Chapter 28

SPOV

I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing. I've never seen Hector so frantic before. In Spanish, he explained how he discovered his bank account was completely emptied. He had Roger go to the bank with him to see what happened. When he talked to the bank manager, they notified him the money was transferred to his savings account. After seeing the confused look on his face, the manager showed him where the money was located. The account was in Hector's name. Every penny from the primary account was transferred to the savings.

He was impressed but not happy someone was able to hack into his account. When he asked how that was even possible, Lucas asked him, "Have you been practicing your hacking skills again?" Hector set up his laptop to run through some programs. He was trying to figure out how someone hacked into his banking information. Roger arrived just as Hector set aside his laptop.

"Yes. I routinely break into the Rangeman system to see how long it takes to get into their programs. Any weak spots are fixed immediately," he answered.

"Do you have a way to track hackers?" I asked. I already knew the answer. He does have such a protocol, but it's also very easy to disable… if you knew how, which I do. Tomorrow, he should be receiving the fix for the program. I was going to have it delivered with the afternoon mail, but had dad delay delivery. Hector didn't notice the sniffer program he downloaded. If he found and disabled it, I would have received a notification. My hermano is about to learn a very important lesson.

"When they hack their way past the first line of defence, their IP addresses gets stored on an off site server," he answered. I didn't know that part of the protocol, but it made sense. It explains the strange line of code I detected when I first hacked in. I'll have to check the external server to see if my IP address was stored. I doubt it would be, since I use a proprietary program to hide my IP address.

"Is there any way to bypass that step?" Lucas asked the appropriate follow up question.

"Other than the Black Queen, there is only one other programmer who could breach Rangeman protocols," he answered.

"And that person is who?" I asked.

"Eclipse," he replied as he carefully watched my face. He smiled as though he received the exact response he was looking for. I know I didn't give myself away, but my hermano knows me a little too well.

Roger was strangely quiet throughout our conversation. While Hector was busy watching my expressions, Roger was watching my husband. We both had enough military training to maintain a blank look, but I'm always afraid the little glint in my eye would give me away.

Only Lucas and my dad know I'm Eclipse, but something tells me we just let another two men in on my secret. Dad will not be happy. We've worked so hard to maintain anonymity, and I may have blown it while trying to teach my hermano a valuable lesson.

I could see Roger trying to piece together everything that happened. It's what makes him an excellent Crimes detective. If I should worry about anyone uncovering my secret identity, it would be this gorgeous man. I also know if he did find out, he would keep my secret. Whether he would tell Hector is anyone's guess. You really shouldn't keep secrets from your spouse.

Unable to remain silent a moment longer, Roger said, "Hec, if it is this 'Eclipse' person who could breach Rangeman protocol, do you think they could attach a program to collect your personal information?" He paused when Hector growled. "Just hear me out Hector. If Eclipse is as good as you say he is, couldn't they be onto your 'capture IP address' and use that offsite server to store and upload the other program to your computer?"

If I wasn't Eclipse, I would think Roger was. He basically told Hector exactly how he accidentally downloaded the program. Hector quickly moved to his computer to check the offsite server. In Spanish he said, "Bastard loaded the program onto our IP capture server. Anyone breaking through the first line of defence would inadvertently download the program. If anyone is checking the program from the other end, they could gather all your personal information."

"Which is exactly how they were able to access your bank account," Roger added. "There's a lesson to be learned here Hector."

"I know my love. Each time I break through Rangeman's security, I need to check my computer for any unwanted downloads," he deadpanned. I could tell Lucas was fighting back a smile.

"So if it was Eclipse, how do we fix the problem?" Lucas asked. Like Hector, Lucas and Silvio were also responsible for maintaining the Rangeman security programs.

"We could remove that program from the server, but it won't stop Eclipse from uncovering another weakness," Hector answered.

"You'll find a fix Hector," Roger stated.

"It would take time to plug that hole. When Ranger finds out, he'll demand a fix in under 48 hours. He needs to be notified, but I need more time," Hector groaned.

"Didn't we receive fixes for our search programs from Eclipse? Maybe he will send us a fix for this too?" Lucas suggested. My wonderful husband already knows the fix will appear on Hector's desk tomorrow.

I've been working on the rewrite for all Rangeman programs. Our monitors would be more secure if the men on duty are required to login at their terminal. I'm not sure how efficient or practical it is, but it would make the men accountable whenever they remotely reset an alarm system. I'll talk it out with my husband later.

Hector narrowed his eyes slightly. He obviously detected something wasn't quite right. I heard a phone ringing in the distance. Both Lucas and I have secured phones for the military to contact us. There was no doubt in my mine that it was my phone ringing. Lucas excused himself to check our phones.

Fifteen minutes later, Lucas returned to the living room and whispered into my ear. "Handler. I love you," he said as I smiled.

"I love you too," I replied in a stage whisper. Excusing myself, I went into the kitchen to grab some beers for the guys. Roger declined since he was on call. I replaced his beer with a bottle of water. When I couldn't wait any longer to return the call, I excused myself to use the washroom.

My secure phone was sitting on my nightstand. It indicated there was a new call. I grabbed the phone and entered my washroom. Locking the door behind me, I returned the call. Keeping quiet, I listed to the man on the other end describe my mission. I'll need to take a few weeks off work. Unfortunately, I would only be able to give him less than 48 hours notice. My flight leaves at 0700 Wednesday. I powered off my secure phone and pulled mine from my pocket.

"Yo," Tank answered after the first ring.

"Hey Tank. Do you remember the terms of my contract?" I asked.

"Where you need to give at least 48 hours notice for a leave of absence?"

"Ya… that. Something very important came up and I need to take a few weeks leave," I replied.

"When?" he asked.

"Wednesday morning." I already knew he would be away for this very mission with Ranger, Bobby, Lester, Ram and Hal. My Merry Men need me to get this important intel ready for them. I had a feeling they were going to need every piece I could possibly uncover. Their lives literally depend on the accuracy of my intel.

"Done," he stated before hanging up. I knew he would be contacting the remaining core team members.

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LPOV

From the expression on my wife's face, I knew she would be leaving soon. When she leaves for this mission, I won't be able to contact her. I want to ask her when she needs to leave, but I can't as long as Hector and Roger are still here.

"Any progress?" Stephanie asked Hector.

"I removed the program from my laptop and the server," he answered, giving my wife a side glance. He's very suspicious of her. I would have to agree. She's acting eerily calm.

Hector finished running the programs on his laptop and we worked together to stop the same thing from happening again. "What if we keep that sniffer program in place? We could gather more information from the hackers," I suggested.

"It goes against Rangeman protocol. We can track the hackers, but we're not permitted to upload those types of programs," Hector quickly replied. It was worth a shot. "If we couldn't upload programs to stop them, we needed better programs in place in case they rerouted their IP addresses." I knew it was how Stephanie broke into the Rangeman system undetected.

"I have been working on the program," Hector admitted. Programming takes a lot of time to get just right. I know Hector would have been working on the program along with his other Rangeman responsibilities. It's too bad he didn't know Stephanie has an amazing programming talent. He could really use her help right about now.

Sneaking the programs onto Hector's desk when he needs them isn't going to work in the long run. Maybe one day all this secrecy we've kept from our Rangeman coworkers would be done. I know the men understand confidentiality. If they ever learned her secret, it would be safe with them.

It was getting late. Stephanie and I were expected in the Rangeman gym for 0600. Hector, then Roger, gave Stephanie a kiss before leaving. I watched each man leave in his respective car before setting the alarm.

Sweeping my wife off her feet, I carried her to our bedroom. "When do you leave?" I say as I lay her on the bed.

"Wednesday. Flight leaves at 0700 from LaGuardia," she answered sadly. "Dad's travelling with me."

"So this mission requires both Sly Fox and Eclipse's super tracking skills?"

"Unfortunately yes. We haven't needed to work together in years. I'm a little concerned. Any time they request our joint assistance means a dangerous mission for the Rangers," she confessed.

"Will it affect Ranger's team?" I asked. She didn't want to answer, but she gave an almost imperceptible nod. "You know they can take care of themselves, right?"

"I know they can. It's just that something just feels a little off. Do you know what I mean?" she asked.

"Kind of like the mission is already going sideways before it could actually begin?"

"Exactly," she answered before pulling me on top of her. "How about we table the mission discussion and spend as much time doing what we really want?"

I could definitely be on board with that suggestion. We quickly undressed and climbed back into bed. Rolling her beneath me, I kissed her passionately before pushing into her. How lucky am I to have this amazing woman all to myself?

As though she could read my mind, she answered, "I'm the lucky one."

She wrapped her legs around my hips, pulling me closer. I could never get close enough. Making love with my wife is absolutely phenomenal. It gets better every time. I never knew it was possible to love someone so completely.

"Lucas," she screamed as she came apart. I moaned her name and followed her over.

This woman is my everything. I'm going to miss her when she's away. She rolled onto her side and I tucked her close to my chest. We drifted off to sleep, both of us feeling very content.

During the night, she woke me up for another round of sex. She was never shy in our bed. We made love again in the shower before heading to Rangeman for our early morning training session.

Stephanie was wearing her workout gear when we left the house. She scheduled time with Lester for training. Her skills were impeccable, but she always said there was room for improvement. As I watched my wife spar with her best friend, Hector approached me. He motioned to the secluded corner in the weight room.

Keeping his voice very low, in Spanish he said, "Angel is Eclipse." How he managed to uncover her secret is quite surprising. "You don't need to confirm or deny. I know the truth and so do you."

"Nobody else can know," I quietly responded in Spanish.

"Mi hermana's secret is safe with me. I need her help," he added.

"She leaves tomorrow for a mission," I informed him.

"Does she have the fix?" he asked.

"Expect to find it with the post," I answered before returning to my workout.