While no one could run interference like Elliott could, Aurora had gotten a lot of practice lately, and soon the two employees were settled down and in their cars headed home, probably a bit shaken up but no longer fearing for their lives. The rest of the team began to assemble in the back of the building where they had initially met.
Aaron switched to the IAC for privacy’s sake. “I always thought that, no matter how mad we were at each other, we would continue to operate cohesively.”
“I was being efficient,” Cadence replied, trying to stay as calm as she could.
“But Aurora had no idea what you were doing.”
“She didn’t need to know. She was running second. I had the lead. I took the shot. End of discussion. You always say, ‘If you have the shot, take it.’”
“Fine. I guess we’ll use this as a learning experience in the debrief, and the newbies can say what you could have done differently.”
Any control she had over her anger was gone with that remark. She turned to face him, just feet from her bike, as the rest of the team members caught up to her. She heard Aurora say her name, her friend clearly able to see she was about to lose it, and rather than screaming the expletive that was on the tip of her tongue, she used the IAC instead. The hurt expression in his eyes was almost enough to make her regret it, but she pushed the pity aside and focused on the rage as she climbed aboard her bike and took off, hoping the speed would calm the storm.
Though she was tempted to skip the debrief, it was required, and she couldn’t hold her teammates responsible for attending if she blew it off herself. She arrived at the building long before the rest of the team. The ride had helped cool the raging fire in her a bit, but not enough, and she was hoping she could keep this short. Maybe she should’ve torn their heads off after all.
Entering the meeting room, she made her way to the front of the room and moved her chair a good two feet away from Aaron’s and sat down, pulling herself up to the table with a huff. It had been a long time since she had been this angry with him, and she wasn’t sure if it was all because of the situation with Elliott or if she was also jealous that he seemed to be paying so much attention to Ashley. Not that it should have bothered her in the least because, after all, he really didn’t have any choice in the matter did he? Cadence was the Hunter Leader, so he was now tied to her by fate or whatever the hell it was everyone kept saying would bring them together and keep them together.
And maybe that was part of the problem, too. What if he wouldn’t have chosen her if he could have had someone else? What if he only thought he loved her because he was supposed to? Was she really good enough for him? How could she be?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the Enclave pulling up outside and the slams of car doors. As the group shuffled through the door, Cadence heard Ashley’s bubbly voice saying, “It was just so fast. I mean, I didn’t expect it to happen that fast.”
“Hey, Cadence,” Aurora said with a reassuring smile as she dropped her tall frame into a chair facing the leaders behind a second row of tables. Jamie and Hannah also said hello, while Ashley waved and Mickey offered a shy grin.
Cadence forced a smile in return.
Aaron looked at her, looked at his chair, shook his head, and flipped some switches on the projector to display a map of the location from the air. “All right, we’ll try to keep this brief,” he began and then added just for Cadence, “since some of us are obviously in a hurry.”
He ran them through the plan they’d all agreed on before the hunt began, pointed out various positions, and then said, “Once the potential victims were approached by the Vampires, Cadence fired two shots from her Glock from her initial position, and then Aurora moved in for interference, Jamie with her. Short, simple. To the point. So… what could we have done differently?”
The room was silent for a moment, clearly none of the veterans willing to speak up, so eventually, Ashley raised her hand and Aaron nodded at her. “Okay, so, I don’t know… I mean, I’ve never been on a hunt before. But I was expecting Cadence to, like, run over there and rip their heads off or something. Or maybe Aurora. I don’t know. I mean, that’s just what I thought we’d talked about in the planning.”
She seemed to be emphasizing the word “I”, and Cadence grew more and more annoyed each time she said it.
“Would you like to respond to that?” Aaron asked.
“Was that a question?” Cadence said dryly.
“No, that’s why I said respond and not answer,” Aaron pointed out.
Without the benefit of Aaron’s remark, Ashley looked like a wounded kitten, and Cadence felt guilty again. With a sigh, she shrugged and said, “Yes, I could have done that. I usually would have done that. I just… chose to use my weapon instead.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Aaron chimed in. “In fact, when you are just starting out, it’s always best to take the shot when you have it. There are a lot of times when Cadence chooses to take risks that she doesn’t necessarily have to just because she prefers decapitation, but it really was a great demonstration for you to show how easy it can be if you are a good shot and willing to use your weapon instead of risking injury or worse by getting too close to your mark when it isn’t absolutely necessary.”
Cadence couldn’t believe her ears. Why was he being so nice? Why wasn’t he pointing out to everyone that she had acted immaturely and put her own feelings in front of what was best for the team? This was mostly her training program now, after all, and she should have been the one making sure they got to see what they needed to instead of cutting the hunt short.
Mickey was shy, but he spoke up. “I was watching Jamie shadow Aurora when she was moving in, and that was really cool. It was like he was trying to anticipate her moves without getting in her way.”
“Thanks,” Jamie said, looking down the row of chairs at him. “Yeah, it helps when you’ve worked with the same hunter for a while. You can kind of tell what they are going to do. Aurora likes to signal with her hands so you can get an idea which way she’s headed.”
“I do?” Aurora asked, clearly surprised to hear that.
“You do,” Jamie nodded.
“Does Cadence?” Ashley asked, looking from the Healer to her Leader.
“No,” Jamie said emphatically. “I can never tell what Cadence is going to do, and that’s why I don’t work with her much anymore.”
“No one can tell what Cadence is going to do,” Hannah agreed with a smile.
“Not even Cadence,” Aaron offered, patting her on the shoulder.
