"She was well-trained sir, but yeah, I'm not going to lie. She had me."
Gabe laughed then, and I wasn't quite sure what the fuck he was laughing at. “You took on Saffron Abott and you lived to tell the tale?"
“You know her?"
Gabe frowned. “Yes, of course, I know her."
“I thought she was trying to sneak around the place to break in, so I went out to see what the fuck was going on. It’s not a big deal."
Gabe shrugged then. “I beg to differ. I think it is a big deal. It's the first time that you’ve fully committed yourself to being here. It's the first time since you arrived that this wasn't a chore, something to be finished so you could leave. You heard something and voluntarily went looking. Or am I to believe that you were trying to make another escape?"
"Look, I heard something. I went to investigate. It's not a big deal."
“If you say so. How did she bust you?"
"A strike to the balls. Not particularly fair, but as I’ve been taught, all is fair in survival."
"How did she get to your balls, King?" He held up his hands as I began to correct him. "Okay, fine, Lock."
“I had her in a choke hold. And then… Well, then I didn't."
He grinned. "She is very good."
"Tell me about it. Why haven't I ever seen her with the other trainees before?"
"Because she's not a trainee."
“Is she an agent?"
He shook his head. "Not quite."
"Okay, she's clearly exceptionally trained. Is she a trainer?"
Gabe nodded. "Of sorts. You're going to find out exactly how good she is."
"What do you mean?"
"King… Lock, I mean, last night you took a leap. You defended this place like it was your own. Like you are choosing to be here, not like you’re forced to be here."
“You can look at it however you want."
"Okay, I will. I'm just inviting you to be more open. You're ready for your next phase of training, which will be real-life scenarios. Out in the field."
I lifted a brow. “You're letting me out?"
He chuckled. "Supervised, of course. You know the drill. If you make an escape, your grandfather laid out the consequences for you, I believe."
I ground my teeth. "What is the assignment?"
"Well, I'm going to leave that to your new trainer to explain. You’ll start tomorrow at noon."
“I have a new trainer?" So far, we’d worked with several different trainers in special fields.
“Your new trainer is more comprehensive and will guide you through real-world scenarios."
"Okay, who is it?"
He grinned then. "Saffron Abott."
I groaned. "Is there a reason for that sir?"
"None except that I think you two can learn something from each other. That'll be all, Lock."
I ground my teeth. I wasn't sure why, but it felt like I was being punished. For what though, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that Gabriel Webb had a weird hard-on for Saffron Abott. The question was, why?