Page 151 of Red Marked

A few of them nod.

“Atlas, you’re leading the second group. Cindy, you’re with me.” I point at Brian. “You’re with Atlas.”

“Why do I⁠—?”

“You know why.”

“You can’t still be pissed at me for⁠—”

“I am,” I tell him. “We can talk about it some other time.”

Atlas laughs even though he doesn’t know what it’s about.

“Atlas, go and stand on the other side of the pad. Listen up. I’m going to split the group now.”

Star will be in the training room right now. She’ll have a file on company policy in front of her. I feel for her. The induction is boring as hell, and the training is intense.

I need to stop thinking about her.

She’s here for a reason that has nothing to do with me.

“Saber, you’re with me. Rift, go to Atlas,” I say, projecting my voice.

Some time apart will be good for both of us. It’ll give a chance for the line between us to solidify. I’ve crossed it once already. Fine, I’ve crossed it more than once.

I can never cross it again.

44

Star

Four days later…

I yawn and take another sip of my coffee.

The training was brutal. Cramming for the exam tomorrow is making me panic. I’m not ready. Not even close. I paid attention in class every single day, but there’s just so much to learn.

I flatten my hand over the page and recite the answer to the ceiling.

Then I lift my hand and check to see if I got it right.

“Dammit.”

The training manual lies open on the coffee table; it’s as thick as my forearm. I’m on section nine of twenty-two. Still to come are chip scanning protocol, sedation thresholds by body weight, reversal drug timings, minimum approach distances, and six different incident forms. I’m still not completely comfortable with the first eight sections.

The good news is, if I fail tomorrow’s test, I can take two days to study and try again. The bad news is that if I fail a second time, I’m out.

I’m a little out of practice.

Also, I really want to get out there with the team. The sooner I’m flying, the sooner I’m looking for the five missing males.

There’s a highlighter cap between my teeth.

If I pass, then field training will start straight after my exam tomorrow. By my third rotation, I’ll be fully qualified. I might not even be here long enough for that.

I spit out the cap and start section nine from the top when someone knocks on my door.

Of course, my heart goes a little nuts. Maybe it’s Flint.