Driven Hearts: Capturing Victory

Chapter 1

Ivan strode next to his man, his smooth expression in no way communicating the irritation he felt. "This is the third time you've failed to secure the hacker's services for me," he said, his voice glacial. He climbed the stairs to the helicopter pad, Keane pounding the steps behind him. "I'm starting to wonder if I should employ someone else for this task."

The other man knew better than to defend his actions. He simply stated facts, spitting out the words in his Irish accent. "This fuckin' hacker you want- this XSource-" Keane said the nickname with such disdain that Ivan nearly smiled despite his annoyance, "- has made it disgustingly clear in downright insultin' terms that he wishes to remain a free agent with no contractual obligations. Despite your more than generous offer."

Ivan lifted a brow and turned to his head of security, looking at him through the lenses of his darkly shaded sunglasses as they stood on the deck of his yacht waiting for the pilot to complete preparations for his flight into Athens. "I've been insulted?"

The giant, red-headed tattooed Viking throwback looked more uncomfortable than Ivan had seen in a while. Not since Keane had been caught quite literally with his pants down in the middle of a night raid during one of their Saudi arms deals. They'd planned everything meticulously down to the last detail, yet somehow the meeting date had gotten switched and their team hadn't been notified. A trigger-happy pup on Keane's team jumped the gun and opened fire on the men coming into their camp, nearly starting a war with their allies. The big man, viciously and with extreme prejudice, showed everyone involved why he didn't enjoy a) newbies with attitude on his team, and b) date and/or time switches with minimal effort at notification. Ivan would bet the few Saudi's his man had left intact to take the message back to their employer had never made that mistake again.

Keane's lack of tolerance for bullshit was the only reason Ivan was allowing his failure at retaining the hacker to pass. If Ivan's security expert couldn't find the son-of-a-b***h with quick efficiency, then no one could. It was why Ivan was, sadly, going to sacrifice his favourite cat burglar to get his hands on the little fucker. Unfortunately, Katie's usefulness had waned and the hacker's progressively crude insults couldn't be allowed to pass. An example would have to be made.

Keane pulled a tablet from his back pocket, tapped the screen and handed it to Ivan. Ivan took it and glanced down impatiently. He didn't have time for this. He wanted to board his helicopter, get the Athens function over with and travel home where he could relax in solitude. He despised these trips necessary though they were for both business and personal interests. He was about to hand the tablet back when an image on the screen caught and held his attention.

Hundreds of tiny- what were they called... bit cube maybe?... robots danced across the screen. They were meant to look like they were from the 70s or 80s. They marched in ever tighter circles until they formed a hand that waved at him. He knew exactly what was coming next well before it occurred. Yet, still he watched, fascinated, as these tiny robots moved and oscillated on the screen, appearing to leap between decades as they transcended technologies. The carefully controlled icy facade that Ivan spent so much time cultivating cracked and he actually grinned as the hand moved, appearing to leap off the screen using 3-D technology as it gave him the finger before the tiny robots fell apart on the screen and scattered in every direction.

He had the final answer to his request for the hacker's services. It was too bad Ivan didn't take no for an answer.

As the last robot danced off the screen he handed the tablet back to Keane, his smile fading. He strode toward the helicopter. "It really is a shame that we'll have to exterminate such talent." He climbed on board and shouted, "Bring me the hacker. I want to cut his head off myself."