Page 80 of Silver Elite

“Every single op is recorded, logged, and evaluated. Every word you say is transmitted to the communications center. And at the end of every mission, you’ll turn your comm in to Hirai. Same goes for any weapons. All guns are tagged and scanned back into the system once you return to base.”

“We’re leaving the base?” Bryce asks as a twinge of hope tugs at my belly.

“For some ops, yes. Not tonight.” Ford glances at Hirai.

“Let’s get you acquainted with your earpieces,” the tech enthusiast says happily.

—

We’re dismissed for the day but report to our cell leader again after dinner. Tyler Struck loads a 3-D map into the holoscreen and says we have five minutes to study it.

The projector shows a maze of steel and shadows. How the hell are we supposed to memorize this layout in five minutes?

Lyddie shares that sentiment. “I won’t remember all these hallways, Wren,” she hisses, sounding devastated.

“Don’t worry. It’s our first mock op. I’m sure they’ll expect some mistakes from us.” Or in my case, failure.

Since I plan to fail.

At this point, I don’t think there’s much I can do to convince Cross to cut me, but it still feels wrong to excel.

Our objectives are uploaded to our sources. Seems simple enough. We’re to infiltrate a site without alerting the perimeter and interior guards, locate our target, and eliminate them. It’s a timed mission, run in pairs, with two teams on the course at the same time.

I’m paired with Kess.

Kess, of all people.

I don’t know what sadist decided it would be a good idea to put me with the victim of my right hook, but Struck explains that the pairings were picked at random, which sounds a bit too convenient.

Kess glares at me when I go stand beside her. There’s still slight bruising around her nose, and I glean a perverse sense of satisfaction from it.

Kaine is on my other side. His partner is Roe, and they’ll be on the course with us.

“I’m going to crush you,” Kaine tells me, winking.

Meanwhile, my partner threatens me with a deadly look. “If you screw this up for me, I’m going to knock your teeth out,” she mutters.

“How’s your nose? Did Medical take good care of you when you were there?”

Her eyes blaze.

“The bruises are healing nicely,” I add with a helpful smile. Kaine snickers.

Although every muscle in her body looks ready to pounce, she keeps her mouth shut as Struck and Ford stride over to us.

The mock op is taking place in a two-story warehouse on the outskirts of the base. Kess and I are starting on the ground, while Kaine and Roe will infiltrate from the roof. We’re told both pairs are an equal distance from the target on the second floor.

“First pair to reach the target gets five Lux credits in their accounts. After you eliminate the target, you exit the way the other pair entered. That means roof team uses the ground egress, ground team on the roof. Fastest total time gets another five credits.” Ford smirks. “Worst pair in the group will run laps before lights-out.”

“I don’t get why we’re not running all these ops as simulations,” Lash puts in. “Wouldn’t that be easier?”

Struck fields the question with the roll of her eyes. “Far easier,” she agrees. “That’s why we don’t run sims. Virtual reality is no substitution for real life.”

We get into position, Kess and I stationed around the side of the warehouse, its shadowy exterior concealing who knows what within.

“Teams 1 and 2. Go.” Struck’s voice slides into my ear to signal the start of the op.

Palming our weapons, Kess and I move along the wall. She takes the lead. When we reach the end of it, she peers out, barely an inch, before pressing her back to the wall again.

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