Factor by Viola Grace Page B

Guardians arrived early and took lodgings in the city under their private names. Jianne blinked as she ran through the files. All men. That was rather unusual.
    Flare, Cowl, Twist and Roil were the new Cadar Guardians, and they had the standard three-year contract with the planet.
    The period where the old guard left and the new came in was always tricky. Those who had criminal intent often tried to make their move during this precise time, which is why it was rarely publicised. This transfer had been kept silent, and if all went well, the new Guardians would appear at their first job with confidence and an air of control. That was Jianne’s job. Not only did Jianne manipulate the media feeds to show the Guardians in the best light after a battle, but also she tipped the media off when it came to seeing the Guardians becoming part of the community.
    For the sake of the Guardians, she really hoped that their first assignment was a natural disaster. PR was always easier during a natural disaster.
    Cowl was the commander, and his hidden features were going to have young women all over Cadar swooning with imagination. Flare had the ability to dazzle his prey with a lightshow, Twist was a shapeshifter and Roil distorted space sending enemies end over end. All in all, it was a fairly aggressive bunch, but their service records showed an attention to their responsibilities that eased Jianne’s mind.
    It was traditional for her to stay and man her com unit until the new Guardians contacted her, but she needed that software patch and that meant heading into the Guardian stronghold. It would only take a few minutes, and what could possibly happen in a few minutes?
     
    Her private tunnel led her directly under the heart of the Guardians’ home. While the old guard had taken off, the new ones had not yet moved in. She should have a window of opportunity to get the crystal.
    Her master code opened the hidden panel, and she slipped into the hallway behind the bedrooms. Cyber’s room was on her left, and she eased into it, trying to stay out of the way of the cameras. She could remove herself from the scans later, but it was a lot of work.
    It felt strange to see the room stripped of all the personal touches that Cyber had brought in, but steeling herself, Jianne pushed aside the nostalgic side of her thoughts, and she reached into the desk to find the crystal.
    Her fingers closed around it, and she sighed. The small scrap of paper under it surprised her. Jianne lifted it and blinked. Take care of yourself, Dispatch. There is a hunter in the wind, and he is looking for you.
    Jianne blinked at the cryptic note. She tucked it into her top and moved carefully back to the hatch as silently as she had entered. The sound of a landing shuttle made her jump, and she fumbled the code, reset it and tried again.
    Footfalls were getting closer, and she started sweating as the door popped open in time to let her hide from the incoming Guardians. She hoped that they didn’t hear the door click as she disappeared into the underground tunnel, but her heart was pounding so loud in her ears that she couldn’t tell how close they were when she closed the trap.
    She sprinted back to her home ten minutes away. She had monitors to check and a new commander to introduce herself to.
     
    The light was already on when she arrived. “Good afternoon. This is your dispatcher, how can I help you?”
    “I am Cowl, and I am now the commander of this Guardian outpost. Where were you?”
    She could see Cowl on the screen as he sat and spoke to her. He was in a Guardian uniform, a fitted bodysuit, but his face was in the shadow of a deep hood that concealed his features.
    “Attending a call of nature. It happens to everyone.” She twisted her lips and blushed even though he couldn’t see her. She couldn’t lie to save her life. She turned pink at the slightest fib.
    “Ah, I see. Well, can you tell us who has been here aside from the previous Guardians? Twist