I patted my desk before flicking on the giant wall screen and starting up my computer. After logging in, I made my way to the break room for a fresh cup of coffee. If I felt a little light on my feet while stirring in the sugar, there was no one to see me twirl other than myself.
I took a sip on my way back to the war room, and when I looked up, I stopped so suddenly, hot coffee sloshed over my hand.
“Motherfucker,” I shouted, staring through the glass windows at the giant monitors on the wall.
Everyone in the mosh pit turned to see what the problem was.
Scrolling across the screens in an old-timey dot-matrix font was a message that could only be from one meddling, too-much-time-on-his-hands, not-so-juvenile delinquent.
Jasper Huxley can no more protect his “systems” than throw an enchanted javelin through the Ring of Evenlore.
After the message scrolled through the first time, a video popped up showing me in real time, slack-jawed and coffee-stained.
“He… he…” I coughed out. Had the air suddenly lost all oxygen, or was I choking on my righteous indignation? “He got into my system. How the fuck…?”
Champ sighed and turned to me in resignation. “We packing back up?”
Kev was going to be the death of me.
“No. Absolutely not! Go back to that man’s evil lair? Are you joking? Besides, there’s no danger. The only person infiltrating our systems is him!”
I could tell what Champ was going to say before he said it, because it’s what I would have said in other, non-Kev-related circumstances. “If Kev can get in…”
I gritted my teeth. I pulled out my green Horn and shot off a private message to HogDocKev.
HogMasterHux: You will pay for this, Gourd Goblin. If you thought things were bad before, you’re about to learn differently.
And then I quickly moved my entire troll army toward his magical kelp forest and burned it to the ground.
When I was done, I nodded to myself in satisfaction and slipped the Horn back into my pocket.
I glanced up to find Champ watching me. His expression was incredulous. “This is when you choose to play your video game? Really? Interesting choice, Huxley.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off with a growl. “Pack. Up. We’re headed back to the Rogers’ house.”
“But surely we can find another place—”
“The only thing wrong with the Rogers’ place is your ridiculous feud with Kev! So suck it up, buttercup, and learn to get along. I’m not wasting days trying to find another safe place to set up when HOG Corporate—which is not just the manufacturer of your little Horn game, let me fucking remind you, but Champion Security’s biggest client—is expecting an update this week, and we currently have no update to give them,” he said fiercely. Then he straightened and smoothed his shirt. “Besides which, Kev found the vulnerability when our scans didn’t. I don’t care if you like him or don’t like him. I don’t care if he sent a mystical fire tornado whirling through your bamboo bayou. He’s fucking useful. So let him help you.”
Let Kev Rogers help me? When the man was clearly trying to show me up so he could ingratiate himself with my boss?
Death. First.
“Please. Kev couldn’t wield a fire tornado if his homestead depended on it,” I scoffed, waving a hand. “And I’d never plant bamboo. That shit’ll take over your whole—” I finally caught the dangerous expression on Champ’s face and belatedly shut up. “Erm. Yes, boss. On it, boss.”
Champ walked away, muttering something about being trapped in a pun-tastic nightmare.
I patted my PC tower gently. “We can do this, baby,” I whispered. “We’re going back to the bad place, but it’ll be okay. Daddy’s here.”
When we got back to Kev’s house, I got Rodrigo settled back in his cage, but I couldn’t seem to settle myself.
I felt restless and hostile. My skin was too tight, and I had trouble focusing on the job, which sucked because my number one priority was figuring out how Kev had infiltrated my system so I could shut that shit down.
I set up my computers on the giant kitchen table—again—and got to work. Maybe if I kept my eyes on my own tech, I wouldn’t see Kev and do something that would land me in jail.
As the guys set up around me, I concentrated on taking deep breaths and trying to relax.
Kev might have been born into a cushy situation—handsome, plus rich, plus a loving, supportive family equaled the trifecta of cushy, as far as I was concerned—but there were things I could do that he couldn’t, precisely because I hadn’t grown up with silver spoons in each hand.
Like, Kev would never have the drive that made me the first person in my blue-collar family to graduate from college or that led me to be an All-State rugby champion, despite being six inches shorter than most players in the league (not to mention having zero natural talent for sports).