Page 8 of Honor Code
“You two know each other?” Suzi asked, surprised.
“Not officially,” Phoenix said. Intriguingly, Eleanor didn’t appear so feisty now. This was a different side to her. He’d seen the hellcat and the thoughtful professional, but now she looked distracted, distant.
“Oh, well in that case, meet my new roomie, Eleanor. She’s here for the duration of the project, so you’ll be seeing her around quite a lot.”
“Call me Ellie.” The hellcat extended her hand.
Phoenix shook it, engulfing it with his big one. A vision of holding them above her head on the hard deck of the helipad only that morning flashed into his head.
That was the problem with oil rigs, he reasoned. The permanent staff were confined to small living spaces, so everyone got to know each other very well. Too well, in some cases.
“Ellie’s a chemical engineer,” Suzi added. “She’s heading up the testing project.”
“Really?” He couldn’t help but be impressed. He’d thought operations had sped up since she’d arrived, but modestly, she’d played it down.
“Phoenix,” he said, releasing her hand.
She put it back in her lap, her curious gaze still on his face. He noticed her brown eyes were shot through with yellow, making them look like they were glowing. “Phoenix. Like the bird that rose from the ashes?”
“Yeah. It’s a nickname I was given in the Navy because I was always the last one standing. The phoenix apparently lived for five hundred years.” Or so he’d been told.
How ironic that the prophecy had turned out to be true. He was still standing, where all the others had fallen, and now he had to deal with survivor's guilt.
That’s what they called it—therapists, magazine articles, Google.
“You were in the Navy?” Her eyebrows rose.
“Yeah, but not anymore.”
“Why’s that?”
It was an innocent enough question, but one he wasn’t prepared to answer. “It was time for a change.”
There was an awkward pause.
“Boomer and Phoenix both work for the same private security company.” Suzi said, effortlessly filling the gap. “What’s it called again?”
“Blackthorn Security. It’s run by a buddy of mine.”
Truth be told, he’d been floating around doing nothing in particular, drinking too much and hanging out in pool bars, when Blade had approached him. Blade, also ex-military, had been medically discharged from the army shortly before Phoenix had bailed on the SEALs, and was now running operations for Blackthorn.
At first, Phoenix had said no, he wasn’t up to it. His fitness had gone to shit, and he was still reeling from what had happened. Blade, who knew what it was like to be at a loose end, hadn’t taken no for an answer. So, here he was.
But he didn't tell them any of that.
“Boomer was in explosives,” Suzi continued, a note of pride in her voice.
Those two were definitely into each other. It was obvious just by watching how animated she became when she talked about him.
“He used to defuse bombs for a living. Can you imagine doing that?”
“I can’t.” Ellie shook her head. “It must have been very stressful.”
“Yeah, that’s why he left,” Suzi said. “He had a close call and figured enough was enough.”
Close call? That was one way of putting it.
Boomer had obviously given her the watered-down version. In reality, an IED had exploded while he was attempting to disarm it, and he’d gotten a lungful of shrapnel. It had taken six months, multiple surgeries, and weeks of rehab to remove it all and heal up. Afterwards, he’d decided not to go back to work, and Phoenix didn’t blame him.