She loves waffles. I love biscuits with gravy.
I rejoin her just as her waffles finish and guide her to a private table, where we take our seats and enjoy our meal alone.
“So, how do we pay for this?” She twists in her seat, checking out the dining area. “I don’t see any registers.”
“We don’t.”
“What?”
“It’s part of our salary. Food, medical, and the gym are all employee perks. We’re responsible for bussing our dishes and wiping down the table, but that’s it.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope, and I can’t wait to show you around the rest of the place.”
“But I’m a guest, not an employee.”
“We’ll just leave it as it’s included with your stay, don’t worry about it.” I can see the wheels turning in her head, but see the moment she relents and decides to change the subject.
“Since this is my home for the time being, I definitely appreciate the tour. Not to be a buzzkill, but any idea what happens next?” A cloud falls over her, darkening her expression and dimming the light in her eyes.
“You mean the tour? I thought I’d show you Bravo’s bullpen.” Only after the words leave my mouth do I realize that’s not what she’s talking about. It took a beat too long to figure out.
“I meant Scott,” she says. “Like, what are the next steps?”
“That lies with Mitzy and her team and my noon meeting. Once they build out a package, Bravo team will plan tactics and execute.”
“What about me?”
“You get to enjoy waffles.” I don’t mean to be dismissive, but it’s the truth.
“I mean the briefing. Earlier you said you were going to take me back to my quarters because you had a briefing. If it’s about Scott, shouldn’t I be there?”
“Not at the initial meetings. We have certain ways we build out a package for an operation. At this point, speed and efficiency are our allies. I know you want to be involved, and no one means to keep you in the dark. That’s not it at all, but we work best in the rhythm and tempo we train with.”
“You’re saying I’d be a distraction.”
“I’m trying to say that without sounding like a jerk, but that’s basically it.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I knew you wouldn’t, but it’s not something I can change.”
“I don’t mind if you have a certain way of doing things, but please don’t keep me in the dark. I’m scared and my entire life’s been turned upside down.”
“I know, and I’ll do my best to include you as we’re able. In the meantime, there are some things we can teach you that are great life skills.”
“You mentioned sparring.”
“Every afternoon.” I glance at her plate. “Your waffles are drowning in whipped cream. Best to eat them before they dissolve.”
Her role in what comes next will be exceedingly small. Fortunately, she laughs at my waffle joke, and I breathe out a sigh of relief. I got her smiling and she’s not pushing as hard as I thought she would about Scott.
I take the win.
To use Kaye’s words, talk about Professor Scott Parker is a total buzzkill. Although, I’m eager to see what Mitzy and her team have discovered.
After we finish breakfast, I take Kaye to the Guardian building and point out the different teams’ quarters. We stop at Bravo team’s bullpen and I gesture for her to enter the private space where only members of our team are allowed.
“Are you sure I should be in here?” She looks around in awe.
“Can’t exactly leave you outside, and my change of clothes is in here.”
I open the lock to my gear locker, which holds all of my personal gear. Inside is a Go Bag with several days’ worth of spare clothing.
“Now, no funny business while I change.” I tease her lightly. “I’ll be in enough trouble if we’re caught by one of my teammates as it is. Add in hot and heavy sex, and we’ll never live it down.”
Her eyes round with that comment. Not that I would ever be so crass to risk exposing her like that, but her reactions are too much fun not to tease her about it.
“And each team has a bullpen?” She wanders around the room, running her fingers over the fencing surrounding each of our personal gear lockers.
“Four teams. Four bullpens. And we each have our own gear locker, but we call them cages.”
“I can definitely see why.” She peers through the fencing. “There’s a lot of stuff in there.”
“Anything that’s tailored specifically to each of us is kept in our personal lockers.”
“Like, what?”
“Favorite weapon, body armor, boots, rucks, our helmets with night vision goggles. Stuff like that. Go Bag.” I point to my bag.
“It’s impressive. I’m finding it difficult to imagine the scope of an operation like this.”
“We’re funded by billionaires. You met Forest and Skye, plus there are many other sources of grants and private funding.”
I grab a clean pair of jeans and shirt and quickly change clothes. As I do, I can’t help but laugh under my breath. If Brady, or any of the others walk in and see Kaye in here, and me in my skivvies, I’ll never hear the end of it.
“We really should leave before we get caught. I’m not kidding about the amount of flack they’ll give me if they know I brought a woman into our sacred spot.”
We hustle out of Bravo’s bullpen and I show her the central briefing room in the center of the building. Chances are, she’ll be here again for updates on whatever progress we make with Scott. Kaye listens with rapt attention, her eyes wide as she takes it all in.
We once again step outside, and the bright California sun beats down on us as we tour the different facilities. I explain some of the things Bravo team does here. How we train and test out new weapons, tactics, and the tech Mitzy’s gang thinks up.
We stroll along one of the many paths scattered throughout The Facility until we arrive at Mitzy’s fiefdom, the tech facility.
A metal door stands closed against a white wall and a posted sign reads Omega Tech Testing Facility.
“Omega?” Her eyes sparkle and she can’t help but peer inside.
“Mitzy says her team is the tail that wags the dog, and since that’s the end—Omega.”
“Funny, but who’s the dog?”
“The Guardians.” I roll my eyes, but it’s for show.
“A bit of rivalry?”
“You’d think, but not really. We prefer being called the pointy tip of the spear, but Mitzy’s trying to get everyone to switch to calling us the dogs.”
“That sounds horrible.”
“You’d think, but it’s because of the Rufi.”
“Rufi?”
“Yes, those are her Robotic Ultra Functional Utility Specialists, or R.U.F.U.S. It’s the name of a dog in some kid’s book. Her pack of Rufuses was too hard to say, so we call them Rufi. She hates it and retaliated with Omega.”
“That’s kind of funny.”
“Maybe, but it’s not catching on. Mitzy’s trying, though. She renamed the Tech building to be the Omega Tech Testing Facility to try and push the change.” I press on the access panel and the outer metal door opens with a hiss.