Oxblood by AnnaLisa Grant Page B

raised our eyebrows and laughed. “And we have a name.”
    â€œR-14 is not a real name!” she replied.
    â€œPhase One, please.”
    â€œSo what’s Phase One?” I asked curiously.
    She held out her hand, palm side up. “I’m going to need all of your identification. Passport, driver’s license, credit cards. Anything on you that would identify you or connect you to the outside world.”
    â€œBut how will I pay for anything? I mean, I haven’t checked out of the hotel, and I still need to eat.” This was all moving a little fast. One day I was working at the diner, and the next I was in a top-secret clubhouse being asked to hand over everything that proved I was me.
    â€œAs long as you pass through training, you won’t need any of those things while you’re with us.” Claudia’s delivery was straight and sure.
    Training , I thought to myself. All I wanted was to find my brother. How did I end up in the middle of Command Central for a secret division of Jump Street: INTERPOL Division ?
    â€œSo,” Claudia continued. She pulled something up on her computer as she spoke. “How’d you come to find yourself in the company of Mr. Congeniality over there?” She nodded toward Ian and smirked.
    â€œIan knocked on my hotel door and held a gun to my stomach,” I told her.
    â€œAlways the charmer,” she said flatly.
    â€œHe made up for it with dinner, though.”
    â€œYou went to dinner with Ian?” She raised her eyebrows like it was the craziest thing she had ever heard. I nodded in reply. “Well, this is going to be interesting,” she smirked.
    â€œInteresting? Why is this going to be interesting?”
    â€œGather round, everyone,” Ian called to the group before I could get an answer from Claudia. “Victoria, have you given Claudia your identification?”
    â€œOh, um . . . no. But I’m a little concerned about—”
    Ian cut me off. “What did I just say about my directives? Team, what happens if my directives aren’t followed?”
    Claudia, Damon, and Adam answered in unison. “You die.”
    â€œDo you have any questions about that?”
    â€œNo. I’ve got it.” I pulled my wallet and my passport from my purse and handed them to Claudia. I told Ian I could do this, and by God, I was going to do it.
    I kept Gil’s journal hidden. That was one card I wasn’t quite ready to put on the table.
    â€œAll right then. Damon is going to work with you on honing your observation skills and your intuition. You did well at the restaurant tonight but could have done better,” Ian said.
    â€œYou seemed pretty impressed,” I retorted.
    â€œMaybe. But you have to be better.” He paused like he wanted to say something else, but then changed his mind. “Claudia will give you the rundown on some of our tech: Who we monitor. How we monitor. And what we do with what we find. And Adam will work with you on weapons training.”
    â€œWhoa. Weapons training? Is that entirely necessary?” I asked nervously. “I’ve already got some pretty solid self-defense moves.” I wasn’t there to be a soldier or a spy. I just wanted to get my brother back.
    â€œWe all have our specialties. But we all also have to be trained to defend ourselves and one another. And you’re going to need a hell of a lot more than self-defense moves to do that.”
    Ian’s eyes locked on mine. He was challenging me to back down. His tone was strong and commanding, but his eyes told me so much more. They pierced through mine, screaming to let him take me out of this place. I would sooner die than back down and give up.
    â€œGot it.”
    â€œGood. Then let’s get started,” he said.
    â€œWait. What exactly is your expertise, Ian Hale?” I asked, loud enough for all to hear. Claudia looked away embarrassed, like I had just called the teacher