Yeah, I mean, yeah…” He scratched his head. “Anyway, you’re my sniper now, so don’t feel like you have to announce yourself. And don’t hesitate to come over or call if you need anything.”

  “Thanks,” she punched in the coordinates that Jason had texted her earlier.

  “I’ll see you in training tomorrow?”

  “Okay, thanks for everything, Andrew. Blessed be.”

  “Blessed be, Kat.”

  She materialized and scanned the area. She spotted her bag. It was among the others that were lined up against the tree line. She ran to it, unzipped the top compartment, pulled out her earpiece, then set it in place.

  “Welcome aboard, Katarina,” Jason said the second she turned it on. “The team has almost met their objective and should be joining you shortly.”

  She leaned against the tree and sighed. The sound of his voice was such a relief she nearly cried. Having a few moments alone she, wondered how he was going to take the news and only hoped that she had enough time to digest everything before she had to tell him.

  “Hey, slacker,” David came through the tree line. “So you show up after we’ve done all the hard work.” He chuckled.

  “Yeah, perfect timing, right?” Kat teased as she stood to greet him, her hair in disarray after he tousled it.

  “Hey,” Lauren walked toward her. “How was your mission?”

  “Good. Everything went like clockwork, so I didn’t have to fire a single shot. How’d your training go?”

  “Fine,” Ariel packed up her gear.

  “Oh, hell.” Lauren said heading toward the tree line, “I left my damn ballistic knife in that tree trunk. I’ll be right back, guys.”

  “Make sure you keep control of it this time,” David shouted holding up his right hand, a bandage wrapped around it that was already soaked through with blood.

  “You ever gonna let me live that down?” Lauren asked as she headed back toward the training sight.

  “Maybe after I get back home and my hand isn’t gushing blood—”

  “Oh, waa,” Lauren teased. “How’s about you grow a pair while I’m gone so I don’t have to listen to you crying like a baby over a teeny, weenie, boo-boo.”

  “A boo-boo?” He pulled off the bandage and turned with it held up and appeared offended when he saw she had already disappeared into the brush. “Does that look like a boo-boo?” He asked Kat. “I’m being serious. Cause it hurts like hell, so it at least warrants being called a scratch,” he snorted.

  “Yikes, how’d you manage that?” Kat studied the gash.

  “Me,” he asked, clearly offended. “The blame lies entirely with Lauren; her damn knife fell right out of her holster.”

  “Nobody told you to try and catch it,” Ariel interjected.

  “I get the feeling that I’m not gonna get any sympathy around here,” David tossed the bandage into his bag after he poured water over the cut. “I guess I’ll go and water one of the shrubs over yonder since we won’t be leaving for a minute.”

  “TMI,” Kat laughed as she started packing Lauren’s bag for her.

  “TMI?” Wyatt asked.

  “Too much information,” Ariel said. “Seriously, did you guys even go to school with humans?”

  To which Wyatt didn’t reply. His lack of insight would infuriate the pope. They packed their bags silently. Kat never talked when it was just Wyatt and Ariel, because conversations with them were always awkward.

  “You guys have got to come and check this out,” David said as he made his way back from the clearing.

  “What?” Kat asked.

  “Words won’t do it justice. You just gotta come and check it out. Follow me.” David pulled on his backpack.

  “Where are you going?” Jason asked over their earpieces.

  “Jason, teleport over here when you get done so you can see for yourself, and don’t cheat by checking the satellite, you’ve gotta see it firsthand.”

  “David,” Ariel said sternly. “We have a debriefing.”

  “Can you try to think outside the box?” David asked her.

  “We aren’t programmed to think outside the box,” Wyatt felt the need to add. “We need to do as we’re told.”

  “Then follow me,” David chuckled.

  “You’re so immature,” Ariel snorted. “Jason, where is Lauren?”

  “She’s approximately a quarter mile north of your current position.”

  “Come on, Ariel. What’s the big deal?” Kat asked trying to ease the tension. “What cha got, David?” She followed behind David.

  “Dammit,” she heard Ariel over her earpiece. “Jason, teleport to Lauren with your tablet and follow us.”

  “Ha, ha,” David punched Kat’s arm playfully when they heard it.

  “What am I looking for?” Kat asked when Ariel and Wyatt caught up.

  “You’ll see,” David held back some brush so they could step out onto a path. “Check it out,” he pointed and Kat gasped. They gathered along the tree line and took in the amazing structure.

  “Wow,” Ariel said dryly. “Look, it’s a church.”

  “It’s quite original,” Wyatt continued walking toward it. “It looks like it was built right into that bridge. I can see the appeal to the architecture, it’s impressive.”

  “Whoa,” David chuckled. “I think that’s more impressive than the church!”

  “What’s it called?” Lauren asked coming up behind them. “It’s beautiful. I can see why so many tourists would make their way over to see it.”

  “Las Lajas,” Jason caught up to Kat. “It’s great that you brought us, David.”

  They walked across the bridge and admired the view. It wasn’t as crowded as it could have been. The bridge was huge, so Kat was sure that during the dry months, it was packed to the brim with people from all over the world. They walked through the church, everyone splitting up long enough for Jason to ask if she was okay because he was getting a weird vibe.

  Lauren found them just as Kat made a joke about Jason’s vibes sounding like gastrointestinal issues. Kat was grateful for the interruption. Then it was their turn to drill Lauren because she had disappeared the night before, but she also managed to evade having to answer when the group rejoined them.

  As they exited the church, David insisted they pose for a photo. He reached into his bag and grabbed a camera. A small yellow frog hopped out. He lifted it onto the palm of his hand and he and Lauren
examined it for a moment before he set it free. Ariel complained about wasting time as David ran over to a group of tourist to ask if they would take a photo of the team.

  Afterward, they all laughed when David wrapped his arm around Ariel’s neck and held out the camera to take another picture of them. Ariel’s annoyed groan ended up being just a little funnier than the image that David captured on his camera. Since they all got a kick out of Ariel’s stuffiness, David constantly provoked her as a means of entertainment.

  Wyatt took the camera and took several pictures of them. Ariel was so annoyed by that point that she started walking ahead. Kat and Jason strolled along the bridge toward the brush but froze when David screamed out. When they turned, they saw David fall to the ground and convulse.

  They ran to him. A crowd gathered as he screamed out and struggled to his feet. Kat, Lauren, and Jason dropped to their knees and helped hold him still. Someone in the crowd yelled and pointed toward the little yellow frog that was still by David’s bag. The crowd dispersed immediately.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Kat yelled as she and Lauren helped Jason lift David onto his feet.

  “Don’t touch it!” Wyatt ran past them and stood by the yellow frog.

  “Jason!” Kat yelled as David fell, his weight shifting so suddenly that they all lost their grip on him.

  “You two need to go,” Ariel ran back to them after realizing something was wrong. She dropped to her knees next to Kat. “Go, dammit!” Ariel shoved Jason. “People are reaching for cameras and there’s no way we’ll be able to explain how America’s sweethearts ended up on a stupid bridge in Colombia, so go!”

  “Dammit, Ariel!” Jason shoved her. “Forget about the damn cameras! His vitals are all over the place!” Jason hit buttons on his tablet.

  “What’s wrong with him? Does it have something to do with that frog?” Kat asked.

  Lauren handed Kat a black beanie cap then reached for David. “Kat, get that on so people won’t recognize your hair color, Jason, quit fucking around with that damn tablet and get him up. Come on, we have to teleport so we can get him into a regenerator.”