Read Harsh Lessons for Free Online

again, it seemed Eagle had good reasons for the role he had chosen for an agent.
    He wondered, though, whether even Eagle knew what lay beyond the door he had opened, this time.
    She would be the one .  He just hoped she would be enough.
 

Chapter 4 
    Although the Bureau of Internal Development itself was of reasonable size, the Accounts Department – the ultra-secret agency concealed within it – consisted of just ten people.  Of these, only three were on full-time active status – unlike Dojo.  James, the third agent, didn't meet Leeth until the following week.
    Emma had helped him complete his recent mission, and both now enjoyed a quiet moment in the rec room.  Gazing through the currently one-way translucent wall, they watched the figure swimming and diving –  playing – in the pool beyond.
    James and Emma sat together in the wood-paneled room, with its large billiard table and wall of books.  The rich aroma of real coffee hung in the air.
    James's eyes kept drifting back to the nymph undulating through the water.  Men , thought Emma, shaking her head.  'So, have you met her yet?  What do you think?'
    'We have been introduced, yes.'  James's voice was deep, the tones so rich that Emma felt somehow nourished just listening to it.
    Emma had both hands round her coffee mug as she held it close to her face, her dark eyes shining mischievously over its rim.  James could sense the dimpled smile concealed behind the mug.  Relaxing back in his chair, he ran his fingers briefly through his short dark-brown hair.  'She arrived last week, didn't she?'
    'Mm-hmm,' Emma agreed.
    'Before you joined me in Seattle,' he prompted.
    'Mm-hmm.'
    'So you've seen her more than I.'  His eyes drifted back to the girl in the pool.
    'Mmm.   Though you seem to be doing your best to reverse the balance.  But I'm asking you .'  Emma lowered the mug, flicking the fringe out of her eyes with a short toss of her head.  'So?'
    The girl emerged from the water at last.  Something about the movement struck James as odd, but then he saw she was completely naked.  Eyebrows raised, he watched her padding swiftly toward the diving board.
    'Ahem.'
    He dragged his attention back to Emma, who watched him with a knowing smile.
    'Ah.'  James had the grace to look faintly embarrassed.  'Does she know that one can see into the pool from here?'
    From up on the diving board, the figure waved to them.
    Both stared in surprise, then shared a look, at the odd timing.
    'I think she does,' said Emma.
    Unsettled, they turned back to watch as the girl bounced high off the board, spun twice in a somersault, unfolding just as she met the water.  Emma and James winced in unison at the painful-looking impact.
    'Well,' Emma demanded, 'what do you think?'
    'Dibs.'
    Emma's eyes narrowed.
    'Needs more practice?'
    Emma pursed her lips, and James wisely relented.  'Well, my first thought was that the Old Man was losing his grip – she's absurdly young.'  He looked over in the direction of the concealed recording device, wondering when or if this conversation would be reviewed.  Not that it worried him.
    'It wasn't Father – it was Eagle who had her brought in.'
    James looked surprised.  'Really?  Eagle found her?  That's interesting.  Father also specifically instructed me not to do or say anything that might " affect her unusual psychological orientation. "   He said you'd fill me in?'
    'Father and Mother told me not to discuss the ethics of combat, or sexual morals.  Nor offer her any stimsense.'
    James frowned while he considered the girl's casual nudity.  She reached the edge of the pool and pulled herself up out of the water, straight to a standing position in a single flowing motion, before padding back to the diving board again.
    'And to avoid the use of in-house jargon.'
    At that he turned back to Emma, and they exchanged unhappy looks.  'Expendable, then.'
    'Have you met "the Doctor"?' Emma asked.
    'Her guardian, the mage?  No, not