Chapter 9

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I roll away from Jil, and my eyes snap to hers frantically. Her head comes up, and a shocked look has got her pupils smaller than a pinprick.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" She whispers angrily. "You can't be here, what were you thinking."
I suddenly realize how stupid of a move I just pulled.
She jumps to her feet, grabbing my shoulder. She hauls me up and slams me into the wall, as if I weighed nothing.
"I'm sorry, I just..." I cough. I kind of want to tell her why. I want to tell her I met her in my dream, but what kind of sense does that make? It's just a coincidence. Jil is a common name. There's no way I dreamt the future. It just isn't possible. "I thought I could help." I lie.
Her shoulders drop, and her jaw unclenches. She lets me go. "Okay." She exhales softly, still looking a little annoyed. "Sorry, I just don't think you'd be fit for something like this."
"But what about ten years ago?" I blurt out. "I killed all the leaders, humiliated the commander."
"Skill fades, Lee. People change, they let go of their pasts." She frowns.
She's right, skill fades. But what I learned outside the wall is pure instinct now.
"And it's just too dangerous." She steps back.
"I can handle it." I say, but she looks away.
"You could get hurt, die. And if you fail, you let the world down." She rests her hand on my shoulder. "It's too much."
I open my mouth, but before I can talk a mans voice booms from somewhere outside the room.
"Jil! You back?" He says. His voice is deep, intimidating. "Get your ass back in here for debrief."
Jil turns around. "Yeah, Max. Don't get your panties in a bunch." She turns back to me. "Look, I think I can get you out of here, but you have to stay with the at all times."
I nod, frantically. "I can do that." But I don't want to leave. I could be of use, I know lots about killing and researching Dark Matter.
"Alright." She points to the door. "Let's get out of here."
She turns and starts walking. I can see the room much better now. The room is round and tall. There are eight armour sets each tucked into crevices in the walls, one of the armour sets missing, each set in perfect radial symmetry with the rest of the room. Every surface is covered with a glossy marble type material, and every other surface has a gun or a computer on it. A silver sliding door sits between two of the armour stands. This is obviously an armoury, and a very expensive one. We had tech like this in the HT headquarters, but nothing this big.
We walk to the door, and it slides open and we step through. On the end is another silver cylindrical room. It's much bigger and has even more tech in it. There's a large pillar that looks like an elevator in the middle of the room. The floor is lined with little LED plates that light up when I step on them, and they all lead to twelve individual sliding doors just like the one we came through. I assume they're all armouries, and if they're not this is still a pretentious amount of tech.
"Wow, this is an expensive room." I say, marvelling at all its intricate details.
"It is, this whole facility costs about eight hundred and twelve billion dollars." She replies, walking toward the pillar in the middle of the room. She taps on its surface twice, then swipes up. The front of the pillar slides open, revealing a cramped elevator with a high ceiling.
"How did you guys pay for it?" I ask, stepping inside with her. "Steal the money?"
Jil turns around and scoffs. "God, no." She laughs. "Hunter Killer corporation funded this project, they stole the money."
"Ahh" I smile.
"Helipad." She barks.
"What?"
"Talking to the elevator, dumbass." She snickers. The doors close, coming together flush with the wall.
"Oh..." I murmur, embarrassed. "Because that was so obvious." I scoff, joking to recover.
Jil turns back to me, crossing her arms. "Yeah it was. I said 'helipad', and I wasn't even facing you."
"Oh, whatever. Helipad could've fit fine into that conversation." I smile, and she smiles back. I lean against the wall.
"No it wouldn't!" She yells. She leans over, laughing. She gestures to her temple and looks up at me. "Use your fuckin' brain, man!"
"Don't talk about my tiny brain that way." I laugh. Her laughter dies quickly, something sharp passing through her face.
"Look, we aren't bonding." She says. I frown. "I'm just getting you out of here."
"Got it." My gaze drops to my feet, the thrill deteriorating. "Sorry."
"Hey, eyes up. We're just about here."

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