Cast In Fury by Michelle Sagara

passed.
    Her first stop was the Quartermaster. Given the silent war they’d been waging for the past several weeks—over a stupid dress, no less—she expected bad news. She had no doubt at all that the acting Sergeant had asked for a general inventory of items, and the various Hawks those items currently resided with. Kaylin’s minor problem was that she’d lost one hauberk, one surcoat and two daggers. If she had lost them in the line of Official duty—which did happen in some of the messier takedowns—that was considered an expense for the Departmental Budget; if she’d lost them—as she had—to work that
must
remain unofficial, she was going to be out the money.
    Or out the door.
    Begging was something she’d done in her time, but it didn’t come naturally now. Nor did letting down her guard. She had, however, decided to take Severn at his word. She needed to play nice, to be official.
    The Quartermaster was clearly in the middle of the inventory that she guessed he’d been asked to take. He took about five minutes to look up, a sure sign that he’d seen her coming.
    He surprised her. “I see you’ve managed to hold on to the surcoat for a day. Color me surprised.” He bent below the counter and came up with two daggers, in reg sheaths, in his hand. “Put them on. Don’t lose them.”
    She was almost speechless.
    “I don’t like your attitude,” he told her. “I never have.”
    She nodded. The fact that she felt the same about him was not something the conversation needed at the moment. It seemed to be—miraculously—going well on its own.
    “But you’ve earned your rank, such as it is. And you’ve got keen sight. Maybe in ten years, experience will grind the edges off you. Maybe it won’t. But if you want to get yourself cashiered, it’ll have to be for a better reason than losing armor and weapons while saving the City. I’ve marked the loss as in the line of duty. If he asks, lie.” He paused and added, “If you repeat that, I’ll have a sudden change of heart. Is that understood, Private?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Good. Go away. I’m busy.”
    “Yes, sir.” She made it about four steps from the desk when he said, quietly, “Good luck, girl.”
    Severn said, much more quietly, “If nothing good comes of Mallory, at least you’ve made peace with the Quartermaster.
Try
to make it last.”

    Even before they made it to the heart of the office, Kaylin noted one change: the duty roster. It had been rewritten on a pristine roll of paper, in a fastidiously tidy hand, and the only holes in it were the ones beneath the pins. She saw that she was still marked for Imperial Palace duty, as was Severn. If she’d hated the idea when she’d first seen it, she was grateful for it now—it meant time away from the office.
    To one side of the roster, in an equally neat hand, was a smaller piece of paper. On it, under a prominent heading that said Code of Conduct were a bunch of lines with numbers beside it. Usually, this was exactly the type of document the Hawks ignored, if they noted it at all. Kaylin, aware of how much she would have to change in order to remain a Hawk, grimaced and read.

All official documentation is to be written in Court Barrani.
For investigations in process: All reports are to be tendered no more than forty-eight hours after the relevant investigation takes place.
For arrests: All reports are to be tendered no more than twenty-four hours after the relevant arrest takes place.
There will be no betting or drinking on the premises. There will be no betting or drinking while on duty anywhere.
The Official City languages are not to be used to promulgate obscenities.
Before beginning your rounds, you will clock in. There are no exceptions to this rule. When finished, you will clock out.
Regulation dress and grooming is mandatory while on duty.
    Kaylin said nothing while she read. She said nothing after she finished, taking a moment to school her expression. When she was certain