The room Gabe entered was modest compared to the splendor of the outside - cozy, barely large enough for the thirteen desks which circled the front of it. Gabe noticed the scratches etched into the wood formed words. There was a large stack of paper immediately to the left of the entrance. He guessed computers were either scarce or discouraged around the compound. His experience above ground might prove useless.

There was no one else in the room so Gabe decided to take a seat. He placed his hands on both sides of the nearest desk and slumped in his chair. He hadn’t slept since he met Jace and Selima, unless he counted the time Jace knocked him out. Gabe was skeptical his body treated the knock-out as actual sleep, a fog started to set in his mind.

He figured the resistance wouldn’t need someone who fell asleep while waiting to “sign up,” so he pulled himself up to look around the room again. His eyes fell on the stack of paper. When he was in school, Gabe used to doodle on his tablet to stay awake. If he could find a pen, the paper might prove useful. Old fashioned sketching had the potential to keep his second wind alive.

Each of the desks had a small drawer underneath them. It was likely someone had left behind some sort of writing utensil. Gabe began opening every drawer, but only found a stylus for a tablet. At least he knew they had technology. He pocketed the stylus, just in case, and continued his search.

While he was aggressively opening a drawer, he heard footsteps behind him. The power in their stride made the hair on the back of his neck jump. He swallowed and turned around to see who he’d be dealing with, they had to be less prickly than Jace.

To his surprise, Gabe found himself face to face with a woman two heads shorter than himself. Her hair was long and blonde - even when in an updo, it almost reached her waist. She wore a skirt with many layers in an effort to create curves, but that gave her an appearance similar to a doll’s. Gabe did not know how to react. Instead, he stared at her boots that looked like they were big enough to reach above her knee.

After what seemed like an eternity, she cleared her throat. Gabe took the chance.

“Are you the person I’m supposed to meet with?”

“No, my secretary, but he’s out today,” she said. As she spoke she did not meet Gabe’s gaze.

“So, I’m talking to the boss?” Her attitude made Gabe turn away.

“Ground operations, yeah. Selima’s our chief strategist, but I heard you’ve met already.”

“We’re acquainted.”

She let out a laugh that Gabe found surprisingly sultry. The way the corners of her mouth lifted took about five years of stress away from her face.

“Yeah, she’s like that,” she said, still laughing, “I’m Reggie.”

“Gabe,” he reached out his hand to shake and she took it, placing her hand in his gently, like royalty. He expected her handshake to be coarse for some reason. He was having a hard time reading any of the people he’d met from here. It was almost like their personalities were naturally conflicted. Gabe had never met such interesting people.

“I’ll get you to our tech department tomorrow. I think I can use you there.”

Gabe sighed in relief and let the weight of the day (or days, for all he knew) wash over him. He was tired.

“But first,” she continued, “we need to get you to bed.”