"I still can't believe you actually did it," Vinh Quang murmured. The small Veitnamese electrician was tinkering with the computer again, his brow furrowed in concentration--and, Randi was sure, concern.
"No one saw me," she protested. "It's fine, Vinh, really. And I'm sure they're up to something."
Vinh grunted. "Well, we knew that before now, didn't we? Didn't have to sneak into the warehouse to see that. The secrecy, the trainees: they're all proof that the Black Rings is up to something. You're proof."
Well, duh. Randi and all the other Black Rings trainees had one major thing in common: no family. Randi's last set of foster parents had been recruiters for the Black Rings, and she suspected that had been the case with most, if not all the other recruits. Of course, having no family meant one thing: no accountability. If one of the trainees or even an agent disappeared, there was no one to tell. No one to know. Randi and all the others had effectively disappeared as soon as they turned sixteen.
Not a pleasant train of thought, really. Randi peered over Vinh's shoulder. "Have you hacked into communications yet?"
Vinh gave a frustrated sound. "Speak loudly and give us away, will you?" He glared around his small room, as if he expected a senior agent to appear out of thin air. "No, I have not. And I will not for a while. We don't need suspicion! Bad enough we are actually going through with this."
"And if we find something and turn it over to the government, the Black Rings gets shut down. It's worth the risk, Vinh. We both agree that they're wrong in what they do. Espionage and sabotage and assassinations. Nothing is more sacred than life." That had been her first set of foster parents, the ones who had her for close to eight years. Good people. They had drilled that mantra into her, and she intended to stand by it.
"It will not do us any good if we are caught, and it will not help anyone else," Vinh retorted. "You have combat training in eight minutes. Get moving."
Randi sighed and started for the window. "Door!" Vinh straightened and pointed at the closed door, covered with columns of containers full of microchips and wires, and who knows what else.
"Eight minutes, remember? It's faster through the window." Ignoring Vinh's good-natured grumbling, Randi swung outside and began to climb down the side of the building, finding handholds in the tiny gaps between the stones. Just above the ground, she launched herself off and sprinted across the grass and around the dining hall to the training yard, reaching it with two minutes to spare.
"Nice of you to join us, Pryors," came a voice with a strong French accent. Randi winced inwardly. Of all the people to have to deal with today...
Ambre was rumored to be the Black Rings' best assassin. Maybe two inches over five feet, the lean, strong woman had a commanding presence that made her seem much taller--at least, when she wanted to be noticed. Senior trainees liked to scare the new recruits with stories of how she could blend into shadows, stalk you for hours, and kill you so quickly you hardly knew what was happening. There were a lot of stories like that about the Black Rings agents, and most of them were disregarded more as the trainees advanced. Ambre, however, was the exception. All but the most foolhardy--or stupid--continued to fear her.
"Morse! You're late," Ambre snapped at a boy approaching at a run. "I will see you after class." She turned to face all the trainees, her frozen face expressionless. Randi could not repress a slight shiver. "Today, I will teach you again. We will practice sneak attacks like last time, and hope you have improved. Two teams, the practice building. Move."