Project Integrate Series Boxed Set

by Campbell, Jamie

  He answered after only two rings. “Soda pop, where have you been?” Why did everyone care so much where I’d been? It was two days for crying out loud.

  “I went to visit Lochie at college.”

  “Oh, I thought you might have been avoiding me.” Rob knew me too well, so it seemed.

  “Of course not. Hey, is that job still open?” I asked, not in the mood for small talk. Not when my nerves were on their last one.

  “It is. Tell me you’re taking it.”

  “I’m taking it.”

  He let out a whoop down the line. “That’s exactly what I was hoping you were going to say. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Wait, what?” Did he really say tomorrow?

  “Nine o’clock on the dot. I’ll pick you up from reception and take you through induction,” Rob explained.

  My head was spinning it was all going so fast. Too fast. I thought I would have a few more days to plan, strategize, work out what on earth I was doing.

  “It can’t wait a little while?” I asked, double checking. It was worth a shot.

  “Nope. We need to know what Krom is doing and we’re overdue for a report. See you tomorrow.” Rob hung up on me before I could protest any further. Which was probably the point.

  I stared at my phone, instantly thinking I had done the wrong thing. I was going to be lying to everyone I met, spying on them like they were the enemy. I really hoped it was worth it.

  I had dinner with my parents, avoiding all talk of Lochie, and then went to bed. The day’s events were exhausting but in a way I felt more alive than I had done for three weeks. I had Lochie back, I was going to be protecting the Truconians by working with Senph, and I could keep an eye on the Department and Krom by working as a liaison.

  I curled under the bed covers and snuggled in, finally feeling at peace. My cell phone beeped with a new message.

  Good night, Ame. I love you. I’m so glad you’re in my life. Call me if you want to talk. L xxxxxx

  I did want to talk to Lochie but not over the phone. Our best conversations normally happened when he was lying beside me in the bed and we were waiting for sleep to take over. Even though my bed was only a single one, it still felt too big without him there. I preferred to be squished with him any day.

  I tapped back a message.

  Since when did you get so sappy? ;-)

  It didn’t take long before my phone beeped again.

  A guy tries to speak from the heart and that’s what he gets? Shame on you, Jones.

  He was only kidding, just like he knew I was. It made me feel so much better after having such a weird morning with him. He wouldn’t have called me by my last name if he still held hard feelings.

  Sappiness confirmed, Mercury. But I love you anyway, so much I can barely stand being so far apart from you.

  Again, he replied straight back. I could imagine him lying in bed in his dorm, staring up at the ceiling just like I was. He probably didn’t have a night light on like I did though. Lochie kept the darkness from hurting anyone.

  Now who’s sappy?

  I must have caught it from you. You’re a bad influence on me, Mr. Mercury.

  Me? A bad influence? If I remember correctly, it was you who keeps leading me astray.

  I really wish you were here right now.

  I wish I was too. Are you at home?

  Yeah, in bed, alone. Missing you so badly.

  We’ll make up for it next time we see each other. I am going to be all over you like a rash.

  I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. Even though Lochie was joking, I would have welcomed him being all over me like a rash. A very sexy, hot rash. The thought was enough to make me blush.

  I texted back.

  You promise?

  Such dirty talk. I’m shocked, Jones. But yes, I do promise. I would promise you the world and all the stars in it.

  You don’t need to promise me all that, just yourself is enough for me. That’s all I want.

  Remember that when I forget your birthday.

  He sent another text before I could even respond.

  For my birthday, I want you wrapped in a bow. Just a bow. A red one.

  Our text messages deteriorated from there as our fatigue got worse. We finally signed off close to midnight. I didn’t need to have any sexy dreams of Lochie that night, I knew I could have the real thing soon enough. I’d told him I would try to make it back to Greenfield to see him soon. He threatened to have someone kidnap me to make sure it happened if I waited too long.

  The next morning came way too soon. As I hit the button on my alarm, the reality of my new job flooded into my brain. I was no longer unemployed with a questionable future. As of today, I was a member of the Department. I would have called someone crazy if they’d said that would happen one day.

  I put on the suit I used to wear to my annual Department meeting. If I didn’t get fired on my first day, I was going to have to do some serious shopping in the near future. My closet would only go so far.

  My parents all fussed over me until I insisted I had to leave. It was a relief to be out of there for a while. The two hour drive to the Department building was peaceful but it didn’t stop the nerves making my stomach churn with anxiety.

  Walking into the building, the familiar fear of being there crept in. I wondered how long it would take for it to seem normal, for me to trust that they wouldn’t try to kill me again. Probably a lot longer than I would have liked.

  Rob gave me induction into the Department, which apparently meant signing a stack of forms saying my estate wouldn’t sue them if I got killed and I wouldn’t blame them for anything. I’m pretty sure I also sold my soul on one of the forms. My silence was sold for sure.

  I slid the pen over the last signature and sat back, relieved. “So does this mean I’m a Special Agent now?” I asked. I was only joking, but it would have been kind of cool. Special Agent Amery Jones, reporting for duty.

  “Not quite,” Rob said, crushing all my dreams. “But you are Special Liaison, that’s all I could wrangle from the powers that be.”

  I shrugged. “That’ll do. So what happens now?”

  “Now, you get to work.”

  Getting to work was infinitely more interesting than the paperwork but I was still nervous about my ability to actually do the job. Considering it was a newly created position, I didn’t have anyone to teach me how to do it. There was no manual in existence that told me how to deal with Krom.

  And they threw me into the deep end. I stood outside Krom’s door with nothing but a notepad and a pen that didn’t really work to keep me alive. I knocked anyway.

  “Enter,” Krom’s voice boomed from the other side. At least I could never mistake him for someone else.

  “Hi, Krom,” I said as I entered. It was protocol to refer to him as Leader Krom, but I figured we were colleagues now. And I’d never call him Leader Krom.

  “Member Amery. I would say it is nice to see you, but it isn’t.” So that’s how he was going to play it, good to know. I took a seat across from his desk anyway. “I told them I didn’t need a liaison. Just like always, the infuriating humans didn’t listen.”

  “Well, you’re stuck with me so we may as well get on with it.”

  “Stuck with you? Oh no, Member Amery, I am not stuck with anything. One call and I could get rid of you just as easily as a little fly.” He smiled, it looked evil.

  “Or… you could just let me do my job.” Rob warned me I wasn’t welcome. He also told me it was part of my job to make sure I didn’t get fired. “After all, you don’t want to be talking to those infuriating humans all the time, do you? Let me do all the boring stuff so you can get on with doing what’s best for the Truconians.” I flashed him a sweet smile, hoping to win him over. If we didn’t have so much murky history, he might have believed me more readily.

  He eyed me suspiciously, onto my brilliant master plan. “Fine. I will indulge their little whim if it means I don’t have to sit throu
gh one more of their meetings.”

  “That’s my job now.”

  I could have been mistaken, but I could have sworn the briefest of smiles graced his lips. “So what do you want? Why are you here?”

  “According to my job description, I need to know what you’ve been working on. Then I can type it up and pass it on.” I didn’t have a job description, but I assumed that would be in it if I did. Rob was really scarce with the details.

  Krom studied me carefully, weighing up what he was going to do with me. Even though I wasn’t as scared of him as I once was, he was still an intimidating man. He wasn’t a leader for nothing. The Truconian government was democratic, people thought enough of him to elect him into office. I kept being reminded why.

  I raised my eyebrows to question him again but he didn’t react. Apparently we were going to sit in silence for a while. I didn’t think that was what the Department meant when they had hired me. I probably wasn’t going to be paid for doing nothing.

  Finally, Krom let out his breath in a sigh. “I will not have those humans supplying me with a babysitter. Nor will I tolerate any insolence from you.”

  “No insolence, got it.” I tried to be serious but I couldn’t be, the situation was just too bizarre. A smirk slid across my lips.

  Thankfully, Krom smiled too, shaking his head with exasperation. “Get ready to take notes, Member Amery. I’m not going to repeat myself.”

  I sat poised, opening my new notebook to the first page. I wrote quickly as Krom explained what was currently happening to the aliens. I had to remember to keep writing, even when I was distracted by some of the more disturbing details.

  It seemed the Originals were causing a lot more trouble than I knew about. Not only were they rallying support within the government to forward their movement against us, their members were also actively pursuing and taking us down one by one.

  I always knew the Originals were evil. They had kidnapped Lola and held her hostage, tried to kill me, and helped to get Garrick thrown in jail once before. I knew there was no end to their hatred for us.

  But what I didn’t know was just how much further they had progressed with hurting our people. It was almost a full time job for Krom just to keep tabs on it all. Why the police hadn’t shut them down was beyond me.

  The worst incident Krom reported were two Truconians that were missing. They had been gone for ten days. The Originals were saying they had gone rogue and were plotting atrocities against humans. Krom suspected the Originals had taken them and had our people out trying to find the pair. The police weren’t interested in the case, claiming it was a private matter.

  With the Originals getting away with so much, I couldn’t help but wonder if they had some sort of influence over the police force. It was no secret they had puppets in politics working for them, why not the justice system too? Unfortunately there was no evidence to prove it.

  It took me a moment to realize Krom had stopped speaking. I looked up at him, he was staring out the window. “Is that everything?” I wasn’t sure I would be able to take hearing much more. My ears hurt.

  “Isn’t that enough?” I got the feeling he was talking about more than the report.

  “Do you think it’s ever going to stop and we’ll be fully accepted?”

  “If it had all happened the way it was supposed to, I would have said yes. Now, I’m not so sure. We can only hope, Member Amery. That’s all we can do.” Krom philosophical, that was almost as scary as his usual self. “Now, go away and bother someone else. I am extremely important and too busy for this rubbish.”

  I took that as my signal to shut up and leave. Rob had pointed to a desk outside Krom’s office and said it was mine as he had led me in. I flicked on the computer screen, it was already logged in.

  There were no templates or guidance on my reports so I just typed up everything Krom had told me as best I could. I tried to remain factual and leave my personal opinions out of it but it was difficult. I wanted the Department to know how horrible the Originals were making life for the aliens. It wasn’t just a few insults yelled our way, it was life threatening stuff. Even I didn’t feel as safe as I had that morning.

  I printed out the report after restocking the paper. I was pretty sure Krom had never used his computer or printer for anything other than a paperweight. The technology back on Trucon was far more progressed than on Earth. I’d had only a taste of it when I visited the planet.

  Picking up the report, I started the walk through the building to Rob’s office. They kept Krom’s rooms tucked away in the corner. I had to walk through a disused wing just to return to the regular offices. I wondered if he had started off that far away or if it developed over time as they started to get to know him.

  I caught Rob standing at his bookcases when I knocked on his office door. He whipped around at the sound. “Ah, Amery. How did it go?”

  “I’ve got a report.” I held up the neatly stapled pieces of paper like a kid would do with a crayon drawing. I was equally as proud of it.

  “Krom actually spoke to you?” He asked, shocked.

  “What? Like it should have been hard?” I asked, mocking his doubt. He should have had more faith in me than that. Especially after all we’d been through.

  A smile relaxed his features. “I should have known better. Thank you.” He took the report, scanning it before placing it in his inbox. “How about I shout you lunch for your first day on the job?”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  I didn’t know the best way to get to the cafeteria so Rob’s invitation was twofold. I tried to memorize everything along the way so I wouldn’t get lost when I was on my own. The building was huge and I’d only ever seen a tiny fraction of it before. Even now I wasn’t allowed access to most of it. Special Liaison’s were quite low in the rankings. I think the janitor had more clearance.

  The cafeteria overlooked the parking lot and front security gate. The area was full of action down below. “What’s with all the people?” I asked as we ate stale sandwiches.

  “The CDC has called for backup,” Rob replied, like that should explain everything.

  “The CDC as in the Center for Disease Control?” He nodded. “Why would they need backup?”

  He wrestled with how much to tell me. It was always a fine line I liked to press as much as possible when it came to the Department’s secrets.

  “Come on, I won’t tell anyone,” I assured him.

  He leaned in closer so we couldn’t be overheard. “There have been a few outbreaks of illness recently across the country. The CDC wants it investigated before it gets too out of hand. That is the Department’s jurisdiction so we’re sending in the troops.”

  “What kind of an illness?”

  Rob shrugged. “Don’t know. Some details are even above my clearance. So… describe the exact look on Krom’s face when you turned up in his office this morning.” I noted the change in subject but knew when to leave my toes on the line and not cross it.

  I spent an entire hour having lunch with Rob before he gave me my next task – compiling a list of questions to ask Krom from his last meeting notes. It was boring but at least I got to sit with Rob’s assistant. I listened intently to her gossip all afternoon.

  CHAPTER 8

  The rest of the week passed by quickly. I was consumed completely by trying to make Krom talk and getting enough information out of him for regular reports. Saturday was a relief, but my work wasn’t done yet. I was going to one of Senph’s secret meetings.

  I hadn’t heard from Lochie for almost a full day when my phone started ringing. I pulled over my car and answered before it went to voicemail. “Hey, gorgeous,” I answered, eager to hear his voice.

  “Hey, beautiful. What are you doing?” His voice sounded strained, it instantly sent me into worry mode.

  “On my way to hang out with some aliens. You?”

  “Studying.” He paused, going into a coughing fit.

  “Are you okay?”

&nbs
p; I had to wait for him to regain control before he could speak again. “Yeah, just still sick. It’s a nasty flu going around, nearly everyone on campus has it now.”

  “Oh, you poor baby. I’m sorry I’m not there to look after you.” Lochie was a terrible patient, but I would have suffered for him. The thought of him alone in his dorm room ill made my heart contract.

  “Me too,” Lochie sighed. He had a wheeze in his breath. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve spoken with my mother about the whole breakup debacle.”

  I held my breath, concerned about what he was going to say next. Lochie was close with his mom, I doubted he would have said anything too drastic. “And?”

  “She finally admitted to doing it. She said she couldn’t handle me being with you.”

  “With an alien, you mean,” I corrected.

  He sighed again. “She thought she was doing the right thing.”

  The right thing? Seriously? Making her son miserable was the best thing for him? Ugh. “Lochie, she almost destroyed us. She purposely interfered to make both of our lives hell. She knew what she was doing and I don’t think what was right or wrong really came into it.” I held my breath again, knowing the conversation could go either way. He was either going to agree with me or he was going to go on a rampage to defend his dearly beloved mother. Flip a coin.

  I had to wait while Lochie blew his nose quietly first. “I told her to butt out. I don’t think she’ll do anything like that again.”