CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"Alright, is everyone ready?" asked Hayes, looking from Ace to AJ to the rest of the tech team and seniors.

"Ready. Fry it," said Gaspar.

Hayes nodded as they watched the disgusting displays on the screen, then suddenly, everything was being deleted, pixel by pixel. He entered code after code after code until, finally, the screens were black.

Except for one image with a message:

Mr. Krauss and Ms. Federovavich apologize for the interruption in service. Your local authorities will reach out to you soon.

The entire room exploded in laughter. Ghost slapped Hayes on the back, shaking his head.

"Son, you've just pissed off two of the most dangerous people in the world. I'm so fucking proud of you," he grinned.

"No chance of them getting it back up?" asked Nine.

"Not this network. They could create another, but it would take a while and the videos that they were sending out on a loop are gone. I did find what they were doing that was making my early attempts unsuccessful," said Hayes.

"But you didn't override it?" asked Gaspar.

"Oh, I could have. This was just way more fun, sir." Hayes gave a big smile, and they all laughed at him.

"Way to go, Hayes," smiled Nine. "Angel? Jean? Call our VIPs and tell them to make their call now."

Each man made a call, and within moments, they heard back from their brothers. Krauss was pissed beyond belief and, of course, threatened death and exposure. Neither of them cared any longer. They just wanted it all to end.

"Ace? Code? Time to gear up. Do you have a van lined up?" asked Ian.

"We have a van, and we got some magnetic signage we'll put on it." He held up the big signs that would go on the sides of the van.

"TechTitans," read Ghost. "Cocky, aren't we?"

"Well, they won't want to hire TechToddlers," frowned Ace. Ghost laughed, shaking his head at the man he still considered to be like a son to him.

"You two be careful," said Nine. "The photo of Craig and Thurston at Krauss's mansion has been sent along with a message that will surely piss him off. We've sent Alec, Tailor, Max, and Dex on ahead. The four of us will be joining them, along with a few backups. We have some questions we'd like to ask Krauss before we send Yulia over the edge."

"Hayes, are we able to send out messages to the victims that their videos have been removed and the system is down?" asked Vince.

"Yes, sir. I just sent a mass communication to everyone who was in the database that Krauss used to blackmail them. They've been notified that they no longer have to make any payments or deposits, and the authorities have been notified."

"Alright," said Nine. "Let's go to Canada."

"What just happened?" screamed Krauss. "Why are all of my fucking screens black?"

"We're not sure, sir. The network is down, completely blown. I think someone got to it and disabled it," said the man, looking frightened.

"Disabled it? So, we've lost everything?" frowned Krauss.

"Y-yes."

He didn't hesitate to shoot the man, then turned to the other nerd he employed.

"Fix it."

"Mr. Krauss, it can't be fixed. We'll have to build an entirely new network, and that's going to take some time. But, sir, we've lost all of the videos. All of them." He shot him as well and then turned to the others.

"Do it."

"I-I…" started the girl, staring at him.

"Do it, or you'll end up the star of the show for the next video loop." She started to cry, and Krauss slapped her. "Keep crying and watch what I do to you. Fix it."

"Sir? We have another issue," said one of his guards.

"Where are those two fucking idiots? They were supposed to be here hours ago," he said with a sour expression.

"That's just it, sir, they're not here. They're at your mansion property in Quebec City." He held up the phone showing Krauss the photos, and the man nearly had a stroke. His face turned a strange shade of purple and red, his entire body ready to explode.

"Tell the guards to kill them!"

"Well, sir. The guards can't seem to find them. They've searched the grounds and can't find where they came in or left." There was a pinging on the phone, indicating a text message, and Krauss snatched the phone out of the guard's hand.

Meet us here. We're not coming to Florida.

You little pricks! Get your asses here.

Come and get us

"Get the jet ready," said Krauss.

"Yes, sir. We only have about eight men that can go with you. With the four there, that's a dozen, and it should be enough if anything should go wrong."

"Listen to me. I pay you to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Grab a bag for me just in case, but I want out of that shithole by tomorrow morning. And for fuck's sake, don't tell my ex-wife I'm there. I have no desire to see her." He stormed off toward his suite, and the guard just stood, staring at his back.

"Ed, I don't have a good feeling about this," said another guard.

"Me neither, but we have to go. And whatever happens, keep that psycho bitch away from him. And us."