G.U.A.R.D. Book #3: Recusant

-24-

    "From now on, things will be different," Sebastian Tiago said. The recruits stood in a line on a concrete pad at the back of the cabin. Each had his or her pack sitting in from of them. The uniforms stood to the side—three men and one woman—while Tiago was positioned directly in front of us.

"You may have gotten used to the way things work in your base," he continued. "You're handed things on a silver platter. You have everything at your fingertips. Here... things don't work the same way. From now on, you rotate duties between cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and maintaining the garden."

A stirring entered the crowd. I couldn't say I blamed them. We were here to learn how to be agents, not how to become housemaids.

"Which is fortunate for us since it means we have a few extra means of discipline." Tiago turned his glare on the people who had grumbled. They were instantly silenced. "Everyone, unpack your bags."

We all hesitantly knelt and unzipped the pockets.

"You'll find four different sets of clothes in there," he continued. I pulled out a black shirt with white stripes on the sides. A G.U.A.R.D. symbol was imprinted over the heart. "Two are camo for ventures in the jungle. The other two are standard gear."

Along with the shirt were yoga pants with the same stripes. The other striped uniform consisted of a tank top and exercising shorts. The camo outfits had the same types of pants: cargo. The shirts were either long-sleeved or a tank top.

"You'll be required to wear the striped uniform every day," Tiago told us. "Laundry is every Sunday. For now, pack away the camo gear."

We did as he instructed.

Everyone wakes up at zero five hundred hours and goes to bed at twenty-one hundred. Chores immediately follow wake up, then breakfast, and then we get to work straight after. This goes for every day of the week except for Sundays. On Sundays, you have the afternoon off. I expect you all to follow protocol to the dot. I don't enjoy rogue trainees, and trust me, you won't either once I'm done with you."

Tiago motioned towards one of the uniformed men, who then handed him a clip-com.

"Every end of the month, we have something we call the Trials. They can consist of different types of extreme games, or survival of the fittest. For ease of training, you're all split into teams, and your teamwork is tested in the Trials. The teams aren't permanent; they change after every Trial, so don't get used to them. However, a week before the Trials, the team appoints a captain. Their job is to oversee the entire team for the Trials; after which, you will be reassigned to a new team, and you'll start the whole process over again. By the end of the year, you should all be able to work with people you love, people you hate, and anyone in between."

He looked down at the clip-com. "When I say your name, step forward. Bella Reed. Kelly River. Fred Robinson. Oliver Watson." The man glanced back up. "You're Team Red. Step back."

They did so.

"Reece Foster. Li Jiang. Evan Tran. Ruth Cunningham. Timothy Young. You're Team Yellow. Next up: Cole Pierce, Dennis Hanse, Nadia Harvey, and Pranay Patel. Team Green. Last team is Team Blue. Julia Brooks, Holly Moffett, Trent Porter, Temujin Batsaikhan, and Natasha Hawk."

I felt my heart sink as I stepped forward. Trent Porter, his face still smeared with mud from last night, looked over at me with an annoyed glance.

Tiago flipped his clip-com on its side and held it pressed against his hip. "Each team functions as one unit. You do everything together from sleeping, eating, and taking a dump. Every team has one instructor who will be teaching you what it means to be G.U.A.R.D. agents. And this is where your new bed comes into play: each team has a quadrant of the bunk room. Team Red, you have Hudson Nguyen and quadrant one." He pronounced "Nguyen" like "win." "Team Yellow: Sam Russell and quadrant two. Greens, you have Paige Martinez and quadrant three. And Blues, your instructor is Rico Paul. You have quadrant four."