Alex emerged into a portal room that was nearly empty. Most of the Surveyors had already cleared out; Ed was already delivering his report to Wells, and the rest were staggering out to the ready room. There were already some other Surveyors there waiting for them; she could see Alessa and Raul peeking in at her anxiously. Others were welcoming Bob and Mary back, talking to them in low voices.
Ignoring the statue of her mother, Alex dragged herself over to wait behind Ed. She was too tired to listen in on the conversation, but Wells seemed increasingly frustrated by what Ed was saying. When he eventually dismissed the other D rank, the chief gestured her forward with an impatient motion. “Vanguard Morrison. Your Survey has been rather unusual.”
She smiled despite herself. “You could say that, Chief.” His jaw tightened slightly, and she sighed. “I apologize I was late coming back through the portal, but there were Surveyors who needed help. I wasn’t going to abandon them.”
The blunt words echoed through the room, and the Surveyors who had been muttering in the hall abruptly fell silent. Wells didn’t quite glance in that direction, and offered her a tight, frustrated smile. “Sometimes difficult choices must be made, Vanguard. You know that’s true. Even the Crimson Blade couldn’t save everyone.”
Alex felt a twitch of anger burn to life at the mention of her mother. If she had her way, Wells would never talk about her ever again. “I know, Chief Wells—but I am not her.”
“Clearly.” The contempt and anger in Wells’ voice didn’t have the effect he probably intended. It took a good part of her self-control to not roll her eyes. “Go rest and prepare yourself for the last Survey, Vanguard. Your job isn’t done yet.”
She nodded and then headed out into the hallway. The Surveyors looked at her as she passed, but she didn’t say anything else, aside from giving Alessa and Raul a brief smile. Then she went to the bathroom. After all, she had a text to send.
[D Rank Surveyor Alex, Gatekeeper]
[Ascension Level: 5]
[Role: Porter (Role Skills: Recovery(20)]
[Role Level: 0]
[Experience: 740/2100]
[Attributes: Strength -> 5, Speed -> 10, Life -> 0, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]
[Current Skills: Focus(23), Deflect(0), Melee–Axe(0)]
[Permanent Skills: Battle Maneuvers(28)]
[Current Titles: Heir of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by three.),
Barbarity (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, and Combined Arms Skills by four.),
Destined Champion (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, Battle Maneuvers, and Inspect by four),
Relentless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery, Running, and Marathoning by three.)
Tireless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery Skills by three.)
Natural Defender (Increases Skill grade of Deflect, Dodging, Blocking, Resist, and Zeal by one.)]
Alex studied the information with a dull kind of interest. It was amusing to her that her basic Melee Skill was probably going to be twice as strong as Battle Maneuvers would have been without Titles. Maybe taking it hadn’t been such a sacrifice after all.
[Please select your intent]
[Exploration]
[Vengeance]
[Patrol]
[War]
[Salvage]
She spent longer looking at the options than she should have. There was really only one choice if she wanted to match her team, but it still rankled to have to choose it.
[Your intent is to Patrol]
[Quest Issued! Clear at least eight Grue patrols.]
[Hidden Quest Issued!]
[Hidden Quest Issued!]
Alex took a deep breath. Just one more Survey, and the madness would be over. All she had to do was last that long.
The light took her…
Alex stepped out into the other world and felt Liliana’s eyes on her almost immediately.
She looked up and saw the Shade. Liliana was staring out at her from the street, a look of hatred on her face. Then she vanished.
Turning back to her team, Alex shook her head. “It’s going to be ugly out there.”
They stared back at her. Raul and Alessa both had dark circles under their eyes, though at least Alessa had healed a lot since they had last been in a fight. Clara seemed fresher, but her eyes were worried; she’d been staring out the window at the spot where Liliana had been.
The newest two members of their team, Brian and Tim, simply exchanged a look and shrugged. Wells had almost been gloating as he reorganized the remaining E ranks. Joanna and Audrey had gone with Sam on Ed’s team; the other Red Blade E ranker had been shifted to yet another team, looking a bit dejected at being shuffled around. Brian and Tim had been sent with her, ‘to help her stay on schedule’ if he could be believed.
She suspected it had more to do with how quickly the members of her team were progressing; he seemed to want to slow down successful teams by whatever means were necessary. Whatever the reason, it suddenly meant that she was leading a larger team than she’d ever had to manage before. At least with how tired they all were, they’d be able to help each other, but it still meant that everyone completing the Hidden Quests was going to be nearly impossible.
Standing around in the portal building wasn’t going to make it any better, though. She sighed to herself and led her team out into the city on aching legs. One more Survey, and the crunch would be over.
The next hour was a gauntlet of battles. Grue patrols threw themselves at her team one after another, swarming in with desperate howls and unwavering attacks. Alex caught sight of Liliana each time, staff extended, sending her minions into battle. Each time, her expression seemed almost gleeful, mocking the fatigue that burned in Alex’s lungs and limbs. It didn’t seem to matter to the Shade how many of her nightmarish allies she sent to destruction, as long as Alex was being worn down.
Fortunately, she had enough Surveyors with her to be able to slow down the onslaught. She assigned each of them a Knight to kill with each battle, and for the first five fights, focused on taking down the Brutes. One of each of the others was assigned to take down the Archers, hopefully completing at least one of their Hidden Quests.
Once they’d finished, she shifted focus and started crippling the Brutes before leaving them for her teammates to finish. They killed the thing while she raced past them to finish the Archers, occasionally picking up one of the Knights on her way. One after another, they took down the gigantic creatures and cut their way through waves of enemies. Every time another patrol fell, she saw Liliana smiling at her, and stubborn determination flared up in her. Wells wasn’t going to beat her, and neither was the Shade. One way or the other, she was going to finish things and return home.
By the time she pulled back from the burning remains of the eighth patrol, Alex was wavering on her feet. Exhausted, they started back towards the portal, but four more patrols were waiting for them. Brian and Tim took down their own Brutes, and then they began to leave them for her to take down while they picked off the Archers.
Finally, as they staggered back into the portal building, barely three hours after they left, Alex started to laugh. There was darkness in the corners of her vision, but it didn’t matter. Her team had made it home. They had all made it home.
As she stepped through the portal, she felt her fatigue lighten slightly as the magic carried her back…
[Mission Report]
[Successful Return! +20 Experience]
[Main Quest Completed! +100 Experience]
[Secondary Culling Quest Completed! +80 Experience]
[Secondary Culling Quest Completed! +80 Experience]
[All Quests Completed! Glorious Victory! +80 Experience]
She’d barely even noticed when she’d finished the Quests. How many patrols had they killed again?
[Battle Maneuvers increased from 28 to 30!]
[Recovery increased from 20 to 25!]
[Focus increased from 23 to 25!]
[Deflect increased from 0 to 23!]
[Melee–Axe increased from 0 to 25!]
A flicker of humor raced across her mind. Almost all of her Skills were at maximum now. Not bad for someone that was almost at the edge of collapse.
[Battle Maneuvers has reached level 30! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Battle Maneuvers to gain a Title?]
Part of her rebelled against the idea. She’d worked so hard to gain that maximum level. At the same time, she would finally have the chance to train outside of combat. Resetting her primary combat Skill wouldn’t risk the lives of everyone on her team, and she had her Melee Skill to make up for it.
So, gritting her teeth, she agreed.
[Title Heir of War upgraded to Title Queen of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by four.)]
Queen of War sounded promising enough, and it would make her Melee Skill that much better as well. Not a terrible result.
[Focus has reached level 25! Skill is at Max Level and can no longer increase.]
[Reset Focus to gain a Title?]
She refused immediately, along with the options for Recovery and Melee. After all, she had much bigger plans for at least two of those Skills.
[Skill Chain available. Do you wish to combine Focus and Recovery?]
[Warning: Chained Skills lose all previous levels]
Bracing against the weariness that would threaten to overwhelm her, she accepted.
The power that flowed through her warred with the flood of fatigue.
[Skill Chain unlocked! Skills Focus and Recovery removed. Skill Meditation gained! Skill Chain bonus gained! Title Inner Thought gained (Increases Skill grade of Meditation, Focus, Recovery, Arcane, and Sense by one.)]
[Skill Choice available. Please select an additional Skill.]
Alex grinned. The Chain had more or less given her what she wanted. Now she just needed to stay alive long enough to take advantage of it.
Of course, her next Skill would help with that. She chose Melee–Shield—once again relying on an old friend—and closed her eyes as the light flowed around her…
This time, she did collapse when she left the portal. Her legs simply refused to work anymore the minute she stepped out onto the concrete. One minute she was striding confidently out of a vortex of magic and chaos, and the next she was on her hands and knees on the ground.
Her vision blurred for a moment, and she briefly wondered if she was going to pass all the way out. Obviously, she had underestimated exactly how much her Recovery Skill had been helping her through that last Survey.
Hands reached down and helped her up, and Alex looked over gratefully at Ed. Her fellow D rank looked a little worse for wear, but it didn’t keep his eyes from being concerned. “Hey, you all right?”
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Alex nodded, not entirely trusting her voice. She forced herself to stand on her own. Her legs only trembled a little as she walked over to where Wells was waiting.
He studied her with a distinctly dissatisfied air. “Vanguard Morrison.”
She looked back at him. “Chief Wells.”
“I’m pleased to see that you managed to come back on time.” Wells smiled, a very small twist of his lips. His eyes glittered with continued hostility. “It seems like you could use some time to rest.”
Alex gave him an incredulous look. “Yes, Chief. That would be appreciated.”
“Then go to the barracks and sleep. We have training again starting tomorrow.” Wells turned away before looking back. “You’ll be joining us in the D rank training sessions, of course. Be ready to be challenged.”
She studied him with narrow eyes, and nodded. He swept out of the room, and she grimaced once he was out of sight.
Then she headed for the bathroom. She had a text to send, and then a brief phone call. Hopefully after that, she could finally rest.
Alex cracked one reluctant eye open and peered out at the morning with it.
It didn’t seem like a bad morning, but previous experience had taught Alex to be a bit less than optimistic. She watched the still forms of her other barracks-mates for a moment longer, and then slowly levered herself up.
Every movement brought a sharp jab of pain as her body took revenge for the agony she had inflicted on it the past three days. That cost, combined with the lack of any Recovery Skill, left her wincing with every motion.
Of course, that was where her brand-new Meditation Skill was supposed to come in.
Still wincing with every breath and movement, Alex quietly arranged herself on the bed, folding her legs beneath her. Closing her eyes the way her mother had always instructed her, she began to run through a breathing exercise. Breathe in the calm, breathe out the pain. It was a simple thing, something that her mom had always helped her to do when she was upset or in pain.
Now, though, she could feel the pull of magic as she worked. Each breath didn’t just calm her mind; it also soothed the aches and pains she was feeling. It started out small, and then the feeling increased as she continued.
What felt like a short time later, she opened her eyes to find Audrey examining her from far too close a range. She yelped and fell on her back, while Clara laughed. The Squire snorted. “I thought you’d somehow fallen asleep sitting up. Are you really that tired?”
“No. Just practicing.” A notification popped up, the glowing orange text hovering just out of sight.
[Meditation advances to 2!]
She checked the time and found that she’d been working on it for about half an hour. Not bad, but not exactly impressive. At the very least she’d be able to recover a lot more efficiently, now that she could activate it instead of waiting for the Skill to decide to do something on its own.
Joanna was studying her with a sharp eye. “You’re sure you’re all right? You pushed yourself hard yesterday. Too hard, from what Clara was telling me.”
Alex shot Clara a look, but the Acolyte just folded her arms and met her stare for stare. She sighed. “It couldn’t be helped. Liliana was out in force, and it seemed like we were getting attacked every ten minutes.”
Clara nodded. “It shouldn’t be that bad all the time, right? When we aren’t doing crunch?”
“No. I think Liliana will have a harder time finding us outside of that.” Alex thought over the possibilities and sighed. “Then again, I don’t want to think about what she’s doing when she’s not harassing us. Hopefully, being dead will keep her from causing too much trouble.”
Still laying down, with a pillow over her face, Alessa snorted. “Yeah, like that would ever stop her.” The Porter tossed the pillow off of her face and slowly sat up, wincing. “Anyway, I hear you are on D rank training today. What does that mean?”
“From what I remember, no exercise yard anymore. They have their own indoor gym that they use.” She shrugged. “Supposedly to keep spies out, but that sounds paranoid even for this place.”
Joanna nodded, her expression serious. “Well, just stay strong, whatever happens. We’ll be joining you soon enough as soon as the next couple of Surveys are done.”
Alessa laughed. “Speak for yourself. The Alex Morrison training regime has me nearly there already. Unless something terrible happens, I’ll hit D rank for the next Survey.” Then her expression soured. “Whenever that will be.”
Alex shook her head. “Don’t worry too much about it. We’ve already lost over half the Surveyors that came in with us. I think that means Wells won’t be able to keep most of us off the Survey teams.” A small part of herself whispered she was underestimating the man, but she pushed forward anyway. “Plus, once you are at D rank, you should get a lot more freedom.”
“Unless we’re all at D rank.” Joanna rolled her eyes as Alex gave her a flat look. “What? We’re all probably thinking it. He has to have had this situation before, right?”
She was probably right. Still, if enough of her friends reached D rank, it had to be worth something. Alex grimaced. “In any case, I’m going to grab some food before they call me own to the gym. I’ll see you guys later.”
They all nodded to her, and she levered herself up and off her bed. She was careful, but to her gratitude, some of the worst aches and pains had already faded. She could only hope that more of them would vanish as the day went on.
After all, it wasn’t as if she was going to be relaxing.
“Welcome, everyone, to the D rank Training Program.” Chief Wells was striding back and forth in front of the line of fourteen D rank Surveyors, his eyes sharp. He paused for a moment when he passed Alex, but she kept her expression neutral. After all, she didn’t want him to have any suspicions about what she was doing.
The D rank gymnasium was a marvel of architecture and design. Unlike the shoddy old gym at Golden Swallow, some real effort had been placed into making the D rank gym useful. There was an obstacle course that resembled an actual building from the other world along with at least a dozen different sparring circles, some of which had false rubble strewn across them to break up the terrain. Various weights, machines, and practice dummies were scattered around as well, all of which seemed to be made of relatively durable material.
It looked like the kind of place that any Surveyor would love to have available. Unfortunately, there was a Chief Wells inside of it, ruining the whole thing.
“You Surveyors have survived some of the toughest challenges known to anyone who has gone through the portal. Your dedication, training, and trust have carried you farther than most E rankers can ever aspire to. A D rank from Red Blade Securities is an asset to any team that chooses to hire them, and I promise you, that no matter what happens, you will leave here with the kind of skills that all Surveyors truly require.”
Chief Wells stopped in front of Alex, though he still swiveled his head as if he was addressing all of them. “None of you have reached this point without weaknesses. Without compromise. Without flaws.” He started back down the line again. “By the time I’m finished with you, you’re going to be well aware of those flaws—and I will have dug as many of them out of you as I possibly can.”
Then he stopped and turned to face all of them. “So. We will start now with sparring. You’ll eat lunch, then run the obstacle course. I recommend you eat light.” He smiled with a kind of hateful malice. “After that, you can participate in your own training programs or choose to relax. Either way, by sixteen hundred hours, you’ll all come back for another round of sparring, this time with personal instruction from yours truly. Another break for dinner, some tactical training for the newest of you, and then bed. Tomorrow, we’ll do it again. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Chief!” Alex reluctantly joined the group chant. Wells raised an eyebrow at her, and then continued.
“To clarify the stakes for all of you—those who do well in our training will be given the opportunity to join the all D rank teams that go on specialized Surveys. Those who do not will be restricted to working with the E rank teams that have yet to match your commitment to the cause. Are we clear?”
“Yes, Chief!”
“Good. Now get started. I’ll be watching.”
Somewhat predictably, the most senior D ranks in the room almost immediately tried to face off against Alex. Either they’d heard something from the E ranks, or Wells had put a fly in their ear. Maybe some of them had heard that she almost collapsed the day before and suspected that she’d reset her Skills. Either way, they were practically climbing over each other to spar with her.
After about four hours of sparring, Alex wasn’t sure whether she had given them a good showing. Deflect and Melee–Axe meant she moved fairly well, and anyone looking for an easy victory quickly found that she wasn’t the easiest target. Any Surveyor looking for a terrifying combat master was also probably disappointed, however. She was still sore and bruised from her Surveys during the crunch—and her only reward for four hours of sparring was a mere five levels in Battle Maneuvers. Melee–Shield, by comparison, gained eight levels.
Lunch gave her the chance to recover a little bit of strength. The obstacle course strained her in other ways, forcing her to use muscles that were already crying out for a rest. If the D rankers had been given a mixed impression by her sparring, then they were utterly unimpressed by her performance on the course.
Then, as most of the other Surveyors settled into various types of exercise or additional sparring, Alex found a small space in part of the room that wasn’t being used and began to meditate.
It was harder to find the calm she needed, as the others were crashing and shouting throughout the gym. That difficulty was part of the goal, though. Her mother had been able to meditate during her Surveys, recovering her strength even as she ran through the streets of the other world. Alex bore down and focused, trying to maintain that flow of magic through her, easing the aches and pains of her muscles. After a while, she found that peace. Her breathing steadied, and the strength she needed began to fill her.
When she opened her eyes, nearly two hours later, orange text was hovering in front of her eyes.
[Meditation advances to 7!]
Alex grinned, and then stretched. She had a little bit of time between then and the next sparring session, and meditating had left her just a little stiff. Fortunately, many of the aches and pains had already started to vanish.
Her good humor faded a little as Ed paused nearby. He spoke in a low voice. “Wells poked his head in. He didn’t look happy with what you were doing.”
Alex grimaced. She didn’t know if he intended on continuing his program of limiting access to Surveys, but if he was, then she was already going to be at a disadvantage. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Ed grinned. “After all, I owe the Valkyrie for saving me, don’t I?”
She groaned a little. “Don’t tell me that Bob’s nickname stuck.”
“Oh, yeah.” Ed laughed a little when he saw the expression on her face. “Hey, at least you didn’t get stuck with something like Mr. Serious.”
“True.” Alex bent at the waist, trying to convince her legs to freshen up a bit more. They’d been the most abused throughout the crunch, and she was still feeling an ache throughout the muscles. Just another few hours, and she’d be off for the day.
“Welcome to my personal instruction, troops.” Wells had a practice sword in his hand, and his smile was predatory. “Here we are going to see how much your personal training has paid off each day. I hope you are ready—because I certainly am.”
“I’ll be sparring with one of you at a time, while the rest of you engage each other. My personal assessment of your skills will help determine your assignments for the next Surveys.”
Alex was entirely unsurprised when Wells immediately turned to her. “Alexandretta. If you’re finished napping?”
She nodded simply, and the Surveyors began to spread out around the gym. Alex took up her position opposite Wells and fell into a crouch.
It wasn’t that she expected to win. Even with the improvements she’d made, Wells was still a C rank, and the gulf between D and C was a wide one. He’d likely have been capable of beating her easily with all of her Skills at maximum, and she was still quite a few levels short of that.
At the same time, it was impossible for her to look across the gym at his smirk and not want to land at least one hit. So even knowing she was doomed, Alex let her eyes narrow as she studied her opponent.
Then she charged for all she was worth.
“Well, I’ll give you credit. He hit you a lot harder than he hit anyone else.”
Ed’s comment, even offered in the lighthearted tone it was, made Alex want to demonstrate exactly how hard Wells had struck her. She’d gone flying across the room and nearly rolled into another sparring session. Part of it had definitely been the chief taking his frustrations out on her, but she was just as sure it had been a reflex when she’d very nearly caught him with a backhand strike. It explained why the instructor had looked a little more frustrated than triumphant as he called for the next D rank to ‘teach’.
It had given Alex her own simmering desire for revenge as well, and the results of the next few spars had showed. Her Skills were starting to get high enough that the other D rankers were having more trouble dealing with her, and she’d won the majority of the spars. At least one person had given her trouble, however, and he was here smirking at her. “You’ve certainly gotten a lot tougher to hit. Or have you just been looking forward to sparring with me again?”
Ed rolled his eyes. “Let’s just say that Sam told me a few stories about you. It’s made you the person to beat now, at least for me.” He nudged her slightly. “Hope you don’t mind being a target.”
Alex grinned back. “Set your hopes as high as you want, Mr. Serious. Maybe it won’t be so disappointing when you fall just a little short.”
He raised his eyebrows and smirked, but Alex ignored him and turned back to the food line. The E rank Surveyors had already passed through the cafeteria, so she wouldn’t have the chance to eat with them. It was a little annoying, but at least she’d be able to reconnect with them back at the barracks.
More urgent was the fact that Zach had sent her a text. He’d run across something after the crunch, a discrepancy that he’d found in some of the public records. It was something too risky to say over the phone, though, so he wanted to meet.
She’d set up a time for the next ‘celebration’. Hopefully Wells would be distracted enough that Zach could hand her the keys to the man’s downfall.
When she took a seat, however, she was surprised to see Ed slide into place next to her. Usually he’d sat with other Red Blade Surveyors; at lunch he’d been in a cluster of them. He raised an eyebrow at her and ripped off a piece of a roll to chew. “So. Life at Golden Swallow was a little rough, wasn’t it?”
Alex studied him warily. How much had Sam been blabbing about? The Adept was usually a bit more careful than that. “We got through it.”
“Survival first, right?” Ed was watching her carefully, and Alex felt herself grow a little still. “Sam overheard you saying that a couple of times. Sounds a bit like something the Crimson Blade used to say.”
Alex took a careful bite of chicken. She didn’t really know what she would need to do if he’d caught on to exactly where she’d picked up on that phrase. “Why is that interesting?”
He eyed her with a grin. “I think it suggests that someone is a bit more of a fan of the Crimson Blade than she’s been letting on.”
She felt some of her tension leak away. He hadn’t guessed the truth. “I… might have picked up a few things here and there.”
“Really.” Ed’s smirk grew a bit wider. “Does that include picking up on her methods and ideals? Cause it sounds like you know an awful lot about her than just some random person. I mean, it isn’t like you have a poster of her up at home, right?”
Alex felt herself starting to get red. The fact that she did have a poster didn’t help. “Shut up.”
“Oh, I know that look! I knew it! You were some kind of Crimson Blade fangirl, huh? And now you’re overcompensating by trying to have nothing to do with her?” Ed leaned forward a bit, fiendish delight on his face. “Come on, you can admit it to me, Valkyrie. You bought the action figure, right?”
She had. Her mom had given it to her as a joke, but she’d held onto it, even when they moved. “I admit nothing.”
“And confess to everything.” He leaned back, smug. “Well, don’t you worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
Alex rolled her eyes and tried to ignore his jibes for the rest of dinner. At least her real secret was safe, but that didn’t make it any less embarrassing.
The tactical seminar, as Wells called it, ended up being a rehash of things she’d already learned from her mother years ago. Alex spent most of the time meditating, trying to practice doing it with her eyes open. She managed to ease most of her fatigue from the day that way, and by the time she got back to the barracks, she felt like she was almost brimming with energy. A lot of the aches and pains were still there, but they weren’t nearly as agonizing. In comparison to most of the rest of the D rankers, she was practically skipping along the hallways.
At that point, her phone chirped, and she looked down to find that Zach was calling her. She answered, her brow furrowed out of concern. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Hey. You still all right?” The concern in his voice made her feel a burst of warmth. She smiled.
“Yeah. Just still recovering from crunch. I’m mostly fine, though.”
Some of the tension left Zach’s voice. “I have something for you. Is there any way you can see me tonight?”
Alex slowed slightly. She looked around, making sure that there weren’t any eavesdroppers around. “That might be hard, Zach. They don’t really like us to leave.” It hadn’t seemed malicious until she said it, but Alex felt suddenly ill at ease. Aside from the celebrations, when was the last time the company had given her actual leave to go home or visit someone on the outside?
“Can you see me anyways? I have something for you about Wells, but I don’t want to risk leaving a record. Better to do it face to face.” He paused. “Besides, I miss you, and I have a good excuse. Why not take advantage?”
She laughed, though she put a hand over her mouth to try to keep it quiet. “Is that so?” Her smile faded as she thought it over. “I can try, but I don’t know if I have a really good way out. I’ll text you if I manage it.”
“Great. Meet me here if you get the chance. I’ll be there the next couple of nights, in case it doesn’t happen tonight.” Her phone dinged as he sent her the address. “And Alex? Take care of yourself, okay? I know you made D rank, but there’s still a lot of danger out there.”
Alex knew he wasn’t just talking about the Grue. “I will, Zach. See you tonight.” She hung up the phone call and changed direction. She’d never really contemplated how to get out of the compound undetected, but she knew exactly who had.