Page 66 of Love at First Sighting
I swallow. “To be fair, I know cooler slang than you did. Youjustlearned what ‘lit’ means.”
“Yeah, sue me.” Another solid ball in a pocket.
“You didn’t know what a meme was, either.”
He glances up and rolls his eyes. “If you come in tomorrow with an AARP membership card, you’re fired.”
“Fine, I guess I won’t be sorting your mail tomorrow, then.” I sink a stripe into a pocket. Marcus huffs as if to saytouché. “I’ll have Toby do it.”
“Toby,” he huffs. “Is he doing okay?”
“Honest answer?”
Marcus looks across the bar, where Brad is out of earshot.
“Honest answer.”
“Look, I know I’m not a genius, but Toby isdefinitelynot a genius.”
“Last time I let Brad have a say in our hiring processes. It doesn’t help that the Defense Department makes our job sound like you’re watching paint dry. We’re not getting the government’s finest.”
While I suspect that might be a dig at me, too, it’s an in to my subject, and I welcome it.
“Right. If…if you could run things your way, what would you do?”
Marcus sighs. “Carter, I’m the head ofonesector. These decisions come from the top.”
“Of course, but Los Angeles is a big hot spot. I mean, they look at us. Battle of Los Angeles, after all.Yearsbefore Roswell. They put emphasis on us for a reason. What would you change?”
We lock eyes. I sink two stripes into pockets. Two for me, four for him. Before he gives me a response, he drops another one in. I think through my strategy. Men like Marcus like the thrill of the win, whether they earn it or not.
It may be a bigger flex letting Marcus win rather than winning myself.
“Higher budgets. Higher pay,” he begins. “We’re running a tin can here. What I wouldn’t give for some more money to pay everyone and get us on the level of SETI, at least.”
“Right,” I lead. “I mean, we’re working harder than ever. Now that any Betty or Barney can put something on the internet, we’re drowning in sightings and potential subjects.”
“Wearedrowning. We have to pick and choose what we want to take on instead of doing a thorough job. Pisses me off.”
I’ve heard Marcus gripe about his job for years, and I get it. I hate our outdated technology and terrible pay. I hate being a neglected child of our department as well. But now, instead of thinking,He’s got a point, I’m wondering,What would it drive him to do?Better surveillance would help ease the load on our agents. Tech partnerships could help financially andtechnologically. I see reasons to work with Terra. I wish I didn’t.
I take a long sip of my wood-chip scotch. As I do, Marcus sinks another two balls. Instead of more questions, I play seriously and sink another stripe.
I pause, feigning a pensiveness I hope Marcus doesn’t see through. I’m not nearly as good an actor as El is. I finish off my scotch.
“Have you…have you ever done something you regret for the job?” I ask. I try to come across as a newbie learning the ropes.
“You’re going to have to be more specific.”
“I…I mean, did a job ever push you to do something you weren’t comfortable with? I mostly mean near the beginning. I know it gets easier with time, but sometimes, I feel weird.”
Marcus lines up another shot and glances at me. There’s something cold and emotionless in his eyes. “You ask a man my age if he’s got any regrets? Dangerous question.”
Marcus lands the final eight ball in a pocket. He’s won. He’s won and we’re at an impasse. All I’ve gained is a potential motive. And a churning fear in my gut that I shouldn’t blindly trust him the way I used to.
Chapter 19
El
