Chapter Eighteen

Thirteen’s diary

Six weeks at Sanctuary might’ve been the longest single stretch I’d spent there since graduating to Agent and I was relieved to be sent on a new assignment. Seven wasn’t my first trainee, but she was the one I’d taken the greatest liking to, and I didn’t need that attachment.

Wasn’t good for her, either.

While we didn’t work alone so much when our numbers were greater, Agents had always treaded a careful line between caring enough to keep each other alive and staying detached enough to continue the job without the partnership. Guides were only for the inexperienced.

Your standard Western military encouraged you to have a battle buddy, but war was carried out differently when you had a large army and plenty of pieces to play on the board.

Our work was the subtle, the covert, the secret…and the deniable.

Which suited me fine.

Chapter Nineteen

On April 19th, 2006, I turned eighteen.

Amelia came home with me in late May to see “an American ceremony” and tell my mother about the job offer with their “aid organization”.

I hadn’t picked a major, yet, especially since I wasn’t going to be in the civilian sector anymore—and how wacky is it that I say civilian sector—but doing college work felt like a normal thing. I wanted as much normal as I could fit in my life as an agent.

They were fitting me for my suit when I got back to London.

“Della will get to continue her education by correspondence as she travels, of course,” she said. We sat in my living room.

“She better be allowed to. College is important.”

“The internet allows a lot more flexibility, Mama.”

“You’d know better than I would, honey,” she said, patting my knee. I programmed the VCR for her when I was eight.

My friends and church group thought I’d been part of a foreign exchange program. They were eager to hear about England and welcomed me into the line of graduates like I never left.

Popularity really did happen on a whim, didn’t it?

Worried I was a terrible liar, I kept my answers short and vague and recited anecdotes from a tourist guide of London. It was a relief to get back to Mama and pose for pictures in my royal blue cap and gown.

“You can stay a little while, can’t you, Della?” she asked at our celebration dinner later.

“Maybe. You’ll have to check with Amelia.” I twirled the spaghetti on my plate, wrapping a big wad around my fork, then letting it slide off. “She’s my surpervisor.”

She leaned in, a crease forming between her brows. “Honey, you don’t have to take the first offer presented to you. You know that, right? You’re barely eighteen…there’s plenty of time to find the right school and the right job. And date! Did you meet any nice boys in London?”

“Just friends. There wasn’t a lot of time for socializing with anyone.”

The only guy I had any interest in was completely out of reach.

“And that’s not right…this is your first summer as a young woman. You should have some fun. Sensibly, of course, and with your clothes on.”

“Of course.” I patted her hand. “I’m okay, Mama, really.” Her brow arched. “Really. I’m going to get to see things few people ever do. How could I pass that up?”

Oh, I wanted what she was talking about—the dates and the parties and seein’ movies. I’d give anything to be a normal girl.

But for God knows why, it wasn’t my path.

“I s’pose you’re right.” She caressed my cheek. “Gosh, you’re all grown up, aren’t you? You’ll write?”

I smiled. “All the time.”

“And visit as much as you can?”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, I promise. Guthrie is still home.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

She grasped my hand on the table. “Home is still home.”

****

June

The next time I walked into HQ, I sensed I was leaving Della Garvison behind.

Amelia and The Director were the only people who knew my birth name.

Wasn’t only high school I’d finished, but agency training, too. Double graduation.

There was no turning back, no oops I changed my mind—I’d mastered all the skills Sacra Aedes could teach me and innocent souls were at stake. Even if I didn’t go into the field, I still couldn’t live in Guthrie again, so time to commit forward.

Amelia led me into a room with a central platform surrounded by cameras linked to a computer. I think they were cameras. “Strip down to your undergarments, please?”

“Beg pardon?”

“The suit is custom fit, so the computer needs exact measurements, Seven.”

“Ah. Yay.” At least it was only the two of us. I got on the platform in my sports bra and boy-short undies. Amelia fiddled with the computer, then beams of green light started wandering over my body. “Um, are those lasers?”

“They’re harmless beams of light. Hold your arms out to the sides, please.”

The lasers kept wandering over my body.

Minutes passed in silence.

“Are you done, yet? It’s cold in here.”

“Only another minute,” she said primly. “Turn your back to me and widen your stance, please. And stop fidgeting.”

Stop fidgeting.

Bet she wouldn’t be perfectly still standing like this, either.

“Done. You can dress now.”

Thank God. “Now what?”

“Now the specs go to the seamstresses.” She typed on the keyboard.

“How long does the suit take to make?” I pulled my pants up.

“You will get it when it’s ready.”

I held my hands up. “Okay…”

I could take a hint.

“Go in the next room to get fitted for your boots, please.”

“Amelia, are you mad at me?”

She sighed and looked up from the monitor. “No, of course not.”

“It’s just…you’ve been a bit brusque since we got back.”

She removed her glasses and finally met my eyes. “You’re not the only one that’s been evaluated, Seven. After they learned about your lack of knowing how to swim, the council ruled I’d been too lax with you.”

“Oh.”

I’d never thought about the possibility of me putting her in a difficult position.

She returned her spectacles to their home. “It’s nothing personal. I’m merely trying to maintain a more professional distance in our relationship.”

“So you’re the boss.”

“Well…yes.”

“Then I’ll go next door, ma’am.”

Her eyes widened. Guess I surprised her. I left to get my custom boots made.

They put my feet in some gunk and made a form out of it.

I expected the work to take at least weeks, but my new gear was ready in a matter of days. When it came to outfitting an agent, The Agency worked with supreme efficiency.

The most surprising part, though, was how many parts and layers were involved.

The outfit started with a cat suit that zipped down the front. Silver threads glinted in the light, and when I held my arm up I discovered words in Latin and Hebrew. They covered the entire surface of the black material.

Pieces of light armor went over the suit—a corset-like torso piece, bracers, and shin guards that fit over my boots. The boots were a classic black combat style, but surprisingly lightweight, and felt like a sneaker inside. I could walk in them without making a sound and they were super comfortable.

The hood-and-mask went on next to only reveal my eyes, and the final part of my wardrobe was the coat. It was my favorite piece mainly because it looked so darn cool. The coat was cut close to the torso, but not constricting movement, the hem falling at mid-calf. It was leather, with more of the silver threads woven in, and heavy from concealed Kevlar panels. The inner lining had at least a dozen pockets for hiding weapons.

So surreal. I stepped in front of the full-length mirror in my suite and didn’t know who I was looking at. Eighteen and decked out like a modern-day ninja.

“You forgot these.” Amelia walked in carrying a pair of black leather gloves.

“Thanks.” It felt weird to talk, the mask buffing my lips.

The gloves covered all but my fingertips, with light padding over the knuckles for punching protection. I secured them on my wrists and stood for inspection.

“Black out your eyes for night work and you’ll be perfect,” she said. “Come. It’s time to graduate.”

The ceremony wasn’t like finishing academics. A minister blessed each of us, then the Director—Alastair Wimbley—handed us a heavy-duty case and our IDs and passport. He was givin’ us a lot of power, as that passport granted us no-questions-asked access to almost every country in the world and the ID promised no interference from government employees like law enforcement and medical examiners. I didn’t want to know how The Agency had gained such power and would never ask…some things were better left to plausible deniability, and really, we were doing this for a good cause.

Monsters didn’t respect human boundaries.

Only three of the ten recruits on the island were granted Agent status today, and I was the only girl. Five and Eleven were leaving with male guides I hadn’t met.

We congratulated each other and went our separate ways.

Amelia caught me in the hall dressed in traveling clothes. “Ready for our first mission?”

“Long as I can find a burger, I’ll take on a hundred vamps.”

She shook her head. “Some things are more important than your stomach, Seven.”

We headed for my room.

“Yeah, like sunshine.”

I was never so glad to walk out to a hot summer day.

Mama thought I was going to college in August. It was partly the truth. When I could, I’d be taking correspondence courses, tackling general ed requirements.

In July, my third mission sent me to Los Angeles.

Of course, I thought it was a mistake when I read the assignment.

The Agency officially stayed out of L.A.

Unofficially, we spied, but only from a discreet distance and only with remote equipment. Sure, an Agent would check it out in person on occasion, but we needed to re-grow our numbers before provoking Juliet with contact.

Amelia was just as mystified. And didn’t want me to go.

She was going to call the Director, but I stopped her. “Thirteen probably requested me. He wanted me on his team months ago for this. I don’t think the situation is that dangerous if they’re willin’ to send a rookie.”

Her frown intensified. “I don’t like it, Seven.”

“Wanna stay here?”

“Of course not. My duty is to be at your side. But—”

“Amelia, thousands of people fly in and out of L.A. every day without a scratch. I think I can handle a little surveillance mission.”

Thirteen had certainly drilled me through the equipment.

She sighed. “Well, if I can’t talk you out of it…”

See, once I became an Agent, she was no longer my boss outside of HQ, something she struggled to adjust to. We were partners now but I didn’t think my stubborn streak would ever stop rubbin’ her the wrong way. I liked calling the shots when I was out on the streets. We kept in touch by way of a tiny wireless thing in my ear, but carrying out the missions was my job.

So, we flew to L.A.