Page 2 of Fate Awakened

Strike one.

I pad to the sliding door, noticing at a glance that there’s a wooden stick in its interior track.

Strike two.

Crossing the glass, I continue on my path to the final window exposed on this side of the house. Unfortunately, if this one’s locked, I’ll have to revert to actually breaking and entering instead of just inviting myself in. I scan its edges and give it a firm tug. Nothing.

Damn it. Strike three.

Turning around behind me, I search the yard for a large enough rock to take care of the glass when I hear a whistle over my shoulder and see Jake standing inside the backdoor, Mason next to him. He’d apparently replaced Jay for entry and technology hangups.

That lock-picking son of a bitch!

Relief fills me, and I storm past them, surprised that I was so distracted I hadn’t heard them arrive or enter. I nod as I head up the stairs, knowing instinctively that they’ve cleared the first floor before opening the back for me.

At the top of the stairs, the house fans out to a loft with doors in three directions. I take the entrance to the left, Jake continues down the hall to the next door, and Mason stacks up just right of Jake’s.

We make eye contact, and I count down from three before we enter each room simultaneously. I take my time scanning the room to see that it’s an office. The space would make Pres geek out, as there were as many monitors and cables as I’d seen in every setup she had going. Some technology’s running, including a server panel connected to the security system. A security system that Pres assured me didn’t exist.

Dammit.

All we could hope was that the feeds stayed local because I’m looking at my team live on the monitors in 4k definition. The room Jake’s standing in appears to be the master suite, and Mason's is a guest room. All of them are empty.

Rage fills me as I wipe my hand down my face sighing audibly. Nothing’s going to plan, and every time we take a step closer, more shit falls apart. Mason enters the office space with Jake on his heels.

“The house is clear,” Jake states before glancing at the monitors. “This guy’s good. I didn’t spot a single camera.”

Mason walks around me and slides himself into the desk chair, booting one of the computers.

“Whereisthis guy? There’s no way he could know we were coming,” I snap, pulling out my phone.

The time reads just after four in the morning, and fatigue is slowly creeping into my body as the adrenaline from the night's events leaks out. I don’t have time to sleep or rest. I don’t have time to be tired. I have to get to her before she gets to Marlo.

I dial Presley’s number and wait for her to pick up.

“Any news?” Her first question flies over the line.

“No. Nothing. And our hacker’s in the wind. Mason’s trying to work on his home system here to erase any trace of us, but I need you to find him.

“I’ll do my best, but understand this won’t be as easy as getting into Bri’s technology. He’s far more skilled at tech security.” A whimper creeps up my throat at her name, and I fight to contain it.

She continues, “I’ll check his work and see if I can locate a vehicle and start searching traffic cams.”

“I saw him tonight. He wasn’t driving, but maybe he ended up in someone else's bed. Can you get into Uber’s vehicle logs and see if you can find out where it took him? He would’ve left the bar by their office around midnight.”

“I can try. Their security’s shit because they grew faster than they could tie up security holes with affiliates and contractors. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll get back to you.” Before she can hang up, Mason cuts in.

“Pres, I’m going to need some assistance. I can’t access his network. He has it blocked and password protected. Even the virus I brought to corrupt the files can’t break through the initial firewall.”

“Did you try sending in a backdoor trojan?” she asks, still typing away in the background.

“Can’t if I can't access the network; he has it covered,” Mason responds, his brows furrowing around his round silver frames.

“I’ve seen his work. I doubt you’ll be able to brute force it. Take the hardware. We can try to piece it back together here,” she instructs before hanging up.

“She expects us to pack all of this up?” Jake asks while his eyes catalog the enormity of that project.

“No, I can just remove the hard drives, and we should be able to work on them there,” Mason responds, pulling out small tools and opening the first case.

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