Remember Jamie Baker (10 page)

My body wanted to melt, but my dignity wouldn’t allow it. I gave him a little zap, just enough to let him know he’d better watch himself. He grunted and pulled away, but the smile never left his face. “Good night, Jamie. Come find me as soon as you wake up tomorrow.”

Major Wilks was waiting for me
when I finished my medical exam. The diagnosis was as I’d expected—a mild concussion and lots of bruising in my neck. I’d be stiff and have a headache for a few days, but then I’d be fine.

“She needs rest,” Dr. Haggerty warned Major Wilks when he asked me if I’d like to take a walk with him.

“Just taking her to her sleeping quarters,” Major Wilks promised.

“No wake-up call in the morning.” Dr. Haggerty all but stomped her foot as she gave the order. “Let her sleep.”

“You have my word, Doctor.”

As soon as the door to the infirmary was shut firmly behind us, Major Wilks pretended to shudder. “That woman terrifies me. She’s the only person in the world who can order me around and get away with it.” His gaze cut to me. “So don’t get any ideas, Angel.” His harsh words were made playful by the twinkle in his eyes. It was the first hint of personality that I’d seen from him. It gave me hope for the man.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, not agreeing one way or the other.

My answer made his eyes crinkle around the edges.

We turned a corner outside the infirmary into another empty corridor—I was going to get so lost in this place—when Major Wilks broke the silence. “As I mentioned before, the ACE division and the existence of PACs is very classified information. There aren’t many who will know who and what you are. But anyone with access to this base has proper security clearance, so when here in headquarters, you are allowed to speak openly and be yourself.”

“That’s…interesting.” I took this in stride. The idea of being safe around a whole group of people that knew my capabilities was such a strange concept to accept.

Major Wilks raised a brow at me. “Tyson and Abiodun seem to appreciate it. And I know they enjoy having a team they can be honest with and trust.” He set his gaze forward again and held his hands together behind his back as he walked. “Because of the nature of our organization and our dependency on complete secrecy, the ACEs are a very tight unit, sort of like a family. You might be surprised at how happy you could be here. Having friends you trust, being able to be yourself, and using your gifts for good.”

I reached up to rub my head. “I know what you’re trying to do, Major, and it does sound appealing, but I just don’t know. I think Ryan’s right about me having an inability to take orders.”

“You could do it, if it were from someone you respected.”

He sounded sure that he could earn my respect. I wouldn’t admit it to him yet, but from how he’d handled me so far, I suspected he could earn my respect, too. “It’s tempting, Major, but there’s more to it than that. Ryan mentioned my parents, which means I have a family out there somewhere. I have a life out there. I may not remember that life, but I want it back. I have so much to learn, to catch up on. I’ll help you with Donovan, but I’m not sure I could commit to anything more than that right now.”

Major Wilks nodded. “Perhaps we can consider Donovan a trial run, then.”

He stopped in front of a door with a number plate on it. The number was covered with masking tape and someone had scribbled
Angel
on it. They’d painted a yellow halo above it and hung a pair of plastic angel wings beside it. Major Wilks smiled at the display. “The men are excited to have you here. Whether you decide to stay or not, I hope you feel welcome while you’re with us.”

A little lump formed in my throat as I looked at the decorations on my door. It wasn’t much, but it was oddly touching. And the welcoming feeling, the sense of family—of belonging and companionship—was something I’d needed desperately since the moment my new life began. “Thanks, Major.”

Major Wilks opened the door and then handed me the key. Not to disrupt the overall theme of bland the base was going for, my room was small with off-white walls, a tiny closet, a dresser, and a single twin-size bed topped with a plain gray blanket and a single pillow—plain white, of course. My pink and black luggage was sitting on the bed and brought the only color to the whole room. There was a door next to the closet that Major Wilks informed me was my bathroom. I was afraid to look, and yet I was relieved to know I didn’t have to share one.

“I am
so
not living here. This place is more depressing than a convent, and if they expect me to keep that bed made with military corners like that, they really don’t know who they’re dealing with.”

Major Wilks laughed. “It’s not so bad.”

“Yes, it is.”

“At least you have your own private space. The rest of the guys sleep in one big room on the other side of the facility and have dorm-style showers.”

I shuddered. He was right. It was better than that.

But not much.

“Fine. I’ll sleep here. For now. But I am not making my bed.”

“It’s a deal, Angel. Now, if you don’t need anything else, get some rest and come find me when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll give you a tour.”

I had no idea how he expected me to find anyone in that maze of boring, identical halls, but I was too exhausted to care. I said good night and barely made it through the process of brushing my teeth and washing all the crusty tearstains from my face before I fell asleep.

. . . . .

Sleeping in a room with no windows—especially evil east-facing windows—was bliss. I slept like the dead. I knew the instant I woke up that I’d slept a
long
time. My body felt rejuvenated and hollow all at the same time. I was well rested and hungry. Still, starving as I was, I took my time getting ready before daring to leave my room. Not that I needed to impress these guys, but I kind of did. Yesterday I’d been beat up and exhausted, and on top of that they’d all seen me throw up and ugly cry. I needed to regain some of my dignity today.

Green hair, yellow eyes, and all, I could clean up pretty good. When I opened my suitcase, the short jeans skirt with the sparkly back pockets was right on the top, so I figured why not? I coupled the skirt with a purple tank top and a pair of Skechers. Ryan would have to live without the tall boots. I pulled my hair back in a high ponytail and went a little heavier on the eyeliner than normal, needing to feel intimidating after showing so much vulnerability yesterday. After that, I grabbed the tiny pouch with Teddy’s microchips and ventured out in search of some food.

The place wasn’t as empty as it had been the night before. People roamed the halls with purpose, all of them in a military uniform of some kind or another. None of them were familiar. Major Wilks said the ACEs were a very small organization, so obviously more people used this base than just them.

As I walked down the hall back the direction I’d come from the night before, it became clear that, whether they were ACEs or not,
everyone
recognized me. When anyone saw me, their eyes widened or they did double takes. Most, after getting over the shock of seeing me, forced nervous smiles, but none of them spoke to me. Guess I’d succeeded with the intimidating look.

I stopped a group of five soldiers. They were all younger, like me; two of them were girls, which I found a bit relieving, as this had been a bit of a boys’ club so far. “Hey, does this place come with a map?” I asked. “I feel like a freshman on my first day of school.”

They’d been laughing and joking with each other, but the laughter came to an abrupt halt when I stopped them. They were shocked that I’d spoken to them. It took them all a second to process what I’d said, and then one of them smiled. When I smiled back, they all relaxed. “You get used to it pretty quickly,” one of the girls said. “What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know, actually. I’m supposed to find Major Wilks.”

“Oh. Right.” The girl flushed, as if embarrassed that she hadn’t figured that out on her own. “His office isn’t far. At the end of this hall, take a left. His office will be on the right. He should be there. If not, try the rec room, or the gym. The ACEs usually spend most of their free time there. They got back from some top-secret mission pretty late last night, so they got the morning off.”

The girl’s friends understood before she did, and I had to hold back a smile as I watched her realize what that super top-secret mission was. When her eyes bulged, I laughed. “I guess the secret’s out. Thanks for the directions.”

“No problem.”

As I stepped away, one of the guys called out to me. “Welcome to NORAD, Angel. It’s good to have you here.”

“Thanks. I’ll try not to blow the place up.”

I winked at their stunned faces and left to find Major Wilks. He was right where the girl said he’d be, sitting in his office, hunched over some paperwork at his desk. “Knock, knock,” I said, hovering in the open doorway.

“Good afternoon, Angel.” He started to smile until he looked up and saw me. Blinking several times, he grimaced and said, “How do you feel about uniforms?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow. “It’ll be a cold day in hell.”

Major Wilks sighed. “That is…inconvenient.”

I smirked. It was the same thing he’d said to Ryan.

To be honest, I wouldn’t be too opposed to some kind of team uniform, if it weren’t horrible. I understood it was impractical to run around in short skirts all the time—and probably a bit distracting here at a predominantly male military base like this. I was only giving him a hard time to test his boundaries. I wanted to see what his reactions to me would be. It was best for him to learn I could be a pain right from the start.

“So, Major, do you have anything decent to eat around here?”

Major Wilks looked at his watch and stood up. “If we hurry, we can hit the cafeteria before it closes up.”

“Am I that late for breakfast?”

“Lunch,” he said as we exited his office and he shut and locked the door. “It’s almost two o’clock.”

Nice. I knew I’d slept a long time. “Sorry.”

“You needed the rest. You took quite a beating yesterday.”

“Yeah, thanks for the assist, by the way. I’m glad I didn’t have to kill anyone.”

Major Wilks slid me a long, thoughtful glance. “Could you have?”

“To save my own life?” I shrugged. “I didn’t want to, but I was about to. If Tyson hadn’t dropped that guy when he did, I’d have put a lightning bolt in his face. I’m sure I could do it to save someone I cared about, too.” I paused and gave him a hard stare. “But I’m not a killer, and I won’t just go around using my power to hurt people.”

Major Wilks held his hands up in surrender. “Easy, Angel; that’s the answer I was looking for.”

I wasn’t sure he fully understood yet. “My powers are
mine
, Major. I won’t follow orders where my abilities are concerned.
I
decide how and when I use them. No one will ever bully me into using them. Ever.”

“I can respect that.”

“Can you?” Major Wilks frowned, but I wouldn’t back down. “There’s a reason you want me so badly. I wouldn’t be valuable to you if you didn’t expect to have my power at your disposal. I’m not naïve, sir. You want to use me. That’s the whole point. What I’m saying is, I understand your need, and if the cause is right I may be willing to help, but if I ever work with you, it will be
with
you. Not
for
you.”

The major was quiet for a moment, either pondering what I’d said or trying to figure out how to argue with me. In the silence, I noticed the sounds of chairs scraping, dishes clanking, and people laughing.

“That’s a naïve outlook, Angel. Everyone has a boss.”

I shook my head. “It’s not. If I went out and got a job working in a video store or something, I’d have a boss and that would be fine. This is different. If I worked for you, you would ask me to use my powers. You’d put me on missions knowing what I’m capable of and assuming I’d use my powers for your benefit. I won’t do that.”

“But the military runs on a chain of command. We couldn’t function without people overseeing things and taking control. I understand what you’re afraid of, but everyone has to have a boss. You could work for me if you trusted me.”

“Maybe,” I agreed. “If I genuinely trusted you. And that’s a very big if. But what about your chain of command? What about
your
boss? And
his
boss? I don’t know them. And I definitely don’t trust them. If I joined you, I wouldn’t just be signing on with you. I’d be signing on with the U.S. government. Anyone with more pull than you could step in once they realized I was here. They would all try to use me. It’s human nature. I’m valuable to a lot of people. Not just you. I will not become the government’s tool.”

“I could keep that from happening.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. If your commanding officer said they needed me, you’d have to hand me over. Or if they ordered you to send your team on a mission, you’d have to go no matter what the job was. Your hands would be tied. I couldn’t risk that.”

We rounded a corner into a wide hallway and pushed through a set of double doors. The cafeteria seemed very average, like something you’d see in a hospital. There was a salad bar at one end and a couple long rows of food covered by glass sneeze guards, and a counter to slide a plastic tray down as you selected your meal.

The cafeteria was fairly empty, most people having already finished their lunches. But the latecomers that were there all took notice of my entrance and watched as Major Wilks and I crossed the room. I wondered how many of them realized I could hear what they were whispering about me. Most of the buzz was awe, curiosity, and excitement—nothing bad—but it felt strange to be a celebrity. I didn’t like being watched.

Trying to tune out their stares, I focused on our conversation. “We are the government, yes,” Major Wilks was saying. He had no problem ignoring people. “But we’re a just one. We have a moral code of honor. Gray areas do exist. It’s an unfortunate reality, but we try our best to always do what is right and in the best interest of this country. In my entire career, there have not been many times where my ethics were tested. What can I do to prove to you that we are not corrupt?”

Major Wilks led me toward the stack of trays and plates. I’d known from the second we opened the doors that I wouldn’t be eating much from this cafeteria, but I took a plate anyway. As Major Wilks began to fill his tray with food, I followed him down the line and tried not to sigh too dramatically as I picked through the measly selection for something that I could suffer putting in my mouth. I wasn’t hopeful. It looked like I’d be going out for something to eat later.