He looked to be in his early forties with a shaved head and smooth skin. He wore a sharp suit, too. No jewels on his watch, but the tip of a tattoo peeked out from his right cuff.
We all took seats at the table, me next to Xene, the others across from us.
“We observed your test,” Mr. Venkatesan said. “Very impressive. That was our own CPO you faced. He’s outside nursing his arm as we speak.” He smiled, and I returned it cautiously.
“He took me by surprise. I was expecting one assailant.” I threw a glance at Xene.
“Yes, I changed your test at the last moment. It was an evaluation in more ways than one,” she said. “D’Andre, would you like to explain?”
Brown twisted his chair a little to face me. “Are you aware the winter Olympic Games are next month in Switzerland?”
“Yes?” That’s how it came out, unfortunately. Like a question. The Olympics weren’t exactly on my radar.
“Do you know much about winter sports? Snowboarding?”
I shook my head. He sighed and looked pointedly at Xene. My mentor’s face was expressionless. What was going on?
Ms. Venkatesan took over, her voice kind. “Our daughter, Veena, attends a boarding school for ski racers and snowboarders in Vail, Colorado. She is sixteen, a sophomore.”
“She’s also called VV.” Mr. Venkatesan said it like a question. They all watched me. Was I supposed to know who she was?
I licked my lips, frantically searching my memory. That nickname did ring a bell. The cover of a People magazine that Mom snagged from the dentist’s office where she worked. A smiling girl with blue streaks in her onyx hair, decked out in a white winter coat with wavy red and blue stripes across it. She cradled a snowboard in the crook of one arm and held up two fingers of her other hand. A peace sign or a V. I wasn’t sure. The magazine subtitle said she was America’s winter Olympic sweetheart or something like that.
“The snowboarder?” I guessed. Brown looked a tiny bit happier.
“She will compete in the Olympics in February.” Pride flitted over Mr. Venkatesan’s thin face. “Her school educates many members of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team and some international competitors while also providing high level coaching.”
I nodded. Interesting, but I still wasn’t sure what this had to do with me.
Brown said, “Miss Rossi, what we’re about to tell you is confidential.”
“Of course.”
“Mr. Venkatesan’s company has been working on an important piece of nanotechnology with scientific and military applications. Someone, as yet unidentified, has demanded the prototype and plans for it, and threatened his family if he doesn’t comply. So far, the threats have been vague, but the Venkatesans are concerned for Veena’s safety leading up to the Olympics. SSA is sending a security team to her school.”
Nanotechnology? I only had a vague idea what that was—little stuff—but I nodded anyway.
Mr. Venkatesan swept invisible dust off his sleeves. His wife worried an elaborate gold necklace at her throat. Deep wrinkles settled between their eyes. As I watched them, the situation clarified. The Venkatesans were wealthy business owners. They had something someone wanted. Their daughter was high profile in her own right, and she was being threatened. I frowned.
Brown shifted in his seat and straightened his tie. His expression soured ever so slightly. “As I said, SSA put together a group to protect Veena, but there’s been a hitch.”
I leaned forward onto my elbows. “What kind of hitch?”
The Venkatesans glanced at each other. Mr. Venkatesan answered, his words precise. “Veena is . . . headstrong. She refused to accept Mr. Brown’s choice of CPO, a man with ten years of experience. She wants a female, someone young, who will blend in with her classmates at school.”
Brown took over again. “As such, SSA is looking for a young, female CPO. We were hoping to find someone with some level of experience, but . . . ”
Something wild and wingy hatched in my chest. A full-fledged CPO in the field? That was the job they were here about? A couple of minutes ago, I wasn’t even sure I’d passed my test. Now, I might have a real CPO job?
I swallowed and took a deep breath to combat the urge to jump on the table and pump my fist. “Tell me about the assignment.”
Brown sat back. “You’ll enroll at Vail Mountain Academy posing as a student and Veena’s roommate. You’ll take the same classes, participate in her extracurricular activities, and attend social events with her. As far as most of the staff and student body will know, you will be a student, but your job is to protect Miss Venkatesan.”
Unbelievable. No one got a CPO gig their first race out of the stable. I could kiss Veena, whoever she was, for being stubborn. But I tapped a nervous fingernail on the table.
“Sir, I don’t ski or snowboard. And I’m a little older than your average high school sophomore. Won’t I still stand out?” For that and about a half-dozen other things.
Mr. Venkatesan answered. “Although most students at VMA ski or snowboard, not all do. It’s an excellent school in its own right.”
“We’ll work out a cover story for you with Miss Venkatesan,” Brown added.
“And I’ll have a support team?” I asked.
“Of course.” And you’ll need it, his lifted eyebrow seemed to say. “I’ll be straight with you, Miss Rossi. I wouldn’t place an inexperienced graduate such as yourself in the field. But Veena has to be comfortable with the person protecting her. If she won’t let us near her, we can’t keep her safe. When I realized we needed a female, I came to Xene, and she recommended you.” If his words hadn’t already done the
