Page 97 of (Mostly) Human Resources

There was a helicopter, its side painted with Entity’s logo, and the house was illuminated with floodlights. Uniformed figures moved around with swift precision. It was chaotic compared to the quiet of the forest they just came from. Alexys knew without having to see the uniforms that it was one of Entity’s clean-up crews.

Post-Encounter Concealment personnel, they were called.

PEC crews were tasked with removing evidence of Entity’s presence in cases that ended poorly or resulted in human injury or death. They were an efficient cleaning group that had the uncanny ability to swoop in at a moment’s notice and remove even the worst evidence of a Reaper’s job before any media could catch wind of it.

Despite knowing all of that, Nic and Alexys were unsettled to see them at Opal’s house. Alexys never had the chance to contact anyone, let alone alert the office to needing a PEC crew. They shouldn’t have known where she was. And yet, there they were.

“Their timing is impeccable as always,” Nic observed quietly. “Wonder how they knew we’d be here?”

“I just hope they’re here to help.”

Alexys shuffled the two of them across the field and around to the front of Opal’s house. Within a matter of minutes, they were swept up by the crew. The two of them were poked, prodded, and interrogated by no less than three medical professionals and a handful of PEC personnel. She did her best to answer all of their questions but was incredibly overwhelmed. And despite asking several times, not one person would explain how they’d found them. How they knew they were here.

The Granny Witch was nowhere to be seen, and Alexys was almost certain Opal had somehow managed to ferret herself away before Entity arrived. The PEC crew must have moved right in, setting up their impressive medical stations and computer desks in every available foot of space in the living room and kitchen.

One of the medical professionals, a woman named Cassandra, tried to usher Alexys into what she assumed was Opal’s bedroom so she could be examined and change clothes, but Alexys firmly refused. She maneuvered herself over to the couch of questionable integrity and planted herself firmly in the sagging cushions. From there, Alexys could see Nic seated at the kitchen table.

In any other circumstance, it would be mortifying to be so paranoid, but every time Alexys thought she saw the shadow of blood on her hands or puddled on the floor, she forgave herself for it. Every time she thought she saw fresh blood on Nic’s chest or saw him wince under the touch of a medical assistant, her fear felt justified.

“Miss Keane.” Cassandra stepped into Alexys’s line of sight, hands firmly on hips and square glasses perched on a frustration-crinkled nose. “If you insist on sitting here, at least let me check you for head trauma.”

Alexys nodded to give her permission, and her eyes immediately searched for Nic the second Cassandra stepped away. She should have known better than to tell the medical staff that they’d been hit over the head and knocked unconscious, but she hadn’t expected them to kick up such a fuss about it.

Cassandra fluttered about checking her pulse, her pupils, and her scalp for any signs of bleeding. She asked a million and one questions about headaches, nausea, and too many other things that Alexys answered with half her attention. Only when the medic started cleaning scratches on her face and neck did Alexys finally flinch and focus on her.

“Shit, that burns.” Alexys tried to jerk her face away from whatever Cassandra was wiping on it, but she followed her too quickly.

“I have to clean the dirt out.” Cassandra sounded as annoyed with the situation as Alexys felt. Her words came out in grumbles, but her touch was gentle. “You look like you got in a fight with an army of gerbils.”

Images of the Jackalopes went flashing through her mind, and Alexys let out a pained laugh. “Yeah, something like that.”

“At least your concussion isn’t as bad as it could have been. You’re going to have to be awake for the next twelve hours to be sure, though, and you’ll have to be supervised, I’m afraid.”

Alexys’s eyes lifted from Nic to meet Cassandra’s serious gaze. She’d thought she was joking. “Supervised?”

Cassandra nodded, as if that was a normal thing to need, and started cleaning the cuts on Alexys’s hands. “Yes, in the event you lose consciousness. If you start vomiting, develop a migraine, or have any worsening symptoms, you’ll have to come into the clinic right away.”

Being babysat sounded terrible, but Alexys was relieved to know she would be avoiding a visit to the clinic or a hospital. With any luck, Nat would be around to crash at her house and watch old movies while she made sure Alexys stayed alive. But Cassandra quickly dashed those hopes.

“You’ll need to reduce your screen time during those twelve hours.”

After what she’d just been through, Alexys thought that was especially harsh. “What am I supposed to do fortwelve hours?”

Cassandra gave her a look before refocusing her attention back to Alexys’s wounds.

Over at the kitchen table, Nic had been hooked up to the thing that measures your pulse. He looked ready to fall over from exhaustion, but the color had fully returned to his face which was a relief to see.

“He’ll be alright,” Cassandra said, following her gaze.

Alexys didn’t say anything, but she nodded to show she’d heard. The tension in her body was starting to unpick itself, and it eased a little more with every minute she could see him still breathing.

She’d done it. She’d saved him.

For now, that’d have to do.

“His concussion is likely the same grade as yours, so he’ll get to go home with the same instructions.” Cassandra stole a look over her shoulder at Nic. “I don’t knowwhereall that blood came from, but I’m glad it’s not his.” She swabbed more antiseptic on one of Alexys’s cuts. “He’d be dead if he’d lost that much.” Alexys tried to swallow, but her mouth was cotton, and secrets had lodged themselves in her throat. She’d made the mistake of telling them about her headinjury, but she certainly wasn’t stupid enough to tell them about Nic’s near-death experienceorher deal with Silas that saved him.

Cassandra told her about the clean-up job Entity had already done at the hotel and Opal’s—this included returning her rental car. The rest of her things had been packed up and waited for her with a member of staff. It felt very invasive knowing Entity had gone through their things without their permission, but Alexys was grateful that Elliot’s conspiracy wall wouldn’t be her responsibility. She didn’t have the strength.