"No, I wasn't an official agent. They just gave me a little bit of training before they sent me back here." Armaan spat out the last word.
"Hey, it's alright. The GCA was never meant to be training for something as good as the HIA. The people who truly belong here will never truly be at home out on the field. We will always be tech geeks."
"Yes, but think of how much better they will do out on the field with our technology. Here, it’s just gathering dust. You remember the airplanes that Connor built? They haven't been used for weeks, and the HIA doesn't have that kind of technology, though we all know it needs it."
"You've changed." Irmaan commented, walking in on the conversation that Armaan was having with his friend.
"No I haven't,” he replied.
"Whatever."
***************
Jace was mad because he hadn’t been called to the meeting. Rebecca had, but he hadn’t. He sat moodily outside of the room until they began to file out. He took out his headphones and waited until he saw Laura. When he did, he walked up to her. “What was that all about?” he asked calmly. Really, he was bursting at the seams.
“Just some information from a SIASS agent.”
“What are you going to do with the agent now?” Jace wondered.
Laura looked at him skeptically. “The HIA believes in second chances. Kalyia will be given the same attempt that you were given at reshaping her life. Who knows, she might even be good enough to join the HIA.”
****************
Armaan knew this wasn’t right. He had saved their mission; he had even created the cure to their mental illness. He had tried so hard to get into the HIA, even setting up cameras that they couldn’t even track. He knew he couldn’t give up. He had to give it another shot.
He knew there was one man within the GCA that could help him train—train like a warrior so he could fight the right way. Armaan saw the potential in himself. He knew he didn’t have to be a tech geek for the rest of his life.
He would talk to Lionell.
****************
"Agent Pang, will you test the prisoner?" Adm. Taylor asked Laura in private.
"Sure, sir."
"Excellent, be in the cage at 2:30."
"But sir, it's 2:28."
"Then you'd better run." Adm. Taylor said with a wink.
Laura sprang out of her chair and sprinted out to the cage. She reached it ten seconds before 2:30. She ran to the computer and quickly selected a random booby trap design. Kalyia stepped out and looked around her, scanning the situation. The crowds in the cage and in the classroom remained silent, watching her for her first move.
****************
Kalyia couldn't believe her eyes or her ears. When they offered her a chance to become an agent of the HIA, as long as she doesn't betray them, they would look to her as an equal, an agent, not a prisoner. Then, when she walked into the so called "cage", she couldn't believe their traditions. There were a few people in the stadium, waiting for her to do something. There was an agent that she recognized from somewhere standing on a platform next to a computer, staring at her.
"Well, come closer." The agent called.
Kalyia didn't like the sound of this. It had to be a test, a trap of some sort. Well, whatever it was, she wasn’t going to let them win. She paid closer attention to her surroundings, then carefully stepped around the mine traps and other booby traps until she reached the platform.
****************
Rebecca couldn’t believe she was doing this. She knew she had to talk to Jace about what was going on, but she didn’t like how she knew it was going to end. She would look desperate, possibly even helpless, but overall she would just look like a dependent female agent that relied on others to keep her up. She didn’t like it, but she knew what she had to do. She rounded the corner and stopped in front of Jace’s room. She counted to ten, took a deep breath, and knocked.
****************
Jace looked up, surprised. Who would be visiting him at this time? Everyone was at the training center, watching Laura test Kalyia. Jace thought he was the only one who had decided not to go. He realized that whoever was at the door was still waiting for an answer, so he closed his laptop and shuffled his papers into one disheveled pile. Then he pushed himself away from the desk and said, “Come in,” while rubbing the back of his neck confusedly.
He was even more surprised by who opened the door. It was Rebecca, the advanced agent who was always mean to him and seemed to always be looking down on him. Jace figured it must have been a grudge from when he was working with the Chrys Ghoad gang, but he had changed. He didn’t understand this tension they had between each other. He stared at her bewildered, and for some reason she seemed uncomfortable.
“Can I come in?” she questioned.
Jace was confused as to why she asked him this time instead of just coming in. What was up with her? “Um, sure,” he answered. Rebecca walked in and closed the door behind her. Then she turned back to him. “What do you want?” Jace asked in an annoyed voice before she could even say anything.
She didn’t even glare at him. She didn’t seem surprised, but she didn’t seem grumpy like she usually was. He figured there must be something wrong with her.
“Do you want to sit down?” he asked, gesturing to the cot. This time Rebecca did seem surprised, but she moved over and sat down anyways. This time Jace’s voice was softer. “What do you need?”
Rebecca closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. “Okay, I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this, but…”
“But what?” Jace asked impatiently. He was getting tired of this awkwardness, but for some reason he didn’t want her to leave this time. He wanted to hear what she had to say.
Rebecca sighed. “Laura probably told you that I’m not always grumpy.”
“Yes…” Jace agreed, not sure where this was going.
“Well, I’m not.”
Jace almost laughed. “So far, I’ve been getting the feeling that Laura might be wrong.”
Rebecca glared at him. “That’s because you never gave me any chance,” she said steely.
“What?” Jace was stunned. Was she really saying this now? “You’re the one who never gave me the chance!”
“Everything’s about you, isn’t it?”
“I was trying! You never could see that. You were too caught up in pride and your achievements. I bet you didn’t even want me to join!”
Rebecca rubbed her temples, trying to keep cool. “I didn’t,” she answered honestly.
“And I bet you wanted to leave me at the SIASS!” Jace accused her.
“I did,” Rebecca replied looking up.
“And I bet you wish I was dead!”
Rebecca flinched. Nobody had ever accused her of anything like this before. She got up and walked to the door, not looking at Jace. When she got to the door, she opened it quietly. “I didn’t come here to fight,” she said. Then she looked up at Jace. “I don’t want you dead, Jace. I just wish…” She set her head on the edge of the open door and sighed. “I just wish this could have been better.” She looked back at Jace. “I wish I could have been better.” She walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Jace thought he could hear her say “Sorry” before he watched her shadow leave down the hall.
Jace sat in his office chair wide-eyed, turned towards the door. Finally, he looked down at the floor. “I’m sorry, too.”
****************