We step into the cool, air-conditioned interior, where I give Kaye the nickel tour, letting her peek in on all the cool projects Mitzy’s team is currently working on.
After spending a little over an hour with the Techies, I take her to the gym facilities. Her eyes widen as we enter the main area, which is larger than a stadium.
“This is where you’ll meet me after lunch for our first sparring lesson.”
I give her a moment to take it all in. Our gymnasium is larger than a football stadium with a retractable roof far overhead. Inside, the space is partitioned into scores of training spaces for different things.
“This is insane.” She grabs at my arm and tries to look at everything all at once.
We pass the massive rock wall, where we train for missions. It spans the length of the football field and soars nearly all the way to the roof overhead.
“How tall is that?” She cranes her neck, taking it all in.
I pull at my chin. “I honestly don’t remember.”
“And it runs the entire length of a football field.”
“It does.”
“Why?”
“For various training activities. We have something running almost all the time.”
“This place is… Wow. Just wow.” She releases my arm and spins in a slow circle. “When Rafe and Hayes said they came from the climbing wall, this is not what I pictured.”
I guide her into the center of the field, where dozens of sparring mats spread out in a grid over the ground.
“We’ll train over here.”
There are enough sparring stations for all four teams of Guardians to split into pairs and face off against each other, plus many more for ongoing skills maintenance of non-Guardians.
“Train? What do you mean?”
“Self-defense. Remember what Doc Summers said?”
“I don’t remember much of last night. I was overwhelmed.”
“Well, she thinks, and I agree, that you and your roomies should take advantage of our self-defense training while you’re here. We start this afternoon.”
“Oh, that makes sense, and you’re going to train me?”
“It involves a lot of close, physical combat, lots of holds and grabs. There’s absolutely no way I’m letting the guys get that close to you.”
“You’re funny.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Possessive?”
“Yes, but not in a bad way. To be honest, our best trainers are Jinx and Lily.”
“Who’s that?”
“They’re former DEA agents. Lily was a field agent. Jinx was in crypto, but she’s got this badass Brazilian fighting style that we’re all trying to learn. I’ve yet to beat her.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“You’ll understand when you meet her.”
Silence drops between us as Kaye tries to absorb everything around us.
“Come on. I think you’ll like this next bit.”
“What’s that?”
“Look overhead.”
She cranes her neck but doesn’t make out the wires running overhead.
“What am I trying to see?”
“Zip lines.” I grin and point to the lines. It takes a moment before she makes out the thin lines against the dome overhead.
“And why would you think I’d like that?”
“Because you’re a zip line queen.” I try to make light of how we got her out of the house yesterday.
It takes a minute, but she eventually smiles.
“I’m good with my feet on the ground, thank you very much. Why do you have zip lines? Seems odd.”
“We use them for urban training scenarios, doing exactly the kind of thing you did. We also train for midair operations.”
“Midair? You’re kidding me?”
“No.”
“You willingly go on a zip line from one aircraft to the next? I thought that only happened in action movies. You know, when everything is bigger than big? Badder than bad? And physics doesn’t matter.”
“Where do you think those directors thought that shit up?”
“Wow, I guess you really do learn something new every day. I thought it was fiction.”
“We do a lot of things that are very cutting edge. I’m constantly surprised by some of the tech Mitzy’s team comes up with. In your downtime, ask her to show you the VR suite. Now that is fucking cool.”
I bypass the diving facilities where we train for water ops and take her to the weapons arsenal, eager to show her everything all at once.
Exhausted by my extensive tour, just before noon, we find a quiet spot in the middle of the Quad and rest under a tree. The shade relieves the heat of the day as we sit side-by-side.
“Thanks for showing me everything.” Kaye reaches for my hand. “I’ve had the best time.”
“We only hit the highlights.” I turn her hand over and interlock our fingers.
“I’m beyond impressed.” She tips her head back and sighs with contentment.
“Guardian HRS is an amazing organization. I’m happy to be one small part of the work they’re doing in the world.”
“You must have saved so many lives. That’s an incredible legacy to leave behind.”
“Well, I’m not ready to leave it behind just yet, but yeah, the life of a hero…” I lean back and lock my fingers behind my head. “I love laying on the grass and staring through the branches of a good tree.”
“It’s a great day for it.” She settles down beside me.
“Unfortunately, our little jaunt is coming to an end.”
“It is?”
“Yeah, I have to meet with the team.”
“About Scott.” Her lips twist, and I think she’s going to ask to join us, but to my surprise, Kaye’s silent on the matter.
“I’ll walk you back to your quarters. We’ll meet after lunch and we’ve got something special cooked up for dinner.”
“Are we going to the cafeteria? Do they make waffles at dinner or is it a breakfast-only event?”
“I honestly don’t know, but we’re going someplace far better than that.”
“I don’t know if anything is better than those waffles.”
“Well, you’ve never had one of Rafe’s homecooked meals.”
“I didn’t know he cooked.”
“I’m surprised Carmen didn’t mention it. His parents are world-renowned chefs and taught him everything they know. He kept it secret from all of us. It’s a mistake he pays for now.”
“How?”
“We make him cook dinner at Insanity on the first Saturday of every month. It’s become an unofficial Guardian event. That’s tonight.”
“What’s insane about that?”
“Insanity is a place.”
“A place called Insanity?”
“Yup.”
“And where is this place?”
“Now that is a surprise you’re going to love.”
“How mysterious.” She rubs her hands together, having fun. “I can’t wait.”
And I can’t wait to see her reaction to Insanity and the guys who call it their home.