“Oh, good. We’re getting somewhere now. So, about the doors—where to begin? Remember we mentioned the building is reinforced, right?”
My brisk walk was kicking my butt, and I couldn’t answer. I made a grunt sound and nodded.
“Good.” I wasn’t sure whether he meant “good” that I remembered or that I wasn’t talking.
“We’re in a dangerous business, so multiple layers are in place. The outside has been blessed against demons and evil spirits, it’s enchanted against wandering humans, and it’s reinforced against fifty-caliber rounds.” I arched an eyebrow in astonishment. I was truly impressed. “We can’t take any chances, and we don’t believe in overkill. The lights are full-body scan or vehicle scan against everything. Just small precautions. We do work for Death.” Constantine jumped off the bench and onto the treadmill. He looked at my time and hit the stop button.
“Lunges are next. You’re going to lunge from one side of the room to the other, five times each way.” He jumped down and walked over to the edge of the gym area. “Start here and go all the way to the far wall. Start.”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?” I prayed he was messing with me.
“Like a heart attack. So stop wasting time. We got tons more.” The wall Constantine was pointing to was at least thirty feet away. It was not too late to quit. I could walk out door.
“So the doors are like the TSA screening detectors, except better?” I needed a distraction to handle the painful exercises, and random questions would help.
“The passage includes X-ray scans, spell detectors, and, of course, confirmation of being alive. It would be really painful for you if you were a demon crossing that entryway.” I was lunging back toward him when he finished. He looked really pleased with himself.
“So are you going to buzz me in every time?” I was breathing heavily as I spoke.
“Do I look like your servant? Of course not, silly. Besides, that takes too long. Bartholomew will get you in the system, so all you’ll have to do is scan your hand and get in.” He was sitting perfectly still, with his tail wrapped around him. I wondered if the ancient Egyptians had based the sphinx on him.
“Really? Hand scan, not retina?” I was trying to be funny.
“We could, but I figured getting your hand chopped off had a greater survival rate than getting your eyeball ripped out of the socket.” He said that without blinking an eye, totally serious. I stopped in midlunge and swallowed. He didn’t take jokes well.
“OK, I can’t argue with that logic. So why not just keys?” I liked my hands and eyes attached to my body. We could find option three.
“Those are easily stolen or copied. Can’t take any chances. We have some smooth criminals out there.” On that note, Constantine did a head shake that would have impressed Michael Jackson. If he had moonwalked, I would not have been surprised.
Constantine wasn’t kidding when he said we had a lot to do. Three hours later we were finishing up his torture session. I’d had drill sergeants and jumpmasters who were nicer than he was. Constantine took his training sessions seriously. We were going to finish with push-ups. I hadn’t done a push-up in almost a year. I got down army-style. Before I could lower myself, he jumped on my back. I nearly lost my balance.
“What are you doing?” For a bunch of fur, the cat was heavy.
“Developing your resistance and focus. Your adversaries are not going to play fair. A push-up should teach you not just to carry your own strength but how to get out of sticky situations.” I swear he was making that up. I struggled to get down.
“Girl, when was the last time you went to a gym?” He at least was lying down instead of having his four paws on me like pressure points.
“Gym memberships are expensive,” I barely said. I struggled to finish my ten push-ups. Constantine was keeping count and jumped off as I finished. I was glad we had lost the vest after the lunges. My whole body ached.
“Please tell me you did the same thing to the other intern.” I was sure I looked like a sack of potatoes. As soon as we were done, I dropped to the floor unceremoniously.
“Teck was a ninja. He had his own strict regimen. OK, you need to start stretching before you cool off.”
“A ninja? You’ve got to be kidding me. Anything else Boy Wonder did?” I started doing calf stretches, and my muscles were on fire. I was going to be sore for the next week.
“He was also an alchemist.” Constantine actually said that a little apologetically. He almost looked sorry for me.
“Are you serious? How do you follow in the footsteps of that?” I rolled over and stretched my hamstrings and back by bending my waist and reaching down to my toes.
“Easy. Don’t get killed.”
I laughed at that. At the end of the day, life was that simple. I had no idea how Ninja Boy had fallen down the ladder. All it had taken was one minute of distraction.
I reached my arms over my head, bent at the elbows, and stretched my biceps. One thing was certain—the military had shown me how to stretch.
“When you’re done, make sure to drink your shake and take a hot shower. It should loosen those muscles.” Constantine got up and stretched his lower and upper back. He even looked better than I did. Damn feline flexibility.
“Can I take it to go? I need to go home and clean up.” I didn’t get up as gracefully as Constantine.
“No need. We have clothes for you in your room already. Bartholomew sent the cleaning crew to pick up your stuff at your apartment and close your lease. Your possessions should be here this afternoon.” He was heading to the loft as he spoke.
“The cleaning crew? Constantine, I can move myself.
