It took six hours and two SUVs, but the group of seven got to the private terminal of the Newport airport.

I don’t even want to know how Natasha made this passport. I just hope I don’t get caught! Nigel thought, looking at his forged document.

Alexei, Natasha, Nigel, and Viktor got out of the lead SUV. A few minutes later, the vehicle containing Dahlia, Jony, and Hunter arrived.

“It will be close quarters, but I didn’t want to waste any more time preparing at the Manor, so I suggest that we work on the plane,” Alexei said.

“We will need to hurry when we land. I don’t think security on the private island will appreciate our invasion,” Natasha said.

“I expect some resistance, but with our team backing us up, it should even the odds,” Alexei said.

Natasha sized up Jony. “Are you any good in a fight?” she asked.

“I grew up in Camden. If you don’t know, it’s a rough-and-tumble area,” Jony said.

“I’m not talking about a street brawl. Have you seen any real combat?”

“No, love, but I know how to handle myself. Had plenty of knock-ups when I was a nipper.”

Jony gave Melissa a nervous glance.

Nigel looked at Hunter. “What combat training do you have?” Nigel asked.

Hunter moved over to Nigel with the prowess of a predator.

“I’ve gutted more than my share of worthless swine,” Hunter said.

A pang of fear washed over him. Where do I know this guy from? Nigel thought.

“Enough! Now, let’s get moving. Another storm front is brewing,” Alexei insisted.

Thirty minutes later, they were in the air. The private jet featured tables and large, comfortable chairs. Nigel agreed to work with Jony during the long flight. Their objective was simple: shut down Leviathan before Delta could integrate into it.

“Do you have the AI’s specifications?” Jony asked.

Nigel gave him a flash drive with Melissa’s pilfered documents. Jony took a moment to examine the documents.

“That’s our in?” Jony asked as he showed Nigel the laptop.

“According to the documents that Melissa provided, Leviathan’s interface is protected by crypto-algorithms that have known vulnerabilities. Just last week, the Ninex community patched the elliptical curve cryptography mechanism that allowed an attacker to piggyback on the existing certificate,” Jony said.

“All we need to do is write a piece of malware to exploit it,” Nigel chided.

“Not a problem. I have the latest version of Hally Ninex Exploit toolkit on my laptop,” Jony said.

“Good—you write the malware, and I will write the delivery mechanism,” Nigel said.

“Agreed,” Jony said as he typed away.

Natasha curled up with a pillow, but Hunter kept sharpening one of his many blades.

“Do you need to do that now?” Natasha asked.

“Oh, I like it when you get angry,” Hunter said.

“I’m not angry . . . yet!”

“I want to be prepared. No sense in having dull throwing knives!” Hunter said.

Natasha looked over at Nigel. He had his earbuds in and didn’t seem to be paying attention to their exchange. Hunter followed her gaze.

“After our mission, if you want to have some fun, we should hang out, see who has the best aim,” Hunter said.

“Darling, you’re not my type. And besides, you’re just a boy!” Natasha said.

Hunter shot her a murderous glance and pointed a knife at Nigel.

“He’s the only boy here!”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Natasha hit Hunter in the throat, and he dropped the knife. She snatched it up. Hunter started wheezing.

“Stop it!” Dahlia yelled at them.

Everyone was looking at the pair now.

“Little boys shouldn’t play with grown men’s toys!” Natasha said.

“You crazy bitch!” Hunter snapped.

Dahlia pointed at a chair near the front of the aircraft. “Go, sit there and stay out of trouble,” she ordered.

Nigel gave Natasha a worried glance. She patted him on the shoulder and then disappeared into the back of the aircraft.

Several hours into the flight, Jony and Nigel tested the malware and delivery system using a walled-off testing environment called a “virtual sandbox.”

“All we need to do is plug this baby in!” Jony said.

“We should make a duplicate, just in case,” Nigel said as he produced several more flash drives. Now that they had completed the work, Nigel felt exhausted, and he allowed sleep to take him.

“This is the captain speaking. We will be hitting some rough weather as we descend, so please buckle up for your safety.”

How long was I out? Nigel thought as he looked at his watch.

“We’re landing now. Be prepared for anything once we land,” Alexei reminded everyone in a loud voice.

Nigel looked around the cabin of the plane. From the look of it, everyone was already awake.

The plane’s descent was rocky. Nigel looked at Jony, who had a death grip on his seat.

“Scared of flying?” Nigel said.

“Not of flying, but crashing is another matter!” Jony replied.

All the bumpiness didn’t seem to faze Dahlia. She just stared at Nigel. Hunter seemed uninterested, looking out the window. Nigel looked to see the island; he could make out a set of islands if he moved his head close to the window. They were close enough to the water to see whitecaps form on the waves. The plane lowered its descent, and within minutes Nigel could see the tops of trees. They were coming in low! The plane dropped. Nigel’s heart seemed to get stuck in his throat. He held his breath. Seconds later, a loud slamming sound reverberated out, followed by several bumps. It felt like the plane was jumping on the runway.

Viktor, Dahlia, and Natasha seemed glued to their windows, looking for signs of trouble. No other planes were in sight.

“There!” Viktor said.

Natasha jumped out of her seat to inspect. Several vehicles were driving to meet them.

“Military?” Nigel said.

“They look the part,” Alexei said.

“I will do the talking,” Dahlia said.

“What you going to do? You can’t take them all on! I don’t care how badass you are,” Natasha said.

“What do you suggest?” Dahlia said.

“I have an idea. Follow my lead,” Natasha said.

Natasha went to the back of the plane. A few moments later, she came back dressed in a business suit.

“Whoa, who are you supposed to be?” Nigel asked.

“Gretchen Lewis, solar panel inspector,” Natasha said as she put her glasses on.

Dahlia smiled as she attached a whip to her belt.

“What! They will never buy that,” Hunter said.

As soon as the plane was parked, Natasha palmed a clear patch that contained a nerve agent which enhanced her ability to persuade. For a brief moment most affected people would follow her orders. Combined with her natural charms, it gave her a slight advantage.

She opened the outside staircase and walked down with her hands up. She looked like a businesswoman, surprised by the “strange” welcome. Dahlia followed close behind; she looked like an assassin . . . or perhaps a bodyguard.

“Stop!” a large man said. The man was tall and wide. He wore a red beret. His uniform was clean and pressed. He looked like the man in charge.

“Don’t shoot!” Natasha said, trying to sound frightened.

Dahlia surveyed the layout of the airstrip. She counted five all-terrain vehicles with no less than three people in each.

They had the advantage of having the sun at their back.

“Who are you?” the large man asked.

“Gretchen Lewis, inspector from Sunlight Solar,” Natasha said as she cowered.

“Oh, you’re way overdue. The inspections were supposed to happen weeks ago! And . . . you are not what I was expecting,” the man said.

He signaled for his men to lower their weapons.

“I’m Mani Akintola, and I’m in charge of security on this private island,” the man said.

Natasha walked over to him and held out a hand. Mani took it and gazed into her eyes. “You’re trembling, my dear,” Mani said as he gripped her hand. She applied additional pressure, ensuring firm contact, and Mani’s smile grew.

“What can I do for you, my dear?” Mani said.

“You can provide safe passage for my bodyguard and me to the main complex. I will also need to fetch my intern,” Natasha said.

“Anything . . . okay,” Mani said.

“Nigel, you can come out now!” Natasha said.

Nigel emerged from the plane.

“Now, take us to the site!” Natasha said to Mani.

“I will leave some men with your plane, for protection,” Mani said.

“Very well, but they must remain outside,” Natasha said.

Mani nodded as he drove Natasha, Dahlia and Nigel to the main complex.

Alexei watched Mani and some of his men leave. He noticed that six men stayed behind.

“I can’t believe she pulled it off,” Jony said.

“They made the mistake of underestimating Natasha,” Alexei said.

“Let’s see how long it takes for one of these men to board us… wait for it,” Alexei said.

It didn’t take long for one of the men to come aboard the aircraft.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” the captain said.

“Just securing the plane,” the guard said.

Alexei gave the signal as soon as the guard was only ten feet inside the plane. Viktor shot the man with a dart. As the man collapsed, other men filed into the plane; Alexei shot one of them as he started yelling. Three guards were down in the plane, and there were at least three more outside. Viktor went to the front of the craft and crouched near the staircase. A bullet ricocheted off the side of the plane.

“Hunter, see if you can get to the hatch in the pilot’s compartment without them seeing you,” Alexei said.

Hunter nodded as he made his way to the front of the plane. Viktor started shooting, obscuring Hunter’s movements as he crawled behind him. Alexei noticed that the men were focused on Viktor. Hunter opened the hatch, and then readied his blades. He jumped down and hid behind the landing gear. The guards were still focused on Viktor. From his position, Hunter could see three men hiding behind some crates. He wasted no time. He exposed himself for a few seconds, throwing knives at the guards; in seconds, two of them had knives sticking out of their necks. The last guard ran. Victor stood up and then shot the man in the back a few times.