medic cupped his hand across Danny's bloody nose. The injured man's body relaxed somewhat. Jennifer slid down the wall beside the door and sat on the floor. The entire day had been a disaster. She was impatient, she'd let her really evil temper get away from her, and she'd hurt somebody. She found Valentine irritating as hell, but he didn't deserve to get hurt by her. He was just doing his job.
She looped her arms under her legs and buried her face against her knees, trying hard to stave off the tears.
She wasn't being very successful at it, so she got up and hurried from the room.
***
"Okay, fess up, what happened?" demanded Peter. He had stopped the blood flow from Danny's nose and was careful cleaning the blood from Danny's face while he held the pain in check.
"I was supposed to be giving Sebastiano a self defense lesson. She caught me off-guard. Is it broken?"
asked Danny.
"No, I don't think so, surprisingly. Despite the fact it bled like hell, the lower edge of your eye socket seems to have caught more of the impact. I'll X-ray it just to be sure, though. You're going to have a major black eye, at least 'til I get it fixed." It would take some healing to tame down the swelling and bruising.
"Maybe you should let Sebastiano know she didn't kill me. I think she was kind of upset," said Danny.
"Where is she?"
"I thought she was over by the door."
"Nope," replied Peter.
"Well crap. Where'd she go? Maybe I should go look for her." Danny tried to sit up, but Peter put a hand on his chest and prevented him.
"You're not going anywhere for the next half hour, while I work on your face. Lie down and don't squirm around. I'll sit on you if I have to," Peter threatened.
Danny rolled his eyes.
***
Suitcases open on the floor, Jennifer stopped her packing and flung herself on the bed. Tears were streaming down her face and her head was pounding hard enough to make her feel sick. The program was reputed to take an average of ten weeks. She'd been here five. Whatever made her think she could do this? She sobbed into the pillow. Division P may have done the recruiting, but she'd said yes. What the hell had she been thinking? An artist could turn into a "secret agent"?
Better to leave now and avoid the humiliation of being told to leave. Christine, the woman who had run the focus session, had been very displeased with Jennifer's performance this morning, even going so far as to express doubts as to why Jennifer had been offered training at all. Nothing this week had really gone right.
And now she'd injured the guy who was supposed to be conducting the combat parts of her instruction.
The headache was turning into a full-fledged migraine, and she buried her face deeper against the pillow, trying to block out the light. The nausea was creeping higher too. She barely even heard the knock at the door. Whoever the hell it was could just go the fuck away. She'd be out of their hair as soon as she stopped being curled up in pain.
***
There was no answer when Danny knocked on the door to Sebastiano's quarters. He stood there for a moment, thinking. There wasn't any indication she'd gone elsewhere. He put his hand flat on her door, wondering if she was inside. It was an unconscious gesture, not really necessary, just a little physical trigger for his mental quest.
She was inside, he could tell, and very, very upset.
He had an internal little argument. Psi were a particularly odd group of people as a whole. Most tended toward incredibly strong emotions and unpredictable reactions, but that very sensitivity was a component of what made them capable of what they did.
Did she need someone to check on her? Should it be him? Or was that going to compound the problem? He opened his shielding further. She was in pain, physical pain. He made a snap decision and pulled his pass key from his pocket to unlock the door.
The inside of her quarters was silent and she wasn't in view in the main den/kitchen area. He walked through into
She looped her arms under her legs and buried her face against her knees, trying hard to stave off the tears.
She wasn't being very successful at it, so she got up and hurried from the room.
***
"Okay, fess up, what happened?" demanded Peter. He had stopped the blood flow from Danny's nose and was careful cleaning the blood from Danny's face while he held the pain in check.
"I was supposed to be giving Sebastiano a self defense lesson. She caught me off-guard. Is it broken?"
asked Danny.
"No, I don't think so, surprisingly. Despite the fact it bled like hell, the lower edge of your eye socket seems to have caught more of the impact. I'll X-ray it just to be sure, though. You're going to have a major black eye, at least 'til I get it fixed." It would take some healing to tame down the swelling and bruising.
"Maybe you should let Sebastiano know she didn't kill me. I think she was kind of upset," said Danny.
"Where is she?"
"I thought she was over by the door."
"Nope," replied Peter.
"Well crap. Where'd she go? Maybe I should go look for her." Danny tried to sit up, but Peter put a hand on his chest and prevented him.
"You're not going anywhere for the next half hour, while I work on your face. Lie down and don't squirm around. I'll sit on you if I have to," Peter threatened.
Danny rolled his eyes.
***
Suitcases open on the floor, Jennifer stopped her packing and flung herself on the bed. Tears were streaming down her face and her head was pounding hard enough to make her feel sick. The program was reputed to take an average of ten weeks. She'd been here five. Whatever made her think she could do this? She sobbed into the pillow. Division P may have done the recruiting, but she'd said yes. What the hell had she been thinking? An artist could turn into a "secret agent"?
Better to leave now and avoid the humiliation of being told to leave. Christine, the woman who had run the focus session, had been very displeased with Jennifer's performance this morning, even going so far as to express doubts as to why Jennifer had been offered training at all. Nothing this week had really gone right.
And now she'd injured the guy who was supposed to be conducting the combat parts of her instruction.
The headache was turning into a full-fledged migraine, and she buried her face deeper against the pillow, trying to block out the light. The nausea was creeping higher too. She barely even heard the knock at the door. Whoever the hell it was could just go the fuck away. She'd be out of their hair as soon as she stopped being curled up in pain.
***
There was no answer when Danny knocked on the door to Sebastiano's quarters. He stood there for a moment, thinking. There wasn't any indication she'd gone elsewhere. He put his hand flat on her door, wondering if she was inside. It was an unconscious gesture, not really necessary, just a little physical trigger for his mental quest.
She was inside, he could tell, and very, very upset.
He had an internal little argument. Psi were a particularly odd group of people as a whole. Most tended toward incredibly strong emotions and unpredictable reactions, but that very sensitivity was a component of what made them capable of what they did.
Did she need someone to check on her? Should it be him? Or was that going to compound the problem? He opened his shielding further. She was in pain, physical pain. He made a snap decision and pulled his pass key from his pocket to unlock the door.
The inside of her quarters was silent and she wasn't in view in the main den/kitchen area. He walked through into
Similar Books
Collision of The Heart
Laurie Alice Eakes
Who Owns Kelly Paddik
Beth Goobie
Monochrome
H.M. Jones
No Daughter of the South
Cynthia Webb
House of Steel
Raen Smith
With Baited Breath
Lorraine Bartlett
Redaction: Extinction Level Event (Part I)
Linda Andrews
Out of Place: A Memoir
Edward W. Said
How Cassie Got Her Grind Back
Heather Rainier
Run to Me
Christy Reece