ReBoot (MAC Security 4)

My eyes veer off toward the house as West exits, his head thrown back as he laughs at something. No sooner is he out of the house and walking down the path does Lexi come to a stop in the open door.

Her eyes zone in on me; she lifts her hand in a wave, but all I can manage to do is nod my head in reply.

I have to distance myself from her; things are getting too complicated in my own head, and as much as I want to say that her being an ex-con is pushing me away, it’s not.

“That girl,” West says, chuckling as he slides in the back on the car and leans forward. “She doesn’t even realize what she’s saying half of the time.”

I ignore him, my eyes still fixated on Lexi and her lip as she worries it. I can see the apprehension on her face as she looks down at us.

“I know,” Seb answers. “She’s kinda growing on me.”

“No shit.” West’s brows fly up on his forehead. “Never would have guessed with how you ignore her most of the time.”

Seb shrugs and pats his hand on the dash, signaling me to pull away from the sidewalk. My foot hits the gas pedal and I speed out of there, heading out of town and to the location where the meeting is.

My head’s not in the game, and it needs to be, especially for this meeting with Darrell.

“Did you check the car?” Seb asks.

“Yeah.” I nod, taking a left. “Nothing on here apart from my own stuff. There was nothing in your gran’s house either.”

“Good,” West answers. “Last thing we need is Gran on his radar.”

I nod in agreement and come to a stop at a red light. “What will happen at the meeting?”

Seb turns around to face West, a silent conversation going on between them before he turns back to me. “There’ll be a test.” I raise a brow in silent question. “He’ll get you to do something for him so that he knows he can trust you.”

“But you don’t know what?” I ask, pushing down on the gas pedal and taking a right; only a couple of miles from the industrial estate now.

“No one knows until he says what he wants from you.” Seb clears his throat. “But be prepared because it won’t be anything… legal.”

I shrug, not letting it bother me. Darrell is looking for a computer expert, and not your average kind of computer expert, but a really good one. I know I can do whatever he throws at me without a doubt, I just have to be able to put on the front that Seb and West seem to put on as soon as we drive into the industrial estate.

“We’ve kept it simple,” West starts. “We told the truth about how we know each other. It’s better to base a lie on truths—less chance of being caught out then.”

I come to a stop outside of the warehouse that Seb points to.

“The only thing he doesn’t know is that you work for MAC, but then no one knows that. I mean shit, we didn’t even know it at first.”

I smirk, knowing that I’m a ghost in the cyber world. People will have heard about me and the skills that I have. They may even have stories about seeing me or meeting me. But nine times out of ten they’re lies.

“Ready?” I ask, already pulling the handle on my door and pushing it open.

I step out, Seb and West not far behind me as I scan the building and swipe my arm twice across my belt to start recording what happens from here on out.

All conversations are recorded in my car with a swipe of my hand underneath my steering wheel, this is the “on the go” version.

Seb pulls the door open and we all step inside; both of them are searched: their cell phones and weapons left at the door in a safe box.

They turn around when it’s my turn, watching as I’m searched by the woman who looks more like a man than I do. The muscles on her arms have my eyes widening. She could probably crush me to death in a matter of seconds.

“You’re good,” she says, her voice soft. I don’t know if that shocks me more than anything else ever has.

You tend to already associate a tone of voice when you see a person; that’s definitely not what I expected to come out of her mouth.

She watches me as I walk forward, standing beside Seb and West before we move toward a black door that sits off to the right.

They both have worried looks on their faces, and I know what they’re thinking—that we have no backup, no way of relaying this meeting. They really should have more faith in me because I don’t go anywhere without something to protect myself or record what goes on around me.