Phoenix Rising: The Veiðimenn Mob, Book Two

Eighteen

Jaxon growled in frustration as another hidden firewall went up, blocking their access to the system. The complexly built security juggernaut utilized by the mob had more traps and false leads than they originally realized. He and Lukas were trying to access the security feed where the rest of the team was located, but their luck seemed to be running out.

Lukas was no better, he realized as he glanced over at the other boy.

The door to the room suddenly opened, and Ross walked in. Having traced the hacker's IP address to Jaxon's room, he had gone in to confront them. He leaned against the frame, a mix of pride and astonishment shining in his amber brown eyes. What they had done was nothing short of providing proof of just how smart they really were. "You boys don't have the clearance to do what you’re trying to do. Granted, I’ve never had anyone break through the first six layers of firewalls, either, and I’ve been the IT lead since I was eighteen."

"We don't have much choice," Lukas growled out. "Our friends are out there. My brother is on the front lines of this. I need to know he's okay. Can't you give us temporary clearance or something?"

"Please, Uncle Ross?" Jaxon raised his eyes to the black man sitting on the bed, a mischievous glint in his mahogany eyes as he quickly blurted out, "What would you do if it was your sibling out there?"

Ross scowled.

He didn't want to back down, but, when he thought of all the times his own brother went on missions without him, it made his resolve weaken. "Fine, but you need to come to Don Callum's office to do this s**t. I'm responsible for your asses now."

Shutting down their tech, the teens grinned at each other.

Watching them leave all their stuff behind, Ross led them out to the restricted elevator and hit the button that would take them to the secret entrance to Callum's office. When he walked in, David turned his sour face to them and sighed heavily.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to hack the main system, Jaxon? Do you want to be grounded? This isn't something you play around with!"

Squaring his shoulders, the smaller of the two teens mustered the courage to glare at his father, "I was worried about my sister and my friends. Don't snap at me because you're mad about the fact that Sky went out with Russell. Why can't you swallow your pride and give him a chance, Dad?"

David's jaw dropped as the room fell silent. Usually, the boy was too afraid of authority to do anything but what he was told. Tonight, however, he seemed to stand his ground far better than he could before. It was as if revealing the truth about being attracted to guys helped the boy overcome a good chunk of his anxiety. He nodded, accepting that, like him, Jaxon was worried for his sister. David smirked, "Only a few hours, and you're stronger than you were earlier today?"

"Sometimes that's all it takes," Declan said as he walked back into the room. Nodding at Callum, he said, "As per your orders, I've dispatched my best team. ETA is twenty minutes. The kids are already in position on the inside, and Kennedy’s taken point on the mission. Skylar and Russell are manning the lower floors, while Nix and Ken handle the upper. Mark and Memphis are doing their track and flush tag team approach that always seems to work for them. Everything is good so far.”

"Thanks," Callum replied as he looked over at Jaxon and Lukas. It was strange that the two most weary members of his son’s crew trusted his youngest brother-in-law so unabashedly. "Why do you have so much faith in Russell?"

Lukas scoffed, "Because he’s been looking out for us since we were kids. I think it’s due to the fact that having us around made Sky happy. Personally, I think he’d willingly die for her."

"He’d probably walk in front of a subway train if Skylar asked him to," Jaxon muttered as they settled at Ross's desk. Jax narrowed his eyes, "Ross, there's a gap in the feed. I just noticed it. It's only about two minutes long, and easy for a newbie to miss if they didn’t notice the timestamp switch."

"It's enough for anyone with basic knowledge of computers to get someone else into the house without being noticed. Especially if they’re handy to the house’s security system," Lukas agreed as his father stalked into the room with a glower on his face. "Oh s**t. Hey, Jax, looks like we both got in trouble tonight."

"Lukas Kristoph Roberts, Ich sollte dir dafür Hausarrest geben! Bis zum Weltuntergang!" Trace seethed angrily.

Callum laughed as his friend switched to German, telling his kid he should be grounded until doomsday. "Let them help. Their team was first on the scene, so it only makes sense that they be able to assist."

"But, Cal," Trace began. He paled as Ambrosia walked into the room, "Never mind. Hi, Amber, how are you?"

"Fine. Is Nix alright?" The woman replied, her green gaze pinning her husband with a dark glare.

Callum shook his head, "We thought the disruption in the feed was because the boys were trying to hack the system, but it wasn’t. There was a two-minute window of opportunity for anyone to break into the house from the rear."

Ambrosia turned her green eyes to Jaxon and Lukas. Then she noted how exhausted the man with them looked. "Ross, go take a break, hon. You’re looking dead on your feet.”

Laughing, Ross nodded in compliance. "I can rest when the other kids get back, Amber. You know that I worry about them as much as you do."

"Fine, but I'm putting you on a one-week leave after this." The woman grumbled. "You work way too hard. Hans would be disappointed if you ended up working yourself to death."

The room went quiet at the mention of her beloved father-in-law. Everyone knew the relationship between her and the old Don. They'd been present on more than one occasion when Hans applauded her courage and strength. They had been there when Hans introduced her, then inducted her into the highest rank possible: Donna. Her ferocity was known through the ranks, and it made her the one they never wanted to cross.

"Ross, I'm sending you to Newfoundland to visit your brother for two weeks. Amber is right, you need a break," Callum agreed. He could see the fight draining from the man he'd come to rely on, and knew that there would be no argument over the order.

Ross sighed heavily, "Alright. I'll take Robert with me. A family reunion might do me some good."

Ambrosia's forest-green eyes softened as she kissed Ross's cheek lovingly. Slipping her pale, willowy arms around his shoulders, she said, "You know we all love you, but you're not as young as you used to be."

"Listen, woman, don't go making me feel over the damn hill just yet. I'm only fifty-two," Ross argued jokingly.

Lukas frowned, "Someone got in. I just got into the thermal imagery camera and there's a heat signature coming from the basement. There shouldn’t be anyone down there at all."

"Try to get a pin-point on their location and notify the team," Callum said as he walked over to the boys. Leaning over them, he murmured, "Good job, guys. Keep it up."

Happy enough to be of use to the adults, they never questioned the order.

Lukas pulled up a grid pane and uploaded the blueprint of the house. A few keystrokes later, he had the place mapped out, and was tracking the movement of the unknown person. "They're on the move - heading to the stairs."

"Did you get that, guys?" Jax asked as he held his phone to his ear, obviously on a multi-channel call with the others. He glanced at the men staring intently at him, "I hear ya, Nix. Ok, so Mark and Memphis are now lying in wait for the infiltrator. Nix is guarding Kenni on the upper level while she has a chat with the Regent of the Scorpions. Skylar and Russ are located at in the kitchen, which is the room central to the main floor."

Declan glanced up from his iPad and grinned. "If the betrayers go through with the attack, there won't be any survivors. The team I sent out has orders to take out anyone not willing to put down their weapons."

"Perfect, I need my upstarts to come home alive. Jax, what's wrong?" Callum looked down at message on the phone screen. His eyes flickered to his wife nervously, realizing that her little brother was worth more than he first thought.

Jaxon shook his head, "I’m sorry to report that Russell got shot, Meistari Callum."

"No," Ambrosia whimpered. She ran to the closet to grab her coat. As she shoved her arms into her sleeves, she said, "Jaxon, have the team medic him to Toronto General. I'll be waiting."

Callum turned to David and Declan, "Go with her."

Taking a second to look at his son, David asked: "How did he get shot?"

"The guys who killed Kenni's parents are apparently the ones leading the attack. One tried to get the jump on Sky, but Russ jumped in the way," Jaxon said in a quiet, quivering voice.

David swallowed, knowing that he now owed the younger man a debt that could never be paid. "It's going to be okay, Jaxon. Your sister is tough, she's got this. You worry about following our Don's orders, and don't cause any trouble while I'm gone."