at me and Kitten. Conversations tapered to quiet.
Donât notice the cup, donât notice the cup . No one looked remotely friendly. No one said a word to us or even waved.
Kitten, I saw, was the only other-worlder in the group.
Mia kept a steady pace in front of us. âThis area is known as the Common. You can relax and socialize here in your free time.â
âYou mentioned that we arenât allowed to leave the building,â I said. âDoes that mean we canât go outside at all?â
âNot for a while,â Mia replied. âFor the reason I mentioned before and because most of the world doesnât know about this program and thatâs the way we want to keep it. Once we know you can be trusted to keep the secret, even under torture, and once we know you are good enough to spot and lose a shadow, you will be allowed to leave at your leisure.â
Forget the spotting and losing of a shadow. I had a feeling it would take a long time to convince the agents to trust me with their secrets. Not only that, but torture? The only way to prove I could keep a secret while being tortured was to actually be tortured and keep the secret. A shudder raked my spine.
We exited the Common and entered a forked foyer. The walls were painted a pretty shade of blue, but there were no holoimages, no pictures.
Mia turned left. âYour room is this way,â she said. âI hope youâre memorizing the path.â
Uh, no. I hadnât been. There were a few girls in this hallway, and they mashed themselves against the wall as Mia passed them.
âEveryone has a roommate,â she continued. âThere is to be no fighting in your room. Save it for the combat arena.â
Rolling her eyes, Kitten raised her fist up and down in front of her chest, mimicking a guy masturbating.
âI see that, girl,â Mia said without turning around.
Kitten paled and her mouth fell open. I cut off a laugh.
Mia stopped at an arched doorway at the very end of the hall. She faced us, her expression blank. âThis is your room. Kitten, place your palm in the center of the black box.â
I peeked around Miaâs head to see what black box she was talking about. It was at the side of the door, a perfect square at eye level. Multicolored buttons lined the top.
Tentatively Kitten reached out and did as sheâd been told. A blue light similar to the one that had scanned Miaâs hand traced the entire surface of Kittenâs palm. âItâs warm,â Kitten said.
âScan complete,â a computer-animated voice said. âWelcome, Kitten.â
Blinking in surprise, Kitten dropped her arm to her side.
Mia flicked me a glance. âYour turn, Phoenix.â
Once my scan was finished, Mia punched a series of button and the door opened. âBesides the staff, only the two of you will be able to enter this room.â She paused for several seconds, head tilting to the side as if in thought. âUnless, of course, some of the girls have finally mastered breaking and entering, then itâs open season. I suggest you study ways to increase security.â
Shock coursed through me. âWeâll learn how to break into peopleâs homes?â
âOf course,â she said, her tone suggesting I was silly for even asking. âNot all of your targets will surrender easily. Theyâll hide. Theyâll lock themselves away. Youâll have to be able to reach them no matter where they are, wonât you?â
âYes,â I said, excited by the thought. It was just so⦠bad , yet would be totally legal when doing it as an agent. Too cool.
âHell yeah,â Kitten said.
Slowly Mia grinned. I guess she liked our enthusiasm. âI suggest you study the map inside your manual, as well. I will not be giving you a tour of the rest of the building. Youâll be expected to learn and memorize the layout on your own because youâll be expected to
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