A Hero in the Dark: 2nd Edition

Chapter 122: Office to Call My Own

"Are you sure you want to do this?" John asks. It's midway through the day and most of the students are finishing their lunches; the cafeteria is packed, so I take bae's hand and lead him away, out of the recreational building and into administration instead.

"I want to be useful to the Human Garde, John," I tell him, not at all for the first time.

"I know, but to spar one-on-one with them... isn't that a bit much? Especially while you're—"

"I'll be careful," I assure him. "Besides, I don't have to spar with every student. I just want to make myself available to them if they need me." I pause, and it's clear he's thinking, weighing the odds maybe. "I'm not like Nine, John. I can't teach like he can. I might not have any ideas on how to help them control their Legacies, but... I have experience. I mean, I learned how to control my own Legacies from Setrákus Ra of all people, and even though I know now that his ways of doing things weren't exactly ethical, he did have a unique—and effective—way of training me..."

"And you want to offer that kind of training to them."

"For the most part, yes," I say, though I roll my eyes when I realize what he must be getting at. "Don't worry. I won't try to turn them like he turned me."

"No, I mean, I wasn't worried about that," he jumps in, running a hand through his hair. "I'm worried about you, and the baby. What if one of them hurts you? Even if it's by accident—"

"I'll come see you right away," I say. "And Malcolm. I'll call for you telepathically."

He sighs, seemingly losing interest in this debate. "Fine," he says. "But nothing even remotely dangerous, ok? I'll be there watching in on every one of your sessions, just in case."

I roll my eyes. "Are you serious? Every session?"

But he says nothing more and only nods in submission, and I take it we're done with this conversation. I probably couldn't say anything to him if I wanted to—not that I want to. I kind of like how protective he is, despite how annoying it can be.

He holds out his hand again and I take it then knock on the Head of Security's door. Colonel Archibald is quick to answer, shouting out a measly, "Come in!" We walk in. "Ah, John. Nice to see you. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Ray, I did," bae replies before looking over at me. "Well, Emily did."

"What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Archibald, Sir," I start. "I'd like an office, if it's alright with you."

"An office?"

"My own," I clarify. "Nine has one; so does John. I'd like one too. That way, I have a space to meet with the students to talk about their Legacies and help them develop their skills."

"Emily, that's outside of my parameters," the man explains, shaking his head. "I don't have the authority to be granting offices to people like you—or I mean... of someone so young, and inexperienced. You'll have to talk to the higher-ups in Earth Garde for that."

"Why's that?" John asks. "Far as I was aware, you were in charge of the academy's overall development and maintenance. Doesn't that include performance checks and rooms?"

"Yes, that's right," he confirms, sitting behind his desk. John and I sit across from him. "Especially performance checks. As you know, I monitor the employees and professors here on a monthly basis, questioning them, and keeping an eye and ear out for suspicious behaviour."

"You mean criminal behaviour," bae assumes.

"Correct."

"You didn't find any with Dr. Linda."

"I asked my questions," Archibald explains. "Linda gave me her answers, and they were sufficient." Bae breathes out at that. I don't think he's very pleased. "My point is, I can't just employ and assign you an office without suitable cause. It's a matter of security, and frankly, Emily, you don't have the best track record of keeping your intentions clean."

Clean? But I— "What's that supposed to mean?" John asks, enraged.

"You know what it means, John," he goes on. "Emily has a history of criminal activity."

"But I never did anything wrong," I tell him, knowing full well that that isn't true.

"Really? Try telling that to Prime Minister Albanese or the United Nations. Hell, test your luck with the FBI or the RCMP, and I bet you'll see just how much they trust you."

"Ok, that's enough," John interjects.

"I'm just saying."

"But... I signed the Garde Accord," I murmur. "I proved that I wouldn't hurt anybody."

He scoffs at that. "You proved you wouldn't. But you never proved you wouldn't teach someone else to do it for you." What? He takes a breath. "Look. Don't take it personally. It's just that if I let you convene with the students in such a way to 'develop their abilities' like you say, there's too much of a risk that you'll end up... well..."

"Corrupting them?" John guesses, and the red bearded man nods.

"I won't," I try. "I swear. All I want to do is help."

"I'm sure that's what you told Minister Albanese when you and that dictator threatened his position," he adds. "I'm sorry, Emily, but there's nothing I can do. Your best bet is to call them yourself and show them just how much you've changed—if you have changed, that is."

"But I have changed!" Why do I have to keep explaining this? I know I messed up, but I thought what we did in Switzerland would change that. I should've known better.

Bae puts a hand on my arm, though he doesn't look at me. His gaze is trained on Colonel Archibald, and Colonel Archibald likewise. "Call them," he spits. "Right now."

"John—"

"And put them on speakerphone," he demands.

Archibald sighs but otherwise obliges, and a minute later, the dial tone rings, once, twice, and thrice before someone picks up. "Hey. Steve? Yes. I have John Smith and Emily De Silva on the line here," he begins. "There's a bit of an issue. They want me to grant Ms. De Silva an office at the Human Garde Academy. I went over why I could not, but they're persistent."

"Persistent, blah! Why should we give a damn! It's a matter of security, Colonel," says the man on the other end. "The hell does she want an office for anyway?"

"I want to help the students," I blurt out.

"You're on speakerphone," Archibald explains quickly.

"Help the students, huh? Is that damn Professor not doing his job?"

"No, he is, but I thought if I—"

"I'll have you know, Steven," John jumps in, "Emily is very responsible, responsible enough to coach these students if she wants to. I know what everyone thinks of her; trust me, I do. But surely, you've received word of what happened in Switzerland a week ago. That was all Emily. She's the one that stopped that deal, and she's the reason why we were able to arrest any of them, including that kid, Einar. You owe her, you hear me?"

­It's silent on the other end. Nothing to be heard of except the guy's breathing until finally he sighs deeply. "You won't let this go, will you?"

"Not in the slightest," bae answers, and while part of me isn't surprised he won't leave this alone, another part of me also can't believe he's doing this. It's my own fault Earth Garde feel so strongly about this; maybe they should. But by the look in my alien boy's eyes, it's obvious he too feels just as strongly about it and I'm hesitant to tell him that maybe it isn't a good idea.

"Fine," the guy says, "but this is only on a trial basis. You hear this, Archibald? A month, that's it. If she tries any funny business at all with her offer of 'help,' terminate her."

"Thank you," I state, to both John and the speaker. Colonel Archibald hangs up and once that's settled, he leads us out into the hall to my supposed office.