Red Handed

Yes, I thought. Closer…closer…

His clean, pine scent wafted around me. “You’re all I can think about anymore,” he whispered in my ear. “I look for you in the halls. I’m constantly wondering what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with. Why do you think I was looking in on the party? I was hoping you’d catch a glimpse of me and come out. I can’t get you out of my mind, even though you’re forbidden.”

I gulped. So, he felt it, too, then. The hum of attraction. The need. I opened my mouth to reply, to tell him how I felt, but he shook his head.

“Don’t say a damn word,” he said in that whisper. “If I hear that you want me, too, I’ll lose control.” He pushed out a shaky breath, and it fanned my lobe. “Boss watched your fight. He watches and sees everything because there are cameras everywhere. Even here.”

I paled.

“Come on,” Ryan said, loudly this time. “Boss wants to see you and Allison.”

I followed behind him, staring at his back. His words replayed through my mind. Not that words that should have, but the ones that shouldn’t have: You’re all I can think about anymore.

Ryan wanted me. Ryan really wanted me!

A wonderful and terrible discovery. For a few, needy seconds, I had thought I could give up A.I.R. for a single kiss from him. Lucid now, I knew that wasn’t true. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I belonged here. I didn’t want to leave, no matter what I had to do to remain.

The knowledge swam inside me as if a switch had been thrown. I admitted it now—now that I’d broken a rule and being kicked out was more a possibility than ever. A bitter laugh escaped me. What a time to realize the truth. This camp was worth fighting with all my might to stay.

I had purpose here. I had goals. Becoming an A.I.R. agent was forever; protecting innocents was honorable. There was no better career choice for me. I can’t lose this.

At the moment, camp was all I had.

I remained silent while Ryan led me through the halls. Soon I found myself seated across from Allison and facing the silver-haired Boss, who sat behind a large desk. He wore those same black glasses. The entire wall behind him was sectioned into different holoscreens, displaying different scenes. The party. All the classrooms, which were currently empty. The hallways. Kids who were striding to and from their rooms.

Boss leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Someone want to tell me what that was about?” he asked in that deep voice of his.

I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant even though fear pounded through me. This was exactly the situation I hadn’t wanted to find myself in. Thanks a lot, Allison.

My knuckles throbbed as I came down from my adrenaline high.

“She’s a bitch,” Allison said, pointing at me.

I didn’t respond, though I wanted to. Badly. Hold it together; act like an agent.

“You’ve been against her since Ryan told me how she fought and Mia recommended her,” Boss said. “Why?”

“She’s a flyer,” Allison gritted out.

“Former,” I said.

“Flyers do not recover,” Allison insisted. “Especially not this one. You didn’t see her in school, Dad. She used Breathless constantly. She was rude. She stole things from my locker. She treated everyone but her friends like dirt. She was loud and obnoxious in class, always disrupting the teacher. Some of us actually wanted to learn,” she snapped at me.

My hands fisted. “She finally got clean. She hasn’t used in months. She even passed Angel’s test. She is also sorry for stealing from you.” I’d stolen a lot of things, I knew that, but I didn’t remember what or from who.

“Will you be able to resist when we’re in the field and drugs are all around you?” Allison demanded. “You’ll get high and the rest of us will be left vulnerable because of it.”

I raised my chin, determined. “You haven’t even given me a chance. You’ve already held my trial and convicted me.”

“She’s right,” Boss said, gaze narrowed on his daughter.

Allison’s lips pressed together in a tight line, but she didn’t comment.

“This is strike one, girls. Two more and you’re out. And yes, Allison, I’m talking to you, as well. For today’s incident, I’m forbidding both of you from attending social functions for two weeks. If you fight again, the consequences will be worse. I need my trainees to work together, to be a team. If there’s friction among agents, other-worlders will exploit it and win. That’s why you will now spend a few hours every evening together, getting to know each other.”

“What!” Allison gasped.

Boss arched his brows, and they peeked over the top rim of his sunglasses. I was surprised to see that his eyebrows were inky black. “I’ve given my final verdict. You may leave.”

Pause.

We sat in stunned disbelief. For different reasons, I’m sure.

“Leave!” he barked.

Neither of us spoke a word as we stood. We glanced at each other, frowned, then looked away. Two weeks of Allison. I didn’t like it, but I’d endure it. I hadn’t been cut from the program. Not severe as he’d promised.

I was grinning as I left.

12

Surprisingly, the next two weeks passed with lightning speed, my forced time with Allison the only dark spot. I was tested for Onadyn every day, and I passed. I loved my new friends. I loved my classes and was learning so much.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. I should have been learning so much. I was having trouble memorizing the minute details. There were just so many species and so much information to take in that I sometimes found myself daydreaming during class.

Sometimes I prayed for the proverbial bell to ring.

So far I’d learned that some aliens didn’t breathe from their noses, but from their ears. Some didn’t have a spinal cord or bones or even heartbeats. Some excreted poison and we weren’t to touch them. Could I name which aliens had these traits? No. Not even upon threat of death.

Really, how was a girl supposed to keep all of that straight?

Of course, there was one thing I knew for certain. I missed my interaction with Ryan. I saw him in combat class, but he never again called me up to demonstrate. He never made eye contact with me. After the amazing things he’d said to me…he wanted me, he thought about me constantly…I was going crazy.

Logically, I knew why he was treating me this way. Logically, I knew it was better that way. But I didn’t like it and I wanted him to stop.

Don’t think about him. I need to study! We were going to be tested soon. Okay. So. The Arcadians were psychics, superfast, and almost humanoid.

The Mecs, I’d discovered, could control the weather and liked things hot. The best way to weaken them was to freeze them. Artic, a gun that shot bullets of liquid nitrogen, was in development. I couldn’t wait to try it!