Chapter 1 Present Day: Evelyn

2 Years Later…

My fingers danced across my keyboard as I accessed the security cameras in the warehouse my team was raiding. Six computer screens took up my line of vision on one side of the undercover van I was in. As I accessed all of the cameras I led my team to our destination.

This bust would bring us one step closer to completely infiltrate and destroy Ricci Enterprises and their extracurricular business arrangements, specifically in sex trafficking.

“Shit it smells in here,” Badger complained through her headset.

“Damn Buddha, what did we tell you about eating cheese before a raid!” Arrow added.

“Guys, focus!” Chief, interjected. I giggled to myself at my team. Even in a dire situation, such as this, my team knew how to keep things amusing.

“Phantom, how far out are we?” Chief asked me as they turned down another abandoned hallway. They called me Phantom, because of my ability to infiltrate the cyber world, while going unseen on the dark web. My hacking skills were known around the world however my identity remained a secret. I was known as Phantom, because no one knew who I was. I made sure of it. All of us went by code names to ensure another level of security.

“You're almost there. Next door on your right,” I directed.

As they opened the door I heard Badger gasp and curse. I stopped typing. “What is it?” I tried to remain calm, squinting at the screens to get a better view.

“We found the smell…..” Arrow stated before Badger could.

“It definitely wasn’t my ass.” Buddha grumbled.

“Fuck!” Whispered Chief.

As I accessed the camera for the last room a gasp left me. Three cages filled with dead bodies could be seen as clear as day. Before the cages, was a large framed male bleeding out. With their guns drawn, my team circled the man on the ground.

“Who is it?” I was unable to get a good view of the person's face.

“It’s Moretti.” Arrow confirmed. Fuck! Lorenzo Moretti was the key to getting to Ricci.

“The place was attacked before we got here.” Badger added.

“It looks like they didn’t want any loose ends.” Buddha concluded. “No signs of life.”

I cursed and ran my hands through my long brown hair. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing heart.

I’ve been a phantom since as long as I can remember. Always listening, but not being seen. I was a pro at staying quiet and unseen. I've always had a passion for computer programming and hacking. My mothers last words always in the forefront of my mind.

Don’t let him see you.

All I could think about was how this mission was supposed to bring me closer to redemption. All I could think about was my mother trapped in an insane asylum because my stepfather put her there. A failure would mean she would be stuck there longer. I knew she wasn’t insane. I knew from all my “observing” she had caught on to my step father’s extracurricular activities and his role in my father’s death.

As I watched the screens that lined the side of the undercover van, my team exited the warehouse. The homicide unit had already shown up with ambulances and a forensic specialists team led by our friend and team member Zombie, Dr. Dante Spinelli. We would know soon if the deceased matched the missing persons reports that we had gathered.

My team hopped in the undercover van that was a block away from the warehouse. All of them knew how important this mission was. They have been with me since I was 18 when Chief Flemming caught me hacking into some government databases. They were the only family I needed after my stepfather had admitted my mother to the same asylum, and my sister was sent off to private school. Matthew was out on deployment, and I was left with no one, only my thoughts and my burning rage for revenge.

Buddha was the first to give me a hug. The rest of the team knew I needed time to sort through my thoughts, but there was nothing like a Buddha hug. Buddha, also known as Patrick Parsons, was a walking contradiction. He looked like the Rock with his bald bronze head, packed muscles, and tattoos cascading up his arms and all over his chest. He looked like a beast, but in reality, he was a gentle giant. Although his personality was soft. His artillery skills were one of the sharpest in the world. His knowledge for weapons and ammunition were out of this world.

Arrow, also known as Aaron Nelson, nudged me with his shoulder as he sat next to me. He didn’t need to say anything. I knew I would see him later and he would fuck the anger out of me. At work we were strictly coworkers, but outside of work, he was my personal porn star. Who could say no to blonde hair and dark eyes. He looked like Justin Hartley as Oliver queen which just made his nickname even more ironic. He was the most skilled archer in the world. Guns were nothing to him. He was more lethal with an arrow. He truly was a real life superhero with not only his skill on the team, but also in the bedroom.

Chief and Badger got in the front. “ we will get them, Evie.” Badger promised, looking back at me. I never had a lot of girlfriends, but she was my absolute best friend. Jessica Fitzgerald got the nickname Badger because of how lethal she was. She specialized in jujitsu, martial arts, and hands on combat. Like the honey badger, they seem cute, cuddly and innocent; however piss one off and they are deadly. The blonde bombshell, had her long blonde hair in a tight high bun.She propped up her long legs on the dash. Her piercing green eyes promised me the revenge that we both so desperately wanted. Her family was also affected by Ricci Enterprises. This operation was just as important and personal to her as it was to me.

Chief grunted in agreement. He was like a dad to all of us, although he was only 10 years older, my senior. Chief Derrick Flemming, was a decorated Marine. He had more tours under his belt and mission successes than any of his seniors. He kept his dark brown hair short in a military cut, gray speckled on his sideburns, and on his neatly trimmed beard. Sleeves of tattoos covered mass amounts of burn scars on his arms. Only those close with him understood where those scars came from and why this unit was created. All of us on the team had some sort of connection to Ricci Enterprises. All of us wanted to destroy it and its leader.

Pulling up to base, we unloaded our gear and parked the van in the garage out back. Our base was a warehouse building disguised as an elite gym. In the front was Domino’s Gym, owned by Chief. In the back of the warehouse, was all the government equipment we could ask for. To patrons, our team all worked at the gym. Badger was in charge of martial arts and kickboxing classes, while Buddha was in charge of weight training and yoga classes. Arrow and Chief ran self defense classes and helped oversee operations

I however did everything in the background, ensuring that the disguise of the gym never be revealed along with vetting all of the elite members of the facility. The gym helped explain why all the guys were bulked with muscle, and helped cover our tracks in case anyone ever tried to go after us along with something to put on our resumes. The US government knew about our team and base. Being a special ops team, had its perks. We were designed for a specific purpose: Mission R.

After everything was unloaded and parked, we all parted our separate ways. Buddha and Badger went to clean their guns, while Chief went to his office to go over paperwork for our next missions and undercover roles. Arrow followed me to Bug.

He shook his head at my car, “when are you going to get a new car, she’s seen better days.”

I glared at him and pet the roof of my baby. “Don’t listen to him Bug, he’s just jealous that I ride you more than ride him.” I stuck my tongue out at him as he chuckled.

He bit my tongue before I could put it back in my mouth and released it. “I’ll meet you at your place. I look forward to you riding me.” He winked and smiled before pecking me on the lips while palming my ass. I nodded in agreement before he turned to walk to his blacked out Jeep Wrangler. I bit my lip as I took a glance at his perfect ass. I couldn’t wait to get lost in any other feeling than the feelings of defeat of the mission.