Kade turned the chip over in his fingers. “I’ll add it to my list of a million other things to do, once I’ve finished the latest batch of sequencing.”
Heath smiled. “You need some more help.”
“That’s just what I was thinking.” Kade’s gaze slid to the image of Honor. “I’ve been training a few people, but it takes time. Mess up my coding and you’re in trouble.”
“When we find the next Einstein, I’ll convince him to join us.” Heath patted Kade on the shoulder.
Kade repressed a sigh. Being alone was something he’d gotten used to. He wasn’t a fan of small talk, and counted his brothers as his friends. But that was it.
“Let me know if you find anything new,” said Heath.
“You’ll be the first to know.”
“Join us for dinner,” said Annie. “A few of the guys are getting together in the canteen. Arlo has been brewing something lethal in his room and is insisting we all try it.”
Kade waved away the offer with a grimace. “Arlo’s last attempt at beer left me sick for a week.”
“We could go to the Down and Out,” said Heath. “Annie hasn’t met Lion yet.”
Annie raised her eyebrows. “He sounds interesting.”
“He’s a drunk with a temper, but his booze is cheap,” said Kade. Lion McGinty listened to rumors, sold secrets, and made gut-rotting booze. Kade liked the guy.
“Let’s go there,” said Annie. “Come with us. You need a break from these screens.”
“Another time,” said Kade. “I’ve got at least another hour of coding to do before I’m done.”
“Join us later, then.” Annie smiled at him.
“Will do.” Kade watched as they left the room before his gaze drifted back to the image of Honor. He’d followed her career at a distance, ever since joining Heath’s team. He hated seeing her still working for the State, creating damaging programs that hurt so many people and kept the population trapped and deluded.
But he had to remember he’d been the same once, believing the lies of the State and giving them programs to hack into private accounts and military bases.
Honor’s face faded away. A smiling newscaster popped into view and began talking about the latest tectonic plate instability.
Kade shook his head and turned his attention to the codes on his screen. This was his life, to work with Heath and the others to bring back dragons. He needed nothing else. This was enough. It had to be.
Can’t wait for your next instalment of the Ember Quest? Here’s a taste of book 2 – Kade:
Chapter 1
Kade Ember’s fingers flew over the keyboard. He ignored the sweat trickling into the stubble on his chin, his green eyes focused on the screen. The clock was ticking. If he didn’t crack the company’s database in the next thirty seconds, the alarms would trigger, and Heath would die.
“How’s it going?” said the calm voice of his brother, Heath, through the comms link.
“Almost there.” Kade’s response was automatic.
“I need inside this vault.”
“If you stop hassling me and let me concentrate, I’ll get you inside.”
Heath’s snort of laughter echoed through Kade’s earpiece.
Kade watched as the next number on the code broke. He was so close to getting Heath inside. They’d been trying to get into the Damascus Corporation’s vault for a month. The vault was rumored to contain not only dragon egg remains but also a complete dragon skeleton. It was too good for the brothers to pass up. But Damascus’ security was shit-hot. Kade hadn’t expected to come up against a quadruple firewall and advanced wetware technology. Where did they get this stuff from?
“Kade!” Heath’s voice crackled urgently in his ear.
Kade punched the final entry and hit return. The screen flashed green. He let out a sigh. The code was broken.
“I’m in,” said Heath. “Great work.”
“You never doubted me for a second.” Kade collapsed back in his seat and looked over to where his other brother, Lincoln, sat. His feet were propped on the desk as he played with a pen, twirling it around his fingers.
“Thought you were losing your touch.” Lincoln was older than him by just a year, but whereas his brother was a social being who loved to play, Kade preferred his own company. And his computers. He loved tech.
He ran a hand through his dark hair, wincing as he hit a tangle. “Not possible.” Turning his attention to the screen, Kade watched the live stream from the head cam Heath wore as he made his way into the vault. “Got anything good?”
“There’s something.” Heath went silent.
Kade’s pulse kicked up a gear. “A good something?” A dragon skeleton would be an incredible find. An artefact like that would change everything for them.
“How’s it going?” Annie Grimwald, Heath’s adorable girlfriend, walked into the communications room.
“Almost done,” said Kade, noticing the concern in her blue eyes as she sat in the seat next to him. This woman had it bad for Heath. The feeling was mutual.
“We almost had to abandon the whole mission,” said Lincoln. “This company has crazy levels of security.”
“The best, I imagine.” Annie’s gaze fixed on the screen. “They’re the go-to organization when it comes to genetics.”
“They’re no match for me,” said Kade, almost placidly. He wasn’t being arrogant, it was the truth. And it was also the reason the State wanted him dead.
Annie smiled at him. “I never said they were.” She placed an earbud into her ear and adjusted the settings. “Got anything good in there?”
“I’ll bring you back a present.” Heath’s voice warmed as he heard Annie.
“Bring yourself back. That will be all the gift I need,” she replied.
Kade shot her an amused glance. He liked Annie, and loved the fact she’d sorted Heath out, bringing him back from the edge of possible destruction. Heath had been their leader ever since the world had gone to shit. But the pressure and stress had gotten to him. He’d been surviving off adrenaline shots and obsession until Annie had arrived. Since they’d gotten together, he’d turned into a new man, once more the brother Kade remembered. He’d always be grateful to Annie for the fact that she gave him his brother back.
Kade checked the half dozen display screens in front of him on the wall once more. The communications room was his second home. He spent more time here than anywhere else, the whirr of the computers and alert pings his own personal soundtrack.
He’d hacked into Damascus’ own live security feed so could monitor guard movements as Heath broke into the vault. Everything remained calm. The guard at the main desk hadn’t moved. There were six sets of guards who patrolled overnight. Given the late hour, no other staff were in the building. It would be dramatically different in the morning when three thousand employees arrived and continued their exploitation of the population. They pumped out lies like water, about how their genetics research was for the betterment of the world, not just the privileged few.
“Still can’t figure out what these guys planned to do with dragon remains,” said Lincoln.
“Keep them out of public view, most likely,” said Kade. “Prevent anyone asking awkward questions.” The thing was, dragons were real. Kade knew all about them. And the elusive, secretive State had wiped them out, killed off the ruling monarchy—who’d worked in harmony with the dragons for eons—and taken control of the country. Only a few knew the truth. They lived in secret, underground bunkers that ran below the streets and countryside in the former United Kingdom.
As for who the State were and what they really wanted, that was still an unknown, despite all the digging Kade had done. All he knew was that they were ruled by the elusive Emperor Endrir, who never appeared in public, did not tolerate rule-breaking, had tech that was out of this world advanced, and stamped on anyone who stepped out of line.
“They might want them for research,” said Annie. “We’re not the only ones trying to get a big enough
collection.”
“We’re doing it because we want to bring dragons back, though,” said Lincoln. “Not wipe out any trace of them.”
Kade nodded, only half listening. “Heath, I can keep the cameras offline for two more minutes. You got what you need?”
“Almost,” said Heath. “Just collecting the last of the fragments. Got some pristine finds in here. But, so far, no skeleton.”
“Be careful,” cautioned Annie.
“I always am, beautiful,” said Heath.
Kade saw Annie smile and blush. They’d only been together a few months and still acted like loved-up teenagers whenever they were together. He was happy for them and tried to ignore the hole he felt inside every time he saw them together. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed the company of a woman, let alone had a real relationship. He didn’t actively pursue one-night stands like Lincoln, but enjoyed himself when he could. What man didn’t enjoy a warm, soft body by his side, and some intelligent conversation, now and again?
“One minute,” warned Kade.
“Almost got it,” said Heath.
Annie tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently, her gaze trained on the screen. “Is Tobias waiting?”
“He’s in position,” said Kade. “Once Heath is out, they’ll be back here within the hour.”
“Provided a State patrol doesn’t pick them up,” said Lincoln, darkly.
“They won’t,” said Annie, a little too sharply.
Kade ignored the whirl of worry in his stomach and instead did a quick double-check of any nearby State militia. State patrols had become a standard sight after dark, ensuring everyone was inside and not causing any problems, keeping to the curfew law. In the last month, patrol frequency had increased, making it harder and more complicated to visit new dragon sites and collect remains. It was part of the reason they’d broken into Damascus, where there was a collection of fragments just waiting for them.
But with the need to crack Damascus’s tech and get a handle on guard movements, Kade had scraped by on a few hours of sleep a night for two weeks. The tiredness bit down to his bones and made him long for a triple-espresso shot. He glanced at his countdown timer as the numbers ticked down to zero.
“Time to go,” he said to Heath.
“I’ve found something else. Some sealed boxes.”
“No time. Go. Now!” Kade’s fingers danced across the keyboard. As a talented former programmer and codebreaker for the Army’s special reconnaissance regiment, he could work miracles, disabling systems and gathering intel without anyone realizing what he was doing. But he knew when to quit. And as the corporation’s computer was finally figuring out something was wrong, it was time for Heath to leave.
“Don’t take any chances,” said Annie. “We can always go back.”
Kade quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. A return to Damascus wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. The corporation would beef up their security once they realized what had happened and make it twice as hard if they had to do a repeat break and enter.
The screen in front of him flared red, warning him his virus had been identified. Kade tapped down the panic surging through him as he fought the system, his hands a blur of movement. “Get the hell out of there!”
Lincoln dropped his feet from the desk and leaned forward, his usually relaxed face suddenly tense.
“Heath, you must get out,” said Annie.
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder.” Kade uploaded two more viruses into the company’s system. The system stamped on the attack. He tried two more and saw them stick and eat into the system’s firewall. But they wouldn’t hold for long.
“What’s going on?” Annie turned her panicked gaze to him. “Is Heath out?”
Kade shook his head. “Not sure. I’ve lost visual. He should be out.” He hoped he was. There was nothing more they could do from their underground bunker, forty miles away.
They listened in silence, waiting for Heath to make contact. The seconds ticked by painfully slowly. Kade refused to blink as he stared at the screen and watched the security systems fall into place. If Heath wasn’t out, he’d be trapped inside. The company’s internal doors were now locking, preventing any intruder from escaping.
“Heath,” said Kade, keeping his voice level. “You out?”
There was silence over the comms channel.
He waited a few more seconds, before pulling back his own cyber-attack and removing his presence from the company’s computers. Once he was gone, they wouldn’t have a clue this had anything to do with the Ember brothers. And it would take them weeks to sort the mess his viruses had inflicted. He took comfort from that. Damascus Corporation was rotten to the core.
“Heath,” said Annie.
“Give him a moment,” said Kade, forcing himself to sound calm. “Part of the security measures includes dampening external comms. He might need to be in the open before he can make contact.”
Annie forced a smile. “He’ll get out.”
Kade closed his eyes for a second and pressed his fingertips into them. He’d do anything for a slab of dark chocolate to go with a cup of real coffee, the kind that melted on the tongue, exploding flavors onto your taste buds. Intense coffee and dark chocolate had been his go-to vices when he was on the outside. The powdered excuse for coffee they served in the bunker did nothing for him. Chocolate was a distant memory.
Kade sat up straight as his earpiece crackled. “Everything okay?”
“I’m out,” said Heath. “Wait till you see what I’m bringing you. Amazing fragments.”
Annie let out a sigh. “Just get yourself back here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Heath.
Kade pulled his earpiece out and let out an exhausted grunt. His gaze settled on the screen to his left and he leaned forward. “What’s this?” There was a small, closed envelope blinking on the screen.
Lincoln stood and strolled over. “Parting gift from the company?”
Kade shook his head. “No. This is old-school comms. Nothing like they’d use. Their wetware tech was off-the-charts intense. I want a better look at that.” He’d add it to the list of all the upgrades to do and the thousands of egg and bone shards needing scanning and coding.
“Could be a virus,” said Lincoln. “You should delete it.”
“Since when did you become the expert on computer viruses?” Kade leaned closer to the screen. He hadn’t seen one of these communications for years, not since everyone turned to instant messaging. His fingers hovered over the button on his keyboard. Lincoln could be right. This could be something that would infect their system. A code he’d not seen before. The thought intrigued him.
Lincoln shoved him in the arm. “Come on. We’ve got time before Heath and Tobias get back. I’ll treat you to some of the finest canteen coffee around.”
“I’d rather have a beer.” Kade continued to stare at the flashing envelope.
“We can do beer.”
“Give me five minutes,” said Kade. “I want to find out what this says.”
“Danni will skin you alive if you open that message and infect our computers with something nasty,” said Lincoln.
Kade nodded slowly. Danielle Hannigan ran the underground bunker like it was a military operation. She was experienced in combat, having served several tours before the State took over and the Army and Special Forces were disbanded. You did not mess with Danni. And Lincoln was right, she’d be spitting mad, if this was a virus. Still, he couldn’t resist. Kade hit a key and opened the message.
HONOR DAVENPORT SHIFTED in her seat and adjusted her knee-length, black, pencil skirt. The upcoming meeting with her director was not one she was looking forward to, but she refused to let the nerves in her stomach get the better of her.
She toyed with her keyboard, still not sure why she’d sent Kade Ember a message. Her dark-brown gaze drifted across the empty, white office. She was the only one left on her floor. Everyone else had gone home hours ago.
Intergen was just one of a dozen high-rise offices in the Genetics District, but they prided themselves on being the best at their game. And when Honor had gotten her position here, she’d felt privileged to be a part of what they did.
Since the State had made genetic research legal, they’d jumped forward in their discoveries, curing several diseases and helping thousands.
Honor scrolled through her desk calendar for the second time, wondering if she’d missed a meeting or a deadline. The director never wanted to see her. And she was glad of that. Clarice Nolan was renowned for being a mega-bitch and took perverse pleasure in humiliating her staff. That was why Honor kept out of her way. She enjoyed her job and didn’t want to get on the wrong side of Clarice. Besides, Honor’s mouth could get the better of her, sometimes. If she lost her cool, Clarice wouldn’t hesitate in ruining her.
She finished looking through her calendar; there was nothing there that would cause a problem. What could she have done wrong? Honor had done a little online shopping last week, but that wasn’t a sackable offense. And she’d done it during her lunch break. It couldn’t be about that. Besides, Clarice always had personal deliveries sent to the office.
Honor prided herself on being amazing at her job. She’d aced her studies, top of the class in biochemistry, molecular biology, and biomedical science. Her hobby was also computer coding. She’d combined her studies and passion to snag fun codebreaking projects. If forced to, she could get herself another job, or go freelance. Genetics testing was in high demand, with more and more people paying to have modifications made to their genes and their unborn children. Honor wasn’t comfortable with that, but it was the way the world was going, with everyone striving for perfection.
Her gaze settled on the company motto engraved on the wall: With Exploration Comes Evolution. If she went freelance, she’d be free from this corporate crap. She wouldn’t need to worry about grovelling at the feet of a power-hungry shark in a designer suit, just because she hadn’t followed company policy to the letter. But just in case, Honor had made the decision to seek outside support, sending a message to the one person who’d always had her back.
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