Lucca raises his hand, “Do you have information that leads you to believe a threat is imminent?”
“No,” Fukumoto snaps, “but that doesn’t stop us from preparing for one. You all know that the most essential agreement here is that if the Academy is under threat, any family with a student here is required to immediately come to our aid.” He watches us all relax and smiles. It is not a pleasant smile.
“Now imagine a horde of angry crime families descending on the campus, ready to decide, perhaps, that another organization also arriving here is to blame?”
Lucca and I exchange a glance. I have never considered this. Any “rescue” could spark off a new war between a bratva and syndicate, or a mafia against a cartel.
“You can see why it is important that you learn to solve these problems on your own, do you not?” Fukumoto asks. This time, everyone nods immediately. And fervently.
He smiles again, this one is encouraging. “Let’s get to work.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
In which Mariya learns that paranoia is her superpower.
Mariya…
“How was your session?” Kon asks, dropping into the chair next to me in the dining hall that night.
“I’m hoping yours was better,” I sigh, enjoying his long, slow kiss. “We’re in the Spy division, paranoia is our superpower.”
Eating together is a whole new social experiment tonight. Tables are pulled apart from each other and the massive room is filled with little groups glaring around them instead of eating.
“Islands of suspicion floating in a big sea of menace,” Jun observes, plowing through a plate of tortellini like it’s his last meal on earth. Of course, that’s always the way he eats. Meiying told me once in a drunken moment that she and Jun were often starved as punishment when they were children.
“Poetically put,” Lucca agrees.
Still, it warms me that our usual group is still here, together. Mala and Willow are just ordering dinner when Athena drops into a seat, trailed by Liam.
We all trade stories about the day. The Assassins trained in knife and sniper work, the Warriors in close combat. “What did the Spies do while we were all getting our asses kicked for the last six hours?” Athena asks.
Tatiana laughed. “That sounds relaxing. We did reconnaissance all over campus, checking for perimeter weaknesses and potential invasion sites. There was a wind chill of below zero Celsius today.”
“Yeah,” I said teasingly, “you softies had it easy.”
Shouting erupts from a table close by and a student jumps up - it’s Haneul, a fellow Spy and my skydiving trauma buddy - confronting Fournier.
“Say that again, you lying fuck!” he snarls, shoving Fournier back, who’s laughing, a huge, taunting grin on his face.
“Poubelle des nouveaux arrivants,newcomer trash,” sneers Fournier, “you’re the liar here. I should drag you to the Dean right now.”
Haneul throws a punch, his face red with fury and the two go down in a crash of silverware and shattered china. Lucca and Kon are up in a second, racing over while everyone else around them just watches, their eyes alight with ugly interest.
“Stop! C’mon-” Kon pulls up Haneul and Lucca grabs Fournier, who has a shard of china in his hand, slashing it at Han’s abdomen. Kon yanks him back just in time, but his arm is in the way and he gets a cut, slicing down his forearm.
Jun jumps in to grab Fournier’s arm and yanks it up behind his back, making him shriek and drop the china. “Trying to stab someone who’s already restrained?” Jun says contemptuously,“Méiyou róngyù, no honor.” He rips Fournier’s t-shirt as he yanks him away from the others.
There’s something under Fournier’s torn shirt on his ribcage, a tattoo. It’s blue. I squint, trying to see it better as he’s dragged off.
Shaking my head, I grab a couple of clean napkins off the table and hurry over to Konstantin to wrap his arm.
“Is it going to need stitches?” Lucca said, “Come still down.”
“It’s fine,” Kon said irritably, “it’s a scratch.” There’s blood flowing down his arm, spreading blooms of red on the napkins I’m tying around his forearm.
“If you don’t want to see Dr. Giardo,” I said, keeping my voice low, “then let me glue the cut closed. It’s deeper than you think.” I understand his reluctance, anything that could look like a weakness right now could be deadly.
“Yes,” Tatiana said, a little louder, “let’s take dinner back to our suite. This place is ruining my appetite.”
