There was no doubt in my mind that Mac cared a lot about me, but Mac also cared a lot about TOXIC, ending the war, and reuniting the Nation. The Coalition’s influence grew every day. My recent missions with Henri and Erik had proven that; we’d been sent to disband way too many rallies in recent months. Despite that, I firmly believed that Mac wouldn’t risk my life. He was confident in my abilities, and that I’d be able to use my mental manipulation to gain access to Crane’s complex. Once inside, he had faith that I could elicit the information he wanted from the necessary minds, and gather all of the data that he needed.

Part of me was terrified about the upcoming mission; I’d be a fool not to be scared. Still, the rest of me was bursting with satisfaction at being selected. A mission of this importance would almost never go to a team with a pledge, let alone be assigned as a solo mission. Sure, I might feel a lot more confident about my chances at success if this were a normal team hunt, but a team would draw too much attention. One lone girl would appear less threatening, and was less likely to cause alarm.

It was obvious that Erik already knew about my solo mission the instant we walked into the practice arena. The look on his face told me exactly how he felt about it; he was even less pleased than Henri. The practice was intense, charged with unspoken anger (Erik), anxiety (Henri), and nerves (me).

I stuck to my now daily routine and headed to the target range after our practice. To my surprise, Henri joined me, quietly correcting minor issues with my technique and stance. Patiently, he coached me through Sim scenarios using our mental communication. He was doing it because he was worried about me. He didn’t honestly think I was ready for such an assignment, but I wasn’t offended. He was probably right. But I had one week to become ready; I had no choice.

The following day, a techie from one of TOXIC’s special Technology Development Division arrived at Headquarters. I left practice early to spend the afternoon familiarizing myself with the equipment. Techno Talents, or techies, had an unquantified gift for technology. They could develop and configure any type of technological device. The techies spent all of their time at TOXIC. Research and Development facilities, developing new technologies and ways to implement them in the field.

The techie’s name was Blaine, and he told me he’d graduated from the McDonough School ten years before. His almost entirely gray head of hair, and the deep creases at the corners of his muddy-brown eyes, made him look much older than his twenty-eight years. He’d been stationed at the main techie outpost outside Philadelphia since graduation. He was married with three children, only one of which exhibited any talent thus far. His eldest son Brine, the Talent, would be starting at the School the following year.

Blaine began by giving me a pair of eyeball lenses, and I carefully put one in each eye. Every time that I blinked, a tiny imager affixed to the surface of the lens would take a picture. Once I took all of the pictures that I wanted, I was to put the lens into a special compartment on a handheld Communicator. The pictures would instantly upload, and I could view them on the small display screen. Admittedly, the lenses were pretty cool.

Next, Blaine handed me a second set of lenses that were loaded with facial recognition software. One lens scanned facial features and if the person were in TOXIC’s database, all of their information appeared on the display surface of the other lens. Blaine had me walk around Headquarters to practice using them. I quickly learned that I was going to need a lot of practice. In order to scan a person’s facial features, I had to get a straight-on view of their face. At first, I only managed to scan every fourth person. The really tricky part came when I did scan somebody’s face and their information popped up on my other lens. Trying to read the information with one eye, while still walking and scanning with the other eye, was next to impossible. I kept walking into things, but Blaine promised me that we’d work with the lenses every day until I departed.

That evening, I poured over the first pieces of intel that the Cryptos had compiled. Penny was part of the team that had intercepted the initial communications about Ian Crane’s visit to Nevada. She offered to help me go through the material. Gratefully, I accepted her assistance. I might be proud, but I wasn’t arrogant. I needed all of the help I could get.

We’d just ordered room service and were sitting with the intel spread across my purple carpet, when we heard a knock at the door. It was way too soon to be our food, so I opened my mind to see who was there. I gave Penny a huge smile; It was Henri and Erik.

“Thought I was supposed to do all the prep work alone?” I called, mentally opening the door for them. Technically, it was a violation for pledges to receive outside assistance when preparing for their solo assignment. Penny’s face reddened; she knew that she could get in a lot of trouble for helping.

“Everybody cheats.” Erik grinned. “Obviously, you’re not above it since you seem to already have help,” he nodded his head in Penny’s direction, and she blushed even deeper.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“This is a suicide mission for a pledge. I’m not letting you go there unprepared,” Henri explained, folding his extremely long legs under him as he plopped down on the floor next to me.

“Thanks,” I smiled at both of them. I might not be able to have them with me in Nevada, but having them here now would still do me some good.

The four of us worked well into the night. I could barely hold my eyes open when Henri finally declared the night’s session over. Technically, since it was my solo mission, I should be the one calling the shots, but I was so overwhelmed that I was happy to submit to his authority.

Erik lingered after Penny and Henri left. He lounged on my bed looking perfectly at ease in its mass of purple and white. When I saw him sitting there, I suddenly wasn’t tired anymore. Erik patted the bed next to him, and my head filled with the sound of my heart ricocheting off my ribcage. I climbed onto my bed and sat next to him. He wrapped one arm around my shoulders, and I leaned my head against his chest. He rubbed his stubbly cheek against my hair while absently tugging on one of my curls.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered after a moment.

“For what?” Of all the sentiments that I’d expected him to express right then, sorrow wasn’t one of them.

“Tals, this mission is really dangerous. A pledge shouldn’t be doing this. You shouldn’t be doing this for your solo mission. I’m sorry this happened to you. That you were chosen.”

“I’m not,” my voice was strained, but I meant what I said. I wasn’t sorry that Mac had picked me. This mission was important, and I was the only one that could do it. I felt a certain delight in that fact. “I’ll be okay, Erik. You’ll see. I can do this.”

“I know you can, Tals, but that doesn’t mean you should.” I opened my mind and could feel his trepidation. Unlike Henri who thought that I wasn’t ready, Erik believed that I was capable, but he was terrified of all the “what if’s”. His level of concern elated me. His arm tightened around me, so I scooted closer to him. I wanted to will him to stay with me like this, holding me all night. I didn’t feel safe with him the way I had with Donavon; I felt something that I liked even more. I felt reckless and out of control around Erik—and it thrilled me. I wanted to be close to him so bad that it hurt. I didn’t trust myself when I was near him, but I did trust Erik. I trusted him with my life, and I wanted to trust him with… well, more.

“I should go,” Erik mumbled into my hair.

“No!” I said, more forcefully than I’d intended. “Will you just stay for a little longer?” My voice sounded whiny, but I didn’t really care.

“Are you sure?” he asked, uncertainly.

I nodded.

Erik kicked off his leather sandals, lying back on my pillows. I curled up into a small ball facing him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Erik asked, reaching over to smooth my hair away from my face. His fingers brushed against my cheek, sending shivers through my whole body.

“The mission? No, not really,” I shook my head. The mission was the last thing that I wanted to talk about right then.

“Are you scared?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Yes,” I answered without thinking. Of course, I was scared.

“Good, fear is good. It’ll keep you on your toes. It’ll keep you alive.” He pulled me to him, and I buried my face in his chest. I inhaled his earthy scent, reveling in the soft fabric of his t-shirt against my cheek. Unlike my own erratic heartbeat, Erik’s was steady and strong. He was probably used to lying in bed with members of the opposite sex. Either that or he really didn’t have romantic feelings for me. The thought made me shiver, goosebumps springing up on my exposed arms. Instinctively, Erik rubbed his hands up and down my skin, instantly transforming my flesh from icy cold to searing hot.

I wanted him to kiss me, even more than I had the other night, but I was content just to have him hold me. The pounding of my pulse and the buzzing in my mind weren’t going to let me sleep, but I closed my eyes anyway. Erik moved his hands from my arms to my back, gently massaging away all the knots of tension. He tickled the back of my neck with his fingertips, and I giggled into his chest. I wasn’t sure if he meant to tease me, but that’s what it felt like. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I looked up at him, my eyes locked to his. I pulled myself up so we were face-to-face. His beautiful eyes were indecisive, so I made the decision for him. Risking rejection and humiliation, I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his. His lips were soft, tasting fresh and clean.

He was surprised at first and didn’t kiss me back. I panicked. Ashamed, I blushed and pulled away. My earlier misgivings returned, and I tried to scramble even further back on the bed. Our eyes met again, and he tightened his arms around me, pulling me to him. He crushed his mouth to mine once again. A small moan escaped me, and he kissed me harder, deeper. I dug my fingers into his biceps and felt his muscles flex. I clung to Erik, convinced that if I let him go, this moment would end. I never wanted it to end.

When we finally broke apart, I couldn’t catch my breath. I could feel my chest rising and falling so fast that it hurt, but in a good way. I could feel Erik’s heart pounding along with my own. He gently placed one of his hands on my chest, just above my heart, which only made my breath more erratic. He rewarded me with a mischievous grin. He kissed me again, so softly that his lips just barely made contact with my own. I melted into him again, my whole body going limp against his.

“I should go now,” he sighed.

“Why?” I demanded, once again scared that he might regret kissing me.

“Because you need your sleep and if I stay too much longer, you won’t get any,” he chuckled. Relaxing, I grinned at him. He wasn’t sorry he’d kissed me. Delight coursed through me at the realization. His eyes were still twinkling with desire.

He brushed his soft lips across both my cheeks and my forehead before climbing over me and out of bed. He pulled my quilt up, tucking it around my body. He leaned down and gave me one last, lingering kiss before whispering, “Night, Tals.”