Dark Justice

Chapter 3

Three

Hannah Young scrubbed at a beetroot stain on an empty table in the dining hall.

‘Looks like you got your work cut out for you. Sure you’re up to the challenge? Keeping this place clean is a big responsibility, for a half-breed.’

Head down, Hannah bit her bottom lip. If she responded to Chelsea Locke’s snide comments, she’d end up having to clean the barracks on top of her existing duties.

‘You missed a spot.’ Locke stood beside a table Hannah had already cleaned and tipped out the dregs of her coffee so it splattered across the table and on to the floor.

‘You’d better get that cleaned up. Wouldn’t want anyone to think you’re shirking your duties.’ Locke folded her arms.

‘Hell no.’ Hannah tossed down her rag and straightened up. She moved toward Locke, fists clenched at her sides.

The shrill peal of the alarm filled the dining hall.

Locke and the other wardens ran for the exit, resembling a swarm of black insects in their body armour. Ever since Jackson Kyle had been infected, most wardens wore their armour whether they were on duty or not, but Hannah wore her standard attire of black t-shirt and blue jeans. As a half-breed, living among wardens under sufferance, she had never been issued with body armour.

She continued cleaning the dining hall, the task far more pleasant with it empty. Locke wasn’t the only one fond of tormenting the lone half-breed at headquarters. Once the tables were clean, she went into the kitchen to put away the dishes she’d washed earlier, revelling in the late-night silence.

Four wardens burst into the room, Locke among them. They wrenched open the cupboards, pulling out the contents and dumping them on the floor.

‘Hey.’ Hannah strode forward, hands on her hips. ‘What are you doing?’

Locke and two of the others ignored her, one guy shoving her aside to get to the pantry behind her. Sergeant Rogers, an older warden, grimaced as he surveyed the disarray his team were making.

‘Sorry, Hannah, but we’ve got orders to search every inch of this place,’ he said. ‘Kyle has escaped.’

Before he could continue, the others finished their search and came over.

‘He’s not here,’ said Locke.

Rogers nodded and spoke into the radio mic attached to his uniform. ‘Six to Control.’

‘Go ahead, Six.’

‘Kitchen and dining hall are clear.’

‘Copy that, Six. All search parties have called in. Kyle is not on the premises. You can stand your team down.’

Locke and the other two wardens turned to leave the kitchen.

‘I didn’t dismiss you,’ said Rogers.

‘But Control said we were to stand down.’ A frown creased Locke’s brow.

‘You don’t take orders from Control. I say when you stand down. Clean up this mess.’ He indicated the pots, pans, and other kitchen implements spread over the floor.

‘That’s the half-breed’s job.’

‘Do I need to report you for insubordination, Locke?’

Locke blanched, then a red flush covered her cheeks as she joined the other two in putting the kitchen back to rights.

Hannah stood beside Rogers, her satisfaction at seeing Locke humbled tempered by what would happen when he wasn’t around. The statuesque blonde would make her pay for this. As a distraction from what that payback might entail, Hannah questioned Rogers about Jackson’s escape.

‘I don’t know much more than you.’

‘What’s Captain Wilson going to do about it?’

‘She ordered us to recapture him—alive.’ He gave a snort. ‘As if we’ve got a hope of finding him. Kyle was the best damn warden I’ve ever seen, and I’ve served with plenty of good ones. He’ll be even more dangerous now he’s a freak. We should have killed him when we had the chance.’

‘Don’t let the captain hear you say that. She’s not exactly rational where he’s concerned.’

‘Rational or not, when the body count starts to rise, even she will have to admit keeping him alive was a bad idea. Maybe then she’ll finally start acting like a captain and do something about it.’

Hannah grimaced. ‘Like you said, she’ll have to find him first, and that won’t be easy.’