Page 39 of Failed State

My eyes skitter around the room as the guys try to avoid looking at the human with her hands on her hips. Woefully, she’s on the nose. Elias is the ultimate bad boy, and his reticence only reinforces it. Rory is the popular rich guy everyone would want in a 90s high school movie, and Sebastian might be an untrustworthy motherfucker, but he looks like every emo girl’s dream. Their looks and personalities being cultivated specifically would definitely help us get more… whatever the hell they want from us… to get special shit.

I don’t agree with them about me, but I’m not arguing that shit in public.

“Fine. Let’s say we understand what you’re saying, and we’re willing to figure out how to use that. What else would we need to do?”

“Pick a goddamn name!”

I wince, surprised at her vehemence. If she wasn’t human, I might start liking this chick. “Okay. So it has to be catchy and simple to remember and make designs for. But it also needs to reflect us, right?”

“Yes.”

The thought hits me and I smirk as I look at them all. “Then I’d like to formally introduce the ‘Bite Club’, Krista.”

Her eyes widen and she claps her hands, looking excited as hell. “That’s… oh, it’s going to be perfect. Does everyone agree?”

The guys all look at each other, then shrug. Elias is the first person to speak and once he does, the damage is done.

“I think it suits us perfectly. Not one of us would allow people to come at us without taking a bite of them.”

No shit, Sherlock.

I WOULDN’T TRUST YOU TO FALL OUT OF BED SUCCESSFULLY

RORY

The best thingabout being me is that I’ve learned to cover my distaste and mistrust of the species that subjugated our kind with a brilliantly handsome mask. It’s kept me in a relatively comfortable lifestyle even while I endured indignities to secure it. However, watching Sydney simply face things with such honest emotion makes me wonder who I might have been if I hadn’t developed my outer shell. She’s not stupid—she pushes hard enough to be heard, but not so far that our chirpy coordinator feels it’s necessary to report her.

Our team leader is very politically savvy, even if she pretends not to be.

It also makes me feel a tiny bit… tainted. That’s not her fault, of course. Sydney hasn’t once accused me of what I’m sure she and her lovesick companions know I’ve done. Hell, even the vampire hasn’t made a fuss, but I get the feeling that’s because he, too, has secret shame. It’s wafting from him in thick waves of emotions that hit me like a tsunami when I get anywhere near him. I don’t know what his story is, nor am I going to ask. Life in the sectors has taught me not to worry about others; I can only be responsible for myself.

“I think using black and white with the red and blue is brilliant,” Krista says as she writes on a white board. “It’s patriotic but edgy.”

I arch a brow with the girl in question, smirking like she’s won something. If I were to guess, I’d bet she absolutely did that on purpose and has some sort of devious plan brewing in her head. Since she gave in and provided Krista with the team name, she’s been acting the class suck-up. “Seems like she’s right, Vicious. It fits with the FHSA colors perfectly.”

Huck rubs his fingers over his lips but I can see the wheels turning in his head. He thinks she’s got a scheme, too, but he’s not sure where Sydney is going yet. “I like it, sweet pea. The dark hues compliment my flawless complexion.”

Krista looks excited as hell, clasping her hands together in front of her. “I amsopleased with this cooperative turn-about. Using the re-branded national flag hues, giving me a catchy name, and even being moderately less snarky… oh, we are going to give every team in this building a run for their money!”

As if that’s more important than us staying alive or gaining our freedom.

The dragon and the vampire have been suspiciously quiet as Sydney took the reins for this discussion, only nodding occasionally to confirm their agreement. I don’t know what that’s about, either, because Sebastian definitely enjoys pissing everyone off every chance he gets. I cross my arms over my chest, watching them carefully for signs of what their game is. Elias seems to favor the tough blond, but her enmity with the bloodsucker has overshadowed common sense consistently since we were matched.

“To sum up,” Thad says, looking at the notes for a second before he continues. “We have the name, the brand colors, and Syd is our captain. Krista is going to present logo options by theend of the day to the tablets once her design team works them up. Did I miss anything?’

Our human shuffles some paper, glancing at them quickly. “Nicknames are big in sports, but I think it’s better to wait until the fans give them to you so we can make hashtags to support it. When they take, we can amend your competition gear to reflect them to keep it continuous.”

“Great. Absolutely marvelous. Are we done now?” Sydney asks with a flicker of her previous irritability finally seeping in. “Because if so, I’dloveto go to lunch and not hear the word synergy again for a month.”

Elias chuckles, the sound dark as his grin spreads over sharp teeth. “Eloquently put.”

“No, we have a few more things to nail down and I have homework to give you for tomorrow.”

For the love of Merlin’s scraggy-ass beard…

“Homework for tomorrow?” Sydney scoffs as she flops backward in her chair, almost pouting at the word. “We havetwodays of this crap?!”

A flash of frustration comes over the woman’s face, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. “Yes, Sydney. Marketing and branding is an on-going effort. While you are preparing for the first reveal, we will have quite a few sessions, but as the Games begin it will become a minimum weekly meeting. There will be ad hoc sessions, though, if need be. Your ability to win hearts is as essential as your ability to compete in the field.”

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