worthwhile or not. The safety of this team is on me, not you.”
I knew that. Yet I obviously needed to hear it because it helps. A lot.
Bendix and Ho arrive at oh-five-hundred for their shift in the lab. I’m struck by how Ho Liu is the complete opposite of Gordy Bendix. He’s thin and wiry with black hair and olive colored skin like mine. I’m glad the swelling around his nose has gone.
“All’s quiet,” Radcliff says.
The men look at me as if waiting for confirmation.
“The lab is clean,” I say. “No signs of HoLFs.”
“Any chance they’ll get through?” Bendix gestures to the entrance to the pits.
I cover my surprise over the fact he asked me. “They couldn’t get past the floodlights in the lab when we had the doors open. But there’s always a chance they might find a way in.” An idea occurs to me. “Did you feel cold when you were at the door?” I ask Radcliff.
“It did seem cooler, but I thought it was from the pits.”
I’ll have to check with the others to see if they noticed. In the meantime, I say, “If the temperature quickly drops in here, skedaddle and sound the alarm.”
Bendix’s wide shoulders relax a bit. Ho shoots me a grateful smile. Progress.
Radcliff raises an eyebrow. “Skedaddle?”
“Move with the utmost haste, sir,” Bendix supplies.
“I see Officer Dorey has been in the dictionary cluster again. Let’s go before everyone wakes up, Lawrence.”
Radcliff and I head back to security. The hallways are mostly deserted. Radcliff takes point and checks each corridor first. We only have to change routes twice to avoid a couple early risers. We arrive back at our unit at oh-five-thirty. I aim for my bedroom.
“Training at oh-eight-hundred,” he calls, sounding gleeful.
I bite my lip to keep a groan from escaping. It’s all part of the lesson. Plus I can handle one day without a good night’s sleep. Right?
Oh-seven-thirty arrives two seconds after my head settled on the pillow. I swear time is plotting against me. Dragging my body out of bed is a colossal effort, but I manage to change into my workout clothes, eat, and arrive in the training room one minute early. I squint in the bright lights as Elese scans me.
“You look like hell, Lawrence,” she says.
“Good morning to you, too.”
She grunts in amusement. “How deep are your injuries?”
Pushing up the tunic’s sleeves, I examine the rows of healing cuts. The ointment Dr. Edward used accelerates the process, but it still takes time. “Eleven stitches. You?”
She reveals her arms. “Fifteen stitches.”
“So I guess we won’t be sparring today.”
“You got that right. We’ll focus on cardio and strength. Give me forty laps around the room, Recruit.”
We really means me doing all the work while Elese supervises. The morning turns into a blur of endless exercises, but I remember to ask her about the temperature change in the pits before I start target practice.
She rubs her leg. “Nah. My adrenaline was jacked. Too busy dodging invisible weapons to notice.”
I pause. The shadow-blobs scare me and I can see them. Not being able to see the threat must be terrifying. And that reminds me.
“My father wants to know if you are still willing to go on the expedition.”
Elese snorts in derision. “Of course. Who else is gonna protect that pampered ass of yours?”
Thought so.
Despite my fatigue, target practice goes well. Mr. Orange Light winks out more times than ever—my best session so far. It’s either due to being motivated by the attack or because my muscles don’t have the energy to be tense. I’m hoping for the former. There’s no way I’ll be relaxed around shadow-blobs or looters.
When I meet up with Beau after lunch, he’s sporting a similar collection of cuts. His are harder to spot among the spiderweb tattoos around both his elbows.
“Seventeen stitches,” he says, almost proud of the fact.
“You beat me and Elese.”
“But not Niall. He has twenty-five.”
Ouch. Poor guy.
“Don’t look like that,” Beau admonishes. “Doc gave him the day off, the lucky bugger. He gets to lie in bed all day.”
The desire to join him pulses in my chest. Right now heaven would be curling up in bed with Niall. To sleep, people! I doubt I’d have energy to do more. Besides, we’re both injured.
Wait. Concern flares around my heart. “Why did Niall get the day off?”
“It’s nothing to worry about. A couple of his wounds were deep and the Doc was concerned about blood loss. A day in bed should fix him right up. Now, let’s