After a moment I turned the handle and walked in.He glanced up from his desk before leaning back and clasping his hands on his stomach. “That was a civilized entrance.”
“What can I say? I got a new chance at life, so I turned over a new leaf.” I crossed my arms over my chest, silently refusing to take the chair in front of him. I preferred to get fired standing up, thank you very much.
“Shut the door,” he said, opening his desk drawer. In a moment, he’d pull out a red card stating my infraction. I’d been here before.
I did as he asked, and resumed my stance.
As expected, the square of red made an appearance, followed by a normal-sized piece of paper. He laid both down in front of him and leaned back again. “Let’s clear the air, shall we?” He motioned me into the chair.
“Sure.” I stayed where I was.
“I know Garret didn’t save your life.”
Surprise ran through me. Then alarm. How could he know that? “But he did,” I hastened to say. “You said so yourself.”
“Sit.”
“No, I’m good—”
“Sit,” he barked.
I did as he said, half wondering what was going on, and half dreading finding out. I didn’t want to have to kill this man to protect my identity. I liked him, for allthe grief he’d caused me over the years I’d worked for the MLE as a bounty hunter.
“You have a terrible poker face unless you’re actively trying to keep something to yourself,” he said, staring down at his desk. “After Garret firebombed the threat, it was clear you believed, without a doubt, that he had not saved your life—evenafterI explained how anaswangtransfers its power. You aren’t one to blow smoke, or get indignant and deny the obvious truth.”
“I just admitted that Garret did save—”
He held up his hand. “You also didn’t use any sort of experimental magic. That bullshit lie was obvious. The fire didn’t burn your skin. That’s not possible, that I know of. Not just that, but the way you handled thataswangspeaks of a completely different magical person than I typically employ. You’re not like them. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met. I long suspected that, but now I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I don’t know what you are, Reagan Somerset, but I know it’s more than a leather-clad woman with a fanny pack and no eyebrows.”
I groaned. “For the last time, it is apouch,not a fanny pack. How come no one sees the difference?”
“There is no difference. That’s why no one can see it. Anyway, we’ll table the issue of your unique powers for now.” He pushed forward the red card. “You know what this is, and why you’re getting it.”
“Because I punched my hero in the nose, yeah. Some bitch I am.”
“Yes, some bitch is right. Garret is a twerp most times, so I get the feud. Regardless, it was completely out of line. As you know, I’ve raised your tally to five red cards. Most people only get three.”
“Yep.”
“Usually, we allow an employee to lose a red card after a clean year of service. You’ve received all five in two months.”
“But it’s been three weeks since the last one. I’d say that’s progress.”
“Are you trying to talk yourself back into the job?”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “I’m just pointing out my awesomeness.”
“Garret has two red cards on file. He’s gotten three in the six years he’s worked here. The first was in his first year for hot-dogging. The second—”
“Let me just stop you right there to express how much I honestly do not care.”
His eyes twinkled and the corner of his mouth tweaked into a half-smile. “Be that as it may, my point is that Garret is the next highest red card holder, and that is largely because of you.”
“I’m inspiring.”
“Something like that, yes.” The captain picked up the red card. “Despite your affinity for collecting these,most people don’t cross the hard lines easily. It takes willful disobedience. I, myself, collected four in my tenure on that side of the desk.” He pointed at the chair I was sitting in. “That was in four years. I was great at what I did, but I was unruly.”
“I hope this doesn’t turn into a job offer.”
