CHAPTER ONE
“I’m sorry, you’re a bit too young for me,” Greg finally managed to say.
There was no way he could know that. Every race ages differently, and he hasn’t been an instructor here long enough to know who I was. “It doesn’t have to be a date,” I informed him. “I really could use some help learning to shoot the newest T—”
“Help?” he interrupted. “You’re just looking for some help?” he inquired as though he didn’t believe me. “You’ve never been in any of my classes.”
“Well…umm… No, I haven—”
“Then why are you looking to me for help?”
“I was told you were the best,” I replied with a smile so that he didn’t think I was disappointed he had turned me down.
“So you figured you…”
“I was just going to ask for some assistance with the TH4. I watched you teaching the newest recruits and you…” Don’t tell him he’s good looking, don’t do it. “I like the way you teach.”
“So why did you ask about a drink?”
“Because I would like to have a drink with you to talk about you, maybe, teaching me.”
His brilliant blue eyes briefly surveyed my body. “I will give you one lesson, but it will have to be at twenty two hundred Zulu. Is that a problem?”
I shook my head.
“You don’t think it’s too late for you?” he asked.
His tone told me he knew it wouldn’t be easy for me to get there at that time. I clenched my jaw, and forced a polite smile. “No.”
“I won’t wait fifteen seconds for you.”
“I wouldn’t have asked for a lesson if I wasn’t going to show,” I stated as sweetly as I could. I was beginning to think he wasn’t the guy I thought he was.
“See you then,” he replied, giving me a lopsided grin before he turned away.
My shoulders slumped and all my frustration vanished. Why did he have to smile like that? It just made him look sexy, and… Wait. He didn’t think I’d be there. I clenched my fists, staring intently at his back until he disappeared through the mess hall door.
“So what did he say?!” Carri asked, failing to hold back her excitement. “When are you going out?! That was a smile he gave you! I saw it!”
“Yea, it was a smile,” I answered, attempting to force my irritation away. “One that says, I know you’re a recruit and I know the Confines are locked ten minutes before I asked you to be there.”
“He’s going to meet with you though, right?” Carri inquired with confusion, but not losing her cheerfulness.
“He’s going to teach me how to use the TH4,” I replied, lacking Carri’s excitement as I continued to stare at the now closed door he had walked through.
“That was not what you were supposed to ask,” Carri stated with disappointment. “You made me join his battalion so that you could get a better look and I did. You’ve been watching him every d—”
“You. I’ve been watching you,” I corrected.
“No him. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that your attention is on him.”
“I just like the way he expects a lot from the recruits, but neither berates anyone when they have questions, nor minds showing them what he expects or how to do it properly. Plus, he takes the time to demonstrate the difference between what you’re doing and what he wants you to do.”
“Like I said, your attention is on him,” she smugly replied.
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. “He’s a great instructor.”
“Yes. You have bragged about him all day, every day since I told you I was interested in following in my big sister’s footsteps.”
“I’ll bet he’s ten years older than me.” I really had no idea, nor did it matter. However, I didn’t need Carri’s attitude right now.
“And…?”
“He said no.”
“But you said he was going to meet with you.”
“To teach me. I asked him to join me for a drink, and he only hesitated a moment before he said I was too young. So my rapid firing brain asked him if he’d help me with the T— Oh no…” I whispered as put my hand over my mouth for a moment.
“What…?”
“Of all the weapons, I had to say that one. How am I so stupid?”
“You excel in weapons, AJ.”
“Not that one. And now, at twenty two hundred Zulu, he’s going to think that I am too young and inept with weapons.”
“It’s not like you’re going to be able to get there anyways. So you won’t be able to make a fool of…”
“I’m going to be there,” I confidently stated.
“What?”
“He just challenged me,” I replied. I’ll show him.
“No. He said twenty two hundred, AJ. I think he was telling you no. Again.”
I shook my head.
“AJ, you can’t get out of the Confines after lockdown. You’re not allowed.”
“Like that’s ever been an issue.”
“You can’t—”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, no, no, no.”
I nodded. I’ll show him that he’s not as clever as he thinks.
“AJ, please don’t do this. He’s an…”
I glanced down at my watch. The armory was ten minutes from my Confines - normally. However, “I’m just going to have to circumvent the patrols and video cams.” Plus, I was obviously not going to be using the front door, which would save me some time.
“Circumvent?”
“Yea, evade the patrols and outwit the programmer who thinks the video cams are untouchable.”
“You know no one uses that word, right? Circumvent.”
“So, I’ve been told.”
***
I glanced at my watch again. I bet he doesn’t show up because he believes that I won’t be here. I growled at myself. Carri was right. He was telling me to take a hike. Ugh. Why did he have to have such an attractive smile? And broad shoulders. Not to mention those brilliant blue eyes that seemed so exotic with his dark brown hair and goatee. How could I think that his way of teaching was in any direct relation to his personality?
I glanced down at my watch. Twenty-two hundred on the dot.
I glimpsed around for him, but he clearly wasn’t going to show. I growled again and walked to the practice range. One of the nice things about being here when I wasn’t supposed to be was that there was no one else around. I lifted the TH4 with one arm. It was fairly heavy – people who weren’t used to guns usually used two hands. I preferred to use one arm. Mostly because I could, but more so because it left the option of using a second weapon.
I prepared my body for the recoil, took aim, and fired.
I rolled my eyes when I saw that I didn’t hit my target. I focused on the target and pulled the trigger again and again and again. I clenched my jaw in frustration. I was determined that I would get it right tonight. I continued to practice, changing my stance, the way I aimed, closing one eye and then the other. I even switched hands. How could one gun be such a pain in my…
“I see you made it.”
I turned my head to see Greg staring at me in disbelief. “You’re late,” I nonchalantly stated. I would have been happy to see him if I wasn’t so annoyed with the TH4. I should have hit at least one target.
“I didn’t see the need to be on time when you’re supposed to be in lockdown.”
“Keywords: supposed to be,” I informed him as I turned to face the targets.
“Not a big follower of rules.”
“I follow rules that make sense to me,” I replied with a shrug as I took aim again.
“And if they don’t.”
I fired and missed again. Grr. I glimpsed over at him. “I…work around them.”
He gave me a lopsided grin and nodded, causing me to smile back. I hastily focused back on the target that was eluding every shot.
“I see your skill with a gun is way beneath your ability to circumvent the security systems.”
My brain froze, and I glanced back at him.
He lifted an eyebrow. “What?”
“You know no one uses that word anymore,” I blurted out. Ugh. Really, AJ? You couldn’t have said anything else?!
“Well, at least you know what it means.”
“My sister is always telling me that I need to stop using it, and I keep telling her that I like the word.”
Greg tilted his head with interest, and I quickly shifted my attention back to the target.
“You’re too tense,” he casually commented.
“Well I don’t want to land on my back.”
“That’s one of the nicer things about this newer model. It’s calibrated so that you can use it head on and it won’t rip your arm out of its socket.”
“You say that, but if I don’t prepare for the recoil, it—”
“Do you want some help or not?” he asked with irritation.
I glimpsed over at him and nodded.
“Now, the problem is that everyone is accustomed to having to take a side stance to handle the other versions of the TH. No one around here listens when I tell them that it’s actually built to be used head on. Look,” he said as he walked over to me. He grabbed my hips and turned me to face my target. He pulled my left leg back half a step. “Now fire. I’ll stay right here.”
“I thought I was too young.”
“You are, Recruit, but I’m not going to catch you because there won’t be a reason. I’m just here to make you feel better.”
“How did you know I was a recruit?”
“You just told me.”
I clenched my jaw and focused on my target.
“Relax. I know what I’m talking about.”
I took a calming breath and fired the TH4. To my surprise I hit my target and the TH4 didn’t knock me out of my stance at all. I quickly moved through each target that was out, hitting each one of them almost perfectly.
“I guess the rumors are true,” I commented in awe.
“That I’m the best.”
“With arrogance to match.”
“Comes with the territory.”
“Well, umm, thank you,” I said as I turned to face him, hiding my excitement. “I imagine I’ve held you up long enough.”
“Have to hurry before they catch you?”
“No,” I replied. “I’ve covered my tracks, thank you very much.”
“Not well enough. How do you think I knew to get over here?”
“Yea, right. You expect me to believe that you knew I was here and you came here instead of sending in security.”
“I watched the cameras re-route to a previous feed, a constant charge being sent to the alarms so that the patrols will never know if the trigger is disturbed, and a code entered - I’m assuming - will allow control of all the command centers in the building.”
I stared at him not saying a word. I was careful. There was no way that he could have seen me do any of that. He must want me to incriminate myself.
“There aren’t many that know what they’re doing,” he continued when I didn’t say anything. “You were close. If I wasn’t at this base then you’d be in the clear. The only reason I came down here was to see who you were with, but apparently it is just you. So, now that you’ve got my attention, let’s see your other weaknesses.”
He un-holstered his weapon and held it out. I looked at him like he was nuts. If I had to use a gun, a personal firearm was not what I would choose. It was so beneath what I preferred.
“What? I figured since you were not that good with the TH4, maybe this was more your…”
He shut up as I took his gun, turned, and hit the targets perfectly, multiple times until his ammo was depleted. I turned and held it out to him with an innocent expression. He raised an eyebrow and re-holstered his gun.
“I’ll be right back,” he stated as he turned away from me and hurried down the corridor.
I smiled to myself. If I didn’t find him so attractive, I would have left. Instead, I lifted the TH4 and fired off a few more shots, making sure that I understood how to fire it. I bit my lip and took a side stance again. As awesome as it was to be able to use the TH4 head on, it wouldn’t always be practical. After tweaking a few things, I fired the TH4. I missed, but I realized that it could be done. I had to adjust my stance, the way I was aiming, and keep my body relaxed. After five more attempts, I did it.
“Okay, that is impressive.”
I turned to see him throwing another weapon at me. I caught it and turned instantaneously, firing off ten rounds. “I’m not a big fan of guns, but this used to be my favorite.”
“Used to be?” he inquired after he hastily hid his shocked expression.
“Yea. I think if I was on the battlefield, I’d take the TH4.”
He gave me a crooked smile and I knew I had his complete interest.
“So, if you’re not a fan of guns, what do you prefer?”
“Bows are cool, but I’m more of a knife girl.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know. They’re versatile and personal, I guess.” I glanced down at my watch.
“What is the look of surprise for?”
“I didn’t realize it was so late,” I admitted.
“Your window of opportunity is over?” he arrogantly asked.
“No, but if I don’t hurry I’m not going to be able to have a drink to celebrate my achievement. Again, thank you for your help with the TH4, for not getting me in trouble, and… I hope that I didn’t ruin your night by showing up,” I stated as I hurried toward the exit.
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