Page 2 of (Mostly) Human Resources

The phone rang. She felt her blood pressure spike.

“Thank you for calling Entity, you’ve reached Alexys in Human Resources.”

Static. “Alexys …” More static. “It’s Hank …”

Alexys bit her tongue to keep a groan at bay. “Hank, the weekjuststarted.”

Hank cleared his throat. “I know, but that Bigfoot case you’ve just assigned me, well—we both know it’s going to be bogus.” His words rattled her brain.

“It’snotbogus. It’s yourjob.” Alexys pinched the bridge of her nose. “Bigfoot is a common case for you. Over 70 percent result in real sightings. Youhaveto investigate them.”

“Right, right, and I absolutely will.” They both knew that was entirely dependent on how the rest of their conversation went. “But before I do, I caught wind of another case in Tennessee. I’m already buddies with the guy reporting it, so I just figured …” Alexys set the phone down. She knew it was easier to let Hank get it out of his system.

He would try to convince her regardless, and she had a better shot at reasoning with him once he’s worn himself out.

Hank was Alexys’s longest standing Warden. He operated in her Fourth Quadrant in western Kentucky, where the majority of the cases were either Bigfoot related or dead-end Gravedigger investigations. She knew he was growing increasingly frustrated, and he could have put in for a transfer years ago, but he was still hung up on some Lizard Man story that Alexys was fairly certainwasan actual myth. But secretly, Alexys liked to think Hank stuck around because he enjoyed working with her, and because she had a reputation for being fairly lenient with her Wardens. Unless, of course, she had a leadership meeting and evaluations breathing down her neck.

“I think it’s worth pursuing …” Hank’s voice droned on in the background. Alexys pulled up her afternoon schedule and skimmed through it as he talked. She only had until 4 p.m. to get through her backlog before the meeting, and she didn’t have time to talk Hank off another investigatory ledge.

“No, Hank,” she interrupted him just as he was about to reach theI’m going to break the rules anywaypart of his speech. “We talked about this. Heather doesn’t want you in her District.”

“But the Banshee, Alexys—” he pleaded.

“Hank, I’m serious.” Alexys tried to sound as stern as possible. “Heather has already filed two complaints this quarter. If you get another one, we’re going to have to put you on a mandatory leave of absence.”

Hank started shouting on the other end of the line. Not at Alexys, of course, but at the universe and the general injustice of it all. Alexys sighed.

Hank and Heather mixed like oil and water. He’d stepped on her toes on more than one occasion—all in pursuit of “cool” cases—and he was becoming something of a liability. The more Hank pushed, the more Alexys knew that the only thing standing between him and unemployment was Entity’s desire to reduce turnover.

Sometimes, Alexys imagined she worked for a normal company with normal employees. She imagined the average office worker was easier to deal with than Wardens. Retail, for instance, rarely involved mortal peril. Their incident reports were probably for things like papercuts.

If only.

The month before, she’d had to file one such report for Adam’s broken arm after a run-in with one very angry Black Dog.

“Yes, I under … Hank, listen to me …” Alexys leaned back in her chair.

Why, why, why did District 13 have to be so full of trouble-making overachievers?

“Hank,”Alexys finally snapped. “I know Banshees are ‘cool as shit,’ but that doesn’t mean we can ignore the rules. You arerequiredto send the information to Heather and let her handle it. If she asks for your help, then you are more than welcome to assist her. Otherwise, professionally,butt out.”

But—

“Hank Mitchell, your annual review is coming up. You missed getting a raise last year. If you want to revisit that conversation, you’re going to quit arguing with me and listen.”

Hank immediately stopped talking. She had him over a barrel.

After several quiet moments, he said, “I apologize, Alexys. You know how excited I get. Sometimes, I get a bit ahead of myself.”

“I know, Hank. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but there are rules in place for a reason. Let Heather deal with this, and I promise the next Banshee in our District will be yours, regardless of the Quadrant.”

“D’you really mean that?” he asked, the grin in his voice unmistakable. Alexys smiled too, despite herself, but she had a soft spot for Hank. In so many ways, he reminded Alexys of her dad—that is, had her dad been less professional and somehow even more chaotic. But their shared passion for the field, and for Entity, stirred something familiar in her. It made her protective, even when she was fully exasperated with him. She felt it was her responsibility to keep him safe, not only from the creatures he investigated, but from himself.

“Yes, Hank, I promise. Now, let me get back to work before you get us both in trouble.”

Hank bid Alexys a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. She should have felt relieved, but something nagged at her in the silence that followed.

Worry? Premonition?