"Step up and load your weapon." Luce said like a sigh.

　　I step up to the narrow counter top of the shooting bay and look down at the side arm. I can`t throw my shots, but I can`t confirm I`ve been holding back either.

　　"What`s the hold up?"

　　I glance over at her squinting eyes and pinched lips. She`s always pissed off, but right now she`s radiating her hostility. My hand slides over the cool, smooth, dark metal of the hand gun. I pull it towards me and grab the magazine next to it. It`s filled with special rounds from the weapons vault making it glow green around the edges. Luce moves to the side of our bay and leans against the partition, arms crossed. I slam the magazine up into the bottom of the grip and pull the slide loader.

　　"Today, Oren."

　　"I`m . . . I`m sorry for wasting your time. Having to train me more."

　　"Yeah? I seriously doubt that." Her body straightens up as she pulls out another side arm case. "I have no idea what you`re even doing here."

　　The lid slams hard against the counter with a bounce. The other officers, in their partitioned bays, glance over.

　　"I don`t get it." She stops, placing the gun and both her hands on the counter to lean heavy over the open gun case.

　　Her red hair falls like a curtain blocking her from my view. I don`t make a move, it`s the most she`s ever said to me. The pop of rounds firing around us fill the silence.

　　"What`s so special about you, about any Oren?" Luce`s voice sounds gravelly and rough. "What did they see that was worth the risk? To risk everything, we worked so hard for?"

　　She spins in a flurry of flaming red hair to glare at me. I stand still with my gun back on the counter beside me.

　　"What did he see in your family that was so damn special to risk mine?" Her eyes go wide, and a strangled surprised gasp escapes her down turned lips.

　　"Nothing." I don`t know what she`s talking about but I do know one thing. "I don`t belong here. I don`t belong anywhere. There`s nothing special about me."

　　"No. There has to be something." She sounds almost pleading. "My father didn`t ruin his career, my family, defending yours for nothing. It was not for nothing."

　　I take a step back at her words. She turns to the counter, jerks her gun from its case, and unloads into the target.

　　"Pick up your weapon. You`re going to show me why they risked everything for you. Give me nothing but bulls eyes, warrior."

　　And I do. I unload and hit each target`s weak spot dead center, every time. The captain told me she chose every member of her team. They`re all highly skilled, of course, but there`s also something else that sets each apart.

　　"Why`d you throw your assessments?" Luce asks as we pack up our weapons.

　　"It`s like I said." I answer with a shrug of one shoulder. "I don`t belong here. Plus, you`re right, I am a risk."

　　I`m being too honest with her but something shifted between us. Knowing her father stood up for my family is making me reckless, and I understand her anger toward me now. I deserve it.

　　"So, you want to leave?"

　　I swallow hard as I struggle to answer. I need to leave in order to find the truth, in order to keep my powers hidden, and safe from hurting others. But do I want to leave? It doesn`t matter what I want, never has, so why think about it. I don`t answer her question. She nods, accepting my silence and I walk to the exit.

　　"You`re a dead shot like I knew you`d be." Luce follows me to the weapons room. "But you`re not compatible for a weapons specialty, so why throw your shooting assessment?"

　　We slide our cases back on the shelves for the technicians to clean and put away. I scan the weapons room as if I`ll find a lie to tell her somewhere on the shelves.

　　"There are things I can...with who I am . . ."

　　I cross my arms across my chest and stare back at her. I can`t finish what I want to say, it`s already too much. More than I have said to anyone. Her gaze is steady and that hint of sadness she carries around her mouth deepens.

　　"Calling attention to myself in any way is not smart for someone like me." It`s the best I can give her.

　　"Right. How can you be a dead shot with no prior weapons training? But you`re an Oren. That`s always been reason enough before..."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author`s consent. Report any sightings.

　　Before my family became traitors. She says it like they were known for unexplained skills. Maybe they were, how would I know?

　　"I get it. I do." She says. "But you owe a lot of people and you better damn well step up. The captain put a lot on the line to get each of us here. Don`t let them question her leadership."

　　But the captain didn`t choose me. Centrum`s plan is to keep me under watch. And after learning what I have about the twins and now Luce, I`ve got a bad feeling about why I`m really here.

　　"So, I owe a debt now, I owe you? Is that why you always look so pissed?"

　　This may be the only time I get her talking. She`s shared more about my family in these few minutes than I`ve been able to find out in the past two weeks. Her head snaps up and her green eyes narrow to slits.

　　"Pissed? Me? I`m a freakin` ray of sunshine, warrior." She leans forward until she`s in my face, and snaps her teeth together like she`ll take a chunk out of me.

　　My head jerks back giving me a peak of Luce`s satisfied smile. I think of Edna telling me my smile was dangerous as I watch Luce`s face transform with a flash of hers. She`s stunning.

　　"Don`t be late to your next assignment." She says bumping into my shoulder on her way out.

　　I reach up to rub the sting. Did I think stunning? More like deadly. I think she growled at me too.****

　　"Shit." I lost sight of Addy long after she entered the woods. After two weeks, I don`t even bother searching the woods once she`s vanished. I can`t track her and I can`t let it go.

　　I turn around to walk back inside. The lights automatically dim throughout the building once the sun goes down. The shadows from the wall sconces loom high above me making the halls taller.

　　I turn the corner and find myself at Founder Hall. Without clearance I can`t enter the shooting range by myself but I`m drawn towards it anyway. Someone has propped open the heavy metal door with a small crate. I check my perimeter and sense no one approaching. I peer into the opening. The gate malfunctions from my trial and the tunnel flash in my mind like a warning.

　　"Get in here warrior." The captain says.

　　I push open the door to find her waiting for me with two cases in her hands. I step closer to carry the cases for her but a perfectly arched eyebrow raises high and stops me mid-step. The right side of her mouth tilts up before she turns to enter the shooting range.

　　"Move that crate from the door and follow me." She calls over her shoulder.

　　I pull the crate free and the door seals us in with a click of the security lock. Her calming rhythm settles in my chest. She sets the cases on a counter. I`ve been avoiding her to keep my abilities from acting odd but it hasn`t worked. I rub at the center of my chest. The push and ache of restraining my powers is gone.

　　"You were expecting me." I join her in the center shooting bay.

　　"Well, you`re not covert about following me every evening. So may as well make use of you." She`s not accusing or authoritative, and the snark I associate with Nugget is absent as well.

　　She sounds tired. She points at the unopened gun case on the shelf. I reach for it and prep the side arm inside.

　　"I`m not following you." I say with more bite than intended.

　　"No?" She cocks the slide back to load the chamber of her gun. "Every time I turn around, there you are."

　　"I know." I murmur into my chest. "I . . . I don`t know why that happens." It`s stupid to say.

　　Her eyes widen in surprise and then return to their blank stare. She stays still waiting for me to continue. I can`t tell her I suspect my powers are tracking her or why I don`t fight it hard enough. I like the moments of peace too much.

　　"I`m trying to track Addy." I sigh in defeat and look at my shoes.

　　I might as well tell her what I`m doing. She already got the squad`s feedback on my disappointing performance. Without using my powers I`m just an average warrior.

　　"Well, you really suck at it." Her sharp laugh breaks up my pity party.

　　With her side arm raised she lets off four shots. Each one hits the Blaze demon target between the eyes.

　　"But don`t beat yourself up, not even Kane can track her. And he`s a sneaky bastard."

　　"Can you?"

　　She turns to me lowering her gun to her side. "Of course."

　　Her cocky words are all Nugget, but the smile she wears is new and familiar. The way she`s standing, her weight on one leg with that soft smile pierces my mind. I`ve seen her before. My mind starts to whirl through the small bits of memory I managed to salvage from before the academy.

　　"Hey, are you okay?"

　　The click of the gun`s safety is followed by the thud of the weapon being laid down. She takes a few steps forward and I shuffle a few steps back. I can`t know her from before. There`s a memory I can`t grab a hold of. I reach for it, and it slips further away.

　　"Warrior." Her captain`s voice jars me to stand straight, ready to salute.

　　Damn military training, I was so close to remembering. There`s no reason we would`ve met before. Most regions don`t interact, too busy protecting our assigned walls. My memories are more feelings than pictures anyway. She must remind me of someone.

　　"I`m good." I busy myself loading the gun. "Haven`t been sleeping well."

　　"You`d sleep better if you actually stayed in bed."

　　Four more rounds go off from her gun. How does she always know what Im doing? She`s infuriating.

　　"Infuriating huh?" Shit, runaway mouth. I should sleep some tonight.

　　"You don`t get to be the captain of the Elite Squad at my age without being called some choice names. Infuriating is the nicest one yet."

　　I open my mouth to apologize.

　　"Don`t. I like it." She gives me that smile again and I turn away before I`m lost in my head.

　　"Now, how about you show me what you learned from Luce?"

　　I pick up my gun and shoot.

　　"You`re a sharp shooter." She sounds disappointed. "And Luce doesn`t show anyone her special holds and positioning. Fletcher`s been begging for years. You earned her respect."

　　"Yes, a healthy respect for staying out of her way."

　　"Smart. So, why aren`t you sleeping?" We pack the guns back into their cases. "Having any trouble?"

　　Trouble? I expected lots of trouble coming here. More than I got at the academy, but it`s been quiet.

　　"I`m adjusting. It`s too quiet."

　　She stops with her hands over the case.

　　"I forgot about the transition from living in a crowded academy barrack to your own private space. It`s unnerving in the beginning. Plus, most of the senior officers have been away since you`ve been here. It`s usually more crowded."

　　"Like Buckler?"

　　He`s been gone since the day after I got here. I`m still planning on hitting his office.

　　"Buckler?" The captain turns, arms crossing in front of her. "Be careful..."

　　"Only trust your squad." I finish and her shoulders ease. "I remember."

　　"Good. People aren`t always what they seem."

　　"Like you?" I want to take it back.

　　Her eyes narrow. "Especially me."