here, though he won’t go into anyone’s private area. Danny is our computer specialist and Ciana is our resident weapons manufacturer.”
“Manufacturer?” That got his attention.
Maline looked almost wistful, mother-like, and even in the very short time Ethan had known her, seeing the expression on her face surprised him. The woman did not strike him as the nurturing type.
“That girl has more smarts than probably the rest of us put together. She’s only twenty-six, but she’s already got a Ph.D. in Applied Physics and Material Sciences from CalTech and has been with us for around two years. If you do the math, that’s a Ph.D. by the time she turned twenty-four. We were lucky enough to recruit her right out of college.”
“Seems that way.” Ethan had no fucking clue what Applied Physics and Material Sciences even was, but it sounded impressive. He was no dumb jock by any means, but science had never been his forte.
“The inventions she comes up with are brilliant, and she makes them all herself. Well, except items that are more practical to buy, like guns. It would be silly to waste her time and talent on them. I’ll have her show you some of her weapons. If you decide to join us, a gun won’t be your primary mode of defense, just so you’re aware.” Maline folded her hands on the desk, still speaking in that calm, quiet voice as if they were discussing what they’d each had for breakfast. He wondered how long she’d been doing this, that she could speak about their operations in such matter-of-fact terms.
“So what would you expect from me?”
She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “We’ll teach you how to use guns, of course, but we’re looking for something different from you. All of our operatives are trained in hand-to-hand combat, but not all possess the balance, reflexes, and core strength you do. We’d consider it an unwise use of your skillset to have you relying on a gun all the time. Besides, we actually avoid the use of firearms if possible. After all, guns are loud even when suppressed, leave traceable bullets, make it hard to prevent killing someone from direct injury or loss of blood, and make a mess. Many of our people have different specialties, and we combine them to make the best team possible for any mission.”
“So you would want me to fight, but not use a gun? I assume a lot of the bad guys do have guns? How am I going to do against them?”
“Surprisingly well, I think. But don’t worry about that now. Andre and I have an eye for talent, and there are players in every sport that we track, just in case.
“Our clean-up crew does a lot of our driving and other errands. Other than that, they mostly keep to themselves. They live nearby in case we need them, but not on the premises. It’s nice to have some eyes and ears on the streets.” She leaned forward. “Would you like to see the rest of our facility?”
“Um, sure.”
They rose and Maline gestured toward the door. “After you.”
When they stepped out of Maline’s office the hustle and bustle from before was gone. Maline stopped Andre. Without her having to say a word, he answered, “Still not sure. I sent the guys to the basement so they could burn off some energy.”
“Okay, good. And Danny’s got eyes and ears on it?”
“Of course. He’ll let us know if there are any updates.”
While the two conversed, Ethan took the opportunity to look around the room. He’d estimate it to be around fifty feet by thirty feet, including Malines’s and Andre’s offices. Televisions showing all manner of information were set into one wall. A man sat in front of a bank of computer monitors mounted on articulated arms, pushing them to the forefront and back as he checked god-only-knew-what out. Beside him sat a larger monitor laid at a shallow angle, probably around six foot square, with pieces scattered on top Ethan couldn’t identify scattered on it and currently displaying some sort of mountainous