Catch A Tiger By The Tail (THIRDS 6)

“She’s added a shitload of subclauses, but she did it.”

Ethan read through the amended rule, which had been sent out to everyone at THIRDS HQ. Agents were instructed to be discreet and professional, but relationships were no longer subject to discipline or transfer unless it resulted in an agent being unable to perform their duty to the best of their ability. The new amendment was extensive, but the gist of it was they were no longer subject to disciplinary measures simply for conducting a romantic relationship with a teammate. He wondered if Dex and Sloane had seen this.

The alarms blared, and Ethan sat up. They listened intently as Dispatch called in Destructive Delta. Suspicious device found off Times Square at the Deimos Tower. Calvin cursed under his breath as they both jumped to their feet and rushed out of the office, joining the rest of their team in formation as they hurried out of Unit Alpha to the elevator. Their sergeant took up the rear.

As they descended to the armory, Dispatch called in Theta Destructive and Beta Ambush. Looked like Seb would be joining them. Ever since Seb was promoted, Ethan noticed that Theta Destructive was often called on to assist Destructive Delta. Not that Ethan was complaining. Having his big brother near was comforting, but it meant there was a greater chance of Seb and Hudson running into each other. In fact, it was pretty likely they’d be working the same scene.

Downstairs, Ethan grabbed his EOD Packbot from his weapons locker and two EOD X-Ray kits, then handed one to Calvin. Anything else he might need he could pick up from the BearCat. They hurried to their tactical vehicle, parked in the garage next to Theta Destructive’s. Before Ethan could climb up into their vehicle with the rest of his team, Seb pulled him aside.

“You be careful out there, little brother.”

Ethan gave him a big smile. He playfully poked his brother in the chest. You be careful too. He didn’t have to say the words. Seb knew. His brother chuckled and knocked their helmets together.

“Yeah, all right. Get going.”

With a nod, Ethan turned and climbed into the truck. He secured his equipment in the weapons cage before heading into the front cabin. Calvin was already buckled up in the passenger seat.

“Everything okay?”

Ethan gave him a wink and buckled up before starting the truck. Time to get his baby moving. And boy could she move. Dex was always teasing him that he drove the BearCat like he was at NASCAR, and maybe he did, but he had years of maneuvering her through the streets of New York City. The BearCat might be an oversized beast of armored steel, rubber, and bulletproof glass, but Ethan had quickly tamed her wild ways. Her engine purred like a kitten, and she vibrated under his touch, her every move graceful and flawless.

“Seriously, I think you’ve got a kink for this truck,” Calvin muttered, his blue eyes narrowed.

Ethan laughed. He threw Calvin a suggestive look. Don’t worry, baby, your engine’s the only one I love to rev.

“By that look, I’m gonna assume you just gave me a cheesy pickup line.”

The fun and games quickly came to an end when they reached their destination and the chaos that surrounded it. Ethan parked the BearCat at the end of the block, maneuvering it so it blocked the street and any possible oncoming traffic. One would think a bunch of flashing lights and law-enforcement vehicles might deter motorists from entering that particular street, but nope. Unless the street was on fire, citizens would try to drive through, and even then there were always exceptions.

Ethan waited for Calvin to exit the cabin first, then joined their team in the back. He tossed the keys to Maddock and removed his Packbot from the weapons cage. Calvin helped him secure it to his vest before handing Ethan one of the EOD X-Ray kits.

Maddock gave Ethan’s shoulder a pat. “All right, Hobbs, you get in there and check it out. The device is said to have been found in the server room on the twenty-third floor. Calvin, you’re his backup. Assess the situation. I want you giving Sloane updates as soon as you have them. Destructive Delta, clear the building. Let’s get these people out of here.” Maddock opened the back doors, and they all jumped out. Taylor and Seb were organizing their teams when Sloane joined them.

Seb presented a map of the area on his tablet, and with a swipe of his finger, Sloane circled the perimeter. “Four-block radius. Get your teams to clear the area. As soon as we get word on the device, we’ll reassess.”

Ethan was about to head to the building when Taylor grabbed Dex by the arm and jerked him against him. Dex made to shove Taylor away, but the guy wasn’t budging. What the hell was he doing?

“What the fuck, Taylor?” Dex tried pulling his arm out of Taylor’s grip, but Taylor held on. He sniffed at Dex, a low rumble of a growl coming up from his chest. Shit. Was it the mark? It had to be. They all knew Taylor had a thing for Dex. He’d been sniffing around Dex since he joined the THIRDS, but Ethan thought they’d reached an understanding. With a feral growl, Sloane jerked Taylor away from Dex. He got up in Taylor’s face, his larger stature imposing as he loomed over Taylor’s smaller leopard Therian size.

“There are people’s lives at risk. We don’t have time for this posturing bullshit. Get your team in gear, Taylor, and do it now!”

Taylor looked like he might take a swing at Sloane, but instead he thundered off, hissing and shouting orders at his team. Sloane gave Dex’s arm a squeeze, and the two seemed to exchange unspoken words before Dex gave him a nod.

“All right, everyone, move out.”

Ethan hurried down the street and into the building with Calvin close behind him. THIRDS agents were already clearing the building, but it would take time, considering how many floors and offices there were. Ethan took the emergency exit, rushing up the stairs as fast as he could. The elevators were out of order due to the evacuation procedures put in place. Calvin was a few steps behind, but he did his best to keep up with Ethan. They were both sweating by the time they reached the twenty-third floor. Toward the end of the hall, he spotted the door marking the server room. As soon as they reached the room, Calvin held up two fingers and switched his earpiece to channel two. Ethan did the same.

After they’d been hired, Ethan had been surprised by the speed and length to which the THIRDS had accommodated his mutism. Sparks set up a line of communication for him. A special frequency on channel two reserved for him and Calvin. With the simple click of a button on their earpieces, Calvin could switch between their channel and the main channel used by their team. Ethan’s com was specially programmed. He could still hear the rest of their teammates through his channel. However, they wouldn’t hear him unless he specifically set his earpiece to do so. Only Calvin would hear him.

“Let’s see what we’ve got.” Calvin opened the door for Ethan, and they began to search the large server room. He tapped his earpiece. “Sarge, what are we looking for?”

“According to security, the network went down this morning, so they called in tech support.

A technician came and repaired the network, only to have it go down again an hour later. Just when they were going to call tech support again, one of the techs showed up. Apparently they were answering the first call. Whoever came in earlier wasn’t one of theirs. That’s when the real tech found a box that shouldn’t be there. I’m getting word now. Unit Twelve-B.”

“Got it.”

Ethan checked the servers and went through the numbers until he found the one they were looking for. He scanned the outside of the unit. All the lights were on, and the wires were where they were supposed to be. Moving lower, he found a shelf in the center of the unit. His pulse sped up at the sight of the large cardboard box. Inside the box was a large roll of brand-new, unused Ethernet wires. Upon further inspection, he noticed the shelf rolled out. Carefully, he pulled it toward him and studied the roll of wires, checking to make sure they weren’t attached to anything. Underneath it, he could see a blue glow, but the whole thing was under a black lid.