The agents had started up again with the rapid fire questions, most of the comments coming courtesy of Victoria. We just stood there with blank faces, not replying.
When they had finally stopped talking, we got started. Taylor and I took Jennifer, Stacey, Anna, and Victoria into the girl's dorm while Drake and Jaxon took the guys to their dorm.
The girls were standing against the wall looking at Taylor and I. "Alright. This is where you will be staying for a while. Obviously, that bunk is taken," I said, pointing to my bunk where I had pictures, posters, and an awful blue and green polka dotted bedspread that Taylor had picked out a while back after taking one look at the bland room. All the other bunks had blank white walls and plain black blankets.
"Each of you will pick a bunk and a locker. The bathroom is through that door. Showers are five minutes max. Laundry is done every other day, and the basket is in the bathroom. Training is every day for as long as we say it is. After you have been dismissed from training, there is a game room the recruits can be in until nine o'clock. Then it's the agents turn. No girls are allowed in the boy's dorm and no boys in the girls. Simple enough." They didn't look happy about any of the rules.
"Now, pick a locker. Inside you will find the clothes you will wear for training and some other... necessities that you will need. Feel free to rearrange and add your stuff to the lockers." They looked at least a little happy to have something they could control. "You have ten minutes to be dressed and back in the main room."
I turned away from where they were standing. Taylor and I walked over to our lockers. Her locker had been emptied when she retired, but she had clothes and a couple other things that always stayed in there. Her locker was right next to mine. We opened them up and started getting dressed. I traded my leather jacket, tank top, skinny jeans, and boots for a soft, long sleeved black tee, track pants, and sneakers. I took out my ear piercings and set them on a tray in my locker. Taylor traded her flowy blouse, skinny jeans, and high heels for a pullover Nike hoodie, yoga pants, and exercise shoes. She put her jewelry on the tray in her locker as well.
We closed our lockers and headed out of the noisy room where the other girls were still arguing over which locker to get and complaining that the t-shirts and yoga pants weren't flattering at all. As I was closing the door behind me, I poked my head back in and said, "You have three minutes." I smirked and closed the door on their loud complaints as they scrambled to get dressed.
Taylor and I laughed as we walked out to meet Drake and Jaxon, who were standing next to Wallace. "The guys still picking lockers, too?" I asked.
"Yeah! Seriously! Just pick one!" Drake answered. I chuckled; it was just like Drake to freak out about it.
"So, Jaycee... What's going on?" Taylor asked, all joking gone from her voice.
My smile fell as I looked at her and Drake's faces. "Trujillo is back." Realization of the situation dawned on them. "I need your help training the recruits."
"So, they are all new recruits?" Drake asked.
"No. Most of them have been here for some time now," I told them.
"Then why are we training them?" Taylor asked.
"AMF isn't the same as it was back then. We don't train like that anymore. They focus on intelligence work now," I explained.
"That's just plain-" Drake started.
"I know!" I cut him off. "It's just how it is now. That is why I need your help training them, so that they are prepared for when Trujillo comes."
Taylor and Drake nodded just as all the recruits came out of the dorm. I checked my watch and stated, "You're late." Then, I turned on my heel and marched over to the shooting range. I faced everyone as they all shuffled their way over to where I was standing with my hands clasped behind my back and my feet spread.
"One of the most important tools an agent needs is a gun. It could save your life in an instant." I nodded at Taylor, Drake, and Jaxon and they all pulled out their guns and came to stand next to me. I pulled my own gun out and I showed it to the recruits. "The handgun is most agents' weapon of choice. It's simple enough to use. Turn off the safety, cock the gun, aim, and pull the trigger." Then, I turned and did as my instructions said. I turned off the safety, cocked the gun, aimed at my target, and pulled the trigger. I emptied my clip into the target, completely taking out the inner circle.
Drake, Taylor, and Jaxon all turned to the targets behind us as well. I put in a new clip as Taylor and Drake were taking aim. Oh so casually, I asked, "So, how long have you guys been going out?" Drake and Taylor pulled the triggers and both of their shots missed the target completely.
I started laughing, "I guess you guys are a little out of practice, ha?" I heard Jaxon chuckle from where he was standing on the other side of Drake and Taylor, firing at his target.
"How... how..." Drake rambled.
When it became obvious Drake wasn't going to finish, Taylor asked, "How did you know?"
I turned to Taylor scoffing and said, "Wow, not even a denial. And to answer your question, you two aren't nearly as good as you think you are." They looked at me questioningly, and I decided to put them out of their misery.
"Mozart," I stated. "He isn't listened to nearly as much as he should be. Experienced waiters are also rare, but not nearly as much as someone who can't learn the trade." I looked at them, smirking. "Now, what are the odds that a rare song is playing while a waiter drops an entire tray of food in two separate restaurants at the exact same time I am calling you two?"
Realization crossed their faces when I finished talking. "I have more if you like? There's the fact that you both came in at the same time today or that Taylor asked me about Drake a couple weeks after she got a new boyfriend in one of our monthly phone calls," I said.
"How did you know I had a boyfriend? I never told you," Taylor asked.
"Yeah, great show of friendship there, by the way Taylor. I knew because I know my best friend. Simple as that."
Taylor started rambling, quickly spouting words, "Oh, Jaycee, you know that I-"
I cut her off with, "It's fine. I understand why you didn't tell me." I put my gun back and turned to face the recruits again, saying, "Alright. Your turn."
They all stared at me with wide, confused eyes, and I instructed them to grab a handgun from the wall along with a clip. When they had done so and come back to stand in front of me, I told them how to load and release the clip when it was empty. I then went into more detail about shooting a gun. When I was done with my lecture, I stood aside and gestured for them to walk up to a target.
"Ready, aim," I paused, "Fire!" Shots rang out and a couple of them stumbled back from the force. Austin barely caught the gun before it launched back and hit him in the face. They all looked at the guns in their hands slightly frightened and more cautious than before. I looked at their targets. Not a single one of them out of all seven had hit their target.
I stood with my feet spread apart and my arms crossed over my chest. More shots rang out after I barked out, "Again."