net was the hotbed of information she’d spent the past couple of years exploring, infiltrating, and using to destroy Conver and his crew. It’d taken her a few months to discover the data network she wanted—one where lower level minions within Conver’s crew communicated in an intricate code. Last week she’d finally found the mother lode. ARES' data sites.
Conver’s legendary pride and gloating over his supremacy made this discovery a goldmine. There were recordings of past facilities and current ones. Documents, recorded conversations, and directives. She’d just discovered this new sector of the network last week. It had been why she left Chicago to find some focus.
But this couldn’t be what made Conver nervous. No. This was his trophy wall and his CYA all rolled into one convenient data portal, backing up conversations with senators and governors. Admirals in the military. It was a treasure trove of who’s who in the twisted ARES world, but very little of this was unknown by the SEO. Most of the files were from the timespan that they’d all been in captivity, forced to do the general’s bidding.
That meant there was something specific Conver didn’t want the SEO to know. All she had to do was figure out what.
* * * * *
Something was wrong. Dagan dragged his chair closer to Devyn. Her skin was clammy beneath his touch, her face pale, and her eyes glazed over. His gut twisted when he checked his watch. One hour, twelve minutes.
Without remorse, he grabbed her cell phone and thumbed through the numbers. Anyone in her network could probably ease his mind, but he’d met Dare. He might have issues with the son of a bitch being too close to her, but that made him the perfect one to set him straight.
“It’s about time you called in. I’ve a good mind to take you over my knee for this bullshit.”
“Touch her and you die,” Dagan growled into the phone.
“What the fuck?”
“Read me in on this thing she does. She went in over an hour ago, whatever the hell that means. I’ve gotta say, man, I’m not feeling the love for her ability.”
“Wait. She went in?” Shouts rose from a distance. He heard voices in the background.
A soft feminine voice whispered into the phone. “Hello?”
“Who’s this?”
“Mia. Erm, can you tell me what you said to piss him off? I haven’t seen him like this since before we got out. Not even Doctor Lang got him this worked up.” She paused briefly. Her voice lowered, filled with shock. “He threw a chair, and it blew Cadence’s backup computer to hell. She’s not happy.”
That explained the civil war playing out in the background. “This is Dagan. I’m with Devyn. I need intel on her ability. She went in a little over an hour ago, and I don’t like how pale she’s gotten.”
“Oh. This isn’t good.” A rustling sounded through the phone. A couple moments of silence descended. “Sorry, I had to get to another room so he couldn’t hear me. I don’t want to make it worse. Devyn isn’t supposed to ever go in without one of us around. It’s too dangerous.”
“How so?” Dagan checked her pulse.
“Time ceases to exist for her when she’s in, and she forgets to monitor her health. She gets so absorbed in the web woven around her she doesn’t listen to her body and pull out. She takes risks.” Mia sighed. “Rider’s always with her. Always. He’s a telepath, like you.
“We work it as a team. See, I’m an empath so I can monitor her emotions and stuff. Cadence is an audiopath so she can tunnel through the networks and pick up on any auditory bits that may be viable. It clues us in to unforeseeable risks sometimes. If we get wind of trouble, Rider gets involved.”
“I see.”
“Sounds like maybe you’re a bit upset with her. Now you get why Rider lost his shit when we found out why she’d gone AWOL last week.”
Was this woman really psychoanalyzing him by
Conver’s legendary pride and gloating over his supremacy made this discovery a goldmine. There were recordings of past facilities and current ones. Documents, recorded conversations, and directives. She’d just discovered this new sector of the network last week. It had been why she left Chicago to find some focus.
But this couldn’t be what made Conver nervous. No. This was his trophy wall and his CYA all rolled into one convenient data portal, backing up conversations with senators and governors. Admirals in the military. It was a treasure trove of who’s who in the twisted ARES world, but very little of this was unknown by the SEO. Most of the files were from the timespan that they’d all been in captivity, forced to do the general’s bidding.
That meant there was something specific Conver didn’t want the SEO to know. All she had to do was figure out what.
* * * * *
Something was wrong. Dagan dragged his chair closer to Devyn. Her skin was clammy beneath his touch, her face pale, and her eyes glazed over. His gut twisted when he checked his watch. One hour, twelve minutes.
Without remorse, he grabbed her cell phone and thumbed through the numbers. Anyone in her network could probably ease his mind, but he’d met Dare. He might have issues with the son of a bitch being too close to her, but that made him the perfect one to set him straight.
“It’s about time you called in. I’ve a good mind to take you over my knee for this bullshit.”
“Touch her and you die,” Dagan growled into the phone.
“What the fuck?”
“Read me in on this thing she does. She went in over an hour ago, whatever the hell that means. I’ve gotta say, man, I’m not feeling the love for her ability.”
“Wait. She went in?” Shouts rose from a distance. He heard voices in the background.
A soft feminine voice whispered into the phone. “Hello?”
“Who’s this?”
“Mia. Erm, can you tell me what you said to piss him off? I haven’t seen him like this since before we got out. Not even Doctor Lang got him this worked up.” She paused briefly. Her voice lowered, filled with shock. “He threw a chair, and it blew Cadence’s backup computer to hell. She’s not happy.”
That explained the civil war playing out in the background. “This is Dagan. I’m with Devyn. I need intel on her ability. She went in a little over an hour ago, and I don’t like how pale she’s gotten.”
“Oh. This isn’t good.” A rustling sounded through the phone. A couple moments of silence descended. “Sorry, I had to get to another room so he couldn’t hear me. I don’t want to make it worse. Devyn isn’t supposed to ever go in without one of us around. It’s too dangerous.”
“How so?” Dagan checked her pulse.
“Time ceases to exist for her when she’s in, and she forgets to monitor her health. She gets so absorbed in the web woven around her she doesn’t listen to her body and pull out. She takes risks.” Mia sighed. “Rider’s always with her. Always. He’s a telepath, like you.
“We work it as a team. See, I’m an empath so I can monitor her emotions and stuff. Cadence is an audiopath so she can tunnel through the networks and pick up on any auditory bits that may be viable. It clues us in to unforeseeable risks sometimes. If we get wind of trouble, Rider gets involved.”
“I see.”
“Sounds like maybe you’re a bit upset with her. Now you get why Rider lost his shit when we found out why she’d gone AWOL last week.”
Was this woman really psychoanalyzing him by
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