The Recruit: Book One (3 page)

“Most of the facility is deep underground.”
 Richard lectured.  “It’s very large and is entirely self-sufficient.  If
necessary, it could support up to three hundred people for three months.”

As the doors opened up onto a wide hallway
lit with fluorescent lights in the ceiling, Richard glanced at her anxiously.  “You’re
not claustrophobic are you?”

“No.  Richard, I’m sorry but I still don’t
understand exactly what this facility is for.”

Richard led her down the hallway to the
large double doors at the end of it.  “It’s a training facility, Hannah.  We
recruit men and women, and train them to kill vampires.”

She stopped before he could open the doors.
 “You’re kidding right?  You’re creating an army of vampire slayers?”

He laughed.  “Essentially, yes.” 

He pushed open the doors and Hannah
followed him into a maze of hallways and doors.  There was an entire section that
contained a common area, a kitchen and cafeteria, dormitories for the recruits,
and single apartments for the people who trained them.  There were training
rooms, exercise rooms, and rooms whose sole purpose seemed to be to hold an
astonishing variety of weapons. 

As he was leading her down one hallway,
Hannah had become completely turned around after the first two minutes, a young
man in a leather jacket and jeans had appeared from a hallway to their left. 

“Richard, do you have a minute?  It’s important.”
 He glanced briefly at Hannah.

“Of course, Ryan.  Hannah, excuse me for a
moment.” The two men disappeared down a hallway leaving Hannah to look
nervously around.  All the doors in the facility had small square windows in
them, and she glanced interestedly into the one closest to her. 

It was a small room, and one of the few
whose walls weren’t painted a stark white.  Instead they were a warm blue, and
honey-coloured planks of wood covered the floor.  There was a small Asian man
kneeling on a rug in the middle of the floor.  She watched he rose to his feet
with a fluid grace she envied.  There was a scabbard hanging from the belt
around his waist and he withdrew a long, curved sword from it.  He held the
sword above his head, the lights glinting off of the cold metal, before beginning
to swing it back and forth.  She watched as his movements became larger and
faster.  It reminded her of a dance, and so intent was she on the man with the
sword that she let out a soft scream when a voice behind her spoke.

“It’s called kenjutsu.”

She turned to see Will standing there.  She
hadn’t seen him since the day he had told her that Sara was dead, and she
swallowed nervously.  He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and she tried to
ignore the way his biceps bulged against the sleeves of the shirt.  His
shoulders were broader than she remembered, and a thick scruff of dark hair
covered his lower jaw.  She could feel butterflies in her stomach as those
remarkably blue eyes looked her up and down.  She resisted the urge to pull her
own t-shirt away from her full breasts when his eyes lingered on them.  With
something close to horror, she realized that her nipples were starting to
harden and she whipped back around, staring into the small room. 

He moved closer, resting his hands on
either side of the door and leaning in until she could feel his breath on the
back of her neck.  “How are you feeling, Hannah?”

Her stomach flip-flopped when he said her
name.  “Fine.”  She squeaked and then cleared her throat.  “I mean, I’m feeling
better.”

“Good.”  He leaned even closer, his chest
almost touching her back and peered into the window beside her.

Hannah’s breath grew shallow.  She hated when
people stood too close or touched her without her permission, but it usually
just left her feeling irritated and anxious.  She had no idea what was
happening to her now.  Her heart was pounding and she could feel small beads of
sweat breaking out on her forehead.  Will’s breath on her neck was heating her
skin; a blush was rising up her body, making her nipples hard and her skin
tingle. 

She stared at Will’s hands.  His fingers
were long and tanned, and both hands were covered in scars.  She had a brief
vision of those long fingers cupping her breast, and her face went from pink to
crimson.  

Get a hold of yourself!
 She scolded herself fiercely.  
You hate this guy remember?

She did hate him; he was coarse and rude
and had delivered the news of her sister’s death with a cold detachment.  But
he had also saved her life and dammit - why was he standing so close, and why
the hell wasn’t she asking him to give her space like she normally did. 

She opened her mouth to ask him to move
back but instead said quietly, “Thank you for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome.”

She glanced up at him.  He was staring down
at her mouth, and something about the way he was looking at it made her legs
tremble and her belly twinge with desire.  He inhaled deeply and she flushed,
remembering his words from before.

“Do I still smell?”  She tried to adopt a
sarcastic tone but it came out sounding hurt and defensive.

“No.  In fact,” he inhaled again, “you
smell like strawberries.”

“I had strawberries for breakfast.”  She said
stupidly.

“I like strawberries.”  He murmured.  He
bent his head towards her and she leaned away from him.

He frowned.  “Are you afraid of me,
Hannah?”

She shook her head.  “You told me never to
touch you again.  Remember?”

He grinned, showing even white teeth. 
“Right – I had forgotten.  Forgive me, that was a particularly trying day and I
lost my patience too quickly with you.”

She arched her eyebrow at him.  “I had just
found out my sister was murdered by vampires and your day was trying?  Tell me,
Will.  Are you always that sensitive to others or am I just lucky?”

This time he laughed, a warm rumble deep in
his chest, and she ignored the warmth that surged through her belly at the
sound.  “You’re much feistier than I would have suspected.  I like it.”

“Well thank God.  You approval means
everything to me.”  She said sarcastically.

He laughed again as she turned to face
him.  It was a mistake; she knew that instantly.  Her breasts were almost touching
his chest, and the look in his eyes was nearly pinning her to the door.

She took a deep breath.  “Could you step
back, Will?”

“Of course.”  He stepped back and she felt
a twinge of disappointment.

Richard rounded the corner.  “Will – I was
just giving Hannah a tour.  Would you like to join us for the rest of it?”

“Thanks but no.  I should get back to the
babies.” He continued down the hallway without looking at her again.

Hannah frowned.  “The babies?”

Richard gave an embarrassed laugh.  “It’s
what we call the new recruits.”

* * *

Hannah was pulled from her memories by the
sound of Richard or Barb coming down the stairs.  She emptied the last of her
coffee down the drain and rinsed the cup as Richard entered the kitchen.

“Good morning.  You’re up early.”  He
yawned and poured himself a cup of coffee as the front door slammed and Will
entered the room in a blast of cool air.

He nodded to them both and stood in front
of Hannah, reaching behind her to get a mug from the cupboard.  Hannah frowned
and slid to the left. 

He grinned.  “Sorry – forgot you don’t like
people in your space.”

He certainly didn’t look sorry, Hannah
thought grumpily as he poured himself some coffee and sipped at it.

“We have five new babies starting
tomorrow.”  Richard said to Will.  He put some bread in the toaster and yawned
again.

Will rolled his eyes.  “Hope they’re better
than this last bunch.  They still have their heads up their asses and it’s been
nearly two months.”

“You’re too impatient, Will.  We can’t
expect them to be effective slayers in only a month or two.”

Hannah cleared her throat.  “Richard, I
want to join the new recruits.”

Richard stared at her, his mouth dropping
open, and Will actually laughed out loud.  She flushed and gave him a dirty
look.

“Hannah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
 Richard began to butter his toast.

“It’s an excellent idea.  I can’t go back
home, and I can’t sit around here being useless forever.”

“There is plenty of administrative work
that needs to be done.  You can work in the office.”

Hannah scowled.  “No.  I want revenge for
Sara, and I won’t get that by sitting behind a desk.  I want to be taught how
to kill vampires.”

Richard stared at her thoughtfully.  “I
understand the desire for revenge Hannah, you know I do, but the recruiting
program is terribly difficult.  We usually only recruit people who we know can
handle the emotional and physical aspects.”

“What he’s trying to say is that you’re not
in good enough shape.  You’re too –“ Will paused, “uh, curvy to keep up with
the rest of the babies.”

She gave him a withering look.  “I can keep
up.”

She turned to Richard with a pleading look.
 “Just give me a chance, Richard.  That’s all I’m asking.  If I can’t do it,
you can cut me from the program and I won’t argue.  At least give me the
opportunity to try.”

Richard looked at Will.  “What do you
think?”

Will shook his head.  “I vote no.  She’ll
never make it through the program – you know she won’t.”

She flashed him another dirty look that he
ignored as Richard frowned at her.  “Are you sure you want to do this, Hannah? 
It’s not just physically difficult.  It’s one thing to say you want to kill
vampires, it’s another to actually kill them.”

“I’m sure.”  She said steadily.

Richard stared at her for a few more
minutes and then nodded.  “You’ll start tomorrow with the others.”

Hannah blew her breath out in a trembling
sigh as Will snorted in disgust and left the farmhouse.

“How’s she doing?”  Richard stood next to
Will and watched as the new recruits trickled in from their morning run. 
Hannah was trailing behind the other five, her grey t-shirt completely soaked
in sweat and her face pale.  They stood panting in the cool sunshine, and Richard
winced when Hannah suddenly staggered away from the others and vomited behind a
large tree.

“It’s been three weeks and she’s still
throwing up after the morning run.”  Will replied.  “She can’t do a pull-up to
save her life, she can barely get through a hundred push-ups and her
hand-to-hand combat training is, in a word, pathetic.  She’s not going to make
it.”

Richard frowned.  “Give her a chance,
Will.”

“I am.  Anyone else I would have kicked to
the curb by now.”  Will answered.  “I’m keeping her as a personal favour to you,
Richard.”

“I appreciate it.”

“I’m not sure how much you’ll appreciate it
when she dies at the hands of a vampire.”  Will replied bluntly.

Richard sighed.  “Her sister’s death will
destroy her if she isn’t given the chance for revenge.  It’s better for her to
die trying, then to stand by and wish she had.”

“I’m worried about your conscience,
Richard.  How will you feel if she dies trying for this revenge?”

“We all die eventually, Will.”  Richard spat
at him harshly.  “I’ve never seen you care so much about the life of a human
before.”

Will flushed.  “It means nothing to me if
she lives or dies.  But that doesn’t mean I enjoy leading a lamb to slaughter. 
We should cut her out of the program now before she starts to think she has a
chance.”

“Give her another month.”

“Richard, you’re making a –“

“Enough, Will.”  Richard said starkly.  “I
have always trusted your judgment when it came to the babies.  Now I’m asking
you to trust mine.”

“Whatever you say, boss.”  Will scowled.  “I
just work here.”

***

Hannah cursed as the rice fell off her spoon
and scattered on the table.  Her hands were shaking so badly she could barely
hold the utensil and Selena, sitting beside her, gave her a sympathetic look.  Jeremy,
Frank, Tyler and Allison shoveled the food hungrily into their mouths and
ignored the two of them completely.  In the last month, Hannah and Selena had
bonded a bit, mostly over their mutual misery in what Jeremy called ‘Slayer
Boot Camp’.  Her bed was next to Selena’s in the women’s dormitory, and they
had begun the cautious process of getting to know each other.

Now, Selena patted her leg under the table
and then continued to eat her dinner.  The recruits did nearly everything
together.  Mannie, one of their three instructors, had informed them that it
helped bond them as a team.  They rarely spoke during dinner.  The tough
physical training schedule left them all ravenous, and none of them wasted
precious eating time with casual chatter.