face and words.
“It’s never been this long,” Kaia said, not backing away from Ms. Blankenship’s harsh glare.
“I don’t care,” she shot back. “He will make it.”
As soon as she said the words, the computer in front of them gave a small beep. All their faces lit up with hope and their fingers went back to typing a mile a minute. The office had suddenly erupted into a chaotic mess of working towards something that still eluded Gabrielle.
“Get the Central Bureau on the line,” Ms. Blankenship snapped as her eyes shot to Gabrielle for just a moment. She hopped up off the chair and snatched up the phone. She was determined to show these women that she could hack it here. She wanted to show them that she was a fast learner.
“General Black, please standby,” she said into the phone, anticipating what was needed of her. It was what Ms. Blankenship had instructed her to say the last time, so it made sense to Gabrielle that it was what she would want this time.
“You stupid girl,” Ms. Blankenship snapped, stomping over to Gabrielle and snatching the phone out of her hand.
“Please disregard,” she hollered into the phone. “I repeat, disregard. We have the coordinates, we are requesting an immediate extraction.”
“Damnit,” Ms. Blankenship huffed as she slammed the phone down. “They have already begun the standby. We’ll have to manually override and do the extraction ourselves.”
“There’s no way,” Nettie said, shaking her head. “We don’t have the time. It’s already been too long.”
“Just shut up and do as you’re told,” Ms. Blankenship said harshly as she stormed back over to the computer screens. “We are going to get General Black out of there. He’s been fighting Darklings for nearly twelve hours and he’s counting on us.”
Gabrielle could do nothing but watch as the women worked like crazy. Their fingers flew across the keyboard as Ms. Blankenship watched and barked out orders at them. This went on for a few long moments before the computer began to beep again. A chirping little chime that brought a smile to Ms. Blankenship’s face. The other women relaxed back into their chairs a smile mirroring Ms. Blankenship’s.
“I can’t believe we did it,” Nettie said. She looked over at Kaia. “I’m celebrating tonight.”
“The night is already over,” Ms. Blankenship said, looking at her watch. “But I’ll be buying you girls a nice lunch tomorrow. You did good. Mr. Black will undoubtedly be proud. He should be here any moment, so straighten things up a bit. One little hiccup is hardly an excuse to let things get disorganized, especially not for Mr. Black.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kaia said, Nettie echoing her. They both began to clear away their desk of the papers that had been pulled out of files and scattered around the office.
Then, to Gabrielle’s horror, Ms. Blankenship turned and squared directly off with her. The frightening woman had a determined look on her face as she stomped over to her and stopped but a mere inch from her face.
“You are beyond lucky, little girl,” Ms. Blankenship said as she narrowed her eyes and dropped her voice. “Because of your stupidity and amateur mistakes, we almost lost not only Ms. Black, but Sebastian as well.”
Gabrielle could hear an odd amount of affection in the woman’s voice when she said his first name like that. The other women in the office stopped for just a moment and cast her an odd look. Gabrielle didn’t have time to ponder what it meant, because the strong, deep voice of the man they were talking about interrupted them.”
“I don’t remember giving you the liberty of addressing me by my first name,” Sebastian said. His hair and suit were impeccably in place, but Gabrielle could see the exhaustion in his eyes. He was covered in blood and small wounds. It was obvious he had been fighting for a long time.
“Mr. Black,” Ms. Blankenship’s face went white as she stared up at him.
“It’s never been this long,” Kaia said, not backing away from Ms. Blankenship’s harsh glare.
“I don’t care,” she shot back. “He will make it.”
As soon as she said the words, the computer in front of them gave a small beep. All their faces lit up with hope and their fingers went back to typing a mile a minute. The office had suddenly erupted into a chaotic mess of working towards something that still eluded Gabrielle.
“Get the Central Bureau on the line,” Ms. Blankenship snapped as her eyes shot to Gabrielle for just a moment. She hopped up off the chair and snatched up the phone. She was determined to show these women that she could hack it here. She wanted to show them that she was a fast learner.
“General Black, please standby,” she said into the phone, anticipating what was needed of her. It was what Ms. Blankenship had instructed her to say the last time, so it made sense to Gabrielle that it was what she would want this time.
“You stupid girl,” Ms. Blankenship snapped, stomping over to Gabrielle and snatching the phone out of her hand.
“Please disregard,” she hollered into the phone. “I repeat, disregard. We have the coordinates, we are requesting an immediate extraction.”
“Damnit,” Ms. Blankenship huffed as she slammed the phone down. “They have already begun the standby. We’ll have to manually override and do the extraction ourselves.”
“There’s no way,” Nettie said, shaking her head. “We don’t have the time. It’s already been too long.”
“Just shut up and do as you’re told,” Ms. Blankenship said harshly as she stormed back over to the computer screens. “We are going to get General Black out of there. He’s been fighting Darklings for nearly twelve hours and he’s counting on us.”
Gabrielle could do nothing but watch as the women worked like crazy. Their fingers flew across the keyboard as Ms. Blankenship watched and barked out orders at them. This went on for a few long moments before the computer began to beep again. A chirping little chime that brought a smile to Ms. Blankenship’s face. The other women relaxed back into their chairs a smile mirroring Ms. Blankenship’s.
“I can’t believe we did it,” Nettie said. She looked over at Kaia. “I’m celebrating tonight.”
“The night is already over,” Ms. Blankenship said, looking at her watch. “But I’ll be buying you girls a nice lunch tomorrow. You did good. Mr. Black will undoubtedly be proud. He should be here any moment, so straighten things up a bit. One little hiccup is hardly an excuse to let things get disorganized, especially not for Mr. Black.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kaia said, Nettie echoing her. They both began to clear away their desk of the papers that had been pulled out of files and scattered around the office.
Then, to Gabrielle’s horror, Ms. Blankenship turned and squared directly off with her. The frightening woman had a determined look on her face as she stomped over to her and stopped but a mere inch from her face.
“You are beyond lucky, little girl,” Ms. Blankenship said as she narrowed her eyes and dropped her voice. “Because of your stupidity and amateur mistakes, we almost lost not only Ms. Black, but Sebastian as well.”
Gabrielle could hear an odd amount of affection in the woman’s voice when she said his first name like that. The other women in the office stopped for just a moment and cast her an odd look. Gabrielle didn’t have time to ponder what it meant, because the strong, deep voice of the man they were talking about interrupted them.”
“I don’t remember giving you the liberty of addressing me by my first name,” Sebastian said. His hair and suit were impeccably in place, but Gabrielle could see the exhaustion in his eyes. He was covered in blood and small wounds. It was obvious he had been fighting for a long time.
“Mr. Black,” Ms. Blankenship’s face went white as she stared up at him.
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