---Viper's POV---

I raised my eyebrows as the blonde glared at me with such poisonous intensity that for a brief moment, I wondered what her issue was. She stomped down the street on her high heels while shrieking loudly in the cellphone against her ear, demanding someone to pick her up.

Shaking my head slightly, I slowly made my way to the correct address but made sure to walk past the house. You never knew who looking or if someone was following you. The sun was bearing down on my face before I reached up and pulled the hat a bit lower on my head, creating a bit of shade to loom over my eyes.

The tiny movement jolted my shoulder, which made me clench my fist tightly at the sharp stab of pain before I slightly adjusted the sling on my arm, winching as it scraped against the barely healed wounds.

The doctors weren't too happy to let me go but I simply told them I was going back home to my ranch, with or without their permission. As long as I rested, didn't move my shoulder and made sure that I wasn't too long on my feet, I was good to go.

As soon as I was at the corner of the street, I turned around, acting as if I was lost while I knew exactly where I was. A car passed by but didn't seem suspicious to me as I quickly glanced over the inhabitants, smiling slightly at the child in the backseat before the car made a turn and entered a driveway.

They were neighbors, clearly, and living here for quite some time, judging from the weathered swing and the tree house that was maintained quite well. I walked ahead, making sure that I wasn't drawing attention but I was safe; the street was virtually empty beside an elderly couple enjoying the sunny day from their porch.

I smiled politely at them, earning myself a nod and warm smile back before I walked back to Ashton's house. With purposeful strides, I was at the door in minutes and gave a polite knock, waiting for a few moments before knocking again.

Moving feet behind the door made me take a step back, looking down even though I was standing on a lower step as a young man opened the door, seemingly angry before he looked surprised.

The young man sighed, shook his brown hair our of his face before pinching his nose and groaning in frustration. He looked back up at me and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry for being rude a moment ago, honestly, I expected someone else was still standing here."

I assessed him with a deep and intrusive look before smiling, "No problem sir. I need to speak with Sage Martinez for a moment, if I may?" His hazel eyes scanned my face curiously while he shifted his weight before he looked behind him.

A low chuckle escaped my throat as I dipped my head slightly before looking back up. Unknowingly to Sage here, he gave away the fact that he was the person I needed by not reacting instantly to ask me why I needed to talk to him or not going to look for the person.

That and by looking behind him, he assured me that someone else was listening in on the conversation. Sage looked back up at my chuckle and frowned slightly. "Pardon my manners sir, but you better ask whoever is hangin' back there to come here. I'd rather know who I'm speaking to."

A chortle filled the air before Declan walked out of the shadow and stepped closer to me before halting. "Shit Viper, you look like hell. Why are you here?" I smiled but shook my head slightly whilst saying, "Mind if I come in? Had a long 'n tiresome day..."

Declan sighed and smiled warmly at Sage, which made me pause slightly before clicking with my tongue. Declan instantly eyed me curiously before shaking his head. "Its okay Sage, he's a friend." The young man scoffed slightly, "No, really? I didn't notice...maybe you shouldn't use his codename in front of strangers."

"Mighty fine idea right there." I chuckled as Sage guided me past a rather amused Declan, who was eying the boy with emotions clear in his eyes. I wasn't even inside yet and already learning more than I bargained for.

Declan glanced at me and snorted when he caught my smirk before he said, "What?" I shook my head and lowered the backpack of my shoulder, winching slightly. "Didn't expect y'all to get so comfortable with Mother's kids." I teased, watching as Declan surprisingly grew a bit shy and rubbed a hand over his neck.

"Nothing's going on around here-" he started but stopped when a teenager skipped down the stairs with a dreamy expression on his face, licking his lips as he eyed another of my fellow Seals.

"Nothing happened...sure, sure," I drawled sarcastically, gaining attention from Josh before he smiled warmly and stepped towards me as he buttoned the last of his shirt and gave me a one armed hug.

"Samuel, damn, glad to see you...I'm sorry for your team man." And just like that, the mood swung from playful and happy to downright depressing. I had a feeling that I'll never be able to lead another team; the flashes of what happened to Wolfpack will always be engraved in my mind.

I looked around and spotted the younger son eying me with curiosity as he fingered one of his curls mindlessly. "So, you're another one? Wow, our home is turning in some headquarters for deliciously build men." He hummed, winking at Josh when he eyed the boy with a stern, "Davy...".

"Sage, where are the cupcakes? You said you saved some for me but I can't find any!" A girl whined before a little bundle of energy flew in the room and clung to Sage's legs before noticing me. "Oh, hi! Are you one of my daddy's friends?" She chirped, eying me curiously.

I crouched down and lowered my hat, smiling warmly at the child. "Yes Ma'am, one of 'em." I knew from the INTEL reports that Mother had four children, Sage as the eldest, followed by the twins Laura and Davy, so this must be little Ellie.

Ellie eyed my hat curiously before smiling, her eyes sparkling with excitement while the rest of the band all walked to the living room. "Are you a real cowboy mister?" Davy snorted and started with an, "Ellie, come on-"

"As a matter of a fact, I am. Livin' on a ranch in Texas but have to hold on a promise now." Ellie nodded and showed her pearly whites before tugging at Sage's hands. "Now I wanna have my cupcakes Sage. We'll talk later, 'kay?" she glanced at me before I nodded.

As soon as she left, I eyed Declan and Josh seriously. "Is it safe to talk here?" they understood what I meant and nodded while Declan added, "As long as you make sure the youngest or Laura doesn't hear about it. Both Sage and Davy have some knowledge...skip that, Sage knows everything but that's a long story."

I nodded while following them to another room and mentally sighed in relief when I could sit down. My leg was still healing and was pretty busted, throbbing with pain the longer I stood on it.

Richard walked around the doorway and looked up, smiling in surprise as he spotted me before frowning. "You being here means that something's up, right?" he asked instantly, making me nod my head while I stretched my busted leg out with a sharp intake of breath.

I hated those damned painkillers but right about now, I was tempted to take a few.

---Sage's POV---

The silence in the room was deafening after Samuel, who I knew was coded Viper, told the team about what happened to Wolfpack before he went on explaining what he found out on his own.

It seemed that he knew exactly what dad had been doing and he had attempted to cover up his trails on numerous occasions, which lead to the combined attack on his team and dad, with the dreadful outcome everyone knew.

I watched the fit man curiously and could almost see the waves of pain and guilt coming off him. His Texan accent was clear when he opened his mouth and topped with the worn Stetson he was holding in his hands.

"So..." I started after a few seconds of silence, "This sergeant is clearly part of the Black Sun, but what do they want? And how far are those rats seated in the army?" Samuel sighed and brushed a hand over his face, winching slightly as he moved his shoulder before leaning back against the seat.

"Dunno for sure but I have an idea. Grey never had been promoted like he wanted too, so maybe the rats all just have their own motivations. We need to pin them down and reveal their identity to our superiors though, before they sell out even more of our men."

Declan and Josh nodded while Richard typed away on his laptop. "Sure, but they know by now that someone is looking for them, so they'll be extra cautious. Even with Sage's help, I doubt we can hack them again without them spotting us in an instant."

Sam looked up and pinned me with a curious gaze in his silver eyes while I shrugged, thinking everything over. What were we missing? I scratched my throat, thinking about it hard before I blinked.

"They must have someone high up the ranks, maybe even close to the White House to cover their own tracks. We don't need to go after the smaller and unimportant guys." I threw out in the group, making the others frown before Richard nodded, typing away vigorously while Samuel eyed me with respect.

"You're goin' for the head of the snake instead of messing around." He stated with a knowing tone while I nodded with a smile. Declan slammed his hand on the table with a grin threatening to split his face. "Off course! We just need to find whoever is in charge of the Black sun and take them out. He or she has the access to the entire group and we can identify and bring the whole organization down without a fuss."

A few hours later, the guys were all busy chatting away while I tended to Samuel's wounds. He was rather surprised when he learned I had actually got my PhD but he understood perfectly why I had to quit my job.

"Hey Sage, they can't observe us through your ghosting, right?" Richard asked, making me look up from Samuel's tattooed and muscled arm before I shook my head. "No, its nowhere near my actual address. Basically, if they decide to track it down, I have several accounts spread throughout the world and all of them fake. If they want to know who attacked them, they're gonna take quite some time."

Samuel sighed when I held the pills in front of him before he grabbed them with a scowl forming on his face and swallowed them dry. I frowned slightly but Declan shook his head, making me understand that it was something private.

"If y'all need me, I'll be fixin' some dinner. Gotta' help out somehow." He mumbled before pushing himself up and headed towards the kitchen, quickly followed by a curious Ellie and a reluctant Laura on his heels.

Davy stepped up beside me and grinned mischievously, making me step back warily. "Okay, what are you up to?" he looked at me with innocent eyes while pointing at his chest, as if asking, "Who, me?" I just glared at him with a pointed look, making him roll his eyes slightly.

"Nothing! I swear! Jesus, someone's got his panties up in a twist." He muttered under his breath before dodging my playful swat to the head. He wriggled his eyebrows for a moment and looked over my shoulder towards Declan.

"What, isn't there any hot-and-heavy making out action between you two?" I snorted and shook my head at him, pushing his face away from me as I walked towards the table to pick up my papers. I didn't know if it was Davy's attention but he did make me grow restless.

"Like you two have done anything in this house..." I trailed off when I only heard silence behind me and looked straight up in Davy's slightly flushed face as he bit his lip. A groan of annoyance slipped past my lips as I rubbed over my temples before throwing a hand in the air.

"You know what, fine. Go ahead but please Davy, don't play around with the guy. I can see he's really interested in you." My younger sibling looked up at me and though still blushing, he crossed his arms over his chest and straightened his back.

"I'm not playing with him, Sage. At least, not the kind of playing you refer to-" He started, making me shudder at the mental image he was painting before he grinned apologetically and continued, "but seriously, you're meaning to tell me that you haven't done anything besides when I walked in on you guys?"

Davy followed me wherever I went and I sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to drop this just like that. He hopped onto the desk and smirked when he sat directly on top of the documents I needed. He shifted his hips slightly before throwing one leg over the other and sat down.

Challenging me.

"Honestly Davy, not that its any of your business but no. We only just met and I'm not the kind of guy to jump into someone's bed and then act like nothing's happened." Davy snorted at that while he plucked at his shirt before rearranging his bracelets before he pinned me down with a knowing look.

"That's not the point here and you know it. They've been here for nearly a month Sage, and all you two have done is a simple kiss here and there. I'm not laughing at you bro but I've seen you looking at him like he's an all-you-can-eat buffet and you're a very hungry man."

My face felt incredibly hot and I prayed that none of the Seals in the room were looking this way as I swallowed harshly. Davy smirked teasingly and leaned forwards, lowering his voice.

"I have an inkling that you never had a serious relationship, since you never talked of someone in the past. Personally bro, I think there's nothing to be afraid for. I mean, your man is eying you now with a look that isn't exactly PG-13."

My head snapped around just to see Declan twisting his away from me, focusing intently on the papers in his hands. Josh smirked and winked at us but I had the distinct feeling that he was laughing with his friend.

Was Declan just....checking me out?

Davy was painfully right though; with my studies and my personality, I never really had a relationship. Sure there were the few flirts here and there but never a serious relationship, just like Davy pointed out.

He winked at me before pulling me closer and straightened my shirt out. "My advice is this bro; just have fun and grow a pair. You know by now that Declan is way over his head for you." I sighed slightly and shook my head at myself.

Why did I needed my little brother to tell me all this, I mean, I was smart enough to know it, yet didn't act on it. He smirked and patted my chest before hopping of the desk. I watched as he stalked towards Josh and pinched his butt, making the man squeak in surprise before Davy ran off with a flustered Josh on his heels.

I watched on, chuckling at Davy's antics before I realized he was right. If I waited and waited, nothing would happen unless Declan took action. My eyes found the smiling seal and for a moment I admired his spikey brown hair and the way his plump lips curled up in that smirk that made my blood boil.

My body felt heated and it was as if a switch was suddenly flicked over. I knew Declan for nearly three weeks and surely he was going to stay here for much longer than that, so why wait and see? He'd indeed proven to me that he was prepared to wait, that he really wanted me and not just my body.

My eyes flickered back up from Declan's legs and looked back up only to realize that he was looking at me, a broad smile still on his lips. Somehow, that smile turned warmer, more alluring and his eyes twinkled slightly as he looked at me before I smiled back, making my decision on the spot.

---External POV---

Halfway around the world, a group of men were still scratching their heads while cursing softly at their screens showed yet another dead-end. One of them wasn't there by choice, kidnapped and made prisoner of war to do whatever these men wanted. That is, if he wanted his wife and kids to stay alive.

The young engineer felt nervous, his stomach curling up in a tight ball as he couldn't figure a way around the viruses that had been released in the system. He had only managed to detect that two of them were designed to safeguard whoever breached their security. Another virus was busy opening up portals to allow other cookies and viruses in.

At the sound of boots slapping against tiles, the young man paled down considerably and swallowed. The door smacked open and Sergeant Grey stepped in, his facial expressions twisted up in an angry snarl as he glared at the four men at the table before his eyes landed on Timothy.

Perspiration spontaneously appeared on Timothy's forehead as he focused back on the screen in front of him, hands shaking slightly and his heart thumping in his throat. No wonder the boy jolted in fright when a hand dug painfully into the tense muscles of his neck.

"What are you doing here son? I think I told you that the only way we'd leave your little wife home and alone, was if you worked your magic for our organization. So please tell me why you're wasting time and resources by doing absolutely nothing?" By now, Grey's blunt fingernails were digging painfully deep into the younger man's flesh and when he released Timothy, a few bloody marks were left in his neck.

Timothy breathed deeply through his nose before starting to explain with a slight stutter, "I'm sorry sir, but whoever attacked your system knew exactly what they were doing. Two viruses were released to cover their tracks and another one to bring more viruses inside."

He didn't dare look up in the Sergeant's eyes as he shot a look at the other three, who all nodded and confirmed what the engineer said. Grey's eyes bore down on the blond haired man before he patted his back, harder than what was comfortable.

"At least you're useful for one thing. Please tell me why on earth they managed to get through?"

Timothy swallowed convulsively, silently sighing in relief that he somewhat pleased these criminals into sparing his life a while longer. He knew they were soldiers but they weren't worthy of the uniform.

For all the boy knew, they should be mercenaries, men that sold their honor and skills to the highest bidder.

Sighing softly and rubbing a hand over his tired and sore eyes, Timothy told them as much as he knew. What other choice did he had? "The attack was planned but not thought through; they got caught almost instantly by the system and we were close to retrieving their location but the second attacker-"

Timothy nearly shot out of his seat as Sgt. Grey all but slammed his fists on the table and leaned forwards, towering over the man as he spat, "A second attack? What do you mean boy?"

"J-just what I-I was saying, sir!" Timothy squeaked, shivering like a leaf. It was the intended effect, since Grey had been briefed by his men that the young engineer had tried his best but was also unwilling to co-operate. A firm dose of fear could do the trick.

The young man, clearly frightened and sweating profoundly rushed through his explanation while his eyes shot through the room, as if looking for a way out.

"Whoever attacked you the second time, he knew what he was doing and instantly let loose a series of viruses, several of them blocking the firewall to allow the rest inside the system. I've managed to neutralize four of them sir but I need more help to stop the ones that keep throwing us out of the system."

Timothy found himself flying out of his seat and on the floor with a boot crushing down on his sternum before he could even blink. Instinctively, his hands reached up to push the boot away but he whimpered and dropped them in a gesture of surrender as the pressure on his chest intensified when the man added his other foot.

Sgt. Grey was still seated while he watched one of his men balancing on Timothy's chest, effectively pinning the boy down and hindering his breathing. He clicked his fingers once and while the man stepped of Timothy's chest, another one stepped in the room with a German Shepherd following on his heels.

The dog and his handler made their way over to Timothy, who scrambled back as the dog started barking at him, hanging against his collar while showing his sharp teeth. Grey smiled sadistically while he sat on his seat and stared the boy down.

"How about this for help; I'm going to give you one more chance to prove your use to me by finding the general location of whoever attacked us so we can pin them down. If you don't find them within the next..." he looked at his watch with quite a show and smirked, "eight hours, I'm going to see how much damage a dog can do to a human during one hour. Do I make myself clear?"

At his gesture, the handler loosened the leash a few inches so the dog could dart closer to a panicking Timothy, who by now was crying in fear when the dog scraped his canines on the outside of his thigh before he was tugged back.

The message came through loud and clear, and the engineer bobbed his in a panicked way, making the men in the room laugh mockingly at his gesture before he was shoved back in the seat and eyes darting over the screen.

Grey laughed again before he diverted his attention from the shaking boy and looked at the handler of the dog. "Take a seat Williams, preferably closer to our engineer. It seems he works better under pressure."

The dog growled lowly as he was placed close by Timothy and sat down at the order of his handler. It caused even more fear in Timothy's heart and the boy franticly searched for the information he needed, trying to find his way around the viruses that were still causing mayhem to the system.

Grey flicked a few fingers through the air, calling one of the soldiers to his side before he murmured, "Keep an eye on Mother's team for me. I want to know where they are, who they're talking with and what they're up to." The soldier saluted and stepped out of the room to do as was ordered. He didn't want to end up like the man he'd seen a few weeks ago, strapped to a board while being tortured for information.

The soldier shook his head and made the necessary phone call, lingering in the hallways as he thought about what he should do and the consequences of those actions. He'd witnessed first hand what happened to rats inside a group of rats and surely, he didn't want to meet their faith either.

But how was he going to face his lover back home and live by his side while he knowingly helped other soldiers in their grave by following orders?

He needed to think but more importantly, he needed to live and outlast his opponents. He knew what the Black Sun was up to and he knew he was way over his head in an extremely dangerous organization but all he could do was hope.

And pray for a miracle.