` The elevator hummed as it climbed. Through the glass wall, New York sprawled like a circuit board below, glittering in the mid-afternoon sun.

`

` You’d been told to report to the common floor. Just you and one other new recruit.

`

` The doors slid open with a soft chime.

`

` The common room was vast. Floor-to-ceiling windows, leather sofas arranged in a loose circle, a kitchen island that could seat twelve. It smelled like coffee and expensive cologne.

`

` Standing by the window, arms crossed, was a woman about your age. Dark skin, sharp jaw, hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail. She wore the standard-issue tactical gear like it was a fashion statement.

`

` She spotted you the second you stepped out.

`

`