Secrets of the Fall by Kailin Gow Page B

silent but ready,
each nodding their heads. “Ready,” he said. “You stay behind me and Colby
there. The other two, Hugh and Gao, come in from the rear.”
                “Gotcha,”
the men said.
                Tito
looked at me, and said, “Let’s make this quick and painless. The faster we get
in there and out, the safer it is for everyone.”
                My
heart was beating so fast, and my hands were already beginning to sweat. I
couldn’t even answer back to Tito because I was just hoping I could remember
everything I was to do. My dad’s life depended on it, as did a few other
military personnel, whom he was working with before the operations went down.
No one knew what I was doing, that I was here, that I was even alive. It was
important for them to think that. Even my mother, Rachel, and Summer.
                Summer…how
I wish I could see her one last time, how I could tell her the truth. I would
be lying if I said I didn’t care what she would think about me lying to her,
but for now, this was what I had to do. Sometimes you have to make choices that
will hurt someone you care about deeply in order to help them in the long run. Summer,
if you know what I’m about to do, you would be proud of who I’ve become…for
you. I’ve become a man who had to make those tough choices in life, for you.
                “Let’s
go!” Tito said, and like stealth ninjas, we moved as one unit hidden in the
dark, blending into the background, through the forest and onto the
heavily-guarded fortress.
                Tito
stepped to the side as we came up to the entrance, while Hugh distracted and
took down the lone guard at the entrance. Quietly and efficiently. These guys
meant business alright.
                Tito
led the way in the dark hallway in a maze of hallways, obviously designed to
confuse and disorient intruders who weren’t supposed to be there. Tito knew the
way, and having prepped for this moment for weeks, I did, too.
                We
came to a section that split into three hallways, and Tito turned to go into
the one closest to our right.  I had to stop him, and point out that I thought
it was the one straight ahead. He looked at me frowning for a second before he
pulled out his tablet…a small one that fit into his large pocket on his vest.
He nodded. I was right. He got in front of me and quickly led the way.
                It
was unusually quiet for what I imagined would be a busy headquarter for one of
the largest cyber-crime rings in the world. That was how Donovan Dynamics got
involved in the first place, hired on as an expert of security and cyber
intelligence to aid the U.S. government and a couple of other countries who
banded together globally to discretely find and dismantle cyber rings like
these. It was such a top secret project, my father was personally involved in
the operations.
                It
was so top secret, just a handful of executives at Donovan Dynamics knew about
this contract. In fact, I was the only one who knew in detail what it was.
Despite my age, I have already had years of experience being privy to Donovan
Dynamics’ operations and most confidential projects.
                In
fact, and this was another secret I withheld from Summer, because if she knew,
it would put her in danger, she would look at me differently and not in a good
way, and she would never forgive me for never contacting her or seeing her for
those three years straight after we moved from Malibu to San Francisco.
                When
I turned thirteen, my world changed.  Not only did I discovered how attracted I
was to Summer as a girlfriend and had even gotten almost close to intimacy with
her; but I got sucked into a world that was dangerous and even criminal. I was
a computer geek, nerd, genius-what-you-will; and had a knack for breaking
through security walls and systems. I saw