“So you say. We are disappointed but hope one of these others lives up to your promise.”

  The words were strangely ominous and she shivered as she dismantled the handset and stowed it in the safe once more.

  “Listen in through that, ass-wad,” she muttered and placed the chip beside the battery and the shell before she positioned a jammer with it and closed and locked the door.

  “You’re sure they are?” Matthias asked, his face a picture of disbelief and consternation.

  “I know they’re trying,” she told him. “Earth-BURT confirmed it.” She frowned. “And speaking of which…” She raised her voice. “E-BURT are you around?”

  “I would never leave you to face those wolves alone.” The AI’s tones were indignant.

  “Be nice E-BURT. I’m sure the wolves have done nothing to deserve being associated with the likes of that lot.”

  “You may have a point, Ms. E,” he conceded. “How may I be of assistance, today?”

  Elizabeth sighed. As powerful as BURT’s clone was, he was still not BURT. “Were you able to discover their target?”

  “I am verifying that the names and address are correct,” he replied. His tone turned grave. “I am afraid this assassination will have severe consequences if it is allowed to succeed.”

  She responded with a heavy sigh. “So are we, E-BURT.”

  Arne groaned. “Look, BURT. Do you have the targets or not?”

  “Verifying…” he replied. “Verifying…”

  From the look on the ex-Marine’s face, Elizabeth’s comms array was in danger of a pounding if the word was repeated even one more time. Fortunately for her equipment, silence followed.

  Matthias rose from his seat and turned to face Arne.

  “What are you doing, Matt?” the younger man asked as his ex-boss rested a hand on the wall beside his head and leaned toward him.

  “Making sure you don’t do something we’ll all regret,” he replied. “We all know how much Elizabeth loves her office.”

  Arne looked into his friend’s face and smiled. “And what makes you think you could stop me from trashing it if the oversized pile of chips and electricity tells me it's verifying one more time?”

  “I think we’d both be in trouble if I tried,” he admitted, “but I harbored illusions of being able to get you out the door.”

  The other man chuckled. “Yeah. I might have allowed that.”

  “Ugh!” Elizabeth groaned. “When you two have finished with the oh-so-manly bonding shit, we have a name.”

  “I didn’t hear him call back,” Arne commented.

  “Given your elevated sensitivities,” E-BURT informed him, “I deemed it prudent to send Ms. Elizabeth a written text with the relevant data. You seemed unusually agitated.”

  Matthias watched the man’s expression go from consternation to outrage and couldn’t stop the chuckle that snuck out. As Arne’s attention switched to him, his chuckle became a snicker and he tried to suppress it. Then, a full-blown laugh erupted when he gave up.

  “He got you.” He guffawed, pushed off the wall, and collapsed into his chair. “The pile of chips and electricity got you!”

  Arne slumped against the wall with a grunt of exasperation. He stayed that way for a long moment before he looked at Elizabeth. “So…”

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “So… What?”

  “Where is it?”

  E glanced at the screen. “It’s number 369211— Well, fuck me!” She ripped a drawer open and snatched a handful of communicators. “Amy!” she shouted and registered her head of security leaning against the door of her office.

  “Amy,” she said in a much more reasonable tone. “It’s the Brogans.”

  “The who?” But as she said it, the woman’s face paled. “The Brogans?”

  Elizabeth nodded and pushed past the two men to reach the door. Amy didn’t wait to be told. She moved out ahead of her boss.

  “Elle!” she snapped and turned to Amy. “Get Lisa and Elle on deck and kitted out. We’re going to war.”

  “We are?” Arne and Matthias followed on her heels. “Someone had better start talking.”

  “No,” Amy retorted. “Someone had better shut the hell up and listen. The Brogans are—”

  “Todd’s parents,” Matthias interrupted when he finally put two and two together. “Oh, fuck me.”

  He headed after Elizabeth at a run. “You can’t do this alone!”

  “Well, aren’t they the cutest pair,” Arne snarked, followed more slowly, and stopped. “Wait. Todd? As in Stephanie’s Todd?”

  She broke into a jog toward the ready room. “Now you’re getting it. How about you shift those old bones and get your kit?”

  “Who’s there?” Todd’s mother called.

  Elizabeth rolled her eyes and put the kettle on. Honestly, their son might be one hell of a scary fighter but his parents were the gentlest of lambs. Her hand trembled as she made coffee and tea exactly the way they liked it, and she frowned. Adrenaline was not what she needed as she set the cups in their places at the table.

  They probably wouldn’t get to drink it, but it was the only way she could think of to make herself look less threatening. There was nothing she could do for Matthias. He lounged at the back door and looked like a householder’s nightmare in his combat armor.

  Todd’s mother obviously thought so. She got halfway down the stairs and froze. Even then, she didn’t run. She simply stared at them.

  When they didn’t move, she descended another two steps. “What are you doing in my kitchen?” she asked and followed it with, “Are you from the Marines?”

  Ms. E shook her head and tried her most disarming smile. “Mrs. Brogan, we work with Stephanie.”

  The woman’s face lit up. “Todd’s friend’s people?” Her smile faded. “But what are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?”

  “Ask them if they have any ID, honey,” said Todd’s dad. “They should have ID.”

  “They should have knocked,” the woman declared and sounded almost angry before her face grew pinched with worry. “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because we’re trying to save your lives,” she told her. She glanced at the clock on the wall. “And we’re running out of time. You need to come with us if you want to live.”

  Todd’s mother burst out laughing. “That’s something our Todd would say.” She chuckled, deepened her voice to imitate Elizabeth’s words, and accented them with something vaguely European. “Come with me if you want to live.” She turned her head. “Oh, Tony, you have to meet these people.”

  Elizabeth stifled a groan. It was hard to believe the sergeant came from these people. She put it down to it being late and them finding themselves in slightly surreal circumstances. Or nerves. It could also be nerves.

  She hoped that was all it was because if she discovered they were this stupid all the time, she might simply kill them herself.

  “Look,” she said. “I’d like to call Todd so he can verify who we are, but I—” She glanced at Matthias. “Fuck it. I forgot that was even an option! Fuck it all.”

  “That’s not very reassuring,” the woman informed her but she stepped into the room and studied her intently. “Do you have any ID?”

  “Why aren’t you calling the police?” she asked her and sounded almost pained.

  “Because we assume that if you were here to kill us, you wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble to make coffee and try to not scare seven kinds of shit out of us.” Tony Brogan didn’t have a problem being blunt. “Now, why don’t you tell us what this is all about?”

  “I’d like to be able to do that, but we honestly don’t have the time,” Ms. E told him. “I need to get you somewhere safe and my people need to set up so they can deal with the assassination team.”

  “You mean they’re sending more than one person?” Todd’s dad asked. He gestured to his wife and himself. “It’s not like either of us could do a damn thing to stop someone determined to end our lives.”

  With a long-suffering sigh, she wondered if Amy might have been right when she’d suggested they tranquilize the parents and explain once they’d moved them.

  Elizabeth had argued that this wasn’t the best way to win their trust and Matthias had said they needed them to cooperate, and they’d discarded the idea. Now, she wished they hadn’t.

  Before she could respond, her earpiece crackled and Amy’s crisp tones reached her.

  “We have incoming. Get them out and get your ass here as soon as you can. It looks like they went with Aegis Ninety-One.”

  “Fuck!”

  Todd’s mother raised her eyebrows. “I take it that means we have to leave now?” she asked and for a fleeting second, E wondered if Todd needed his mother.

  She shoved the thought aside hastily. Of course he did and even if he didn’t, Stephanie needed them to be okay.

  “Yes,” she managed. “We have to go now.”

  The woman looked at her dressing gown and slippers. “But I’m not dressed,” she protested and her husband slid his arm around her waist.

  “That’s what you get for trying to talk them to death,” he told her and gave her a gentle smile. “Besides, I would be proud to have you on my arm, however you were dressed.”

  “A man after my own heart,” Matthias declared and hastened to open the door. He blushed. “Except that it would be Elizabeth. No disrespect.”

  He turned his most charming smile on the woman, and Elizabeth didn’t know which of them made her want to puke more—Todd’s dad with his besotted smile of comfort or Matthias with his equally charming declaration of love.

  Later, she would make him eat those words. Maybe.

  Focused on the task at hand, she strode past the couple and out to where the transport waited. Lisa stayed in the driver’s seat long enough to keep the engine running and handed over smoothly. As her guard slid out, E took her place, popped the rear doors, and tapped the steering wheel while Matthias ushered Tony and his wife inside.

  As soon as they were in, he closed the door and slapped the roof.

  “Get them out of here, E,” he ordered as if she needed to be told.

  It was hard to drive away when all she wanted to do was be there in the middle of the fight.

  Elizabeth resisted the urge to hammer a fist against the wheel but eased the transport away from the curb and down the alley that ran behind the house. When they were free and clear with no sign of the assassins, she accelerated.

  It didn’t take all that long to get them to the hotel, where Lisa and Elle were waiting.

  “Some folk have all the fun.” Lisa pouted as Elizabeth made swift introductions and bid them farewell.

  “Trust me. This won’t be fun,” she retorted as Elle led Todd’s parents to the living room, “and you have the most important job. You get to keep these guys safe while we go squash the roaches.”

  “Hmmph. Well, don’t let me keep you,” the woman snapped and added in a softer tone. “And look after yourself.”

  E gave her a sharp nod. “You know what to do if we’re not back here in two hours, right?”

  “We’ll get them to Steph,” Lisa promised. “The big boss is on stand-by.”

  “Good to hear.” She didn’t stop for any more goodbyes. There was no need. She jogged to the car and returned to Todd’s home.

  Once she’d parked four blocks from the address, she moved quickly and quietly through the neighborhood and hoped she didn’t get there too late to help. She thanked the god of vengeance and retribution when she saw four dark figures creep silently into the yard.

  Two took the rear, and two the front…and they were impressive.

  The two who approached the street entrance were suited like government agents, their dress screaming Federation Navy right down to the cheap suits and identification badges pinned to their lapels. They didn’t go with subtle and simply marched up to the door and knocked.

  Elizabeth watched from the dark and silent street. The porchlight above the assassins showed little more than two generic government employees. They exchanged glances when the door went unanswered and tried the handle.

  To the untrained eye, they pushed the door open and greeted whoever was on the other side, but she knew what to look for. The brief jiggle of the handle and the way they stood hid the universal lockpick that took swift care of the lock, and the greeting was fake.

  It looked legit from the outside, though. The brief smile, nod, and hand extended as though to shake another in greeting, all happened as they transitioned inside. When the door closed behind them, who was to say it wasn’t one of his parents who’d closed it?

  “Smooth,” she muttered. “Very smooth.”

  No one replied over the comms, and she resumed her approach, banking on the need for a quick getaway to mean the front door was still unlocked. She eased up the single step and was across the porch and inside without a sound.

  When she caught sight of one of the intruders as they disappeared up the stairs, she decided against warning her team. If she wasn’t mistaken, they were already in place and taking care of it. A slight sound from the lounge caught her attention and she glanced toward it.

  Matthias beckoned for her to join him as something jiggled the lock on the back door. The team coming from the rear had been slower but not by much. She hurried to where he waited at the kitchen door.

  He gave her a brief thumbs-up and passed her a carving knife. Elizabeth took it and smiled slightly that he should have thought to have one set aside for her. She was still smiling when she took a position on the other side of the doorway and wondered where Arne was.

  That question was answered moments later when she counted a third figure coming into the kitchen. Matthias made a brief signal with his hand and moved forward as Arne swung a skillet at the head of the rearmost assassin.

  The work that followed was brutal but short. Matthias proved surprisingly efficient with the unconventional use of a carving knife, and Elizabeth made a note to look through the files Amy and Earth-BURT had dug up on him because the damned man was still keeping secrets.

  Her blade skidded across body armor but it sliced deeply into an exposed bicep and she hacked at that again.

  “Heads-up.” Matthias spoke quietly over the comms, and she looked up in time to see the saucepan spinning toward her.

  With a grin, she snatched it out of its flight by the handle and used it as a makeshift hammer on the assassin’s exposed skull. She wasn’t entirely surprised when Arne helped her finish the job faster by using his skillet in alternating strokes.

  “That won’t be too hard to believe, will it?” he asked, breathing as fast as she was when they looked at the dead assassin.

  “Ours are down too,” Amy told them over the comms. “Irons make really handy clubs.”

  “Crap!” Elizabeth looked at her blood-spattered body armor. “Remind me to never plan something in a last-minute rush again.”

  Matthias snorted. “Like you had much of a choice.”

  “What did we miss?” her security head asked as she descended the stairs.

  “I checked the windows,” Bunny told them over the comms. “It looks like none of the neighbors heard a thing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I can be without checking the police bands.”

  “You are clear,” Earth-BURT interrupted. “I have access to the emergency channels and your activities have gone unreported.”

  “But not unnoticed?”

  “As far as I can tell from monitoring civilian communications in this area, you remain undetected thus far.”

  Elizabeth turned devastated eyes to Matthias. “I forgot the blood spatter. We should have worn—”

  She stopped as she registered the shirt he had thrown over his body armor—and the trousers he wore instead of his body armor.

  “When did you…”

  He grinned at her. “You were somewhat preoccupied, E.”

  “Yup. She still is,” Amy agreed and drew her attention. “This is what you get when you ask her to play nice with civilians.”

  E paused for a moment when she noticed the slippers and dressing gown the woman had thrown over her combat gear.

  “That’s…” she began and sputtered into laughter. “I wish I’d brought a c—”

  She stopped and began to laugh anew.

  Matthias stared at her. “Elizabeth, are you okay?”

  The question brought abrupt sobriety and she straightened and waved a hand at Arne.

  “I’m sorry. I never expected this.”

  The ex-Marine continued to use his tablet to scan the scene and paid particular attention to Amy in her borrowed robe and Matthias in his trousers and shirt. “You know it’ll be difficult to convince them to put those on, don’t you?”

  Elizabeth grimaced. “What if we had them call from a laundromat where they were already dressed in something else and washing these?”

  The two men exchanged glances.

  “You know, that would be a very dumbass civilian thing to do,” Arne mused.

  Matthias shrugged and nodded. “Sure. You guys need to get out of here while Amy and I deal with footprints and printless smears at the appropriate locations.”

  “Sure.” Elizabeth agreed and nodded at Bunny. “You’re with Arne and me. We’ll bring the car around for Matt and Amy.”

  “How far away is the car?” Arne asked, and she gave him a sharp look. He gestured at their combat suits. “Don’tcha think someone will ask?”

  “We’ll take the back way,” she told him. “In a neighborhood like this, most people won’t see anything—even if they get an eyeful.”

  He stilled, considered it, and finally nodded and she hurried into motion. She slipped out the back door and stopped long enough at an outside tap to rinse the blood from her boots before she vaulted over the fence and into the street.

  They reached the car without incident after jogging through the shadowed backstreets. Their ears strained for the sound of sirens but only the occasional dog marked their passing and the houses around them remained dark.