night hadn’t exactly made me feel much better about it.
This. This right here is why I’ve been single for so long.
I sat there for a while longer, until I heard someone knocking on my door. I got up and looked out to see Jenson in the corridor, and I opened up.
“You look exhausted,” Jenson said in greeting.
“I am. Lot of crap on my mind.”
She sat down and I sat on the couch next to her. She was still in her full uniform, which meant she’d probably just gotten back from a patrol shift. “How’d it go?” I asked her.
“We had a Daemon sighting.” Daemon was one of Dr. Death’s teammates. Another of the several villains who just kept slipping away from us. “Amy actually did a good job trying to capture him, but he got whisked away by their teleporter again.”
“I hate that,” I muttered, and she nodded.
“What’s bugging you? Why so tired?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Bad dreams. Stuff on my mind.” Killjoy, mainly, but I didn’t feel like talking about that, like telling Jenson, who had her shit together more than anyone I’d ever known, that I’d gotten myself involved with a former super villain and I was still trying to figure out how okay I was with that. Then I remembered Connor’s advice. “Do we have anyone who can teach me some wrestling holds?”
“Yeah. Your partner. He has training in all of that stuff.”
I wanted to laugh. Of course. Considering he already had a bug up his ass about how much time I was spending with Caine, Connor would just love hearing that I’d be spending even more time with him now.
“Thanks. I’ll ask him.”
I just ran into Beta,” Jenson said. “He asked me to tell you that he went back to his lab after you two talked earlier and he thinks he made some progress on a couple of Alpha’s files.”
“Seriously? We should go check it out.”
“What? Now?”
“Now. The sooner we get some questions answered, the sooner we can get Alpha, Nightbane, and Crystal moved to international confinement.”
We headed down to the second floor, which was where David’s lab was. When he wasn’t officially on duty, he could almost always be found there, and he’d been responsible for working on some of our newer tech, as well as security stuff. Jenson and I walked into the lab and found David in his usual place, head bent over his keyboard as he tapped away. He looked up when he heard the door whoosh open.
“Hey, Jolene,” he said, sitting up. He transferred his gaze to Jenson. “Hey Jenson,” he added, his tone changing a little. I was pretty sure he was blushing and it was kind of ridiculously cute.
“Hey. How’s it going?” I asked as I hid a smile, and Jenson gave him a small nod.
“Okay. I think I’m making some headway on those encrypted files.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Look at this,” he said, waving us over. Jenson and I went next to where he was sitting and I bent down so I could see the monitor he was pointing out. “This was the first file I was able to crack.”
I started reading. “It’s an email or something.”
“Yeah. Keep reading.”
I glanced at him. The tension in his voice sent a trickle of fear down my spine. I looked back at the monitor. A lot of it was bullshit about weather and vacation spots and stuff, and then, toward the end of the document, there was a short paragraph: “Regarding your inquiry about the possibility of sharing samples and information, I must admit that I’m intrigued. Especially at the price you offered. As you know, I have many exceptional samples at my disposal, collected for much the reasons you stated. At this time, I will have to decline, as I believe my assets are worth a bit more than even your generous offer. I’m sure you understand. However, I would be willing to consider it for an increased offer. We can continue these discussions when I return from Paris. Cordially, Michael A. Fendrath.”
“Michael is Alpha?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Samples. So someone was offering
This. This right here is why I’ve been single for so long.
I sat there for a while longer, until I heard someone knocking on my door. I got up and looked out to see Jenson in the corridor, and I opened up.
“You look exhausted,” Jenson said in greeting.
“I am. Lot of crap on my mind.”
She sat down and I sat on the couch next to her. She was still in her full uniform, which meant she’d probably just gotten back from a patrol shift. “How’d it go?” I asked her.
“We had a Daemon sighting.” Daemon was one of Dr. Death’s teammates. Another of the several villains who just kept slipping away from us. “Amy actually did a good job trying to capture him, but he got whisked away by their teleporter again.”
“I hate that,” I muttered, and she nodded.
“What’s bugging you? Why so tired?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Bad dreams. Stuff on my mind.” Killjoy, mainly, but I didn’t feel like talking about that, like telling Jenson, who had her shit together more than anyone I’d ever known, that I’d gotten myself involved with a former super villain and I was still trying to figure out how okay I was with that. Then I remembered Connor’s advice. “Do we have anyone who can teach me some wrestling holds?”
“Yeah. Your partner. He has training in all of that stuff.”
I wanted to laugh. Of course. Considering he already had a bug up his ass about how much time I was spending with Caine, Connor would just love hearing that I’d be spending even more time with him now.
“Thanks. I’ll ask him.”
I just ran into Beta,” Jenson said. “He asked me to tell you that he went back to his lab after you two talked earlier and he thinks he made some progress on a couple of Alpha’s files.”
“Seriously? We should go check it out.”
“What? Now?”
“Now. The sooner we get some questions answered, the sooner we can get Alpha, Nightbane, and Crystal moved to international confinement.”
We headed down to the second floor, which was where David’s lab was. When he wasn’t officially on duty, he could almost always be found there, and he’d been responsible for working on some of our newer tech, as well as security stuff. Jenson and I walked into the lab and found David in his usual place, head bent over his keyboard as he tapped away. He looked up when he heard the door whoosh open.
“Hey, Jolene,” he said, sitting up. He transferred his gaze to Jenson. “Hey Jenson,” he added, his tone changing a little. I was pretty sure he was blushing and it was kind of ridiculously cute.
“Hey. How’s it going?” I asked as I hid a smile, and Jenson gave him a small nod.
“Okay. I think I’m making some headway on those encrypted files.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Look at this,” he said, waving us over. Jenson and I went next to where he was sitting and I bent down so I could see the monitor he was pointing out. “This was the first file I was able to crack.”
I started reading. “It’s an email or something.”
“Yeah. Keep reading.”
I glanced at him. The tension in his voice sent a trickle of fear down my spine. I looked back at the monitor. A lot of it was bullshit about weather and vacation spots and stuff, and then, toward the end of the document, there was a short paragraph: “Regarding your inquiry about the possibility of sharing samples and information, I must admit that I’m intrigued. Especially at the price you offered. As you know, I have many exceptional samples at my disposal, collected for much the reasons you stated. At this time, I will have to decline, as I believe my assets are worth a bit more than even your generous offer. I’m sure you understand. However, I would be willing to consider it for an increased offer. We can continue these discussions when I return from Paris. Cordially, Michael A. Fendrath.”
“Michael is Alpha?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Samples. So someone was offering
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