Scepter: The Watched Series, #9

By Cindy M Hogan

Christy Hadden's newest directive: Destroy Polity--A major arms dealer. Easy enough with her team of spies, but when Christy loses her greatest weapon, her photographic memory, even the simplest of tasks become impossible and her life as a spy appears to be at an end.

But when her team discovers Polity is not what they thought, but much more, and a mole in Division is helping Polity achieve their aims, Christy and her team are the only ones that can stop them, keeping Division in the dark.

If Christy doesn't find the strength and courage to embrace her new reality without her photographic memory, and fight to learn new skills, Polity will do much more than supply their enemies with weapons. Not only will Polity destabilize the world economy and cause war to break out, but it will destroy the future Christy hopes to give her family, friends, herself and the man she loves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: O'neal Publishing
• Release date: Mar 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386066354

Cindy M Hogan

Cindy M. Hogan is a USA Today bestselling author of young adult suspense and action and adventure novels that always have a dash of clean romance. After her first series, The Watched Series, skyrocketed her to number one, she hasn’t let up and now has over 20 novels to her name. She’s always on the move and never sits down to write, instead she walks and talks into a recorder and lets her computer transcribe her words. If she isn’t writing or editing, she’s teaching, gardening or doing crafts. You’ll always find her listening to an audiobook while working in her park-like yard, cooking or baking something delicious. She dreams to someday have a German style bakery with a cute to-go window for Gelato. Cindy loves to create and her most prized creation is her two amazing daughters, and she secretly wishes they were teenagers again. She loves to be home, but her husband is a die-hard traveler and takes her family around the world. During her travels, she finds an endless supply of story ideas, characters and settings, walking away with either a suntan or jetlag. Her contagious laughter is the cure to almost anything. To read a novel of hers is to see a piece of Cindy, as she puts her all into every novel she writes.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The surveillance van bucked and shimmied over the washboard mountain road. Ace had his night vision goggles on, giving me some assurance we weren’t going to drive off the side of a cliff. The constant rattling of the van reminded me of a trotting horse. Not a good thing.

Jeremy and I sat strapped into seats that ran along one side of the van. In the dark, I could just make out the outlines of weapons, computers, and sneak suits, which added to the creepy factor of being out in the dark woods in the middle of nowhere. Jeremy squeezed my hand and rubbed his thumb over mine. In the dark, his touch was reassuring.

Finally, we stopped. I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the van, happy to be back on firm ground. I stretched and yawned as I looked over the valley below us. Cool autumn air rushed into my lungs, and immediately the jostling van was forgotten. In the distance, the view of Hamilton, Virginia stole my attention. Lights blinked and twinkled in the dark, both from the city below and the sky above.

Jeremy wrapped his arms around my waist and bent to put his chin on my shoulder. I turned my attention to the four rows of lights that seemed suspended in the air directly below us. Polity. The massive rectangular cement data center looked and felt out of place in the dark wooded mountains. If I didn’t know better, I’d think a huge spaceship had made a forced landing below us.

Dense foliage had grown up around the building, slowly obscuring its presence from those unsure what to look for. It was a strange contradiction—the building was hidden yet blazing with lights. One would think a company that dealt in political secrets would want to hide away instead of sticking out like a beacon in the dark. The wrongness of it all was impossible to miss. The company did like shiny things, though, so maybe they couldn’t help themselves.

I leaned into Jeremy and turned for a kiss. We could only get away with all this touchy-feely stuff because we hadn’t officially started the mission yet. Once we did, we’d have to pretend our feelings for each other didn’t exist; otherwise, we’d lose our jobs. Dating co-workers was strictly forbidden within Division 57 and this job was more than just a job to both of us. It was our lives.

Ace, our team’s tech extraordinaire, walked toward us, stretching his arms high over his head but saying nothing. We stood in silence, enjoying the momentary peace and quiet. Of our usual team, only Hal was missing. This mission only called for three, so he was back at Washington Division helping out another team.

A chime rang out from all three of our watches. Time to move, Jeremy said, straightening from our embrace. We were officially in mission mode now.

Ace returned to the van and got into position as our tech support. Jeremy squeezed my hand, then leaned his forehead against mine. This is it. You’ll be great. In and out. I wanted to melt into him again, but duty called. We had to collect the information from Polity’s servers, so the government could administer justice and shut them down for good. Ace activated the surveillance equipment and put his headset on. We put in our coms, and I grabbed my pack, which was filled with everything a spy might need. I slid into my sneak suit, a tight-fitting black body suit Ace had created for me that helped me slip and grip while in the ducting of buildings. Beside me, Jeremy suited up in his blacks. He would be my lookout, responsible for keeping me from the clutches of the exterior guards.

I adjusted my infrared binoculars and peered out at the imposing building below us. My body was abuzz with nerves, ready for the mission to begin. We’d been working on this for so long—ever since my old friend Marybeth alerted us to Polity’s illegal activities.

After her spy school training, she’d gone to work for Polity. She’d thought she was working for the good guys, keeping our country safe, but in reality, they were the bad guys, finding information on senators so Polity could blackmail them to do their bidding.

After some digging, Ace discovered eighty-five percent of Polity’s business was shady. The only things he couldn’t uncover were how it got started in the first place and who was behind its inception. They were too big an operation to be allowed to continue to run amok, so Division opted to take them down. We linked the satellite sites to Polity headquarters, and hopefully tonight we’d finally retrieve the information necessary to destroy them.

The objective was cut and dried—download the files needed to implicate Polity in hundreds of illegal arms dealing maneuvers and turn them over to the authorities. We were hoping the names of the leaders would be exposed as well as the details of how they were manipulating congressmen and senators to get their guns all over the world. Of course, getting what we needed involved me climbing through ducting, which I hated, but there were too many fail-safes in place to enter the building any other way.

I texted Marybeth, my breathing rapid and shallow as I anticipated bringing her corrupt employer to its knees.

Here we go.

Jeremy’s arm grazed mine, sending a rush of heat through my sneak suit. I shook my head and told myself to get back in the game. Ace sat at the computer terminal, tracking all the players. On one screen, bright green blobs moved, indicating the location of workers and guards inside Polity. Only the main areas of the building showed any movement, apart from the fifteen guards moving about the perimeter.

In my mind, I went over the schematics of the building for the hundredth time and then the mission’s outline, objectives, mandates, and my responsibilities. My alarm sounded, signaling that it was time for me to walk the hundred yards or so to the vent I’d be climbing through. Of the myriad things that could go wrong, the most likely would be that I would get spotted when entering or exiting the vent. I figured the second was more likely simply because I would be out of contact with Ace and Jeremy the entire time I was in the vent. Ace had assured me there were no trip wires or traps inside the vents, but it didn’t ease my fear of being inside them for so long.

Jeremy slid the van door open.

See you topside, I said, and climbed out of the van. I covered my face with the sneak suit mask, adjusting my night vision goggles over it and redistributing the weight of my backpack as I moved away from the van and down the hill to the vent.

All clear on my end, Jeremy said over the com.

Normal movement within the building, Ace confirmed.

It’s a go, Christy, Jeremy said.

I had to make my own path, and the mountain was hard to traverse, full of bushes, rocks, trees, and brush. Stealth was critical, but with each step I took, each branch I pushed out of the way, I sounded like a bear ambling down the mountain. Thank goodness I had Jeremy to warn me if any perimeter guards got too near.

When my GPS indicated I’d arrived, I kicked at the brush around the area until my foot impacted the large air vent. Blood quickened in my veins. This was it. The server rooms needed advanced air conditioning systems and excellent ventilation in order to keep the super computers cool enough to operate. Division was about to take advantage of that fact.

Arrived and located, I said into my com. No matter how many times I went on missions, the actual moment when I entered the fray always sent acid to my gut and raging adrenaline to my heart. I took several deep breaths in preparation then set to work. The small drill whirred softly as I opened the vent exactly on schedule. I climbed in on my hands and knees. The vent would lead me where I needed to go, but I really hated that my com wouldn’t work while I was inside its dark, confined depths.

Following the air ducting schematics in my head, I made sure to avoid areas near workers or the fans drawing air through the building, and slipped down three floors to the basement, where a T shaft would allow me to drop into the brain of the building.

When I finally reached my destination, I released the screws, pulled the cover into the shaft and looked out into the room. A hum filled the massive chamber. Not seeing anyone, I dangled down, my fingers gripping the edge of the metal shaft to steady me before dropping. I glanced at my watch. We had exactly eight minutes and fifty-three seconds before our breach would be detected. Ace had estimated the download would take five minutes and three seconds, so I had to work quickly in order to complete the download and make my exit before we were discovered.

As my fingers let go, I heard voices—and not in my com. Someone else was in the room with me. Why hadn’t Ace noticed them? Why hadn’t I? And more importantly, had they spotted me? My feet touched the ground and I rolled to minimize the sound of my landing. I landed right up against a twenty-foot-long bank of computers. This data center had twelve cages of computers lined up in two rows of four, each separated by a three-foot clearance that wrapped around a corner, making an L-shape. The people I heard must have been around the corner as I entered. Now, the voices were near and getting louder.

I glanced around but saw no one. I counted over five computers and silently moved into position. Like most new servers, Polity had installed one monitor per cage. The USB port I needed was directly below the monitor. I wanted to slide the drive in and get the information downloading, then deal with my unwelcome visitors, but it sounded like they were just on the other side of the computer stack. Blood rushed through my veins like a pack of wild dogs chasing prey, and I decided not to slip the drive in yet. I couldn’t risk being seen.

My eyes caught the tip of a large boot, and then a body in some sort of silver jumpsuit came around the cage of computers. I crawled around to the other side, barely skirting detection.

I opened my mouth and breathed softly, listening intently to the booted feet and an unfamiliar rustling sound of fabric rubbing against fabric moving toward me. I held my breath. Somehow, they knew I was here. This was not good. A fight with them could set off an alarm that would send an army of guards down here. One or two I could handle, but under the circumstances, more than that could prove a problem. The movement stopped. Over the whir of the fans inside the towers, I heard, Yes. That one. It’s ready. You can take it out. Only one more. The silver fabric rustled as the other person obeyed. Maybe they didn’t know I was there after all. Maybe it was simply a coincidence they were down here while I was.

I exhaled quietly and took another silent breath, contemplating the reason behind their silver jumpsuits. They were obviously shielding those people from something, but what? Was there something dangerous in the air and I’d been exposed to it? I mentally checked my body, but I felt no different now than when I’d entered. Besides, the vent I’d crawled through helped circulate clean air as well as cool the room. The likelihood of an airborne contaminant was low.

My visitors walked back the way they’d come. What had they taken? I peered around the stack and watched two women walk along the cages and stop. One reached out and grabbed something near the monitor to a different cage of computers. A jump drive? And then they walked out, their voices getting softer as they went. I breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone. My curiosity would have to wait until after I’d completed this mission.

I stood up slowly and within moments had cleared the room. I slipped the jump drive into the USB slot just below the monitor. The drive is in, I whispered into the com.

All clear, Jeremy said. I let out a deep breath, glad I was back in contact with my team. Without me having to do a thing, the light on the jump drive turned green and a prompt showed on the screen. The drive had begun its download. I imagined Jeremy in position on the hill, keeping track of all the guards around the perimeter, and Ace keeping an eye on the screens in the van that showed all movement within the building. Something tickled the back of my neck and the people in the suits filled my mind. The whole thing had been odd.

Ace, I said, there were two people in the server room when I arrived.

What?

They were taking something from each cage. Looked like jump drives.

No one else showed on my screen but you. Are you sure?

I’m sure. My heart pounded in my chest now. It’s okay. They’re gone now, and I’ll be done in no time. Don’t worry about it.

Uh, I’m going to worry about it. If I can’t see everyone in the room, I can’t keep you safe.

They were wearing suits with some sort of metallic fabric—it made them so loud. It crunched and swished as they walked. I’d know if they were anywhere near.

Like heat reduction suits that make them invisible to infrared? Ace’s tone was full of incredulity and frustration.

Maybe, I said. I’ve never seen anything like it. I scanned the room, suddenly feeling less safe as realization dawned. They weren’t using the suits to protect themselves from poison, but from surveillance.

Ace gave a very loud grunt. You’re being very casual about this. It’s serious. Why do you think they would wear them if they weren’t trying to conceal themselves?

I asked his next question. And why would they do that in their own facility?

Exactly. This is not good.

They weren’t quiet, and they acted like they owned the place. No rush.

I don’t like it, Jeremy interrupted. Get out.

I scanned the room and then watched as the information from the server scrolled down the screen. My photographic memory grabbed the images and words as they scrolled, almost magically filing the information into various folders in my brain for easy access later. It’s still downloading. Let me finish.

Jeremy’s voice turned sharp. "I said, get out. Do it now."

Nothing else suspicious is happening. I crawled through those awful ducts and I’m not wasting this chance. I’m staying. I ignored the fact that my heart pounded hard against my ribs like tribal drums.

Two very distinct male huffs came over the com. But then something tripped my consciousness, a bit of information that slipped across the screen and was repeated every couple of seconds. I concentrated on what I was seeing.

The information scrolling down the screen indicated that Polity was working with another company. I whispered as I realized the truth. No—eleven others. Could that be right? Was this business simply one of many under one umbrella organization?

Christy? Ace said. Did you say something?

I heard Ace but couldn’t focus on him now and he didn’t ask again. This would change everything! It wasn’t just Polity we had to worry about, but eleven sister organizations all working under one umbrella organization. I almost told the team what I’d learned, but then thought better of it. I didn’t have all the information yet and it would be easier to give them a synopsis once I was out. I looked at the drive. The green light was blinking, but the meter that gauged how full it was wasn’t moving. I frowned. Was the drive broken? How would I know when to change it out for the second one?

I removed the first drive from the computer and put it in my pocket. As soon as I pulled the drive out, the information stopped scrolling. I slipped a new one into the server. The green light on the new drive blinked on and off, and the scrolling resumed.

What I was processing couldn’t be right. I scrolled through the subfolders upon subfolders and trapdoors the crawler had brought up on the screen. According to what I was seeing, Polity and its sister organizations were actually working together under one large organization. But what were they working toward? And who was this umbrella organization?

I glanced down at my watch. Four minutes to go. In my periphery, I saw the capacity indicator for the second drive hadn’t moved. Maybe on these drives it just didn’t? But that couldn’t be right—Ace had told me to switch out the drives when they reached seventy-five percent capacity. What if they weren’t downloading what we needed? I stroked my eyebrow and then massaged my stiff neck.

Keeping my eye on the scrolling screen, I commed Ace. Ace, the capacity indicators aren’t moving. I guessed when the first drive reached seventy-five percent and replaced it, but this second one doesn’t show it’s filling up, either.

They should be moving. Is information scrolling on the screen?

Yes. My eyes were fixed on it, waiting for it to reveal the umbrella corporation.

Then it should be downloading, but the indicator should also be moving. The second should be about full. Go ahead and exchange it for the third drive. Less than two minutes to go.

I did, and the same thing happened. I didn’t tell Ace—what was the point? He couldn’t do anything about it now. Even if the drives really weren’t collecting the data, what I was seeing was totally damning for Polity and these other organizations. This was information we needed. I’d seen almost everything scroll over the screen. It was in my brain somewhere and I would be able to call it up when I needed to. I glanced at the drive. Still no movement. One minute to go before I needed to be heading back through the vents. After that, the server system alarm would sound and guards would descend on the cages, leaving me no chance for escape.

My curiosity raged even as my mind collected all the data. Who was the big dog? I had to know. I needed to discover everything I could. Without this information, Division would never be able to successfully take down the entire organization. I checked my watch. Forty-five seconds.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The goals of these organizations were mayhem and murder. All of the names of the subcompanies were permanently etched on my mind, but I needed the last one. The twelfth. The big dog. I had to find it. I had to. Ten seconds. I ground my teeth in frustration. Still the name was hidden from me. The ten seconds passed without the screen giving me what I needed, so I remained. I still had a thirty-second cushion we’d built into the mission clock for unexpected delays. Actually, there had been forty-five, but with the ladies in the suits, I’d lost fifteen already. Would thirty seconds be enough? My heart pounded like it was in a race and I couldn’t afford to lose. I shook my hands out and felt the stiffness in my body relax some. Fifteen seconds and I’d have to go. The name was going to be revealed, I could feel it. But the fifteen seconds came and went, and the name didn’t appear.

Christy, Jeremy said. You’re on your way, right?

Almost. I just have to see … My feet shifted, my fixed stance giving way to a restless one. My senses were on high alert, listening for any sound, new or foreign, while I hyper concentrated on the screen, not daring to look away to scan the area.

Now, Christy! Ace ordered. Get to the vent. There are workers on the move and no one is replacing them. Security is moving too. The bosses have got to be on their way to investigate the breach as per their protocol.

Christy, Jeremy urged. No information is worth your life. Get out of there. The bosses are only minutes away and arriving by helicopter.

How long until they land?

Thirty seconds at the most.

I need half of that.

Christy, Jeremy called. They know you’re in there.

I could escape in that time. It’d only taken me one minute to get in. If all the employees were gone, I could speed up the process, because I wouldn’t have to worry about being quiet. The vent covers were easy to replace. Five seconds tops. I just needed a little more time. A few seconds. I had to find out who was pulling all the strings and why.

Are the guards almost here, Ace? I needed to be ready for them if so.

No. Uh, they’re all headed for the front of the building.

I thought the landing pad was on top of the building, not in front, Jeremy said.

Apparently, they have both, Ace said. Get out of there, Christy.

I didn’t know what they thought was going to happen, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. But, what if the drives were empty? It was more important that I get the information than that I have an easy getaway. I would simply exit in total stealth mode. Even if the bosses were in the building, they wouldn’t hear me. They wouldn’t know where I went.

Just a little more time.

I stared at the computer and let my brain do its freaky thing. Right now, I just had to see the information as it scrolled across the screen. I couldn’t take the time to register and analyze any of it, I just had to let it wash over me and trust that everything would be there in my subconscious like it always was. There was the possibility that more people with suits were in the building and heading my way, but there was so much data, I didn’t want to miss a thing. I relaxed my mind, trying not to think. A little further, a little bit more. I had to absorb it. Five more seconds.

The distant sounds of chopper blades filtered in through the vents. And then, finally, a name began reappearing in the text on the monitor, the repetition triggering my conscious brain to pay attention. I blinked a few times and willed my mind to focus, rather than letting the words just stream past. The same word was mentioned every few paragraphs and it became clear what I was seeing: the name of the umbrella company.

Scepter. I whispered, triumphant.

Christy? Ace asked.

And then I thought I saw another name from my past, but it couldn’t have been. I blinked rapidly and shook my head, taking another look as my breath hitched. But, my focus was broken, and the name was lost in my subconscious. Only available later when I called it back up or needed it for something. All I had to do was to tell my mind I wanted the name and it would rush to the forefront of my mind, ready recall.

Tell me you’re almost at the end of the tunnel. Please, Christy. Please. Jeremy’s pleading voice brought me back completely. I had to get out—now. I had what I needed. The chopper is hovering above the building, not landing. What is going on?

I’m coming. Something sour and hot sat in my gut and began to grow, making me feel heavy and slow, though I was moving quickly.

Hurry.

Pushing against my desire to stay and collect more information, I ran to the T-shaft and jumped. With a grunt, I grabbed hold of the edge and pulled myself into the vent. On elbows and knees, I clattered along as fast as I could. I didn’t want to be in the shaft longer than necessary. The silence on the com was unnerving, but the silence in the rest of the building was even more so. Why was no one heading my way and why were the bosses just hovering above the building in their helicopter instead of coming to catch and question the intruder? Me. I was almost out. No one was in the building, so I could be as loud as I wanted. The mystery of what Polity and the others were up to pushed me forward. I could see the end of the shaft. I would soon be out and if there was no information on the drives, my memory still had everything Division needed on Scepter and the eleven other companies working under it.

I couldn’t wait to pull everything up and analyze it.

The blood rushing through my veins pushed me farther and faster …

Boom!

A catastrophic blast of air sucked through the vent. The entire shaft crumpled around me, my path of escape gone. I reached for it anyway, but then my brain squeezed, and something slammed into my head.

Chapter 2

Jeremy’s hand was warm in mine, and my insides vibrated in response to him. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him, but my eyes didn’t seem to work right. As I tried to speak, my mouth felt like old plaster, dry and cracked. I couldn’t swallow, and I wanted to roll over, but my body wouldn’t respond. Somewhere far away, I heard his voice. In my mind, I called out to him, but my mouth wouldn’t move. Jeremy. Jeremy.

I couldn’t breathe. I was bursting to open my eyes, to breathe. Suddenly, it came. A deep, shuddering breath that bored through me. As the air expelled from my lungs, dull, thudding pain radiated through my head. My eyes popped open, but I couldn’t see. Everything was white and bright, and I shoved on it. Pressing my eyes closed tight, a scream welled up in my gut. It rose furiously until it escaped through my mouth. My eyes opened and closed, bright lights flashing.

There was nothing but pain.

I needed water. I needed air. I needed out. Wherever I was, I needed out. Faraway voices shuffled around me, going in and out and in and out as I blinked, desperately wanting to see. His hand squeezed mine. I wanted it to stop, but I wanted it to continue. He was holding too tight. He needed to hold tighter. A deep, melodic voice filled my heart, my ears. My breathing evened out as his voice soothed me. One of his hands rested on my blanket-covered belly, and the other continued to hold my hand. Ten-pound weights pressed on my eyelids.

At some point, I finally found the strength to open my eyes. Immediately, I slammed them shut. Still unable to adjust to the light. Still unable to focus on anything. Warmth spread through my veins, and a calm peacefulness radiated out through my fingers and toes. I felt a burning rush, too brief to see and feel. I disappeared into a dream world. I floated. Happiness wafted through me, and only somewhere deep and far were pain, fear, and panic. Something loomed over me, waiting for the peace to lift and the horror to escape again. Again.

Warmth spread through my fingers. Not a warmth that was chemical. It was real and solid.

My eyelids fluttered and, after I blinked a few times, Jeremy’s face came into view. His excited, anxious eyes met mine. He squeezed my hand. A small, relieved laugh escaped his lips. Christy—you’re all right. He looked like he wanted to kiss me, but he held back for some reason.

Of course I am, I wanted to answer, but my throat was so dry all that came out was a hoarse cough. I tried to sit up, looking for water.

Hold on there.

I jerked at the unfamiliar voice—a man I didn’t recognize stood on the other side of my … bed? Where was I? I blinked in the harsh light and looked around the small room. White linoleum floor. Walls lined with whiteboards and laminated posters outlining pain scales. An IV pole with a tube running down into my arm. And Jeremy standing anxiously at the foot of my railed bed. The smell of antiseptic permeated everything. I was in a hospital room. But why?

My brain was a fuzzy, foggy mess. The man, who I now realized must be my doctor, placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, pressing me back into the bed. You’re not quite ready to be moving around yet. You’ve been out for over twenty-four hours.

Twenty-four hours? It wasn’t possible.

You’re very lucky, agent.

Agent. So, this was a Division hospital. I relaxed only slightly. At least here they would understand that I needed to get back on my feet quickly. Still, I didn’t like that I was here at all.

What do you mean ‘lucky’? I croaked.

The doctor shook his head. He was older and had a wise look about him. His hair and eyebrows were gray, but his eyes were a deep brown, and his skin was tanned with no wrinkles. He was fit, probably a runner. His nametag told me he was Dr. Randall.

"You took a pretty bad blow to the