Oxblood by AnnaLisa Grant Page A

anything but strong and confident.
    He nodded with a straight face and opened the door. It was like Dorothy walking into Oz. The entry room had been one big dustbowl, but this room was clean. Really, really, clean. The air smelled different, too, like it was purified, and the temperature was perfect.
    One wall was filled with six flat-screen televisions tuned into different news stations from around the world. A large table held several state-of-the-art computers and big, glowing monitors. On an opposite wall was a giant map covered in little red pins. I couldn’t help but wonder what the pins represented: Dead agents or living targets?
    The far end of the room looked shrunken. The wall was shorter than it should have been, and there was a misplaced seam on the ceiling. They were clearly hiding something behind a faux wall, and I made a mental note to find out what. You could still tell that the building used to be a factory, despite the high-tech retro fittings.
    When I finally broke my gaze and turned to face the room again, I was greeted by two new faces, along with Damon, who seemed to have melted out of the corners of the room.
    â€œWhat are you? Ninjas?” I said sarcastically.
    â€œI like this one,” the guy who wasn’t Damon said. He was a little taller than me. At first glance, one may have thought he was just stocky, but I could see he was deceptively strong. There was something about the way he carried himself: back straight and shoulders squared. “Adam McKenzie,” he said as he extended his hand.
    â€œVic,” I replied.
    â€œEveryone, this is Victoria ,” Ian told them. “She’s going to begin training with us tonight for her brief stay. She is also Gil’s sister.” Bug eyes and shocked expressions came from everyone.
    â€œWhaaaat?” the girl standing between Damon and Adam said. She looked at me for a minute with a cocked head and then shook my hand. “Oh yeah. I can see that.”
    â€œThose darn genetics.” I laughed nervously.
    â€œI’m Claudia Kho and I cannot tell you how great it is to have another pair of boobs around here!” She laughed, flipping her long black ponytail. Her big brown eyes seemed to glow when she smiled.
    â€œWay to keep it classy, Claudia,” Ian said as he walked to the other side of the room. “If you can keep your crassness to a limit, please get Victoria started on Phase One.”
    â€œYou got it, boss,” she called across the room to him.
    â€œWait, Ian!” I called as I followed him across the room. “What is Phase One? I thought—”
    â€œYou thought what, Victoria?” Ian asked. He stopped in his tracks and turned to me. He looked at me with a hard face, and I could tell that it would be a long time before I saw the smiling, joking Ian I had been with earlier.
    I swallowed hard, caught by Ian’s challenging gaze. “I just thought I would be more of an extra pair of eyes. Phase One sounds like you’re initiating training.”
    â€œI am. And as long as you are here, you will follow my directives. If you don’t like that, you are more than welcome to leave.”
    If Ian was going to play tough, I would too. I lifted my chin, turned on my heels, and beelined over to Claudia. She was seated in front of a computer, her eyes glued to a slew of code. She typed something in then spun around to face me. I looked at her and then at Adam and Damon. Not a single one of them could have been more than twenty-five.
    â€œYou’re all so . . . young,” I commented with astonishment.
    â€œYeah. We’re like the Jump Street division of international secret organizations,” Claudia quipped. She reminded me of Tiffany and I could see us becoming friends, if we were allowed. “That would sound cooler IF WE HAD A NAME !” she yelled in Ian’s direction.
    â€œWe are not an after-school club, Claudia,” Ian called back. Claudia and I