Then

"PHOENIX!"

"What the fuck?" Phoenix looked up from his laptop where he was working on a contract he had negotiated with a French company that Gareth wanted dealings with. He had sat there for hours in his office at Gareth's mansion, in total peace and quiet, until Gareth's roar sounded through the wall.

The man had a phone. What was with the yelling?

Puzzled, and a tad worried about what Gareth wanted, Phoenix saved his work and locked his computer before he hurried out of his office to go to Gareth's. He had barely reached Gareth's office when the door got ripped open and a flustered Rotha came out and slammed the door behind him, leaning against it like he tried to keep zombies or a serial killer at bay.

"Don't make me go in there again," he stammered at Phoenix in Russian with quivering lips, too out of it to speak English. His face was white, and the pulse in his neck pounded. His big, brown eyes rested on Phoenix's face with pathetic begging.

"Relax, I'll go in. What's wrong?" Phoenix felt sorry for the man. He was barely out of school and had instantly been assigned as Gareth's assistant. Most had time to get some experience under their belts before they ran with the big boys. And going directly from the school bench into a position as personal assistant, handling all the odds and ends of a man like Gareth, was a massive cadeau to Rotha's eye for details and ability to foresee what was needed to make Gareth's day easier. It was an honor and showed Gareth knew how talented Rotha was, still...

Probably not the easiest job in the world.

Or the safest.

"We went through some letters he had to reply to that I needed to send out. Everything was quiet and normal when somebody called. I have no clue what happened, but suddenly he yelled like a crazy person and then called for you. Please, I can't go in there when he's like that."

"Ok, ok. Go to my office and wait. There are drinks in the fridge. Calm down."

Rotha did not even have brain activity enough to say thanks. He scurried off like the devil was on his tail. Phoenix shook his head and took a deep breath before he steadied himself to knock.

"That better be fucking you, Phoenix!" Gareth's angry voice bellowed from inside.

"I'm not sure I want it to be," Phoenix said calmly and entered the office. It was not like Gareth had officially called him to come.

Gareth looked up, his face blotched red, the thick veins in his forehead and neck looked ready to pop, and he typed like a madman on his computer.

"Get me Jace, Roarke, and whomever the fuck you can find with muscles, pack a bag, and meet me at the airport in an hour."

Taking Gareth's clipped orders in stride, Phoenix chose his battles and knew he would get answers later. "And where are we going?"

"Belgium."

Phoenix nodded and found his phone in his pocket, ready to call people on his way back out of the office. He was not afraid of Gareth, but he was not dumb enough to try to talk him down without a tranquilizer gun or whiskey close by. "Do I need to bring anything?"

"An attitude!"

Phoenix snorted a laugh and left. Whatever was going on, Gareth was not pleased. Phoenix hastened to his office and gave Rotha the day off to relax and calm down. Telling him that Gareth would be out of town for a few days helped a lot on the man's frazzled nerves. The relief in him was almost palpable.

On his way from his office with his packed laptop, just in case he had time to work, Phoenix called Roarke and forwarded Gareth's order. After that, he called Jace.

"Nureyev?"

Phoenix sighed deeply, making a mental note to slap the moron. "Jace, Gareth is hitting the roof and has requested that we meet him in fifty minutes at the airport. Pack a bag and give me a suggestion on somebody with muscles who can be there in time to not let Mount Vesuvius explode."

"I'm with Rami. I'll take him with me." Jace paused. "What are we doing exactly?"

Phoenix chuckled while he threw his laptop bag and things in the passenger seat and hurried around the car to the driver's side, where he got in. "If judging from Gareth's mood, we'll turn somebody into Belgian waffle mix within the day."

"I am a fan of breakfast items. I'd better run and pack. See you soon, twinkle toes."

Phoenix's grip on the steering wheel tightened unrealistically at Jace's last words before the connection ended. It had been a fucking year and that little shit was still on with the ballet jokes. After the incident at Verno's, Jace had been slightly less annoying with the jokes and pranks, but after Gareth's birthday a bit over a month earlier, somehow Phoenix had restored Jace to his former glory.

He had been a massive dickhead since.

Admittedly, Phoenix found some of what Jace said hysterically humorous. The speed of his mind and the way he spun a situation or something somebody said into something funny in the blink of an eye were amazing. Half the time, Phoenix laughed his ass off inside. If he had known how to express it, maybe Jace would not poke at him so often, because it seemed like Jace did it to get Phoenix to laugh.

All Jace needed was some new material.

The ballet jokes got old quickly.

Phoenix sighed and rushed a few yellow lights to get to his apartment. He already had a travel bag packed; Gareth had insisted that it was necessary. For a year and a few weeks, it had not been. Now he was happy with it because he would just barely make it to the airport in time.

And it was barely, when he rushed from the long-term parking area to the terminal Gareth had texted him. Jace and Rami were there already, and Gareth impatiently checked his watch.

He did in no way look to have calmed down.

Phoenix greeted them briefly, and one saying look from Rami told him to just stay quiet.

Not that he needed the warning, even with his limited understanding of social interaction, he knew Gareth was a ticking bomb.

Roarke came running probably two seconds before Gareth would have gone full-on Columbine on the entire airport. He was within the time limit, not that Gareth cared at all. He growled aggressively and stomped off, leaving them to trail after him like children.

If it had not been for the fact that Gareth had a murderous look on his face and marched at a pace that gave people little time to actually see him when jumping for their lives, and the guys hustling to keep up with a modicum of dignity, they would have turned heads as a parade of hot guys. What they managed was to walk through the airport and part people like Moses had done the sea.

Nobody had the guts to get in their way.

Gareth being Gareth walked them into a check-in line with no queue, got them checked in, and then through the passport control, again with no wait. On the other side of which, an airport vehicle picked them up and drove them from the departure terminal and outside to a waiting private plane that had airport personnel load their luggage.

Nobody said anything.

Nobody but Gareth seemed to breathe until the plane took off and a steward handed Gareth a large whiskey. He pulled up his laptop and turned it on, clicking in some USB speakers, and then took the phone from the wall.

"Cellmate, explain," he barked at the man who ran all of Gareth's online security.

Everybody perked up.

A bit of information would do them all good.

The ominous pressure of the situation slowly killed them.

"Ok," Cellmate's deep, for once, rather nervous voice suddenly came over the speakers attached to the laptop. "The attack came at 11:42 a.m., and it only took two minutes and eighteen seconds, but they got into financials on the Tower project, and a few others, and they found some of the human trafficking intel along with a drug delivery route."

A cyber-attack?

No wonder Gareth was about to lose his shit.

Jace calmed a bit with the knowledge of why Gareth's head was about to pop. It was one thing for somebody to physically break in and get some business information, that happened, and Gareth would have been fittingly pissed. Even placed spies for corporate espionage they expected and dealt with accordingly when caught. But somebody getting a look at financials on upcoming projects, and sensitive information on his mafia dealings in the same go, would provide whomever it was with ammunition to blackmail Gareth or take him down. That was bad. Jace understood.

If it was an organized attack to target Gareth, bad would not begin to describe it. His legal businesses would be vulnerable and his entire organization, his family name, and the hundreds and hundreds of men working for him could be at stake.

It was their way of life that was threatened, and Jace could not joke about something like that.

It was deadly serious.

"Have you backtracked the attack?" Phoenix asked while Jace was still stuck in his mind.

"I have. I'm still trying to get into their system. It's tight. I'm telling you, their shit is legit impressive." There was a clear tinge of hero-worshipping in Cellmate's voice. He liked the challenge of a foe at his level, though it might not be the right time to express that "I've traced it to a non-conspicuous residential area in Messancy. I'll work on it while you get there."

"You'd better have some more information before we go in," Gareth grumbled.

"I will. For now, I've arranged for rental cars at the airport and sent the location to you. Rooms are booked at a B&B, and I've arranged for the plane to stand ready for your return trip."

Gareth said nothing. He still imitated a thundercloud with an Academy Award-winning performance. Abruptly, he got up, downed his whiskey, and announced he wanted privacy. Then he left for the bedroom at the back of the plane, leaving the guys to chat among themselves or whatever.

"Is he gone?" Cellmate whispered, nervously.

"Yeah, mate. Chill. He can't kill you from here." Roarke spoke gently to the man he had dealings with most days because of his area of work. "You did well. We'll figure this out and neutralize the threat. Don't worry."

Roarke was used to the whole cyber deal. Every time Cellmate found something on the deep web about human trafficking and sex slave sales, Roarke had to dig through it and figure out a way to help those poor souls. It was his job to save as many as possible, with Gareth's money and the resources available to him. He and his team took down trafficking rings and delivered mafia justice where needed.

He had assembled a team of undercover dummy profiles and a larger team of enforcers for the dirty work.

Sometimes, they had to infiltrate a ring before they could take action, and that was the part of his job that he hated. He and his dummy profiles of men, pretending to be buyers, had to live their assigned personas and witness horrors with a jolly good smile on their faces until they could strike.

The number of people he felt he had failed was staggering and haunted him every hour of every day. The pain and horror painted on the faces of bruised and abused men and women, who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, came to him in his nightmares. Stripped of their dignity and personality, forced into slavery of both a physical and sexual nature. Where they had to service and debase themselves until the day they perished, either by the hand of their owners or the grace of God.

It was a never-ending commodity on the black market, and new rings popped up faster than they got taken down.

Only the gratitude and relief in the people they saved were what kept him sane and made him continue doing it.

Yes, he was excellent at his job. His semi-made-up persona of a dot.com boy, who had sold his company for enough cash to live a few lifetimes without having to worry about money, had become an ingrown part of him. He barely remembered his real name. They had created Delvin Roarke. A persona they had made when he had been ready to sell an actually very lucrative business as himself. They had made up Roarke, and he had lived like him since.

A perfect front to use in those infiltrations, and he played the role well.

An arrogant, nonchalant, rich, and eccentric playboy with a need for depravities. When on the inside, it took everything he had in him to lock himself away and turn into a cold-hearted sex slave buyer to allow one of those poor humans to service him. More times than he could count, he had been required to do things to them he could never speak of to anybody, all to save them in the end. The way he had to force himself to trick his body to pretend he liked the sexual favors his 'hosts' offered him from their slaves, to perform while there and often under observation, had screwed up his own sex life.

He felt nothing anymore. No pleasure, no excitement, no emotions during sex. His body worked on command, but he felt nothing.

As he saw it, it was a fitting punishment for what he did to them. He had made it a priority to apologize to each of them when he got them freed, and all of them had forgiven him without prejudice, though it did nothing to ease his guilt.

His reputation went far and wide, and they knew him in those circles, and he had access to some mind-boggling, off-the-charts, creepy shit. It was imperative that his cover never got blown. He had lavish estates all over Europe, paid for by Gareth, and often did the Riviera paparazzi poses with hot chicks or jet-set parties to stay in focus and keep up appearances as a carefree, rich playboy.

He had been 'apprehended' during the raids and had suffered the same fate as the other sellers and buyers to make it believable. Being beaten up and interrogated by his own men frequently, along with other captured trafficking offenders, to gain his street cred. Being rich, he weaseled himself out of anything, and the traffickers had no issues with allowing him into their dealings because they knew he would not rat them out.

Or so they thought.

So far, nobody had suspected him at all, which was why he still did it. But he knew that one day his cover would get blown, and he would pay the price. His life would end miserably at the hands of the people he had deceived. He waited for the day and welcomed it.

"I'll keep you updated, Roarke." Cellmate cut the connection in a hurry.

"Ok, this makes a lot more sense now," Roarke said, looking around at people. "I wondered why I got dragged along, but since cyber shizzle is my gig, I understand. Do you have any questions?"

Rami huffed. "I have nothing but questions."

"Fire away," Roarke said with a chuckle and nodded at the steward, who handed them all water and sodas. Though they really wanted a drink, it was not the time to inebriate themselves.

"I sort of get why we're all here. Jace and I are muscles, and you're cyber dude, Phoenix is the business whiz, and Gareth is a loose cannon, though he still calls the shots. I get that. But what exactly are we going to do if up against a group that is probably aware that we're coming?"

Phoenix nodded at Rami's deduction of things. He also doubted his involvement and purpose there. His eyes caught Jace's from the seat across from himself. He too had a puzzled look to him but gave a small, uplifting smile.

"I get your confusion and concern about this. What you need to know about my job is that going in with an army at full throttle is never a good idea. Gareth has assembled the best team for this type of operation." Roarke acknowledged all of them before he continued. He knew they were unsure how things would go down, and Gareth knew he would explain it to them.

"First step is locating them, then approaching to get a grasp of the situation. Phoenix and I will be best at that. Me because I'm fucking Delvin Roarke, any internet rat will recognize my name, and Phoenix because, well, he's the business world's version of me."

"What about Gareth?" Jace asked, impressed with Roarke's confidence in himself and Phoenix. Maybe Roarke too knew Phoenix's secret. He had no idea who Phoenix had told, it was not like they had weekly heart-to-hearts.

With a tight smile, Roarke sought the right words to explain it without insulting his boss or undermining his importance. "Gareth plays his part too. He's a well-known businessman, a wonder kid, a playboy, and a British darling. He's respected for his business ventures, but Phoenix and I hold that of mentor-level awe to these people."

Jace scratched his chin while his brain went into overdrive. "Oh, I see. However good Gareth is at what he does, he's a product of teachings where you are the teachers?"

Phoenix could not help but nod in appreciation of the way Jace analyzed and simplified everything for him to wrap his head around the differences between Gareth and other people. In this case, Phoenix and Roarke. The kid was super smart and had a way of cooking everything down to the simplest of explanations and cutting away all the fluff.

It was more than understandable why Gareth valued Jace.

"Well put," Phoenix said to encourage more of that brilliance from Jace. It was adorable how Jace tried to hide his blush from the compliment. Phoenix had not done it for that reaction. It was a welcomed bonus, nonetheless.

"Ok, so you guys go in and do what?" Rami pushed.

"We figure out why they did it, and what information they got, if possible, and hopefully get to know what they intend to do with what they're sitting on. Once done, we'll know if we can silence them with either money or some other sort of compensation. Otherwise, we'll need you two to step in."

They spent the rest of the flight discussing what to do and how to best defuse the situation without having to use Rami and Jace's abilities. Gareth only came out to sit and buckle up for the landing. When through customs, the cars waited for them. Rami discreetly waved the guys toward a car and guided Gareth to the other.

He knew how to handle Gareth.

In any situation.

"Guys, would you mind if I catch some Z's? I had just come back from Cannes and stepped into my apartment when you called me, Phoenix. I'm knackered." Roarke looked at the large backseat like it was the presidential suite at a five-star hotel, his eyes red from lack of sleep.

"Go ahead, man. I'll drive, I know French if we get pulled over or something." Phoenix did not really expect an argument and jumped into the driver's seat and waited for Jace to take the passenger one, while Roarke got comfy in the back seat, before he left the car rental parking lot, following the GPS instructions out of there.

Rami and Gareth had not left when they drove away, probably because Gareth needed to vent or smoke for a while before he could commit to a two-hour drive.

While Phoenix got the feel of the car, which was luckily large enough for his body, Jace fiddled with the radio, whining about everything being in German or French.

"Try this." Phoenix turned the knob to a station he usually listened to when in that part of Europe. Yes, they spoke French from time to time, but it was mainly music and not too much jibber jabber.

"Oh, nice," Jace said with a smile.

Listening to music and enjoying the scenery, they drove in verbal silence. None of them had issues with not talking. They made a quick stop at a gas station for provisions, for Roarke too, but he was out cold, leaving Jace to munch on his sandwich while Phoenix ate caramel bonbons, which Jace unwrapped for him every five minutes.

"You could have chosen some that weren't individually wrapped, you know."

"But these are good," Phoenix said with a wink and popped the caramel into his mouth.

Jace grumbled a bit and unwrapped another before he dug into his sandwich again.

"I was really impressed with how you handled it on the plane."

Jace stopped mid-munch. Half a loaf of bread and a side of bacon stuck in his mouth while he tried to swallow or do something.

What the fuck had the man said?

"What do you mean?" Jace asked in confusion when he finally got the food down his dry throat.

"I mean your ability to cut to the bone of things. The way you listen and then disregard all the nonessential BS to get to the point."

It sounded like a compliment.

What Phoenix had said sounded like praise.

Jace was confused. The man rarely acknowledged Jace's presence and showed no care for his comments other than the occasional slap to the head.

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

"Absolutely," Phoenix said with a twist of his lips as if he tried to smile at Jace's comment. "It's the way you do it, and how fast you do it, I'm impressed with."

"Eh, thank you?"

Jace glanced at Phoenix because he sat there not saying anything for a while. It felt like Phoenix had something to say, but he chewed on it for far too long, and it got on his nerves. "What? I can sense there's more. Are you going to hail on me now? Give me a little praise and then cut me down? Get on with it."

The way Phoenix tightened his grip on the wheel, and his lips formed a thin line with suppressed irritation told Jace he had missed the mark on that one.

"I wondered," Phoenix began and stopped, turning his head briefly to look at Jace and then back on traffic. "And don't take this as me wanting to make you into somebody you're not..."

"But?"

Phoenix chuckled.

There was a 'but', and Jace knew as well.

"But... Have you ever considered getting a management degree or something?" He coughed a little with embarrassment at acting as if he knew better. "I mean, you're shit smart, and you could easily get a degree that would offer you a lot of opportunities to improve some of those skills I've seen in you."

"Me?" Jace pointed at himself like a child, questioning that he was the one addressed. The sandwich was long forgotten, his entire focus was on the surrealistic conversation Phoenix had instigated.

"Yes."

"I can't get a degree in anything. I'm dumb as a doorknob and lazy as fuck when it comes to school."

"Do not call yourself dumb!" Phoenix boomed, not caring if he woke up Roarke and scared Jace in the process. "For fuck's sake, Jace, you have the skills. All you need is to do a few courses and get some paper on it. For yourself. Not for me or Gareth or anybody, for you. To prove yourself wrong. You're not dumb."

"I'm not good with schools and teachers. I hate lengthy sermons on topics I can't even be bothered to care about, and really, it's not for me."

With a nod, Phoenix sighed. He had seen Jace's arguments coming, and he understood where they came from. School had never gotten under Jace's skin because he had never seen a future for himself.

Why apply himself in school when life had already made sure he stood no chance?

"What about an online course? I'm qualified to teach you and have a full course online you can take. At your own pace when you have time and energy. You'll turn in a few assignments, and I promise I'll not be on your ass about anything if you take months to complete a module. I know Gareth is demanding, and you like to party. Your time is your time."

The way Phoenix said the last part made Jace chuckle. He liked to party, and with the training, he had scheduled at the club to begin soon, his time was sparse, but what Phoenix offered him...

Could he do that?

Was he smart enough, or would it be another defeat in the long line of below-par results that was his academic life?

"You'd do that? For me?"

"Of course, if you want to. I'm not pressuring you. It's an open offer. If you decline now, you can always ask me later. I'll help you pull through and make sure you get a fair exam in the end to get your degree."

"And if I fail?"

"I won't let you. I know you'll do fine. Jace, I've observed you for a year now. You're good at what you do, and you're valuable to the team and to Gareth. Getting a degree will only broaden your reach and qualify you for even more responsibility." Phoenix sighed because he just wanted Jace to understand. "With a degree, you'll know you are where you are because you're good, and you've earned your spot in life and the respect. You'll never doubt yourself and think it was luck or a handout. Where you are now, you've worked hard for, and you've earned it, but you still doubt yourself. You shouldn't."

It took a moment for Phoenix's words to sink in. He wholeheartedly believed in Jace and his abilities? And he wanted to help him?

Had Phoenix not always been annoyed with him?

Sure, they had an understanding. Both with what had happened at Verno's, through the talk they had at Gareth's birthday, and with the pranks, something Jace still worked on. But for Phoenix to actually want to help him...

"It's not that I don't appreciate the faith you have in me, but can I think about it? It's a lot to take in."

"Sure, I just thought I'd mention it. And the silence really got to me."

Jace burst out laughing at that. The silence getting to Phoenix had to be the funniest thing ever.

"Jace, he's right, you know," Roarke mumbled sleepily and curled up again to sleep more.

Completely lost in his head, Jace handed Phoenix another bonbon and turned to look out the window. He needed a little time to process and come to terms with what had happened. It was one thing that Phoenix said it, and probably meant it too. It was another that Roarke had heard and agreed.

Jace had never imagined those two shared an opinion about him that did not come with a grain of overbearing.

He zoned out and sat there, not seeing anything of the landscape, whirring outside the window as they passed it. He paid no proper attention to anything, but a song from the radio wormed its way into his mind, and then he heard Phoenix softly hum along.

"You know this song?" It was a lesser-known Joe Cocker number, and one Jace loved.

"Sure, I was a shielded child. I did not live in a cave, being raised by wolves. I've always liked him and his music."

Damn, Phoenix opened up about things Jace had not seen coming, even with a flashlight and a map.

"Which other artists do you like?"

"I'm very fond of Queen. The melodies and the power of the lyrics will always be interesting to me. It's sad that he passed away. Imagine what he would have brought to the world if what he did while he lived was considered the beginning of his greatness?"

Shit!

The way Phoenix spoke, with that analytical mindset, yet with passion behind it, fascinated Jace. Maybe he had found a way in? A way to talk to Phoenix on a level where they were equals and communicated freely.

"I totally agree. You got a favorite number?"

Phoenix thought about it, tapping the steering wheel to the continuous music from the radio. "I guess I'm fairly cliché there. 'Radio Ga Ga' and 'Somebody to love' are favorites. But I'd probably say, 'Don't stop me now', if I had to pick just one."

"Most would have said 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. It was his pièce de résitance. And I do love that and 'We are the champions', but mine would be 'Under pressure'," Jace said, having given it as much consideration as Phoenix had.

"Excellent choice." Phoenix nodded.

For the rest of the ride, they discussed music like paid critics. Phoenix argued passionately about some that Jace was not really a fan of, and he listened carefully to everything Jace told about the bands and artists he liked to listen to.

They had talked like friends.

When Roarke woke up, some ten minutes before their rendezvous point of a café not too far from their actual destination, he too joined in the music conversation. It continued as they entered the café and got some food and drinks while waiting for Gareth and Rami.

Gareth had visibly calmed down during the ride. How Rami was that relaxed was a wonder to the rest. It had to be a trick Rami kept to himself.

Maybe they had stopped to murder somebody on the way to relieve the tension?

Whatever Rami had done, it had worked to calm Gareth enough for him to act borderline civilized.

They took their time to eat and relax while they went over the plan. Gareth knew they had to be focused when going in, or things could go awry fast. During the ride there, he had found time to locate his center, and he knew his men were good at what they did. He had lost it and needed to apologize to them.

Not verbally, fuck that pussy shit, but through actions.

What happened had rattled him; it was not only him with his ass on the line. It was everybody in his employ. The ones working at his companies; the people working at his and his mother's estates. All his men and their families.

Fucking everybody depended on him to keep everything under control.

And he intended to.

It was his life's work and his heritage, a long and proud one, that he had to defend.

At all costs.

There was time for a few smokes before they drove to the house Cellmate had given them the address of. It was a nice one-story house, nothing out of the ordinary. Well-kept front lawn with an apple tree to the side, an empty driveway, and a brick walkway from the street to the front door. Everything looked taken care of; no chipped paint or broken bricks. The windows had open curtains inside which did not signal 'secret hacker lair' at all.

It was just a nice suburban home.

Phoenix looked at the house. He knew what he had to do, and he knew Roarke had his back. His concealed weapon was ready at his side to easily access if needed, though he hoped he would not be two for two with the gunshot injuries after a mission.

The first one had been quite enough.

And like fuck, he wanted more houseguests for the next few centuries.

Together, they casually walked from the cars to the house and had only knocked once when a nice, blue, eco-friendly car pulled into the driveway. A woman in her late thirties stepped out and looked at them with suspicion.

Openly, she sighed. " What did that moronic asswipe do now?" she grumbled in French and pushed a lock of her golden-blonde hair behind her ear.

Roarke knew French, but he was nowhere near as good at it as Phoenix, and let him do the talking. Maybe not the best choice when they were supposed to seem non-threatening and friendly.

Charming, really.

"Excuse me, madam?" Phoenix said, keeping the conversation in French for her benefit.

"Are you here from the school? What did he do this time? Burn down the gym or peek into the girl's locker rooms?" She opened the trunk and pulled out some large grocery bags, which Phoenix instantly came to help her with.

It was a perfect way to gain entry to the house, and it gave him some brownie points while at it.

Every point counted in the situation.

"Yes, we're from the school, but he did nothing of the sort."

Phoenix totally winged it.

He did not know who she talked about. It could be her father, husband, or kid, maybe even a brother. The fact that she had mentioned a school did not exclude people, anybody at any age could go to school. Though peeking into the girl's locker rooms would indicate a younger male.

Brother or kid was the best possibility.

"I'm Phoenix, by the way."

"Noreen," the woman said and eyed first Roarke and Phoenix and then Gareth, Jace, and Rami, who waited by the cars. She had seen them there. "If you're all from the school, come on in. I'll get the little rascal." She sighed and motioned with her hand to get the guys at the cars to come join them.

Unlocking the door and leading them to the kitchen where Phoenix set down the bags to look around, Noreen nodded at everybody and yelled at the top of her lungs: "Benjamin!"

The house was just as nice and normal on the inside. Clean and well-kept. The furniture was not old but not brand new either. Carpets and wallpaper were as impeccable as the outside of the house.

"What is it, maman?" A skinny kid around fourteen or fifteen with tousled blonde hair and pale blue eyes, dressed in a loose t-shirt and shorts, came around the corner from the hallway leading to the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened so much that there was a significant chance of them popping out. His jaw fell, and he stood there, frozen, looking like he was about to have an accidental bowel incident.

"Benjamin, these men are here from your school. I don't care what you did, you apologize and do whatever they tell you to handle the situation. I can't afford to send you to another school. Are we clear?"

The boy did not answer; he just stared in fear.

"Would it be ok if we talked in private?" Phoenix asked Noreen with as much charm as he was capable of.

Noreen, who had other things on her mind, just waved them off like it was normal for five large men to come from Benjamin's school. "Take them to the Batcave and you behave yourself, or I swear..." She gave Benjamin a stern look and waved all of them off again as she unpacked the groceries.

The kid found his ability to move and walked with tentative steps down the hall, with the five of them following him. He entered a room and went to a chair in the corner and sank into it, looking up and gulping hard. His Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.

"Are you here to kill me?" he asked timidly when Gareth had closed the door as the last one to enter.

Gareth turned on the light, making the organized chaos even more visible.

They all stood in what they should rightfully describe as the Batcave. There was tech stuff everywhere. A monster of a computer hummed lightly under a massive desk with four screens on it. The room had been laid in darkness apart from the light coming from the screens and a TV on a nightstand before Gareth had hit the switch.

"That depends," Gareth said coldly.

"I didn't do anything, I promise."

"You broke into my shit." Gareth had not even bothered to speak French, and Benjamin had answered naturally in English too.

Jace held out his hand and pushed Gareth back because he huffed wildly and had that murderous look about him again. They were dealing with a teenager, not some badass mobster. "Mind if I do this?" He waited for Gareth to nod before he approached the boy, who was obviously scared shitless.

"Hi. Benjamin, was it? I'm Jace."

Benjamin gave a little wave with a shaking hand.

"Why don't you tell me what you did?"

"I thought it would be fun." Benjamin flew back in his chair with the growl Gareth let out and continued with a stammer. "I mean, a fun challenge. That's what I do. I always try to break into things to check my skills, and it was amazing to battle that system. I mean, the setup is awesome. I spent weeks figuring out how to do it."

He looked down at his hands and then up at Jace, who seemed like the friendliest of the men in the room. The red-faced guy with the popping veins scared him the most because he seemed off-balance. But it was the Hispanic guy with the massive muscles he was most afraid of, though his face did not show hostility.

"I didn't steal anything, I swear. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Beat the system. I don't steal from people." He said the last words with proud defiance.

"But you saw some things you shouldn't have," Jace insisted.

Again, the Adam's apple bobbed wildly. "I won't tell anyone."

"I'm Delvin Roarke. Do you know who I am?" Roarke stepped forward.

The way Benjamin's eyes widened was answer enough. What Roarke had said on the plane was true. His name alone was enough.

"How old are you, kid?" Roarke asked.

"Thirteen." Benjamin swallowed hard and added quickly, "I'll be fourteen soon."

"And you mean to tell me you broke into our stuff for the fun of it?"

Benjamin nodded vigorously.

Phoenix leaned in and whispered something to Roarke, and they discussed it back and forth for a moment in low whispers until Roarke nodded.

"What do you say to a challenge?"

Benjamin shrugged, not sure what to expect.

"I suggest you show us how you did it. Our web guy will monitor you and see how you work. Will that be ok?"

"I can do that, but won't I get into more trouble if I do it again?"

"Not if we allow it."

Benjamin pointed at the bed and offered people a seat, but everybody stayed standing. He shook it off and then looked to Roarke for instructions.

"I'll call our guy. You'll grant him access to your system, and he'll monitor you while you do what you did before."

"And then you won't kill me or my mom?"

Roarke did not confirm or deny anything. He simply called Cellmate and told Benjamin to let him into his system. There was no reason to assure the kid that he was safe because honestly, Roarke did not know. But if he could do what he had done once, and under the pressure of them being there, and Cellmate monitoring him, on top of fearing for his own and his mother's life, that would show them a lot.

Benjamin found his headset and clicked around for a few moments. Out of the blue, he talked with Cellmate. "Horse, I'm called Horse. Ok, Mr. Cellmate. I'm ready when you are."

The next half an hour was intense. Benjamin's entire persona changed. He became focused and confident, his voice was strong while he talked with Cellmate in a language only Roarke had a chance of understanding, and even he had to give up on some of the lingo. Benjamin's fingers flew over the keys and the number of small coding windows that appeared on the screens came and went with the speed of light. Benjamin seemed totally unfazed by it. He was in his own world.

A world he controlled like a virtuoso.

"Done and I'm out." Benjamin threw his hands in the air and moved away from the desk. "Is this good or bad?" He cocked his head and eyed Roarke nervously.

Roarke felt almost sorry for the kid. The pressure they had put him under had probably scared him half to death. He called Cellmate and listened to what he had to say. It was basically what he had expected to hear.

"How many languages do you speak, kid?"

Confused with the question, Benjamin blinked a few times and then swallowed hard, like he again got tested and his scholastics were in question. "Eh, French, English, and German. And nerd. I'm pretty fluent in that."

Jace could not hold back a chuckle, one the others joined him in.

Even Gareth.

For once, no slap got delivered.

Roarke explained everything Cellmate had told him. He kept the conversation in Russian and had an eye on Benjamin to know if he understood anything, but he just sat in awe and his head swung from side to side to see who talked. Not once did recognition light up his eyes.

Everybody followed Roarke's lead and kept to Russian.

"So, what's your suggestion here?" Gareth asked.

"Cellmate says the kid's a natural. He could be one of the best hackers in the world. His age considered, he probably is. And he's heard of this Horse through the hacker's grapevine."

"He's thirteen, for crying out loud."

"Imagine how good he'll be?" Jace said. "Why let that go? Maybe consider hiring him?"

"No," Phoenix said firmly and stared them all down. He knew what it was like when adults exploited kids, and how intimidating that life was when not old enough to understand. "If you want him, do it the right way. Promise him a job after school."

Gareth grumbled aggressively.

Jace, who knew why Phoenix reacted like that, realized he probably was the only one to settle things to everybody's satisfaction. Phoenix stood tense, and for once he almost looked angry. Gareth looked ready to explode, whereas Rami and Roarke kept back to not get involved in the fight.

"Might I suggest something?"

Gareth nodded curtly.

"Hire him, but do it in a way that doesn't take him out of his life. Offer him a scholarship program with Cellmate. Like a mentorship, maybe? I'm sorry, I don't know the right terms." Jace shrugged at his own inadequacy with the terms. "But pay him to learn, and let Cellmate slowly grant him access to whatever the kid can handle. But make sure he knows he's only in the program if he continues with school and gets good grades."

Jace paused for breath, hoping he did not piss off people with what he pulled out of his ass with nothing but a fleeting idea in his mind. "When he graduates, you can relocate him, and he can be part of our team in any way he's comfortable with and you need him. That way, you make sure he works for you and nobody else. Besides, he doesn't seem like a threat to security. He just wants to learn."

There was a stunned silence for a moment. Jace dared to look at Phoenix first, who actually seemed to have formed his mouth into the semblance of a smile. Gareth thought hard, and Roarke looked impressed. Rami was just there as muscle, but even he smiled at the suggestion.

"I'm for it," Phoenix said calmly and nodded in agreement. He was beyond impressed with Jace at that moment. There had been no stupid jokes and only solution-based ideas. Ideas he himself could get behind because Benjamin would not get taken from his home and be used.

"Me too." Gareth did not wait for the others to agree; he had decided and turned to Benjamin.

"Ok, kid. I'm Gareth Tempest. The one whose life you just hacked - twice."

"Ehm, Horse. I mean, Benjamin Harbsmeier. Uh, Sir..."

Gareth smirked. "So, we've discussed it and come to a sort of idea that I'll run by you."

"Ok?" The way Benjamin looked at Gareth was almost comical. He looked like he waited for Gareth to tell him he could pick which of them should kill him.

"You seem like a bright kid, and I like that. What do you say to working for me instead of wasting your time hacking into my things?"

"Work? I'm thirteen..."

"Oh, I know. The idea is for us to set you up with Cellmate you just talked with. He'll mentor you and guide your development. I'll pay you for your time. But it's under the condition that you go to school, don't get into trouble, and stop doing stupid shit that could get worse people than me on your ass."

Gareth chose not to let on that there probably were few people worse than him out there, though there were some. And Benjamin's antics could get him in a world of hurt if he hacked the wrong people.

Benjamin nodded with the widest smile possible. He looked like Christmas and his birthday had come all at once. "I get to learn from him? The guru?"

"If you mean Cellmate," Gareth said with a laugh at the word 'guru'. "Then yes. When you finish school, I'll provide you with an apartment wherever we're located, and you can enroll in whichever courses you want at the local college to further your education, but you'll work for me." Gareth raked a hand through his hair. It was like a weight had lifted from his shoulders. The kid was not a threat, and they might have found the best hacker alive and gotten him into the fold. It was the best outcome ever.

One he had not foreseen.

One he could thank Jace for.

"You're interested?"

"Certainly, yes. If my mom says ok. She can be a bit... Difficult," Benjamin admitted with a crooked smile and a dramatic roll of his eyes. Typical teenage behavior when referring to their mother.

"Well, I'm pretty good with moms, I'll talk with her. If I pay you, you can pay her rent and things might feel ok for her?"

Jace did not even have to chuckle before the slap to his head came, but he just beamed at Phoenix. It had been worth it. No force on earth could have kept him from wanting to laugh at Gareth's statement of being 'pretty good with moms'.

Benjamin flinched at the slap and looked warily at Phoenix.

"I'll pay for any and all tech you need. I'll go talk with your mom and when we've finalized the deal, I'll have my team write up a contract for you both to sign. After that, all you have to do is send a request to Cellmate, and you'll get what you want."

"Really? Can I get..." Benjamin rambled off equipment and whatnot that made no sense to anybody in the room but him and maybe Roarke to a certain extent.

"Like I said. I'll pay for anything you need," Gareth interrupted when he could not stand the nerd speak any longer.

"Ok, yes, Sir. Thank you."

Gareth turned and left with Rami and Roarke to find Noreen and somehow formulate the deal to make her proud of her son and not disclose who Gareth was in the process.

"Eh, Jace?"

Jace stood by the door, about to leave with Phoenix, when he turned to look at Benjamin. "Yeah?"

"Did you just save my life? I mean, I didn't understand a word you said in that robot language, but that scary man calmed down after what you said."

"Maybe, I guess I did. Welcome to the team. You impressed a lot of people today." Jace held out his hand.

Smiling, Benjamin took it and shook it. "Thank you."

"Why 'Horse'?" Phoenix had to ask. He had listened to the one-sided conversation with Cellmate and understood the need for an online name. He just did not understand Benjamin's, whereas Cellmate's was self-explanatory.

"It's a chess thing. You know, the knight is shaped like a horse? Two steps forward and to the side or to the side and then forward. Sort of a metaphorical idea of me moving and sidestepping anybody I'm up against."

Phoenix rubbed his chin with a half-smile. "Clever, kid. Very clever. I'll give you that." He pulled out a business card and handed it to him. "I'm Phoenix. If you ever need a hand with anything school-related, I'm your guy."

"Thank you." Benjamin took the card and read it. His head snapped up, and he looked at Phoenix like he was the second coming.

Roarke was right.

He and Phoenix were well known.

The card he carefully put on the desk before Benjamin again looked at his guests.

"I don't have a business card," Jace said. He rummaged around in his jeans pocket and drew out a bunch of Euro bills. "But here, buy yourself a new pair of underwear. You look like you need them, and maybe a few spares. You just entered the big leagues." He winked at Horse.

Another slap to the head and a cheeky grin later, Jace and Phoenix left a baffled Horse behind.

In the quiet hallway, Jace leaned into Phoenix and whispered, "You're right. I'm good at this. If your offer still stands, I'm in."

Wattpad

Hi dear Wattlings.

Thank you for reading.

And Horse is back, did you miss him? Many of you wondered in FS about how he got into the mix of Gareth's group, well you got the first encounter here.
What do you think about Phoenix's proposition for Jace?

If you like it, then pop a vote and please leave comments. The comments are important for me to know how the story is progressing and the characters are developing. And I'd love to know what you think and interact with y'all.

Give me a follow too for updates on other work and put this book in your library. I'd appreciate that.

Love, Alix

Published: September 2nd, 2021. ©Alix Davenport, Copenhagen