PROJECT SPARTA

CHAPTER 23

The Compound

2010

Although Xander's ribs were still mending, it was time to return to class. Throughout the morning training sessions, there was a buzz about Xander's return. Over the five days he was in the Infirmary, word had traveled about his remarkable performance in the battle. His popularity inflated among the recruits as stories of his tactical valor circulated in exaggerated tones. As he found his usual seat in the Mess Hall, he was bombarded by unfiltered reactions from his lunch table.

"Xander, we heard about the battle. Three tags! That's pretty incredible!" Jooles said.

"You jumped off a rollercoaster..." Ezra shook his head over his astonishment.

"I liked it when you tagged Fiona, diving out from the pillar like that," Bronson said, having put the Fun House behind him.

"Thanks! But...I didn't win... did I?" Xander responded, trying to humbly shrug off the stardom.

"No, I did!" The shrill voice came from the other table. There Duke sat alone, feet propped up on the table, his hands locked behind his head.

"Yes, you did..." Xander approached Duke. "You were clever out there, it was a good match, Duke" Xander reached out a respectful hand.

Duke, caught off-guard, narrowed a derisive expression at him. Xander sensed an initial impulse that was gracious and heartfelt but it was quickly supplanted by the image of intimidation Duke so tirelessly fought to maintain.

"More like a mismatch, if you ask me." Xander knew to drop his hand, for it would not be accepted.

Lunch continued along with the usual talk of the day. Xander didn't like the attention on him so he changed the subject at any hint of it returning to his performance in the battle. He turned his head to peer outside the large glass frame of the Mess Hall. He spotted a few of the instructors walking in unison across the Compound grounds. There, next to Hardy, was the lady who had visited Xander in the Infirmary. She wore the same frozen smile as she walked alongside Hardy. Xander thought over their first meeting and he could not come to a well-founded conclusion about her presence or cryptic offer to leave the Compound on assignment.

"Have you guys met that lady yet?" Xander pointed through the glass window. The recruits fell silent - the atmosphere turned awkward as if Xander had said something he wasn't supposed to. Ezra looked at his toes. Tobias looked up and to the right, combing through the database of his memory. He couldn't tell who didn't know who she was or who knew who she was but didn't want to talk about it.

"I noticed her once before, but I don't know her name... why is she here, she is creepy," Jooles said.

"Rumor has it she is going to cut one of us," Ashton offered.

"Cut one of us? Rumor? How does a rumor start with ten people?" Xander asked. No one offered an origin but Duke flashed a mischievous grin.

"I got nothing to hide. She came and spoke to me at my house through the bookcase to the underground tunnels."

"Underground tunnels? What are you talking about?" Mac asked. Xander mentally logged that not everyone had been exposed to the secrets of the Compound as much as he had. Duke shook his head from on high.

"Oh you have so much to learn about this place... Yeah there is a whole network of tunnels underneath this place. They come up through the bookcases in each house. It's a one-way door so we can't open it from our side without a keycard... but anyway before I was interrupted. Senator Bashfield came into my house and told me how great of an agent I was becoming. We talked about future opportunities... nothing big." Duke's shoulders raised along with his ego.