Page 16 of Hemmed

“You knew?”

“He told us about an hour ago. We didn’t see you two come back,” said Ian. “We need to find all of the locations and get those fucking cameras out of there. We’re looking for a way to notify stores across the nation, but if they’re doing it to make extra money, then I’m not sure how we’re going to stop it if we don’t stop the site.”

“Um, sirs?” said Hayes.

“Hayes, you don’t have to call us sirs,” said Ian.

“Oh, yes, sir. I was thinking that we could write a program that checks an algorithm for retail businesses that have unusual deposits, or it could be listed as a purchase but doesn’t match their inventory.”

“Can you do that?” frowned Ghost.

“Of course,” said Hayes.

His father was seated beside him, smiling. Hoot was extremely proud of his adopted son and tried to support him in everything. With the sensitivity of this information, he wanted to be there for him if he got in too deep. He turned to his father.

“Can I tell them?” he said quietly.

“Yeah, buddy. They’re going to be even prouder than I am.” Hayes smiled at his father, then looked at the other men.

“I’m working on my PhD in mathematics and computer science, as you know.” The others all smiled, nodding at him. “Well, sirs. I wanted real-world experience, like all of you. I’ve been accepted to a new division of Naval Intelligence dedicated solely to the protection of our Special Forces community.”

“No shit!” smiled Nine. “Fucking amazing, Hayes. We’re enormously proud of you!”

“Same, Hayes. Absolutely awesome, son. Speak with Ace. He was involved in something similar. Unsanctioned of course.” Ghost hugged the young man, the others all doing the same.

“I leave at the end of the summer, but I want to help with this while I’m here. I can have the program ready in a few hours,” he smiled.

“A few hours?” screeched Ian.

“Yes, sir,” he laughed. “I kind of already started on it.”

“Alright then. Get to it, boy genius.”

“Hey, that’s my title,” smiled Code.

“That was your title. You’re old man genius now,” said Nine.

“Oh, shit. You’re right.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Mom, I don’t want to go to the wedding,” said the young girl. “There’s no one going that’s my age, and it will be boring!”

“Sonja, this is your first cousin’s wedding. I know that you’re only seventeen, but one day, it’ll be you getting married, and you’re going to want others to be there.”

“For the gifts and cash, right?” she smirked.

“Sonja, that’s not nice,” smiled her mother. “But sometimes that’s the truth. Your father and I had more than two hundred people at our wedding, and I swear to God, I barely knew thirty.”

“Then why invite them?”

“Because,” she laughed, “my mother made me.”

“Oh, great. So, I’ll have to invite people you tell me to invite,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Afraid so, kiddo. Look, you get this dress. Just pick one you’re comfortable in, and I’ll let you take the car to school for your first day as a senior.” The girl smiled at her mother, picturing herself in her mother’s little convertible.

“Seriously?”

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