Vortex by Julie Cross Page B

that’s where you are right now, then it’s gonna be a problem when
     you get assigned to real missions.”
    What came after denial?
    “Stages of grieving apply to death. It’s not like she’s dead,” I said, a little more
     defensive than I should have sounded. I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Besides,
     Dad … me and Holly … it was like the honeymoon phase for us. A week or two more and
     we would have been at each other’s throats. I had a bad habit of screwing up and she
     had very high expectations, rightfully so.”
    He looked at me for a long moment and his face spread into a grin. “Damn … you really
     did lie your way through that test. As your superior officer, I’m very impressed.
     But as your father, I’m worried about you.”
    “Don’t be,” I said firmly. “We all have to learn how to deal with bad stuff and keep
     going, right?”
    It was hard for me to complain to Dad about Holly when I knew she was okay, while
     he had lost the woman he loved forever. If it weren’t for that, I might have opened
     up to him a little more than I had. Especially considering the fact that we’d spent
     more time together in the last three months than we had in the last three years combined.
    Dad laughed under his breath. “I would have loved to have seen you confessing love
     to a girl. I honestly didn’t think that day would ever come. It’s never been a priority
     for you, to be with someone. Not that there’s anything wrong with being independent.
     I wanted that for you … and for Courtney.”
    “Well, you probably won’t ever see me confessing love to anyone again.” I had a feeling
     this statement was true, but I didn’t know if it was because I’d never get over Holly
     or because I would, and still choose to be alone, like Dad had.
    “I wish Eileen could see you, like this. She just had so many ideas and…” He stopped
     and turned his eyes up toward the sky again. “Anyway … she’d be proud of you. That
     much I know.”
    “God, this is depressing,” I muttered after a long and eerie silence fell between
     us. Both of us started laughing, slicing through the tension. “Sorry, I had to say
     it.”
    “Point taken,” Dad said. “Did you and Kendrick have a hard time with the test today?
     The first part, I mean … the rest I know was difficult for most of you.”
    “Nothing we couldn’t handle.” I sat up and stretched my arms before lying back again.
     “How come I’ve never heard anything about Kendrick? There’s not much in her file.”
    “She’s got a different background than the others. She’s a med student, you know.
     That’s why she hasn’t been with you guys until recently. She had classes.”
    “How can she be a med student if she’s only twenty-one?”
    “Agent Kendrick is very smart and extremely creative … especially in the areas of
     medical research and genetics. Chief Marshall and Kendrick both agreed that traditional
     agent training was the best place for her to start.” He averted his eyes from me and
     scratched his head. “She’ll do fine in the field. Not as well as Stewart, but good
     enough. Dr. Melvin’s already got her working on research for some of his upcoming
     experiments.”
    “Not clones, I hope.”
    Dad threw me a sharp look. “You know he’s not interested in those types of projects.”
    “Yeah, yeah, so I’ve heard … like, a thousand times.” I rested my arms behind my head
     and studied the clouds slowly moving over us. “Marshall gave me and Kendrick an assignment.
     He thinks we need to trust each other more.”
    “I heard about that.” Dad stod up, nodding toward the hole in the ground we had emerged
     from.
    I reluctantly got to my feet too, knowing we would have to head back soon. “Do you
     have any idea what would challenge Kendrick?”
    Dad laughed under his breath. “Surgery, stitching someone up, setting a broken bone,
     performing an autopsy.”
    “Is she, like, flunking out of