Patterns - An Academy Story

Home On The Range

Kota's POV

The buzzing of my alarm clock startled me from a deep sleep. I rolled over, reached out and smacked the clock with my hand to turn it off. I'd been dreaming about one of the projects I was currently working on in the lab, and it made me excited to get to work today so I could put some of my ideas into action. Damn. It would have to wait until this afternoon. Today was Thursday. It was the day Nate and I were scheduled to meet with Raven, the Academy Weapons Master, to re-qualify at the range. I groaned, and leaned over to grab the notepad I kept on my bedside table to jot down ideas when they came to me. I didn't want to lose the thread for an idea on using nanotubes to help clean up the Ashley River.

After I finished writing down my notes, I stood and stretched. No time to dally this morning. I had to pick up Nathan, and the range was 30 minutes away without traffic on a good day. I texted Nate to let him know I'd be there in 20 minutes to pick him up. Raven was a stickler for timeliness, and we didn't want to piss him off. I headed to the kitchen, pressed brew on the coffee maker, and popped a frozen breakfast sandwich in the microwave so it could heat up while I dressed, and continued to get ready.

Range bag, and all important thermos of coffee, in hand, I locked the door to my apartment, and walked to the parking area. My trusty old sedan had given out a couple of years ago, and North had finally talked me into getting a new car, instead of attempting to fix my old one again. After studying the statistics of current electric car models, I ended up purchasing a Chevrolet Spark. I would have loved a Tesla, but with a base price of $70,000, there was no way I could afford it or justify the cost. I was all about being green, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe I would be able to afford one by my 30th birthday. I clicked the key fob of Sparkie to unlock the car, set my range bag in the back, and climbed in.

I pulled out on to McConnell towards Nathan's apartment. Luckily it was only a few minutes away and traffic wasn't too bad yet. It's a good thing we're morning people, I thought to myself.

Several minutes later, I pulled up in front of Nathan's building. He was already outside waiting for me. He raced up to the car with his range bag and climbed in. "It's fucking cold out there this morning," he laughed. "Whose idea was it to do this at practically the crack of dawn?"

"That would be Raven's idea," I replied, pulling the car away from the building. "I think he gets a sadistic kick out of making everyone show up this early. I brought a thermos of coffee, if you want to pour out a couple of cups for us." I nodded to the thermos in the drink holder.

"Good idea, I could use some. I didn't get in from my assignment until late last night."

"How did it go?" I asked him.

"It went well. I finished up with the surveillance job on a property developer who was trying to hide some shady side dealings with a couple of members of the zoning and planning commission. I got enough pictures and recordings to put a stop to, or at least delay for further investigation, the project they're trying to shove through. I wouldn't be surprised if he earned himself an orange jumpsuit."

"Excellent work. All files have been sent to Mr. B?"

"Yup. That's one of the reasons I was up so late. I dropped them off to him personally. Hey man, do you mind?" Nate asked, nodding at the radio.

"No problem, pick what you want. Just none of that electronic techno stuff that Gabe likes," I told him. "Or that country stuff you listen to all of the time," I added quickly. "I don't need to hear some cowboy singing about his tractor or his pickup truck."

"Roger that," he laughed. "Or the classical shit that Victor and Mr. B listen to."

We drove along on the highway headed north towards the range. I liked hanging out with Nate. We didn't get as much of a chance these days as we used, like when we grew up down the street from each other. Between the lab and assignments for me, and his dojo and assignments for him, it seemed like we only saw each other at our family meetings, or when we had dinner together each week. I kind of missed the days when we all went on assignments together as a family, like we did at that awful high school when we were still teenagers. That was a crazy place, I thought to myself.