Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

fifteen

Director Shaw's expertly designed office made Oscar feel slightly uncomfortable. Though, Apex's arrival just half an hour ago might have had something to do with that.

White chairs and sofas decorated the carpeted floor. The group of teenagers all took up a seat. Oscar sat in a rather plush looking loveseat and examined the dark blue pillow sitting against the pale leather. The Atlas logo was stitched into the material.

''These guys sure do like to brand everything,'' he said under his breath.

On the left side of the room, sunlight poured in through the large set of windows that consumed an entire wall of the office. The others occupied themselves quietly as they waited for the director of Atlas to speak.

The man sat behind his desk. His wiry hands were clasped together tightly, and his lips formed a taut line as he glared at his fingernails. Oscar noticed his entire demeanor seemed hesitant. There was something he was holding from them. And judging from what Apex called the man earlier, they were missing some pretty important background info.

''So...'' Oscar trailed off. ''That was weird back there right?''

Everyone nodded and mumbled in agreeance. They were still stunned from what happened. Exhaling, the fire-throwing teen slouched into his seat. Chase, who opted not to sit and instead leaned against the window, snorted. He cut his glare to Director Shaw. His blue eyes crackled like embers of a fire.

''We need answers, sir.''

Oscar pointed his thumb at the blond. ''What Goldilocks said.''

Shaw sighed but nodded. ''I suppose this situation does warrant an explanation.''

Emily laughed. ''You think?'' The man shook his head at her. ''So, is that psycho ninja really your soon? Because if so, you've got one fucked up kid.''

''Emily,'' Stella warned.

''What? I'm not wrong.''

The director of Atlas nodded. An aura of shame formed a cage around him. Rubbing his forehead, he let out a dejected sigh.

''I didn't want to believe it was him," he said, his voice quavering. ''A couple of years ago when Kismet first became active, I received reports about a Prime with activated abilities working for them. At first, I was led to believe it was just some mercenary that Kane somehow managed to infect with the Primonium but after further investigation, I realized that wasn't the case.''

Oscar remembered the name Shaw called Apex earlier. He couldn't help but notice the similarities between the name of the man's other child, Victoria. He almost snorted at his terrible children-naming skills.

Though, he figured the similarities in their names was fitting. They did share certain personality traits; both were colder than a frozen tundra in Antarctica and were more badass than the villain in an action movie. The only difference was that Victoria was much cuter than her brother. But if the crazy genes ran in the family, he wasn't sure if he wanted any part in that.

''How old is Baby Shaw anyways?''

''It's Victor. And he's twenty-five.''

Theo tilted his head at the man. ''Wait, then how old are you then? Like, sixty? Seventy?'' The group stifled their laughs. Oscar wasn't sure if his questions were meant to be comical or if they were serious. Either way, he enjoyed the bewildered look they elicited from Director Shaw.

''I don't look that old do I?" Director Shaw rubbed his weathered face.

Oscar wondered if there were any more members to the Shaw family that he should know about. He didn't want any more teleporting ninjas showing up out of nowhere. He'd experienced enough of that to last him a lifetime. He glanced at the man's hand in search of a ring. A wedding band sat coiled around his ring finger.