Epilogue Two

Somewhere in an undisclosed off-site installation…

We’d been in this shithole for close to two weeks now and we were bored.

Like really fucking bored.

“What’s the matter, shit for brains, no patience?”

At first it was just me in this small fucking room, until Pippen arrived, but when they shoved Phantom in here a few days later, well, I knew shit was about to get really interesting.

I got the alert right before the fucking FBI broke down my damn door and arrested me. Fuckers didn’t waste time slapping handcuffs on me and reading me my rights. But what pissed me off was when their sloppy tech-team marched in and salivated all over my babies.

Those fuckers thought they walked right into Candyland.

Oh, were they in for a big surprise.

My babies were loyal only to me. And just like I knew they would, the second those slimy fuckers touched my babies, they went nighty-night, never to awaken again.

You see, this wasn’t my first rodeo with the FEDs.

From the moment I could speak, zeros and ones were my language. I lived on the dark web. Knew everything there was to know. I made friends, found my people, and quickly made a name for myself. I drove Mom and Dad fucking nuts, but they didn’t get it. The internet was the information highway. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. Nothing was off-limits. With just a simple code, I could erase someone’s existence, then create an entirely new one within seconds. I could break into any system, anywhere around the world. And for the right amount of money, I could make you the richest person on the planet or ensure you never saw the light of day again.

“How did you do it?”

“Do what?” Phantom smiled sweetly, batting her eyelashes like some helpless woman in distress. “I wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Oh Pahleease!

Phantom was the deadliest person in this fucking room.

I would have laughed if this shit wasn’t serious.

“Just tell us, bitch,” the guard sneered when Phantom chuckled.

Rolling my eyes, I said nothing while Phantom had her fun. Her job was to annoy the FEDs, and she was doing a damn good job, considering she was former CIA and military trained.

These stupid fucks had no clue who they were messing with.

More importantly, she could kill them before they could even reach for their guns.

The problem the FEDs were having was they couldn’t get us to cooperate. Not that we ever would. We were what they called an annoying and obstinate target, and it was our job to make their lives a living hell and make them think we knew nothing until the cavalry arrived.

Now that was when the real fun would begin.

Until then, all we had to do was annoy, confuse, and aggravate the FEDs until they were ready to shoot us just for existing.

Easy Peasy.

While Phantom was taking stock of the men in the room, watching for their tells and weaknesses, because that’s what the CIA trained her to do, Pippen was pretending to be the weak link, the patsy, the sniveling whiner about to piss his pants. What they didn’t know was that my friend and business partner was waiting for the signal, which he would then give to me.

Now, my job was to look bored. Which wasn’t hard because I was.

I missed my babies. Just the thought of setting up a completely new system annoyed me to no end, but I was happy about all the upgrades I planned on buying. Even more happy that I had already figured out how I was going to make the FBI pay for it all.

If I closed my eyes, I could actually see my brand spanking new system, looking all shiny and perfect, just waiting for me to boot her up. I couldn’t wait to hear her purr to life. She was going to be glorious and more importantly free, while these fuckers were going to be dead.

Win-win in my book.

When one of the guards growled and stepped forward, Phantom rolled her eyes and groaned. “What’s the matter, fucknuts, you look constipated? You better not stink up this room.”

Oh, and Phantom had a fucking mouth on her.

The door opened and I looked at the new arrival.

I wasn’t the only one either. Pippen and Phantom took notice as well. We watched the man take a seat across from us, placing three files before him.

Opening the first one, he sighed, “Lena Collins, also known as Phantom. Sister in the biker gang, Golden Skulls.”

“Not a fucking gang,” Phantom sneered.

“Father, retired Army Colonel Joseph Collins; mother, Linda Collins, retired Pentagon attaché to Colonel Jessop. Brother, retired Captain Jason Collins, also known as Merc, now a mercenary for hire working with Harbor Security. Sister, Laura Collins, former distinguished NSA operative now deceased, and then there is Jared Collins, also known as Gadget, former member of the Golden Skulls gang and also deceased. Did I leave anyone out?”

I cleared my voice.

It was simple but the message was clear to Phantom, who smiled. “Yep. Got them all.”

Looking at me, the fucker opened the next file.

“Daniel Franks”

I growled. “Mom named me Danny. Not Daniel.”

Ignoring me the fucker continued, “Daniel Franks, also known as Sypher and brother in the Golden Skulls gang. Father, Lee Roy Franks, also known as Moonshine, former President of the Tennessee Chapter of the Golden Skulls gang, deceased. Mother, Roxanna Chasity Montclair, sister to Conner Montclair, former President of the Sons of Hell gang, deceased. Brothers, former Captain Ace Franks, fugitive, Bailey Franks, also known as Chipper, Charles Franks, also known as Trout, both current members of the Tennessee Chapter of the Golden Skulls gang. Did I leave anyone out?”

Glaring at the fucker I said nothing.

Looking at Pippen the fucker sighed. “And then there is you, Dante Sharp, also known as Pippen and member of the Soulless Sinners gang. Not much else. No mother, no father, no sibling on record. You must be the worthless one.”

Pippen growled.

“Listen, assholes. This is how it’s going to go. I am going to ask a question and you will answer it or you will be spending the rest of your lives in a six-by-six cell in an undisclosed location until someone carries your rotting corpses out in a body bag. Do we understand each other?”

“A little graphic for my taste,” Pippen snarked.

“Could have stuck the landing better,” Phantom added. “I mean, he left everything open to interpretation.”

“I liked the undisclosed location bit. Made me chuckle.”

The man slammed his hand down on the table and shouted, “I’m not fucking around here.”

Leaning forward in her chair, Phantom looked at me and Pippen and grinned. “Now, you see, that didn’t have the same effect as when Reaper does it. I mean, that man knows how to command a room.”

Pippen leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table as he propped his head into his hand. “You know who can command a room. Montana. Now that scary fucker has a temper.”

“He’s good.” I nodded. “Scared the pants off me a few times, but Reaper’s worse. When he gets that evil look in his eyes, I just know heads are going to roll.”

The fucker leaned back and glared at us. “You have no fucking idea who I am, do you?”

“Should we?” Phantom snarked.

Leaning forward, the fucker said, “My name is Agent Reed Scott, assistant director to the FBI, and someone not to trifle with. You fuckers think you’re so smart. Well, let me enlighten you. All three of you are going to jail for a very long time, but I’ll make you a deal. You tell me how you did it and I will put in a nice word with the judge.”

“Did what?” I asked.

“Locked us in this fucking place!” the man roared. “None of my codes work!”

“Oh, I didn’t do that.” I smiled. “I’m innocent.”

“It’s fucking off-grid. Only I know about it. So, what’s it gonna take for you three to cooperate?”

“A nice cappuccino with a bagel and cream cheese.”

“I mean to get the fuck out of this place.”

“Oh that?” Phantom shrugged her shoulders. “We can’t leave yet.”

“And why is that?”

“Need to know.”

“Bitch, I have higher clearance than you.”

Phantom threw her head back and laughed, before glaring at the fucker.

“No you don’t,” she sneered. “Because, Agent Reed Scott, you are a liar. You are not the assistant director to diddly squat. You are, however, the son of Devlin Scott. Or is he your grandfather? Offsprings of incest are so confusing.”

“Seriously, dude, your family tree doesn’t fork. It just goes straight up.” Pippen snickered.

“Unlock this fucking building,” Reed Scott seethed, his face turning a bat-crap-crazy shade of red. “You have five seconds or I’m going to order these men to kill you.”

All three guards in the room smiled, aiming their weapons at us.

“Like I said before, we can’t leave yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t finished my nails,” Phantom retorted, blowing on her unpolished nails.

“Uh, Reed?” one of the guards said, capturing his attention.

“Yeah?”

“We got company.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know, but the sensors are going off like crazy.”

Smirking, I whispered, “Three… two… one…”