HELIX (a technothriller)

3 - Firebird Squad

Location: Classified

The entire squad stopped what they were doing and looked at Olesya.

'What are you doing here?' one of them asked.

This wasn't off to a great start.

There were nine recruits inside the compact living quarters. The quarters smelled of used socks and shoe polish. There was a pair of recruits to almost every metal bunk bed, the bed sheets folded with hospital corners and smoothed by a wooden ruler. The recruits wore nametags velcroed to their uniforms, a privilege reserved only for those in Combat Training.

A boy stepped forward, arms folded. Olesya recognized him as Ark, the squad leader. He was tall and thin, with curly brown hair and rounded eyes that looked too big for his head. He smirked as he approached.

'Take a wrong turn, Blondie?' he said. 'Which squad are you looking for?'

Olesya swallowed. 'Firebird.'

His smile dissolved. 'Uh, that's us.'

'I've been transferred,' she said.

'Not to Firebird, you haven't.' He lifted his chin. 'Must be some mistake. Where are you from?'

'English Squad.' Olesya noticed the empty bunk. 'Is that the spare bed?'

'Whoa, hold up there.' He stepped between her and the bed. 'That's for a proper recruit, not some little girl from English Squad.'

I'll show you a proper recruit, she thought.

'I don't know why they moved me,' she said. 'I'm just following orders.'

'From English Squad?' Ark laughed. 'Great, a recruit who can't even speak English properly.'

Someone else cleared their throat and moved nimbly forward. Her nametag read Xiu. Her large brown eyes flickered between Olesya and Ark. When she spoke, she was calm but sure.

'It sounds like she speaks better English than you,' Xiu said. Her accent was American, not Chinese. Her gaze lingered on Olesya for a moment, but not too long.

'I didn't ask you.' Ark focused on Olesya. 'I don't care about your language skills, I care about your combat skills. And you have zero.'

'I have basic training,' Olesya said. 'Did you forget?'

Ark almost laughed. 'Basic won't get you far in this squad.'

The rest of Firebird were whispering in their bunks. Olesya couldn't hear what they were saying. She spoke up, drowning them out.

'That's why I'm here, to learn,' she said. 'Everyone says you're the best leader of all the squads.'

Ark allowed himself a knowing smile.

She leaned in to whisper. 'But I think they're wrong.'

'What do y—' Ark said. 'What do you know, huh?'

'You can't handle one untrained recruit.' Olesya stepped forward. 'The best leader could do that, easy.'

For a fraction of a second, Ark flinched, as though he was about to be attacked from something high above. Then his bony arms locked at his sides. 'We have more important things to do than babysit you. We have training and tests to pass. You won't even last a day.'

'Then you have nothing to worry about,' Olesya said.

Ark smiled. 'Exactly.'

Olesya sidestepped him and threw her pack on the empty bed. She just wanted to get on with it and make this change as painless as possible. 'I'm from English Squad, remember? I'll only be here for one day.'