Goddard.”
Anais shot a sideways glance at her friend, who was now standing up
straight and smiling warmly. She didn't look anything like the pale,
nervous girl she was a moment ago. The woman turned her icy eyes to
Dalla.
“ I
got accepted onto Civitas' internship today. I asked Xander if I
could take a look around, you know, so I could get my bearings
before I start. I do apologise if this wasn't allowed, but I was
just so excited, I couldn't wait until Monday,” Dalla said, still
smiling.
The woman looked at her appraisingly. Something in her expression
softened ever so slightly.
“ Initiative,”
she murmured. She turned to Anais. “And you are?”
“ No
one,” Anais said without thinking. “I don't work here.”
The woman's eyes narrowed.
“ Where's
your pass?” she asked, directing the question at Anais, who
thought this was a little unfair seeing as how Dalla had a visitor's
pass too.
“ It's
right -” she stopped as she touched the spot on her jacket where
her pass ought have been. She looked down in dismay. It wasn't
there. She glanced down at the floor and surreptitiously checked her
pockets, but to no avail.
Anais' mouth was dry as she looked up into the woman's cold
expression.
“ I
did have one. I must have dropped it,” Anais said her heart
beginning to beat harder at the hard expression on that beautiful
face.
“ I
can confirm it,” Xander stepped in swiftly. “I gave them both
their passes earlier today. I can show you the log on the system.”
The woman stared at them all a moment longer. Just as Anais began to
feel distinctly uncomfortable, she sighed.
“ This
lab normally is accessible to those who have cleared our security
measures. But today -” she broke off with a sigh. Then,
surprisingly, she smiled. The transformation on her face was
unbelievable - she was absolutely stunning. “I won't bore you with
the details. Why don't I escort you back down to reception?”
There was something underneath her warm tone that made it clear
that this wasn't question. All three of them nodded, and the woman
stepped into the lift. As she turned away from them, Anais and
Xander exchanged looks. Something had happened at Civitas, but what?
The woman scanned her thumbprint and the doors began to close. Just
before they shut, Anais caught a glimpse of two police officers
stepping out of one of the metal doors, conferring with a man in a
white jumpsuit. The metal doors closed fully, and the lift began to
descend.
“ I
don't believe I introduced myself,” the woman said. But Anais
noticed that she was looking at Dalla as she said it, turning her
back on Anais. “I'm Skye Belaforte. I'm the PR manager here at
Civitas, and I also have the good fortune to sit on the board of
directors. May I just congratulate you on getting onto the
internship – you must be very bright.”
Dalla visibly puffed up at these words as she beamed at Skye. As
Dalla launched into her spiel about how excited she was to start
working for the company, Anais felt a slight jolt as Xander's hand
found hers. He squeezed it reassuringly. Anais smiled at him,
although a cold feeling had washed over her at Skye's snub.
“ -
it's such an exciting time to be working here right now, especially
with the SLPs about to released,” Skye was saying. “They've been
in development for the last five years, so to see them being
released now is a huge achievement for us.”
“ Oh,
absolutely. I heard about the programming behind the SLPs and it's
simply extraordinary,” Dalla gazed at Skye as she spoke, her eyes
were bright and she kept flicking back her long hair.
Skye preened as she heard this.
“ Of
course, being such a complicated program means we only perfected the
SLPs a few months ago. Doing such a big launch in such a short space
of time has put a tiny bit of a strain on our production schedule,
but no matter – our employees at the factory have been grateful
for the extra work.”
Anais stiffened as she heard
Anais shot a sideways glance at her friend, who was now standing up
straight and smiling warmly. She didn't look anything like the pale,
nervous girl she was a moment ago. The woman turned her icy eyes to
Dalla.
“ I
got accepted onto Civitas' internship today. I asked Xander if I
could take a look around, you know, so I could get my bearings
before I start. I do apologise if this wasn't allowed, but I was
just so excited, I couldn't wait until Monday,” Dalla said, still
smiling.
The woman looked at her appraisingly. Something in her expression
softened ever so slightly.
“ Initiative,”
she murmured. She turned to Anais. “And you are?”
“ No
one,” Anais said without thinking. “I don't work here.”
The woman's eyes narrowed.
“ Where's
your pass?” she asked, directing the question at Anais, who
thought this was a little unfair seeing as how Dalla had a visitor's
pass too.
“ It's
right -” she stopped as she touched the spot on her jacket where
her pass ought have been. She looked down in dismay. It wasn't
there. She glanced down at the floor and surreptitiously checked her
pockets, but to no avail.
Anais' mouth was dry as she looked up into the woman's cold
expression.
“ I
did have one. I must have dropped it,” Anais said her heart
beginning to beat harder at the hard expression on that beautiful
face.
“ I
can confirm it,” Xander stepped in swiftly. “I gave them both
their passes earlier today. I can show you the log on the system.”
The woman stared at them all a moment longer. Just as Anais began to
feel distinctly uncomfortable, she sighed.
“ This
lab normally is accessible to those who have cleared our security
measures. But today -” she broke off with a sigh. Then,
surprisingly, she smiled. The transformation on her face was
unbelievable - she was absolutely stunning. “I won't bore you with
the details. Why don't I escort you back down to reception?”
There was something underneath her warm tone that made it clear
that this wasn't question. All three of them nodded, and the woman
stepped into the lift. As she turned away from them, Anais and
Xander exchanged looks. Something had happened at Civitas, but what?
The woman scanned her thumbprint and the doors began to close. Just
before they shut, Anais caught a glimpse of two police officers
stepping out of one of the metal doors, conferring with a man in a
white jumpsuit. The metal doors closed fully, and the lift began to
descend.
“ I
don't believe I introduced myself,” the woman said. But Anais
noticed that she was looking at Dalla as she said it, turning her
back on Anais. “I'm Skye Belaforte. I'm the PR manager here at
Civitas, and I also have the good fortune to sit on the board of
directors. May I just congratulate you on getting onto the
internship – you must be very bright.”
Dalla visibly puffed up at these words as she beamed at Skye. As
Dalla launched into her spiel about how excited she was to start
working for the company, Anais felt a slight jolt as Xander's hand
found hers. He squeezed it reassuringly. Anais smiled at him,
although a cold feeling had washed over her at Skye's snub.
“ -
it's such an exciting time to be working here right now, especially
with the SLPs about to released,” Skye was saying. “They've been
in development for the last five years, so to see them being
released now is a huge achievement for us.”
“ Oh,
absolutely. I heard about the programming behind the SLPs and it's
simply extraordinary,” Dalla gazed at Skye as she spoke, her eyes
were bright and she kept flicking back her long hair.
Skye preened as she heard this.
“ Of
course, being such a complicated program means we only perfected the
SLPs a few months ago. Doing such a big launch in such a short space
of time has put a tiny bit of a strain on our production schedule,
but no matter – our employees at the factory have been grateful
for the extra work.”
Anais stiffened as she heard
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