Outbreak

Worries

Day 18

Light Steve's P.O.V.

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"What do they mean, they can't meet until tomorrow?"  I hiss, annoyed.  I fling the letter down onto my desk.  The leaders can be so irritating sometimes!

It doesn't matter.  I have other things to worry about right now, anyway.  In a few hours, I should be able to talk with the guards stationed around Sabre's house.

Until then, I guess-

There's a knock at the door.

I turn, startled to find LC entering my office.  His shift starts in fifteen minutes!  What is he doing here?

"Hey, Light!"  he greets, smiling.  "Before I head off, can I talk to you about something?"  I pause for a second before nodding, curious what my Elite has to say.  "So I overheard the Yellow Leader talking about expanding the Colorless Guard soon."  he smiles brightly.  "And I was wondering if you had a set date for the recruitment yet, so I can spread the word?"  I scowled a little.

"The expansion was never official."  I clarify.  "And I don't want to recruit just yet.  Maybe a few months from now."  LC tilts his head.

"Why wait two months?"

"I'm busy right now, and I want a plan in place before we start training people!"  I snap.  "You know, we never caught most of the Corrected Sun.  I don't want to be infiltrated again!"

"But the Corrected Sun is-"  LC stops as he catches my eye.  "You know what?  Nevermind."  His face turns steadily orange as he turns to leave the room.  "Goodbye, Light."  He races off to his shift.

I sigh, a little annoyed at myself.  I hadn't meant to be so rude.  I'm just stressed out about Sabre.  Surely in a few months I'll have this whole thing worked out, and then I can focus on training.  LC will forgive me.

I go over the notes on my desk once again, scanning the guards' reports for suspicious activity.  The steves at the gate say that Sabre enters and leaves quite a bit, but none of them ask why.  He never gives any explanation.  Nobody in the kingdom has caught sight of M, though.  I wonder why he doesn't come in anymore.  Why meet Sabre in a dilapidated library, and not at Sabre's house?

I'm broken out of my thoughts by a second knock.  It's the guards, but only six out of the eight.  I frown.

"Hello, come on in."  I say, gesturing into my suddenly cramped office.  "Where are the other two?"

"They're still sick, Captain."  one reminds me, and I groan.  I forgot to change out Sabre's guard.

"Still?"  I complain, before regaining my composure.  "Nevermind, go ahead and report."

They all share nervous glances, and I feel anxiety twist in my gut.  Did something bad happen?  A shiver runs down my spine before the first guard speaks.

"All seems peaceful in the kingdom."  he says slowly.  "Even though we're near the center ring, the tensions between different colored steves have gone down considerably."

"No, not the kingdom."  I interrupt, annoyed at myself.  "I'm concerned about Sabre."  The guard blinks, surprised.

"Oh, um, the non-steve doesn't stay in the kingdom much."  he shrugs.  "I assume he has business elsewhere, or maybe he doesn't like to remain in the kingdom very often.  It's understandable, given the security trouble and harassment in the past."