Andromeda

Panting.

In. Out. In. Out.

Short, shallow, ragged breaths.

Cold steel pressed against the side of her face, she struggled to get her breathing under control. Peering around the corner, she held the weapon close. Eyes narrowing, she pushed herself up off of her knees, cautioning herself against any sudden movements. Creeping, slowly, with painstaking caution. Suddenly a series of shots are rounded off into the air. Count them.

One… Two… Three… Four…

A gargling sound, and a loud thump. A body drops to the floor, but in the darkness its impossible to tell whom it belonged too. Two more. She cursed, silently. There’s no telling who heard them, and she supposed it was safe to say her cover had been blown. The siren began to throb.

She rolled her eyes. Just great, just… fucking… great…

Suddenly the lights flickered on. She pushed herself up onto the balls of her feet, and rounded the corner. He was standing there, hands on his hips, eyeing her. She grunted, shoving the pistol home into the holster pressed against her thigh. Her hands dropped awkwardly to her sides, and she shifted her weigh uncomfortably on her feet. His gaze always made her self-conscious. Resisting the urge to fold her arms protectively across her chest, she knew he hated that.

"Three out of four. Not bad, but not brilliant either, considering you’d be dead by now on the field."

She grunted, obviously unappreciative of his analysis. Always treating her like a puppy, or a child. She’d like to see him to better, sometime. Avoiding eye contact just in ‘case’. He had a creepy way of knowing which direction her mind leapt in some cases, and the last thing she needed right now was to give him any provocation. She stood stiffly and uncomfortably, staring at the floor. Silent, she waited. Andromeda never wanted to be the first to speak; especially with the way things had been lately. He let her off the hook.

"Right, well that’s enough for today. Go clean yourself up and come down for dinner."

She cast him a seething glare, but remained silent. A subtle nod of her head, she spun on her heel, stalking towards the door. Stepping carefully over the mannequins now littering the tile floor she moved like quicksilver. He called to her and she waited, tilting her head over her shoulder as he spoke.

‘You did well tonight, Thirteen."

She paused for a moment, and continued her trek without a response.