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

everyone is as dumb as a fucking tree stump, unable to see how the System abandoned us. Some people care. You should too. It’s your fucking VRP that took their lives away!’

A desperate need for oxygen paused her. Shocked, she realised she was standing above Eloise with her fists tight and her cheeks ablaze with anger. She really wanted to punch the privileged woman again. There was something so irritatingly defiant in Eloise’s eyes, staring back at her.

‘Out.’ Gonzalez didn’t shout. His voice was perfectly level, and yet it cut through Ingram’s fury instantly. She felt her body relax just enough that she was sure she wasn’t going to do anything stupid.

‘Yes, sir.’ She bit back everything else she had to say and left.

She had no idea where this would all have ended if Gonzalez hadn’t stopped her, and she was glad she didn’t have to find out. The rage flushed through her, and she took it out on a wall. Repeatedly. Which was a far better target than the Elite’s face. Even if it left her knuckles scraped bloody.

***

Back in the room silence reigned while Gonzalez waited for Eloise to say something. Anything.

The woman simply sat, seemingly too stunned to talk, but her eyes were tracking as if she were reading something.

‘If I can’t get home to analyse the VRP, I can link with my home database remotely. Do you have suitable facilities here? It won’t be as fast or as reliable, but it is possible.’

Gonzalez blinked. There was no outrage in Eloise’s voice. She had just stepped over the insults Ingram had thrown at her as if they never existed. Almost as if she didn’t understand what was said. Or didn’t care.

‘Yes, we do have facilities. Rather good ones.’ He wanted to ask if Eloise was all right, but something stopped him. He didn’t feel qualified to help her through whatever she was likely to be experiencing. If working with VR code could calm her down, keep her busy for the time being, he would make it available for her in a heartbeat. ‘Would you like to clean up first, and I can show you around in… let’s say half an hour?’

She nodded and turned to leave.

‘Ms Moretti.’ Rivas’ voice followed her. ‘Please allow me to apologise. I promise—’

But Eloise never heard his promise as she let the door shut behind her. She didn’t care about it either. She needed to be alone. She needed to recover her ability to breathe without pain cutting into her chest. And she needed to get the smell of vomit out of her nose.

Gonzalez, however, did care about what Lieutenant Rivas had to say.

‘Lieutenant?’ He cocked his eyebrow. ‘You told me that Ms Moretti became violent and you had to give her a sedative. Having met the woman, I find that part very easy to believe. Would you care to elaborate on what she meant when she accused you of beating her up and jumping her?’

That all just sounds so twisted, Rivas thought, gathering his thoughts. She’s the one who attacked me, and I might have overacted, but for crying out loud, she tried to claw my eyes out. And she bit me. Not that the colonel is going to be happy to hear me blame her in my defence. Especially not after I saw how calm he can be with her.

‘Sir,’ he drawled as if trying to postpone the inevitable, ‘things did get out of control, but I can assure you I did not beat her up. And I most certainly did not jump her in a sexual sense. She surprised me, and I took her down to the floor rather more forcefully than intended and held her down until the sedatives kicked in. And I slapped her. Twice. Before the sedatives kicked in, that is.’

‘A highly trained Special Forces combat officer was surprised by a VR nerd after breaking into her house?’ Gonzalez asked, his eyebrow rising even further.

Rivas sighed, his head hanging low. God, I hate her! he thought, but said nothing. There was no good answer.

‘Very well, Lieutenant. Please download the recordings from your Stealthy and start the analysis. No, strike that. Clean up the vomit first.’

CHAPTER 21

Roc de Chere

Lac d’Annecy

Afro-European Alliance

Sunday 26 April 2725

DAY 7

Gonzalez found Ingram in a VR lab. As soon as the door opened, she squared her shoulders and snapped to attention. She winced internally at the pain in her bloodied knuckles, but it never showed on her face. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the pain. Well, appreciating it. It helped her to focus her mind and remain calm. She used it as a barrier to hold her anger in check.

Gonzalez observed her in silence for a few heartbeats before approaching and letting the door slide shut behind him. He had mixed feelings about the old military traditions that the Armed Forces of the Afro-European Alliance had borrowed from the various military organisations that existed in the old, pre–Great Collapse world. The MIS tended to be rather informal when it came to following anachronistic rituals. Gonzalez, and most other team leaders, preferred to keep full focus on a mission without the distractions of constant snapping to attention and saluting. The anachronisms definitely had their purpose in formal settings, but in the field, there were far more important things. Given the events of the last half hour, it certainly felt like fieldwork.

Right now, Gonzalez disapproved of the anachronism even more strongly. Ingram was hiding behind it. She was going to just stand there, face expressionless, and take whatever he was about to throw at her. He didn’t need a subordinate to chew out. He needed a partner to work with. A partner who was focused and professional, not a hot-headed bomb ready to explode who would then accept the consequences without a sigh of complaint and go right back to being the damn hot-headed bomb with an equally short fuse.

‘At ease,’ he ordered, and watched as she efficiently shuffled into