Balance (16 page)

Mi
chael regards her account, a
most impressive
cordial
spin on an
asskicking
,
he’s
heard. 
N
ot sure where th
e
conversation is head
ing,
h
e smiles,
invit
ing
them to join
him
and Waters.

Mr. Black politely declines,
offering the excuse of
‘
prior commitments
’
.

The four depart, leaving Michael a little confused.
 
“
So, w
hat’s a Seer
?
” He
asks.

Wate
rs considers the question before responding,
“Field operation
units
,
or Infiltration Teams as they are
commonly
called
,
are
typically
three person mobile
units
.  They go where needed,
generally
on specific, surgical
,
missions. 
A three-person
team
is
comprised of an Infiltrator
,
Dispatch and Seer
.  The Seer coordinates the
operation from outside the immersion. 
You and Rena
,
at some point
,
are expected to comprise two-thirds of an Infiltration Team
.
”

H
aving a vague idea what an Infiltration Team
might be,
Michael
refrains
from continuing the
discussion
,
wishing
to
confer with
Rena
first
.

Michael’s appointment with the psychologist
concludes
just before 9:00.  R
eturning
to his quarters
alone, h
e goes directly to
Rena’s door and
knocks lightly
, hoping she’
s still awake.

“Yes?”
the voice inquires, coming over the wall mounted access panel.

“It’s me.  Can I come in?” He asks.

“
Yes
, of course.”

Michael slides pas
t
the door, walking
in quietly
,
a little
worried he might be intruding.

Still in
her workout clothes
,
without the jacket,
Rena sit
s
on the couch,
leaning
over
the
protocol manual
laying
on the coffee table
in front of her
.
 
H
er hair pulled over the far side of her
head
, creat
es
a dark red curtain that frames
the profile of
her
beautiful
face
. 
F
ocused on
her
reading
, she
finishes
,
and then
turn
s
her attention to
h
im
.
“I was hoping you would stop in.” She
confesses
.

Momentarily surprised, his mind wanders, then focuses,
“How
was
your appointment
with the psychologist
?
” He
asks her politely, not wanting to jump right into the reason for the visit.

“It was fine, meet and greet. 
Asked a few questions as to what I was thinking on the course today and how I felt about you rescuing me, some more along that line. 
Yours?”

“Kind of the same,
a
sked me a lot about the
Hustle
, how I survived, t
he fighting, wanted to know if the
t
ryout was similar to the cage.  I guess, now that I think of it, maybe a little more th
a
n a meet and greet.”

“Interesting.
”

“Have you ever heard of a
Seer or
an
Infiltration Team
?”

She scans Michael’s face, t
rying to determine where this li
ne of questioning originated.
D
eciding to let
him
lead the
conversa
tion
,
she proceeds cautiously
, “
No I haven’t, but b
ased on the conversations we’ve had, I have an idea what it might mean.”

“They’ve targeted the two o
f us
for an Infiltration Team.  The
team is
comprised
of a Seer, Infiltra
tor and a Dispatch
…
  I met some
Seers this evening.”

“Well that explains a lot.”

“Explains what
?
” He
bristles
.

His exasperation causes her to raise an eyebrow, silently requesting his control.
“Everyone keeps asking about our relationship. 
I
assumed
Takada
thought
we might be plants …
spies
, b
ased on
our discovery
and how well
we interacted.  I
t made sense.
Then Takada came in this
morning
and stated
we
would be working together.  He wanted me to feel comfortable getting to know you.  He wanted you and I to
form a
bond.”

“What do you mean
…
bond?”
His tone level, considerate.

“
Close f
riendship or relati
onship, I don’t think they care, but I g
et the
impression
they’d prefer
a relationship.
”

“Why would that matter?”
Michael asks
.

“You said yoursel
f, you just met the Seers, are
either of us like them?”

“No?”

“Then I am going to assume you and I will make up the other two pa
rts of the team,
t
he Infiltrator and th
e Dispatch
.”

“W
hat
are
an Infiltrator and a Dispatch
?
  Which one are you and I?
”

Rena
considers the question,
pretty sure
of the answer. 
Certain
Michael wi
ll not like the complete theory,
she’ll
have to tread carefully her
e …
for both of their
sakes
.  “I have an idea
.  The way
I understand it, based
on rumor, these
SuperElite
rely on
business espionage
versus
frontal military assault
.  I expect
Infiltration Teams are the tools they use for
much
of that activity.  I would guess a
n Infiltrator is someone who goes
into a
n
intended target’s operation. 
Ms. Smith
used the word ‘immersion’.  That
’
s what she was doing this morning, setting up base line images for immersion.  Since I spent so much more time there then you,
they must be intending for me to
be the Infiltrator.”

“So
,
that makes me the
Dispatch
, w
hatever the hell that is?
”

“I think I know that answer, a
nd I don’t think you’re going to like it.
”
 
Rena
offers, studying
Michael
before continuing,
“
When we first got
invited
,
I figured you would be
some
bodyguard-type
…
Alexander said
it was fort
uitous
we
were found together
.
  I didn’t understand
,
at the time, what he meant.
 
I bet that based on Alexander’s recommendation, they targeted us for these roles immediately.  I
also imagine
bonding
is part of the teaming process.
”
 
Rena
can
tell
he’
s
becoming
confused.
  She
states
sarcastically, “
I’m guessing they are just drooling over you.”

“Why?”

“Michael
…
a
Dispatch
…
I believe
…
is an assassin.”

Micha
el deliberates on her statement
for a short time, h
i
s mind clears
,
“No … no
.  I
won
’t
kill
…
I’ll refuse.”

Rena stand
s
,
needing to make clear the
significance
of her next statement
,
“You don’
t understand Michael.
  You can’t.  You made sure of that
today
, when you saved my life.”

Shaking
his head
slowly
, his
confus
ion growing,
he
look
s
at Rena,
imploring,
“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything!
” She snaps, her emotions now on the rise, “
… W
hether you acknowledge any feeling
s
for
me or not, they
must assume
they exist
.  If you refuse, they won’t hurt you, they’ll hurt me. 
I’m sure they
expect
those feelings
reciprocated.  That
’s
why they
’
ve
been so interes
ted in our relationship,
why we are
allowed to spend time together
…
Hell
,
they’ve been pushing us at each other since the moment we met. 
The
y
want us to form a bond, a
relationship
. 
I’m sure
… so
it can be
used as leverage against each of us.  I would also guess
,
if either one of us were to try to underperform, in an attempt to sabotage our development, they would use
this
leverage
for
incentive
.
It even tethers us to them, neither one of us could try to escape, for fear
they would punish the
other. 
I’m guessing this is done for every pair they pick for
an Infiltration Team
.
” She takes his hands in her
s
and looks him in the eyes,
“
Michael we have to see this forward, no matter how we feel about it.
”

Michael
pulls away and
sits down on the couch, staring off into
the distance, caught up in his thoughts
.  “All this
because of a
fucking
cage fight.”

Rena
turns away from him, h
er eyes start
ing to well,
“Michael …
it’s getting late
… c
urfew…
you
don’t want demerits too.”