I looked in the mirror and groaned. Shay was right, I looked like a walking disaster. My wavy ginger hair was poking out from a sloppy bun in multiple places. I cringed. I pulled the hair tie out and smoothed it back down with my hands, then chose a quick ponytail instead. I assessed myself in the mirror deciding it was notably better and good enough for the day. With a deep breath, and a smile I certainly didn’t feel, I walked back out ready to tackle the lunch shift.
Just like breakfast, lunch was busier than usual too. By the time it started to wane, I wasn’t sure how I was still standing. Jimmy made me lunch before he left and stood over me watching as I ate.
Michelle had arrived midway through the lunch rush. She worked from late lunch through closing.
“Good girl,” Jimmy praised. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Jimmy.”
My morning crew left as the rest of the evening crew arrived.
“Why don’t you go lay down for a bit. We’ve got this,” Michelle insisted.
“You know I can’t.” She was well aware of the tension between my mother and I.
“She wasn’t there when I arrived,” she offered.
“Not worth the risk. She’d freak out if she knew I abandoned this place for some ‘me time’.”
“That would be rich coming from her,” she growled.
I snorted, knowing she was right.
“Call Sapphire in,” she pressed.
I shook my head adamantly. “She worked yesterday.”
“So what? You work every single day, Susan, from open to close. It’s not right. You’re young, you shouldn’t be killing yourself from sunup to sundown like this. No one else works all day. That’s why we have shifts.”
“I know. That’s just not acceptable for me,” I said sadly.
“One of these days you’re going to stand up to that woman. Or better yet, your prince charming will arrive and sweep you off your feet and take you far, far away from here.” She grinned.
I laughed and shook my head. “That’s fairytale stuff, Michelle. Stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life.”
The dinner shift was actually slower than usual which just made it drag on forever. By the time the last table was wiped down and everyone had left, I was ready to collapse. I locked up, always being the last one to leave. I had a to-go box of dinner for myself. Usually, I brought home food for my sisters if they didn’t stop in for dinner, but I was too tired to care. I hadn’t seen a sign of either of them all day. Days like this made it hard for me not to be just a little resentful about it too.
The cold night air kept me awake long enough to walk across the street. I felt like I was sneaking into my own house just hoping no one would notice. I couldn’t handle dealing with my family tonight. I just wanted to get on my laptop, run a few checks on Westin Force, maybe eat a little dinner, and then crash, knowing I had to do it all over again tomorrow.
Tarron
Chapter 5
“Silas, if we don’t move on this now, we’re going to regret it.”
“Has there been a threat?” he asked.
“You mean aside from a Raglan breech?”
“Archie said he couldn’t tie this to the Raglan.”
“Well someone wants our files and have been going to a lot of trouble to try and get them.”
“It’s probably just a bot,” he said dismissively.
“It’s not a bot,” I insisted. “I’ve been battling this guy for days. I’m positive it’s not a bot. I have the address. What harm comes from checking it out?”
“It could be a waste of time.”
“And what if it’s not?”
He sighed. I didn’t understand why he was holding back on this.
“Look, we have a briefing in an hour, but I’ll just lay it out for you. Jake got us a lead and we’ll be rolling out tonight. I can send Elliot’s team in to check this guy out if you feel it’s that important.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand. I need to finish this.”
He sighed. “And I need you on this mission.”
“Will it require undercover work?”
“Huh?”
“The mission. Will T be going undercover?”
“No. It’s just an in and out.”
“Then let her run point on security. She can do it. You know that.”
“So you’re telling me I don’t need you on the team?”
I growled. “You know that’s not what I’m saying. I’m asking you to let me go just this once and follow up on this lead. If it’s nothing then I’ll fly out and meet up with the team. But what if I’m right?”
“I don’t want you going in alone.”
“It’s one hacker. I can handle this,” I tried to assure him.
“But what if it’s not?” He grinned knowing he had me cornered.
I sighed. “What time are we rolling out?”
“Eighteen hundred hours.”
“Then give me this afternoon to see if I can round up a partner. I’ll check with the other teams and see what I can come up with.”
He looked annoyed but conceded. “Fine. But you’re not going in alone. I don’t need competence, but at least someone capable of picking up the damn phone and letting me know if you run into trouble. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.”
Elliot Masters was team lead for Echo team. They’d been having some issues lately and he was in the process of culling and rebuilding his unit. Silas thought they were incompetent, but he’d all but said I could use them anyway.
With a smile I made some phone calls. Echo team was stationed out of New Mexico. They did more than just shifter jobs. Before things had started going south, he had the team working directly with NASA and the Air Force to establish better networking capabilities and satellite access for Westin Force. He was a cool guy. I had always liked Elliot, but his men were the least wanted, bottom of the barrel on the Force and I knew he was working hard to fix that.
“Tarron. What can I do for you today?” Elliot answered.
“I’m wondering if you have a man or two you could lend me for a quick job. I hear it’s been hot down your way. Anyone need to cool off in say, Idaho?”
He scoffed. “You have a credible threat in Idaho?”
“Yup, firewall breech. I’m going up to check him out for myself.”
“So just a cybersecurity thing and nothing serious?”
“Yup.”
“To be honest, Tarron, if it were any other week, I’d say sure. There’s always high stress around here and that sounds like a pretty basic, plush job, but we’re neck deep in this new development testing and I really don’t think I can, man.”
My heart sank with disappointment. “It’s cool. Worth asking, right?”
“Absolutely. Keep us in mind for anything that pops up that you need assistance with.”
I was sad to hear the desperation in his voice. If he didn’t get his team sorted out, there wasn’t going to be an Echo team any longer. We’d all heard the rumors. I felt bad for him. Elliot was a great guy and didn’t deserve the mess they’d handed him.