“Oh, wow!  Falon, look at it!  These buildings are so old!  How are they even standing?” Kayn said as she stared out of the windows.  Both Falon and I smiled, giving each other knowing looks.  It was then that we passed the remains of the White House and Arlington National Cemetery.  They still posted guards from the military, like they did in the old days, and people still showed up to see the changing of the guard.  That was in process as the ‘hover passed the cemetery.  Kayn looked out the window, slightly confused and totally in awe.  “What are they doing?  Oh, wait; is that the Changing of the Guard?  Wow…that is just neat.  Positively awesome.”

I started to chuckle, and Kayn gave me a scathing look.  “You know, Kayn,” I said, trying to hold back my laughter, “you sound just like a bad teenage movie when you said that.  You know, like that old movie Mean Girls.  All you needed was a, ‘Like, TOTALLY,’ and the impersonation would’ve been perfect.”  At this, Falon started to laugh outright, and received a mock punch in his shoulder for all of his effort.  I started to laugh as my scientist friend actually thought that a little tap from the ex-convict hurt.  Now I got a glare from Falon.  I just shook my head, and looked out the window.

It had been twelve years since I had last been to the capitol, but nothing had changed besides the styles of clothing that the people down below were wearing.  Oh, and the fact that I was now in a military hovercraft going over the streets instead of being a normal pedestrian—a student, actually—and walking or running where ever I was needed.  That was before I went to the college that was near AGTF, and way before I was discovered by my professor.  No, this was back in high school, back when he was still my guardian.  

I didn’t think that I would ever have a thought about that failure of a man ever again, but now…why does his face invade my memories, and why does it leer at me through my own reflection?

I felt the hovercraft slowing, meaning that we had reached our destination.  I sighed with relief, glad that my thoughts could turn away from the monster of a man that used to take care of me.

The hovercraft’s doors opened, and the three of us stood up and walked out without ceremony.  The building in front of us was, putting it mildly, gigantic.  It was made of white concrete and windowpanes, all reflecting the fading fall sunlight with a brilliance that would make an angel cry.  The windows were all tinted, so they looked blacker than anything else when the sun wasn’t shining on them.  It used to be a skyscraper, back in the old days when the planet was still divided into little countries and not continents, macro-and microcities as it is today.  It had a name back then, but I don’t remember what it was.  Some obscure company, I’m sure, but nothing that has lasted to our present day.  After all, it had been turned into the Military HQ for the entire continent of Nata’Merika.  

Some low ranked soldiers who watched the doors—and the ones that were to open the doors for us—took our few belongings from the hover, and led us up to our room for the night.  We thanked them before they returned to their posts by the doors.  The room was very spacious and contained three bedrooms with a living area, including a wide-projection holovision, a kitchen which none of us really knew how to operate, and the usual couch, kitchen table, recliners, lamps, et cetera.  

Kayn went to look what was in the fridge that looked like it was a part of the wall, and discovered that it was fully stocked with just about everything that any animal might need: raw steaks by the pound, vegetables, and bottled water in several two-gallon containers that, upon reading the labels, they discovered contained all the nutrients that might be forgotten in their new diets of odd foodstuffs.  It was odd that the government had thought so far in advance, and had even thought to put all of the items in their room.  “Wow…what a spread.  This could feed us for weeks, not just for the few days that they asked us to appear before them,” said Kayn, pulling out a radish and eagerly biting down on the fresh produce.

I snorted.  “Yea, you wanna know why that is?  It’s because the Governors could decide to keep us for longer than what they originally said.  It is in their power…after all, our country is run by martial law.  They can choose to do whatever the hell they want.”  I walked over to the living area, and collapsed on the couch, and muttered for the holovision to turn on, and turn to the local news.

Fallon laughed.  “Yea…you would know, wouldn’t you, Blaire?”  Kayn shot him a confused look, but he merely shrugged.  I just stared at the holovision for a while, trying to put his comment out of my mind.  

“Actually, I would know better than either of you.  You want to know why I never went through Military school before going into command?  It’s because one of my closer relatives is pretty high in the Military…actually, several of them are…” and they always turned a blind eye on my father when I would come to them with new bruises, when I wouldn’t let any of my uncles pick me up for fear that they were the same as my father…for fear that I would be touched like that again…  I rolled over on the couch, turning so that I was facing the back.  I heard them both tred over to the living area, Kayn still chomping down on her radish, and they both took seats in the recliners.  

After a few moments, Kayn said, “And…where are you going with this?”  I heard her shift in her chair, the faux leather creaking under her.

I huffed a sigh, and said, “Nowhere.  I was just rambling, letting my brain talk before I thought about what my mouth was going to say in response to my wandering thoughts.  But still.  I just put in a request with the family I rarely talk to, so that I could become a scientist immediately.  It helped that I also had several letters of recommendation.”  I shrugged, then rolled over and stood up.  

Walking over to the fridge, I felt their eyes on my back.  I pulled out a piece of meat, and felt the Wolf wish that it were warm and fresh from the beast that is was supposed to have originated from.  So I threw the thing down on a plate, and rummaged for some sort of plastic bag.  Upon finding one, I took one of the containers of water from the fridge, and heated it in the microwave.  One the water was boiling, I pulled out the container, and poured the water over the meat in the bag, which caught all of the water.  I had put the bag in a bowl so that if the water proved too hot, it wouldn’t splash everywhere after the bag started to melt.  I let it set there for a few minutes, the only sound in the entire apartment complex the rush of air into and out of our lungs as we breathed.  

When I judged that the meat would be, at the very least, reasonably warm, I poured the water back in the jug, and said, “Don’t drink this.  I think that, besides me, only Kayn could digest all the bacteria in it with any success.”  I slapped the meat in the bowl that had been holding the bag that was now setting on the countertop, and went to the room that they had put my baggage in.  I shut the door, and devoured the meat, listening to whatever may be said through the walls.  As I lay down after dining, they finally started talking.

“I wish that she wouldn’t be so cryptic.  I’ve been working with her before you even knew that she existed, and yet she still doesn’t trust me with anything.  I mean, even with your past, you are still able to look me in the eye and tell me what is really bothering you at nearly any time.  Sometimes is may be a bit embarrassing, but you would tell me even if your cheeks were blushing,” said Falon.  I heard the chair creak under him as he got up and sat on the couch, where I knew that Kayn had to be sitting.

“Women’s hearts can be cryptic, as you put it, if you do not own them.  It seems to me that Blaire has always been a…well, a damaged person.  Did you hear how she talked about her relatives?  Until I became a part of the GEnAn project, I had always kept in contact with my family, even my aunts and uncles, and communicated with them in some way at least once a month.  It sounds like as if she has alienated herself from her entire family.   I wonder what happened that could cause her to be so depressed when she talked about the government and how the Military could do anything that they wanted.”  

There was silence from across the wall.  I heard the cushions on the couch rustle slightly, and knew that they were sitting even closer together.  I felt the hatred and loathing pouring for every fiber of the Wolf, and knew it was the instinct that only the Alpha pair mate.  Those two were obviously emotionally connected in many ways, and as I heard their breathing get harder from the other side of the wall, I knew that they were pushing their relationship at an extreme pace.  It didn’t help that I was so adverse to seeing a man and woman happy together like that, but that was beside the point.  

I sighed, disgusted, and got up meaning to walk towards my door to break up the two in the living area.  However, at that point, the buzzer rang for our room, alerting us that someone was outside the door want to be let in.  Instead of storming to the door, I walked casually, knowing that if I didn’t show up quickly enough one of the other two would get it and my job would be done.  However, when I heard the door open, followed by Falon’s welcome of, “Hello, First General,” I moved my ass to the bedroom door and quickly appeared out in the living room.

When the First General caught sight of my face, his own scrunched up.  “You look different, Blaire.  Oh, this isn’t a formal meeting, you don’t have to salute.  This is just a check-up to see how you all fared on your trip here, and…before that.”  Hans actually looked slightly uncomfortable, and I accidently let out a light, quiet growl.  It didn’t escape the General’s attention.  “What was that, Woln?  Did you say something?”

Abashed, I shook my head.  “No, General.  I just…let the other part of me control me for a moment.  I’ll be OK.”  The General gave me a strange look before turning back to Kayn.

He smiled at her.  “I see that Blaire decided to bring you along.  That is good.  How are you faring, Hampton?  The last time that I saw you, your were KO in Blaire’s torture chamber.”  As Kayn started talking, the Wolf decided that she needed to be let out.  I walked over to Falon, giving him some excuse like, “I can’t breathe in here, tell Hans that I left,” and then did just that.  Left.
So I went outside.  It was late afternoon, so the sun was hard to see and the smog was making everything fuzzy.  I just kept walking, knowing that I could easily find my way back to the Military HQ if I got lost.  This was, after all, the city that I grew up in.


It was later that day that I decided to go and do some shopping.  I didn’t own very much civilian clothing anymore, and the thought of a nice, warm sweater was making me want to go and buy one.  I had enough money in my accounts to feed a third world country for two years because I didn’t get out to visit S’Louis anymore due to the Project.  Smiling, I walked to a taxi stop, and waited for the hover to come and pick me up.  I input the coordinates into the computer, and took off towards the mall complex that dominated the 16 district of Washton.

It was difficult in the stores, surprisingly, despite the uniform that I was wearing.  I kept my tail wrapped around my right leg so that the tip wouldn’t bump up my skirt and get me more looks that I was getting just being in a military uniform.  People still gave me weird looks, so I ducked into the closest store after I saw several children looking at me inquisitively.  It wouldn’t do to have rumors going around about a weird military woman wandering around, in uniform, unsupervised, in a mall, ready to start trouble.  I’m sure that my face wasn’t pleasant to look at, because I kept constantly scrunching my nose at smells that I hadn’t taken into account when this little trip entered my mind.

I found a suitable outfit rather quickly, bought the blue jean skirt and long-sleeved, dark blue top and jacket, and scurried to the fitting rooms to change.

As I emerged from the store, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, and ended up running into someone.  I yelped, startled, and looked up at the man—for it was a man—and said, “I am SO sorry…are you OK?”

And he looked down at me, and my mind froze.