Page 42 of Twice the Rivalry

“I should have Savage lock you in the damn Box and be done with it,” he continued, bringing his face closer to hers. “Then I won’t have to worry about you at all.”

“You could try, but we both know the moment I get out of there, and I will, I’ll just kill you and be done with it,” she mimicked him, leaning closer so that their noses practically touched. She stared directly into his eyes, anger and heat making her feel things she knew she shouldn’t. “Then I’ll take your precious system apart piece by piece. Though we both know that won’t be hard since you don’t have my skills.”

“Is this, like, weird computer nerd foreplay?” Jax wondered loudly. “Because as weird as it is, it’s hot. Don’t worry, babe, I won’t touch your computer, but I definitely wouldn’t mind you and I doing a bit of wrestling.”

“Code, let her go. Glitch, you’re here as a guest. I suggest you remember that or I will put your ass out,” Savage growled.

“Again, this is why we don’t have women in Church,” Ice said irritably.

Code didn’t move for a moment, and she held his stare, lifting her chin in a dare. Finally, he let her go and set her on her feet.

“Good,” Savage said briskly. “Let’s get down to business. Code, let Glitch run the tech for now since she’s clearly got things set up.” Code’s eyes were like balls of fire as he stiffly moved to the chair next to the one she would need to sit in, his fists clenched tightly on top of the table. He didn’t like this one bit, and if he hadn’t just been a total asshole, she might have felt bad for him. Instead of antagonizing him, she focused on what she was doing and pulled up the video call for her team to join. Within moments, her team filled the screen on the wall, though they could technically only see herself and Savage when he moved himself closer to her to make sure he could be seen. “Simba,” Savage said in greeting.

“Savage,” Simba returned. They were seated at a large dining room table, and she could easily see everyone sitting down, and those along the wall behind. Seeing them, she immediately felt a wave of melancholy. She missed them, and she wished she was with them. Even if she knew it wasn’t safe.

“I hear we have a lead on who is after you and our guest here,” Savage remarked. Glitch gave him a cool glare at the inflection in his voice at the mention of her.

“We do,” Simba said. “Glitch, care to fill them in? This is your show.”

Glitch bit back a grin, ignoring Savage and his scowl. Yeah, he didn’t like the idea that she was taking the lead. As much as these guys liked to think they were progressive in some things, they were still stuck in the dark ages when it came to their precious Church. She clicked a few buttons and put the images of the rival team on the screen. “I probably don’t need to say this, but none of this information is considered legal in my possession,” she advised. “These guys are traitors and aren’t supposed to even exist, technically. So don’t be blabbing to anyone about how you got this information. Meet Rogue Team Two, AKA Ghost.”

“Are we talking Casper ghosts, or some other kind of ghost?” Jax asked with a joking grin.

“The kind that would gladly slit your throat while you slept,” Jag responded, voice dark, “And then kill your entire family right along with you. Women, kids, pets, there is no one safe when they’re around.”

The room went silent. Glitch glanced over at Karissa, who was staring at the screen with an unreadable expression. Glitch looked back at her monitor and continued. “Their leader, Hazard, AKA Richard Mead. A real piece of work that got his name because he likes to leave a mass of messy destruction in his wake. He was trained by the Marines, but he got dishonorably discharged before he turned twenty five for trying to kill one of his bunk mates. Saw it as an insult that the bunkmate wouldn’t share money he inherited from a dead relative. But, he had the makings of a good leader, so the CIA scooped him up and made him into the killer he is. Gave him a team to lead, and sent him out on missions to deal with the kinds of things that the government couldn’t out in the open. His favorite method of killing is slow methodical torture, and he could make it go on for weeks if he wanted before he finally ended the person’s life.”

“Sounds like a real charmer,” Fury remarked.

Glitch looked at the picture of the man, though it was definitely out of date because he had hardened over time, and had grown a beard. Still, there was no mistaking the killer he was by looking at his eyes. “Next up, we have Jeremy Paul, nicknamed Maggot. He’s got a thing for bugs and insects, and he’s about as crazy as they come,” she told everyone. “He was a SEAL washout, mostly because he didn’t like to blindly follow orders, and he tried to punch one of the Sergeants in the face during a training exercise. Anyway, Hazard found him and added him to his team a few years later. Maggot’s love of insects comes in handy when it comes to torture. There is nothing like making someone talk by covering them in creepy crawlies. Especially the more dangerous ones.” She gave a shudder at the thought.

“His name is apt because he’s a slimy worm of a man,” Karissa added darkly. “Fucker has a pet tarantula that he loves to scare people with just for kicks.”

“He does have beady eyes,” Jax remarked.

Savage indicated for her to keep going. She clicked again and brought up a picture of Crisp. “This is Crisp, or Kobe Cruz as his former Arson Anonymous support group called him. Crisp loves fire, and he’s gotten very creative in how he uses it. He was never in the Army or anything, but he was picked up by the FBI for trying to burn down one of their buildings after one of their agents crossed him during some sort of deal gone bad. One of the top FBI guys took notice of him, and he got in contact with Hazard’s team leader. They took him in and trained him. He’s the clean-up guy for the group, and he makes sure that nothing can be found wherever they end up. No bodies, and no building. It’s how they cover their tracks the majority of the time. But he’s fucking nuts, and almost got the team in trouble a few times before we met them because he sets people on fire for looking at him wrong, or some other perceived slight.”

“Not exactly the friendly sort then,” Ink joked.

“Then we have Jacob Stirling, AKA Spook. Spook is what I would call second in command in this little band of misfits. He’s a former SEAL who up and left after his final mission. Walked away from his pension, his honors, all of it. The government revoked them, yet still honorably discharged him because they felt he had earned it, but the man was done with following orders. He wandered around for a while, until he happened to run into Hazard and his team on one of their jobs overseas. Apparently they struck up a friendship, because Hazard got him added to the team without much of a problem. Spook is quieter, and he’s got an excellent mind for tactics. He’s the one that gets them in and out of anywhere they need to go.”

“Bastard is a fucking psycho, and that’s saying something,” Taz announced, tone grim. “The few times we interacted with him, you could just tell. He takes great pleasure in killing anyone he can, and he could give Hazard a run for his money on the torture. Not to mention, he’s one of those guys that can blend into a room and never be seen until it’s too late.”

“Guess we know why they call him Spook,” Fury remarked. “What about the last guy?”

Glitch looked at the screen and paused for a moment, the same anger and betrayal burning in her gut as they had all those years ago. “That,” she said tightly, “is an old friend turned enemy of mine from school. I taught him most of what he knows, and I’m the reason for their team having to go into hiding. It seems he’s finally come back to try and kill me.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

CODE

He might be pissed at her, and pissed at Savage for dismissing him, but he still jolted at her words. Sure, he heard the guy, Slip, tell her that he was going to take her apart, but he hadn’t realized just how well Glitch knew him. Or that she was the reason for all of this. Guilt prickled in his stomach again, but he pushed it aside. He was done worrying about that. It was done and over with, and right now, he wanted more details on who he was and why Glitch had screwed him over.

“This is Slip, or as I knew him growing up, Forrest Walton. Everyone called him Rest, and he was something of a golden boy back in school. His parents came from old money, and he was a trust fund baby. He had one sister, I think her name was Katherine or Anna, and they pretty much owned the school with all the money his parents donated. Anyway, somehow, we sort of became friends, and he took an interest in computers and hacking. I mostly started him on learning to code, but then we delved into hacking, and well, we both ran with it I guess. He liked it enough that he told his family that he didn’t want to be a doctor or lawyer like they wanted, and he was going to get into MIT to become an elite computer scientist. Mostly he wanted to be a hacker and prove he was better than everyone else.”

“So you two were just friends? Never more?” Rogue asked.

Code tried not to let that question get to him. He didn’t like the idea of that bastard ever getting his hands on Glitch, though he couldn’t understand why. So he pushed it aside and focused on the rest of her story.

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