Between Gates (The Gate Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 1: Hired

His steady gaze moved away and to the manilla folder with her name on it, which was sitting in the center of the desk, opened to the first page with her picture and general information. “If you don’t mind, Miss Eaton, I’d like to know a little bit more about your background. I know you lived with your mother and sister until you were fifteen... Your bio says that your sister died at that time. It also says you were in law enforcement.”

“Yes. That is the case.” She kept her face emotionless, but she felt the familiar panic rising when he began delving deeper into her past. She didn't want to relive her sister's death. Her sister's murder. She wanted it to stay buried in the past. It was already hard enough to deal with without making the wound even deeper.

“What happened to your sister, Miss Eaton?”

“She was killed by a young man out on the streets. He shot my sister through the heart. They arrested him the next day and sent him to jail. That was twelve years ago. I saw him when I testified in the courtroom trial that locked him up for ten years in a juvenile hall."

The General nodded. “So why did you come here, Miss Eaton?”

“With all due respect, sir, I mentioned that in my last interview and in my file.” She shifted in her seat, gazing at a spot on the wall above the General's head.

“I would like to hear it again from you personally. Why did you come here?” He repeated the question again with a gentle smile.

She suppressed the urge to sigh. She knew why he wanted to hear it from her. He was looking to see what her facial signals and body posture could tell him about her and her true intentions. It just hurt to talk about this, and she would've preferred it stayed on paper instead of coming from her as well.

She needed this position to much not to comply though, so she cleared her throat and answered his question. “I wanted to escape my past. My family has a history of working here. When things became unbearable, I decided I needed a new start. This place has always intrigued me, and it seemed like the best place to turn.”

“I see. So, do you usually run from your problems, Miss Eaton?” He smiled at her.

She knew he was trying to be gentle about it, but it still stung. 

Her eyes glinted with rage and tears that she tried to conceal with little success. She berated herself with bitterness as she realized he'd gotten the rise out of her that he'd been looking for earlier. Her cheeks flamed, and her voice was steel as she replied. “I came here to fix my problem, sir, not to run from it.”

He smiled again. “I see.”

She gave him a cold stare, but she didn't say anything. Respect was key here, and she knew that if she wanted the new start she claimed to want, she would have to keep herself under control. “Are you going to let me join or not, General Parsi?” Her posture and voice were stiff, and her eyes held a dangerous glint as she struggled to hold herself in check.

He ignored her question, and his smile told her he was letting her sweat a bit.

He leaned back in his grey, metal-backed chair. “So, you were in law enforcement before you came here. Your bio mentioned you were a former FBI agent and police officer. Would you please fill in more details about what you did in these positions?”

She wasn't sure if sharing more information with him was a good idea or now, but seeing as this directly pertained to her ability to perform in the positions they might place her in, she knew the question was an important one to answer. “I was with the Criminal Investigative Division, and I worked as an intelligence analyst.” She looked straight into his dark brown eyes when she said it, daring him to defy her.