There’s just something about Rohan that makes me wants to give him a good thwack over the head.
It’s impossible to miss how Jack reacts to Rohan’s entrance. His eyes narrow ever so slightly, his shoulders appearing to hunch instinctively. He reminds me once again of a tiger bristling, possibly because a growly wolf has invaded his space. We’ll be lucky if the two of them don’t pounce on each other at some point during this meeting.
Rohan completely ignores Jack, which is more pointed than if he’d acknowledged him in a negative way. Jack should really take heart from the fact his existence seems to bother Rohan just as much although he shows it differently.
“Morning, sir.” Rohan dips his head at North.
Dru echoes this greeting, and North gestures for both of them to sit down. They comply, seating themselves on the opposite side of the table from Jack and me.
“Thank you for joining us,” North says congenially to the newly arrived agents. “Let me introduce you to Agent Roth. He has been cleared for active duty this morning.” He flickers his gaze to me, adding, “This is Agent Snow. He will be acting as Agent Roth’s partner for the foreseeable future.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting both Agent Roth and Agent Snow before,” Rohan replies drolly. “One of them is a violent lunatic who attacked me in the street.” He gives me an acerbic look. “The other is an ex-Obsidian Inc. agent.”
“You’re a very sensitive person,” I accuse. “I barely even shot at you.”
Dru lets out a snorting laugh at that. She presses the back of her hand to her mouth to try and smother it, looking discreetly towards North like a naughty child who thinks she might get told off for misbehaving.
Rohan looks at me pityingly, which rankles, as much as I don’t want to care what he thinks.
“Did your aunt give you some way of stopping Agent Roth from slitting your throat and making a run for it the moment he’s allowed off base?” he sneers. “Or does Director Snow think you’re just as expendable as you apparently do?”
“Alright,” North interrupts before I can dredge up a response worthy enough to kick Rohan down a peg. “This is not how I expect professional agents in my unit to behave. We will be conducting some very important and highly classified work together. I will not accept any dissent, or my adult agents behaving like children at the dinner table.”
I wince, dropping my head down in embarrassment.
Rohan does not look contrite in the slightest.
Jack has unclenched a bit, having recovered from Rohan’s entrance. He appears more relaxed, shoulders sloping down, arms crossed loosely over his chest.
I have to give myself a stern reminder that Jack isn’t any less of a threat just because he’s technicallylounging.
It would not be a good idea to forget what Jack is. Despite me believing he deserves as much respect and general kindness—if not more—than anyone else, Rohan isn’t entirely wrong in his observation.
If I were Jack, there’s a chance I’d want to cut and run as soon as I could. I wouldn’t blame him at all for trying to get away and start over without any agency overlord expecting him to put his life on the line for a cause he doesn’t have a single reason to believe in.
I can only hope he doesn’t feel the need to off me on his way to freedom. I’d be more than happy to stand aside and let him go. Just because I’m loyal to FISA does not mean I have to agree with everything they do. It certainly does not mean I agree with all my aunt’s schemes and machinations.
North gives us all one last chastising scowl. I’m surprised he doesn’t reprimand Rohan, but I suppose there’s a chance he’s worked with him before and learnt it is more trouble than it is worth to beat a show of deference out of him.
“Right,” North begins, “now you’ve all been properly introduced, let’s get on with what we’re actually here for.” His gaze skitters over me and Jack. “You’ll both be going out on your first mission together this afternoon, and there’s a lot to go over before you leave.”
From there, the first meeting of our unit really gets into swing as North launches into a full briefing. He outlines our mission objectives and prompts Dru and Rohan into providing the relevant intelligence they pulled together in however much time they had to prepare for this meeting.
Throughout the briefing, Jack keeps sliding glances over at me. They aren’t overt stares, but he doesn’t exactly try to hide his interest.
In an effort to show him I’m not going to be cowed or intimidated, I meet his eyes dead on each time. This partnership won’t work if he thinks I’m afraid of him like the other agents appeared to be. I’m not afraid of him, really. He’s just a professionally trained killer, no different than any other highly skilled agent with assassin status. Jack will only be dangerous if he feels threatened by me, and there’s no reason for that to happen. I truly don’t wish him any harm. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Jack doesn’t seem to know what to make of me or my direct looks. I can only hope that in time he comes to trust me even if he never trusts FISA.
CHAPTER TWELVE
LEO
A handful of hours later, Jack and I are let loose. North basically tells the agents who are waiting for Jack to piss off, and that I will be Jack’s official escort around the base from now on. I’m not sure if he’s actually allowed to make that call, but I’m not going to argue with him about it. Agent Lane is not happy about being told to get lost. However, he still complies with the order, apparently unwilling to defy a superior outright.
I take Jack to the Armoury so we can sign out weapons for our mission.
The Armoury is exactly what it says on the tin, a storage facility for weapons and other equipment utilised by field agents. Any field agent can come here and sign something out. They keep a record of who takes what, and everything we use needs to be either returned or reported LDM, lost during mission, to those who keep track and maintain the Armoury. Your handler has to be given a written report after each mission, which includes a list of items signed out.
