She breathed a soft not quite word as he spoke of being proud of her and what she’d done. She had begun to see what set her apart from the others and concentrated on it more and more. There was no limit to what she was capable of with careful thought and preparation. He had shown her this, he had made her see that she was more than simply a tool to be honed and used as the program desired. She was still a product of Red Room and served proudly, but she was far from the trained animal the others seemed to be.

As he spoke her eyes never left him, he looked tired but paradoxically alert. As if he’d pushed past the exhaustion and found clarity in the lack of rest. He looked powerful, and unusually unfettered by his rigid composure. It showed in his voice, his poster, the reaction of him to her touch. It showed in the way his gaze moved over her body and gave her a delicious shiver of excitement.

She had been looked at before, appraised, had her body critiqued in every manner possible, but to feel his gaze on her was something entirely new. She found she liked it.

Then he spoke of Cairo, and she frowned. “You are not telling me everything.” His left eye squinted slightly, his posture and breathing had changed. She could tell when he was being truthful, lying or as now, withholding truth. “You’ve taught me too well James, I am beginning to read you easily.” She smiled wryly, proud to have put her lessons to practical use.