Page 111 of Silver Elite

Finally, I see her. A figure cloaked in shadows, beckoning me closer.

I swallow my nerves as I catch a dark blur of motion, and then blink at a sudden brightness.

She’s projected a light onto the wall from the slender comm in her hand. Not the Company-issued one. It’s something I’ve never seen before.

I study the woman who’s summoned me. She’s younger than I expected. Early thirties maybe. She’s wearing all-black: leather pants, ribbed tank under a cropped jacket, and a knit cap covering her head. With her free hand, she slides the hat off, and a cascade of red hair tumbles onto her shoulders.

“Darlington.” It’s a statement, not a question.

Yet I still answer, “Yes.”

“I’m Adrienne.”

I’d never heard her name before last night, but I suspect she’s important. And although I can’t see a single weapon on her person—unless she’s sporting some nasty surprises beneath that jacket—I get the sense she can kill me in a heartbeat.

I remain on guard, not taking that awareness of danger lightly. “The network has been ignoring me for weeks,” I say in accusation.

“Because you’re not important.”

I bristle. “And I suppose Jim wasn’t important, either?”

“You mean Julian?” She scoffs. “That man was nothing but a headache.”

“You knew him.”

“Of course. Julian Ash jeopardized the entire network with his actions—”

“What actions? Saving me?”

“—and then had the nerve to make demands. Set me up in an asset ward, he says. Get me travel passes at my command, he says.” Her mocking voice floats through the tunnel.

“You gave it to him,” I point out.

“It wasn’t my call back then.”

“But you call the shots now?”

“Lucky me. Tasked with deciding what to do with yet another headache courtesy of Julian Ash. The one he left behind for me.”

“I thought I wasn’t important.”

“You weren’t. But clearly, they like you. They flew in a healer for you. A recruit.”

“How did you know that?”

“We have eyes all over this base.”

Wariness creeps up my spine. “Should we be talking out loud?”

“We’ve got jammers up. Nothing’s being recorded, and the cameras are on a loop within a two-mile radius. I’ll link with you if I decide you’re worth my time.”

I try not to let my irritation show. “What can I do to convince you?”

“Make it into Silver Elite.”

That startles me. “Why?”

“Because we have a hole to fill. We just lost one of our best operatives.”

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