Torn (Deep 8, #5)

4. Harlow

FOUR

Harlow

The morning air in Bath carries the scent of dewy grass, mingling with the anticipation that lingers around us. Rain spots the window with a gray backdrop. The sheet falls off my shoulder, but the heat from his eyes warm more than my skin. His good looks and my inexplicable draw to him aren’t helping my resolve.

His Mediterranean-blue eyes, surrounded by thick black lashes, peek out from under a strand of dark hair. My fingers grip the sheets, resisting the urge to push the hair away from his eyes so I can swim in his sea. The pull to him gets stronger the more time we spend together. I would do well not to cave to the magnetism and jeopardize my mission.

His lips curl. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

My arms stretch above my head. "I hope I didn’t keep you up. I was having this sexy dream about Chris Hemsworth."

"That’s odd. The only name you kept saying over and over again was Roger as you writhed under the covers." He grins. My pillow flies through the air and hits him in the head. "And Hemsworth? Really?"

"He’s easy on the eyes and has a wicked sense of humor. Deal with it." I whip the covers back, wearing underwear and a camisole over the stories of my ink.

Repeated knocks on the door make me reach for my weapon.

"If they found us, I doubt they would knock." I hear Roger mutter in the background. His arm is propped behind his head and the sheets have dropped to waist level. He’d give Hemsworth a run for his money.

I peer through the peephole at a redhead with a huge black man behind her. He’s so tall I can’t see his face. The mountain has arrived.

"Open up, Bane." She knocks again.

I lower my weapon and open the door.

She looks me in the eye, ignoring my lack of clothing. "You must be Harlow. Nice to meet you. I’m Pippa and this deliciousness is Beck. We’re here early because Sean gave us the company jet and fake passports. Bless his heart." She holds out her hand, shakes mine, and moves into the cottage with several pieces of luggage. I introduce myself to Beck, who drags luggage behind him.

“Who is Sean and are you moving in?" My tone lacks humor.

He rolls his eyes. "You would think so, but this is what my queen needs. Sean Knight is our leader and one of my partners at MBK.” His British baritone voice flows over me like a cozy blanket. Then I remember Roger saying, calm is his secret weapon.

Pippa sets up on the coffee table in a whirlwind of motion. Beck takes orders well and her every wish is his command. I need one of these.

Movement in the bedroom catches my eye. My mouth goes dry when I see Roger shirtless in jeans. His smug smile says I’ve been caught. The paleness of his skin doesn’t take away from a cut torso with ripped abs. I’m not going to survive him.

"Earth to Harlow. Come in, Harlow," Roger says with a smile as his focus lands on my chest.

"What’s up?" I cross my arms.

"We need to get food and coffee for our guests. Have any ideas?"

"Let me get dressed and we can get what we need."

I’m glad I am not in charge of hacking into Lucas’s laptop. One of them can lead this op. I may only get us into trouble by making decisions I’m unsure of. My specialty seems to be standing on the sidelines.

Roger and I come back with food and clothing. He asks several times if everything is okay because I’m so quiet. Quiet is what I do best. Quiet in the shadows, feeling helpless about what to do next. Quiet until I get the job done.

Self-doubt can be hard to cover up when you’re working as an agent but, so far, I’ve managed well. Going against the grain rarely gets me into trouble but this is a new crew. They seem to function well as a team without me.

Pippa sits hunched over her laptop, ready to breach the digital fortress of Lucas Bane's secrets as her fingers dance on the keyboard like a symphony.

Beck's gaze is intense, his instincts on high alert. "You sure about this, Pippa?" He asks, his voice low and rugged, like a secret whispered between conspirators.

Pippa grins, but her eyes are wild. "Darling, when have I ever let you down?" The confidence in her voice is infectious, and I wish it would rub off on me.

I glance at Beck, and our eyes meet. Roger takes control. "Let her work, Beck. We need this information if we're going to stay ahead of Deep 8."

"Deep 8?" I question.

Their heads turn in my direction, and they look at each other. Beck points in the direction of the kitchen. "Let’s talk."

Beck grabs three cups and fills the tea kettle with water. "We’ve been tracking Deep 8 for a couple of years now. They’re a shadowy organization with ambitions to control the world’s medicine, finance, and world energy. They seem to be everywhere, but we have stopped them from moving forward on several occasions. Desperation is setting in and they are making bolder moves. We’re hoping they make bigger mistakes."

Steam curls up from our cups. "I’ve never heard of them, and I’ve never heard Lucas mention them. This must be a dark op."

Roger grimaces. "The team recently discovered General Clay Murphy, the U.S. Secretary of Defense was working for them." He gazes into his tea absently. "His treason was a shock to everyone."

"I know his betrayal hit you hard, mate." Beck grips his shoulder.

Roger nods, but the tension in his body remains. "It will be even harder if my father is involved with this organization."

"We've danced on the edge of danger before, but this feels different. This time, the stakes are higher, and the enemy is more elusive than ever, but there is nothing to indicate your father is part of Deep 8." Beck reassures him.

Silence surrounds us as we sip tea, trying to take in the depth of Deep 8’s reach. The train of thought includes how globally ensconced they are as Beck and Roger continue to share details of their encounters with Deep 8.

The rhythmic click-clack of Pippa’s fingers on the keyboard is the only sound, punctuated by the occasional muted beep from the laptop. Beck keeps watch, his eyes scanning the surroundings out the window with the precision of a hawk.

After what feels like an eternity, Pippa grins triumphantly. "Got in it." We rush in to look at the screen.

The laptop reveals a labyrinth of encrypted files and folders. Pippa cracks her knuckles, ready for the challenge. "Let the games begin."

Before she can get to the files, a letter pops up addressed to Roger. He reads it out loud.

Dear Roger,

If you’re reading this on my laptop, one of two things has happened. I’m dead or I’ve been kidnapped. I’m guessing the latter because they are going to use me as leverage. I’ve been tracking a global terrorist group called Deep 8 for a while, and I think they are threatened by me. I may have gotten a little too close for comfort and triggered something that got their attention. They are extremely dangerous and will stop at nothing to complete their objective. They want to tear down every country and bring it to its knees, begging Deep 8 for what they need from food to energy resources. They must be eliminated.

What I have discovered is, there are three puzzle pieces around the world in various locations. Some of those locations have been visited by MBK Global Security, which has put a damper on their plans.

The files on this laptop must be opened and completed in sequence to retrieve the puzzle pieces. Once you have the pieces, do not put them together. I understand they have a power that's never been seen before. I have no doubt they will contact you and try to get you to get the pieces in exchange for my life.

Don’t let anyone know what you are doing and give it to no one. I have complete faith in you. My life is in your hands. You are one of the best-trained operatives in the world. Be safe my son.

Sincerely your father,

Lucas Bane

There is a moment of silence as Roger reads it again to himself. He sits back on the couch and runs his hands through his hair, wearing a frown. We hold our breaths waiting for his reaction.

"I have complete faith in you. You’re the best-trained operative? Who wrote this? Because it isn’t my father." Anger burns in his voice.

"It is your father because this is his laptop and those are his words." Pippa counters.

As she continues to navigate through the digital maze, I feel the weight of the information we seek pressing down on us. Lucas’s information about Deep 8’s sinister plan becomes clearer with each passing second.

Pippa's eyes widen as the screen fills with files, each with a label and flag attached to it. "Sean Knight," she mutters, her fingers flying across the keyboard to open and decrypt the contents. "Afghanistan, huh?"

Beck frowns and his jaw muscles twitch. "What's in Afghanistan? Sean shut down their mineral mines."

Pippa raises an eyebrow. "That's what we're about to find out." Her fingers continue to race over the keys, revealing a string of coded messages and coordinates. "It's a puzzle. Each piece must be solved to unlock the next one." She clicks each file with the image of a puzzle piece attached to it, but none of them opens.

Pippa’s phone rings and everyone’s head turns to stare at it. She reaches for it. "It’s an unknown number," she says before she answers.

"Hello?" She puts it on speakerphone.

"Damn, Red. You’re so good at what you do. We knew Lucas’s son would find the laptop and we need him to follow the clues to the puzzle pieces that Lucas graciously put together for us. Do exactly what it tells you to do, and everything will work out, or Lucas will die. Please hurry. Time is running out," the voice snarks. Before Pippa has a chance to answer the line goes dead.

Pippa’s freckles darken as her face goes pale. "This is a highly encrypted phone. How did they get my number?" Beck rubs her shoulders.

The realization hits me like a jolt of electricity. "Open the file labeled ‘UK’ and see if it opens." I offer.

Roger leans in, his eyes glued to the screen. "And we're players in this game whether we like it or not."

Pippa shakes her head, and her lips form a straight line. "Buckle up, my friends. This is going to be a bumpy ride."

As the puzzle unfolds, we dive deeper into the rabbit hole of Deep 8's machinations. The laptop screen flickers with images and documents—each one a piece of the first puzzle. The tension in the air is palpable, the gravity of the information we uncover hanging over us like a storm cloud.

Pippa's fingers pause again, her eyes narrowing at the screen. "This is bigger than we thought. Lucas has been collecting information on Deep 8 for years. Everything is here, every mission, every takedown, and some we don’t know about. This takeover goes way beyond our last mission."

Beck's expression tightens. "What's our next move?"

Pippa grins with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "We play along. We solve the puzzles and follow the breadcrumbs. The deeper we go, the closer we get to the heart of Deep 8 and Lucas."

As night sets in, our makeshift command center in the shadows of Bath transforms into a battleground of wits and technology. Pippa and Beck exchange banter, their chemistry is evident even in the face of danger. It's a twist of intellect and trust, a symphony of skills that keeps us one step ahead of our elusive enemy.

"According to the UK file, there is an actual puzzle piece that must be retrieved. Inside the piece is the code that unlocks the next file until all the pieces fit together. Each puzzle piece has a GPS that can only be tracked through specific software." Pippa summarizes the document. "They want Sean to go too." The room goes quiet.

"That’s not going to happen. Sean and Jess are expecting their first child. The third trip to Afghanistan will not be the charm for him," Beck says.

"He may not have a choice. Look at the clock in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. It’s been running since I got in," Pippa mumbles. "I don’t know when it stops."

Beck remains remarkably calm. "We’ll call him in the morning."

Pippa takes matters into her own hands and taps on her phone. "Hey, boss man. We’ve got a situation." Pippa goes on to share the document with Sean and the time crunch. She holds the phone away from her ear as a string of expletives leaves the phone. When the line gets quiet, she listens to his directions. "Got it." She hangs up.

She turns to us. "Sean’s going to read in McFadden and the President of the United States, Wyatt Decker, asking for assistance. He’ll meet you in Afghanistan, but he’s not happy about it. He wants an easy in and out. The two of you need to watch the video of Lucas’s abduction and look for the details we may have missed. You know Lucas better than anyone else. I sent Sean the file and he’ll meet you there in a couple of days."

Roger’s jaw flexes and he nods. "We can do that." He looks at me.

But as the clock ticks and the puzzle pieces aren’t falling into place. Alarms go off on my radar that we're being watched, maybe even set up. The shadows have eyes, and our every move is anticipated. The game has just begun, and the stakes are higher than ever. The world may not know our names, but the fate of nations rests in our hands.