The Test

Four

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Luc says, laughing and punching my shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, ok." I huff, but I'm grinning. "They weren't there." he looks at me pointedly. See? his eyes tell me. I sigh. "I know. I was stupid."

He shrugs. "You weren't stupid, just...having an identity crisis."

I laugh. "You make me sound like an old woman."

"That's cause you are," Vi jokes from beside me. The streets are dark and silent except for our footsteps as we sneak through downtown, and I'm grateful all of a sudden for Luc's presence. It never hurts to be cautious.

"Oh yeah," Frex chimes in.

I laugh. "Guys, guys. Cut it out!"

Luc grins. "If you say so, milady." But then he grabs me and puts me in a headlock, ruffling my hair. "Hey!" I cry when he lets me go, all of us laughing uproariously. "That was mean! Lucas Montero, you come right back here! I'm not finished with you yet!" I cry, laughing, feet hitting the ground running as he takes off toward home. A manic chase ensues, all of us laughing loudly as we chase him through the close and dark alleys.

"Damn you!" I yell, running up beside him.

He laughs. "Knew you'd catch me eventually."

I just laugh and fail at an attempt to put him in a headlock. He laughs as I try to grab him. "Not for long, though," he says grinning broadly and sprinting off again. I just shake my head and motion with my hand for everyone to catch him up.

The next week passes up eventfully, other than when Luc tells me that I'm doing better on the hologram and I'm now ready to move past the introductory level.

"That was the introductory level?" I ask during a morning session, incredulous. He laughs. "Yeah. They get harder." he grins at me. 'C'mon. I'll show you."

He leads me into the hologram, his fingers soft on my wrist.

The doors close around us with a soft swoosh, and then we are alone. He grins again, a more devilish one, as he looks at me. "Now, you'll have to rely solely on me for this one, as much as you may not want to." I laugh. "There are partner levels on the hologram where two people can train at once, especially if they're part of a team, and I'm going to show you one of them." he looks sharply at me for a second. 'But don't expect me to save your ass every five seconds, ok?"

I laugh, lightly punching him on the shoulder. "You know I won't."

He grins. "I know. Just checking,"

I grin and shake my head. "Holograph activate," we say at the same time, then burst out laughing.

The smile falls from my face when I see the scene in front of me. "Oh, crap," I mutter, ducking to avoid the bullet coming my way. "We can't get wounded in here, can we?" I yell over the sound of helicopters overhead. "No," he yells back, kicking out at a soldier rushing towards him, gun held aloft. We're in a war zone, dust and bullets flying everywhere. I hear a whooshing noise next to my ear and whip my head around just in time to avoid a bullet hitting my ear. "Luc, duck!" I yell, jumping to close the distance between us so I can push him to the ground. He grunts on impact and I feel a shudder go through his whole body as he hits the floor, but the shot aimed at him goes over our heads and we lie there for a second to let the adrenaline pass. He laughs. "Whoa. You saved me," he says, somewhat incredulous. I just grin. "Who knew I had it in me, right?"

He grins back. "I did. Or I knew you would eventually."

I raise my brows. "Sure. Now you say just kidding, no-one would have expected you to save me,' and laugh as I run away in complete humiliation."