Free Re-Vamped! by Sienna Mercer Page B

see if I could access
ASHH files.”
    Olivia
perked up. “And?”
    “I
couldn’t,” Ivy revealed. “If we want to find out anything, we’re going to have
to go to the ASHH office ourselves.”
    “Do
you think we can ask for our files just like that?” Olivia wondered.
    “I
wasn’t thinking of asking,” Ivy replied with a mischievous smile. “I was
thinking of sneaking in and digging around.”
    Brendan
spit a gulp of cranberry juice back into his cup.
    “Bad
Ivy,” Sophia said, shaking her finger teasingly. “Bad, bad Ivy!”
    Olivia
leaned forward. “Could we actually do that?” she asked in a low voice.
    “Brendan’s
dad invited us to the V-Gen offices,” Ivy said, “and they’re in the same
building. So we already have an excuse to get in and out of the compound. All
we need is a distraction,” she said, putting her arm around Brendan and
squeezing his shoulder, “so we can get in and out of the ASHH offices without
anyone noticing.”
    Brendan
frowned. “Is ‘distraction’ a code word for ‘boyfriend’?”
    Ivy
grinned. “Maybe.”
    “This’ll
be interesting,” Brendan assented with a playful roll of his eyes.
    “How
about this afternoon after school?” Ivy proposed with a conspiratorial glance
toward Olivia.
    “There’s
no better time than the present,” Olivia agreed, and Brendan nodded.
    “What
about me?” Sophia interjected. “What can I do?”
    “Somebody
has to stay behind to tell our story,” Ivy told her, “in case we end up being
abducted.”
    “You’re
joking, right?” said Sophia.
    A
chill flashed over Ivy. “I hope so,” she said. After school, Olivia, Ivy, and
Brendan caught a bus to Brendan’s father’s office complex across town. Brendan
had called his dad to let him know they were coming, while Olivia had called
her mom and explained that she was doing a research project with Ivy—which was
totally true. As for Ivy, she wasn’t talking to her father, so she didn’t tell
him anything.
    Eventually,
the three of them were the only passengers left on the bus, and all Olivia
could see from the window was one gray office building after another, against
the wintry gray sky. Arriving at the end of a cul-de-sac, the driver called,
“Last stop, Pentagram Court.”
    Jumping
down off the bus, Olivia found herself staring up at a hulking black glass
building, glistening in the afternoon sun like a dark jewel. It was surrounded
by a security gate, and the bus had let them off right in front of a
guardhouse.
    “Can I
help you?” a pale security officer inquired.
    “We’re
here to see Marc Daniels at V-Gen,” Brendan announced.
    Olivia
glanced up and spotted a security camera sitting atop the gate, aimed right at
her. She shifted uncomfortably as the camera looked her up and down with a
whir, from her pink corduroy jacket down to her cheerleading sneakers. “No
civilians allowed,” the guard said stonily.
    “He’s
expecting all of us,” Brendan replied firmly.
    The
security guard looked unconvinced. “Names?”
    “Brendan,
Ivy, and Olivia,” Brendan answered.
    The guard
disappeared into his booth. Olivia could see him through the window talking on
the phone. After he hung up, he slid the glass open and handed down three guest
passes. As they put them around their necks, the gate clanked and slid open.
    Inside
the enormous black marble lobby, Mr. Daniels was waiting in his white lab coat.
“Ivy, Olivia!” he said warmly, shaking their hands and giving Brendan a quick
hug. “I’m so glad you came so soon!”
    As
they all waited for the elevator, Ivy nudged Olivia’s arm and silently nodded
toward the building directory that was hanging on the wall. Olivia’s eyes
immediately zeroed in on what her sister was looking at:
    ASHH
2A
    V-GEN
2C Brendan’s dad’s lab and ASHH are on the same floor! thought Olivia. Perfect!
    When
the elevator doors opened onto the second floor, Ivy, Olivia, and Brendan
followed Mr. Daniels to the left, but Olivia used the