“Shut it, Deuce.”
“I haven’t been here two minutes and I’m already getting bad vibes.”
“Just close your eyes and go to your happy place. I’m not turning around.”
“You’ll wish you had. Mark my words.”
Alex shot him a glance. “I’m gonna mark your face, you don’t shut the hell up.”
The turn was precisely where the guard had told them it would be. A hundred yards in, the forest opened up into a large parking area in front of a wide, two-story building, its façade little more than a wall of dark glass. An array of antennas and satellite dishes graced the roof.
Alex found slot number seventy-two and pulled into it. Killing the engine, she glanced over at the building’s main entrance and saw three men heading their way.
“At least they’re not keeping us waiting,” Deuce said.
One of the men was wearing the same type of uniform as the guard at the gate, and looked every bit as capable. The other two were Cooper and McElroy.
Alex and Deuce popped their doors and climbed out.
“Right on time,” McElroy said, smiling. He walked over to Deuce and held out a hand. “Mr. Jones, good to meet you. I’m Jason McElroy. Welcome to the Stonewell team.”
Deuced looked at the hand, then shook it with far less enthusiasm than McElroy.
“This is my associate, Shane Cooper,” McElroy said. “He’ll be working with both of you on this project.”
After Cooper and Deuce shook, the uniformed man removed two lanyards from his pocket, each with a plastic ID badge attached. “Please wear these at all times,” he said, handing them to Alex and Deuce. “They’ll grant you access as your clearance allows.”
Deuce slipped the lanyard over his head. “And what does our clearance allow? The commissary and the restrooms?”
“Mr. McElroy will make that determination.”
“Will I have to take some kind of oath first?”
Alex shot him a look. “Deuce, lighten up. We’re all on the same side here.”
“I just want to get the rules straight,” he said. He grabbed his badge and waved it at the man in uniform. “What if I lose this thing?”
“Don’t,” the man told him, his face stone.
Deuce, however, wasn’t intimidated by authority, nor, Alex knew, was he a huge fan of corporate rules. But before he could say anything else, she put a hand on his forearm and squeezed. “Play nice, big guy.”
“I’m just asking a question.”
“There’ll be plenty of time for questions. How about if we get inside first?”
She saw the other three men exchange a look. McElroy said, “That sounds like a very good idea. Why don’t you both follow me?”
Judging by the wall of glass outside, Alex had been expecting some kind of swanky lobby with cushy chairs and a Barbie doll receptionist. But the lobby was not a lobby at all, just a long white corridor intersected by other hallways and lined with several doors.
McElroy led them through the maze and into a large conference room. A long glass table surrounded by more than a dozen black leather chairs took up the middle of the space.
On the walls were several framed photographs. On first glance they looked like vacation shots from around the world, but Alex knew that the gray-haired man in the photos was Stonewell founder and Chairman of the Board Thomas Greer. In each shot he was with someone different — a US president, a prime minister, a powerful political figure.
“Have a seat,” McElroy said, motioning to the chairs.
Deuce dropped into one of them and spun it around. “Hey, cushy.”
Alex rolled her eyes. One minute he was playing hardball, the next he was acting like the class cutup. She wished he’d make up his mind.
She sank into the chair next to him as McElroy said, “All right, first things first. Contract?”
Alex pulled the contract out of her pocket, unfolded it, and placed it on the table. “I could use that pen now.”
McElroy happily provided it, and she signed at the bottom of the page.
“Excellent,” he said, then set it next to one of the three folders that were lying on the table. He slid the nearest one to Deuce. “And this is yours.”
Deuce eyed it dubiously for a moment, before taking out the contract and giving it a quick scan. “Same as Alex’s?”
“Yes,” McElroy said. “Exactly the same.”
“What do you think, Alex? Should I sign it?”
She sighed and spun the pen toward him. “Deuce, if you don’t quit acting like a jackass, I’ll kick your butt out of here before they have a chance to. Now sign the damn thing and shut the hell up.”
“All right, all right,” he said. He picked up the pen and signed. “Happy now?”
McElroy smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Jones.”
“Deuce. Call me Deuce.”
“All right, Deuce.” McElroy put his contract on top of Alex’s, then picked up the remaining two folders and put one in front of each of them.
Alex opened hers and found a small stack of documents. “What’s this?”
“Just a formality,” he told her.
She looked through the papers. There was a medical questionnaire, something about next of kin, and several other informational forms. “We already signed our contracts.”
Another McElroy smile. “Yes, you did. These are simply documents that all contract employees fill out before they’re allowed to work for Stonewell.”
“So if we don’t fill them out,” Deuce said, “we don’t get the job?”
Alex couldn’t help but notice the hopeful tone in her partner’s voice.
McElroy spread his hands. “I don’t see why that would even be an issue. Just look through the forms. If there’s anything either of you have a problem with, we can talk about it.”
Alex returned her gaze to the top document. She liked her privacy as much as Deuce did, and any other time she might have decided his instincts were right — that it was time to walk. But considering what was at stake, she couldn’t do that.
She picked up the pen and started to fill in the blanks.
“She took my pen,” Deuce said.
McElroy produced another, and Deuce started in on his stack.
They were only halfway through when McElroy’s cell phone rang and he stepped outside to take the call. When he came back in, he said, “You’ll have to excuse me for a bit. Cooper will take you around, and I’ll catch up with you at the briefing.”
As he turned to leave, Alex got to her feet. “Wait a minute. Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“You said that after we signed our contracts, you’d tell me where the woman is.”
He nodded. “And I will. All your questions will be answered at the briefing.”
Before she could protest further, he was out the door.
Annoyed, Alex sank into her chair and went back to the forms. It took another five minutes before she finally closed her folder.
Deuce was still scribbling away when he turned to her. “Who’d you put for your emergency contact?”
“You,” she said.
He grinned. “And I’m putting you. Sure gonna suck for them if we both die.”
He finished his last sheet, closed his folder, and slid it next to Alex’s.
She looked at Cooper. “Now what?”
“Now we get you certified.”
“For what?”
“Weapons.”
“Are you serious?”
A shrug. “Company policy.”
Alex felt anger rising. “Come on, Shane, what is this bullshit? Am I being jerked around or what?”
“No more than any other recruit. I told you, it’s company policy.”
Grinning, Deuce said, “So do we get to shoot?”