the base. All the guys have to do is watch the camera feeds. I found them both asleep. It was the middle of the day. And none of them want to guard the entrance to the pits.”
“You can’t blame them. That’s ground zero if the shadow-blobs escape. Plus in the pits they were…er…”
“Useless when we were attacked?”
“I wouldn’t say that. They did help carry Beau. It saved his life.”
“I guess,” he grudgingly admits.
“Then let’s hope the astrophysicists can develop a weapon to counter the blobs and everyone can go back to normal.” Except me. I’ll have to find a new normal.
Niall yawns.
“You better go. You have to be up at oh-so-early.”
He groans, but stands. I walk with him to the door.
Facing me, he says, “And you have an early day as well.”
That’s right. I do. “I’m actually looking forward to it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” The truth. “New faces. Something to think about other than keeping up my guard. A change.”
His gaze grows distant. “I never thought about it that way.”
“About what?”
“You had more freedom when you were on probation.”
True. I shrug. “I’m not going to complain. I like having a heartbeat.”
A slow smile softens the angles of Niall’s face. “And I enjoy affecting the pace of that heartbeat.”
“Oh?”
He draws me in for a kiss. A deep passionate kiss that sends bolts of heat all the way to my feet. Pushing me against the wall, he rakes his fingers through my hair as his other hand strokes the side of my breast through the T-shirt. All sensations increase by an order of magnitude.
Way too soon Niall slows then stops. Good thing he’s supporting me or I’d topple over.
He presses his fingertips to my neck for ten seconds. “Pulse rate one-twenty.” Then he whispers in my ear, “I’ll do better next time.”
Oh my stars.
“Good night, Mouse.”
“Night.” My voice is rough, which earns me a smug grin. I lean on the wall for a long while after he leaves.
I enter Radcliff’s office at oh-seven-hundred. Two familiar women wearing science chic—lab coats over nerdy jumpsuits—sit in front of his desk. But Officer Morgan and not Radcliff is behind it. Morgan’s the same age as my mother, about my height and has super short blond hair. I noticed that all four female security officers have short hair, although none as…buzzed as Morgan’s. Good for them. I remember Niall’s fingers entwined in my hair and there’s no way I’m cutting mine no matter how unruly it gets during training.
Instead of wearing my training uniform, I dressed in the everyday security uniform—a light gray long-sleeved polo shirt with black tactical pants and black boots. I’ve a belt and holster. Except for a flashlight, I don’t have a weapon. Not yet. However, I have Lawrence embroidered over my left breast right under the word security. ’Cause the uniform might not be obvious enough. Sheesh.
Morgan introduces me to the lady with her hair pulled into a messy bun. “This is Dr. Roberta Carson.”
She extends her hand. “Call me Bertie.” There’s a spark of amusement in her brown eyes.
I shake it as if I’ve just met her.
“And this is Dr. Zhang Yenay.” Morgan nods to the woman whose shoulder length black hair is thick and glossy. I’m so gonna ask her what shampoo she uses.
“Yenay,” she says, pumping my hand once before letting go.
“And this is Junior Officer Ara Lawrence,” Morgan says.
“Uh…call me Ara,” I say. This is weird. I’ve nodded hello to both these women dozens of times in the hallways of the base. They’re in their early thirties—I think.
“All right, let’s get started,” Bertie says. She sits at the visitor terminal—my name for it since Radcliff has another terminal at his desk, which Morgan accesses. Yenay stands behind Bertie.
The terminal is a plain plate made of a rare metal and built into a desk. Rather underwhelming considering it’s the gateway to the Quantum net or Q-net for short.
I press my hands to my sides. The desire to insert my entanglers pulses through me. It’s been twenty days since I accessed the vast scientific wonder that is the Q-net. Invented back in 2066, it changed our world. New technology developed, including the Bucherer-Plank Crinkler engine that allows us to travel across immense distances in space in seconds, giving all the countries on Earth a reason to unite and they formed the Department of Explored Space (DES) which uses the Q-net for…everything.
Bertie brings up a file on the screen above the desk. It’s labeled HoLFs and there’s not much data. “Please describe the