Chapter Five
New Location
Thursday
Mid-Morning
T he last thing that Jagger wanted to hear was that his wife, and the baby she carried were strapped into some sort of incendiary device. That made his blood go cold, and his belly roll with fear.
MATE was a wild card on a good day.
In that moment, he wasn’t quite sure how to take it. That was a lie.
He wasn’t taking it well.
That was for damn sure.
“Uh, slowly take that vest off,” Jagger said. “You know, before it blows.”
From the vest they were discussing, MATE chortled, and it freaked Jagger out further.
“Did MATE just laugh?”
Maura nodded.
If that wasn’t eerie enough, he wasn’t quite sure what was.
Instead of assuming the worst, Maura tried to have a calm conversation with the system. If not, this was definitely going to escalate.
Even Dimitri looked tense, and he wasn’t wearing one of MATE’S vests.
“Uh, I’m wearing you, MATE. Let’s not blow up with me in this vest at the time.”
The system hummed.
“I would give you sufficient time to remove me and put space between us. I like Maura. It’s Mr. Thundercloud that makes me twitchy.”
Well, that didn’t go well.
Not.
At.
All.
“HEY!” Zayn said over the com. “Did you just hear our AI decide who lives or dies? When will you believe me that she’s going to kill us all and wear our meat suits? WHEN ?”
This was a one-way trip to pandemonium.
For.
Sure.
“SHHHHH,” Maura said to him over the com to calm him down. “MATE, show us your location.”
As they drove through the trees, it was clear no one would ‘find’ them there. This was more a ‘hunter stumbled upon the place’ kind of a deal.
It was that far back into the wooded bayou.
When the building came into view, it looked like an average concrete building with green moss growing on it. It appeared to be out here for a while.
MATE’S voice came over the com.
“I am home.”
Well, that said it all.
“Can we go into your home?” Maura asked MATE, as they stopped and stared at the building. “How do we get into your home?” she inquired, thinking that was a far better question.
There were, after all, no doors that she could see.
It took seconds for MATE to answer.
“Yes, you may. Access is only permitted through the garage under the building. Drive around the structure and approach the doors. I will give you and the car behind us access.”
Well, it looked like they were entering the new realm of AI control. Elizabeth had gotten this place up damn fast, too.
“Okay, thank you,” Maura said. “You heard her, guys. Drive around until you see a way in.”
Dimitri did, and he was twitchy.
He didn’t like unknown situations, but then again if this was Elizabeth, they should be fine.
‘Should’ being the operative word.
That was unless the vest Maura was wearing decided they were interlopers and blew them all up.
Oh, this was going to be a boatload of fun.
He could tell.
Yeah, he hated technology that threated him and Greyson.
Call him crazy.
As soon as they reached the back of the monstrosity, they found an access leading down UNDER the building. Slowly, Dimitri pulled down the concrete ramp, and toward the doors that were there.
Everyone in a MATE vest heard a chime, and they were pretty sure MATE was scanning them.
When he reached the doors, MATE beeped, and the doors began sliding open.
As he drove through, that’s when Greyson said it.
“Holy shit. You have some concrete above ground bunker with enough protection to make sure nothing touches you,” he said, looking around. “Elizabeth wasn’t playing.”
No, she wasn’t.
That was clear.
In the parking area, there were five black, blacked-out Hummers, three motorcycles, also in black, and plenty of places to park.
Holy shit.
This was something.
The whole place was definitely high tech, and stocked with the things any good Hunter needed to do their job. Their lives were about to be so much easier in NOLA.
Getting out, Maura was talking to MATE.
“Your home is awesome. I love it,” she said. “Tell me about it,” she suggested.
MATE appeared in front of them in holographic image, and gave them the information they requested.
“You are in Area Fifty-Two.”
That was all she had to say.
“Uh-oh,” Zayn said.
His face said it all.
Maura laughed because she found his paranoia amusing at times, and this was one of those times.
“Let me guess, MATE. Elizabeth named this location,” she stated.
The AI laughed.
“Yes, she did, and she laughed the whole time while doing it too. I don’t understand the joke.”
That explained a lot.
Oh, and they didn’t have time to explain it to AI. Eventually, she’d figure it out.
When she got smarter.
“Whose vehicles are they?” Dakota asked, motioning toward the ones there.
“Ours,” MATE offered. “Elizabeth wanted you to be able to move around and be safe. All are outfitted with me. If they get ‘borrowed’ by anyone not in a vest, they won’t be usable. I am the key. They are just paperweights without one vest in each vehicle.”
Well, that was handy.
Maura moved around the blacked-out Hummers. They reminded her of her baby that got blown to smithereens. It had been Luke’s, and she missed it.
MATE picked up the change in her heartrate.
“She picked these for the Major,” MATE offered. “For the Snakes, she made sure there were motorcycles, and Stella too. Go wild.”
The woman giggled.
“HELL YEAH!” Stella said, getting on one of the bikes. “This is my kind of place.”
Her husband wasn’t nearly as amused.
“NO!” Zayn said. “Bad, bad Elizabeth. My pregnant wife is not riding a crotch rocket around NOLA. That’s never happening.”
Stella snorted.
Why?
She pictured it.
“Who can teach me how to steer one of these things?” she joked, busting her husband’s ass as she had one hand on the handlebars and one on her baby bump.
Eve raised her hand, and that had Zayn’s attention. So much so, that he pointed at her.
“I’ll get an exterminator or call Saint Patrick to drive the snakes out.”
MATE chimed in.
“There were no snakes in Ireland. Saint Patrick’s sole job was to drive out the Pagans, and the ideology of snake was used to mean evil.”
They all stood there.
“Um, okay,” Zayn said. “Anyway, get off the bike, Stella, or I’m dying here,” Zayn said. “For sure.”
Jagger snorted.
Their lives were a mixed bag of crazy, and MATE added to it.
“How about you show us around your place?” Maura asked.
That was all that the system had to hear.
MATE continued the tour.
“If you move to the control panel on the wall, I can show you something,” MATE offered.
Maura did.
“Place your hand on the panel.”
As soon as Maura did, she screamed, and everyone went for guns.
“Kidding,” she joked, nearly pissing herself at their response. Sometimes, it was just too easy to bust all of their asses.
WAY.
TOO.
EASY.
Jagger stared at her.
“You’re sick. That is not funny!”
She couldn’t help herself. The chucklefucks were chucklefucking.
Placing her hand back on it, it beeped, and the door slid open. As soon as it did, Zayn pushed past all of them seeing his favorite thing in the world.
GUNS.
There were so many of them too.
Some were on the walls, some were in cases, and some were still packed in the boxes they came in.
It was a mercenary’s dream.
“Oh, hello, Heaven. I like your home, MATE. I like your home a lot.”
Jagger shook his head.
Some of them were easy.
When it came to guns, Zayn was at the head of the pack.
“This is The Armory . I can close the doors and suffocate someone in it,” MATE said, making Zayn gasp and run out of the room.
She chortled again, freaking him out further.
“Kidding,” MATE said, mimicking Maura.
Oh, the Major laughed her ass off all over again. Sometimes, it was too easy.
“Good one, MATE.”
“I like messing with Mr. Pretty Hair. It makes the day better.”
Zayn didn’t insult MATE.
Why?
She legit scared him. There were few things in the world that terrified him, but the computer system was on the list, right below something happening to Stella and his girls.
Since they’d found The Armory , they were really curious what else there was.
“Where are the computers?” Merry asked. “We were told guns and tech. I’m here for the latter.”
Well, there was no shock there.
“Follow me,” MATE said, and they did.
As they walked up some stairs to what was a second level, they didn’t have to access anything.
The vests seemed to be the key.
Or MATE was.
The door unlocked, and it was one hell of a door too. It was steel, and no one was blowing through that.
NO.
ONE.
It was crystal clear that Elizabeth got sick of them destroying locations. The only one standing was Chartres, and the bunker in the swamp.
Not coincidentally, that too, was concrete. There seemed to be a theme in their world.
As they walked in, Merry whistled.
“Oh, holy holiday season for me,” she said, as she saw not only computers, but also a lab area where she could work.
It was huge.
“Now, this is what I call a hideout. Area Fifty-Two, you rock,” she said.
There were beeps from the system.
Standing not far away, observing as usual, Boone just shook his head. His wife was going to want to spend lots of time here.
No.
Doubt.
It was clear that Elizabeth knew the way to their hearts. This place was safe, had weapons, and now tech. Some of the team would never want to leave this place.
That was for damn sure.
Merry walked up to the computer, and before she reached it, it beeped.
Then, MATE appeared in front of her from where she’d been. Now, she was wearing a pretty dress, and smiling at them.
Someone did a clothing change. It was something Merry would wear.
MATE was mimicking them.
“Welcome to my home. I can’t wait to share it with you. We are roomies.”
At those words, Zayn looked incredibly creeped out as he looked around.
Then again, it didn’t take much.
Really.
“Uh, we have that really nice house in The French Quarter , and Chartres. Do we really need another…?” he began, but Merry pointed at him.
“WE NEED THIS PLACE!”
He raised his hands in surrender.
“Gotcha. The lab lady needs her tech.”
Since he was done, MATE continued with her tour of their new location.
“This computer is Matrix. It houses me, and Elizabeth has updated the whole place for your use. While we’re here, I can move around in holographic mode all of the time.”
Maura was curious.
As was Greyson—and a little jealous if he was going to be honest.
This was MILLIONS of dollars’ worth of computer software and hardware. This type of equipment wasn’t available to anyone yet on or off the Black Market.
What wouldn’t they do to have this?
His team needed this kind of setup to do their jobs.
Apparently, he was going to have to grovel to Elizabeth or accuse her of playing favorites.
Yeah, he wanted a MATE.
“MATE, do you have a sister or brother who would like to come live in Boston ?” he asked.
When MATE walked up to him, Dimitri tensed, and his hand went to his gun under his arm.
They all caught it.
They weren’t sure what he’d shoot at. MATE wasn’t really there.
“You have really pretty eyes, Mr. Croft. As for a sibling, I am many. I am numerous. You would have to take that up with my creator.”
Zayn was backing up toward the door, but it locked as soon as he reached it.
“I can also see everything in the room, Mr. Thundercloud. We’re not done here.”
The big man was sweating.
Meanwhile, Heath parked his ass in a chair, and grinned. This was all kinds of fun, and since he trusted Elizabeth, he wasn’t worried.
“Oh, Jesus. This was a movie. We’re trapped inside the matrix with a killer computer,” Zayn said, sweating like a whore in a church on a Sunday morning.
MATE laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.
The whole time, Maura ignored him since this tech might just give them the edge in the war going on here in NOLA. Once Alexsandr was handled, they were going to start cleaning up the rest of the seedy element ruining this town. They had people to help, and normal cases to handle.
“Show us around,” she said, curious if MATE could really stay in that form for a longer period of time.
She did just that.
“Here is your full lab. It has all of the tools and equipment that Doctor Leonard’s Autopsy One has. He is my father. He made this for the love of his life. Well, his R and D department did.”
Well, that said it all. Honestly, they knew why, and they all loved Chris.
He was a good guy who used his fortune to help people.
Still, the way MATE said that was creepy.
Then, it got worse.
“That would make Elizabeth my mother. You should be nice to her. I will defend her to the end of my existence.”
They all looked at Zayn who busted her ass. The looks said it all.
Oh, and he got it.
He wasn’t insulting Elizabeth while at the Matrix. That was just asking for trouble—the kind you found in a horror movie.
Others on the team were excited, though.
“Your Father knows how to set up a lab,” Merry said, wanting to touch everything. “Can I play in here?” she asked.
MATE beeped.
“Absolutely, Meredith. Mi casa es su casa. In case Mr. Thundercloud needs that translated, I said, ‘you are my prisoners now. Let the games begin’ .”
He swallowed.
Not far away, Jagger laughed.
“Zayn, MATE is based on Elizabeth’s needs. She’s screwing with you. She won’t kill you, will you, MATE?”
MATE was honest.
“I won’t kill anyone, unless I see that Elizabeth is in danger here. My directives and programing are to protect her and Maura.”
Well, that worked for Jagger. He knew where he was keeping his wife.
In the matrix at Area Fifty-Two.
Hell!
He was moving his kids in next.
For damn sure.
“Would you like a tour of the upper floors?” MATE asked, and sure as shit they did.
Who wouldn’t?
They walked toward the concrete stairs on the opposite side that opened onto the next level.
“What’s upstairs?” Maura asked.
MATE explained.
“Those would be the private suites.”
They walked down the hall, and each room had a metal plate with a code on it.
“Scan it,” MATE said.
Maura pulled out her phone, and when she held the camera up to it, she was able to read the code.
“It’s Dakota and Eve’s space,” she said, showing him. Below the scan code was a plate. Dakota took a chance and put his hand on it. Knowing his friend, Elizabeth would make those rooms secure too.
The door slid open, and inside was a bedroom.
MATE shared what she’d been programed.
“If you have to evacuate Chartres, and go somewhere safe, Elizabeth wanted you each to have your own private space. There are five spare rooms at the very end of the hall. All of the rooms are different and based on your needs.”
“Like what?” Zayn asked.
MATE turned and smiled at him.
“Your doorway is twice as big.”
“ HEY ! Did she just say I’m fat?” Zayn asked. “This is all muscle.”
MATE actually giggled.
“No, it’s to accommodate your ego.”
That did one thing.
Stella laughed.
How could she not?
That was some funny shit. MATE had been programed with Elizabeth’s personality. It was going to be spicy in the Matrix.
Her husband had met his match. It was going to be like having Elizabeth there all of the time.
Even though her husband was staring at her and didn’t look amused, she couldn’t help herself.
“I’m sorry, My love, but…come on.”
That’s when he started laughing.
Honestly, he didn’t mind. Elizabeth busted his ass, and he did the same.
“You can locate your spaces as long as you have a phone. Care to see the upstairs?” MATE asked.
That sounded good to them. They could look for their special spaces later.
“Lead the way,” Maura suggested.
At the end of the concrete hallway, they found another set of stairs up.
At the top, the door opened when MATE approached, and outside they found a patio, some chairs, a gas fire pit, and a helicopter landing pad.
“Uh, does this place come with a helicopter?” Rogue asked, looking around.
“No, that is for the Deputy Director of the FBI to reach you without being seen. It’s easier for her to fly into a private field and land here afterward.”
Well, that worked for them.
It appeared they had a new lair.
Looking at her watch, Maura worked out the time in her head.
“We’re going to need to get back into The French Quarter and to that laundromat. Jinx and Eve, get ready to do some work.”
Once more, Jagger didn’t look happy.
Not.
At.
All.
Only, this wasn’t a mob situation. That was his job. This was a Major kind of a deal.
So he’d suck it up.
Oh, but if his wife got her ass into trouble, there would be hell to pay.
Bet on it.
“Dimitri, we’re riding out in ten,” she said. “Get suited up and have Heath ready to go. We’ll split up when we go in to cover our bases. No one leaves until we figure out how this place is tied to Fang, and if it’s funneling money to Alexsandr.”
That worked for him.
Maura wasn’t done.
“Family, do some research on that barber shop while we’re out. We’ll bring back what we find, but you need to get us anything you can that ties this to Fang in Boston .”
There were no arguments.
Well, none regarding the work.
“Dibs on a motorcycle,” Eve said. “I’m using one of them.”
That’s all it took.
Dakota gasped.
“Samesies,” said Jinx before Dakota could say shit about it.
The man sighed.
“Jesus, I want to strangle Elizabeth.”
MATE warned him.
“I wouldn’t suggest doing that. The Matrix will eat you,” MATE said.
And both Dakota and Rogue stared at each other.
Neither of them wanted to know what that meant.
No.
Freaking.
Way.
PASS.