Chapter 19 - A New Variable

I barely had time to catch my breath before the system agent yanked me into a debrief room.

Vance stood there, arms crossed, expression unreadable. Two system operators sat behind the glass, probably ready to pull up every angle of my fight like it was some sports replay.

"Good work," Vance said flatly. "Mission complete. Target neutralized."

"Wow, no confetti? No trophy?"

"Your technique needs refinement."

"Gee, thanks, Coach."

"Your partner disregarded direct orders."

My jaw tightened. "I noticed."

"You think that was acceptable?"

"Do you think I'm going to throw him under the bus?"

Vance's eyes narrowed. "He's a liability."

"He's the reason I'm still alive."

"The system will not tolerate repeated disobedience."

"The system can get in line."

Vance stared at me for a long moment, then sighed. "You will be assigned additional oversight."

"Oh, great. More babysitters."

"Your next mission starts tomorrow. Multi-Grave disturbance, more complex environment."

"You're escalating me already? I just got here."

"You will be accompanied by a secondary hunter."

"Let me guess. Someone with perfect compliance, cold efficiency, and the emotional range of dry toast?"

"Elliot Stroud."

"Elliot who?"

"You'll meet him in the morning."

"Fantastic. Looking forward to it."

...

When I finally dragged myself back to the main hub, the stares hadn't lessened.

Some hunters looked vaguely impressed. Others looked like they were calculating how soon I'd drop dead.

"She survived?"

"Guess we lost that bet."

"Her? Seriously? With Vayne?"

I flopped into a chair near the mission board, too tired to care.

"Enjoying the attention?" Elren asked as he sat beside me, as calm as ever.

"Obviously."

"You were reckless."

"Pot, meet kettle."

"They will increase surveillance."

"Let them. I'll just wave at the cameras."

"They assigned a second hunter."

"Yeah, I heard. Elliot Stroud."

"I don't trust him."

"You say that about everyone."

"Correct."

"And yet you stayed with me."

"Obviously."

Okay, I'm going to need someone to surgically remove this permanent blush from my face. It's becoming a problem.

-----

The next morning, Vance called us into the preparation bay.

"Ava Lin, Elren Vayne, meet Elliot Stroud."

I turned and immediately regretted everything.

He was too tall, too good-looking, and had that exact brand of dangerous charm that screamed I'm here to ruin your emotional stability.

His hair was slightly messy in the 'I totally didn't spend twenty minutes perfecting this' way. His smile was easy, his eyes sharp.

"Hey there, princess."

Oh, he did not just call me that.

"Hi. You must be the extra babysitter."

"And you must be the one the whole system's buzzing about."

"Don't believe the hype."

"Oh, but I do."

Elren stepped forward, body language taut. "Stay focused."

"Of course, of course," Elliot drawled, waving him off like Elren was a minor inconvenience. "I'm just here to make sure you two don't set the place on fire."

"Obviously."

Elliot tilted his head, amused. "He says that a lot, huh?"

"It's a whole thing," I muttered.

Vance handed us the mission file. "Grave surge in the industrial zone. High density. High risk."

"Are you sure you're not just trying to kill me?" I asked sweetly.

"Survive and find out."

"Wow, what a reassuring response."

"You leave in two hours. Get your gear."

...

I walked toward the locker room, Elliot trailing after me like a persistent shadow.

"So," he said, "you and Vayne, huh?"

"What about it?"

"He doesn't take partners. He barely tolerates people."

"Lucky me, I guess."

"Or maybe unlucky him."

"Wow, you're just full of sunshine, aren't you?"

"It's part of my charm."

"You think you're charming?"

"Oh, I know I am."

"That's dangerous confidence."

"You like dangerous, don't you?"

Okay, I admit, I walked right into that one.

Elren appeared suddenly at my side, sharp as a blade. "Focus."

"Yeah, yeah, handler mode engaged," I mumbled.

Elliot only grinned. "Don't worry. I'll watch her back too."

Elren's gaze sharpened. "You won't need to."

"Obviously," I whispered, covering my smile.

Oh, this is going to be so much fun.

As we suited up, Elliot leaned against the locker, watching me fiddle with my gear.

"So, what's it like?"

"What?"

"Being from another world."

"Oh, you know, just like this one. Except less Graves and more coffee shops."

"Sounds boring."

"Sounds safe."

"Safe is overrated."

"Says the guy who probably has a death wish."

"It keeps life interesting."

"I'm already in over my head. I don't need more interesting."

"Too bad. You're stuck with me now."

Elren appeared again, perfectly timed. "Not for long."

Elliot laughed. "Obviously."

I groaned. "Oh no. Don't start."

Elren simply turned away, signaling the end of the conversation.

I strapped the last buckle on my gear and followed them toward the transport bay.

Okay, Ava, let's survive this. And maybe… just maybe… have a little fun while you're at it.