The Academy

Part One: Chapter Seven

Three weeks after Lacey was attacked, she's been cleared to resume training. Today's her first day back. It's early and cold, and we're next to each other quietly as we run, seven miles today. We always start off the morning with a nice long run. 

She's a bit different now. I can't quite figure it out, but something has definitely changed with Lacey. I don't blame her, no one gets beaten up in the middle of the night and feels fine afterward. She's her usual, confident self, but I think she's a bit jumpier. She doesn't go out at night anymore and is very careful about locking the door to our room, for good reason.

If I'm being completely honest, I'm surprised she's going on as normal as she is. Maybe it's the three weeks she's had off, or it's just who she is as a person. From the stories she's told me about her childhood, she was beaten up a lot, maybe she's just used to it. Now that's a horrible thought.

If I thought running was easier before the academy, I was wrong. Every single morning we run, longer and at faster paces than what I did on my own before. A mile is like nothing now. An easy day is five miles, never any less than that. The hardest we've had is twenty. I think Skipton was just being spiteful that day, a pain in the ass as always. Either way, that sucked. It's not even a marathon, but it sucked nonetheless. 

I haven't given up on trying to figure out who exactly attacked Lacey. It has to be someone from inside the campus, there's no way an unauthorized person would get through all the Marine security as well as the Bureau's. She said it was a man, but none of the guys in our class or the lower classes would dare take her on. So, it's either some asshole from the higher class or one of the staff members. But that's as much as I got, and even though I've narrowed it down, that's still a giant suspect pool.

Look at me, I'm profiling already.

Camilla isn't far behind us, I can hear her feet pounding on the ground. Lacey and I keep pace with each other, as always. Well, in the past three weeks it's usually just been me in the front, but now my roommate is back, and it's good to have someone who can keep up with me. 

Personally, I like morning runs. Not when they're twenty miles, obviously, but it gives me a chance to think and to clear my head. Lately, all I can think about is the profiling class. I've been putting together old cases, all fresh in my mind, as well as the tons of information I have to process each day. Yes, the morning runs are quite refreshing, I get to prepare for the day.

We finish in record time and grab some water to catch our breath as we wait for the rest of the group to finish. They're not too far behind, but they never catch me. Skipton is nearby waiting, a stopwatch in his hand. His eyes linger on Lacey and me, making my skin burn. This isn't the first time I've noticed him staring at the women in our group, which makes me wonder...

No. If he's made it this far up the chain of power in the FBI, he's clean. No one gets away with anything in this place, there are ears everywhere, and the background checks that are run go deeper than you can imagine. 

"You okay? How's the head?" I ask Lacey quietly. She's too proud to admit it out loud, but she was in a lot of pain those first few days after she was attacked.

"Good," She looks at me, her hazel eyes warm. "Surprisingly enough, I'm not crazy out of shape from weeks off."

I smile at that, "We've never had more than two days off in a row before that, I kinda think it'd be nice to have a week to just get really, gloriously fat."

Lacey laughs and Camilla comes up to us, placing a quick peck on her girlfriend's cheek. They made it official a few days after Lacey's attack, and I couldn't be happier. Though, I can't help but give myself a bit of the credit for getting these two together. What can I say, sometimes you just need that extra little gay push.