NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team

by Chelsea Handcock

  “Nope, she’s currently underground, but as with all bad seeds, she’ll surface, eventually.”

  Peyton got comfortable with her new surroundings, but even that couldn’t distract her from the fact that Wyatt and Cash hadn’t called in yet. She’d been on the ground for over four hours. They should have checked in an hour ago. The weather was starting to break, only adding to Peyton’s tension. They only had about an hour before their window was gone. Peyton decided to move forward without Wyatt. She also needed to focus.

  Everyone was on com units. “Okay, listen,” Peyton announced, “I would really like to wait for Wyatt, but the weather isn’t cooperating. Bas, you’re going to take down the grid. Tory, I want you to hack the intercoms and system responses. I’m going to hack security, environmental, and the lower level payloads. Ryleigh, give us a go time in five minutes. Tory, you and I need to be out in less than five minutes from when the generators take over power. Ryleigh, we set you up with a program. Once the generator goes down, you’ll be able to watch for it to come back up. Keep a clock on it and warn Tory and me when we reach each minute mark, okay? Tory, I know you’re probably freaking out. Wyatt was supposed to do this with you piggy backing him, but we don’t have a choice. If this weather breaks, then Davis will know and be better able to defend themselves on Friday.”

  “Fuck, I’m good, but tech is more my thing,” Tory said. “I don’t hack at the caliber the rest of you do. Don’t you think Bas should take my place?”

  “No, we don’t have time to teach you how to take down the grid,” Peyton replied. “This needs to happen now.” Finally, Peyton saw Wyatt come online, and the phone rang.

  “Wyatt, oh my god, what happened? You were supposed to have already been in place an hour ago, did you guys run into trouble?”

  “No trouble, unless you count the weather,” Wyatt responded. “We had to get to a higher elevation before I could connect with you guys. Just so you know, the van is out. Cash and I are doing this from thirty-five thousand feet.”

  “You guys are still on the plane?”

  “Yep, had no choice. We need to hurry. The weather is brutal up here. Cash said we have less than fifteen minutes before he’s going to have to land plane down.”

  “Okay everyone, go time in three minutes,” Peyton announced. “Back to the original plan. Tory, you’re looking for a backdoor; the compiler Wyatt designed should help. Okay everyone, let your fingers fly and watch your backs.”

  The operation went off without a hitch. That, however, concerned the group even more. Peyton had hacked this company before and had problems. Why was this little expedition so easy? Something didn't feel right.

  “Tory, you need to download the information you got from the compiler,” Peyton instructed. “Upload it to me. Wyatt, are you and Cash able to get to your safe house?”

  “No can-do baby, we’re going to have to wing it,” Wyatt revealed. “I have a feeling we weren’t as unnoticed as we had hoped.”

  “Wyatt, were you tracked?” Peyton almost freaked.

  Pounding the keyboard, Peyton tried to determine if Wyatt’s system had any problems. The weather was messing with the satellite, and she wasn’t able to do a remote link up. When the phone went dead and Wyatt disappeared from the connection, her imagination went into overdrive. She started to hack into the FAA system when Declan put a hand on her shoulder.

  “No, sweetheart, give them time to figure out what’s going on. If Davis was able to track Wyatt and Cash all the way in Alaska, we’re sitting ducks in their backyard. Shut everything down. Once we get back to the safe house, you can start up again.”

  Peyton began to argue. She needed to know Wyatt was okay, but then she realized Tory and Bastian weren’t on their coms anymore either. Shit, had Davis pinpointed all of them? No way, she was careful.

  “Bastian, Tory, come in,” Peyton screamed into her headgear.

  No answer. Picking up her phone, she dialed her brother. No answer. Then she tried both Ryleigh and Tory. Again, there was no answer. What had she done? These people had trusted her. Had she just screwed them all?

  “Incoming, sweetheart, buckle up,” Senior warned.

  For the next twenty minutes, he weaved in and out of heavily snow-covered roads. They finally thought they lost their tail, but suddenly a semi jack-knifed, barely missing them. Peyton was freaked. No way should they have been found this fast. Something wasn’t adding up. It was almost like Davis knew their plan. I mean, how could they have agents in four places around the country? Shit, had she underestimated her prey? This should have been easy, no fuss no muss. She assumed they all were made. How? Only Alpha Team and Tory knew their plan.

  “Okay, honey, change of plans,” Declan declared. “We were made. I’m not sure how, but it’s a fact. I know of another safe house, but it’s going to take a couple of hours to get there. During that time, we need to go dark. No communications. Shut down all your equipment. Take the sim card out of your phone and power it down. Here,” he said, hanging Peyton his phone, “do the same to mine.”

  Peyton was shocked when Declan then ripped the cord out of the GPS and threw the entire unit out the window. Damn, he was either really pissed or very intelligent or maybe both. Had they been back-hacked? No way, one of them would have noticed. Bastian was watching specifically for that. Could it be that simple?

  “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. There’s a truck stop about twenty miles from here and my recon showed it’s usually really busy. We need to swap out vehicles. Something isn’t right. We were made way too quick for my liking. Once we get a new vehicle, we need to get to the safe house, and you need to get to work, little girl. I want to know how these fuckers found all of us. We’re aware Cash and Wyatt were in trouble, but Bas, Ryleigh, and Tory were just cut off. I’m hoping it was the weather, but fuck, we don’t know anything, and that really pisses me off.”

  “This is all my fault. I must have missed something,” Peyton cried.

  “Now, listen here, we don’t know anything yet. Save the self-incrimination stuff for later. Fuel your fire, little girl, we have people out there who need our help. You need to remember, these are all trained operatives. They know how to get out of sticky situations. You’re...”

  Yeah, Declan didn’t need to say it. Peyton was the only non-operative in the group. She sat behind a computer screen to do her thing. The others actually worked in the field. Lord, she hoped they were all okay.

  “Declan, we need to find a busy restaurant or coffee shop with Wi-Fi. I want to run some tests before we go to your safe house. Something isn’t sitting right with me about how all this went down. Is it SOP for everyone to go dark when an operation goes bad?”

  “Sometimes, not always. Why, what are you thinking?” Declan questioned.

  “Well, we know Cash and Wyatt were in the air and already dealing with inclement weather. It could have been as simple as that, but with the rest of the group being cut off and our little run-in on the highway, I think we were the target. How did you fly into Detroit?”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I assure you my flight plan was not filed, and there’s no record of me on any passenger manifest.”

  At first, Peyton was puzzled then she gasped, “You came in as a dragon?”

  “Yep, and trust me. I wasn’t made. No UFO sightings or anything,” Declan laughed.

  “Oh, that’s so cool. I would’ve loved to see that. I have so many questions, like what color are you? How big is your dragon, do you actually breathe fire, or is that a myth? Are there more of your kind? Do...”

  “Okay sweetheart,” Declan laughed, “all good questions. Maybe one day I’ll show you, but right now, we have to figure out what’s going on.”

  “Sorry, Declan,” Peyton blushed, “it’s just, well, you’re a dragon.”

  “Yeah, honey, I know, been one my entire life.”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry.”

  “Okay, let’s find your coffee shop.”

  “The more hipster, t
he better,” Peyton said. “Head toward Ann Arbor. If we can get lost in the college crowd, it’ll help.”

  “You got it.”

  Once they made it to the University of Michigan campus, with the inclement weather, the college students seemed to be enjoying a rare day off from classes. Peyton grabbed her laptop. When Declan went to follow, she stopped him.

  “Sir, no offense, but I need to be as inconspicuous as possible, and, well, with your size and general demeanor, we might have a problem with that aspect.”

  “Why, Peyton, are you saying I’m too old to hang out in a college town?”

  “Well, no Sir, age really never came to my mind, but you are intimidating and...”

  “I get it, sweetheart,” Declan laughed and pulled a small object out of his pocket, handing it to Peyton.

  “I assume this is one of Ethan’s designs,” Declan observed. “Wyatt uploaded his tracking software on it. I won’t be far, but I need to ditch this van. How long do you need to do your thing?”

  “Oh, this is pretty,” Peyton said, admiring the pin in her hands. It was understated, but beautiful and went surprisingly well with her coat. Ryleigh had told her about some of Ethan’s toys, and she felt honored to be wearing one. But Peyton also wondered if it had a mini machine gun or something disguised in it. It took every bit of her willpower to pin it on her coat and not play with it to find out.

  “I only need about twenty minutes.”

  “Okay, if you run into trouble, push the blue stone. I’ll know you’re in trouble and come running, intimidating everyone in my wake,” Declan laughed, making that weird villain noise from cartoons.

  Peyton really liked him. Declan Quinn was intimidating, but kind. The more she got to know him, the more she wished she had a father like him, not some unknown volunteer sperm donor or worse, unwilling donor. A thought for another time; she was good at that. When unpleasant thoughts or feelings happened, she stored them away for later examination. Unfortunately, that time rarely ever came. Sometimes, it was better to go with the flow and not deal with all the bullshit in her life. Better to focus on the here and now rather than the past. It was her motto because the here and now had a tendency to suck when Judy Carlton was your pseudo-mother.

  Declan surprised Peyton when he kissed her on the cheek and said to be careful. This was a genuinely good man, and Peyton could see why he was so respected by his men and others. She had done her research when Bastian joined NAC, and the man standing before her hadn’t let her down, something only Bastian and his brothers ever had the honor of in the past. Now she could include Wyatt in that group as well. The man she knew, without a doubt, she was meant to be with for the rest of her life. Was that thought normal or even sane? No, but she felt it, and that’s all that mattered.

  Blending into the college crowd, Peyton made her way to a popular coffee shop. The cold weather was making the place crowded, which was just what she wanted. Grabbing a coffee, she found a seat and found a victim. Damn, people should be more careful with their computer security. Jumping on to CollegeGirl69—how original—Peyton did what had always come naturally to her, navigate the web. Going through backdoors and stalking her prey, low and behold, she found the leak.

  It was her. How could she have been so stupid? Grabbing another unsuspecting college kid’s IP, Jock12Inch—again, how original—she contacted the group. Bastian, Tory, and Ryleigh first. They were all freaked out, but she explained what had happened, chastising herself for not figuring it out sooner and preventing it from happening in the first place. Then she made contact with the one person she’d hoped to never let down, Wyatt.

  “What the fuck happened? Where are you? Are you okay?” he typed.

  “I'm all right. Are you and Cash okay?”

  “Yeah, bad weather. But when the lines went dead, and I couldn’t get ahold of you, shit baby, I think you took ten years off my life. What the hell happened?”

  “Judy.”

  “What do you mean, Judy? As in Judy Carlton, how the hell did she find you up north?”

  “I’m not sure, but I found her and the suits on one of the traffic cams. Wyatt, they were less than one hundred feet from Declan and me when I got off the plane.”

  “Where are you, baby?”

  “Coffee shop on a college campus. I don’t know how she did it, Wyatt, I was so careful.”

  “Doesn’t matter, baby, you need to wipe your computer. Go to the bathroom and get rid of all your clothes, everything. You could have a tracker on your person. We never checked. Fuck, how could I be so stupid? The bunker was probably safe because it’s entirely off the grid, but as soon as you entered the general populace, they had you.

  “Do you have anything that Judy may have given you that you still wear, jewelry or something? Or maybe something she could have gotten her hands on recently. You said she stayed away for years, but she always knew where you were, how?”

  “Shit, how could I be so stupid?” Peyton gasped as she typed. “She gave me a necklace when I was a little girl. I’ve never taken it off. Do you think it has a tracker in it? It would explain a lot. But shit, that was years ago.”

  “I don’t know, honey, but you need to get rid of it and everything else. Where’s Senior? Never mind, do what I said and get out of there. Shit, baby, if I don’t hear from you in the next fifteen minutes… Fuck this mission. I’m coming to you. Get me?”

  “No, Wyatt, we need to get this done. This mission is important. Now that I know it wasn’t Davis who interfered, we still need to go with the plan. I’ll do what you said. The college bookstore is next door. I can get some clothes, get out of here, meet up with Declan, and plan our next move. Please, stay where you are. I’ll contact you as soon as I can.”

  “What do you mean meet up with Declan, isn’t he with you? Fuck, screw this, Peyton. I won’t have you in danger.”

  “Sorry, Wyatt, we don’t have much of choice. Please, I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  Peyton disconnected. Just as she went through the connecting doors to the bookstore, she looked over her shoulder and noticed, yep, the suits had traced her. Shit. Ripping the necklace Judy had given her off her neck, she bumped into a brute of a man and dropped it in his coat pocket. Hiding behind a rack of clothes, she watched as he left the building. Shortly after, the suits followed. She wanted to do a fist pump, but she knew better.

  Grabbing some college gear, she made her way to the counter. Thankfully, Wyatt had insisted she carry some cash. Going back to the coffee house, she made her way to the bathroom and almost cried when she had to say goodbye to her precious laptop. Wiping it and then dismantling it, she put the hard drive in the toilet. After taking the damaged piece from the toilet, she smashed it; no chance of data retrieval.

  Exiting the bathroom with her new gear, Peyton was happy to see Declan walking her way. He must have noticed something was wrong because he opened his arms, and she walked right into then.

  “What happened, Peyton? Why did you change your clothes, and where’s the rest of your stuff?”

  “Can we just get out of here?” Peyton sniffled. “The suits are on to us.”

  “Shit, come on, sweetheart.”

  When they exited the coffee shop, Peyton noticed the one thing that scared her the most. Judy was standing at the corner, looking for her. If anyone could pick her out of a crowd, it was Judy.

  “I see her, sweetheart,” Declan spoke quietly. “Just stay next to me and everything will be okay.”

  They walked at a leisurely pace when all Peyton wanted to do was run. Declan guided her to an SUV parked on the road. Opening the passenger side door, he guided her in.

  “Honey, why don’t you put that hood up and scrunch down a bit. We’re going to have to drive right past her.”

  Peyton wasn’t sure if Judy had seen her, but Declan seemed to be sure, so Peyton was relieved. She started to explain to Declan about the necklace and what she believed happened. She needed to check out some more things, but that would have to w
ait. They needed to get to a computer store and a safe place for her to do her thing.

  They made their way to an outdoor mall which had a big box electronics store, and once they made the purchases Peyton needed on Declan’s credit card, he drove them to a quiet little neighborhood and into a driveway. Peyton would have questioned him, but didn’t need to, Declan knew what he was doing.

  Chapter 16

  Wyatt was at his wit's end, Peyton had yet to call him back.

  “Cash, we need to get the fuck out of here and head to Michigan.”

  “Dude, first off, there’s no way we’re getting out of here anytime soon,” Cash declared. “Shit, we barely made it out of the air the first time. With gale force winds and the fucking blizzard that’s bearing down on us, we’re grounded until at least tomorrow night. Secondly, what the fuck happened? You said you talked to Peyton. What changed?”

  “Shit, man, I told her to call me back, and she hasn’t. It’s been a fucking hour. She could be in danger. I need to go to her. I knew this was a bad idea. I should have stayed with her. Peyton isn’t trained for fieldwork. I mean, shit, she could be hurt, captured, or worse. I can’t just sit here and hope everything is okay. I need to fucking do something, man. I can’t lose her, I just fucking found her.”

  “Dude, shit, why the fuck are you acting like Bas’ little sister is your mate or something? You two just met.”

  “That’s because she is my fucking mate.” Wyatt bared his neck to Cash, not in submission, but to show him the mating mark.

  “Okay, shit man, ah congratulations. But, dude, there isn’t anything we can do, we’re grounded. If I could sprout wings and fly you to her, I would. But man, we’re stuck here. She’s with Senior, and he won’t let anything happen to her, and you know it. If Jessie were alive, I would trust Declan with her life.”

  “But that’s the fucking thing, Cash. Right before she disconnected, she said she wasn’t with Senior. What if something happened? What if they got to her?”

  “Dude, you’re not thinking straight. Senior would have found a way to contact all of us if Peyton was in danger. He hasn’t, so you have to believe that she’s not. Shit, no one knows she’s your mate, but she is Bas’ little sister and that makes her family. By the way, how are you going to break the news to Bas? I mean, you’re doing his little sister.”