Sam leaned back in her chair, aware suddenly that the tone of the orientation had changed. She wondered if anyone besides herself was aware of it. A second later, Hawkins gave her a gentle nudge. Obviously, he, too, was aware of the change. She nudged back. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Slick staring straight ahead. Kayla was nibbling on her thumbnail, Olivia was busy taking off her ring and putting it back on. Zoe was pleating and unpleating the material of her skimpy sundress.

Havapopulas continued speaking, explaining mealtimes, where the dining hall was located, reveille, classrooms, where the outdoor training grounds were. He talked about the pool, the vegetable garden, the sewage system, the forest, the horses, the barns, and on and on. The even monotone of his voice was lulling Sam into a state of sleepiness.

Two hours passed before Havapopulas called a halt, saying they were on their own for the next thirty-two hours. The exit routine was that of a graduation ceremony as the first row left first, followed by Team Two, then Sam’s team, with Team Four bringing up the rear. Teams One, Two, and Four separated, leaving Sam and her team standing alone outside the orientation building.

“Let’s go for a walk, guys,” Sam said. “This is just a guess on my part, but I think all the buildings are bugged, so let’s agree now that we don’t talk about anything important unless we’re outside. What do you think, Hawkins? By the way, thanks for the support earlier.”

Hawkins jammed his hands into his pockets. He looked at the women, a frown building on his face. “Look, I admit when I washed out I was bummed. I was ripe to be recruited for this organization. I’m assuming you felt the same way. So, we either accept it, or we move on. Yes, the details were sketchy when I was recruited, but what I heard was we would be working for the good guys. Not the bad guys. My recruiter was big on saying it was all on a need-to-know basis. I accepted that, too. But, I don’t like the part about no backup if things go awry on a mission. Something needs to be put in place for such a situation. Just because it has never happened before doesn’t mean it can’t happen. There’s a first time for everything.”

Slick jumped when a pinecone fell from one of the monster trees and hit her smack on the head. She laughed. “My official christening,” she said, picking up the prickly pinecone that was as big as a baseball but weighed no more than an ounce or two.