Page 18 of Courting Mayhem

Central Command soldiers snapped to attention when they saw us.

“They’re with me,” Derek said, walking over to steel door set into a wall. He typed a code into the keypad and the door slid open. “There is a network of tunnels underneath the Magic Kingdom.”

I looked around in amazement. The tunnels were full of costumed characters, heavily armed security people and maintenance men hurrying in every direction.

A soldier pulled up in a golf cart. Derek got in the front seat. “Get in.”

As soon as we had crowded into the back, the driver took off.

“The Shebu was kept in an armored vault with a top-of-the-line security system,” Derek said.

The Shadow Thieves are experts at bypassing security systems,” Papi Sten said.

Poppa Jacob chuckled. “To learn their secrets, we had Mayhem infiltrate the Shadow Thieves Guild’s school when she was twelve.”

“I learned a lot until they found out who I really was.” I frowned. “Then, as humans like to say, the shit hit the fan. They put a five million credit bounty on me and have been trying to kill me since. They don’t want me sharing all their lovely secrets.”

The golf cart stopped in front of a large vault. We all got out.

Derek scowled at my fathers. “Have you ever allowed Mayhem to just be a kid?”

The answer was no. I never played with dolls or fingerpainted or built sandcastles on the beach. I was trained to be a warrior as soon as I could walk. Some days I longed to be a normal girl.

Papi Sten snorted. “Mayhem is not a useless female. She is a berserker. She needed to learn how to control her powers. There was no time for her to gather flowers or play with toys.”

“Bypassing security systems, disarming traps, and picking pockets are useful skills for a bounty hunter,” Poppa Jacob added.

Derek gave my fathers a disgusted look. “Once we’ve linked, you can do any girly thing you want. Like paint your nails, or wear makeup, or arrange flowers.”

A part of me did a happy dance.Another part of me wondered if he was trying to con me into dropping my shields.“What if I want to build sandcastles on a beach or learn how to ride a horse?”

“I have horses on my ranch. I’ll take you there and teach you how to ride.”

I eyed Derek suspiciously.“Why are you being so nice?”

“If we’re going to capture Vrax and get the Shebu back, we need to make this partnership work,”Derek replied.

“No funny stuff?”

A smile played at the corners of Derek’s mouth.“No funny stuff.”He held out his right hand. “Truce?”

“Truce.” I took his hand. A current of electricity shot up my arm. “What the…” I jerked my hand away. “I said no funny stuff.”

Papi Sten stepped in front of me. “You are not to touch Mayhem.”

“Let me guess. You’ve never been kissed either,” Derek said.

I gave him the stink eye and turned to study the vault. “The Shadow Thieves used electromagnetic waves to disrupt the security sensors.” I tapped my gauntlet and read the data scrolling across my screen. “They used a twenty second burst that basically fried your systems. A simple way to determine if the Guild is involved is your scanners will show low levels of radiation.”

Derek nodded as he studied his screen. “Anything else?”

“Their quantum computer used a cryptanalysis to decode your passcode and open the vault,” Poppa Jacob added.

“They also used an algorithm to generate an encryption key that breached your fire walls. All your computers have been infected with their malware,” Papi Sten stated.

“If I were you, I would be checking my bank accounts.” I added helpfully, “They usually go after those first.”

“Fuck.” Derek vanished.

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