The Recruit Read online

  Sure, Rebecca could understand that, but: “But, it’s my harmless personal email, Alan.”

  Alan was shaking his head again. “That’s what I’m saying, you shouldn’t use your personal email. At least not the one you had before. Sorry, Ms. Sawyer.”

  Again, she understood. There had to be another solution to her problem. “Could you help me set up another email, then? A safer one?”

  “You’ll get one once you become a certified agent,” explained Alan. Rebecca pouted like a little girl. “Until then, you must wait.” In response to that, she showed him her puppy eyes again, “Sorry, Ms. Sawyer, I really am, but you would need to be protected by our firewall and other technical stuff I won’t go over with you right now.”

  “Okay.” She was forced to comply. This was a battle she could not see herself winning, “I’ll wait.”

  “Thank you,” Alan said. “Now, I really need to go back to work. So, goodbye, Ms. Sawyer.”

  Rebecca stood up to leave, returning the chair she had pulled up to its original place. Then, right before she opened the door, Alan stopped her. “If you really need to contact someone, you can call from a public phone in one of the towns near us. Or write a letter with no return address. Or go to a Cyber café someplace far away from here. If you do that, I would suggest opening a brand new account. There are ways, but you still have to be careful.”

  Appreciating his help, Rebecca thanked him and said good night.

  During the next months, Rebecca continued her training routine. Now that she had ventured into the outside world, life got more interesting. Once a week, Dylan took her out on a date. They experienced life together, growing in their human relationship. It didn’t matter if it was a movie or a play or a walk around the city; they drove together and talk about their present and future. Dylan was always particularly interested to hear about her training as she got closer to becoming a werewolf hunter.

  February ended and the rainy months of March began. By then, Rebecca had several training sessions outdoors. Jonathan’s training was very thorough, and she learned something new every week. In all areas she was always showing improvement, which raised her self-esteem. She now believed being a vampire was what she was destined to be, so much she didn't remember what was so great about being human. She was a natural, excelling in everything her abilities had to offer. When she went to the shooting range, she never dropped her gun anymore, and her aim never failed her.

  Rebecca even had time to attend a ballet class in a town forty minutes away once a week. She now was free to borrow an agency car and drive it on her own - without Dylan. This gave her the sense of freedom she thought she'd lost when she first arrived at the agency. It was nice to do something for her while not having to worry about being tested in her ability to be around humans. Every week, after her dance class, she stopped at a Cyber cafe, where she kept in touch with her best friend, Coleen. Somehow, she had made everything work out in her advantage.

  A week into March, Dylan came back from an assignment with news. “I spoke with Lucius about you today.” Rebecca gave him her undivided attention, interested to hear what the director of the vampire agency had to say. “He thinks you’re ready.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, “Really?”

  “Yes,” Dylan said. “He has ordered Josh to schedule your final assessment; we should get word from him soon.”

  “How long do you think I have left to be ready?” Her words trembled.

  “A few weeks, maybe,” Dylan stated. “There are people and places to coordinate.” A few weeks, would that give her enough time to finish her training? “I think Jon’s reports are the reason Lucius made this decision.”

  It had been a while since Dylan went to oversee her training sessions with the ex-marine. “You know he can’t keep up with me anymore, right? Jon?” Rebecca said with pride, yet fearful this had sped up her evaluation.

  “I know. I’m sure,” he smiled. They had been sitting in her living room talking with a cup of warm coffee one morning when Jon had canceled her session and Dylan hadn’t taken any missions. It was nice to just sit back and do nothing. It rarely happened anymore and Rebecca was enjoying being in her pajama’s cuddling next to her boyfriend. Taking the remote from the coffee table, Dylan asked, “What do you feel like watching?”

  “Whatever you want,” she said. Truth was, as comfortable as she had been, the only thing on her mind now was her upcoming field examination.

  Jonathan was doing push-ups when Dylan and Rebecca entered his special training room. “Glad you could make it today, Torrance,” Jon said, not stopping what he was doing. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

  “She has a date in the system now,” Dylan stated.

  “First week of April,” Rebecca said, sounding a little disappointed.

  Jonathan Gonzalez stood up and dried his sweat with a small towel. “Why the long face? You want the test sooner?”

  Pursing her lips, she said, “I guess not.”

  “I would have recommended you earlier, but your boyfriend here has been avoiding his responsibilities. I felt this was the only way to get him to get off his butt and help you.”

  Rebecca raised her eyebrows when she turned to look at him, “What is he talking about?”

  “I have to teach you how to get shot,” he replied. “You can’t pass the test if I don’t show you how it feels to get shot. It’s almost impossible to succeed otherwise.”

  “Wait, with a gun?” Her question had sounded silly. Both men laughed and Rebecca couldn’t figure out how she had missed that was part of her training.

  “Also,” Jonathan continued, “I think it’s time you took over her combat skills training, Dylan. There are things only you can teach her because-” He stopped for effect. “Seriously, Torrence, did you know she would be like you?”

  That was something that had been asked before. Had he known?

  Dylan avoided answering the question. Instead, he asked, “How good are her combat skills?”

  Rebecca knew the answer to that question. She knew Dylan knew it, too – she had told him. It had to be in the ex-Marine’s report. Rolling his eyes, Jon replied, “Don’t you read my reports, man? Do you think I write those for my health?” Then, he pointed at her, “She’s good and you know it.”

  Dylan didn’t seem to be taking it seriously. After pursing his lips, he prepared his next question, “In your expert opinion,” he began, “do you think she could beat me?”

  “Maybe,” Jonathan said. “Look, give her a try. After you see what she’s got you’ll understand why it must be you who continues her training. Not me. Not anymore.”

  Dylan hadn’t decided on a course of action when Rebecca spoke up, “I’d like to try. I’d like to take you on. I’m really pretty good.”

  Turning to face her, Dylan smiled gently. "Maybe if I’m not too hard on you," he considered.

  Jonathan laughed, “Maybe you’ll defeat her and maybe not, Torrence, but definitely not if you’re not giving it all you’ve got. I can't believe you aren't even a bit curious.”

  Turning to look at him offended, Dylan said. "Do you honestly believe she could take me down? You trained with the Marines for years and you can't beat me, why would she?"

  “Wait a minute,” Rebecca interrupted. “How good are you compared to Jon?” She could predict Jonathan’s movements, but it was still always a challenge.

  “Sawyer,” Jon said, “if you are better than me, and I’m a trained Marine, I think you stand a fairly good chance.” Turning to Dylan, he seemed to reconsider, “Although Dylan, he’s a whole other ball game.”

  “Are you sure you want to challenge me, Becca?” Dylan asked her. “Are you ready to see what I can do?”

  She had been secretly dreaming about it for months! Almost as soon as she had gotten there and everybody kept talking about how good he was – the best werewolf hunter alive.

  She said, “I think now I would appreciate what you can do more than before. I'm not just
a dancer anymore.”

  Dylan's smirk turned to hesitation. “You could get hurt, Becca,” he warned.

  “Don’t let him scare you, Ms. Sawyer,” Jonathan told her. “If I say you stand a chance, it’s because you do. Think of all you’ve learned. Think of all I’ve taught you. Heck, if you don’t beat him I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re close to doing it.” That had made him laugh. “I’m telling you, I don’t know what Dylan saw in you, but he hit the jackpot when he found you.”

  That may have been true – she wanted it to be true - but she had months of experience while Dylan had, what – a century?

  “Well, now I’m curious,” Dylan said. “Let’s see what you’ve got, Becca.”

  Jon sounded pleased when he said, “Great! Then maybe you could pay attention to what I’ve been missing in her training while you’re at it.”

  “All right,” agreed Dylan. Rebecca was excited and fearful as she saw him taking both his jacket and tie off to get ready for the match. He also took his gun from its holster and gave it to Jonathan. After that, he shook his arms and legs in a quick warm-up routine, and when he looked at Rebecca again, he was ready to fight as a fully transformed vampire. It was the first time Rebecca had seen him like that, with his red eyes and a much longer set of teeth than she had seen on anyone. Giving a step back, she suddenly felt so afraid of him she doubted she could get near him, much less fight him. “Well, then… let’s see what you’ve got.”

  “Do you have to look like that while we do it?” Rebecca protested.

  “Yes,” Dylan replied. “Ready?”

  Jon could smell her fear and hear her uneven heart, because he said, “Don’t let him scare you. It’s just a façade, you can do this.” He cheered from one corner, clapping.

  Right, I can. I can do this, she thought to herself. “Ok, bring it on,” Rebecca announced. With a thought, she called for her red eyes and willed for her sharp fangs to slide down.

  Dylan stood there, static, watching Rebecca waltz in front of him. The purpose was to take the other one down on their back, just like Jon had taught her. That was all. She only needed to figure out how to do it.

  “Attack her!” Jonathan demanded of Dylan.

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” Dylan warned.

  “Come on, Torrence.” Jonathan insisted. “We both know it’s you who should start this fight.”

  “Fine.” Dylan walked towards Rebecca while she kept jumping from one side to the other as Jonathan had taught her. When Dylan tried to move behind her, wanting to take her arm meaning to throw her to the floor, she easily pushed him away, escaping the attack with ease. Dylan looked surprised and annoyed; he hadn't expected her to get off that easily. Shrugging, the werewolf hunter said, “All right, then. Let's start.”

  Watching Dylan roll up his sleeves preparing to take on her again, Rebecca took her time to savor her little victory. Clearly, he hadn’t liked that she had defended herself like she had.

  “Come on, Torrence. Do it again!” commanded Jonathan, enjoying himself.

  Dylan nodded and charged again. This time, he moved from one side to the other, his red eyes beaming, until he stood behind her. It took several attempts, but he took her arms, pinning her to the floor.

  Her head bounced on the hard floor and ached. Somehow, Dylan had confused her senses, muffling her sense of predicting patterns with his movements. She was trying to figure out how he'd done it when he took her leg with one hand, sending her flying up in the air. Somehow, Rebecca was able to control her landing and be ready for what was coming.

  “You are good,” Dylan admitted. “But that’s one point for me.”

  “It hurt,” Rebecca moaned, trying to gain some sympathy by rubbing the back of her neck.

  “Well, I haven’t even started,” he added.

  She hadn’t liked that, “Bring it on, then.” Rebecca sounded confident, but she was everything but.

  “All right, here we go for round two,” Jon said behind them.

  The fight would end in the next two minutes. Dylan got down on all fours and bared his fangs at Rebeca. She tried not to be intimidated by it, but it was hard not to fear him. Running towards her, Dylan took her with him until he pressed her against the wall by the neck. Rebecca had seen it coming but had frozen out of fear and now could not free herself. The next movement was also predictable, but there was nothing to gain if terror filled her. Dylan took her leg and threw her around the room. Before she landed, he was waiting for her, hitting her abdomen and sending her back to the floor. Getting on top of her, with his knee over her spine and his hands holding both of her arms, he trapped her.

  He was about to break her neck when Jonathan called, “All right. Stop! Stop!”

  Rebecca hurt all over and when she felt Dylan’s weight leave her body, she felt relieved. She waited for her body to heal in several places before getting up. She could feel Dylan waiting until she was ready.

  “Jon’s right, we need to practice,” Dylan recognized. “Most of all, you need to control your fear. It may also be time to learn to work together.” She felt ashamed to even look at him and she knew he was aware of her shame. “Are you all right?”

  “I feel like an idiot,” Rebecca told him. “I really didn’t stand a chance, did I?”

  Jonathan came to her rescue. “Don’t feel bad, Ms. Sawyer. There isn’t anybody in this agency who can take on Dylan Torrence.” Dylan did nothing but stare at her, now with a worried look on his face. Jonathan continued, “But I'm not lying, if there’s anyone who has a chance at beating him, it would be you. What he did today was scare you, so work on facing your fears. Remember you will soon be facing werewolves, not vampires. They're an intimidating bunch.” As he spoke, her eyes were on Dylan, who became human again. Feeling Jonathan’s hand on her shoulder, she heard him say, “Maybe you can’t see it now, but you have been a vampire for only a few months while Dylan has been doing it for decades and you surprised even him. Plus, he has field experience. I think in time you could take him down, for real.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Dylan said. Then, “Jon's right. It’s true that I have more experience than you. And it's time we trained together, for both our sakes. We need to get used to one another to be a more efficient pair out there in the real world.”

  “He may deny it, but he’s a good teacher,” Jonathan added in his favor. “He’s taught me a whole bunch.”

  Dylan agreed, “I’ll take over your training.” Then, to Jon: “Thank you for your help. I’m grateful.” Jon nodded, pleased. Dylan now turned to Rebecca once more offering a comforting smile. “If you want to rest, I’ll understand, Becca.”

  Jonathan added, “Or he could take you outside and start teaching you what he knows.”

  Rebecca considered this suggestion. She still felt like a fool, but otherwise, she felt one hundred percent. True, her self-esteem had been off the charts after showing an ex-marine she was better than him, so she couldn’t help but be a little bummed after being defeated so easily by Dylan. Now she had a new goal, to be his equal. “If you have time,” she told Dylan, “I’d like you to take me outside.”

  "I can’t," Dylan replied. "I took on an assignment and-"

  "I’ll cover for you, Torrence," Jonathan offered. "I’ll leave right away, just… you should use this opportunity. She needs you; you brought her here, and she needs you."

  Looking at Dylan hopeful, Rebecca thought he would still say no. To her surprise, he nodded his head. “All right, fine,” he said. “But we’ll need a different schedule after today. I still need to take on a few assignments to keep me sane.”

  Rebecca didn't object to that as she happily followed him out of the training room.

  Rebecca delayed her last and most difficult training session as much as she could. It was still two more days until her final agency test and Dylan had warned they couldn’t wait any longer to begin.

  For weeks they had been training together; for weeks Rebecca had learned more about Dyl
an than she had learned in all the time they had known each other. She now knew him as a warrior, a hunter.

  And he was good at it. He was really good. While it had been easy to predict Jon's movements, it was hard for her to predict Dylan's. It was also harder to surprise him, because unlike the former Marine, who did everything by the book, Dylan managed to exploit all exceptions. Whatever made Rebecca special, Dylan had more of it. She doubted she would ever beat him, instead she learned everything she could from him, both offense and defense.

  During their training sessions, Dylan acted detached and professional, calmly explaining what weaknesses he saw in her and teaching her how to improve. Even so, more than going out to dinner or a movie, Rebecca enjoyed her daily training sessions with Dylan most of all, feeling disappointed whenever he canceled a practice to go on a mission.

  And yet, no matter how well they seemed to work together, nothing could have prepared her for what was coming.

  “This room is special,” Dylan watched the lights turn on automatically when the room felt them come in. Rebecca hadn't fully entered the plain metallic room when he took his gun out in front of her, loading it.

  “Why are these walls different?” The room looked like a smaller version of an agency training room, except it had metal instead of the white painted concrete for walls.

  “When we are done with this room,” explained Dylan, “it can be triggered to burn like an oven, getting rid of all bloodstains.”

  That sounded dangerous.

  “So, we’re using this room because we’re going to get hurt,” she stated.

  “Well, you will.” She could see the side of his mouth curl into a smile. He was going to enjoy this.