Matt and Gunnar slipped through the door that had been propped open with a piece of rusted scrap metal. Rorke didn't close it after them. Gunnar adjusted the collar on his shirt one more time then strutted forward like he had practiced. The walk was big, taking up all the space Travis probably thought he deserved.

The floors inside didn't have layers of dust and mold like those back home after the flooding, but they had a few chips and nicks. A few old leaves kicked around the off-red carpets. This hall didn't have any of the dome security cameras that Olivia and Yuri had reviewed with him, making it ideal to get inside.

Matt turned off at the first hallway and Gunnar kept going straight until he came to a spiral staircase with polished wooden handrails. Fancy people probably used to come here, he thought. He went down a level and the hallways got a bit narrower. He shuddered as the temperature dropped like it was a cool winter night.

"Fifty yards down this hall, then turn right. You'll come to some elevator doors," Olivia's voice rang in his ear.

Following her directions, he came to the elevator and scanned the ID card that Travis had given him. The doors opened up and a security guard stood with an expression flat like the ones on the dolls his mom would pick up for Aida from the bargain shops. Gunnar fidgeted while the agent looked over his badge again then back at Gunnar. He had to fool these people into thinking he was really Travis to blend in and gather information.

"Didn't think of making a run for it before the drug tests, did you?" The guard's deep voice echoed in the metal box.

"No, Sir." The agent raised an eyebrow. Gunnar realized he wasn't adding enough attitude, so he puffed out his chest and crossed his arms. "I have nothing to hide."

"I hope they straighten you up before they think about letting you onto the force."

The thought restored some of his confidence. Maybe he would be back at the job that Olivia had reviewed with him the past few days and it wouldn't turn into a disaster. But the Travis he'd met wouldn't let this guy have the last blow. He needed to maintain that cover.

"They let you on, so their standards can't be too high."

The man's hand went to the radio he had clipped to his dark pants. Gunnar's foot started to tap louder and louder.

"Careful," Olivia's voice carried through on the earpiece.

The elevator dinged before the guard could get too upset with him.

The doors opened to an open area with a ring where fights used to take place. One of his mom's customers always went on about betting on this, and horses. Gunnar had always thought it was stupid to throw away money with the chance that you'd lose it, but his mother told him to 'shut the trap' since the man's gambling and winnings kept a roof over his head and food on the table, every other day.

Instead of crowds that he'd see on TV, the seats had a few cardboard cut outs of people, animals and weird objects. The ring was full of weapons from blades to arrows to guns. Gunnar walked over to have a closer look when a loud voice stopped him.

"Only those with a clear mind are permitted to handle these tools."

A man with a gray beard and wrinkles around his eyes handed him a little cup that he'd seen at the doctors with the orange lid. Gunnar couldn't spot a men's room around anywhere.

"Right here?"

The men put his hand on Gunnar's shoulder. "Not shy, now are you?"

Gunnar grimaced. Having an old man look at his junk when there was nothing wrong with it made his skin crawl and get all clammy. He looked around the room and saw no way out.

Shit.

He couldn't keep his leg from shaking.

His hesitation must have lasted awhile because Olivia came through over the earpiece. "Just ask him to pick a corner. He's trying to make sure you don't give him a false sample."

Sure he was. That's all they ever wanted, Gunnar thought. Stupid leg was probably making him look like a junkie too. He took a deep breath and stared at the man's large forehead.

"Come on, I'll empty my pockets, got nothing to hide, but let me take a pi--produce a sample in peace."

Gunnar proved his innocence and the man let him off after marking the container with three distinct lines in marker and a signature. With more deep breaths, he tried to reassure himself that he'd come off close enough to Travis' normal personality. If he kept shaking like this there'd be piss everywhere but that damned container. He took one more deep breath and was able to fill up the cup.

After handing over the sample, and washing up his hands, a lady and two more men came in. The lady had a harsh look like Olivia would put on a lot of the time. If the lady wasn't Mexican, they could be sisters or at least cousins.

"Before we begin," the old man said. "I'd like to go over the fact that our facility is run a little differently than a typical institution. Because of the severity of the threats on the outside and the risks that organized rebellion hold, we allow our officers a little more freedom that in traditional society.

"We'll begin with some role play where we'd like you to talk us through your response to a particular situation. Our first situation takes place in the cafeteria, a large common area where people from different backgrounds meet and have to wait for their food. There is arguing between one of the leaders and one of the factory workers at one of the tables. What would you do?"

His earpiece crackled and a thick Russian accent came through. "Social class ees very important. Leader ees alvays right."

Gunnar thought back to the Shadows, no one crossed the leader. If anyone crossed him they'd be openly yelled at or hit. But this place seemed like they needed the image that things were still kind of equal.

"I would tell the factory worker to calm down and return to his own area. I would speak to the leader to find out what happened and we would discipline the factory worker, depending on what he had done."

"Let's say he stole something from the leader," the Mexican woman added.

"How many offences has he committed?" Gunnar asked.

"Good question," Yuri said in his ear. "One ees tough, two ees not forgivable."

The old man smiled at him. "It's his second offence. He has stolen from another person and had meals withheld for three days, plus salary allowances cut."

"Then there is no other choice but to send him out of our colony as quickly and quietly as possible." Gunnar could have said more about the conditions the imaginary man would face but he was afraid to say things that Travis shouldn't know.

The three judges nodded.

"Now, we'll bring in three community members for this next exercise."

They pulled back a curtain to reveal two women and a man in scrubs, working beside a bed. One woman was pregnant and bigger than Vita was, the man held himself up with a cane and the last woman was a little older than Olivia, but had no issues he could see.

"An alarm starts to go off and lights are flashing yellow."

"Yellow ees posseeble security threat from outside," Yuri added over the com.

"You are on the upper level, not far from the guarded entrances but the guards posted there are not responding. You hear shouting from down the hall."

Gunnar eyed up the bed. It had wheels at the bottom and the fake patient wasn't hooked up to anything. It was possible to wheel two of them out of here. The pregnant woman was holding her stomach, wincing and crying out, while the old man was looking around starting to slowly shuffle around away from the door. The normal woman's wide eyes kept darting to the old man.

"Can I see your identification?" Gunnar asked.

"This is an emergency. My baby needs help."

"I can help you but I need to see your identification first."

The older woman threw her ID card to him and he gave it a quite once over without letting the man and lady leave his peripheral vision. The card looked similar enough to Travis'.

"And you two?"

The old man pushed a tray in his direction and he and the woman took off running. Gunnar jumped across the patient's bed and slammed the door shut. He found a sharp doctor's tool.

"Sit on the ground, now," Gunnar instructed. "Rita, can you get find me any kind of restraints, rope, zip ties, hand cuffs.

"You will have handcuffs with your uniform and zip ties," The Mexican lady instructed and Rita handed them over. Gunnar kicked the cane away from the man and tied both of the intruders up.

"I would radio to the next command post to tell them to send reinforcements."

"Thank you. That's the end of scenario 2."

The three judges nodded at Gunnar and finished taking some more notes. They whispered to each other. Gunnar helped the actors out of the ties and thanked them. They raised their eyebrows at him and exchanged a glance, then smiled and went through the door.

"How did you know they were intruders?" The man with the black goatee asked.

"The old man didn't go for the exit when the alarm went off. He wanted to get medical supplies and the pregnant woman was a distraction. The cane is a potential weapon, especially if he attached any sharp metal to the bottom."

The man nodded in agreement and wrote down a few more notes.

"Very few candidates see this scenario as it is. They try to play the hero and don't realize that the yellow alarm was triggered intentionally. But surprisingly, you're able to see things from a different angle. We didn't expect that of you, Travis."

Gunnar smiled, but it was a real one. "Even better than you thought I would be."

"Don't get too cocky, we have more questions and scenarios for you."

Toward the end of the test, Gunnar was allowed to handle some of the weapons and show off his skills. He picked up a bow and an arrow first. Its lightweight nature made it easy to handle, but bending the material he could tell it was strong as well. He took a deep breath and fired the arrow at the heart of one of the cardboard cut-out guys who looked like he could be part of his old gang, the Shadows.

"Nice shot, but on the next one go for the leg to slow them down without killing them," the old man said.

Gunnar chose a knife. He gripped it firmly then embedded it in the upper thigh of a fierce-looking cardboard lady holding an axe. The cardboard cutouts were nothing like the real world, but Gunnar had no intention of telling them that. They didn't say anything about him leaving the gun untouched either.

They made him sit down in a comfy chair. He remembered to sit up straight and look at each of them when he talked, without Olivia's reminder.

"We're hesitant to let you on the force with the kind of track record you've had, Travis. Just because your father is well respected, you can't expect to be handed a position with so much responsibility," the Mexican woman said, folding her arms in front of her small chest.

Having met Travis for all of ten minutes, Gunnar definitely agreed, but if he screwed this up real Travis would rat them all out. He needed to pass this to keep up their cover.

"However, we are impressed with how you handle yourself with the situations. We expected a lot more showmanship and bragging than actual quick-thinking skills, but you've surprised us," the old man said.

Gunnar nodded, figuring it was good news since the man wasn't frowning.

"What motivated you to apply to the security force?" the man with the black goatee asked.

Why did anyone want to do anything? Probably the money, but he didn't know if they used that here. Plus Travis seemed like he came from cash so Gunnar needed a better answer. He took a minute to find all the words Olivia liked to use.

"To protect the community. With new threats, we want to have the strongest security force possible. I wouldn't feel right if I let anything happen to the people I care about." It seemed like the kind of answer someone like Olivia would like and wasn't all a lie. He'd beat the shit out of anyone who came after Vita or Hunter.

"We'll give you a two-week trial," the woman said. "If we like the way you operate, and if you can pass the drug tests, then we'll consider adding you to the force. An officer will be by your room later tonight with details, assuming the sample you provided is clean."

"Thank you," Gunnar said and he stood to shake each of their hands even though his own were slick with nervous sweat. Olivia's idea.

"Keep in mind, Travis, now we will really be watching your every move," the old man added.

Gunnar bit his lip and nodded. That was the last thing he needed. He was supposed to be the one doing the watching. If they saw him talking to Olivia over the earpiece he'd look like a crazy person.

"Well done," Olivia congratulated.

Gunnar stepped out into the hallway that was busy with enough people that he could speak without looking crazy. "Now what?"

"Melinda is waiting for you in Travis' room."

Gunnar shuddered. After the piss in the cup moment, he really just wanted to be alone. "I already told him I wasn't going to mess around with her. That's a promise I wanna keep."

"Your options are to face her or find a broom closet to sleep in."

"As long as it has a clean floor," Gunnar muttered and Olivia laughed. He chose to keep the fact that it wouldn't be much different from his old room to himself.

Olivia's directions led him to a two-bedroom apartment that clearly belonged to someone with money based on all the tech, ugly art and fancy furniture. A chick with straight brown hair and too much make-up sat on the white couch. She stood up as he came in and ran to press herself against him. The smell of her sweet soap and harsh perfume made him cough after being away from the two scents for so long. They were lucky to get some leftovers from the scavengers or homemade hippy soap back at the warehouse they all called home.

"How did it go?" Melinda asked still attached to him. Her hands were warm and soft as they ran up and down his arm.

"Alright, I got a trial."

A smile grew on her face and she pressed her chest into his body. He was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a bra either. But that was other Travis' business and Gunnar didn't want to take the chance of the guy sitting there watching the screen with Olivia either. Best play it safe.

"That's my handsome, successful boyfriend," she cooed as if he were a kid. Did other guys actually like this stuff? It seemed so put on and fake. "I can't wait to see you all dressed up in uniform."

"They probably won't bother making one up until the trial is up."

Her hands moved on from his arm. "Sure they will."

"I'm kind of beat, might just call it a day," Gunnar said and forced a yawn, hoping Melinda would take a hint.

"We could just relax," she pulled him toward the fancy couch.

Gunnar laughed, with that look it wasn't likely relaxing was on the agenda. "How about a movie? Your choice." They still had movies, right? He froze until her eyes lit up and she picked a chick-flick, perfect for a nice nap.

He dozed off, but when he woke up, he found Melinda snooping around the apartment. Had he done something to make her suspicious? Or was she just crazy? He pretended to be asleep and watched her go through Travis' computer, drawers and phone. She could be just as much of a problem as the security screeners.

***

Any thoughts on Melinda?