Alice got up as well, crumpling the chocolate wrapper. "Can I get another one of these, Dave?"
"Sure. Got any money?"
"Not right now. Can I owe you?"
"Yeah, all right. Come on."
The two of them left, and as Bernie went to follow, Harriet stopped her. "Can I speak to you?"
"Not if it's about Trainee Alice."
"It's not, it's about me."
"Very well, Trainee Harriet. It seems to be the day for confiding in me. Tell me, what have you done wrong?"
"Eh? Nothing. It's just … you know I've always had doubts about the Peace Force, right? You and Dave, you both keep telling me I'm doing a good job, but it just doesn't feel like it."
"Trainee Walsh …"
Harriet interrupted her. "Bernie, do you think I should quit?"
Chapter 30
"That's your question?" Bernie stared at her in genuine surprise. "Why would you consider such a ridiculous idea?"
"Yesterday I walked into a trap, and there were three men waiting for me. I could have been killed! Then I drove straight into a different trap at the spaceport and got kidnapped. And all the things I do actually worry about, like flying back to Dismolle aboard Teresa's ship, turn out to be trivial nonsense." Harriet spread her hands. "I have absolutely no feel for this job, none at all. I'll never make a decent officer."
"You were not killed, Trainee Walsh. And while you were kidnapped, you freed yourself and then arrested your captor." Bernie reached out and patted her gently on the shoulder, making her collarbone creak. "I would rather have one trainee who suffers from self doubt, than a hundred over-confident, trigger-happy, self-important wannabe heroes."
"Thanks, but we both know Alice is way better at this than I am. You should put all your resources into her. She's a natural."
"You realised Teresa was bad. Trainee Alice didn't see it."
"Even so—"
"And there is another reason why you cannot leave the Peace Force."
"Oh?"
"You cannot quit, because Trainee Alice has already done so, and I cannot run the office on my own."
"Alice quit?" Harriet stared at the robot in shock. "Why?"
"She would not reveal the entire story, but I believe she took something she was not entitled to."
"It was only a toothbrush!" protested Harriet. "I'll just get another one. They're not even that expensive."
"I think this may have been a little more serious than your toothbrush. But, as I said, she would not tell me."
Harriet's expression hardened. Alice might not have told Bernie, but she was certain she'd get to the bottom of it. "Wait here. I'm going to sort this out."
"I did promise not to mention any of this to you, but under the circumstances—"
"Don't worry, I'll tread carefully." And with that, Harriet hurried out of the staff room.
— ♦ —
Alice was in the shop, checking the dates on a box of chocolate bars.
"For the last time," said Birch, exasperated. "None of them are past the use-by. And even if they were, I'd still make you pay full price for wasting my time."
"I'm shopping smart."
"And I'm hopping mad," said Birch, shaking his manuscript at her. "Please take one and go away."
Harriet strode past, grabbed Alice by the elbow and half-dragged her out of the shop.
"Thanks!" shouted Birch, just before the doors closed.
"What's up?" demanded Alice.
"I thought we could go for a walk. The weather's lovely."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, it's a lovely day for quitting the Peace Force."
Alice was silent.
"Don't blame Bernie," said Harriet. "I put her on the spot."
"She wasn't supposed to say anything."
"Yeah, well I may not be a detective yet, but even I would have noticed you not turning up for work." Harriet glanced at her. "So what is it? Are you running off to become a space pilot?"
"School teacher," said Alice, through a mouthful of chocolate.
"What, you?"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"But … you're great at this job! You're tough, you can handle the stress, you never back down…" Harriet's voice tailed off. "Yeah, I guess that goes for teachers, too."
"I trusted Teresa, and … well, I could have got you killed. I'm not good enough for the Peace Force, Harriet."
Harriet hid a wry smile, having just gone through the same conversation with Bernie. "Course you are. We're trainees, Alice. We're supposed to be writing essays and learning about the law from books, not chasing all over the place hunting down crooks."
"Don't. I'm not changing my mind."
"If you think Bernie's making you write a lot of essays, wait until you get to uni."
"Yeah, but if I make a mistake at uni, there's no danger of you getting killed." Alice stopped, her expression determined. "Don't try and change my mind, Harriet. This is best for everyone."
"Okay, okay." Harriet decided to leave it … for now. "Shall we head home? It's been a long day."
"Bernie won't like that."
"Well, you've just quit and I'm pretty sure she can't fire me, so we're good." Harriet took out her commset. "Bernie, I'm taking Alice home. See you in the morning?"
"Very well, Trainee Harriet. And … good luck. I tried to convince Alice to stay, but perhaps you will succeed where I failed."
Harriet smiled as she tucked the commset away. Bernie was an eternal optimist.
— ♦ —
At the apartment, Harriet used a keycard on her impressive new front door lock, letting them both into the apartment. Alice went straight to her room and laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with her hands linked behind her head. Harriet put her new toothbrush in the bathroom, then returned. "Come on, let's go for a run."
"Not really in the mood," said Alice.
"Yeah, but I'm not cooking dinner if you don't."
"Not hungry."
"I will get a bucket of water."
"Fine! I'll go for a run!" Muttering under her breath, Alice got up, and together they took the steps to the ground floor. They set off slowly, getting accustomed to the exercise, but by the time they reached the park they were running fast. They were both still in uniform, which was hot and
