Page 35 of The Dragon Recruit
He shrugged. “One of the techs rotates the phrases, not me.”
Because in the phonetic alphabet used by armies and broadcasters, it spelled out Bond 89. The tech staff always teased Antony about being an old, retired Bond in his eighties instead of his forties.
A door slid open, and he motioned for Iris to follow. As soon as the door closed behind them, another appeared, leading into a long corridor full of doors. “Now, we can talk. Come on. I have an office here, and I promise to tell you everything.”
“Is this the part where you say you will, but I can never leave or you’ll have to kill me?”
He snorted. “Nothing so dramatic, my dear. You want the same thing as me—to end the dragon hunters. And that means you wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that goal.”
“So practical. No doubt, that irritates some.”
“Not so many. Remember, I weed out the insecure ones early.”
He approached his office and entered the outer room where his executive assistant sat at the desk.
Eddie rolled his wheelchair from behind the desk to hand Antony a folder. “The latest.”
“Thank you.” He gestured from Iris to his assistant and back again. “Iris, this is Eddie. He was my bloody best reconnaissance person until he lost his legs. Eddie, this is Iris, my partner for this mission.”
Iris shook the human male’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I hope the other side fared worse.”
Eddie grinned. “Took them all out, I did. I would tell you more, but I’m not allowed.”
Antony rolled his eyes. “Eventually, you can tell Iris your story. No need to guilt-trip me in front of our guest.”
“Hey, I take what I can get.”
“Right, I need to go over some things with Iris, as well as analyze these reports. Don’t disturb me unless it’s a top-level priority issue.”
“A bomb could go off in your office, and I would stay at my post.”
Iris blinked, and Antony explained, “There are some strange protocols here. I’ll explain. Come on.”
After nodding his thanks to Eddie, he used another retinal scanner before entering his office. It was more like a small flat with a mini-kitchen, sofa bed, desk, and bathroom off to the side.
He immediately went to the kitchen, filled the kettle, and switched it on. Once he turned to face Iris, he said, “As soon as the tea is ready, we’ll get down to business.”
She snorted. “So British.”
“I can’t really drink alcohol in my line of work, so I take what I can get. Which means lots of tea and eating far too many biscuits.”
As her eyes slowly traveled down his body, his cock stirred. She said, “You can’t even tell.”
Clearing his throat, he turned to retrieve mugs and tea bags. “I still train and also enjoy biking when I get the chance. There’s something about the wind in your hair as you pedal through the countryside, far from the city and work and the constant barrage of technology, that soothes your soul.”
The kettle clicked off, he poured, and turned to face Iris. She tilted her head and said, “The longer I’m around you, the less I understand you. Here you have the best technological gadgets in the world, and yet you long to ride a bicycle far away from it all.”
“What, you don’t have any hobbies unrelated to your work?”
“I like to read, but most of the time I’m training or working.”
“Because you have to, or because you never feel as if you’re good enough?”
Turning away from him, she headed for the small table and sat down. “Enough about me. I want to know about this place, what it’s used for, and why we’re here.”
He sighed, knowing when to pick his battles. “Fine.” After retrieving some biscuits from the cupboard, he carried everything over to the table and sat down. “This is the central hub of dragon-related matters in the UK, my dear. The place near London is mainly for research. Well, and keeping track of Skyhunter.”
“And what does that mean, exactly? And why have I never heard about it before?”
