I was given a pill bottle full of supplements that help feed the nanites, and a low-cost recovery booster before wrapping me in light compression and telling me no strenuous activity for at least a week. Pfft. Right. I need to run the course at least once before my firearms final so I can see if the tricks will work.

When we got up to the apartment, Marcella kept me from being crippled by my worried girlfriend. She gave me some sugar drinks and Bell set out a pile of food that she had saved from the dinner I’d missed. And all of this excitement is happening at like five in the morning. And then, the hard part: Marcella asked me to tell her what I remembered. Surprisingly, my brain hasn’t shut any of it out.

I told them about the break in, who had abducted me this fourth time and how flustered he’d gotten about Marcella and me. I told them about my escape and my guesses on why it was even possible. By the end of it, Bell was crying and squeezing my hand to death and Marcella was gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

“I have to figure out how to respond to this. He took you to the warehouse where you’ll be training next week, so I think he was trying to wash you out in multiple ways. And obviously if you wash out, then it’s a black mark on me too. As bold as it was, he didn’t do any more to you than he could explain away by how long it’s been since he last operated as that kind of Face.”

“So we do nothing because we can’t prove he acted in malice?” I ask, too tired to be angry.

“Oh no, I’m going to make his life miserable. If he says anything to anyone, makes a single remark about my training methods or losing track of you, I’ll remind everyone of how much a security risk he’s become in his complacency and insist that I retrain him personally. I’ll have him convinced he’s a fucking teapot by the end of it.”

“I get treated like I’m a lot more important now that I have what’s considered an ‘upgraded initialization’. Won’t that happen with Kimber?”

“Theoretically, sure, but six months is a long time when a Lieutenant wants to grind an axe on your forehead. Just because this was the easiest option to discredit us, doesn't mean it’s his only option.”

“Yeah, well, he seemed pretty intent on learning why the algorithm selected four kids from our Orphanage. He has a weird compulsion talent or something. It felt awful.”

“I don’t want to talk any more about Parker right now. I have a lot to do today in order to get ahead of this, before he tries to spin something in his favor. You two will be staying in my suite until Kimber heals, and probably until I send you off to field training.”

“Yeah, okay, does that mean I get to take a shower and go to bed now?”

“Sure. Go shower and collect your things. Bell, when do you need to be at work?”

“Seven thirty.” I can tell from her posture that she’s sad that she can’t stay with me all day.

“Ladies, I’ll be fine, just lock me in your hopefully upgraded security area with snacks and my phone, and I’ll work on stuff I’ve been neglecting.”

“Notice how she didn’t say ‘don’t worry’ knowing that would be impossible.” Marcella sighs and scrubs her face. “Seriously Belle, go keep your hands busy until you have to go to work. Kimber, shower.”

I get up and start moving, following orders is way easier than thinking right now. Bell follows me to our room and starts collecting clothes and toiletries for me. Who knows what Marcella will be up to for the next hour, nothing pleasant I assume from her demeanor.

I wince getting my clothes off, but the shower is a godsend as I allow some of the fear and the anger flow down the drain with the vomit and the blood. I scrub the cuts on my face and hands with a continuous hiss, and end the warm comforting experience long before I was ready.

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I see a clothing set including one of my tight gym shirts, a t-shirt and some lounging shorts set on the bed and I crawl into them. I pull the front of my hair back with a tie and go to find my favorite people on the planet.

***

I was surprised to see how resilient the girl had become and she’d nearly goaded me into injuring her instead of just hurting her. A not insignificant portion of me wants to drop her mangled body on Marcella’s her stoop and leave it there, but if Marcella finds a way to suspect me of doing it, she would likely try to have me killed.

I get out of the car in front of an Organization warehouse and see the man I left at the door. “How is she?”

“Building’s secure boss, didn’t see anyone come near.” The security thug said.

“Not the building, the girl in Interrogation, I told you to keep an eye on her,” I growl. “Are you really that stupid?” I say putting my [Convincing Argument] skill into the words I spit at him.

“I mean, kinda boss? I thought that since we have a warehouse full of off-the-books drugs that’s what you were referring to.” He shrugs, thinking it a perfectly reasonable thing to keep an eye on.

Frustration spikes through me for the thug and at myself in equal measure. I had lost sight of the greater game for the chance to defame the competition. As with all gambles, I’d win big if it played out, but if Marcella comes here before the drugs are moved tomorrow, then I could jeopardize my good will to the folks up north. Luckily, we aren’t processing and packaging here, we’re just the middle-men between the Cartels and most Northwesterly markets. As important as that is, it’s not as immediate as the person in the interrogation room.

I walk quickly to the small office space adjoining the room and find that the office had been cleaned. Not well, mind you, but the desk was clear and the shelves were straightened. I dash over to the drawers and open a few to find that everything was missing. Cleaned and taken. I look up to the one-way mirror and to my horror, the space is straightened with no sign that there had been someone in there overnight.

I run over to the other door, punch in the code and fling the door open wide. A thick stench of ammonia fills the room and again, the room hasn’t been cleaned well, but the blood is gone. Was it a cleaning crew for next weeks training class, or possibly one of my guys? No, they would have left it alone if had they seen a person inside tied to a chair. Or were they that stupid?

Focus, Parker. It doesn’t matter how stupid they were. It matters who found the Novarro brat and what else they saw. If it was Marcella, then I can expect some retaliation soon. If not, I may have to wait for someone to blackmail me and then have them found and killed.

***

“Hey Carlos, how’s tricks?” I say, walking up to a rotund Mexican man wearing a tropical button up and flip flops.

“Hola chicka, not bad. Thinking about expanding our selection, but the details are . . .”

“Secret, of all people I get that.”

“So, you need more of that wake-up cocktail? Been a while since you came by for that, you working again?” He gives me a creepy smile. Carlos is not a violent man himself, but he likes hearing about gory and violent adventures.

“I’m training a prospect right now, not back to that kind of work. And no, for once I have something for you.”

I pull five of the kilo bricks in blue shrink wrap I found and put them on his desk. He punches a knife in and tastes it, then whistles. “Five kilos of uncut cocaine? Is there more of this to ‘find’? Because I would be very interested.”

“I may have stashed some away, but I don’t want to many people asking questions you know.” Especially since I don’t want Parker to get itchy and suspect he’s missing drugs before his deal goes down. I didn’t want to steal this much, but the crates were evenly packed so I needed to take a whole layer and it took me until just before sun up to get.

“Aye Chica, I get you. I didn’t see you. You get your 20%.”

“Fat chance, Carlos. I know I usually buy from you, but even at half wholesale, this is a bargain. And don’t tell me you’re taking a thirty percent ‘silence’ fee or I might be offended.”

“Fine, fine, 35%” He sighs at the loss of his fantastical pay day.

“I’m good with that.” I smile at him, “In case you’re feeling adventurous, do try to remember that I can easily look up what the going wholesale rate on our ledgers.”

“You’re way less fun when you have something I want.” I chuckle at that while I set the blue bricks on his desk.

“But it’s so nice to see that people in the Organization are such team players! Keep up the good work Carlos.” I give a little wave as I walk out his office door and shut it behind me.

The nerve of that weasel. As it is, I have too many messages to send, adding a sleazy drug dealer to the recipient list would be more hassle than it’s worth. Plus, it’s not that I was there for the drugs, so I did barely any work for them. Plus, who couldn’t use a thousand or so credits? Especially since we’re getting close to pumping Kimber full of expensive aether-rich foods.

I have some work to do before I can punish Parker without burning some bridges with Medvedev, but I’m patient, I’ll get there, and when I do he’ll feel alone and afraid just like everyone else.