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Once upon a time…

Iwas a slacker with a knack for computers. All that changed the minute I “accidentally” hacked my way into a military mainframe.

“Right, right, right!” My eyes darted from one computer monitor to the next, fingers flying across the keyboard. “Hold!” The white stars on the screen froze. “Go.” The stars moved forward at what looked like a crawl across the screen, but in reality, the men they represented were moving at a fast clip.

Augustus—Auggie—was in the lead. He always was, his sharp gaze not missing a thing, and it helped that he had my “eyes” to guide him as well. I did my best work in these kinds of urban settings where I could peek from the cameras dotting their escape route. Julius, Auggie’s twin, watched their six.

“How we looking, Eyes?” That was me; their eyes in the sky. “Are we clear to the extraction point?” Lt. Jason Mearston’s deep timbre reverberated through the headset and into my ears. Fuck. Just hearing his voice made me slick. I squirmed in my seat, bit back a moan, and cleared my throat, double-checking their path before I responded.

Seeing a line of green rectangles and a swarm of red dots to the left, I said, “There’s a convoy two blocks to your left. Three trucks and at least two dozen of their guys. Some riding, some on the ground. Proceed with caution.”

“Always,” he rumbled, and I had to squeeze my ass to keep from leaking. Damn it. I couldn’t run and get a towel until they were safely out of that hot zone.

“Do we need to intercept and destroy?” Vance asked. Fuck, fuck, fuck. His voice was even deeper than Jason’s. Goddamn Alphas were making me horny at the worst possible time. There’d be no relief for me until I was sure they’d make it home. Which actually didn’t make me feel any better, since their home was on the opposite side of the country from me.

I glanced at the red dots/green rectangles, then stared harder, as if I could decipher what they carried based on how the troops were arrayed. The extraction helo was still fifteen minutes out. We had time. “Hold position while I see what I can find out.”

I zoomed in closer to the enemy’s location and hacked into another set of cameras. Open-air flatbed trucks filled my screen. “Holy shit,” I muttered, forgetting Team Evermore could hear me.

“Is that a yes?” Jason growled.

“Maybe,” I whispered. “Hold on while I—” I zoomed in closer to see stacks of crates bearing explosive symbols. “They have an arsenal on those trucks. Destroying them would be a huge setback.”

“Me! Pick me!” Julius—Jules—chuckled. His star bobbed back and forth. A few keystrokes brought them up on a camera feed. Sure enough, Jules was bouncing around with his hand in the air.

“Whataya think, Eyes?” Jason murmured.

“I say you have five minutes. Jules and Auggie for a distraction; you and Vance to blow it the fuck up.”

“I knew these grenade launchers would come in handy,” Vance chortled, handing one to Jason, then hefting the other onto his right shoulder. “Lead the way, Eyes.”

Since the convoy had already passed by parallel to their location, I had them go left and sneak up behind the enemy. As the sounds of multiple explosions echoed through my headset and dual plumes filled one of my screens, Team Evermore hightailed it to the extraction point, arriving just as the helo landed. They jumped aboard, and the helo lifted off the ground. I monitored their progress until they were in the clear, then slumped in my chair.

Hooking into the camera on the helo, I visually checked on my team. Jason looked angry; Vance resigned. Jules and Auggie seemed stunned. Me? I was all of that. The mission had been FUBAR from the get-go. Nothing was where intelligence had said it would be. The team had encountered a ton of resistance. Getting in that final parting shot and destroying the weapons cache had been the only bright spot of success.

Hearing a series of beeps, I switched to another channel just in time to hear Jason growl, “What the actual fuck, Eyes?”

“Ditto,” Vance added. The twins nodded as well.

I didn’t have an answer, but I couldn’t leave them hanging. “Let me see what I can find out.” I muted myself but left their mics and the camera on, so I could continue watching and listening as they broke down the mission, debriefing among themselves to keep their story straight. Being a part of the discussion always made me feel like I was truly a member of Team Evermore, not just their eyes in the sky.

Following the links I’d set up, I tuned into HQ. This was by no means a legit feed. Couldn’t be when I hacked a couple of computers and used their cameras and audio programs, allowing me to spy on them. Luck was on my side, too. Nobody was sitting at one of the terminals, giving me a direct view of my superiors discussing how my team’s fuckup cost them time and resources. What the hell? Our fuckup? When they didn’t even provide the correct intel? Jason was going to flip his lid.

“River, is this gonna blow up in our faces?” Jason’s quietly asked question pulled me from my angry musing.

How to answer? How to answer? I tugged on my left earlobe, playing with the onyx stud as I glanced around, looking for inspiration. My gaze landed on my Magic 8 Ball. “Signs point to yes.”

Auggie snorted. “Nice, but really? How are we to blame when they gave us shitty intel?”

“Shitty intel I couldn’t confirm or deny,” I tacked on.

“Which means they deliberately set us up to fail.” Vance blew out a heavy breath. “I’m really glad we blew up those guns.”

Jason nodded. “Whatever happens, I’m Team Leader. Nobody better try to take the blame for their screw-up.”

“Yes, Alpha,” we chorused.

“Good, now everyone shut the fuck up and let me catch a couple of Zs until we land and I have to report.”