The Recruit: Book One (15 page)

Will watched silently as the light clicked for Mannie.  “The
only way they could know is if someone had told them.”

Will nodded.  “There have been similar incidents in two of
the other centres.  We think there’s a mole in the organization.”

Mannie stared at him as another light went off.  “You
thought it was me?”

Richard shook his head.  “We don’t know
who
it is,
Mannie.  We can’t trust anyone.  Although there are seven separate centres
across the country, we operate under one umbrella which means the mole could be
in any one of the centres.”

“And you think it’s an instructor?”

Will shrugged.  “That’s one of the possibilities.  All of
the instructors are being watched carefully until –“

“Until they almost die.”  Mannie finished bitterly.

Will nodded.  “Yes.”

“Can’t we just stop sharing information among the centres? 
That will help narrow down which centre has the traitor.”  Mannie asked.

Richard shook his head again.  “If we do that, they’ll know
we’re on to them.  We want to flush the traitor out which means keeping
operations like we normally do.”

Mannie gave Richard and Will a hard look.  “Did you let me
take the babies out knowing that it could be a trap?”

“Of course not!”  Richard’s temper flared and he slammed his
hand down on the desk.  “What kind of monsters do you think we are, Mannie?”

Will leaned forward in his seat.  “We thought we had caught
the mole.  Last month in the Dallas centre, there was an instructor caught
smuggling out computer data.  We assumed he was the mole.  We assumed
incorrectly.”

“Not necessarily, Will.”  Richard protested.  “We don’t know
for sure that this attack wasn’t just a coincidence.”

Will sighed.  “Don’t be naïve, Richard.  The attack at the
bar was nearly identical to the one in New York.”

“So, what do we do now?”  Mannie asked. 

“We continue doing exactly what we did before.”  Richard
said.  “We have people in each recruit centre who are actively looking for the
mole; although we may have a tough time convincing the Board that this latest
attack wasn’t just a chance vampire attack.  They believe that because our
centre is mostly a training centre and not located in a large city, the
vampires aren’t interested in attacking us.”

“Relax, Hannah.  You’re too nervous.”  Darren smiled
cheerfully at her as he pulled her closer and put his hands over hers, helping
her to aim the gun. 

“Remember when you’re aiming the gun to keep your arms loose
and relaxed.  The gun is an extension of your hand.”

She nodded and squirmed free of his embrace.  “I’ve got it, Darren.
 Thanks.”

He frowned fleetingly and then pasted the smile back on his
face.  “Let me see what you’ve got then.”

Hannah took a deep breath and put the sound-cancelling
earphones over her ears.  She raised the gun, aimed it carefully at the target
and took another deep breath.  She released it and squeezed the trigger.

Darren flipped the switch and the machine hummed to life,
bringing the paper target towards them.  There was a hole in the middle of the
chest and he shrugged.  “Not bad, Hannah.  Way better than it was three weeks
ago.  But you need to aim more to the left.  A direct shot to the heart is better.”

“But sir, if the bullets are filled with ultraviolet light,
what does it matter if we don’t hit them in the heart?”  Tyler asked curiously.

Darren looked back at him.  “There have been instances where
the more powerful vampires have survived a bullet filled with ultraviolet
light.  It’s best to get used to hitting them directly in the heart.  No
vampire will survive that.”

He took the gun from Hannah and crooked his finger at
Selena.  “C’mon, sweetheart.  You’re up next.”

* * *

Selena collapsed on one of the couches in the common room
with a soft groan.  “Oh my God, I’m tired.”

Tyler sat down beside her and ruffled her hair.  “Poor
baby.  Why don’t you come back to my room and I’ll give you a nice, relaxing
massage.”

Selena laughed and punched him in the shoulder.  “Nice try,
Romeo.”

Hannah sat down in one of the easy chairs, curling her feet
up under her.  “We’ve only got fifteen minutes and then it’s training with
Chen.”

The rest of them groaned and Jeremy swore under his breath.  “God,
I hate that sword training shit.  We spend most of our time studying the theory
of kenjutsu instead of doing the actual sword fighting.  What the hell use is
that?”

Hannah smiled to herself.  Unlike the others, the kenjutsu
training with Chen was her favourite of the weapons training.  From the moment
she had first held the bokuto, the thin wooden sword they used to train with,
she had felt a thrill go through her. 

After her initial awkwardness with Chen, he had after all
seen her half-naked with Will, she had thrown herself into the training.  It
had been nearly a month since the incident at the bar.  When she wasn’t in
training, she spent nearly all of her free time reading and studying the art of
kenjutsu.

She sighed.  Although she truly was fascinated by the
kenjutsu, part of her reason for studying so hard was to take her mind off of
Will.  He had barely spoken to her since they had agreed to keep things
strictly professional, and she was beginning to wonder if she would ever have a
night where she didn’t have a nightmare about Sara or a sex dream about Will.

Jeremy sat on the arm of her chair and leaned companionably
against her.  “This sword, and stakes and knife training is a bunch of bullshit
anyway.  The only useful training is the gun training.  Which in case you
haven’t noticed, I am already awesome at.”

Alison, her face pale and drawn, shook her head.  “I want to
know every bit of weapons training that I can.  The more ways I have to protect
myself, the better.”

Hannah frowned worriedly.  Alison had needed an extra week
of rest before rejoining them in training, and she had come back a completely
different person.  She was quiet and withdrawn and spent most of her free time
alone.

Once they had graduated to the next level, they had been
moved from the dorms to more private rooms.  Selena and Hannah were sharing a
room, and Alison had been placed with Leanne.  Selena had questioned Leanne at
length if Alison had confided in her but Leanne had said no, that Alison avoided
her and only used their room to sleep in.

“Do you think she’s still sleeping with Mannie?”  Selena had
asked one night after they had retired to their room. 

“I don’t know.  If she’s smart – no.  She’ll be caught and
kicked out eventually.”  Hannah had responded.  “Besides, I heard a rumour that
Mannie was sleeping with one of the new recruits.”

Three days after they had started weapons training, four new
recruits had joined the facility.  Hannah and the others had twice run into the
new babies during a morning run, and she couldn’t help feeling sorry for them as
she listened to Will and Mannie scream at them. 

The door to the common room opened and the new recruits
limped in.  They looked tired and weak and they huddled together in the far
corner of the room as Jeremy frowned.

“Jesus, they certainly keep pumping the new recruits through
here don’t they?”

Alison laughed bitterly.  “Don’t you know why?  The recruit
mortality rate is incredibly high Jeremy.  At least fifty percent of us will
die in the first year.”

“Well, that’s comforting.”  Jeremy said wryly.

Tyler shrugged.  “It’s true.  Didn’t you read the fine print
of the contract?”

Jeremy grinned.  “Nah.  I was too excited to be getting into
the program.  I just signed on the dotted line, man.”

Hannah looked up at him curiously.  She already knew that
Selena had been recruited after witnessing her entire unit being massacred by
vampires deep in the Middle East.  Her vehicle had broken down and she had been
late to the meeting.  It had saved her life.  She had gotten there just in time
to see the vampires finishing off her friends before disappearing into the
darkness.  The program had former recruits planted all over the world, and it
hadn’t taken long for them to catch wind of Selena’s story.  They had brought
her to the facility and quickly recruited her. 

She nudged Jeremy.  “How did you find out about the program,
Jeremy?”

He blushed a little.  “I was at a club one night and this
hot chick, I mean, the hottest chick I’d ever seen in my life, hit on me.  She
invited me back to her house and I said yes.  Once there, she turned and went
after me.”

“How did you survive?”  Tyler asked curiously.

Jeremy shrugged.  “One of the guys who had gone through the
program had been tracking her.  He saved me.  We got to talking.  I told him
about being in the marines, and the next thing I know he’s introducing me to
Richard.  The rest, as they say, is history.”

“What about you, Hannah?” Jeremy looked down at her.  “How
did you get recruited?”

Hannah paused and Tyler leaned forward.  “Yeah, Hannah.  I’ve
always been curious about that.  No offense, but you weren’t exactly the normal
recruit material when you first got here.”  He made a curvy motion with his
hands and winked at Jeremy who grinned.

“Ahh yes, Hannah when she first got here - delicious.”  He
slung his arm around Hannah’s shoulder and ignored her when she tried to shove
his arm off of her.

“I volunteered actually.”  Hannah said.  “My sister was
killed by vampires.  I would have died too if it hadn’t been for Richard and
Will.  When I found out what this place was, I asked them to let me join. 
Richard agreed.”

“Well that explains why you didn’t have the typical look of
a new recruit.”  Jeremy said.  “Don’t get me wrong – I love badass Hannah but
curvy Hannah…”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and leaned in to kiss her on
the forehead.  He let out a loud ‘oof’ when she punched him in the gut.

The others laughed and Jeremy joined them good-naturedly
before pursing his lips at Hannah.  “C’mon, HB.  Give Jeremy a little
kissie-wissie.”

“Do I need to remind you Mr. Weiss, about the strict code of
conduct all recruits agree to adhere to when they first join the program?”

Will’s icy voice cut through their laughter and Jeremy stood
up in a hurry, turning around to face Will who had slipped into the common room
quietly.

“No sir, you do not.”  For a moment Hannah thought he was
going to salute him.

Will glared at him.  “Relationships of a sexual nature are
strictly forbidden between recruits.  Don’t make me remind you again of this.”

“Yes sir.”

Will glanced at Hannah, his eyes narrowing, before looking
back at Jeremy.  “Just because you are no longer under my direct supervision
does not mean I cannot recommend your immediate dismissal.  Am I making myself
perfectly clear?”

“Yes sir.”  Jeremy’s back was ramrod straight and he stared
straight ahead until Will turned back to the new recruits.

“On your feet, babies!”  He shouted.  “Break time is over.” 
He strode from the room, and the new recruits followed miserably behind him.

Jeremy blew out his breath and sat back down beside Hannah.  “God,
that guy is a fucking nightmare.”

“Jeremy!” Hannah scowled.  “That guy saved our lives.”

“Yeah, I remember.”  Jeremy arched his eyebrows.  “But that
doesn’t mean I have to like him.  I’m surprised he’s lasted here this long. 
Everyone knows that Lycans can’t be trusted.”

Hannah shook her head.  “That’s not true Jeremy and you know
it.  Lycans are no different than humans – there are good ones and bad ones.”

Alison stared at her.  “Will was the hardest on you during
training, Hannah.  Why are you defending him?”

Hannah shrugged.  “Because I don’t think it’s fair to treat
him differently just because he’s a Lycan.  If you want to call him an asshole
because he’s an asshole, then go ahead.  But don’t make assumptions because
he’s a Lycan.  It isn’t fair.”

Selena cleared her throat nervously.  “But he didn’t even
tell us he was a Lycan, Hannah.  We spent months with him and never knew.  We
only found out because we were attacked.  Why would he keep it a secret?”

Hannah sighed impatiently.  “You know as well as I do that
Richard has asked Will not to tell the babies he’s a Lycan.  He tells them when
they graduate to the weapons training.  We just happened to find out because he
shifted and saved all of our goddamn asses.”

She paused.  “Besides, it’s his job to remind us of the
rules.”

Tyler laughed and looked around.  “C’mon Hannah, no one
follows the ‘no sex between recruits’ rule and you know it.”

“I don’t sleep with other recruits.” Hannah snapped.  “And neither
does Selena.”

Tyler looked at Selena who blushed deeply.  He grinned and
leaned over her, tugging gently at her dark curls.  “I guess we’re better at
keeping secrets than I thought.”

Hannah’s mouth dropped open and both Jeremy and Alison
laughed. 

Selena punched Tyler hard on the arm.  “You jackass.”

She looked at Hannah.  “Hannah I – “

Hannah held up her hand and laughed.  “Forget it, Selena.  I
do not want to hear the details.  Just tell me he hasn’t snuck into our room
while I’m in my bed sleeping.”

Tyler grinned wickedly.  “Now there’s an idea, my love.”  He
ran his finger down Selena’s arm gently and she smacked it away. 

“You’ll be lucky if you ever
get
lucky again.”  She
muttered.

Hannah laughed again and then glanced at her watch.  “Shit! 
We’re going to be late.”

She stood and the others joined her, Tyler squeezing
Selena’s ass as they filed out of the common room.

* * *

“Alright, we’ve discussed the babies and their progress –
thank you Will, Mannie and Isabelle.”  Richard shuffled the papers on his desk
and glanced around the room.  “Let’s discuss the next group.  Darren, go
ahead.”