Page 36 of Red Marked

“We’re fine.”

Rex leans against the depot wall with his arms crossed. Saber studies the stars. Brian stands slightly apart, radiating the misery of a man who knows he sank the mission.

“Pollen,” he mutters.

“Pussy!” Dane says, but there’s humor in his voice.

Atlas chuckles again. I can hear the underlying tension.

Fifteen minutes later, the door to the residence wing opens, and Dr. Alastair Pryce walks across the yard. He is wearing striped pajama bottoms under a raincoat with the belt cinched wrong, one lapel folded under itself. His hair is flat on the left side and standing straight up on the right. He’s wearing a pair of slippers.

“What is the meaning of this?” he yells, coming to a stop in front of us. “Have you lost your mind?” He directs the question at me.

Nobody answers.

His gaze travels down the line, his eyes narrowing as he does. He does not look impressed.

“You’d better follow me, Flint.” He bites my name off. “We need to have a little chat. The rest of you stay exactly where you are.”

We walk out of earshot, into the pool of light under the tower. He turns, arms folded over the raincoat, and waits.

“This had better be good,” he says.

“I decided to pull a few of the team out of bed,” I tell him. “Firstly, I wanted to check if patrol was up to scratch and, good news…” I give a double thumbs-up. “They are. I’m very impressed.” It’s a pity Pryce doesn’t look impressed at all. “I thought we’d head out, unprepared, for some night training maneuvers. We’ll be a million times better during the day if we’re also efficient at night. Also, we might need to bring two teams on board at some stage because working two shifts could be helpful to bring in more males.” I’m overselling it and force myself to stop talking.

“There are standard operating procedures in this facility, Flint. They exist for a reason. You didn’t clear this with me…or anyone, for that matter. Nothing was documented. Not a flight plan, not a route, not so much as a note on my desk.” He steps closer. “What if you went missing out there? What if a pack of ferals brought all six of you down and killed you? I would have woken up to empty beds and no idea where to even begin looking, and it would have been on me.” He jabs his finger at his chest. “I run this facility. Nobody leaves here without a proper escort, correct documentation, and my permission. Nobody. What you were planning tonight was reckless.”

“There are six of us. That’s more than enough to keep each other safe, and I wasn’t planning on going far. I brought Brian and his dart gun along to be doubly sure.” I hold his squint. “I know what I’m doing, Alastair. This team has to be excellent at what they do if this program is going to succeed. Especially for when I hand over and move to the next facility when it opens.”

“That hasn’t been decided yet. Everything that happens here is a trial run. We might end up sending someone else to the second site. Someone who actually knows how to follow the rules.”

I bite my tongue.

“Apologies if I stepped on your toes.”

“This isn’t about stepping on my toes. It’s about protocol and safety. That’s why you’re here. You wrote the damned SOPs, and now you’re breaking them. That’s not how it works.”

“As head of security, I can overrule my own SOPs if it’s for the good of the team. You’ll want them at their best long after I’m gone.” I dip my head. “But you’re right about the protocols. I should have followed them, and I apologize. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen a second time.”

His jaw works, and his eyes narrow on me.

“We need to have an official talk about this in the morning,” he says at last. “Be in my office at quarter to eight. I want you to outline a basic proposal for these night training maneuvers so that I can run them past the powers that be. If it’s even remotely approved, we can put something more substantial in writing. I don’t think we ever planned on having teams run at night. I’m not sure this type of training is even necessary.”

“I’ll be there in the morning. I’ll have a basic outline for you then.”

“Glad to hear it.” He pulls the raincoat tighter and turns away, flapping a hand at the guards as he goes. “This whole thing is insane, if you ask me,” he mutters.

He walks back toward the residence wing, shoulders down, already half asleep again, because in his mind the matter is finished.

I smile.

Pryce didn’t forbid me to go back out there tonight. Not really, which means technically I have his approval as long as I file the right paperwork. I’ll tell him I completely misunderstood when he hears of it in the morning.

“Wait here. I’m going in to file a report,” I tell the others when I get back to them. The guards have moved on. They’re back on their patrol.

“What? Wait. Did he actually give you approval for night maneuvers?” Atlas asks.

“Yes and no.”