In hindsight, Mac realized it had been foolhardy to refuse Matty's day off. After five days of non-stop warehouse mapping and being literally hen-pecked by Darla, he needed a break. Unfortunately, Phoenix had other plans.

"I'm glad you two finally decided to show up," their Director said by way of greeting as Mac and Jack entered the glass-walled briefing room. Riley, Cage and Bozer were already present. Bozer and Mac shared a brief fist bump as Mac took his place beside him.

While Mac had been holed up in Nikki's Fortess of Solitude for the better half of a week, Bozer had been tested in other ways. Namely, not drooling over the state-of-the-art lab equipment that made MIT's physics department look like a second grade science fair. But while their rigorous schedules kept them apart during the day, the childhood friends made it a point to have a beer together at night before dragging themselves to bed. At least Matty was lenient when it came to moderate drinking after hours.

Unless it involved Jack's beloved mama juanas. Then any and all drinking privileges were swiftly revoked.

"Hold up, Señorita," the Delta at his side quipped, "we got your message as soon as we could. We can't exactly tellwhen we get a text while we're both unconscious. And, thanks to yours truly – with some help from Big Mac – we've brought the warehouse mapping up to eighty percent—"

"Shut up, Dalton." The brunette waved away Jack's sputtering disbelief. "I'm well aware of your accomplishments. Gold star. But the rest of your project will just have to wait."

Mac felt his heart sink. She wanted to put a hold on the project? Not when they finally had a lead! "Wait, Matty. We can't just stop what we're doing. We still need to crack that code Jack and I found—"

"We already have," Matty responded as she tapped the highly sensitive screen at the front of the room. The monitor sparked to life immediately, various screenshots depicting an emaculate manor filling the frame. The last picture portrayed a middle-aged man with feathered hair. "Say hello to Nicholas Helman. A cutthroat business mogul and self-made billionaire. This disgustingly elaborate mansion is his weekend home-away-from-home…AKA base of operations for his illegal arms trade deals."

Jack stood rooted in place. His expression melted from shock to skepticism within seconds as he tried to work out the connection. "You found this guy using four numbers?"

"It was actually three numbers," Riley interjected.

Jack frowned. Mac, similarly surprised, mirrored the Delta's look of confusion. Yesterday, after picking their way through rows of filing cabinets, roosting chickens, and piles of Jack's miscellanous things, they'd discovered the numbers eight, nine, two, and zero carved crudely around the window frames. Interestingly, the numbers didn't just appear once; the set repeated over and over in untidy scrawl, as if each were gouged by hand. The whole affair had given Jack the heebie-jeebies; nevertheless, they'd both spent hours contemplating the numbers' significance. Mac had considered the Fibonacci sequence, the geographic coordinate system, the Richter magnitude scale and thermodynamic temperature units. Jack had even petitioned Riley to comb through phone numbers and license plates using what he felt were incomplete digits. They'd stopped throwing ideas around mere minutes ago due to exhaustion, sheer frustration and the promise of coffee. It was then that they'd seen Matty's texts and high-tailed it to her impromptu meeting.

"Uh, is anyone gonna share with the class?" Bozer asked a little meekly, outwardly cringing when Matty's fierce gaze landed on him. He quickly turned to Riley. "Or, uh, maybe you can tell us how you figured out those numbers?"

"She didn't figure them out. I did." Director Webber snapped. "And it's made me reconsider why I even bother with a team when I have to do all the legwork."

"Wait a minute, that's not fair—" Jack protested, but his complaint was cut short.

"Dalton, out of everyone in this room, it should've been you to figure this out."

Mac blinked, certain that Matty would have singled him out instead of the Mindbreaker. Jack's bravado wilted slightly. "Huh? But Matty, I'm just the field guy. I'm really not that smart when it comes to math and numbers and codes—"

"I don't need to remind you that I've read your entire unredacted file, which includes every miniscule detail about your signature." The brunette was met with a patented Jack Dalton blank stare. She rolled her eyes, enunciating her words slowly for emphasis. "Specifically, the numerical padlock on that pasture gate of yours."

Jack's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh yeah, the padlock I had to smash through when Nikki froze it over…It's the same padlock combo I had for my bike when I was a little kid, too. It spells out 'JACK' but with numbers."

His moment of pride was interrupted by Riley's snort of derision.

"Wow. You're SO cool, Jack."

"HEY! It was clever enough that no one ever stole my bike!"

"Probably because it wasn't good enough to steal," Cage said. Even Matty couldn't hide a smirk, but she quickly masked her amusement.

"It makes sense that the warehouse would absorb some of your idiosyncracies since you've crowded Mac's place with all your trash."

"Hey, now—"

"So those numbers you saw all over the warehouse match that stupid cipher you came up with for your bike lock. Not hard to figure out. When you match up the numbers eight, nine, and twenty to the alphabet you get—"

"HIT," Mac concluded.

"Nice work, Boy Scout. Would've helped if you and Den Brother over there had figured that out a day ago," Matty retorted. "Helman must have visited the warehouse often. It was probably a drop point during past dealings with Nikki. Jack's house warming gifts must have caused the warehouse to reveal Helman's footprints somehow."

Shame burned through Mac's core as he mulled over the simple solution. A cipher. One of the most basic encryptions in recorded history. His twelve-year-old self would have solved the code within seconds; however, Mac hadn't been thinking on childhood terms. Nikki had proven herself to be a conniving, sophisticated adversary and that assessment had colored his decision on how to approach the numbers. Instead of working his way up from the most obvious method, he'd jumped headfirst into complex theories and algorithms, consequently dragging the rest of the team along that mindset. For a fleeting moment, he was actually glad his father wasn't around to witness the latest in his series of blatant failures.

Bozer, inherently tuned in to Mac's tendency to self-evaluate, launched a lone paperclip in his direction. His meaning was clear: It's not your fault. Don't dwell on it. Focus on the task at hand.Mac snatched the metallic item from the air, his fingers automatically moving to repurpose its shape as he fought to bring his mind back to the present. Matty shot Bozer a withering gaze.

"Bozer, need I remind you this isn't kindergarten. We don't throwthings inside a highly classified, technologically advanced military-grade war room. And we certainlydon't turn office supplies into toys for our own amusement." This last remark was directed at the blonde, who quickly stilled his movements. To everyone's astonishment, it was Cage who came to his defense.

"Mac works optimally when he's allowed to fidget. Take away the paperclip and he'd start pacing the floor, which would be even more distracting."

Matty narrowed her eyes but chose not to comment. Instead, she turned back to the target splayed across the screen. Mac nodded to Cage as a token of thanks and took the opportunity to renew his efforts bending the malleable object in his hands.

"Helman is not only a known Delta-ranked Mindbreaker but also the Chairman of the Board for an organization known as the Homicide International Trust. HIT for short. His bread-and-butter consists of professional assassinations and contract kills, but in recent years he's put forth more ambition and finances into weapons dealing. Even without the numbers pointing us in his direction, Helman is a logical next step in locating Nikki Carpenter. She didn't become a top black market arms dealer without help, and it makes sense he would be willing to provide assistance to another Mindbreaker of his caliber."

Jack, his confidence boosted, swaggered forward and crossed his arms. "So, we need to get close to this douchebag and see what he knows about Nikki. I assume you're talking about a good ol' snatch-and-grab?"

"No."

"Okay, then. A good ol' snatch-and-interrogate?"

"Again, no."

The operative wavered. "A good ol' boring stake out?"

Matty didn't even waste breath with a response. She nodded at Riley, who brought up an image of a fancy-shmancy party invitation with gag-inducing curly-cue font on the main screen. "I'm talking about infiltrating Helman's social networking party."

Jack grimaced and shook his head. "I'm out, that sounds lame."

"Tough luck, you overgrown baby. Helman's a big player in the Mindbreaker market. This party is an excuse for him to assess and initiate new members into his exclusive private club. I'm sure he'll be delighted to welcome another powerhouse into his inner circle."

The turn of conversation sobered Jack a bit and he muttered darkly under his breath. Bozer tentatively raised a hand and waited for an exasperated Matty to call on him before he asked, "Okay, so if Jack's going to schmooze up to club members and I'm assuming Cage is going to interrogate Daddy Warbucks, why are the rest of us here?"

"Because this op is recon onlyand this party is limited to Mindbreakers and their Mindbreakees. Jack, you and Goldilocks are going undercover as wealthy business partners looking to invest in Helman's lucrative arms dealing industry. Cage and Bozer will be assigned lookout posts around the estate where they will keep tabs on outside activity and determine possible exfil points. Riley will stay with the surveillance van where she will either successfully hack into Helman's security system or find herself out of a job."

"No pressure," Riley huffed quietly, but her comment was drowned out by Jack's obnoxious roar.

"WHOA, Matilda! Mac and I agreed to be partners, but not…not field partners! He's not ready for this!"

"I have to agree with Jack," Mac concurred. He finished his paperclip design – a miniature "H" – and held it up to the light. "This is big for a first mission. Maybe Bozer and I should hang back on this one and continue the warehouse mapping project."

Jack turned and wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulder. "Atta boy, Angus! Cage can pretend to be my Mindbreakee while my boy over here spends another day scoping out that creepy warehouse for Riley. Win-win."

Matty sighed and a bit of humanity washed over her strict features. "I considered that option. But Helman won't allow any Mindbreakers to join the club unless they give him a demonstration. And as much as I applaud Cage's acting abilities, I doubt even she'd be able to perform well enough to convince Helman of the bond. We can't risk it." Matty addressed Mac and Bozer, eyes darting between the former mechanics. "I recognize that you boys are under-trained. But that doesn't mean you're not ready. You both have already surpassed my expectations in the short time I've known you. Do your best and don't screw this up. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," they responded together.

"Good," she replied, "because this invitation is dated forty-eight hours from now and we've still got a lot of ground to cover. Depending on how well this operation goes, there's a possibility that Jack's membership into HIT could become long-term." Jack groaned pitieously. Matty ignored him. "I need one hundred and ten percent out there. With everything that's going on, none of you will get another day off in a long time. Probably not for a year or more."

This time Jack wasn't the only one to complain.