Chapter 2
"He's here."
Master Sergeant Emmett McCarty stands before the bank of security monitors. Tall with rugged, crooked features and bright blue eyes, he keeps a hand deep in his black dress uniform pocket. His hair is longer than one would expect from a soldier, so dark it blends into the shadows surrounding him. He speaks with a slow, deliberate cadence and has the type of voice that commands a room when needed.
On the largest video screen, Captain Masen enters the golden lobby from the elevator.
"Sweet." Sprawling across a worn, beige sofa against a sidewall, Specialist Jacob Black relaxes. He plays a game on his tablet, the glow revealing his dark complexion and shaved head. His uniform jacket lies across an ugly side table nearby.
Emmett frowns. Following protocol, he and the Specialist are ordered to observe the entry brief of their potential new team leader from an observational dungeon. Only Alice, or Adele as those in command of the Lilim Division refer to her, is allowed to interact with the new Captain tonight. He taps a button on the keyboard, changing the camera focusing on Edward.
"Come on!" Jacob says with annoyance. He shuts the tablet down and roughly sets it on the nearby coffee table.
"Lose again?" Emmett asks.
"How's he look?" Jacob says after a moment, avoiding his poor performance. He stands from the couch and joins Emmett watching the screens.
"Like a Captain."
"How many team leaders have you had?"
Who cares anymore, Emmett thinks. After so many decades of being with the organization he's lost count. The better ones last a couple of years. Most don't. He finally shrugs in response to Jacob's question.
"Don't remember," he adds. "This one is which for you?"
"Three," Jacob says.
"So you're still excited?"
"Yeah," Jacob responds, thinking through his answer. "I am. I like what Alice has told me about him."
As if on cue, Colonel Cullen and Sergeant Alice Brandon greet Captain Masen. Emmett reaches over and turns off the audio coming from the lobby.
"It's always the same," Emmett says, anticipating Jacob's question. He walks to the refrigerator in the corner of the room and pulls out a two-litter soda.
"Why do they insist on code names for entry briefs?" Jacob asks after watching Captain Masen shake Alice's hand,
The sound of Emmett's swallow fills the room as he takes a hard swig from the bottle. It's not an easy question for him to answer. The official reason is confidentiality, though it's not an enforced policy for a team's internal communications.
"Because they aren't part of the team," Emmett factually says, ignoring his own opinion that they aren't viewed as human. He prefers his code name, Vejo, to his human name anyway. After so long of being a secret, feared by his human superiors, the use of "Emmett" fills him with bitterness. It's a view that has never been held by other members of Gamma team though, so he remains resigned.
"Have all of your team leaders strictly called you Vejo?" Jacob turns away from the screen and rests against the desk.
Emmett wants to say, "The smart ones," before stopping himself and simply shaking his head.
"Think Captain Masen will?"
The conversation grates on Emmett. "Don't know. Didn't read the profile."
"That doesn't surprise me," Jacob says with a laugh. He turns briefly to the screens and sees Captain Masen, Alice and the Colonel out of the picture. He taps the keyboard a couple of times before finding them walking down a drab corridor.
"The profiles are technically accurate," Emmett says, desperate for anything to do rather than watch the brief. "But not always realistic."
"How so?"
"Team leaders are like most people," Emmett begins, his body tense. "They're individualistic, self-conscious, ambitious and a little scared. They're successful, experienced. But…" he adds. "They're selected because they're suppose to be open-minded. Generally, they are."
"Generally?"
Emmett ponders the response. "To a point. They'll accept the position, the team, and that's about it."
"Why?"
"Because they're not us."
The finality of the statement prevents Jacob from responding. He changes the image on the screen to a conference room where the entry brief is occurring.
Remembering the soda in his hand, Emmett takes another swallow. It's true. Team leaders accept the team. They don't except the reality of the position; that though they have control they don't have power. When compared to the team, Emmett, Jacob, Bella and Alice, the team leader is nothing.
"Can I ask another question?" Jacob asks without taking his attention away from the monitors.
"Go ahead."
"Bella," Jacob turns, "Does she ever stick around for entry briefs?"
"Long time ago. With the first few team leaders. God, at least fifty years." Emmett shakes his head at how long he has been with the Division.
"What happened?"
A bemused smile crosses Emmett's face. "Night-time brief. A potential team leader caught a glimpse of her and lost it."
"Geesh."
"Since then she always leaves when new leaders come in."
"That sucks," Jacob says, his voice heavy with empathy. "The Colonel doesn't stop her?"
"The Colonel doesn't dare try. Bella is smart enough to avoid being seen."
Satisfied with the answer, Jacob smiles. "Can you toss me a Sprite?"
Emmett opens the fridge, grabs a bottle, and tosses it across the room to Jacob.
"Thanks," Jacob says, chagrined at the now shaken drink.
"No problem."
After setting the Sprite on the desk, Jacob reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a bottle of pills that rattles in his hand. Black electrical tape hides the plastic tube's contents.
"Don't," Emmett says.
Jacob stops, his palm pressing against the white lid of the bottle. An expression of pained rejection, pleading, covers his face. His dark brown eyes sparkle with despair at Emmett, who simply shakes his head. Sheepishly, Jacob looks down.
"What did Alice say about the Captain?" Emmett asks as Jacob hides the pills in his pocket. Changing the subject to Alice would help distract the young man. Jacob joined Lilim a few months after Alice, who served as his mentor. They're closer than considered proper by regulation, but there are few options when confidentiality is a priority.
"Uh," Jacob starts, trying to focus, "She said, um. He'll definitely accept. She's excited about him."
"Why?" Emmett places the bottle back in the fridge.
"She says it's the strongest feeling she's ever had on one. She's really confident."
"She's not always right." The seriousness in Emmett's tone betrays his simple desire to keep a conversation going.
"I know. She knows." Jacob turns away, his eyes drawn to Alice on the screen. "She just—she feels like he's different. Like he's legit good."
"Doubtful. Nothing against Alice." Emmett picks up Jacob's tablet from the table. "Profile on here?"
"Yeah. And she knows she's not perfect."
"Alice is still young," Emmett says as he pulls up Captain Masen's profile and scans it. "For an oracle so diluted, she's right often enough."
"I'll tell her you said that."
Emmett shoots Jacob a look. "She takes her visions really personal though."
"That's bad?"
"It's a complication." Emmett sets the tablet down. "Nothing about this guy stands out. What has she seen?"
"You know she doesn't like me to share that stuff."
"Then she shouldn't share it with you."
Jacob cracks a grin. "A lot of visions of him in the compound."
"Doing what?"
"Fighting. A lot of fighting, actually."
The statement surprises Emmett. "Is he any good?"
"She wouldn't say. Maybe she can't tell."
A sudden tinge of jealousy grips Emmett like a weight around the neck. Team leaders don't fight; they sit back and hold the leash, he thinks. If Captain Masen wants to fight, he'll either be incredible or terrible. Either way, he's likely to get team members killed. Emmett bites his thumb.
"What's up?" Jacob asks.
"I'm fucking bored," Emmett says, a look of disdain on his face. "I'm not interested in eavesdropping on another entry brief."
"We've been ordered—"
"And? What can the Colonel do?"
Jacob doesn't respond. He taps the bottle in his pants pocket through the fabric.
"Let's go," Emmet says, removing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, "Head to the Pen and roll. Full-contact. It'll give you a reason to pop those pills."
Jacob glances back at the screen where Alice speaks with Captain Masen.
"I'm ordering you," Emmett says like a playful bully. "I'll deal with the Colonel and you can turn into whatever you want." He removes his shirt, his body without blemishes, scars or markings. "I want a challenge tonight."
Jacob presses the top of his fist into the desk and bites his upper lip. The fight is much more entertaining and he rarely gets the opportunity to spar as his choice. Alice wouldn't be pleased, but with Emmett pushing for it, Jacob would be in the clear.
"Fuck it," Jacob finally says. He pulls the painkillers out from his pocket, palms one and tosses it into his mouth.
"You might need another one," Emmett says as one final tease while walking out the door, leaving his shirt and jacket in the room.
"Bring it, old man," Jacob snarks back, pulling off his uniform as he follows Emmett out the door.