Chapter 50: What the Captain doesn’t know won’t hurt him

Hill was right with her estimation of how much more time it was going to take Kellen to go through his books. He did end up with a rather sizable stack of books, but he wasn’t photocopying everything from the books. Just sections.

Hill let out a huff as she picked up the books, putting on show like they were heavy. Kellen had rolled his eyes at her antics.

“They aren’t heavy for you.” Kellen called her out as they were leaving the Research department. She stuck her tongue out, looking all sweet and cute. Kellen didn’t buy it for a minute.

“Awe! Come on, Kellen! That’s rude of you to say. At least offer to carry one book!” She was putting on a spectacular show, especially as her prompt got the rest of the scientists all worked up.

“If I held one book, we wouldn’t be able to open doors. We’d be stuck, all because of one book.” Kellen countered and she huffed.

“You’re no damn fun.” She pouted, but Kellen knew it was all a show. She was just in a good mood now as they were on their way to go look at things that Rhys had been hiding from Kellen. Kellen shook his head, sighing. They did manage to make it out of the Research department without Hill getting jumped, and even into the elevator and up to the floor where they needed to be. Hill held a finger to her lips, telling the people at the front desk to keep quiet about Kellen and Hill arriving back as they turned down the hallway to the left instead of going straight past the front desk and towards Rhys’ office.

Pamela’s office wasn’t too far away, only about a 30 second walk and she was opening the door before they even got there.

“Casper used his Guide abilities to sense you two coming.” Pamela said as she ushered them into her office. It was like they were having a secret meeting right under Rhys’ nose, and that was because they were.

Pamela’s office was a good size. About the same size as Rhys’ with a view of the city behind her at a different angle then what Kellen was used to seeing. That made him realise that Rhys’ office and their apartment was along the same wall. Huh. That hadn’t been something that Kellen had considered before now, until he saw Pamela’s office.

It was actually the same view that the coffee shop had, which meant that it was front facing, overlooking the entrance of the Guild tower.

She had two couches facing each other and her desk was against the back wall, like most of the set ups in the offices here. Kellen thought it was a little funny that no one liked having their back to the door, but never made a comment on it. It was also smart, so he held his tongue.

Casper looked tired, but smiled at them as they entered. He had a cup of something fragrant in his hands, a tea of some sort, and Pamela had made sure that there were enough cups for everyone in the room. On the coffee table between the couches were a few manila envelopes, huge ones, and Kellen had a feeling that was where the pictures were hiding.

Kellen felt his excitement rise. He was actually really looking forward to seeing the photos. If they had made Rhys so upset, Kellen really wondered which of the photos Pamela had decided on.

He hoped it was none of the ones where he was crying.

Hill unloaded her burden on a cleared corner of Pamela’s desk while Casper looked at the bindings of the books with interest.

“That’s a lot of books on Guides.” He commented and Kellen nodded, sitting down across from him.

“Yeah. Charlie and I realised he still doesn’t know a lot about himself and what it means to be a Guide, so I’m giving him sections from each book that I think would be beneficial to him.” Kellen told the other Guide, and Casper’s expression grew thoughtful.

“You don’t have other copies?” He asked and Kellen shook his head.

“Digital wasn’t exactly the way to go on the front lines.” Kellen told him and Casper nodded.

“That’s…very reasonable. Do you want me to give you my digital copies? I don’t have all of the books listed here, but I can at the very least give you several of them.” Casper said and Kellen blinked in surprise.

“That would be very kind, thank you.” Kellen said and Casper gave him a smile.

“It would be my pleasure.” Hill slammed her body into the couch next to Kellen while Pamela sat next to Casper with far more decorum.

“We can always talk about work later, alright? For now, focus on the task at hand.” Pamela said, speaking in the same tone of voice she would use as if she was speaking to a bunch of reporters. Kellen smirked.

“When were the calendars finished?” Kellen asked and Pamela gave him a grim look.

“Almost the exact date you went into the gate to save everyone. However, that was not the time to review them, so it was only about a week or so ago that I began to go through them. I think they turned out spectacular. The Captain, however, disagrees.” Pamela had a light in her pink eyes that Kellen hadn’t seen for a while. It was bright, filled with life.

Kellen was glad to see it, honestly. It was sweet, and kind, and filled with a level of mischief that could rival Hill and Brent.

“How much of a disagreement are we talking? Please tell me you didn’t use any of the photos of when I was crying.” Kellen stated and watched as Pamela immediately got a guilty look. Kellen gave her a look and she raised her hands in a placating gesture.

“It’s not obvious that you are crying, in my defense. It just looks like an emotional, strong moment for you two. We actually…had such a hard time with the photos that you and the Captain shot and selecting just a few that we liked that…we made two calendars.” Pamela admitted and Kellen felt his jaw drop.

Hill and Casper grinned. Hill was more upfront with her joy, smacking Kellen’s shoulder as Kellen reeled from the new information he had been given.

Two calendars?

“I’m getting one of each, right?” Kellen asked and Pamela’s eyes widened, before she scoffed.

“If you can hide them from the Captain.” She countered and Kellen’s expression grew dark.

“If he messes with them, he’s in a level of trouble he’s never experienced before.” Kellen’s words sounded like a prophecy, and given his recent new abilities…no one was going to doubt his words. Hill patted Kellen’s shoulder again, giving it a squeeze at the end.

“I’ll hold him to it too, Kellen. Don’t worry. He won’t hurt them. But hey, you might not even like them.” Hill said and it was time for Kellen to admit something incredibly embarrassing.

Coughing, Kellen raised the cup of tea to his lips. He took a sip, even as it burned a bit.

“I have every calendar that you’ve ever produced.” Kellen admitted and Pamela stared at Kellen, before she started laughing.

“And…you only started dating the Captain when?” She asked and Kellen felt his face warm.

“Pamela, I’d be careful.” Kellen warned. “I think out of the two of us, who have had long standing crushes on people, you should be careful.” Kellen’s words had a bite to them and Pamela blinked, flushed, and cleared her throat.

“Touché. Anyways, this one is the main calendar with our posters for our new recruits. That includes you and Brent, Kellen.” She said, glossing over the conversation that they had just had. Kellen nodded, while Hill and Casper glanced between them.

“This includes the ones for Gwen and the others who were sucked into the gate?” Kellen asked, showing that Rhys had actually discussed the calendar with him. Pamela nodded.

“We kept the posters for those who had passed. It did not feel right to not go through with posting them. However, instead of doing our usual date, we’re going to release everything after the funeral. It just feels…more respectful. That was one thing that the Captain and I were able to agree on.” Pamela said and Kellen nodded.

“I agree. We just need to finalise that date and prepare for the worst.” Kellen said and everyone nodded grimly. Everyone in the room had been briefed on Kellen’s episode only a day or so prior.

Kellen went to open the first manila envelope that Pamela had gestured to, and Hill didn’t let him struggle on his own. She helped him and Kellen place the calendar back on the table and angled it so that everyone could look at it together. There was a dedication at the beginning of the calendar, explaining that several of the members had been lost in the poison gate exploding and this was a way to immortalize them forever.

Kellen’s chest tightened at that reminder, but he didn’t dwell on it.

Some things he couldn’t do, especially if they happened before he was even allowed to step into the gate.

The pictures were good. So many of them were full of fun and laughter and serious muscles. When they got to Gwen, Hill let out a whistle. She looked hot. Objectively, Kellen could realise that, even if it made his stomach churn thinking that for even a second.

“She can get it.” Hill muttered and Kellen let out a heavy sigh.

“She’s my sister, Hill.” He reminded her and Hill glanced at him, smiling.

“Yeah, which is why she can get it.” Hill enforced. Kellen rolled his eyes. When they got to his solo photo, it was one where he was soaked through to the bone, in his Field Guide uniform and his face was mostly in shadow. For the most part, all you could see were his abs defined by the tight fabric of his shirt, the lights, and his long jacket was flung behind him. His eyes were accented, glowing blue in the light.

Kellen was very understanding of why Rhys didn’t want this photo out there.

Brent’s photo wasn’t any better. His at least had his full face on display, smirking, his green eyes bright as he looked like a damn sex symbol leaned back in his chair, his gloves on, no top on, showing off the fact that he had a bionic arm and a regular arm while still making him a damn sex god.

“Dear lord.” Hill muttered and Pamela chuckled.

“That’s the middle ground of the photos we have from Brent. All of his were a little too hot to handle.” Pamela said. They got through the calendar and all of them turned to the second manila envelope. The rest of the posters could wait.

They all wanted to see the second calendar.

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