Page 78 of The B-Team

Ryan navigated to the management window and brought up the panel that asked for the code to wipe the server.

Are you sure you want to wipe this server?the screen prompted.

He hit yes.

This action cannot be undone.

Ryan clicked okay.

Please enter your twenty-four-digit code to authorize this function.

He began typing in the code, careful to copy it exactly from the note, grateful that Callum had typed it out instead of writing it because his penmanship was terrible.

Behind him, a phone rang, and Rodrigo answered. “Oh hey, Harvard, this isn’t Julia; it’s Rodrigo. We’ve been trying to get in touch with you and Rachel.”

Ryan concentrated on his task. Even if Rachel disagreed with what they were doing, she’d been outvoted by the other two partners.

“Sure,” Rodrigo said. “I’ll put you on speaker. What’s up?”

Harvard’s voice, as solid and deep as the man himself, resonated through the room. “I’m a father! Rachel gave birth to a healthy baby girl an hour ago. We’re parents!!”

That made Ryan stop mid-typing. He turned toward the table where the phone sat, only to see Rodrigo and Katrina grinning at each other.

“Congratulations, man,” Rodrigo said. “So, she really was in labor, huh?”

“Don’t even get me started on that,” Harvard said. “It was a helluva fight getting her to the hospital.”

“A woman has the right to act unreasonable when she’s giving birth,” Rachel shouted in the background.

“There’s unreasonable, Princess, and then there’s certifiable,” Harvard said.

“Did you two call us just to argue with each other?” Ryan asked with a grin. He glanced back at the computer screen to see a countdown had popped up, telling him he had only a few seconds to enter the code or he’d have to start again. He hurried to input the rest of the code. Then, taking a deep breath, he hit enter.

For a second, he found it hard to breathe. That was it. He’d done it. He’d entered the command to delete everything Benson Security had gathered since its start in Invertary.

It was over.

His stomach clenched, and then a baby’s cries made him turn back to the phone.

“Aw, listen to her wee voice,” Katrina said. “She’s got her mother’s lungs on her.”

“Stubborn as her mom too,” Harvard said proudly.

“Is it done?” Rodrigo asked Ryan.

“Yeah, it’s done.”

“What’s done?” Harvard asked.

“I’ve just entered the code to wipe the server.” The words stuck in his throat.

“Wait. What? You’re wiping the server?” Harvard asked. “So you couldn’t find anything on the minister?”

An icy chill ran through Ryan, and his mouth became suddenly dry.

“The minister?” Rodrigo said. “What do you mean? We’ve been investigating the cousin, Darian.”

“Damn, sorry, guys,” Harvard said. “With everything that’s been going on, I forgot to call. Shit. David rang me last night. He’s interrogated the commander and is sure this is all about his uncle, the government minister.”