Free Crisis Management by Viola Grace

 
     
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    Devani Jarix was hard at work when a voice behind her jolted her out of her zone of numbers and data.
    “Dev, aren’t you going to be late?”
    Dev looked up and saw Tish loitering in the entrance to her cubicle. Blinking, Dev looked at the clock. “Oh hell. Thanks, Tish.”
    She got up, grabbed her jacket and smiled. “Wish me luck?”
    Tish snorted. “You don’t need it. You are a lock.”
    “Let’s see what the Citadel recruiters think.” Dev walked past her and down row upon row of cubicles until she reached the lift.
    She bit her lip and breathed through her nose as she entered the lift. “Oh, hello, Mr. Simithan.”
    Her supervisor moved to the back of the lift when she entered and cowered against the corner. “Ms. Jarix. What are you doing here?”
    “I took this afternoon off, remember? It’s the Citadel recruitment fair at the convention centre.”
    “Oh, right. Good luck with that.”
    Dev gave him a tight smile. “Thank you.”
    She pressed the button for the lobby and waited as the lift stopped on the third floor to let him off. She nodded briefly and waited to reach the main floor to make her escape.
    The security guards wished her luck, and Dev smiled and waved weakly. There was no choice really. She had to do something to get herself out of the spotlight here on Bahi. She had been in the news four times in the last two years, and it was becoming awkward to even go to work.
    Dev hiked to the rail station and took the train into the city. The Citadel recruitment fair drew plenty of hopefuls to the convention centre, and she was one of the plodding masses.
    Dev stood in line and fidgeted, keeping her mind blank. There were a few empaths in line with her, as well as one or two uncontrolled telepaths, and she really didn’t want anyone strolling through her mind randomly.
    She shuffled forward with the others in minute increments until she was finally facing the registration officer.
    “Hello, miss. May I have your name?” The woman’s skin was a soft pale pink and her baby blue eyes were soothing.
    Dev cleared her throat. “Devani Jarix.”
    “Devani, what do you believe your talent to be?” The woman’s fingers were poised over the icons on her data pad.
    Dev looked around and relaxed when there was no one near the kiosk. “Um. I am bullet proof and I can lift large weights.”
    The woman raised her brows. “How large?”
    “Two tons is my current limit.” Dev shifted from foot to foot.
    “Are you willing to prove your talent?”
    Dev nodded. “Yes. There are also local news reports that should be easily accessible.”
    “You have been in the news?”
    “Not willingly, but yes. I seem to stumble into trouble.”
    “Just a moment.” The woman’s fingers moved rapidly, and she raised her brows with an impressed expression on her features. “I see. You will be meeting with a recruiter immediately. Please take this locator and have a seat through those lavender doors.”
    Dev took the palm-sized disk and walked past the other kiosks, smiling when she realized that she couldn’t hear anything as she passed. The kiosks were soundproofed.
    She pushed open the lavender doors and walked into the waiting room with the small disk in her hand.
    There were some chairs set along one wall but no one else in the room. Dev took her seat and waited. A door on the other side of the room opened, causing Dev to raise her head.
    It was male, tall andwearing an armoured body suit in black and gold. “Devani Jarix?”
    “Yes.” She got to her feet and noted the width of his shoulders. Two of her could stand side by side and might just be the same width.
    He smiled and his scarlet skin darkened against the white of his teeth. “I am Helsin, please come with me.”
    He gestured for her to walk with him, and she paced at his side as they entered the door he had come through. He spoke again. “While ostensibly this is a recruitment drive for the Citadel, we are looking