Page 53 of Warrior

Whatever you’re doing, Marinah, I’m close.Stay safe.

Chapter Nineteen

Marinah

Officer Daniels informed me that I needed an escort to visit my friends at my former job.I used the term friends with him so it sounded more like I wanted to catch up on their lives than see what was what in their false universe.

The escort Officer Daniels arranged didn’t arrive until an hour before the analysts' shift was set to end.I was sure the timing wasn’t a coincidence.What they didn’t realize, though, was that it might work in my favor.I needed my co-workers to invite me out, and after my long absence, I hoped they would.

When we arrived, my guard remained at the door while I stepped into the small, box-like room I’d once called home during working hours.Gray desks, stark and devoid of personality, filled the space.Pens, notepads, and other writing utensils were neatly arranged, but nothing personal adorned the desks or walls.No pictures, no mementos.Socializing and decoration were frowned upon here, though I’d never bothered to question why.

Thad, the head of the division, glanced up from his work.He was in his late thirties, nice-looking but far too short for my own six-plus feet.He wasn’t one of my favorite people, and the feeling was mutual among the other analysts.Thad never went out drinking with them, which made me hope my luck might hold tonight.He wasn’t someone I trusted, and the others were still a wait-and-see.He said nothing.

Kara, the ringleader of the drinking group, spotted me.Like Thad and everyone else, she wore military fatigues.The sight suddenly made me miss the vibrant colors on the island.From the brightly painted houses to the clothing of the Cuban people, there had been little of this putrid green camouflage that now surrounded me.

Despite my lack of friendliness before I left, Kara ran across the room and threw herself into my arms, squeezing the air from my lungs.Ms.Beast growled inside me, making it clear she wasn’t a fan of being held onto.

“Marinah, we thought you were dead,” Kara cried, wiping away tears.The sight made me feel a pang of guilt for using her to get what I needed.She’d always been sweet to me, even when I did my best to avoid her and her friends.

I gave her a tentative smile.“I’m alive,” I assured her softly.

She seemed genuinely pleased to see me, and if I was honest with myself, I was glad to see her too, even though I still didn’t know if I could trust her.I might not have been the most outgoing person while working in analytics, but I cared about these people.

“Where were you?Are you coming back to work?”she asked, her voice bubbling with excitement.

That answered my question about whether they’d been told about my promotion.“I was doing work for the government,” I said carefully.“And I’ve been promoted.”

“Did you hear that?”she said, glancing at the others in the small room.“Marinah was promoted!”Then she turned back to me, her eyes shining.“Come out with us tonight and tell us all about it.”

Relief flooded through me.“I’d love to.”

“Ms.Church,” the guard interrupted from the doorway, his tone laced with a slight sneer.“I was told to give you one hour with your friends.”

I turned to him and delivered my bestSecretary of Defenseglare, a skill I was still perfecting.“My hour is far from up and I’ll be going out with them tonight.Do whatever it takes to make it happen.”

The president gave me back the title, and I chose to use it.This was also the only way I could pump my friends for vital information.

For a moment, it looked like he might object.I waited, not taking my eyes off him.The truth was, I outranked him, and at some point, he realized it.With a sour expression, he stepped back and resumed his post by the door.

My co-workers were frozen in shock until Kara shouted, “Jax’s!”and pumped her fist in the air.Cheers erupted from the others.

Jax’s was an underground bar serving the worst hooch in the Federation.It was infamous for being cheap by charging fewer credits than most of the other disreputable establishments.It was also where you went to get seriously drunk.If no one ended up with alcohol poisoning tonight, I’d consider the outing a success.

After Kara’s declaration, I stayed while they returned to their work, casting me weak smiles that said they had no choice.Pencils scratched across paper as the analysts calculated and determined various scenarios fed to them by the Federation.For the most part, I hadn’t hated the job itself, I’d hated the constant fear of losing it and being forced to wear a red stripe.

Everyone here had a relative working high up in the government.Everyone except me.

My father was dead, and like me, my co-workers had assumed I wouldn’t last long.It had surprised us all when I managed to stay for two additional years.

The small wind-up clock in the room chimed, signaling the end of the shift.They leaned back in their chairs, stretched stiff shoulders and aching backs, then stood.It wasn’t physically hard work, but sitting, writing, and calculating all day left its mark.I remembered that ache well.

Landan approached me, his tall frame and unruly red hair making him stand out.In his twenties like me, his freckled face gave him a sweet, innocent look, and as far as I knew, he’d never given me any reason to think otherwise.Landan had always been the perfect gentleman.

“If you’re going out for drinks, you must be awfully bored with the new job,” he teased, a grin spreading across his face.

His older brother managed the Federation’s food stores, which meant I’d need to be cautious around him.I returned his smile but didn’t offer much else.

“Come on!”Kara called from the door, her voice loud enough to make my guard grimace at the noise so close to his ears.Kara earned bonus points from me, for whatever they were worth.

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