Fallen

Chapter Three

Once in the past, four cups of coffee would have made me vibrate from the amount of caffeine I put in my body. Now four cups of coffee barely affected me. In fact, I was more tired while I nursed the fourth cup of coffee in the disposal travel cup in my hand. I had a whole thermos filled with the life saving liquid in my backpack that was by my feet.

I sat in the lobby of the Alliance headquarters, waiting for Ben to arrive. The meeting for Ben and my next assignment was at ten in the morning. With a lot of time on my hands, I went to Doctor Hunt to get sleep medication before the meeting.

Doctor Hunt seemed unfazed by me asking for the medication. He hadn't said it, but there was a large probable chance he handed it out like candy. The visit with Doctor Hunt was short and with half an hour to wait before the meeting started, I parked myself on a bench in the lobby by the elevator. To pass the time, I watched people come and go.

The front doors opened and Blair's voice was heard before she entered. "Hey," Blair shot, "take it up with your mom."

Ben walked into the lobby. His face distorted with annoyance. He turned to Blair. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Your –"

Ben glared at Blair with sharp grey eyes. "I know, take it up with my mother."

The two walked over to where I was. Ben looked to be in a foul mood. His eyebrows furrowed and lips tight. Blair smiled brightly at me. She had changed little since I last saw her, the only new attribute to her was the small lower lip piercing she got a few days ago.

I stood from the bench, pulled my backpack onto my shoulder and hit the elevator button. "You look happy," I said in a way of welcome. Ben glared at me.

"Blair just so happened to show up at the Palace and escorted me from there to here."

Blair folded her arms, "I thought you liked me and would want to hang out with me."

The door elevator door dinged open and I ushered Ben in, hoping he wouldn't respond to Blair. Blair only grinned at me while she followed Ben. It was a grin that she was enjoying herself with messing on Ben.

"So," I stepped onto the elevator and successfully interrupted Blair, "What are you doing here?" I clicked the floor number and the elevator rose.

"Oh, I am going to the same meeting you guys are going to." She elbowed Ben in the arm. "You just can't get rid of me."

Ben looked at me. His eyes screamed for help but only a smile touched my lips.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Blair and I followed Ben down three doors before he opened the fourth. The room inside was a typical conference room. There was an oval table with ten roller chairs around it. The walls were both pictureless and windowless, giving the room a bare look.

Dad sat on one side of the table in the middle with his director's assistant, Commander Martin, beside him. On the other side of Dad was the Royal Captain of the Guard. I hadn't met the middle-aged man before who had thick muscles and a full mustache and beard. On his right cheek, I could see a slight scar that curved down into his beard. Most military personnel had a clean-shaven face but it must be a wicked scar underneath his beard if they allowed the Captain of the Guard to grow one. Two young guards sat beside the Captain.

"Come in," Dad welcomed. "Take a seat and we can start." He gestured to the other side of the table where a man with black hair sat. Ben took the seat to the man's right while I took the seat to his left. The man looked up at me while I pulled my chair back.

Alec.

The man who sat there was Alec.

He was my bully from when I was younger. He had always sought me out and threw a few punches. It was recently that we put our long-time feud behind us. Since he joined the rangers he had changed.