“Alright, Byte. Let’s have this out. You can talk with Julia yourself, but I never intimidated or threatened her or Jacob. I had a job to do… to surveil. Anything that happened to her was out of my hands. I quit the CIA when I discovered they’d kidnapped Jacob. You may not know me, but I’m not a person who disobeys orders, except when it came to Julia and Jacob. I would never put anyone’s life on the line for a job… whether the person was guilty or not.”
Byte knew part of what he was saying was the truth. She’d called Turbo after learning an offer had been made to Falcon. She needed facts, and the fact was Falcon had gone out of his way to protect Turbo and her eight-year-old brother. So why was she so angry about having him there?
She didn’t know, not really. There was just something about how he befriended Turbo and Jacob and then dropped them when he wouldn’t cross a line. But what else was he supposed to do? Become friends? She was letting her own abandonment issues cloud her judgment. She would apologize, but not right then. Falcon had called her out and she couldn’t let him see how ashamed she was. So instead, she focused her attention on Ghost and ignored Falcon’s words.
“And what about you?”
“You would’ve done the same for any of us. You’re just ticked that you hadn’t thought of it first. Now, can we move past this little incident and talk about what our next plan is?” Ghost asked and pulled Byte into a hug, which she fought to get out of.
“There’s no next plan. You scared him, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“His big brother won’t be too happy with him either,” Seven said, chuckling. “He will want to throttle him after discovering he’s hacking and in the dark web.”
Ivy watched the dynamics and then looked at Falcon. He’d made his case and no one recognized it for what it was… An olive branch. She wouldn’t have dissension in the office, so she redirected the team.
“For now, we don’t worry about Kyle Higgins or his brother. Even if I’m unhappy you did this ‘mission,’” she said using air quotes, “I think they got the message loud and clear. We’ll just see if he’s foolish enough to continue looking for you, Byte.”
“Fine.”
“And Tobey, you don’t need to plead your case. Justin and I hired you knowing your involvement with Turbo. In fact, we spoke with her, Blaze, and my father just in case we ran into any issues. No one had a problem with you. No one!” Ivy emphasized, looking from Falcon to Byte. “So let’s drop the subject and work as a team. Besides, we have an actual job to do.”
“Good. Let’s get settled. This upcoming mission is going to require all hands on deck,” Ghost stated.
“What’s going on?” Carter asked. He’d found he liked working with ALIAS, especially beside his wife. Voodoo, or Gwen as he still called her, smiled from across the table. The wink he returned told her he couldn’t wait to get her home. Carter had backed out of the pseudo mission with Ghost because of something he and his wife had planned well in advance. By all accounts, they didn’t need him anyway.
“As you know, Carter, Seven, and I were in London last week. The new office is coming along very well. The team of four are finding their way. Chaos has provided Ryan with everything she knows about Raptor. Unfortunately, the assassin has gone underground and Chaos is working diligently to find her trail. In doing so, they discovered a threat we need to stop.”
“What sort of threat?” Aria asked.
“My father,” Seven answered.
“Oh no, Seven.” Aria reached over and pulled his hand against her cheek. She knew the struggles he was having with his father being involved in the hit list. She couldn’t see any situation where there would be a happy Butler ending.
“We knew Clifford was involved, but we also discovered he’s been involved in covering up a lot of crimes, both involving the US and Great Britain, but also Russia and countries formerly part of the USSR,” Ghost stated.
“From what Chaos has discovered, my father has been feeding intel to the former communist block, Russia, for decades.”
“What kind of intel?” Voodoo asked.
“Everything from where to find CIA, MI5, and MI6 operatives, to turning a blind eye to government corruption.”
“Aren’t all governments corrupt, one way or another?” Byte asked.
“We’re not talking about stealing money or bribing officials. We’re talking assassinations, both of politicians and lobbyists,” Ghost answered. “If they can’t stop a lobbyist from pursing their agenda, the terrorist eliminates the threat. If that doesn’t stop the agenda, then the politician is eliminated.”
“Especially in other countries, like the former USSR, North Korea, and Afghanistan. My father played a role in nine-eleven. He knew about the attacks and walked away, never trying to stop the murder of thousands of innocent lives.”
“So why aren’t we killing him?” Byte asked. It only made sense to her. It was what they did.
“Because we need to know who’s calling the shots. My father is not the head of the serpent. We want to kill the head.”
“Okay, I know I’m new at this whole assassination gig, but Byte seems to have the right idea. If we know he’s a threat, and we are one hundred percent sure he’s guilty, then why not take him out. Sometimes killing the body will make the head rise up and take notice.” As if Falcon realized who he was talking about, he turned and apologized to Seven. “I’m sorry. I know he’s your father.”
“You haven’t said anything me nor my brother haven’t already voiced. Trust me, there’s no familial love to worry about,” Seven admitted.
“Still, he is your father,” Aria said. “You can’t say this isn’t personal for you or Ryan.”