Page 45 of Unmade

Oatmeal, two eggs over-easy, bacon, apple—ohhh, yeah, a waffle too. Thanks. Fresh from the iron, extra butter, extra syrup. Coffee, creamer, three sugars. I was good to go.

I yawned and carried my tray to the tables in the back. I was evidently the last one to arrive, so I sat down between Tanner and Riley and side-eyed Coach and Beckett. They were gearing up to talk.

“How are you doing?” Riley asked quietly. “You actually shot that guy, didn’t you?”

“Um, yeah. I’m fine.” I bit into my waffle first, ’cause oatmeal was always gonna be oatmeal. A waffle needed to be crispy, hot, and fresh.

“Did you feel anything?” Tanner asked next. “Like, how was it?”

“Pipe down, everyone!” Coach positioned himself at the center of our three tables, and Beckett joined him.

They were all business this morning. He didn’t glance my way once.

Why should he? You’re a recruit like all the others.

I chewed and frowned.

Beckett cleared his throat. “We know you didn’t get much sleep, so we’ll keep this brief.”

Coach nodded. “We’ve loaded your profiles with readin’ material for this week, including Saturday and Sunday. You’ll see them in your messages when you log on in the library or the rec room upstairs. One task per day. You’ll hand them all in digitally on Monday before 10:00. By then, we hope to return to our regular schedule and classes. Any questions?”

Tanner stuck his hand in the air. “Can we ask about last night?”

Coach glanced at Beckett.

“No, but we can divulge a little bit,” Beckett replied. “As Operator Payne already told you, an intruder broke in to the unit where recruit Watts was staying, and he did an excellent job at eliminating the threat. He was not the target of this attack, and that’s the end of it. We have a team working on the investigation. Lockdown protocol will continue for at least a week while we gather intel, and this means you will need permission from Coach and me to leave the premises. You will also exit through the garage in the next building over. No one uses the lobby entrance at any time.”

Coach had more to say. “We also ask you to minimize your outings. Food can be delivered, there are treadmills in the gym if you wanna run, and you already know your way around the rec rooms’ video games and movie selection. It might get frustrating, but the safety measures are there for a reason. Even if you’re not a target—and you’re really not—until we know more about the attack, we don’t want to risk anyone gettin’ caught in the crossfire.”

A couple of forks clanked against plates, and Monica raised her hand.

“Go ahead.” Coach nodded.

“So, there is a threat?” she asked. “And did Jasper really drop out?”

“Let’s get one thing clear, recruits,” Beckett said. “Every single day at Hillcroft comes with a potential threat. We have decades of inserting our operators into situations that put targets on our backs, and some of those follow us home. It’s why we’re strict on privacy. It’s why you were given the option to go by an alias.” He paused as he looked around at us. “Hillcroft on its own isalwaysa target. Does that mean shit goes down here every week? No, of course not. I think we’ve been attacked twice in the last thirty years.” Coach was nodding along in agreement as he observed us. “On the other side of that coin is the number of times we’ve gone into lockdown—and I can tell you we’ve lost count. It’ll happen a few times a year, minimum.”

Welp. That was good to know. I shoved the last of my waffle into my mouth.

“To answer your question, recruit Bryant,” Coach said, “yes to both. Recruit Fuller also left us, and you let me know if anyone else wants to join. Life on the outside is a hell of a lot easier, I’ll tell you that much.”

Beckett wasn’t done. “It might be a good time to remind you that being an operator at Hillcroft is a thankless job. It might pay well, but you will never receive a medal, you will never be called a hero on the news, and you will never be able to share your tales of glory freely. We serve in silence—it’s in our creed. The absolute best operators this agency has ever seen are men and women you’ve never even heard of.”

I took a big bite of my apple and glanced at the others around me.

Who would be next to drop out?

“I can only get so horny,” Tanner said under his breath.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed and almost choked on my apple, so I slapped a hand over my mouth as all eyes fell on me—and Beckett lifted a brow at me.

My bad.

* * *

Even when shit went sideways, they clearly knew what they were doing at Hillcroft. By noon, my stuff had been delivered to my room, and the recruits with windowless units had been given special clearance to the rooftop terrace on the seventh floor.

Those dorms weren’t meant to be long-term residences, but honestly, I didn’t care that much. The compromise was sweet as hell. I was already planning on bringing some workout gear up there with me every morning before breakfast.

---