The Ninth (9 page)

A bigger problem was what to do about the final stretch.  There was meager cover after the woods ended and no trees to steal cover from.  The only thing Brent had on his side was that the instructor could only see one direction at a time.  However, with all the activity on the south, the instructor would be suspicious of anything else they did.  Brent shifted his gaze toward the tree Dante had hit in the west.  It was a far distance into the west side, maybe far enough to distract the instructor.

Suddenly, the searchlight came directly over him.  The brush immediately around him was as bright as if it was day again.  He held absolutely still.  If the instructor had spotted him, he wouldn’t give away the rest of his group.  The light slowly continued along the extreme edge of the woods; the instructor hadn’t spotted him.  After an additional pass of the edge, the light returned to its patrol path.  Brent gazed up and found the instructor analyzing the east side carefully.  Owen was most likely in the east or southeast and was likely pinned under the inspector’s gaze.

“Dante, I want you to hit another tree to your left, as far as you can,” Brent whispered.

Dante heaved another branch deep into the west and ducked his head before it even hit the tree.  The light in the west focused, and the instructor hesitantly panned over to the west.  Brent stared in the direction he thought Owen to be and urged him with every fiber of his being to take the opportunity and close to the fortress.  A few moments later a dull thud could be heard in the distance.  None of the lights he could see altered from their patrol patterns in any way.  The sound must have come from the north.  Owen had returned the favor.  Brent eyed the instructor like a hawk, waiting for the movement of the chair.  It began to pan to the north.

“This is it.  Double time!” Brent put as much force in his whisper as he could.  “Move as fast as you can without making noise, stop only if the light falls on you.  Go!”

He launched ahead, crawling at a speed near that of walking.  While the area ahead was devoid of leaves, making for poor cover, the lack of leaves also meant there wasn’t anything for them to step on inadvertently and give them away.  Swiftly and silently his group approached the fortress, only stopping once as the light scanned over them.  However, with the instructor’s attention in the north, the few leafy clumps in the middle of the barren clearing went unnoticed by the automated searchlight.  As Brent reached the structure, he saw Owen’s team nearing the fortress from the east.  He waited as Owen’s group got closer, and then all eight touched the fortress in unison.  As soon as they made contact, the night ended and the sun quickly rose to noon.

“What in the world?” came the booming voice of the instructor as he searched for the recruits.  “Behind me! Perfect! So many, two, four, six,
eight
! Now how did so many sneak up all at the same time?  I must be loosing my touch.”

“Does that mean we pass?” Owen asked.

“Of course!  I was hoping at least one of you would make it.  Never would have believed eight!  Pity I didn’t get a single one of you.  It never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t eliminate at least one out of twenty.”

“Wait a minute,
twenty
?”  Hiroko gesticulated at the otherwise empty field.  “There are only eight of us here.  What about the others?”

“They gave up!” the instructor said, nodding toward the opposing tree lines.  “I saw the signs of them coming.  Figured I’d get one or two of them before they knew what hit them.  But sadly no.  When they got to the thinner parts of the woods, they sat behind the tree line and waited.  I could hear them muttering among themselves but couldn’t spot them and activate the bracelets.”

“
What
?!” Hiroko shouted angrily.  “You mean they sat around and chatted quietly while we did all the work?”

“That about sums it up.” The instructor started laughing so hard it sounded like dull thunder.

“This is horrible!” a bookie in a white and purple uniform lamented as he went over the figures.  “Cain, why did you ever take his bet?”

“What would you have done, Daniel?”  Cain sniped back defensively.  “Told the
Administer
his credits weren’t good enough to place a bet?”

“I told you we needed to put a cap on bets!” a female bookie in tan and green said haughtily.

“No, you didn’t, although I wish you had,” Daniel moaned.  “This won’t end well for us.  Four thousand credits on an underdog.  A nobody!”

“Who would have thought the Administer, of all people, would place a bet, and one so large?  What was the payout when betting closed?” Cain asked, hoping his figures were wrong.

“Of an unknown passing each and every exam?”  Daniel’s response was more of a growl than anything else.  “Twenty against,
at least
.  If that Brent kid manages to pull it off, the Administer will get twenty creds for each and every one of his four thousand.”

“
Eighty thousand
?!  Can’t we cancel the bet?” the girl asked hopefully.  “Call it a conflict of interest maybe?  He is in a position to manipulate the outcome, right?”

“I wish it was that simple, Ruth,” Cain said desperately.  “I did some checking.  Not only are the instructors conducting the tests, they
concocted
them.  That Weaver that accompanies the Administer gave them suggestions but no exact details or guidelines, so we can’t even cancel his portion of the bet.  The bottom line is the Administer has no more control over the outcomes than we do.”

“Even if we could somehow revoke the Administer’s bet, it wouldn’t do us much good.”  Daniel sat back and sighed.  “Word spread quickly.  We’ve got at least a dozen large bets all on Brent and that blasted group C.”

“Maybe they will make a mistake or two,” Ruth ventured.  “If Brent fails even one exam most of the bets will go in our favor.”

“Just look at the monitors!”  Daniel shouted in exasperation.  “Group A gave up and hid behind the tree line until time ran out.  Group D was disqualified for taking off the arm bands and walking in the open back to the instructor.  Group E tried to distract the instructor with two recruits while the others snuck up behind him.  The instructor figured it out and took out the entire squad.  The two ‘distractions’ actually made it to the base while the instructor picked off the other panicking recruits.  Group B charged the instructor in mass.  They lost half the group in the attempt, but they did manage to reach the instructor.”

“Your point?”  Ruth folded her arms.

“His point is that out of five groups, only three actually reached the goal,” Cain answered for Daniel.  “And only one of those three managed to do it without the majority of the group failing.  This Brent kid is making the rest of the recruits look like chickens running around with their heads cut off.”

“Just look at the troopers, Ruth,” Daniel said disgustedly.  “All of them are crowding around the monitors showing group C’s exam.  The cheering can be heard all over the station!  The kid is putting on quite the show.”

“What if we let people make some more bets?”  Ruth was grasping at straws.  “You know, get some suckers to cover our losses?”

“What would be the point in that?”  Cain dismissed the idea.  “No one would be foolish enough to put credits on the losing groups, and the last thing we need is more on Brent.  We are already in the hole; you want to keep digging us deeper?”

“Well, what if we changed the payouts?”  Ruth was desperate.

“If we did that we’d lose all credibility as bookies.”  Cain was firm in his answer.  “Once a bet is made you can’t change the terms.”

“She might have an idea.”  Daniel was rubbing his chin.

“You insane?”  Cain eyed Daniel.  “I know things are desperate, but we can’t be that reckless.”

“Fortune favors the bold.”  A grin emerged on Daniel’s face.  “I’m not suggesting we follow either of her ideas, but
both
of them!”

“Both of them?  I get it!”  Ruth was giggling.  “We open for new bets
with
new odds.  It won’t change the bets we already have so no one can complain.”

“Precisely.  We don’t even have to rig it.”  Daniel’s mind was set.  “Right now every group but Brent’s is a long shot.”

“What happens if the other groups do well?”  Cain’s words cut through the other bookies.  “I hate to rain on your parades, but what if the first exams were flukes and all five groups do well from this point on?”

“He has a point, Daniel.”  Ruth’s voice oozed with defeat.  “I guess it really is hopeless.”

“Okay, so just opening for new bets is a dumb idea.  What about a new kind of bet?”  Daniel wasn’t about to give up that easily.

“New kind?” Ruth asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Sure.”  Daniel was obviously working out the idea as he spoke.  “Right now we have a myriad of wagers on individuals and groups based on if they pass or fail the exams.  If they pass an exam some people make creds, others lose them.  What if we started a competition pool?”

“Competition pool?”  Cain was intrigued.

“We start an open pool.  Which group will end up on top.”  Daniel was tripping over his words as he spoke.  “We let people place bets on whichever group they want whenever they want.  No refunds, of course.  When today is over, the pot is divided among those who bet on the winning group.”

“And this helps us, how?”  Ruth asked skeptically.

“Did I forget to mention we take a nominal fee on each bet?”  Daniel was practically glowing.  “No matter who wins, we do!  The winnings are completely based on what people pay in, so it can’t pull us under, and with a small commission on each bet, maybe we’ll make enough to end today with a profit!”

“Sounds reasonable, but with us so far in the red there is the chance we’ll still be in trouble when all is said and done,” Cain said, accepting the idea.

“Fortune favors the bold!”  Daniel was already rushing off toward the mess hall.  “Let’s spread the word!”

“Is it just me or did Daniel seem almost giddy?”  Cain asked as he watched Daniel run off.

“I didn’t know Daniel did
giddy
,” Ruth said.  “Maybe this was bothering him more than we know.  Oh well, it’s a good plan.  I’ll start hitting up the stragglers here.”  She got up and headed toward a group of troopers still lingering outside the observation room.

Cain had been working with Daniel for almost two years now.  In that time Cain had gotten used to Daniel’s sour nature.  Cain couldn’t bring to mind a single occasion Daniel had been so energetic.  Something had to be wrong.  Cain bolted after Daniel, the sour spot in the pit of his stomach growing.

“Wait up a minute!”  Cain said as he reached Daniel.

“Something
else
go wrong?”  Daniel asked, turning around.

“I’m hoping not.  We’ve worked together for a long time, Daniel, and you are not what I’d call excitable.  No offense.”

“None taken.  I take it as a compliment.  A bookie needs to remain calm at all times.”

“Then why were you acting like a child who had just gotten his birthday presents early?  I know we are in trouble, but I never would have guessed it would effect you this badly.”

“You don’t know the half of it.  There is more than a few credits at stake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Listen, you’ve got to keep this to yourself.”  Daniel glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear.  “I can’t risk word getting out.”

“Word getting out about
what
?”

“Well, you know my division leader, right?”

“Of course.  It’s hard
not
to know Reggie and his exploits.  What did he do now?”

“Well, he was tight on credits, needed some extra creds to hold him over.”

“Poor thing.  What does this have to do with anything?”

“Well, you see, he pressured me for info on the new recruits.”

“Let me guess.  Based on what we knew, Reggie figured group C was easy pickings and bet every single credit he had on them.”

“Close.  He
and
the squad leaders put it all on the line.  Naturally, they bet against them.  They were misfits, barely any prior training.  The way Reggie figured it, they’d be too busy running in circles and butting heads to pass anything.”

“And now that group C is doing
so
well, Reggie and the rest are out for blood.”

“Precisely.  I was hoping to calm them down by promising to split any profits I made with them.”

“Do you think it will work?”

“What do
you
think?”

“I think it’s going to get a bit crowded in Medical.”

Brent wasn’t sure if he should be readying himself to catch Hiroko.  She was walking with such pride in her step, he was certain any moment now she would lift off the ground and float the rest of the way to the mess hall.  Hiroko’s disgust had quickly faded when she saw the look on Erin’s face.  While Hiroko and the rest crawled to victory, Erin had sat behind a tree – unable to get a single step closer.  The humiliation was written in bold on Erin’s blushing face.  Owen had stood ready to break up any fight between the two girls, but after a single glance neither said a word.  Humphrey had been waiting for them in the hall.  While his ever-present sour expression still lingered, his mumbling voice was almost cheerful as he guided them to the mess hall.

“I almost thought the instructor had us,” Owen said, recounting his experience to Dante.  “I figured he’d
never
take that spot off me.”

As Dante chuckled, the other recruits, who had sat idly by during the exam, listened intently.

“It’s a good thing he didn’t,” Hiroko said still dusting herself off.  “If we’d been caught and all that crawling was for nothing, I would have gotten up and broken those search lights myself.”

Brent chuckled to himself as Owen retold every moment of the experience in exaggerated detail.  Ahead, Brent could make out a large room.  It was filled with countless troopers sitting in rows at immense tables.  Some were eating quietly, but most were chatting loudly while gesticulating wildly.

“All right, enough chitter chatter.”  Humphrey’s mumbling voice was almost completely drowned out by the noise of the eating troopers.  “This is the mess hall.  Your assigned seating is to the left.  I’d recommend you focus on your meals.  The next exam is one of the hardest, and the last thing you’ll want is to face it on an empty stomach.  Oh, and try to be nice to the recruiters.  I’m sure you will all be quite popular, so make sure you know your options before signing with a division.”

Humphrey quickly abandoned the recruits and headed toward a group of troopers all wearing the same colored uniform.  Brent had only noticed in passing that Humphrey’s uniform was green and orange, but now that he was standing in the mess hall, it was apparent the colors indicated what division a trooper belonged to.  The colors were totally segregated.  The troopers at each table wore the same colors without exception.  Brent noticed Hiroko scanning the room with wide eyes.

“After today that will be us.  I wonder which divisions are the most prestigious,” Hiroko said more than asked.

“Who knows?  I just hope I don’t get asked to join
that
one,” Owen said pointing at a table of troopers in pink and white.

Some of the male recruits burst into laughter.  As the recruits made their way to the assigned table, Brent noticed a growing number of troopers looking at them.  By the time they sat down, it was apparent that almost every division was looking them over.

“Is it just me, or are we being watched?” Brent asked, turning to Dante.

“From my understanding,” Dante said with a small smile, “we are the equivalent of fresh chum being waved in front of a pack a starving sharks, sir.”

“That’s right!” Owen said as surveyed those observing them.  “We are entering the academy right before a trial, aren’t we?”

“It’s always that way,” Hiroko said in an all-knowing tone of voice.  “As troopers graduate into field positions, new recruits are brought in to replace them.”

“The divisions are desperate to recoup their losses for the upcoming trials,” Erin grinned at Hiroko.  “Diminishes the chance of a recruit being assigned to a division.  That way even someone like
you
has a chance of joining a division.”

The cease-fire was over.

“Trials?”  Brent asked before the two girls could start up again.

“You mean to tell me the star recruit doesn’t know about the trials?”  An unfamiliar voice shouted toward Brent.

Brent found the voice belonged to a recruit sitting at the far end of the table.  All twenty of his group barely took up a fifth of the table.  He realized that all the recruits would be sitting at the same table. Three groups were already at the table and evidently eavesdropping.  The owner of the voice got up from her seat and approached Brent.

“The squad leader that’s been guiding us around this place has been going on and on about your amazing performance,” she moaned.  “You mean to tell me that you honestly don’t know about the trials?”

“Apparently knowing about them hasn’t improved your performance any,” Dante said without acknowledging the girl.

“You want to say that to my face?”  The girl was fuming.

“Why don’t you let it drop for now?” a tall young man said, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.  “Wouldn’t be wise to start a fight
before
you are in a division, now would it?”

“Why don’t you mind your own business?”  The girl forcefully removed the man’s hand.

Brent noticed Hiroko’s jaw had dropped.  Leaning forward Brent whispered.

“Know him?”  Brent asked, while motioning for her to close her mouth.

“See the emblem on his shoulder?”  Hiroko hastily started to dust off her uniform.

On the man’s right shoulder was a small crest.  Brent couldn’t make it out from his sitting position, but it was a gold color.

“Yeah, and it means?” Brent asked.

“He’s a division leader!” Hiroko whispered forcefully.

At once the girl fighting with the division leader froze.  Apparently she heard Hiroko, and the fact she was bickering with a division leader was dawning on her for the first time.  Brent had been so focused on the girl he hadn’t noticed the other division leader’s approach.  There were now several division leaders crowding around their table.  A few division leaders had intercepted the last recruit groups before they even reached the table.  A group of men in solid gray muscled their way through the division leaders.  Without a word, they placed trays down in front of every recruit and the spots where recruits should have been.

On the tray was what Brent guessed was food.  On the right side of the tray was a flattish red square.  It jiggled a bit when he touched it.  On the left, separated by utensils from the red blob, was a dirt brown cube.  It did
not
jiggle when he touched it.  Ignoring the chatter of the division leaders, Brent took a slice of the red blob first.  It was overly sweet and was
far
tougher to chew than he anticipated.  It was a rubbery substance tasting of synthetic flavors designed to hide some form of nutrition that was probably as hard to pronounce as it was to chew.  Surprisingly, the dirt cube was far easier to chew but it did, in fact, taste like dirt.

“When they promised you square meals you didn’t think they were being literal, did you?” a division leader asked.  “D rations.  Glorious aren’t they?  Enough to keep you alive, but you’ll wish your taste buds were dead when you eat it.  Join our division and I can promise you you’ll never have to taste it again,” he boasted.

The recruits all pulled out their pads, some excitedly, others begrudgingly.  Brent followed suit and slowly removed his pad from his pocket.  As soon as it was clear of the pocket, it was snatched from his hands from behind.  Turning, Brent found a division leader in pink and white holding his pad, quickly going through it.

“Sorry boys, you snooze you lose.  This one is signing up with the SF.”  The division leader stuck out her tongue at the others.

“You can’t do that, Tyra!  He never agreed to it!” a division leader in tan and green protested.

“And what do you need him for anyway?” a division leader shouted from behind Brent.  “You are going against the FF on your trial.  You could blindfold your entire division and still advance!”

Several division leaders chuckled while a couple tried to wrestle the pad away.

“My friends, we’ve been beaten to the punch!”  Tyra said disappointedly.

“What are you talking about?  When would anyone have had the chance?”  The tan and green division leader eyed Brent.

“Forget when. 
Who
had the nerve to be so underhanded?” a division leader in purple and tan asked.

“Doesn’t say.”  Tyra shrugged.  “It just lists him as assigned.  Better luck after the trial I suppose.”

The other division leaders reluctantly returned their attention to the other recruits.

“Don’t get comfy; I don’t give up so easily.”  Tyra winked at Brent as she dropped the pad in his lap.  “You’ll be mine one of these days.  Count on it.”

“Looks like you’ve made a friend, sir,” Dante said between bites.

Remembering Humphrey’s suggestion, Brent returned to his meal.  After some experimentation, he found the meal almost enjoyable when he mixed the two squares.  While he polished off the meal, the other recruits and division leaders talked in circles.  It sounded like a group of salesmen trying to sell flood insurance to a group of desert nomads.  As Brent forced down the last bite, he noticed the chatter was quieting.  Perhaps the other recruits had finished their negotiations, and they could focus on the next few exams.

“So this is where the little ones are hiding,” a harsh voice announced.

Brent turned to face the new voice.  Its owner had a square jaw lined with a thin but thick beard.  He couldn’t tell if the face was scowling or if the eyebrows were simply poorly groomed.  A wicked smile pulled at the mouth as it spoke.

“What do
you
want, Reggie?” a division leader asked bitterly.

“Nothing that concerns you.  I suggest you all return to your meals before they get cold.  Well, colder,” Reggie replied coolly.

“And what if we don’t listen to your suggestion?”  Tyra asked calmly.

“Well, that might upset my friends.  And you wouldn’t want that, now would you, Tyra?”  Reggie smiled sinisterly.

As if they had been waiting for their cue, a huge mass of troopers descended on the table.  Standing behind Reggie in neat rows, Brent could make out dozens and dozens of troopers, every one of them wearing the same white and purple uniform that Reggie was.

“Brought a few squads to back you up?” Tyra asked, without taking a step back.  “How
brave
of you.”

“A few squads?”  Reggie wasn’t playing around anymore, his tone was devoid of idle threats.  “Forgotten how to count have we?  I trust you’ll find that my entire division stands with me, all one hundred strong.  Now, I’m only going to say this one more time.  Step away from the recruits and return to your own table. 
Now
.”

Several division leaders immediately took their leave and quickly rushed back to their tables.  Most of the recruits stood up, clearing themselves of the table and tensing for a fight.  Tyra stood firm.  Brent remained sitting, his neck starting to ache from looking behind him for so long.

“Now, now.  Can’t we all just get along?” a deep voice asked playfully from opposite Reggie.

Looking forward, Brent was face to face with a pair of boots.  Standing where his meal had been was a heavyset trooper in a green and orange uniform with a huge grin practically lining his face from ear to ear.  Behind him, standing on the other side of the table, was another army of troopers.  While their uniforms were sloppy and mostly unkempt, they too wore the green and orange of the trooper standing before Brent.

“Who are you and what does the FF want with me?”  Reggie asked, honestly confused.

“His name is Cain, and he told me you have a little bit of a tiff with that boy.”  A tall man in green and orange with a gold emblem on his shoulder emerged from the group of troopers.  “Is this true, Reggie?”

“
Leonard
, I should have known.”  Reggie’s voice remained firm.  “This doesn’t concern you.  Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.  This is RG business; leave us to it.”

“Dante, take the others and get some distance,” Brent whispered as he stood.  “This doesn’t look good.”

“Sir?”  Dante asked with clenched fists.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the one Reggie is gunning for.  The last thing we need is to be in a brawl before the next exam.  Now get everyone out of here,” Brent whispered forcefully.

“Maybe if you are lucky they will count this as your combat exam,” The heavyset trooper said as he got off Brent’s plate.

“Cain was it?” Owen asked.  “What exactly is that guy’s problem with Brent?”

“Reginald?  You guys are doing a bit
too
well on the exams,” Cain said swiping at the food hanging off his boots.  “Reggie thinks he can put an end to that by putting an end to your friend.”

“Looks like the odds are no longer in your favor, Reggie,” Leonard said.  “My division, a few brave division leaders, and, to top it all off, the entire set of recruits.  You sure you want to take us all on?” he asked as he advanced toward his foe.

“You know, I was never any good at retreating.  Once I choose a plan of action, it’s all or
nothing
!”  Reggie shouted as he charged forward.

Joining the battle charge, the entire RG division behind Reggie rushed the recruits.  The FF matched charge for charge, leaping over the table.  Reggie dodged Leonard’s punch and dived toward Brent.  Reggie made contact, knocking the wind out of him.  Staggering, Brent watched Reggie launch a follow up punch.  He tried to duck but was too slow.  The blow landed squarely on his right cheek.  As Brent hit the floor, Reggie raised both his fists, locking them together for the final blow.  Reggie swung down with all his might.  Brent’s eyes closed, anticipating the coming blow.