He liked to remind himself that the world was full of suffering. People had it worse. He was just in a minor bind and if he put his mind to it, Andem was sure he'd find a fix. He had to tell himself that as he fought to keep steady. He couldn't break down. He couldn't cry. He'd made his choice to stay and it was a choice he was going to have to live with.
Andem buried his pride and unfolded the crumbled paper that had the list of other firms, as he went through the list till he found a company that would keep him with the money his mother had left for him. If given the time, he would eventually get a job in Uyo to help pay for the dues. Or if he was lucky, he might get deployed and become an employee who was getting paid instead of a recruit who was paying the firm for training.
He picked Riddim.
It was one of the only two private firms on the list and it was the cheaper option. He knew nothing about the company because it was one of the small ones that didn't run ads repeatedly on TV. They seemed more covert than guard service, but he didn't have a choice. He had to bank on faith and believe that he wasn't about to sign away his life to a shady firm that used its recruits for black market body parts and government experimentation.
When he arrived at the Riddim dormitory, Andem wasn't sure what he'd expected.
Stationed on Airport Road, it was a bit quieter and out of the way than most firms in Uyo had been. Especially NJD that was smack dab in the middle of town.
The building was a slim duplex with three rooms on the ground floor that included a small kitchen and gym that took up the rest of the floor. On the top floor, there were three rooms, lined along the staircase, in a thin corridor. The first room had three double bunks, a single ceiling fan, and two tiny desks, separating the bunks. The second room was where the boxes and cloth racks were, along with a rack for shoes. In the third room, one live-in drill instructor was staying to coordinate the recruits with training and schedules and everything else.
"Hi," one of the boys said, waltzing into the box room as Andem was hanging up his clothes. The wardrobes in the wall held most of the clothes and boxes, but three boxes were sitting outside, just beside the rack where their shoes were.
Andem prayed that no one would try to use his shoes. Or his clothes. Or his anything, for that matter. He was barely two minutes in the dorm and he was already missing the space and privacy he'd had at NJD.
"My name is Steven," the new body said. He was slimmer than Andem, but they were about the same height. His hair was scraggly and short, with tiny starter locs. He was wearing what looked like a boubou with a very wide neck that hung off one shoulder, he held up the hem of his boubou in one hand as he leaned on the doorpost. "Welcome."
"Hey," Andem said slowly with a curt wave.
"So you're the golden boy the director was talking about?"
"Golden boy?" Andem asked.
"I heard that he stole you from NJD." He shook his head making a tsk tsk tsk sound. "The government doesn't like to share their property."
"I'm not government property."
"You logged into that system then logged out to go private. Trust me, someone's looking for you."
As ominous as that sounded, Andem didn't want to have to explain that he was kicked out of NJD for not being able to pay. He'd much rather have the rumor be that he's sought after by the government than have people refer to him as the alpha who couldn't afford the fees for a federal school.
"What's your name?" Steven asked, coming to sit on one of the boxes so that he was in Andem's line of sight.
"Andem," he replied.
"Ah." Steven nodded. "What's your power?"
"What's yours?" he asked back, wondering if he should be self-conscious now that he was already accepted by Riddim.
"Are you worried you're lame?" Steven asked, a mischievous smirk in his eyes as he leaned closer to Andem. "Don't worry. You're at a private firm. No power is lame here. No matter what it is, Riddim will find a use for you."
"Then show me yours," he said, looking right back at Steven.
Still smiling, not moving back, Steven's dark skin began to glisten like his whole body was quickly being covered by sweat. Then slowly, but surely, his color began to get lighter as his eyes shifted slightly closer, and his facial features began to change as well. When Andem stepped back from him, he realized that all of Steven's body had morphed into a replica of their drill instructor.
"Wha-" Andem said, watching in wonder. "You can change your appearance?"
"Honey," Steven said with his brows raised as if Andem had insulted him. "Fashion designers change appearances. I," he pointed at himself with pride. "Change beings." Then he smiled again. "I showed you mine, now show me yours."
"I'm fast." He shrugged.
"That's it?" Steven asked, unconvinced.
"That's it," Andem replied.
"Then what on earth are you doing at a private firm?"
Once again, Andem refrained from explaining how he'd gotten to Riddim. He'd only just met Steven. It was best not to go telling all of his business to a perfect stranger.
"Powers like flying, strength, and speed are more… federal firm than private firm," Steven continued, unperturbed. "Your powers are not very spy-like."
"Spy-like?" he asked, his interest piqued. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"You're at a private firm," Steven explained.
"Yeah, but firms are for security."
"No," Steven shook his head as he said. "Federal firms are exclusively for security. Private firms are espionage, mostly. But don't worry," he said, patting Andem on the back as he exited the room. "I'm sure Riddim will find some use for all that muscle and agility."
Espionage, he thought, staring down at his hands as the door closed behind Steven. He'd come to Uyo to help save people. To train to use his powers for good, for something greater than himself. He couldn't help wondering how that was going to happen if he was working at a firm whose primary objective was to hide and lie and pretend. When he went back home, if he ever went back, what would he say when people asked him what he was doing in Uyo if everything he ever did was meant to be a secret?
A spy firm?
He wondered how different it would be from what he'd learned and done at NJD, but he didn't have to wonder for long. Besides Steven and Andem, there was only one other boy; quiet and broody. Together, the trainers worked them through a rigorous, physical schedule. He had them take interrogation classes, communication classes, and tech classes. Classes that Andem could have scoffed at when he'd been at NJD.
To say he sucked in most classes was an understatement.
NJD trained Andem to use his powers to move into trouble. To think in a way that gets the job done. To shift bullets and take civilians to safety. To work most straightforwardly. Riddim was doing the opposite. Suddenly, he was being told to hold back. To wait. To slow down. To assess the situation. He was being taught not to rely on the very thing he'd thought would set him apart.
Because his powers were icing, not the cake.
It didn't take long to realize that federal firms were training soldiers to fight, but private firms were training minds to infiltrate, and honestly, Andem wasn't built for it. He was created to bulldoze through problems rather than beat around the bush. But with teammates who could shape-shift, he knew he was already steps behind the other two because while the third boy; Chima, was doing better than Steven and Andem, they didn't even know what his actual powers were.
Chima was easily the team leader material, being that he was the oldest and we'd been a recruit at another company, so he had experience with multiple skill sets. All it took, was one brief whiff of his scent for Andem to know to steer clear of him, as the older guy was also an alpha. The fourth alpha he'd met since he came to Uyo.
"Are you also an alpha," he asked Steven, while they were sitting on the kitchen floor, after training one evening. "Are you on suppressants?"
"What?" Steven asked, nearly choking on the water he'd been drinking.
"Are you an alpha? Is that what Riddim is looking for with all of us?"
"I am not an alpha, so don't go pissing in my box or anything."
"Eww," Andem said with a cringe.
"It's just the two of you."
"NJD was a bigger company than Riddim and there were only two alphas there. One of them wasn't even an agent."
"I don't know what you want me to say," Steven said with a shrug.
"If Riddim is some weird alpha fighting ring-"
"I'm not an alpha. Calm down, Oga Paranoia." He moved to drink his water but then stopped. "And don't even think of trying to make me feel weird for not being an alpha like the two of you."
"Why would I?"
"Right?" he said sarcastically. "Because it's so unheard of for alphas to be otondos."
"I'm not a bully."
"You say that now-"
"I'm not!" Andem insisted. He'd never been one. Even when he was a beta. Even when he was the only one with superpowers in his community. His parents would have strung him up by his ears if they heard he was using his speed to cause trouble.
"Yeah well, most times, alphas can't help themselves. Are you telling me you've never felt the need to dominate someone else? To make them bow to your will regardless of consent?"
He shook his head. "I… never really," he said. "I've been an alpha for a few months so it's all new to me."
"Oh," Steven said, lowering his eyes like he was trying not to say what was really on his mind. "Don't worry." He got to his feet. "You'll learn soon enough what it means to be an alpha."
It was an awkward thing to say, especially from someone like Steven who was always verbose in his communication. Andem couldn't help feeling like he was missing out on pertinent information. There were stereotypes about alphas and he knew what to avoid and look out for. Having grown up with powers, he knew what it was like to be more than others around you, so he figured he'd use that same mentality when dealing with his second gender.
He wasn't a bully and he wasn't about to start now.
And he sure as hell wasn't about to start being a victim of bullying. Because Chima was older and had been an alpha for longer. If he wanted to exert his power on them, either Steven or Andem would be fair game. He was a trained fighter and given that he'd seen Andem use his powers, there was always the possibility that going against him would end with Andem on his back.
So, outside of training, Andem kept away. When Chima entered the room, Andem left. When he stepped out to do something else, Andem went into the room to get some peace.
But seeing as Chima loved to sleep a lot, Andem started sleeping in the box room, just for safety and sanity. He needed the job and he didn't need the Director to think he was irresponsible for not respecting power structures.
It wasn't until Andem started taking his tech lessons seriously and staying late at the main compound that he finally met him. A slender graceful beta with the voice of an angel, so soft, Andem couldn't move for the first few minutes he'd entered the tech lab for fear that he'd miss a second of the voice by moving. The new arrival had to be a beta because he didn't smell like an omega and his presence didn't automatically make Andem's hackles rise the way other alphas did. His smooth, dark skin made dull by the bad lighting within the booth did nothing to reduce the beauty of his curved, perky lips. And how Andem would love to feel those lips on his… his fingers… anywhere.
He had no idea Riddim had brought in someone new. They'd heard nothing about it.
The beta was in one of the building booths reserved for tech analysts and builders, with a protective mask hanging over his head, leaning over a metal, prosthetic arm that he was working on. He had on a brown, sleeveless shirt and a pair of yellow shorts. He pulled the mask back on and continued to work as Director Eteli circled him, offering advice to the young man.
"What am I doing here?" the young beta asked the director, showing him what he was working on. "This looks perfectly fine."
"I'll take your word for it," Eteli said.
"Sir," the boy scolded petulantly. "You called me here to look at ancient tech. I could be sleeping right now."
"If I told you what I was looking for, it would spoil the fun," Eteli said as he chuckled and walked away.
When he started working again, Andem moved forward to sit beside one of their trainers who was working on a computer, in the corner.
"Who is that?" Andem asked.
"Are you talking about Eteli's pet?" Agent Jimmy asked. "Nsemeke Idiok."
"His pet?" Andem asked, confused. What did that even mean?
"Eteli's secret weapon," Jimmy explained. "Every bit of gear you take into the field will be his creation."
Andem's eyes widened in surprise. "He designs Riddim's tech."
"Yep." He looked at Nsemeke with unveiled pride. "The director doesn't joke with him so don't disturb him okay?"
Andem was still looking at him, listening to him as he spoke.
"Hey," Jimmy said, snapping his fingers in front of Andem. "Stay away from him when he's working, alright?"
"I heard you," Andem said, even as his eyes continued to linger on the beauty beta that he'd been forbidden from talking to.