There were more Sect members crowding portions of the barracks then she had originally thought. Most people were out, celebrating on the town with their significant others, family, friends or co-workers, partying the night away. She had caught quick glances of other Squad members of hers, wandering through the hallways, each off in their own little world. Her plan to head to the Locker Room was derailed when a
ping on her GUT unit. Leaning against the stair railing, her fingers scrolled across the semi-tangible screen, accessing her Messages. The blinking notification of an unopened letter left a smile on her face. The sender was exactly who she had wanted to hear from.
Sender: Kade Marks
Subject: N\A
Heyyyyz! HaPpy Knew Yeear!!1! Srry for ditchiiiing. HoPe u're haviing funnnn
"Oh great," she groaned, thumb pressed to her temple as her index finger rubbed her sore eyes. Kade was already drunk. The attachment hovered over his botched message, showing a flushed faced, blond Kade Marks, arms thrown around the shoulders of two pretty young women, his grin stretching ear to ear. She shook her head, and closed her Messaging system. When their Dad died, Kade had picked up a drinking habit - and she sometimes joined in.
Kodi's slow footsteps up the stairs echoed in the narrow stairwell space, eyes downcast. The metal stairs beneath her polished dress shoes blurred as she struggled to keep her composure. Frustrated, she rubbed her watery eyes. Her brother's behavior brought back a flood of memories she had tried hard to suppress over the years. It was why she tried so hard to have a normal family get-together, with a not-so-normal family. To keep her brothers on track, to make them still feel like a family. To keep... the stress of the job from getting to them like it did their Father.
The long walk to the Locker Room sobered up her idea to drink in its entirety. Opening up her locker, her black Sect gear gleamed in the fluorescent light. There was a sense of pride mixed with regret every time she caught sight of her Gear. Pride for being a Sect officer, defending the Public in ways normal Military Police couldn't. Regret for....
She grabbed her change of clothes, and unlocked the separate compartment for her Dress Uniform. With the Locker Room being empty, she didn't let her insecurities about undressing in the open bother her. By the time she changed, her uniform hung neatly on its hanger, everything neat and tidy, in perfect order - unlike her own apartment back home. There was a certain level of OCD that came along with the job, and her locker fell in line with Sect standards. Her growing frustration was better off being sweated away in the Gym, than adding any more unneeded dents or scorch marks to her locker.
The electronic
whoosh of the elevator doors opened up, displaying the sterilized white washed walls of the basement floor. Sect's basement was famous for many different things. Old Archive Machines buzzing idly away in dusty rooms, storage closets with discarded mops and brooms, and who could forget the locked doors to nowhere she liked to call Sect's 'Hidden Gems'. Whoever had the proper authorization for those rooms most likely didn't waste much time sliding their access cards, as many of the doorways had gathered dust and spiderwebs that refused to be eliminated by the janitorial staff often seen bustling down the hallways. Of course, none of that interested her tonight.
Kodi ignored the Directory Signs that hung from the ceiling, whose arrows pointed down different hallways and different directions, labeling different destinations for those unfamiliar with the area. Her hands were busy tying her hair up in a small, messy bun when the doors to the Gym opened up. Sect made sure to give its soldiers everything they needed to shine brightly on the battlefield. She had to admit, Sect spoiled them. It was definitely better than some of the shabby Military Police Gyms she had frequented. The room already smelled like sweat and the lingering tinge of dried blood. By the sound of fists hammering against a punching bag, someone had the same idea as her.
Her eyes landed on none other than Seven, battering a poor punching bag outside of the sparring area. Sure, she wasn't male, but some of the low blows he landing on the punching bag had her flinching and symbolically 'holding herself'. The man was a force to be reckoned with, and one thing was certain. Even in a pair of shorts, without the use of his special "techniques", she wouldn't want to be caught on the receiving end of any of his kicks or punches.
"Figured you'd be here," said Kodi, stepping over to the Supply Lockers close to some of the unused punching bags. She couldn't compete with Seven's brute strength, but she wasn't much of a lightweight, either. Grow up with three brothers, and anyone could understand the need for extra endurance and body strength. She pulled out a roll of white tape, and wound it around her fists, preparing herself to don some of the sparring gloves hanging on a hook nearby. It had been awhile since she focused on her kickboxing, though it wasn't her strong suit.
"Mind if I join?" she called over her shoulder to Seven, gesturing to a punching bag near his.
If he was hell bent on training on a holiday, who was she to complain. The man was anti-social, and she wasn't much in the mood for talking herself. He wouldn't make the perfect company, but better than some wasted Sect member yammering on about some irrelevant topic.
" 
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