by Melody Anne
“Hi Jasmine, it’s Steve. How are you?” Brackish asked.
“Good. What’s going on, Steve? How can I help?” Jasmine replied with clear enthusiasm in her tone.
“We’re going to break into your grandfather’s mansion . . . with his approval, to prove we can. He thinks his security is up to the task. We think otherwise.” He paused for a long moment. “And we don’t ever lose.”
She giggled, excitement clear in her voice. “Oh, Grandpa’s good,” she said. “I’m wondering if I should be on his team or yours.”
That made all of the men laugh again. She was fire and wit, and she’d grow into a fine young woman. She was nearly there.
“He might be good, but we’re better,” Brackish said. With Jasmine on Joseph’s team, though, it would make their job a little harder, but they were up for any challenge. They hadn’t told her the day yet.
“Hmm, I am my grandfather’s favorite . . .” She paused long enough to make them all sweat. Then she laughed again. “But I’m also highly competitive and I’m his favorite because I always do the unexpected.”
“So . . .” Brackish said, waiting for her answer.
“So, I’m in on team ninjas.”
“Team ninjas?” Brackish asked, trying to keep his tone serious, and having a difficult time of it.
“Every team has to have a name,” she said, and they could practically see her rolling her eyes. One second after bringing a woman on their team and they were already being bossed around. It caused more chuckles.
“Okay, we’ll meet at this location,” he said, and rattled off an address. Then he gave her the basics of their plans. She hung up the phone after a gleeful goodbye.
“That girl will go far in life,” Smoke said.
“Have you decided to mentor her?” Chad asked.
“I don’t know. She’s the little sister I never knew I wanted. If all little sisters were that spunky then brothers would complain a lot less.”
“True. She’d really thrive if you took her under your wing.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Chad agreed.
It had been assumed Jasmine would go into the family business, but the team saw something different in her. They saw a warrior. With the proper training she could be one of them. She and Smoke had bonded at the paintball match, and Chad almost felt sorry for any man Jasmine dated because she not only had a father and uncles who’d kill for her, but now she had a former Army Delta Force man who’d interview potential dates. It might just be wiser for Jasmine to be a nun. It certainly would be safer for all of the young men out there.
“Smoke you’re going to make a great father one day,” Eyes taunted him. Smoke didn’t take the bait. He just leaned back.
“I don’t need my own kids. I have plenty of you suckers to lend me some.”
But it was true. Whether Smoke knew it or not, he was already showing his extraordinary paternal tendencies. He’d make a damn fine father, uncle, and godparent. He was meant to teach the next generation.
Chad interrupted them with a laugh. “Ha! Look at this text from Jasmine. I’m loving her transformation from beautiful teen into womanhood.”
“I just ran two fifties in a row, the fastest I’ve had all day. Let’s get this going and kick some major ass!
“Ah, that’s my girl. I’m gonna mold her into the baddest of the bad,” Smoke said.
There was no doubt he’d do just that. Jasmine had just inherited a new uncle and the world had better watch out.
****
Four Days Later
“Mr. Anderson, Mr. Chad Reddington and some of his friends are here to see you,” the butler announced.
Joseph folded the top part of the newspaper he was reading to look at his butler, not sure he’d heard the man correctly. He wasn’t expecting company.
“Say again?” Joseph asked.
“Mr. Reddington and five men are here to see you, sir,” was announced again.
“Please send them in,” Joseph said while standing.
He made his way from the desk that had been with him for decades to the sitting area of his office. Standing near a recliner, he looked around. They wouldn’t announce themselves before trying to break into the house, so he was confused. Coming through the frame of the door in single file the sight was one to behold, one that could most certainly defeat small countries.
“Good day, gentlemen. What brings you to these parts?” Joseph asked.
In between handshakes and seating, Brackish said, “I’ve come to receive my reward.”
Joseph’s head quickly snapped to the far wall of his office. The recognition of the globe sitting on the table created a sense of relief. Then confusion took over.
“What reward? The globe’s still sitting here,” Joseph said, looking over at the object he’d been checking on multiple times a day.
“Is that your globe?” Brackish asked. His eyes opened a little more than normal, indicating that maybe Joseph shouldn’t be so sure about his assessment.
“Maybe you should look,” Sleep prompted.
The men sat, smiles on their faces, looking way too relaxed for Joseph’s liking. Under normal circumstances Joseph would never allow anyone to play him for a fool and it never happened in his own office. So, for him to start to lose confidence in his thinking was unnerving, especially in this environment.
“Joseph, you really should look,” Chad said, giving a head nod toward the globe.
“You’re all insane, I can see it sitting right there,” Joseph huffed but reluctantly rose from his recliner, making his way to the object.
Joseph had put the globe as far from the door as possible, past his desk, in the corner of the room. There were no windows near it, and the only way for someone to retrieve it was to walk completely through the room. He’d even had a CCTV camera put directly on the globe, dedicated to its safety.
The closer Joseph walked to the item the less secure he was in its originality. His pride took a hit well before he reached the table it was sitting on. This wasn’t his globe. Joseph forced himself to walk all the way to it and was surprised at the elementary nature of the poorly painted orb. The only writing on the surface was a little star in the vicinity of Seattle reading you are here next to a gold star.
Joseph muttered under his breath. “Son of a bitch, you guys are unbelievable.” He turned to stare at them in disbelief. “When? How?” Returning to his seat, Joseph placed the replacement globe on the coffee table in the center of them and gave it a little spin.
“This morning at three, I walked in here, switched the globe and walked out. In fact, here’s your globe,” Brackish said as he reached under the couch and pulled out Joseph’s stone globe. Everyone smiled.
“Three in the morning?” Joseph gasped. How could someone walk into his home without knowing about it? He knew right then he was going to give Brackish the keys to the kingdom for the security of his home and recommend to his sons they let him look at the security to their businesses and homes as well — if Brackish wanted the work he’d be busy for years.
“Yes, three in the morning. I was able to break the electronic security protocols fairly easily. Don’t take offense, almost all of the security systems are built the same and when you know how to break one you can break almost all of them. Whoever built yours did a better job than most, but it was still fairly elementary. From there, knowing you had CCTV set up in various locations around the estate I simply went to the server room, re-routed the feed to play on a loop. At that time of night no one would expect there to be anything but darkness and no movement. To your guards, everything would appear normal,” Brackish shared.
“How did you know exactly where it was?” Joseph asked. There was no possible way even Brackish could get through his entire house in an hour.
Brackish smiled. “I had a bit of help.”
“What help?” Joseph asked.
“We recruited Jasmine and she did a stake o
ut.”
Joseph gasped. “Jasmine? My Jasmine,” he thundered.
“Yep, your Jasmine. We think she’s going to be a damn fine spy someday.”
“No, she wouldn’t help,” Joseph insisted.
“Yep, Grandpa, I helped, and I kicked butt. You had no idea. When I was over the other day I did recon and found where you were hiding the globe,” Jasmine said as she entered the room.
Joseph looked stunned, and also impressed. Brackish noted that Jasmine had been right. She certainly was her grandfather’s favorite. He didn’t think that little girl could do anything wrong in her grandpa’s eyes.
“The catch is I think your granddaughter is a former KGB member. No way that girl is eighteen and only getting ready to go to college,” Sleep said with levity.
“What?” Joseph asked, more confused than ever.
“You see, we only asked Jasmine to locate the globe and report back to us. Making us a fake globe to trick you was all on her. She brought in the art supplies in a suitcase and handed it over to me when she reported the location,” Brackish said.
“Are you serious?” Joseph asked, a mixture of pride and frustration at losing on his face.
“Yes, yes he is,” Jasmine said, very proud of herself, as she should be.
“I never thought of you as a spy,” Joseph told her.
“Grandpa, ever since Grandma got hurt I’ve known something big has been going on. I see all of these news reports of drug busts, and big-time dealers getting caught, and the news saying the details to how they were apprehended aren’t available to the public. Anyone can surmise that must mean they don’t know who’s getting the credit because if they knew they’d say. Each of the agencies responsible for things like this love to pat themselves on the back in the news, and since none of them have done that, it makes me think someone out there is doing this without wanting credit. Now, who do I know with enough money and influence to want to help rid the city of drugs all while some super-trooper Greek-god military guys show up together, out of the blue, and are now hanging around you and Chad?” Jasmine asked as calm as could be.
“We…” Joseph started but Jasmine put her hand up, requesting him to pause.
“I said at the hospital the night Grandma was hurt that I’m not a little girl anymore, Grandpa. I know I don’t have years of life experience behind me, but I’m not a fool. I want to help wherever possible. My proposition is that you give Steve whatever he was going to get for obtaining the globe, he does whatever it is that you want him to do, and you both share with me what’s going on,” Jasmine finished.
If the jaws of the men could have hung any lower, they would be tasting the carpet. Each of them was speechless. Impressed but speechless.
Joseph couldn’t help but smile at his granddaughter.
“My love, before another word is said I need you to walk back out that door and close it behind you,” Joseph asked sweetly, and Jasmine did as requested.
Joseph made a quick phone call to his son, Jasmine’s dad, told him the entire situation, to which he laughed hysterically, and then gave his blessing in sharing whatever information Joseph wanted to give, noting that his daughter was a woman now and while he’d do all he could to protect her, it was time to let her take on responsibilities that were much bigger than they’d let her take in the past.
The phone call was disconnected, and Joseph looked at the team before him, asked for their input, and it was Brackish who replied, summing up what they all were thinking. “She’s young, but youth shouldn’t be an instant detraction from allowing information to be shared. Many young men and women have risen to the occasion when faced with large responsibilities. Aside from that, we all know whatever’s shared here, none of us are thinking she’ll be walking into any place that could have any degree of physical danger. Besides, I’m scared of what will happen to us if we say no — she’s scary smart and will probably trail us. It’s smarter to let her know what we’re doing, where we can keep an eye on her.”
“Jasmine,” Joseph called.
Jasmine found her seat next to Smoke again and was told what the men were doing with fighting crime in the city. She wasn’t given deep details, but she was given more than enough to ask question after question after question. Some of them she didn’t receive answers to, others led to more questions.
After a while Joseph turned back to Brackish, still completely in shock they’d managed to get into his home so easily even with the help of his eldest granddaughter.
“How did you get past the guards?” Joseph asked, though he knew the answer to the question before he formulated it.
“If you expect two men to watch over the entirety of your grounds then we should have another conversation. Right, or wrong, the appropriate number of guards you have can only be answered correctly by you. What you’re comfortable with is the only answer there is. None of us sitting here will tell you what to do, we have our own ideas, but the idea of your home coming under physical attack from an outside entity isn’t all that high in my opinion,” Brackish replied.
Joseph sat back, deep into his chair, and went into a part of his mind he hadn’t needed to for quite some time. He questioned the safety of his home and what that meant for Katherine more than anything else. There weren’t many men as good as Brackish, but he made his way into the house with no difficulty at all. He was impressed with the special ops team, but he was also going to fall into a dark mood if he didn’t address this issue immediately.
“I don’t live in a world of fear and don’t think I need to live in a prison in my own home with armed guards stationed every few feet around my property, but I admit when someone is right, and you were right, Steve. You said my security isn’t up to what it should be, that you could easily break in, and you did,” Joseph admitted.
“It isn’t something that brings me joy,” Brackish admitted.
Joseph gave out an exhausted exhale. The year overall had been taxing on him and this was one more burden to think about. Even in his moment of self-pity he laughed at how ridiculous he was being for having the thoughts and emotions while sitting in front of these men who’d been through hell on earth and were still going strong.
Joseph stood, went to his desk, slid a drawer open, pulled out a small pad, walked back to the recliner, started writing on the pad, then tore off the paper and handed it over to Brackish.
“I don’t want you taking any of your time away from the operations currently going on but if you want to start upgrading my security, this is my offer. It’s thirty percent higher than what I currently pay my security team, plus a one hundred percent bonus for bringing this to my attention,” Joseph said.
Without showing any indication if the amount written on the check was more or less than what he thought it should be, Brackish stood, took a step toward Joseph, extended his hand and said, “It’s a deal. When I’m done no one will ever be able to hack into any of your systems ever. If they do, I’ll give you every dime back, plus interest.”
“If any of you’d like to take on the oversight of my physical security, I’m willing to discuss that now as well,” Joseph said, looking over the other men.
“While I shouldn’t speak for the men, I’m going to. I won’t be able to help, I have a career I enjoy very much and I’m building it into something amazing. Green has just started his newest company and he won’t be able to focus on this. Smoke has his own company going as well. I know Brackish will defer to us, not that he couldn’t do it, but his love is in the cyber world and I’m confident that’s where he’ll want to stay. That leaves Sleep, who recently married a hottie, who is also way smarter than he is, and isn’t going to be moving anywhere again any time soon. So, when we complete our task he’s going to be out of a job because as of right now I’m firing him from the one down in SF,” Eyes said with his world-renowned goofball smile.
“That’s true, but I’m still better looking and smarter than you. I get to go to sleep every night kn
owing that truth,” Sleep retorted.
The men laughed, ribbed each other, and enjoyed the fellowship of the moment. There’d be more conversations about the physical security of the Anderson mansion, as well as their other properties, but the rest of their time together that day was one of telling stories and making fun of each other — only in the way that men who trusted each other completely could.
And Jasmine was right there with them. None of them knew what exactly that meant, but they all saw the light in her eyes they’d had at the beginning of their careers. She just might be working with them someday soon.
Chapter Twelve
Mallory felt tension throb through her as she downed her third vodka and cranberry of the evening. She was at a baseball game in an owner’s booth watching as Senator Miller laughed, flirted, and played the dutiful politician, while practically hanging from Hendrick’s arm like an extension of his body.
Dammit!
She never should’ve gone out with him a few days earlier, never should’ve shared with him, laughed with him, and opened herself up to him. She looked at Hendrick Meeks in a whole new light and didn’t like it one little bit. They had a job to do, and she couldn’t do that job if she fell for her partner.
That word stopped her. He wasn’t in the FBI, and he wasn’t her partner. They were only working together. She’d come prepared to the game, knowing he was going to be there, and that the senator had gotten all green lights to pursue the man. She’d been with the senator the day before when she’d been ranting that Hendrick hadn’t called or texted. She was used to men panting at her feet, and Hendrick playing it cool was driving the senator crazy.
It wasn’t as if the senator was in love or even in like with Hendrick, though. She’d had another man brought into her place the night before to “scratch her itch” as she liked to say. That made Mallory realize her own itch hadn’t been scratched in over three years. She might wither up and die if she didn’t have an amazing orgasm with a man worshiping her body real soon. And though she was trying not to look at Hendrick as the man who could get the job done, she just couldn’t help herself.
