Chapter One


I wasn't always like this. I used to be weak,naive,hopeful.. my name is Megan Grayson and if you’re reading this they’ll soon be folding a flag for me...I could take you back to the beginning and start from there but, that's time and patience I don't have so, let me paraphrase it for you.




My parents were war heroes, met in the service -- part of the seal team that took Bin Laden down.




According to my grandparents - My mother was the good girl who fell in love with the bad boy. My father was the rebel without a cause…. Cold exterior with a heart of gold.




They were perfect for each other and planning on getting married in the fall. Mom was ambitious and had her


whole life planned out while dad just kinda fell into things that he was good at and ran with it.




They never made it back to the states. Or so we were told - ambushed last minute by Osama's son. I was taken in along with my younger brother by my uncle on my father's side.




He was a celebrity in Philly; Owned a local restaurant. He made the best Cheesesteaks/pizzas/subs/ calzone and anything of the like around - well, anywhere for that matter. Critically acclaimed.




His face was printed in local newspapers, then onto Foodie magazines. Etc. They loved him. We were young when it happened. I was thirteen, my brother nine.




It wasn't a huge tragedy. We never met our dad and our mom shipped out when I was four. I used to get so frustrated with his over-the-top fantasies of them & By the time he was twenty three I had wished all his childhood fantasies were our reality.




I remember waking up to gunshots. My uncle and brother in the doorway then out the window down the fire escape I remembered thinking that we'd probably narrowly escaped some lunatic with a gun just to get killed in a wreck.




Hell. Eric must've been driving as fast as that beat up


p.o.s. would go. Gambling debts. That's why we wound up in Zurich with a new life under different aliases. To civilians, Chase was now Cameron and I was Alyssa.




We were to call Eric by the name of James. Ha! I can still see my expression in the bathroom mirror; 'james'? I smirked…. He glared at me with a stern seriousness. "Nothing about this is funny, if you slip it could be your life."




"All of this over a gambling debt?" Yeah, right.


I let it slide saying nothing, thinking only of Chase's well-being and our new lives began.






We weren't sent into public schools, instead we studied at home. But, not the basic curriculums and definitely not by your run-of-the-mill teachers. Eric seemed to know people who knew more than what friends of an ordinary restaurant connoisseur would…




We had moved to Zurich so 'James' could carry out our late Aunt's will... she wanted him to be a trauma surgeon in the field.




I started piecing it together when the bastard knew his


way around a chest cavity in the middle of downtown when a man had been stabbed. Supposedly no prior training in medical at all but, he saved a man from suffocating on his own blood.




It was then I started asking questions only to be shut down time and again with excuses that would've made sense except My intuition wouldn't rest.




we were taught four major studies:




Medical - everything from basics to war zone.


Intel (security) - Hacking into governmental systems - worldwide.


Stealth- mission impossible with a hint of John Wick. self defense- kill or be killed style.




At sixteen I could hack into any database.


On my eighteenth birthday I had 'secured' the identity of a crooked bank CEO's wife and drained every dime from all his accounts, even his private nonexistent ones..




He'd been screwing his Secretary ( and others on the side) causing 'Rebecca Lynn Stratford ' to file for divorce.


I felt guilty doing it, even though it was a necessary evil. To be fair though. I wired it back to her account after


proceedings were final and he couldn't touch it. Mr. Stratford’s reach was impressive, but. Certain irrefutable evidence turned up that insured his not so comfortable mainstay in a federal prison.




By the time I was legal drinking age I had been drunk to nearly passing out and killed thirteen in ten minutes. (Simulations made to prepare me for what I didn't know my life would become)




Back then it was fun. Exciting. Chase & I were privy to some seriously underground black box type of Intel, and we lived for righting the wrongs and watching the false prophets burn.




Chapter Two


What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and what you don't know won't leave a scar until it does.


My brother had just turned twenty-three when they caught up with my da---




Sorry, I forgot to Mention that huh?




Eric Edward Grayson. The Seal corporal who lead the team that ended Bin Laden's reign was my father. Oh. And they didn't meet in the seal team. They attended the beginnings of a college education together.


He had friends who he’d kept in his circle that had


informed him that they had either found or were close to finding us…three weeks after Chase’s birthday - Eric told us everything.




After they killed Bin Laden they were supposed to head back to the states but, before they got on the flight, Osama’s son found them. Dad found my mother with her throat cut but he had gotten there too late to help her, She bled to death in his arms.




He came to Philadelphia where we were staying with mom’s parents and started taking care of us claiming to be our uncle on our father’s side. My grandparents promised never to tell us any different for the sake of everyone's safety.




It took them eight years to find us in Zurich. Exactly one month to the day that my father came clean, we buried him…


I should’ve seen past it, I should’ve known that he was getting us out of their path. In hindsight it was so obvious that the training he was sending us off for was because he knew they were closing in.




His need to avenge my mother was clear but I didn’t catch it.


Our teachers in Zurich were the same people who taught my dad everything he knew. They were stationed there


and housed us. We got the call at four a.m. He was laid to rest with honor next to our mother.




From that day on, we started training harder, studying everything dad had kept over the years, only we weren't doing it to keep ourselves out of danger… We were hunting it and we had the entire seal family behind us.




I don't know who wanted more, Chase,me, or the ones that served with, taught, and learned from our father .. But, we set out to find any tie to Bin Laden and when we did, we killed them all.




It was a game of cat and mouse. We'd get information, find them, create identities of high rolling weapons dealers or like minded psychopaths and after we learned everything we could - when they were useless… we took them out one by one.




We started with close family. first wives, then sons. Mind you, we weren’t spilling the blood of the innocents. They all acted as a cell to kill my parents.




All of them either funded the project, helped find them, lured my mother to her death. We found out, after some time that they had planned to capture and torture us for intel.


So, we burned them to the ground then went after Business associates, fellow arms dealers, anyone we found that had helped them had already written their death certificates… they just didn’t know it yet.






Chapter Three


somewhere along the way Chase met one of dad’s old Navy buddies.




We all trusted Thomas, After all my dad loved him like a little brother. He was half dad's age but Everything he said, checked out. He had pictures of them together, war stories.. even mutual buddies of theirs to confirm it - the whole nine…..I checked it all personally.




We would go on mini vacations together, the three of us. Like the musketeers, inseparable. To Bali and Rome - wherever we decided we thought we'd like the weather that week. My favorites were the tropical venues.




I loved diving, surfing and even convinced them to go on a bit of a treasure hunt. They thought I was caught up in delusions of grandeur until we came up from the bottom with a nice little chunk of change.




" Oh my god, this is insane. You're insane, Megan. How did you know?!"




I can still see their Expressions. Eyes big with disbelief. Laughing and already making plans for our next extravagant tour…..




…."C'mon guys. Give me a little credit, you know I'm the one who studies and triple checks everything.


Shipwrecks have always fascinated me so I just found the ones thought to be fruitless and went after them." …




Ha... we never lost sight of the mission. We were just taught that if you pour all of yourself into the work you burn out quickly and put yourself in greater danger.




So. We took ski trips, went skydiving, and toured Greece. Some of our counterparts called us reckless for just taking off in the middle of a take down to "vacation" but, they're not here to tell their stories, so. I figure we were taught well. We'd use our Aliases on our little get aways when there was anyone else around.




I have to smile when I think back on all of our adventures. They were a much needed break from the grind. We would brush up on Information and plan more into hunting my parents' killers while we took some time away. It gave us a chance to view things with fresh eyes.




Thomas fought alongside us to avenge my father’s


death. Trained with us, we became as close as family ever could. and then one night we closed in on the last target and Thomas seemed to go M.I.A.. radio transmissions went black, we were expecting the worst. We just never expected the “worst” that came…




As we arrived we had a plan to close in on them from all angles. I’d take the North entrance, Chase took south, Don - the man that taught us everything took East and Thomas, West.




We secured our locations and radioed back letting each other know our positions but, when we tried Thomas - No one could reach him, so we headed to the west entrance and slowly moved in.




“Don. Chase and I have no visual of Thomas, you got anything yet?”


“No, Nothing ye-(his voice cut off by the sound of him being knocked unconscious).




“Damn it. Chase, do you have Don’s location?”


“No, I’m right at the west entrance now, Split up until we find them both.”




When we did, we found Don tied to a chair in the middle of the corridor. A stage like light lit the floor just in front of him.




Chase ran towards him Immediately and I saw the sight light up red on Don’s forehead as he screamed for him to get down with his dying breath.




I took a shot at the balcony where the sight came from. Whoever it was, I hit him but I wasn’t sure if it was a killshot.




“Chase, you okay?” “Yeah, let’s get these bastards.”




Thomas was the son of a man who lost his life as the result of casualties of war years earlier. My father was on a secret op. mission that he neglected to tell my mother about because he had claimed the life of one of our own… It destroyed him.




But, my father being the strong silent type, never mentioned a word of it to anyone. The guy he killed was undercover, and my dad believed his life to be in danger, so he did what he thought he had to. After the fact, the navy briefed him on the death…




Aaron Thomas 60 years old he was working undercover to bring down some pretty bad people with psychopathic tendencies. My father was brought in to stop the same men, but the Navy failed to tell him that they had a friendly stationed undercover nor did they mention my


father’s arrival to Aaron.




It was a set up. Somebody wanted both of them dead - but wanted to keep their hands clean in the process and now we were the target of Aaron’s son’s rage.




He let us kill all the intended targets before backing us into the main ballroom, coming out of the shadows gun drawn. He knew he’d have a hell of a fight. I never saw it coming and the one time I let emotion overtake logic, it bit me hard.




I took out Thomas' knee cap and as he went down he shot Chase in the chest but not before Chase put two in his..I got clipped by one of thomas’ bullets grazed my head.. Thanks to Chase, we made it out alive.




Shriden was his mother’s Maiden Name, he created an identity with his Father’s last name as being his first


...Thomas Shriden….




Chapter Four


It’s been said that “before you embark on a journey of revenge, you should dig two graves.” I guess we should have listened.




By the end of it all, we dug well over two graves...narrowly escaping our own…..




What? I said they’d soon be folding a flag for me,I never said it was because I had died.




After He got us out of the Shriden fiasco, it wasn’t long before we realized that Thomas had left a calling card in the wrong hands and when they didn’t hear from him…




well, I’ll be damned. Road trip! Chase ditched out before our so-called “funerals.” I had to make sure our new adventure wouldn’t leave any trace of us. So, here come the new aliases, new destinations, new loose ends to snuff out before they caught us first.




Well. I suppose we could go tropical this time. Maybe Cancun, Costa Rica…. eh. I settled on Hawaii for the time being. Not too conspicuous. We caught a little vacation for a quick minute before moving along hopping from Hawaii, then to Japan, because… Why not? haha hell, when we were young we’d always talked about the wild places we’d go.




We burned a year in Ireland with a contact that Don had given us before he’d died. Said if anything were to happen to him they would take care of us…




Turns out, Don came from a looong line of celtic bad asses. When they found us there was absolutely no hope


for any of them because, for everything Don had taught us, His Father taught us so much more.




No wonder Don was such a hardass all the time. His father was ALL business. But, Don had told him that if he ever got the call, we were in massive peril and that we were to be trained and guarded at all costs. Of course, we had no idea why our lives were so important. We just thought that the SEALS took this family stuff to heart.




It was like a video game where you fought every villain you could imagine just to get that pit in the bottom of your stomach when you heard the music building up. Well, shit. We never really had time to think about it, the campfire horror stories you hear about science experiments in the service. But, when you put the wrong people in power and give them funding for shit they tell you nothing about… you kinda get what you deserve.






Eh.eh.eh. Patience young grasshopper, I’m not done telling you what happened in Ireland yet.




We burned a year and were closing in on two and a half before they finally got to us, but we were ready. Ian had just lost Don’s Mother to Cancer and was in no mood for foreplay. He was however full of rage from losing her and in kill mode so, If it weren’t for the whole “bad guy” thing


I’d have felt bad for some of the ways they died.




I remember the day we laid her to rest. It was like losing a mother of our own But, the look in Ian’s eyes. it was like she’d taken his soul with her and when they came for us, It showed. It was like he almost took pleasure in gutting them. Like killing them soothed the pain of losing her.




After our little run in occured, Ian decided it was time to fill us in on the rest of the puzzle. My dad wasn't just murdered because of Bin Laden’s family, We - weren’t just attacked by Shriden because of Aaron, The secret op mission that Aaron was undercover for...the reason for my dad being there was a serum. A serum the Bin Laden family wanted that (Aaron and my father were trying to destroy before they got their hands on it.)






Bin Laden had somewhat of a mad scientist from our team working on a project that would have their soldiers on speed and steroids for the brain which honed their abilities for which they were specialized in and at the same time not only did they not sleep, they spent their time bulking up and then, there was the “manchurian Candidate” factor.


Mind control.


In short, they were creating killing machines and we were picking up where Aaron, Dad and Don left off. We were hunting it down, It - and anyone it had been used on and stopping them before hell broke loose.




We had to research killings that didn’t make any sense in the service, leaf through cases of friendly fire, follow the bodies and eventually, we got a lead. It was underground. Deep underground and it was in plain sight.




The service was covering it up. They knew they had messed up on a seismic level. Edwin Marcus was arrested and brought up on charges of treason and murder - responsible for twenty-some deaths of U.S. Soldiers, but not before he had injected a team of six or eight with the crap he cooked up. Great….




Chapter Five


We’re lookin’ for eight supersoldiers on steroids under control of the most psychopathic minds from the opposing team.




Timothy Davenport: Special Ops Derek Johnson: Logistics


William McNamara: Combative specialist




Trent Thompson: Reconnaissance Quentin Darby: intelligence


Kristin McNamara: Combative specialist




Jeremy Wilson & Lauren Stanbrook: deceased. Too much of Marcus' special blend.




So just to recap we had six of our own badasses hunting us down ( unless, we, which… we did…. ) Found them first. The disadvantage? We were short handed and not juiced up.




The advantage? We controlled our minds and we had great training and Intel. We had years to prepare and it was Ian, Chase and I against six half crazed soldiers. Our biggest advantage? Ian. He was the best the SEALS had seen.




Alright. Inhale, Exhale. Let's do this. Oh joy. We have a sibling team rivalry. Thanks for the legacy, pops.


Here it goes.




The McNamaras were impressive and almost good enough to take us but Dad and Don trained Chase and I to think as a whole and you don't get that type of training in an injection. They put up a hell of a fight and it took me weeks to heal up from Kristen's love taps.




Intelligence only works if you're focused on the right information. Well, Mr. Darby had his circuits half fried before we even tracked him down. So Ian took him out with a stealth attack and that was it.




We all had a hand in Trent's demise, just kinda led him into separate rooms until we all had a shot at him. Ian had a run in with him in the good ol days so he was more than happy to snap his neck.




Derek and Tim. Oh I still get warm fuzzies when I run my fingers over the scars they left. Ian and Chase were hunting them down to smoke them out but they were ahead and trapped them. Chase was stabbed three times and Ian was at the business end of a Barrel when I came in but you can't mess with a bull and expect not to get the horns.




I killed them after a few minor brushes with both Derek & Tim. By minor brushes I mean a millimeter closer to my heart and that blade would've ended it all if the three


bullets hadn't. Ian and Chase kept screaming at me in and out of consciousness that if I gave in now they'd bring me back just to take me out themselves… gotta love the tough love of a close knit family.






They've got a favorite nickname for me now, "Mama."


" We've never seen anyone with so much "fuck you" in their blood as we did when you walked in on that mess. Like a mama bear seeing somebody taking after her cubs." Good work… last thing I heard before taking two months off (comatose from injuries sustained).




I woke up to Chase sleeping in the corner of the room at Ian's place.




"Hey, bout, time you stopped slacking."




"Ian! She's up." I couldn't help but smile at my guys and they both hugged me.. I winced, " Still sore, easy, guys." " How in the hell did we make it out of that.?"




They tried giving me all the credit but I would've been just as dead if it weren't for them.




Chase was in for three weeks, four surgeries later they released him. Ian, got out with four broken ribs and a


couple of scratches. When I said that man was the best of the best … " Your brother had me thinkin' I'd have to kick both your asses for a minute there… lost him twice in the first surgery. He was touch and go, afterwards for a good while."




I scowled at Chase.




" Ya know, we live by the same rules, you woulda checked out we woulda been on your heels to drag you back."




His reply was a smartassed grin " yeah, yeah."




Ian looked at both of us and grinned. "I see why Donny was so apt to have me look after ya's. You had no hope without me."




We all laughed and Ian went for a bottle of his finest. He was a collector of the greatest liquors in the world.




God, that hangover.. still get half sick thinking about it but that night was well deserved and we all needed a drink.




I don't think I've ever felt more close to anyone in my life than those two and not just because we fought side by side but, those two were family.


We all spent the next six years living quietly on Ian's farm taking small breaks away just to travel and actually see the places we'd been instead of just passing through on missions too fast to think or enjoy the beauty of it. We had gotten so wrapped up that we started getting burnt out… and we knew it was time to step away for a while.




Chase decided to start up a cheesesteak joint like the one dad had in Philly and got almost as popular around Killarney but he wasn't looking to go too big. I think Ian's liquor collection might've helped business along.




He eventually opened a bar alongside the cheesesteak shop and together as business partners they grew to make the cover of a few newspapers in Ireland.




Then tourists started pouring in and they did a great business. I always wanted to bartend so Ian allowed me to add your run of the mill liquors so I could fool around with mixes and create some badass drinks ha. I liked to mix the strongest proofs and watch the toughest of drinkers cower.




I called these mixes the "top shelf tortures." Guaranteed to give you the hangover of a lifetime, but so damn good that ya just couldn't keep yourself from reaching out for em.




Chapter Six


Chase and I would return to the SEALS and go on whatever missions necessary. Always in the same unit working side by side. Eventually heading up our own special ops force following in dad's footsteps.




Ian stayed behind and manned the bar and cheesesteak shop. It's funny. For someone who loathed cooking that man came up with some wicked concoctions that only added to the notoriousness of their business.




I remember watching him half tuned shuffling through ingredients no one ever thought would work together and coming up with some of the best sellers on the menu.


So, Chase knew he was leaving it in good hands.




He'd show up from time to time when we were on the job… the first time it happened, we were shocked. It was a nice surprise every time and was a much needed morale boost…




"What the hell. Ian! What are you doing here? How did you even know where to find us?"




"Perks of having friends in the business. You two behaving?"


Chase and I just shot each other a devious smirk. " You know it."


" Oh. I'm sure. He grinned."




"So, what kinda hell they got you raising now?"




Chase's wise ass. Haha




" Wish we could, but ya know… top secret and all."




Every time Ian would show up we'd get a meal. Keep the family values at heart. Forget that life was so damned full throttle. Just for a minute. We never really showed fear because we were so used to the chaos but living like we did, didn't leave much room for a feeling of being at ease.




Chapter Seven


Ian was 65 when we lost him, one of our tours led to us burning an old friend of his but sometimes friends can be bought at a price and we were days behind him. He was hired to kill Ian as a means to get to us.




"Kill those close to them and make them suffer." We took the time to honor him properly with a wake before we headed out. This time, Mama was out for blood and


Chase was step for step.




He was like a grandfather to us. And our rage was built on every soul we'd laid to rest.




Patrick Fowler: He got out of the service a long time ago, honorable discharge. They went way back, served together in their twenties but lost touch around fourty-five because Ian was still moving around.




Years, tours and time separated them. We went after him and found him at his home in Peoria, Illinois. He was terminal… someone had stolen his identity and had Ian killed. We had the bastard inside a week


But the trail went cold ….




It was another platoon buddy of theirs who was brought up on multiple charges including murder. He was being pressed to find us and the way to do that was to lure us back to Killarney.




The thought was to take us out there but somebody dropped the ball because, as irony would have it, they stopped at Chase's for a quick bite; and one too many shots of Ian's collection bought us time to catch on to the fact that we needed to refocus and come back around.




We regrouped, did some digging to find that the real


culprit was named Devin Murdock and yes. He served with Patrick and Ian. But, some bad people recruited him early on to work as a mole which eventually led to his stint in a military prison; he was sentenced to 30 years and did most of that until some insiders made him a deal.




We had a bounty on our heads and if he could get us to show up, they'd let him out. As far as we could tell, they honored the deal and he was released two days before we got there. What luck .. he's in the wind again but, what didn't make sense is that I was getting information that had him heading in two different directions.




Now, to find out which one was true and why we were getting two locations for him. The team we had working for us was top notch and they rarely had inconsistencies in their Intel. So, were we dealing with our own mole who was trying to throw us off while putting us in the line of fire or was Mr. Murdock just that talented?




Initially we figured it was an old inmate, crooked guard, someone from the prison helping him elude us. Always seemingly just steps behind, we split up and started following both paths. Chase took half the team while I took the others. Both having efficient specialists that would help us close in. But, even with their expertise we couldn't catch up.




" Chase, we're headed to Detroit. A hotel attendant said he came through a week ago talking about family there. We know that's not why he's going, but we need to follow it. There's something there we need to find."




" Yeah, We got the same thing here headed to Michigan now. We're going towards Ann Arbor. What the hell's going on, Megan?"




" I don't know, but be careful and let me know what you guys find."




When we reached Detroit we found a warehouse that had been cleaned out in a hurry…. I was starting to take this cat and mouse game personally.




Damn it. Always 3 steps ahead. No viable leads on who would be helping him. No family there in Michigan. I was getting burned out.


Chase came up empty, too. . .




Patrick was being taken off life support the following week on Wednesday. To be buried on Saturday.




"Megan." "What'cha got"




"Three months ago Devin sent a letter to Patrick from prison … sent it to a safety deposit box retrieved by Patrick's caretaker."




" What's it say?"




"See you soon old friend."




"Chase… we're circling back to Peoria. We think he went to see Patrick.




"My teams gonna stay here, we might've found something."




As soon as we got there, we went to Fowler's place. Nothing.


"Wait. Burner phone?


The man can barely breathe for himself."




Damn it. Devin promised to take care of Patrick's final wishes. And after he did, he assumed his identity long enough to sell us out, then dropped it. He's good. Gotta give him that.




He had definitely been there… we pressed the caretaker


Daniel Todd. To my surprise, he gave us nothing. We ran it. Todd was a second cousin to Devin Murdock.. "Still doesn't explain Ann Arbor."




Chase called. "We got him."


"What?" "No. He's in Peoria."




"Megan…" "check your phone. I just sent you confirmation."




A picture of a man who looked just like Devin Murdock. But how? We just spoke to the mortuary. He left here 30 minutes ago.


After about 72 hours of interrogation Chase called again. "It's his twin."


"What? Ho--?"


"They were army brats growing up, he was adopted at birth.. Devin tracked him down and enlisted him for help. Devin's adoptive Name is Banks."




That explains a lot but now our target is gone again. Probably hunting us as we speak. The one thing we did learn early on is that it never hurts to study your opponent, especially if they're steps ahead.


Chase and I sent out decoys, one went back to Maine, Where Murdock was locked up and the other stayed behind in Detroit, both were using our personal credit accounts to leave false paper trails.




"Chase. Get to Detroit, he's headed for Erin. You gotta get there asap.




We decided to use his brother as insurance to bring Devin to us, but he proved to be a disposable asset. Damn.




He got to Erin just as Chase and I did and killed her in front of us. I woke up on the floor of the warehouse. A phone beside me rang..




"Hello?"






Chapter Eight


"Megan, don't come after me he's gonna kill y-." "Hello, Megan.. you two messed up.


"Eye for an eye and all of that."




I saw red. Thoughts of us as kids ran through my head then, everything in between. One tear hit my chin before


kill mode set in.




It didn't take me long to find them and he had a team waiting to split the bounty. Seven against Me and two others. We slaughtered four then went after Murdock.




"Murdock!."


"Get out here you spineless coward. You're mine."




A makeshift projector came on automatically and an image of my brother bruised and bloodied suspended from the ceiling by his wrists.. I couldn't tell if he was breathing.




We found Devin and his two cohorts in a room. Killing one, our scopes aimed at Murdock's head.




" His life for yours."...




" Megan… reduced to bargaining already?"


" I'm disappointed in you, you two were the stuff of legends.. not so tough now, I see."






" Your brother died calling your name."






"Let's get on with it, shall we? I have plans for that


money. "






My two killed his partner but had their lives taken in the process.




Murdock was dead before he could blink.




The room where they held Chase was empty. His blood soaked shirt on the ground.




After I exhausted everything I could think of and not fully believing that he was dead, I went back to Killarney. Lost my mind every day. We were always taught not to let emotion cloud logic and I blew it.




But there was no word from him. Nothing to suggest Murdock was lying. It took everything I had been taught just to find him and came up dry. Nobody. No sign of life. He was just - gone.




I was about half way into a bottle of Ian's whiskey when I had a moment of clarity. There was a bounty on our heads, Not necessarily an order to kill us. Who the hell would take him though and why? I started going back over everything from every tour we did. All the missions…


Every player - alive or deceased. And it all came back to Edwin Marcus. He was the only one we never got to but, he was in a military prison … didn't mean he didn't have reach outside of that. But, the only ties we knew of were all dead.




Another dead end. I kept digging and it turned out the project he was working on was underfunded and he reached out to some high rollers in the Japanese armed forces for backing.




Shit. Did they press him for Intel on the project? Do they have the serum? If I went in now, it would be a solo mission unless I could get some people on board but, everyone we knew personally was either retired or dead and the SEALS weren't really into lending a hand to hunches.




I showed up in Tokyo three nights later, studied the facility, their schedules, drills, layouts…. knew every guard's checkpoint. Even managed to get ahold of the securities' fingerprints to gain clearance to what they called "red rooms". In short what it amounted to was designated quarantined sections where they performed their experiments. I had a feeling that Chase became one of them.




Chapter Nine




I moved along from section to section…. Empty. I started to give up when I got to it…. The tag on the door said Grayson/Hill.


Hill? …. I opened the door to find my brother and another body in pods in sedative states hooked up to what looked like power charged tubes. As I got closer I realized they had ports in their backs that the tubes fed into.




I tried not to get too consumed with what I'd seen and turned my attention to a station with several computers.








" Warrior project 2.0"


Diagrams of DNA and whatever was being pumped into Chase and "Hill".




Her name was Janessa Hill. And from what I could tell, they were creating a newer version of the six soldiers that Chase and I took out. Fantastic. No doubt they got that mind control installed too. I could only hope that since they were in this room. Something had failed and there was still time.




I remember seeing something out of the corner of my eye just in time to get slammed into the filing cabinets and dropped to the floor. I shook it off and jumped to my


feet. Chase. Only his eyes were fixed in a blank stare.




We went rounds before he was joined by Janessa and I started to get the feeling that a solo mission wasn't the greatest thing I could've done in the current situation. I noticed panels in the back of their necks but I didn't know what the purpose was.




Jenessa kept me busy dodging her military issued blade while Chase was seemingly intent on destroying me. He had his hand around my throat crushing inward and I could feel myself blacking out.




"Tyler"....




I thought it was a hallucination. My head was reeling, none of this made sense. He had died eight years earlier in combat beside Chase and I. We attended the funeral.




It hit me just before I lost consciousness and I was hoping like hell he was the cavalry. I woke up in an unfamiliar room. I ripped some ivs out of my arm before Tyler came in.




"Whoa. Whoa. Easy. It's ok." I just sat up silent in my bed.


" You're dead. I had to bury yo-."




"I'm sorry, Megan. I wanted to reach out so many times."




He choked on the start of a sentence before clearing his throat and began to fill me in.




"I was dead. They brought me back with an experimental… They brought me back and put me on a task force to gather information on this "warrior project" . After you and Chase destroyed the first round, they decided to put a bounty on your heads, originally - they were going to take both of you.




Chapter Ten


They've been pumping Chase full of super steroids and put a chip in his head with clips of you trying to kill him. He's convinced that you are now the enemy. Same with Janessa. We can get them both back but it was a freaking suicide mission for you to go in alone."




His scolding hit my last nerve just right.




"What was I gonna do, Tyler? He's my brother. It took years to track him down and I had no one to turn to."




" You've got me."


“Okay, what do you know about the project?” “It was started by..”


“Edwin Marcus, for the Bin Laden family...how do we get Chase back?”




“There’s a series of things we have to do and the biggest problem we have is that, with their previous training and now being Juiced up and bugged, they are gunning for us and the program creators who have the program now perfected it… we aren’t dealing with Chase anymore, we’re dealing with a full blooded killer .”




“The first thing we have to do is disable them enough to take the chip out so they can control their own thoughts again.” The panel on their necks house that chip. If it gets damaged - they’re as good as braindead. We can't go in there half cocked so, you need to share everything you’ve learned as well.”




“Okay, from what I can tell, they keep the “reversal injection” on a separate base in Yokohama. We need to have that before attempting to go after them again.” After we get it, I’ve gotten blue prints and security codes for the base here in Tokyo.”




“ Since they’re all hopped on Marcus’ joy juice do you


think that a commercial Grade sedative would even slow them down? we may be able to disable them with minimum damage. We can’t risk damaging those panels and If we have to engage in combat, that won’t be easy.”




“It’d be worth a shot. What are we thinking? guns or are we trying to get close enough to inject them ourselves?




“I only have access to four syringes so, I think that getting close enough to them would work better.” “The plan is that I’ll go in as a decoy and keep them


occupied, I’ll need to have you close behind, they don’t waste time...I barely got you out of there.




We got to Yokohama and within an hour we had the guards taken care of and the injections in our possession. We got back to Tokyo and decided how we would go about getting close enough to Chase and Janessa to paralyze them long enough to give them the injections, and I wish I could say it went off without a hitch.




Security was laughable. But, Chase and Janessa seemed to be waiting for us and Tyler was right…. They didn’t waste time trying to kill us.They seemed to be geared specifically towards me and between the two of us it took three hours of fighting instincts so we didn't damage panels to get them worn down enough to be


able to hit them with the sedatives and that barely phased them. I think we both just got pissed off enough to push back.


A shot in the dark and two syringes a piece, we got the reversals in motion. it was just like watching a computer powering down when it hit their systems…. haunting.




We got them back on the tables in the red room and subdued enough for the reversals to hit. When we finally got them back, Chase explained that the whole endgame was for a bunch of high rollers to see us destroy each other like their own personal dog fight, but with people.


Wagers included. Apparently, whoever won got their hands on a whole new set of plans for more experiments.




Chapter Eleven




After it was over I found out that Janessa was actually on Tyler’s team but they had captured her and turned her into a “warrior”She played no other role in it than as a way to stop me from getting to Chase….As it Turned out, Tyler was Janessa’s Fiance.He went there to find her, it was just a happy coincidence that Chase and I were there.




After they recuperated,we wasted no time hunting down the heads of everyone involved in the “warrior Project” and anyone who was in on the betting.






“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.”




“Tyler, it’s in the past. I’m happy for you for moving on”




“bullshit, you thought I was dead and had no closure then you realize that I’m still alive, but engaged.”




“Megan” Tyler looked at me with a sharp glance


“I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I never saw me falling in love with anyone but you.”




I shook it off nonchalantly and walked away with tears in my eyes. It’s par for the course, you don’t fall in love with anyone when you do what we do, and IF you do - you understand that Love is often a casualty of war.




“I gotta get back to Chase.” I said and left the room. Tyler and I never mentioned our past or the emotions from the past, again.




Chapter Twelve




Things went back to normal pretty quickly, To my surprise. I wound up adoring Janessa. Tyler and her were great for one another and Chase had his best friend back.




Tyler was just like Chase and in ways, they were more like brothers. He was charismatic, confident, sarcastic and goofy. They were the morale of the team back in the day.




And Janessa, was sweet, mild mannered, quiet… until you pissed her off that is. She wasn't the type I would've ever thought I'd see in the Navy ops but, I'm sure there was a time people thought that of me. She was deadly if you came in between people she loved and I think that's why they put her on the force with Tyler. He drew out her full potential.




You shoulda seen the look on Chase's face when he came back to reality to find that Tyler was alive and well. It was like seeing exactly how I felt when I saw him played out in realtime.




Everybody should get the chance of experiencing their dead loved ones coming back and not being the horror story That we grew up with… Not gonna lie, The first thought that came to mind when I saw Tyler again was two words “Pet Sematary.”




No. I never told him that, although, he would’ve gotten a kick out of it.


We Became our own little tight knit family and for a second, I started to feel like a little girl again, Hopeful and happy.




Chase and I decided that our time spent in the Navy had come to an end. We both retired deciding that we had had enough excitement for one lifetime. We went back to Ireland every now and again to pay our respects to Ian and throw one back in his honor. We did the same with all of our other fallen comrades.




Tyler and Janessa would stay and serve for another 5 years.


Chase pulled some strings and we'd pop in on them in the middle of their tours, just like Ian had done for us years before.




Didn't matter what month of the year it was, when they got done with a mission, we would pack every holiday we'd missed in between into one gigantic celebration and they would always be held at Ian's farm which we had inherited and catered by Chase's restaurant.




I saw to it that those two were well versed in finding their way around my "top shelf tortures" and we had so many great stories and massive hangovers to overcome together.


Chapter Thirteen




It wasn't long after that they welcomed their first born and also decided, it was time to leave the Navy's life of excitement behind..




"Welcome to the world, little one. I'm your dad, the lovely lady holding you is your mommy and these two back here are Uncle Chase and Aunt Megan… and you. You are our world, Brianna Evans."




Tyler gave her a huge kiss.




"Alright Mr. Tarantino … put the Camera away."




Janessa hated that thing but also embraced it because we had lost so many in our lives that, if anything had ever happened, she wanted Brianna to remember us.




As for Chase, he met an Irish beauty named Alannah at his restaurant. I think I knew he was in love with her before he did. The day she walked in he was infatuated.




Haha. Of course, Chase being Chase - he made a fool of himself trying to woo her, but I think his goofiness was what captivated her…all of us for that matter.. and Alannah was certainly given the perfect name, because she always was his serenity… his rock.




Alannah was the perfect woman. She was smart, sexy, fiery, sarcastic, sweet, protective and she was absolutely perfect for Chase.




And me? Well. I was always one to fly solo, but soon after Chase got married I met a man who caught me off guard and well, while I'll never be one for marriage, or the "softness" that women are known for, Kevin seemed to pair perfectly with my smartass, cleverness. He loved the fire that most men cowered to. We've been together now for seven years and he keeps telling me he'll make me his wife one day, but we both know he loves my independence too much to see to that.




Chase Named his firstborn after dad. Eric hated being named after someone until he got older and realized the impact my father had on everyone and everything in his life.




I remember when it hit me how life could be so brutal yet so beautiful…. I was helping Janessa and Alannah with Eric's first birthday celebration. Alannah had suffered a miscarriage just months before. And as I watched Eric playing with his father It took me back to the love of life instead of reminding me of all the loss.




I found out later that day that I was pregnant and we


named our boy Ian James. After the man who kept us safe, taught us, and loved us like the grandchildren he never had.




Chapter Fourteen




Brutal yet beautiful….




Tyler and Janessa got called back for one last round with the Navy and they were due back a week ago.




We left the kids with Alannah and headed out to find them.




"Be careful, Chase, our boy needs his father.."




Alannah's words made me uneasy.. I'd almost lost him several times to these trysts. But, I couldn't make him stay and he wasn't stopping until we found Tyler. They'd been like brothers since their first tour together and if life had taught us anything it was that family-- didn't always have to be blood.




"They were stationed in Germany."




" I've already got tickets for the flight, it's in an hour we have to move."


The thought of going back put a sick feeling in our stomach.


We kissed the kids, our family -- Said our goodbyes and were gone.




"We're going into this blind. All Tyler would tell us is


where they were headed."




At least we had an exact location. We couldn't go to the base and ask questions because we weren't supposed to be privy to anything. It was apparently big, whatever they got called in for.




We got to the location, all of their stuff was still in the room but, it was tossed, hard.




"Megan, look."




Chase thought to look in the box springs where their old designated hiding spot was and found a thumb drive.




Janessa said that they were coming in on it because Our president had made a deal with Germany. They sold some nukes to them and in return, the U.S. would be untouched. But, they were taking out a few other countries.


They were there to extradite him back to the states for treason before he made the trade off.




That meant that anything could've happened and we had to find out what, and quickly.




Chase spun around. “Someone's coming.”






He ducked into the bathroom and I slid behind the door. We waited til they entered and then I jumped from behind, grabbing the person.




“Who are you?”




“I’m a reporter, I’m following a lead that two Navy Seals went missing on a mission to stop the President from selling nuclear weapons to Germany. I just came here to find anything that could help.”




“Do you know where they're being held?”




“No,I got word that they had been taken to a base here in Berlin but I wanted to check here first.”




Here in Berlin? That makes no sense unless the whole unit they were working with was rogue and working against the U.S.




“You stay here, If you find anything you call us. Do not


follow, don’t contact anyone else. They could be using you to get to us.”




The reporter nodded in agreement and we were on our way.






“Chase, I know the Layout Of the base, Follow me, If Tyler’s Unit is working rogue, we’ll have twice as much on our hands.




“Let's go..”




We were right because as soon as we got just inside the base there were what should’ve been Friendlies Firing at us, People we knew...




“Damn, they know who we are, they were waiting for us.”




Chase took out the gunman while I staved off the rest,We had the first wave down in a few minutes. It wasn’t long ‘til we had about ten soldiers on our heels and to our surprise, they were trained a little better than the last crew.




“Megan, Go! I’ll hold them off.” “I’m not leaving you”




“GO! Find Tyler and Janessa I’ll Catch up!”




I went down a narrow hall which led to a conference room. Three of them. I took the first one down and went for the other two, One managed to get behind me and I had a bar to my throat, struggling to get free I flipped backwards over him and broke his neck taking the bar and impaling the other, I moved further into the base.




Without alerting them, I slipped past another room full of soldiers. There were about twenty in a training session. I passed through another doorway and alarms started sounding….”Damn.”




They started pouring in as I fought them off, dodging bullets trying to get free, Eventually pulling a grenade from one of their belt clips I blocked the door and waited for the explosion.




“Megan!”




“It’s about time you caught up.”




“Sorry, I ran into a corporal who was less than pleased to make my acquaintance.”




“That room was rigged with an alarm, we’re getting close


to where They’re being held.




We entered two other rooms, the last of which opened into a third.




Chase looked at me…”but what’s behind door number three?”




He swung it open to find Tyler Blacked out and Janessa on the ground.




Tyler came to as we walked in. “The bastards are --”


“Yeah, we got that.. Gotta hurry, is she -- ?"




"We were trying to stop them."


Tyler's eyes welled with tears as he checked for a pulse. "I can't leave her. "


I spoke softly... "Tyler, we can't…"


Angerly,


"I'm not leaving her!"




He threw her over his shoulders and we took off.




“This way… there’s an exit”


Should've known it wouldn't be that easy. Just as we reached the exit, six men gathered in front of it, Weapons drawn. Tyler tore into them and Chase followed as I pulled Janessa's body to the side and then joined them.




“Tyler!”


-- Crack!-- he fell to the floor I thought it killed him the stock of a gun across his temple




Chase was fighting, so I lunged towards the man I thought killed Tyler and tore him apart.




Chase and I ripped through the others and he ran to Tyler.




"He's still breathing."




Chase pulled an ammonia stick from his belt and held it under Tyler's nose. He woke up immediately deathgrip on Chase's throat




"Whoa! Easy."




He dropped his guard and looked over at Chase as


though to say sorry. And straight over to Janessa's body, welling up with tears again.




“Which way?” “Right.”


We started right and were greeted by six more. What luck...they were there to prepare for the war.


They were surrounding us and things weren’t looking too bright when about ten soldiers came in to help us.




As it turned out our little reporter friend had brought some help.


We all fought the masses until we were clear and headed out .




“We never caught your name.” “Scott.”


“Thanks, Scott, we might’ve been in over our heads if it weren’t for you.”




“It’s an honor to work with you.”


I looked at him as though he was speaking in tongues. “We told you to stay behind.”


“Where would you be right now if I had listened? You can repay me by giving me the insider interview.”




I looked at him annoyed although I knew he had a point and an interview was a small price to pay.




“We’ll get in touch with you.”




We got to the nearest hospital and were treated and released. Janessa was shipped back to Ireland on ice. Tyler was heartsick.




Chapter Fifteen




Chase and I went to track down President Flemming to take him back to the states. We found him hiding at the base in Munich. Of course he claimed blackmail or threats made on his family… by the end of it, he changed his story four times but when he came clean it was a simple case of greed.




Chase's patience was thin when we got to Flemming and it showed.


“Where are the missiles"


“I don’t know, they were supposed to be held in Berlin Until they were ready to strike. “




“Who are they attacking and why?” “I didn’t ask questions like that”


“And you really believe the U.S. is coming away from this unscathed?”




Chase, and I left the room in disbelief.




“Megan, it’s Scott. They brought the missiles to the U.S..” “They’re planning on launching them from the U.S. to make it look like we started the war.”




“Damn it!”


“You gotta get back here, my sources say that they’re planning all of this tonight. We don’t know where they’re launching from.”




We got Flemming on a plane and headed back to the states. I think we all would've liked to have a go at him before we landed for the sheer stupidity that got us into this mess. Our cavalry from earlier were already working on where to find them. Where else but Washington?




They were making it look like Flemming had started the war and they planned on the first target being Munich. We got there in time to stop them from starting world war three.




All this for the love of money..As soon as Flemming’s trial was Over and he was in Prison, we headed back to see our families in Ireland.




It destroyed Chase and I , seeing Tyler lose the love of his life… seeing him in that pain. We would spend our days from then on making sure Brianna knew her Mommy was a war hero with a huge heart. None of us ever returned to the Navy, we lived close together in Killarney.




Chapter Sixteen




"Kids! C'mon and eat." I yelled




"Eric, Brianna…. Ian. Where are you guys? Supper's ready.




I turned around to find a note taped to the door, a burner phone on the doorstep with a picture of the kids. . .




"If you do everything as instructed, they might live…"




The burner rang, I picked up mid ring.




" If you do as I say, I won't harm them, but if you fail to meet my standards, they're all dead."




"The bank on Miramack and Chelsea. You're going to Alleviate them of their millions…."




I took off inside the house "Someone took them." "What?"


"The kids are gone."




I threw the note and phone on the table The others jumped up.




"Any idea who this is?" " No."


The phone rang and I picked it up. "Where are my kids?"


"You'll get them back not a hair touched on any of their heads. But, there is just one more thing I’ll need you to do for me.”




“The owner of the bank is an old foe of mine. He’s been hunting me down since our last run in, he’s never left that particular branch and I don’t need you blowing the whistle when this is all over should you be able to identify me… I want him dead. Those are my two conditions.”




I looked at Chase who was already one foot out the door


- he was going to see a friend of his who had a little further reach than just the sheriff’s office.




She was brought in undercover by the FBI to smoke out some dirty cops.




“Oh, by the way I just saw Chase leave the house. I tailed him and curiously, he wasn’t headed towards the station…. Make sure it stays that way.”




“So, you think we’re bright enough to pull off a heist and a murder, but not intelligent enough to leave the locals out of this?”




“Take care in how you speak to me, Megan, your well known smart mouth won’t do you any favors here.”


“Who are you ?!? What do you want with us? You could've pulled this off without our help.”




“Yes, but… you’ll find at the end of it all maybe, that this is much bigger than you or I and They’ll never be able to tie me to perfect strangers.” “I’m sorry, really I am but, you and your brother are the stuff of legends and It was all purely random. Your fame for kicking ass just caught our attention and now we need your expertise.”




I could feel my face burning from rage when I told the bastard we’d do it… and he bought it, hook line and sinker when I played the concerned Mother/ Aunt routine. I mean yes, I was terrified for those kids but I already had the faceless prick in my sights and he wasn't gonna get to see what his millions looked like.




When Chase got back I told him we may be looking for some of our own because this guy knew our background well. We swept the house for bugs and wires … he wasn’t that smart I guess.




That, or he didn’t have a whole lot of resources. We retraced everyone we worked with and cross-checked the notes and files (which were classified and were not to be in our possession but somehow, dad knew this could be a dangerous game, so when we were training he kept the files and when we got old enough. Don passed them


to us for safekeeping and so on.)




We came up dry and I started to lose it for a minute before regaining my composure and asking Chase about his FBI contact. “Who is he and can he be trusted?”




“She.” “and yes. Do you remember Amber Akin?




“Vaguely. Wasn’t she one of your muses back in the day?”




“Haha cute, shut up, yes. We went out."




“You’re joking Chase, please tell me you’re joking.”




“We kept in touch, we’re good friends. She’s FBI and got stationed here months ago to clean house at the precinct.”




Wearily, I shook my head, but Chase's instincts - no matter what it was concerning - were usually pretty on point.




Chase and Amber worked together to track down all the associates of people she was investigating at the time. Half the force was thought to be dirty at that point. She’d been investigating for eight months getting close to them gaining their trust. This wasn’t Heist type deals though,


this was cutting deals for inmates in turn for bigger payouts but, not heists. Well. I guess it’s only a step away and it’s worth looking into.




The cops that she was trying to bust were working with the gangs and thieves of the city, playing both sides against the middle to ensure that it would tie up loose ends while leaving them a bigger payout, they’d raid the evidence lockers after a few months had passed and the loot was forgotten... The problem was that no one had forgotten it and they wanted answers.




It took us just inside a week to figure out that one of the dirty cops Amber had befriended was leaning on another cop who had better morals but more than a few inner demons. He’d gotten hooked on painkillers after he got shot on the job and had a gambling addiction.




She had told her pal about Chase and I in passing. He, in turn gave his customer an out by giving him the idea that we could pull the heist and murder the bank owner. All he had to do was take the only weakness we had, and we’d comply.




We cornered Sydney Turner With Amber’s help. She’d pulled one of her partners and created a case that would fall on Turner’s desk. When He was scheduled to meet The victim from his case, we showed up instead. He told


us that his dealer was holding the kids and that we’d be killed if we tried to go after them.




Chapter Seventeen




To protect Amber’s Case, Devin Waldroup was laid to rest, killed in the line of duty while trying to rescue three children that had been abducted. He was Helping his good Friend Turner reunite them with a local family when he was shot point blank in the head by the perpetrators.




As for Turner, He Came clean about his addiction and turned himself in as part of the crew that kidnapped the three, stating that he’d blackmailed the family for a sum of a few million. He got sentenced to twenty years and the family will attend any and all parole hearings he might have.




After Amber finished up her undercover stint, She kept in touch with Chase and Eventually, She’d talked him into Joining the FBI as a liaison. Chase loved it. I don't know how many times he tried to get me to join the force too, but I just needed a break from all of it.




Time to be with Kevin and Ian, time to try and build a somewhat normal life. I took to teaching kids ages ten and above self defense and various types of martial arts. I couldn't stand being stagnant, but I don't think my


psyche could've handled much more at that point after the kids were taken.




After deciding to take some much needed time away in Bali, We made it our semi-permanent getaway. I think we all needed the calmness it had to offer. About Two years after the Sydney Turner escapade - Chase called me in the middle of the night.




Chapter Eighteen




An arsonist Amber had been hunting Down had gotten a little too close to home and burned her place to the ground. She narrowly escaped but now Chase wanted me to help them bring this guy to justice and since she had helped us years before with the kids, I was the first to jump on board with catching him.




The only thing they knew about him is that he had a lot of fires under his belt and He knew his way around accelerants. The FBI got a hold of the case when he started a blaze at the local precinct in a neighboring city that spread down an entire block and a half and now, he was taking the chase personally.




Whoever this was, was taunting her for weeks. Phone calls, notes left in the mailbox, the latest was a bouquet of red roses … the edges of the petals had been singed


with a note saying “There’s Beauty in destruction, soon you’ll see the world through my eyes.”




She didn’t scare easily because over the ten years she had been with the FBI, She had gotten love notes like that numerous times and they'd all proven to be fruitless.




Amber, Chase and I went over the case file, David Gallagher was in and out of juvie as a youngster but mostly for petty theft and assault there was nothing that pointed to a reason he would turn to arson out of nowhere and then we found it.




He had grown up in an Orphanage Which unfortunately wasn’t uncommon around Tralee. Once we found the records from the background at the orphanage we started looking into the ones in charge.




There were cases of neglect, abuse, sexual harrasment,rape... no wonder this kid was a mainstay in juvie, it was safer than the place he called home.




While looking into him we found out that he had two sisters,


A younger sister, Roslyn and an older sister, Dianna. The younger sister had recently Died - she was fifteen and it was at the hands of the Orphanage. She was admitted to the hospital for fractured ribs and a broken


leg, when She told the social worker that the staff had done it, He tipped off the orphanage and instead of doing his job and getting her to safety, she was released back into their care and they killed her.




There’s the trigger, Now why turn to arson but on such a minimal scale?




Dianna,The older sister had died in a car wreck two years earlier. This guy had been a ticking time bomb for a while now.




“Amber. While we had him in interrogation, Gallagher said we’d be sorry and mentioned something about Dianna. Is there a death certificate in the files for her?”




“Yes.”




“Well, we think she may have found someone to issue a false one.”




“Okay, thanks we’ll check that out.”




It took us a few days to get the files on Dianna but, after we did we realized that when Dianna was alive, she had better luck with the system and there was a contact helping her that was working on getting the others out of the system. - She was about to age out at eighteen and


then she’d be on her own.




Trey Kepner was a twenty two year old, he had just started working at the department of child services but had a turbulent past of his own with his biological parents so, when Dianna’s file hit his desk, he was determined to help her and her siblings. His adoptive parents were well off….. But, After her death - he just seemed to disappear too.




Chase ran through the door.




“Wait! Hear me out, He’s twenty two with a turbulent past of his own, she’s eighteen, pretty and vulnerable, what if they bonded and he pulled some strings to help her fake her death and they were working on getting David and Ros out of there when She was killed. “






Just then we heard it come over the scanner “ Fire at Tralee Orphanage, 124 West 1st street.”




I looked at Chase and Amber and without skipping a beat She glanced back with determination. “Let’s go.”




We should’ve been a good thirty minutes out, but we made it there in fifteen. Gotta hand it to that woman, When someone takes everything from her she’s like a


bull in a china shop.




We were the first on the scene and Chase’s hunch was right. Dianna was alive and well. Trey used his parents' money to help her fake her death and disappear.


Unfortunately, They were days too late trying to get her siblings out and it cost them Roslyn’s life.




David went off the deep end but Dianna was a full blown sociopath when we got her back to the headquarters in Tralee. What’s bad is that aside from burning down Amber’s house, The rampage they went on was understandable. Three kids, years of unthinkable abuse, no one would listen to them or try to help. It was almost like they got backed into a corner and were forced to resort to this. Dianna was too far gone it was clear but David was just scared and doing anything he could to keep himself safe and in his mind that meant protecting Dianna and lashing out to get anyone to listen.




“It’s days like this that you feel like you’ve failed. We’re locking up two victims that were forced into becoming monsters."




I couldn’t shake the Gallagher case. It still messes with me if I think about it too much. How many more budding sociopaths are being created just because we have a broken system?




I was so angered by the fact that I’ve lost so many friends and family members to corruption that it never even occurred to me that we are raising them and then putting them in positions of authority, only to create more.




“Hey, Megan. I can set you up with an interview to work with kids like David."




“Sounds Exhausting…..I’m in.” Chase grinned to himself "What's so amusing?"


“Wha-? No, nothing I mean… I just think it’s cute how “Mama’s actually a mama now and it’s showing.”




I just smirked




“You know you’re a hell of a lot softer than you like to admit.”




“Shut it…”




“It doesn’t take away from your “Badass”, Megan. If anything else, It just adds to it.


You’ll do great, I’m just concerned with the number of complaints those assholes are gonna file because you broke a jaw or reached out and touched someone.”




He said while throwing a punch through the air jokingly.




Chapter Nineteen




I couldn’t help but grin, because I knew he was probably right.




Within a month I had the job.


I refused to take my work home with me until I met a young man by the name of Bryson Davis. He was doing a stretch, charged as an adult after almost killing his alcoholic grandfather in self defense. I was there because he left a bread crumb while trying to hack into the system from the prison library.




"Why are you trying to hack in?"




" My cousins were with my grandfather when I got locked up. I was trying to track them down, see where they were placed."




He looked stunned, when he realized I was enlisting him for help instead of nailing him for it.


I pulled some strings, got his sentence reduced and he was out. Under the condition that I helped him find his cousins and he helped me bust everyone misusing foster care whether they were using it as a cash cow or trafficking -whatever it was. We were gonna bust them.




These are the people we did our best to bring down. People who exploited children to feed their lifestyles. We set up a network so that the kids would have a safe haven where they could inform us when they were being mistreated.




To the parents, social workers, counselors, anyone who might've been getting something from screwing these kids over - our network looked like a homework site. It was encrypted with a specific keystroke, easy to remember for kids of all ages so if they were in danger, we were at their fingertips to help. There was also a single key "code" that would hide the program in cases of emergencies.




Becoming a parent really does change you. Within three months I was granted a team who were as dedicated as I was to helping these kids.




By year three - Chase, Tyler and I along with a hand picked few were raiding these places saving hundreds of kids every year . Bryson was instrumental in helping our


team because he would create false accounts on the dark web and uncover unthinkable amounts of horror.




The kid had a fire inside and with some tips from me about hacking without leaving traces he was like a honey badger on a mission.




With a heavy screening process, we "adopted" some more young misfits and supplied them with gear just like Bryson's and we went nationwide recruiting and training the abused, teaching them how to channel their pain for a greater good.




We had something like “Xavier’s school for the gifted” but, with specially trained badass youngsters who were helping us take down real monsters.




Lastly, Chase and Tyler helped me dig into files of older cases of abuse, and we helped fifteen thirty-somethings graduate law school to prosecute the ones we sought out. We figured if we were gonna nail them, we didn't wanna make it easy for them to tip off the ones we hadn’t found yet…. and there’s always another.




I think child abuse turns mostly everyone's stomach, but when you recruit those who've felt that pain first hand, they're a whole different animal. Dedicated, determined and passionate about finding them all and destroying


their lives.




Six years into it we reeled in a big fish and it was news to me that all these scumbags guard each other. The sex offenders, the ones who just wanted a pay day - all of them are just one big conglomeration.




Now that I understood that, I wasn't sure if it would be easier or harder to track them down. Thankfully this particular one was a coward and folded like a house of cards under pressure. She gave us the names of at least five hundred offenders strung across the U.S… looks like we're taking a trip.




When we got to the states, Chase had already built a good rapport with the agency there. They asked him how we got our source to give it up so quickly to which Chase just turned to me and grinned.




" That's all her. Mama's has always had a knack for that."




They looked confused, as they should and he just muttered that it was an old nickname from our seal days.




We didn't claim to be orthodox but we always got the information we needed. After all, we never felt like they deserved the special treatment most gave them… tiptoeing around their feelings while there were victims


out there begging for an out. We always operated on more of a "welcome to your karma" stance when it came to people like that. No mercy when you show no mercy type of deal.




"Megan, we were wondering if you could spare Chase and Tyler for our team here in Tampa."




Before I could even open my mouth, Chase put them in their place.




" We're a team and we need to stay in Tralee. Our families are there, I don't think any of us have interest in splitting up. We have other agents who may be interested in relocating but my team stays in Ireland, together."




I pulled Chase aside




"Easy killer. They just asked."




"Ask all they want, I'm not disbanding m- our team because they like to walk on eggshells for lowlifes."




"Chase."




He looked at me, more than a little annoyed.


"Alright, "Papa". Calm down."




He smirked at me, but it quickly moved to a smile.




"Uh huh…. How do you like it?" I laughed as we rejoined the others.




" I have some other agents who may be interested in relocating but that's the best I can do."




Chapter Twenty




It took a while to round up the five hundred but we stayed until we got every last one. I Let the agency there in on a few secrets and we left feeling a little closer to that bureau.




When we got back to Ireland, the three of us, along with Amber - Started an after school program for underprivileged and abused children which eventually turned into the whole nine – we funded our own little group home teaching all of our kids to act as a family. We taught them trust, honor, dedication and most of all what it meant to rely, fall back on and behave as a team.




We invested everything into making sure these children had the support, structure and love they needed. Our Kids grew up with some of the best friends they could


have known and we rested easier knowing that with our unit in the FBI and the home, We were changing the lives of children who would’ve otherwise been left in terrible situations.




As the kids got older we realized that a lot of them wanted to go into professions that allowed them to help children in similar situations to which we found them in. So, Tyler - acting as a guidance counselor of sorts, helped place them.




He really got into his role in the home and after a while he joined my unit at work. He was to Bryson, What Don And Ian had been for us. Bryson graduated college at the age of twenty three and continued his own unit (In Tampa) as an intel consultant - Which meant that he was crucial in guiding others who were gifted with computers to luring bad guys to justice.




After several years of being brought up around our organization Eric, Brianna and Ian Went to join the team in Tampa. They caught the case of a sex trafficing ring . The idea was that the offenders would adopt kids that were fifteen to eighteen Then sell them to the highest bidder before anyone caught on but, thanks to our network that was now headed by Bryson, The Boys and Brianna got the tip and they got the first shipment of kids outta there before the sale went down.




After they got the kids out safely, Eric, Brianna and Ian went back to the drop point and with their team helping them, they arrested everyone involved in the sting. They still had to hunt the ringleader so Tyler went to help them out. It went deeper than they could’ve imagined, when Tyler found an encrypted file on one of the suspects’ computers. It wasn’t just teens. Remember how I told you they all worked as a team? There were pictures of children no older than six. At that point, the team went into overdrive.




I joined Tyler and Bryson Helping them go through each file on all of the computers and it all came back to a man with a screen name of Papa-Bear. AKA: Kade McCullough.




Looking at him made my skin crawl. Bastard should’ve never gotten out of prison. He had already been arrested for lewd acts on a child under ten years of age and sexual assult on a minor. Had they bothered to do their jobs right, they would have found pictures and video dating back to his first arrest. The boys and Brianna wanted to go after him.




“Absolutely not, I’m going after him with Chase.” “No. This one’s mine.” Tyler interrupted.




I shook my head in agreement while telling the others that they weren’t prepared for something like that just yet.




“There’s a whole lot of factors in busting someone like that that’s gonna mess with your head and you can’t lose your cool when you bring them in.”




“Bryson, I’m gonna need you to keep me posted, I’m gonna head out.”




“We don’t even know where he is yet, Tyler.”




“Trust me, just keep tracking him, We’re gonna find this bastard.”






It was about three days later and we hadn’t heard from Tyler. The boys and Brianna decided to take a vacation two days prior ( and by vacation, they meant “we’re going to find this guy and nail our first big league asshole.”)




Ugh, Just like their parents.




“Chase - The kids went after the case they’re working, Tyler’s MIA. We gotta go.


“Bryson. I’m gonna need you to tag ALL of them. I need to know where The kids are, then you gotta do your best to ping Tyler - If he’s off the grid, he’s already found Kade. Just then I got a text from Ian:




“Don’t worry, Ma. You taught us well. We’ll be back with Uncle Ty and Kade McCullough.”




“Bryson, ping Ian’s phone, Now!” “It’s off.”


“Damn it, Kid’s just like me.”




“Tyler’s just came back on, He’s headed to Sanford.” “I’m on my way now.”


Chapter Twenty-one




I just hopped a flight and got there in an hour to find that I was right… Tyler Had already found Kade and was grilling him for information on the locations of the children he had sold. Kade looked a little worse for wear and could barely speak.




I looked around and found a stash of keys in the top drawer of the desk.




“Where are they?”




“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He laughed with a smug grin.




Crack- Tyler punched him Hard “Answer the ladies' question.” “You’ll never find them.”


Tyler kept working on him while I searched the house, I entered an office and looked around. The top compartment of the desk had a lock on it.




I tried the keys on the ring until I went through them all. Nothing.




I ran my finger under the ledge of the drawer. Got it, there was a key taped to the underside of it, I turned the lock to find a button built into the drawer bottom. I didn’t know if it was a fail safe to destroy evidence so I tried looking around a little first.




The computer was blocked with a password “Just Right” This guy was a piece of work. That was too damn easy. I got in and backed up all the files then looked in the disk


drive. Empty. That’s not right. I looked around the room and phony as it was, my eyes stopped at an oversized portrait of none other than “Goldilocks and the three bears.”




*SKIN CRAWL* ugh.




I ran my hands along the frame and a drawer popped down, another key. I pulled on the frame and it was a safe with a combination lock.




“What the h-?”


“Megan, you find anything?” “Yeah”


I handed Tyler the thumb drive. “There’s a safe behind this picture.”


Chapter Twenty-Two




“Wait…..36 28 12"




“What Is that?”




Tyler nodded towards the picture


“The three bears”




I felt sick. This was a family combo of sex offenders who used their twelve year old son to gain the trust of other children so they could kidnap them.




The safe opened and another box inside, The key fit that box and several thumb drives and disks inside. It’s not a failsafe.




“Tyler, there’s a button inside that drawer. Hit it.”




He pushed the button and we heard something slide, the carpet bunched up on the floor.






I pulled it back to find Ian staring up at me. Hi Ma! What took you guys so long?


The Boys and Brianna had drilled a hole through the basement wall, got into underground jail cells and were getting all the children out and to safety.




We Couldn’t help but smile at the fact that our kids were seemingly better at what we did than we were.




“How’d you know?”




“It wasn’t hard, we went to the Court office, got the layout and looked at his previous records. He’d kept victims in his house before, we figured he’d done the same here… Didn’t see any need to alarm him.”




Tyler and I both Smirked then laughed.




After we cleared the basement , we went back upstairs and got Kade.


“Where’s your wife and son?” “I’ll never tell.”


Eric and Brianna came up to me with an address book.


It had clippings of old abduction cases and in the very back was a picture of the family with an address. 2913 Westbrook, Orlando Florida.




I threw it at Mccullough. “You and your wife are going away for a very long time and you’re the ones that hung yourselves…. The irony.”




Tyler and I nodded at the kids as if to tell them good job. we loaded up the victims got them to the hospital, Most of them were severely dehydrated, Malnourished and it looked like they had their “Favorites” because only two of the seven had sexual trauma. The rest were apparently


just in holding for sale later on.




We got the son into major therapy and checked in on him from time to time. He’s expected to make a full recovery.




Dad and Mom are serving life sentences with no chance of parole.




Chase met us as we were coming back and we told him that our kids beat us to finding the victims to which Chase seemed as peeved and impressed as we did.




“Looks like you got your first big bust, Congratulations.” “This is cause for celebration, let’s go!”


Chapter Twenty- Three




We met them and Alannah In Key West for a week before they headed back to Tampa and us, to Ireland.


I took them on one of my treasure hunts and Chase told them tales of our younger days and all the hell we raised. That was the night they all realized why we all take family so seriously and what being a “Grayson” or “Evans” entailed.




Brianna sat wide eyed when Tyler told her stories Of Him And Janessa, Their tours together and how much they


loved each other.




Eric still loved to hear all the stories of Dad, and my boy could recite things that I had told him in passing about Ian and Don. He had just turned twenty-one and told me it was time to let him try some of my top shelf terrors.




I looked sharply at Tyler and Chase. “Which one of you told him about that?”


They both grinned pointing at each other before agreeing that it might have been a joint effort that my kid knew that I was a bartender from hell.




I looked back at Ian and said


“Alright, I suppose we could start you off with something lighter. You’re not ready for the big leagues yet, Kid”




“That’s what you thought about the case, too. But, look where we are now.” He replied.




“Alright, big shot, Drink this.”




“Yeaaah! What is this? It tastes amazing.




“It’s a blend of the highest octane top shelves and you’ll get the recipe when I’m dead. Haha!”




He slammed back two more and was out.




I remember Brianna and Eric giving him hell for it and us all letting him believe that they had drunk him under the table.




After that, we taught them a few of our bad habits that they could clean up with like, turning them into pool sharks and Poker phenoms… C’mon, we were in the navy, when our kids came of age it was a right of passage that they learn how to do all those things properly.




We took the rest of that week to relax, we went surfing, deep sea fishing, snorkeling, all of it. We took in the sights,and caught shows. It was the first time in a long time that life felt semi-normal and it was nice.




When we got back, we made it a point to bring the family back together more often. We realized in that week that we had been burnt out for a long time and didn’t even notice.




So twice a month on weekends, We got together, had a big meal and just enjoyed each other's company.


That summer, Eric met his wife Corrine and two years later, We welcomed Annalise to the family.




“Megan, we got something going on, You and Chase


need to get here as soon as you can.” “What’s Wrong?”


“Nothing, But we need you to get here.”




Something didn’t feel right, so we got on the plane and took off for Florida. We got there ten hours later to Find the entire FBI chapter, The kids, Bryson and the original crew of now grown children that our Organization had housed at Eric’s house for a big blowout party - a thank you to Chase and I for everything we’ve done and our service.




“You jackass, we thought something was seriously wrong.”




Tyler Smirked with an “I told ya nothing was” reply.




“Oh and uh.. Don’t get mad… I watched you make some of your “top shelf terrors” And taught the kids how to drink while you were gone,”




“Tyler - you’re supposed to be looking out for them, not teaching them how to self-destruct.”




“Right, and teaching them how to drink in moderation is


looking out for them.”




I rolled my eyes and walked further into the party as Ian handed me one of my mixes and grinned.






“See what happens when I leave my boy alone?” “Here, this is for you and Chase.”


Tyler handed Chase and I an envelope. This is for the organization, we pulled it together for you. The envelope was fat, My eyes welled up.


"Thank you, all."




Chase put it in his pocket with a thank you and we both went in to find Corrine and Annalise.




“How’s my angel doing today?”


“Good, how are you? Oh, you were talking to Annalise.” she joked.




Chapter Twenty- Four




We stayed a few days when the chapter caught another case.


They were closing in on another ring and they threatened to burn over five hundred victims in a warehouse fire and we had to find the warehouse before they got the


chance.




" Jesus, these assholes don't stop."




We found the warehouse in Orlando close to where the Smith's had been detained and we realized that this is a cult following of sickos.




Our team moved in along with the chapter to find an empty warehouse Chase, Tyler and I looked at each other and all had the same thought.




"It's a trap everybody out now!"


We moved towards the door and as we got there, two big explosions took out most of the chapter's agents. Our team was ejected and when we came around, there were people standing over us with guns pointed at our heads.




I looked over at the kids then at Chase and Tyler. Collectively we swung the barrels away from our heads, jumped up and started fighting. I kicked one of them in the knee, taking their gun and hitting them across the face with the barrel then used it to choke another. Chase and Tyler just shot the others, taking them all down within minutes. We thought we were clear but there was a guy on the roof of the next building who started shooting at us.


Damn it. Out of ammo. Tyler swung his gun, throwing it and hitting the last gunman, throwing him to the ground. Eric ran to him just as he got up and started wrestling him for the gun. Brianna and Ian met them in the midst of their struggle and pulled the guy off of Eric, shooting him once and it was over. Brianna turned around to look for us and someone grabbed her, taking her into a building. Tyler and Ian followed closely. Chase and I went in the back entrance and made our way to the front, trapping him in time to see Tyler break his neck.




" Today's not the day and I'm not the one." " You okay Brianna?"


" Yeah, I'm good, thanks Dad."




We went back to find any living amongst the casualties and got them to a nearby hospital.




Tyler - was on his way to have a chat with Mrs. Smith. - the woman who gave us McCullough.


"You're a dead woman walking, you hear me?" " Is that a threat Mr. Evans?"


Tyler was in no mood for Lawyers …


"I dunno…."




He held up a picture of the man that tried to take Brianna.




"Ask him if I make threats."




His hands started to shake and I knew I needed to get him outta there before Smith and Kade were the next in his body count.




“C’mon.”


I pulled him away. “He isn’t worth it.”




We Held services for our fallen as soon as we got back. After that we took a break from the FBI to focus on the organization and regroup as a family. The Kids and Tyler went back to it but not before we made sure they knew everything that Dad,Don and Ian had taught us. If they were gonna be in harm's way - they were gonna be prepared.




Brianna’s first order of business was to follow all of the Smith’s interactions Ingoing and outgoing and find anyone that was still affiliated with them. When she got the list they took ‘em down.


Chase and I eventually Sold Ian’s place in Ireland, retired from the field and became attorneys working exclusively for Tyler’s team. Ian,Eric, and Brianna kept us busy locking them up and seeking out more where they came from, Carrying on the Legacy that we’d started.