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The meeting was supposed to be 30 minutes long. The council had specifically demanded no outside distractions- cell phones and recording devices were prohibited and an appropriate guardian must be present at all times. Safiya knew the rule was explicitly stated due to her age because young girls were ‘constantly tied to their phones’ and ‘couldn't be bothered to pay attention’. She was grateful that Detective Ward had come along to appease the insulting crowd of officers and politicians that only saw her for her age, even though her genius credentials made her more than worthy for a spot at the table.
But it had been over an hour.
Safiya’s leg had started bouncing under the table around the 25 minute mark. The briefing had switched topics from the topic of a foreign dictator’s security detail to a political discourse over excessive use of force which then led to a straw man argument and verbal insults. These grown ass men were going back and forth about petty things and honestly her nerves had been ground to stone. By 45 minutes her gaze had locked onto the electronic analog clock across the room and watched silently as the second hand ticked by. Her mind was struggling to comprehend the various stimuli around her and she had just froze, the ticking of the hand slowing with each passing moment
Tick… Tick… Tick...
She didn’t even notice one of the aides talking to Katrina turn and look at her curiously, “Is something wrong with Miss. De Gaulle?”
The special forces operative merely glanced over from her holopad notes she was reading monotonously. “Of course not, she is just zoned out. The woman gently placed a light hand on the young girl’s shoulder, "Hey, are you alright?"
Immediately, Safiya perked up and replied “Yeah.”
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Katrina Ward looked back at the aid and said, “See, she is fine. However, Sergeant Macklemore is sending us into nefarious territory-”
Safiya’s dark brown eyes immediately jumped back to the clock before her and stayed there until the meeting finally adjourned nearly 30 minutes later.
----
Safiya’s workshop was a wild beast in itself. Every horizontal surface was covered in papers and blueprints of everything from intricate wiring plans to mad 4am scribblings of tactical plans.
She looked at the spiral notebook in her hands and absent mindedly took a sip from her dog shaped coffee cup, a gift from Heart a few Christmases ago.
“Knock Knock” The commanding voice of Katrina Ward announced as the automatic door slid open in her presence, “ How's it coming Spade? It’s been a few days- and I haven't seen you leave.”
She could feel the fiery haired woman walk toward her as leather boots padded across the metal floor. Every step Katrina took closer to her felt like a wave of death steadily approaching, heavy and ominous. Her mind was scrambling with numbers being pushed aside as her flight response kicked in to the incoming threat. She could make an excuse about not knowing how much time had passed or how the plan seemed just a bit too wiley for her to manipulate. Taking a sip of her drink, she swallowed the doubt boiling from her throat. She knew neither of these options would be satisfying… or believable. Safiya didn’t turn to face the captain as the dark coated women drew closer to her station, “It’s coming.”
The numbers in her head spun rapidly through calculations as she scribbled. She heard the woman shuffle her hand out of her pocket and over to a small, unopened orange pill bottle by the African girl’s side.
“Did you take your meds?”
Safiya said nothing for a beat before taking a sip of the dark liquid with a small slurp.
“I knew it!” The woman proclaimed, affirming her statement by placing the bottle on top of the girl’s writing, “Take your meds before it is too late!”
Safiya, obviously unhappy to be stopped from her work, merely nodded curtly before going to take a sip of the mug again. She felt a cold, wispy sensation rush under her palms and she let out a surprised "Hey!' before the cup disappeared into a cloud of gray smoky tendrils and rematerialized in Katrina’s hand; holding the object just out of the young girl’s reach. Her brown eyes softened as they met the sea of pale, stormy blue orbs.
“Coffee is not meds.”
After meeting her gaze, Safiya reached for the pills in the bottle. After swallowing her dose, Katrina handed the mug back to her before walking back towards the door with a ‘whoosh’ of the metal closing behind her. Once the girl turned back to her notes, she finally felt her eyes grow heavy for the first time in what felt like hours.
She was unconscious before her head hit the desk.
-----
The mission had been an absolute failure. The information they had been provided with was faulty and their approach had been tipped off by a black listed anonymous source, making their stealth mission quickly turn into a hasty retreat from opposing gunfire. Having arrived, mostly intact, in the getaway armored vehicle, they were speeding back towards base, which left the group enough time to lick their wounds before they’re debriefing.
Heart was patching up Diamond’s leg with a soldering gun, yelling at him about running ahead of the group for what was the millionth time. Classical music was playing softy to help dampen the harsh noise of the sparks. Safiya sat across from them, strapped into the seat with her hands fisted in her lap as she fought to keep her emotions at bay. Her mind swirled as her focus kept drifting all around the vehicle: from Heart’s voice, to the sound of the music, to the roar of the engine, to the rattling of metal from Diamond’s leg. Suddenly, her eyes shot up to stare blankly at the wall of the interior of the car, her ears going deaf from overstimulation.
The older omnic, Club, turned to look down at the girl, her normally withdrawn androgynous voice speaking up, “It’s a bad one- right,” The omnic sat up from their slouched position and pointed toward the truck wall, “Okay what color is the wall?"
“Green.” The girl spoke quietly,
“What color is the floor?”
“Gray.”
“Take some deep breaths.” The voice coached her as she inhaled, “You don’t need to talk. We are here for you.”
Safiya only reached out and grasped the omnic's hand as her breath evened out, tears wetting her eyes, “Thank you.”
Club nodded, “Do you wish to talk about it?”
“No… I’m okay.” Pulling earbuds out of her pocket, Safiya turned on a meditation track and closed her eyes to relax.
Her mind started to calm.