2 Days ’I, Dahlia Rimes, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.’
Dahlia remembered taking the oath very clearly. She was proud, and her mother was proud. The badge didn’t feel authentic in her hands. Often over the first few months, she opened its case to look at it, and that wave of unreality came over her. She was a federal employee. There was nothing in her background that they hadn’t dug up and scrutinized, and she’d still been chosen. It was an honor.
Looking on as a vampire took the same oath, Dahlia realized that the government’s definition of ‘honor’ wasn’t as sacred as she’d hoped it might be. On some level, the badge in her coat had been tarnished by Project Integration. She would never view her role the same.
The stakes were higher now. This was a war against enemies more foreign than she could’ve ever imagined. Now, when she fought to protect her way of life, apocalypse was on the line. The badge should’ve felt more valuable, but it didn’t.
“Two more days,” said Agent Purvis. He slurped coffee and watched the progression of another recruit through registration. The lines were longer today. Time was running out for the supernaturals of Nevada to make their choice.
Agent Purvis was chomping at the bit. Dahlia detected a tinge of disappointment on his behalf. Every recruit was one less creature that would be terrorized on the street. A notch he wouldn’t get to carve in his professional bedpost.
In two more days, everything would change.
Dahlia slid her glasses up her nose. “Once the personnel manifests are updated, make sure they get to your supervisor in the tactical division. They’re dividing the recruits into small squads for the first few weeks of training and field experience. It should reduce resistance in the field.” She looked at her colleague’s profile. “Remember… they should employ persuasive techniques before physical coercion. Integrating any captures into our recruitment program will be easier for me if they haven’t been beaten to bloody pulp first.”
Purvis nodded. She doubted his sincerity.
If Project Integration hadn’t been enough to tarnish her badge, working alongside Thomas Purvis would’ve done it.