Page 36 of Skin In the Game (The BlackWater)

The hospital discharged Maddie a few days later and she gratefully went home, shutting the door on all of them, from the people who had kept poking and prodding her, the BlackWater agents now outside her apartment, to Brandon and Cole Black who both seemed to be doing shifts sleeping in her room, taking her space, draining her energy just with their presence.

Finally she was alone, she thought.

She ran a bath and stripped off before plunging into the scalding water. It wasn’t often she bathed, she preferred to shower, but right now she wanted to just float and think.

Because tomorrow she was going to join them.

Tomorrow she was going to BlackWater.

She got up at daybreak, just like every normal day. She stretched, pulled on some running kit and headed out, ignoring the agent that was now running just behind her like a god damn bodyguard.

She sprinted down the tiny patch of path that was clear and did a lap of the park before heading back to her apartment. She had a shower, a cold one despite her love for burning almost scalding water. And then she got dressed. She had no idea what to wear, they all seemed to walk around in suits and she had nothing that even looked close to that.

She pulled a dress out and toyed with the idea of putting it on and then she settled for the same black jeans, shirt combo. She tied her hair up, back in a high ponytail and put on some makeup mainly to hide the bags under her eyes and went down to get the few things she needed into a bag.

It was 6.45.

She had time to make a quick coffee and chucked it in the flask before heading downstairs and that’s when everything deviated from her normal work day.

A black Merc pulled up and she half rolled her eyes. Of course they had Mercs she thought. The world’s most useless car. Sure they looked great, sure the engines were good but Jesus, they weren’t exactly built for anything robust.

She got in, sliding across the leather seat and glanced at the driver. He smiled at her and she made small talk while trying to both notice exactly where they were going while not looking like it either.

They pulled into a nondescript car park and she frowned slightly.

“Got to the Block at the end. They’re waiting for you there.” He said and she nodded thanking him and got out.

She walked across the carpark feeling the chill in the air and looked up at the concrete tower block in front of her wondering if this was really it, this was really the great BlackWater, and if Cole Black was there, at one of the windows watching and smirking as he looked down at her. As she finally did what they wanted.

She gritted her teeth, yanking the metal door open and walked in. Two guards were stood either side of the door she’d just walked through. Another four were stood around the perimeter of the room. She gulped because she hadn’t expected it to be so military-like though she wasn’t sure what else she should have expected.

“Miss Cooper.” The man said in front of her, clearly he knew exactly who she was already.

She nodded.

“Come with me.” He turned, not waiting for a reply and she followed him down the stark corridor.

“This is your locker, leave your bag, phone and all personal belongings here.”

She raised an eyebrow but did as she was told.

She followed him into another room.

“This is your pass. You collect it from here each day. You leave it here each day. It does not at any time, under any circumstances ever leave this building.”

She nodded.

“This is your secure phone. From now on this is to be on you at all times. It should never be turned off, never run out of battery. You should never be out of contact.”

She nodded again and took the phone glancing at it before following the man through a metal detector and into the lift at the end.

When it opened it was like a complete contrast from the outside. A huge sign was right there in what should have been the foyer with the intimidating logo of BlackWater Security. She looked at it as she stepped out, it felt weird to see it, to be here.

She looked around, the walls were a dark blue fading into black at the bottom, there were no windows just fake natural lighting coming from UV strips. It felt like something out of a spy movie. There wasn’t even a real reception area beyond the logo itself as if no one manned it, no one turned up unannounced and then she realised that they didn’t did they? No one just turned up at BlackWater.

“Maddie.” Brandon said behind her and she turned facing him. “Follow me.”

He steered her into a small room and she frowned slightly. “Before we do anything else you have to sign some paperwork.”

“Right.” She said picking up the pen and then pausing. “So everything with Homewell…?”

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