Chapter Two
Benji
A few moments after his dad’s announcement, Spence and Travis got up and moseyed out of the room, leaving the twins alone for a couple minutes. Benji stood up and grabbed his cup. “He’s acting weird, right?” He asked.
Andi immediately sighed and ran a hand along her forehead. “I’ve only been here a couple minutes but it’s painfully obvious.”
“It’s been like that since he walked in,” he shrugged. “He came in smiling but…he’s just been spacing out. He doesn’t really do that.”
She shook her head. “That’s so weird,” her lip turned up. “Now I’m even more curious about this mission.”
Benji just flicked his brows and took another sip of the shitty coffee. “I guess we’ll be finding out in a minute.”
His sister huffed while grabbing her emotional support water bottle then stepped out from behind her desk. “Let’s go.”
The twins walked out of the office and down the hall to the drawing room.
Walking inside, they took a seat at a table beside each other.
Benji immediately folded his arms across his chest while Andi grabbed the pen and paper that was kept on the table.
Inside the room, there was a large white board on the wall with a projector pointing at it and a podium in front of it.
There were four tables in the room, each with two chairs at it and a few file cabinets in the back of the room as well.
His uncles were chitchatting with each other, as always, until Matthew entered the room.
Immediately, the room went quiet and all four of them watched as he walked over to the board.
Benji couldn’t help but sit up straighter in his seat, keeping his gaze steadily on his dad.
“Right,” Matthew huffed. “We have a new mission that is rather urgent.”
“They usually are.” Travis mentioned and raised his brow.
“More urgent.” Matthew corrected as he grabbed a remote that was hung on the wall.
With a couple clicks on the remote, the lights turned off and the projector turned on, showing a blueprint.
Benji took a few moments to look it over before he turned his gaze back to his dad.
“The assignment itself should be quite simple.
We are to wipe a computer completely. There should be absolutely no way for anyone to access whatever is currently on that hard drive or the cloud once we're finished with it.”
“What’s currently on it?” Benji asked.
“A lot of things,” Matthew sighed, “from names of people they have their eye on taking out to plans that could very well start a war.”
“So, a quick wipe. Sounds easy,” Andi chimed in, “I just need an IP address.”
“I asked for it but they won’t disclose it to me, so we’ll have to go in person.”
Spence scoffed. “That’s bullshit. They want us to do the job, they should provide us with all the details.”
“I agree. But from what I have been told, the facility in which the physical hard drive is located has had a gas leak and no one is allowed to go in there for health and safety reasons.”
Benji laughed dryly. “But we can?” After that comment, he could see his dad’s face fall a bit. His brow furrowed.
“We have plenty of gear that can handle it.” Spence mentioned, apparently wanting to ease his brother a bit, but his face remained the same.
“Dad,” Benji said, “what is it?”
Matthew sighed. “The nature of this assignment is all stealth based so we would only be sending in Benji. We can still have Spence as an eagle eye, but after a while, it won’t matter much.
” Turning around towards the white board, he pointed at what would be the entrance.
“Getting in isn’t an issue. I acquired the security codes from the guys who were working on the gas leak.
Andi should be able to make something for Benji to be able to get around.
It’s where the hard drive is located within this building, which is several floors underground. ”
Andi tilted her head. “Really? That’s fascinating. Why is it so far down?”
“It bears repeating that they really don’t want people finding it,” Matthew mentioned.
“It’s currently hard wired to the wall which is where it’s getting its internet capabilities from.
I’ve been told that unless they’re hardwired, electronic devices won’t work down there.
Which means that our comms won’t.” Ah. That explained why his dad’s face fell right then.
He was having to send his son in essentially alone.
The last time that happened was about a decade ago and Benji hadn’t done a very good job.
In fact, he fucked it up pretty bad. So bad, that client had never reached out again and they didn’t even get paid for it.
For years, he was reminded of that fuck up and he was so certain he’d never get the chance to show his dad that he could do something like that again even though he had honed and grew his skills so much in the past decade.
He was too young then. Too green. He wasn’t the same kid he was then.
“It’ll be alright,” Benji spoke confidently and shrugged. “No one will be there. I’ll just get in, hook up whatever Andi is gonna give me and get out.”
His dad kept his gaze steady on Benji as if he was reading his whole body language.
He was clearly looking to make sure he could trust him again.
Eventually, however, he sighed. “You’re right.
It’s simple. And it’ll be exactly that,” his gaze shifted between the other three. “That’s the confidence we need.”
Andi shook her head. “Nothing is ever that simple.”
Benji shrugged shoulders. “Let’s take an easy win and an easy payout if it is. And if it’s not, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Matthew had a look on his face that made him feel like he was proud of him. “Travis, you’ll be staying here with myself and Andi. Not much use for you out there, but we’ll get you another job soon. Benji and Spence, you’re leaving tonight to Philadelphia.”
“Philadelphia?” Benji asked. “That’s a weird place to have such an important hard drive.”
“I thought the same thing. I imagine they thought having it here in DC seemed too obvious.” He supposed that made sense.
“The weather is going to be shit tonight all through tomorrow evening so you will be leaving once Andi is done with her piece. I think the best course of action is using that storm to your advantage, though. You’ll be further hidden.
” That also made sense. “Do you have your winter gear here?”
Benji nodded. “Yeah, I have something, I’m sure.”
“Good,” Matthew’s gaze shifted to Spence. “You think you can eagle eye in a whiteout?”
“I’ll do what I can.”
His father nodded. “Meeting dismissed. Go eat some breakfast.”
The four stood up from their respective seats and exited the room. Benji was about to go back to his desk but Andi stopped him. “Let’s go pick up something,” she smiled, but there was something about it that told Benji she had something interesting to say. “I’ll drive.”
Benji shrugged. “Sure.”
Together, the twins left the base and hopped in Andi’s SUV so they could begin their drive to McDonalds.
The obvious choice. Benji leaned his elbow on the door of the car and turned his body towards his sister, just staring over at her.
He watched as she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for her to say something.
He certainly wasn’t going to start the conversation because he had no idea what it was about.
She would talk when she was ready. Until then, he’d just stare.
“Soooo…” She drew out, eyes shifting a bit.
“So,” Ben repeated.
She was quiet for a few more moments before she sighed heavily and rubbed at her brow. “I don’t trust this whole thing,” she finally blurted out.
His brow raised. “You don’t trust it?”
“No, I don’t.”
Benji nodded a bit, not necessarily agreeing. It was just something to do. “Why not?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “The whole thing is suspicious, don’t you think? Why couldn’t they give us the IP address? Why is this computer located in some fucking bunker in Philly? If it’s so important, why aren’t people guarding it? Why are you going in alone?”
“The gas leak,” he mentioned. “No need to endanger all of us. I’m the fastest anyway.”
Andi immediately snorted. “Bullshit.”
“Hm?”
“It’s bullshit and you know it,” she shook her head. “I think we should refuse this whole thing. Either they give us the IP address or we dip.”
Benji didn’t disagree with her on that, however.
And he did find it rather odd that they didn’t have it.
But he wasn’t sure about it all being bullshit.
It’s a weird thing to lie about. And honestly, he was kind of excited about being able to show what he could do now.
He felt like he deserved that opportunity.
“Well, I don’t know if we can just back out.
Dad already agreed and you know how he is.
‘Always follow through with the things you say you will’.
” It was something their dad would always tell them.
“I know. But we shouldn’t follow through with something when it obviously reeks of shit.”
He frowned a bit and turned his gaze towards the window beside him as they pulled into the drivethru. “So, what? Do you think it’s someone setting us up?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, could be.”
“Like who?”
“Anyone, Benji. We have so many enemies. Every single one of us does.” That was true.
They all did. But out of all of them, Andi had garnered the most attention from people, which was fascinating because she was never on the field.
He wasn’t even sure if anyone knew what Andi looked like.
However, out of all the Madison’s, she was the one that messed with people the most with her hacking and information gathering.
“I mean, yeah, but they don’t know anything about you. You’re literally a ghost to everyone. So it would have nothing to do with you.”
“And I intend to keep it that way.” Andi shook her head and rolled down her window so she could order everyone at the office a sausage biscuit, hashbrowns and a coffee before she pulled around to the window.
Their conversation paused while she paid and gathered the food before she pulled back into the street to begin their drive back to the office.
“I’m just saying, Benji. This whole thing isn’t right.
I don’t trust it and I don’t think we should do it.
” She turned her head towards him. “You shouldn’t do it. ”
He sighed. She made a lot of valid points, there was no denying it. “Dad had to have gone through all of that though. You know he doesn’t just make these decisions without investigating every single thing.”
“I know, that’s why I’m so surprised he’s okay with the whole thing. How doesn’t he see it’s clearly a bunk job?”
Benji ran his fingers through his hair then folded his arms across his chest. It was starting to sound like Andi wasn’t trusting their dad. And that was unheard of. Those two were two peas in a pod, practically. “Shouldn’t we trust that it’s not bullshit then?”
“I want to, Benji,” she chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head. “It’s Dad. He knows what he’s doing… That’s why I’m so confused.”
“Well, I guess we’re gonna talk to him, huh?” He said, more or less rhetorically. “We’ll ask him his train of thought and if that doesn’t put you–” Benji paused. “Us at ease, then we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Andi glanced over towards her brother and nodded her head, smiling just a bit.
If there was one thing the twins could always depend on, it was each other.
Even if one of them didn’t fully subscribe to what the other was saying or thinking, it didn’t matter.
They implicitly had each other's backs. If Andi thought something was wrong, then Benji was on board. They’d figure it out one way or another.
“Thanks, Benji,” she sighed softly as she parked her car back at the base. “You’re the best.”
“I know,” he smiled and grabbed the bag of food while opening up his door. “Now, let’s feed our uncles like the gremlins they are and have a chat with Dad.”
Andi nodded her head and hopped out of her SUV, following after her brother.