Survival

Chapter 50 Facade

"I have Mr. Hues' rationale behind his daughter's job transfer. She has been stressed out by the move and her work duties. They felt it would be best to change her environment as she was skipping her apprenticeship. She had a friend in the agricultural department to help-"

He studied his cuticles instead of looking at her.

"Names, Fendson."

"April, not sure of the last name. They attended the meetings for the reproductive team on the same day."

"Yes, yes. Any other allies the young woman may have?"

"That Quinton boy."

"We knew that already."

"She hasn't mentioned the birthing program to her father. He is unaware that she is a candidate."

His eyes finally lifted and his icy glare made her wish for his inattentive nature to return. "For future reference, Fendson, lead with your pertinent information. I don't need to hear things I already know. So there is a divide forming. This is good and bad for us. Now, I'd like you to focus on Mr. Hues and forget about Mr. Drest. Second hand information is never as accurate as first hand."

"But, why have me even try in the first place?"

A grin grew on his pale face. "I wanted to fuck with you, and now that I've accomplished that, we can move on. You should have no confusion as to who runs this establishment."

Her heart skipped a beat and her throat went dry, unable to formulate a response. The director met her gaze and continued.

"The Mischa situation is growing like bacteria in a cesspool. We need to contain it, and you'll find an angle into that household. When it was just the two runts running, it was fine. It's inspiring far too many allies."

"With all due respect, sir, Mr. Drest and Hues are close enough that switching tactics would be suspicious."

"I never asked you to fornicate with these men, officer. Be professional and do your job properly."

She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting her face flush. "Why don't I deal with the girl directly?"

"You haven't shown yourself competent enough for such a task. One person has already left the colony under your care; I doubt you could contain a similar situation. Williams is handling it."

Marcel's departure had as much to do with the director as it did her. They had both driven the man away with their choices. But Williams taking charge? She bit her tongue before she could berate the newer recruit's efficiency. She'd overheard a conversation or two in the women's meetings and he did little other than intimidate. Perhaps his incompetence wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to this colony.

"You have a week. That is all."

   

Nate and Edward sat in their quiet workspace, repairing a few cameras that had been damaged in a recent storm. The parts were harder to come by since this wasn't the first occurrence. They weren't the only department questioning the necessity of outdoor surveillance. The repair process was taking longer than it generally did.

"How's your daughter feeling lately?" Edward asked.

"Much better, complete change from last week. Maybe it was the vitamin D missing from her system or clean air. Either way, she's more social and content. I hardly see you in the evenings anymore."

"Oh, I've been busy with different... activities."

Olivia had him exhausted, in the most satisfying ways possible. Her personality had flipped completely as she initiated kisses, cuddles and their plans to spend the whole day in each other's arms. The slow road had paid off, because as much as their earlier sexual encounters had pleased him, they were empty gestures.