Rising Tomorrow (Roc de Chere Book 1) by Mariana Morgan (essential reading txt) 📕

‘Calling her Ms Moretti, or Eloise, even, might help for starters. We don’t get to choose who we have to work with. Sometimes you just have to play the hand you have been dealt.’

Her own metaphor of playing a game suddenly irritated Ingram. She had been assaulted by too many memories lately, and she was losing control.

‘Yes, sir,’ she replied, blinking hard as she sensed tears threatening to make an appearance. The frustration was eating away at her.

‘Let me ask you another question,’ Gonzalez continued. ‘Not so much a question, I suppose, just something for you to think about. Less than two weeks ago, Eloise Moretti lived exclusively in the safety of her own home or in VR. She doesn’t have your or my training. In some aspects she really was like a five-year-old kid with no understanding of how real life works. While you have your training and experience to rely on to help you through what has happened, she has none of that. She was literally dragged through the slums only to wake up surrounded by a bunch of highly trained and dangerous strangers. She was all alone in that, and yet she is still standing.

‘We can’t judge her based on our own capabilities. And yet that is exactly what we have been doing. We expected her to suck it up and do as she was told. Which she did. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty damn remarkable.’

Ingram looked at Gonzalez with a thoughtful expression.

‘I understand. We got lucky that she’s as resilient as she is. But isn’t that the reason why we should keep her away from Olympus? As you pointed out, she doesn’t have our training. Yes, she might still be standing, and her ability to get back up after something happens is indeed remarkable, but can we take the risk that she’ll freak out again? What can she actually offer us there that she can’t through a comp link?’

‘Speed, Aisha. Speed. If we come up against a layer of security we aren’t expecting, she and Tilly can neutralise it much faster. And while I meant it when I said that vengeance can be a poor reason to act, it can also be the best one. She is personally motivated and determined.’

Ingram bit her lip as she considered his words. Not even in a million years would she have thought about taking Ms Moretti with them, and yet Gonzalez had a point.

Gonzalez sighed. ‘It’s been a long day. Let’s get some rest.’

‘Permission to go into VR for a while first?’ Ingram asked. She was exhausted, but the anger-tinged frustration had made her jittery and was likely to keep her awake, tossing and turning in bed. And she never slept well using drugs.

Gonzalez checked the time and winced. It was late and he had hoped to wrap up the mission briefing early in the morning and spend the rest of the day prepping for a night-time raid.

‘An hour. No more,’ he said. He was planning to make use of one of the VR enviros himself, after all.

‘Thank you, sir.’ Ingram’s relief was palpable as she stood and made for the door. She needed to clear her mind, and a fast run along a windy coast with a weight belt would do the job nicely.

‘Oh, and Aisha. What we talked about stays between us until I tell you otherwise. Understood?’

‘Of course, sir.’

CHAPTER 44

Roc de Chere

Lac d’Annecy

Afro-European Alliance

Wednesday 29 April 2725

DAY 10

‘All right, people, let’s settle down,’ Gonzalez ordered, and everyone straightened in their chairs, stopping the idle chit-chat. Most of them still had their morning coffee mugs in front of them, going through a second or even third refill. ‘Before I get into the ins and outs of the assault plan for tonight, I want you all to know that Ms Moretti will be going with us.’

The reaction varied from huge to downright melon-sized eyes staring at him in pure disbelief. No one said anything, though various lips opened while their owners searched for the right words. Eloise was not someone to whom people warmed up fast. She was definitely an acquired taste.

‘Any problems with that?’ Gonzalez challenged, wanting to get it out of the way.

No one took the invitation, although it was clear there was a lot of work to be done before anyone would be willing to trust the Elite woman in the field.

‘Excellent. News number two—I am also going.’

The first piece of information had left a bad taste. The second was an actual bombshell, and some of the team flinched as if slapped.

Surprisingly, Ingram remained quiet and was the first to compose her expression. In all fairness, she wasn’t that surprised that Gonzalez had decided to join them. Not after Wagner had rubbed it in his face that he was sitting safely ensconced in their bunker, letting Megan and Eloise take the risks. It wasn’t necessarily a perfect decision, but Ingram wasn’t going to start the day by being hot-headed and judgemental, especially not after last night’s repeated warnings. Gonzalez had had time to think about it, and nothing she might say could change it.

‘Who is going to run the op from the Roc then?’ Captain Palmeiro asked, breaking the shocked silence.

‘Tilly will,’ Gonzalez replied. ‘Right after we are finished here, Ms Moretti will find a way to bring Tilly fully back online, minus whatever subroutines are still in a loop processing last night’s loss.’

‘A computer?’ Palmeiro couldn’t stop disgust creeping into his voice.

‘She is smarter than you.’ Eloise snorted, then transferred her attention to Gonzalez. ‘Thank you, sir, for letting me join, and yes, I should have no problem bringing Tilly back to where she was yesterday minus the trauma. I’ve been thinking about it and I have a plan.’

Those who knew Eloise blinked at the respectful and tactful way in which she addressed Gonzalez. It not only sounded politely correct, but she also somehow made it sound natural.

‘Time