by Amy Gamet
Cowboy talked into his microphone. “Hawk can you make a kill shot from twelve hundred yards?”
“I’m not a sniper, Cowboy.”
“I can do it,” said Logan.
Cowboy met his stare.
Hawk’s voice came over their earpieces. “Logan’s a better shot than I am.”
Cowboy narrowed his eyes. “Twelve hundred yards.”
“Wind out of the northwest, eight miles an hour. I can make it, Leo.” He held out his hand for the high powered rifle. “I’ve got your six.”
Cowboy put the gun in Logan’s hand and nodded his head once. “Going in the front door.”
“Right.”
Logan turned around, quickly spotting a tree he could climb for some height. By the time he got up there and turned around, Leo was gone. He pulled out his binoculars and night vision goggles, easily spotting the HERO Force men. He got into position, scanning the windows for any sign of Royce.
31
Royce left the room nearly an hour ago, leaving Gemma in front of the window like a mannequin on display.
Don’t fall for it, Logan.
She didn’t know where Royce had gone, but she knew he was using her to lure the HERO Force team to her rescue, and he would do everything in his power to ensure none of them survived.
She bit her lip. Her left arm was completely numb from her shoulder down to her thumb. Her right she could still feel, the nerve endings screaming with pain.
A dog growled from the hallway and her head whipped around. It was a large breed, dark brown, and it was baring it’s teeth. She was terrified of any dog bigger than Cocker Spaniel, and that was when her hands were free to defend herself.
“Nice doggie,” she whispered. “Good boy.”
The dog barked ferociously, his jaws chomping, and she squealed with fright.
Royce called in the distance, “Just ignore fluffy. He’s here to greet our guests.”
“Are they here?” she asked.
“The helicopter arrived forty minutes ago. I’m surprised they haven’t made their grand entrance yet. Surely they can see the merchandise I have to offer.”
The growling dog got closer and barked again. “Please Royce, get it away from me!”
He didn’t answer.
The slightest noise came from the window and she turned back the other way. There it was again, pelting the glass like hail or loud rain. A small light flashed outside, like someone waking their cell phone.
They’re here.
Her breathing sped up, so afraid was she for the men outside.
Please don’t let me hyperventilate again.
The dog suddenly darted for the window and began to bark consistently. Fear made her want to throw up, but she called the dog to her side as cheerfully as she could muster. “Come here, boy. Come on! What’s your name? Are you hungry?”
“Leave him alone!” Royce yelled.
She stared into the black window, pantomiming that she could hear him yelling. The dog growled at her some more and got right up next to her leg, drool hanging from his chops.
“Good boy,” she whispered, certain he would latch those sharp teeth onto her skin at any moment. But Logan was outside somewhere, and she had to keep Royce from finding out.
The doorbell rang.
The dog went nuts, barking and running toward it.
Royce appeared in the hallway with what looked like a small machine gun. “They never cease to amaze, do they?”
He seemed to be considering what to do next. The doorbell rang again, making the dog bark with renewed fervor.
“Get the door,” said Royce.
“Me? I can’t move.”
“I’ll untie you.” He looked at the tall windows, then turned off the lights and crossed to her. The bell continued to ring as he worked unfastened her wrists. “Undo your ankles.”
“I can’t feel my arms.”
“You’re not trying to be helpful!”
“I’m sorry…”
He bent down in front of her chair to undo them himself. With the room dark, she could see outside the window to the lawn and the trees beyond it.
HERO Force wouldn’t send all its men to the front door. Someone was hanging back, covering with others. She closed her eyes and prayed. If he had night vision goggles, he might be able to see into the house.
The moment her ankles were free, she threw herself on the floor. The dog ran to her, biting at her clothes and skin, and she screamed.
“Get up!” yelled Royce. He moved to her, trying to pull her to a stand, but she evaded him. He stood. “You’re making this difficult. Get up and the dog will leave you alone.”
A small sound rang out like the glass falling on Logan’s countertop.
Royce fell to the ground, but she couldn’t see him. “Royce?” she called. The dog was quiet now, licking something. And then she smelled blood.
Forcing her tingling legs to bear weight, she hobbled to the light switch and turned it on. Royce was facedown on the carpet, a pool of blood spreading around him, the dog licking it up.
She spun around and yelled as loudly as she could. “Royce is dead! I’m opening the door. It’s Gemma!” She unlocked it and the men swarmed in.
“Good work, Doc,” said Logan into his mic. “You got him.” His eyes went to Gemma’s. “She’s fine. Come on down.”
32
Logan O’Malley was chasing an invisible man.
“C’mon, you motherfucker. Come out where I can see you.” He leaned forward, his face only inches from his screen, fingers punching out commands in a staccato rhythm that was second nature to his brain.
Hundreds of lines of code scrolled down the screen, his eyes scanning the familiar words and variable strings like an interpreter scanning a document in a foreign language. His stomach growled but he ignored it, his foot tapping incessantly on the floor.
He’d been sitting here for hours, following the labyrinth back to it’s beginning, stalking the one person who didn’t want to be found.
Austin rolled his chair over next to Logan’s, peering over his shoulder. “I got me one of them Minecraft accounts. You play Minecraft?”
Logan shushed him. “I’ve almost got this son of a bitch.” His mind was unravelling the invisible man’s method of attack, following the clues that led back to the all-important lines of code capable of undermining an entire company.
The directory. It must be hidden in the file structure itself.
He delved deeper.
“My niece wants me to build shit with her,” said Austin. “Bunkers and battlefields and tanks and crap. When did girls stop playing with Barbie dolls?”
Noah piped up from across the room, where he sat cleaning his gun. “They still play with Barbie dolls, but they kick some ass before they put on their little plastic shoes and let Ken take them out for dinner.”
Austin cocked his head. “I’ll bet you Ken never got laid. He looks like the kind of dude chicks string along for years before giving it away to some musician in a closet backstage.”
“Or a Navy SEAL,” said Noah.
The men laughed.
“Shut up,” said Logan, narrowing his eyes. It was here somewhere. Everything pointed to this directory. He typed a series of commands, his whole screen filling up with code.
“The limiting strand is pointing to a wildcard value,” he said.
Yes!
There it was. The needle in the haystack, the one line of code that didn’t belong. Logan let out a loud whoop. “Gotcha, you stupid son of a bitch.”
He opened a new screen and began typing, his fingers flying across the keys. One small program to set his trap. Another line of code to close it on the invisible man, shut it down, lock him out forever.
Or at least until he came back to life as someone else, found another way in. But that was a problem for another day. “Take that, you motherfucker.” He hit enter and flew backwards on his wheeled chair, watching the next sequence unfold in real time.
USER DELE
TED appeared on row after row, the screen scrolling until it was filled with them. He raised both arms and hollered in victory. Austin and Noah clapped lamely behind him.
Jax entered the room and leaned on Logan’s desk, crossing his arms over his chest. “All done playing Dungeons and Dragons?”
Logan pointed to the screen. “That was not a game. That was me putting the nails in the coffin of the Yakimoto assignment. Not only did I find their hacker, I traced him back to his server and dismantled his entire line of attack.”
Logan rolled over to a sleek printer and pulled off a sheet of paper. “Gary Fitzsimmons. A computer programmer for AuCen Corp, Yakimoto’s biggest competitor.”
Jax took the paper and shook his head. “Nice work, Doc. We didn’t expect to nail this guy so quickly.”
“I think you ought to buy me lunch.”
“I’ll do one better. I’ve got a bottle of whiskey in the conference room.”
“Can we come too, boss?” asked Austin. “Me and Noah here were instrumental in the computer hacking thing-a-ma-bobber.”
“Yeah,” said Noah. “I held his mouse pad.”
Jax shook his head. “Come on, you boneheads. Relax for a few. We’re going wheels up the day after tomorrow. Got a cult in the mountains of Idaho we’ve got to infiltrate.”
“Idaho’s got mountains?” asked Noah, making Austin snort.
Logan walked around the bend, the glass wall of the conference room coming into view, all the members of HERO Force standing around a cake, the room decorated with pink and blue balloons.
“Ashley thought we should throw you a baby shower,” said Jax. “We figured since it’s the only thing she’s done for us is reproduce, she should have the honors.”
A big, goofy grin took over Logan’s face. “You shouldn’t have, guys.”
A bleached blonde with long curly hair opened her arms wide. “Congratulations! I’m Ashley. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks.” He furrowed his brow. “Do you work here?”
She bobbed her head. “I went out on maternity leave a few days after Jax hired me. Bedrest. You guys were all in Kabul or something.”
“Okay. Well, thanks for the party.”
“You’re just going to love being a parent,” she said.
Logan sat down in front of a cake decorated with tiny combat boots, one pink and one blue. The background was pink and blue camouflage. “This is awesome.”
Charlotte threw her arms around Cowboy’s neck and settled herself on his lap. “Two more weeks, brother boy, and I get to be an aunt.”
“And I’m going to be a father.”
“How’s Gemma doing?”
“Good. Great.”
Crappy.
“She’s just glowing.”
Like a scary Jack-o-lantern who hates me.
“You’re going to make a great dad.” Charlotte leaned forward and hugged him, squishing Logan’s head right next to Cowboy’s.
“Oh, you made it!” Charlotte exclaimed.
Logan turned around to see Gemma standing in the doorway. He crossed to her and hugged her, her belly pressing into his.
“I’m so glad you’re here!” said Ashley.
Gemma leaned into Logan’s chest, whispering in his ear, “Who is that?”
“Apparently she works here. Her name is Ashley.”
“So nice to meet you,” said Ashley, throwing her arms around Gemma.
“Oh, please. Please, get off me.”
Jax walked over and hugged Gemma. “You’re looking good, kid.”
Gemma burst out crying.
Logan’s eyes went wide. Jax patted him on the shoulder. “Any day now, Doc.”
“I’m sorry,” Gemma wailed. “I didn’t want to ruin your party. But I wasn’t feeling well and the doctor had me come in, and my blood pressure’s a little high and they’re going to induce me…”
“When?” asked Charlotte.
“Now. Right now.” She gestured down the hall with her thumb. “They made me come in a wheelchair.”
“Oh my God!” Logan panicked. “Stay here. I’ll get he wheelchair and we’ll go.”
“It’s just next door, Logan. They let me borrow an orderly.”
“No, I’m going to push you. I’m going to push. That’s the least I can do. Are we ready? Should we go? Are we ready?”
Gemma started to cry again.
He grabbed her shoulders. “What’s the matter, honey?”
She sniveled. “I really wanted some cake.”
33
Gemma got up from the rocker and put baby Ian into his crib. He was sound asleep, his mouth open in a perfect cupid’s bow.
She tiptoed from the room, closing the door quietly behind her and walking through the apartment to Logan’s chair in his solitary circle of light.
He looked up when she got there. “Is he sleeping?”
She nodded.
“I thought you said you were tired.”
“I am.” She took a deep breath. “But I want you to sleep with me.”
“Are you sure? I mean, can we…is it time?”
She nodded. She walked to the bed with him right behind her, more nervous than a virgin on her wedding night. She pulled back the covers and slipped inside. He crawled in beside her, opening his arms for her to curl against his side.
She rested her head on his chest and his arm came around her back, gently stroking. Her knee slipped between his legs, as naturally as if it belonged there.
He felt so good in her arms after so much time, and the natural distance that came with new parenthood. Her hand explored his muscled chest, then up to his shoulder, her nails lightly scraping their way down his arm. He moaned deep in his throat and grabbed her wrist.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said. “We can just cuddle if you want.”
She lifted her face to his. “I want to.” She looked at his lips. “I never stopped wanting to.” They kissed, his arm tightening around her back, and she moved on top of him. She took control of their kiss, gently tasting him and sucking on his bottom lip. She could feel his growing erection beneath her, and her hips moved against him suggestively.
In the six weeks since they’d become a family, every one of her defenses had fallen away. Where she once thought Logan was too young, he was now simply her baby’s father, and she knew Ian was lucky to have such a wonderful role model.
His mouth moved to the column of her neck, lightly sucking, teasing her skin, and her breath caught in her throat. She sat up, sliding her hands and beneath his shirt and pushing the fabric up until he pulled it over his head.
She lifted her own shirt and threw it to the floor. His hands came up and squeezed her breasts before unhooking her bra and pulling it down her arms.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, sitting up to kiss her.
She pushed him back down. “I love you, Logan.”
He held her face in his hands. “I love you, too.”
“I’m sorry it took me so long to say. I was so emotional with the baby, and so scared we were together for the wrong reasons. But now, I look at you a hundred times in a day and that’s the only thing that goes through my mind. I love you.”
“I’ve loved you since the first night you spent with me.”
“I know.” She knelt between his legs and freed him from his briefs, taking him into her mouth and making him gasp.
She climbed up his body and straddled him, holding him at the entrance to her body and slowly sinking down on top of him.
He rolled her over and held himself above her. “Is it okay?”
“Yes.”
He thrust into her deeply, piercing the armor she’d used to surround herself from his love.
After they’d exhausted themselves, the shadows of the loft came back into view, their labored breathing perfectly in synch. She kissed his damp temple. “I’m glad you’re here with me,” she whispered.
He kissed her collarbone, slowly moving over to the curve of
her shoulder. “And I always will be.”
Austin is separated from HERO Force on a mission to recover a young woman from a dangerous cult.
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Amy Gamet
