---External POV---

The doors swayed open, drawing the attention of the two men who where standing near a table in the center of the dimly lit room. The male that entered the room looked at the table and smiled sinisterly at the prisoner laying on top of it, hands cuffed to the sides and a cloth draped over his face.

"Marcus," the man spoke sternly, looking on as one of the other males in uniform continued with emptying the bucket full of water on top of the prisoner's face. "We still need him to be able to tell us what we want. Dead men can't speak, now can they?"

Marcus sighed and stepped back when the bucket was empty, ignoring the gurgles and struggled breaths that gasped through the room as he stood in position. His comrade offered him a wicked smirk before they stepped back and aimed the light on the victim's face, cranking the lights up just as their leader pulled the cloth of the prisoner's face.

The young man's face was battered and grimy as he coughed up gulps of water, winching at the intensity of the lights. He tried to turn his head away but couldn't, as it was strapped securely on the table.

"What- where..." he coughed again, gagging at the sensation of air coursing through his windpipe instead of the steady flow of water like a few seconds ago. The young guy was disorientated, confused and above all, exhausted from the interrogations.

He tried to peer past the sharp lights to look at the faces of his captors but couldn't see them, though he knew that he wasn't an ordinary prisoner of war; the men that captured him where the men he had trusted his life with, his fellow soldiers and superiors.

"We want to know what information you've recovered for the former commander known as 'Mother'. You're going to tell us everything we want to know, even if it takes us years of your miserable little life to get all the details out of you." The newcomer stated in a cold, almost detached voice, as if it didn't bother him to think of ways to make the prisoner's life a complete hell.

The young man paled though, as he recognized the voice of one of his superiors, and one of his trusted friends. "You! You rat! Like hell am I going to betray Mother's trust! He trusted you as well, you despicable dog!"

His anger filled rant was quickly stopped when a fist plowed in his face, making him groan as the two soldiers at the side gave him a beating of a lifetime, until the man could only groan weakly with each punch he received.

"Enough! I believe that you'll be more cooperate after you find out that your precious commander has been killed a few days ago. Such a waste of talent really, he could've lived if he didn't stick his nose in other men's business and chose the wisest thing to do." The man stated with a sneer on his face before waving it off, walking towards the prisoner in a slick costume and black polished shoes.

"Y-you're...ugh...lying. Mother-" the battered soldier groaned in pain while his two tormentors released his bonds and yanked him off the table before fastening his wrists with a pair of black plastic straps.

"Is dealt with and will be buried along with his precious family once I've found out who he sent all his information to. Which is were you come in. Now, if you don't cooperate and tell me what Mother found out about the Black Sun and who he worked with, you'll find that your family might pay you an unexpected visit, Mr. Reeves."

Reeves' head snapped up at the blunt threat aimed at his family before he struggled harsher, trying to free himself from the hold Marcus had on his arms. "You leave them be! They have nothing to do with this!"

The young soldier managed to get a look of the man who was smirking widely as he shrugged and brushed his greying hair back before stepping back so Reeves was once more blinded by the light.

"That may be so, Mr. Reeves but then again, if you don't start talking, I'll make it my business since it'll be your fault that you involve them. Bringing them up seems to motivate you to start talking and I'm not about to let this get away from me."

The older man mockingly saluted towards the prisoner before he was being dragged away, kicking and screaming while Marcus placed a set of headphones and blinders on Reeves head, numbing his senses and creating a mental torment that would exhaust the man eventually.

"Don't worry sir, I'm sure we'll be able to break him. What brings you here?" Marcus' friend asked curiously yet polite, knowing not to offend his superior. The older man straightened his suit and smiled broadly.

"I got news that the ambush was a success, resulting in the death of that annoying Ashton along with most of team Wolfpack. But we need to know what Ashton managed to unravel of our intentions before the information falls into the wrong hands."

The man that had been addressed as sir, straightened his suit before sighing slightly as Marcus reappeared, wiping his bloody hands on a dirty cloth. "We'll be able to get more out of him after a few more days sir. We'll contact you as soon as possible, not while you're working off course." The black haired male added with a smirk at the inside joke.

"Very well, carry on. I'm going back to base so those idiots won't sniff us out. God knows I hate those whiny bastards of the board." He muttered to himself before saluting towards the two men and spun around, the doors closing behind him while the other two soldiers smirked and went back to their interrogations.

---Declan's POV---

I sighed and rubbed a hand over my face, feeling slightly frustrated that I couldn't make heads or tails from the information Mother got for us. As if we needed any more bad luck, the USB drive was encrypted and no-one on our team was able to crack the code.

Richard had mentioned that he could be able to, if he had access to the Black Sun's database and could get a hold on the cipher.

But it was risky, since they could counterattack while we were still busy collecting data, and with our attack, they would know that Mother had informed us. Above that, they could track us down and that would endanger Sage and his siblings.

"Fuck this..." I growled under my breath, fist clutching my hair tightly before I uttered some more curses under my breath. The soft padding of feet followed by an equally gentle knock on the door made me look up, my hand lowering as I looked in a pair of worried brown eyes.

"Sage? Hey, is there something wrong?" He observed me for a while longer before he smiled and shook his head. "No, not with us anyways. I was just on my way downstairs when I heard someone curse like a sailor up here so decided to check it out."

I leaned back in my chair and scoffed, though I couldn't help the smile from slipping on my face as I noticed my amusement being reflected in Sage's twinkling eyes. Shaking my head slightly while smiling, I simply gestured to the room around me.

"We have all this equipment installed effortlessly and I managed to make a plan of action but I'm simply not able to decide whether to sneak into their database or stay safely under the radar."

Sage hummed thoughtfully and stepped further into the room, his brown hair the usual mess and eyes flashing through the room. I sighed once more and thought about it myself, though I couldn't help but let my gaze wander towards Sage.

He was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a dark-grey buttoned up shirt that was draped over said jeans. My eyes followed his every move as he walked towards the desk across from me and leaned his hip on it, giving me a nice view of his nicely shaped cheeks in those jeans.

I quickly diverted my attention when I saw Sage starting to look towards me and crossed my legs, willing myself to stay calm. This boy was a walking, talking and breathing temptation and for the live of me, I just wanted to give in and make him my priority.

"And I'm sure you've estimated whatever chances there are at being caught? Beside the possible risks this could bring with it?" Sage asked, snapping me out of m daze as I straightened up in my seat before I scratched my head.

"Well, I don't know the specifics of computers but Richard told me that there is a possibility that they'll find out, counterattack and get our coordinates, which I'd like to avoid as much as possible. We might be forced to do this though, since I don't have any other leads to go on with."

He nodded again before sighing softly and slipping of the desk. "I trust you Declan, and I have faith in Richard's competence but I'd advice you to at least form a plan B in case something goes wrong during your cyber attack."

I nodded and felt a weird sensation go through my stomach at his words, a feeling in my gut that told me to listen to his warning. With another tentative smile that tested my self-control, Sage slipped out of the room, leaving me to groan under my breath and slag down in the seat.

"No wonder Mother never introduced us to his boys...I have a feeling he had known we'd fall for them." I grumbled under my breath before finally making a decision. My feet carried me through the house until I found Richard, who was busy wiring Davy's phone before he glanced at me and shook his head slightly at my questioning look.

"Don't start; I've had a bad morning today." He stated coolly while I stared at the traces of make-up on his face before a snort escaped me. I clamped my mouth shut and threw my hands up when Richard's head snapped up, glaring daggers at me and daring me to laugh.

The room filled with a roaring laughter anyway as Josh stepped in and took one look at our friend before he tumbled down, rolling on the floor as he snorted and pointed at Richards' now deeply red face.

"What the hell happened to your face? You got dolled up now, huh?" Josh cried out in tears before he barked out another laugh, gaining the attention of the other inhabitants of the house. Ellie skipped in and smiled brightly before stepping up beside an embarrassed and blushing Richard.

"He helped me since I couldn't find my doll to practice make-up on. Isn't he pretty now? I used blue's and reds 'cause they're in the paintings on his arms too." The child said innocently, making Richard blush even more before he groaned loudly and pushed his head in his hands, grumbling something about puppy-eyed kids under his breath.

Davy smirked lightly before looking at Ellie and high-fived her. I had a small inkling that he had whispered a few things in her ear, which had led to all this. A shiver coursed through me when Davy looked up at me and smiled mischievously, as if saying, "You're next."

Josh noticed the silent communication between us two and chuckled once more before sighing softly, his eyes glancing back at his love interest, whom was eying his sister at the moment. Richard had stepped out of the room with Ellie and Josh in his footsteps, which left me behind with Sage, Laura and Davy.

Suddenly Davy darted forwards and yanked Laura's cellphone out of her pocket, causing her to stumble before she stared at her sibling. "Did you just...steal...my PHONE?" She demanded in an ice cold and calm tone as she stalked towards her twin, who simply grinned widely while tossing said phone up in the air, catching it again.

"Uhm..." he looked at the phone as if seeing it for the first time before nodding, "Yeah, I kind of did. Need to make it up to Richard so why not hand over your phone." Davy shrugged, as if not understanding what the fuss was about.

Laura snapped and lunged forwards, trying to get the phone back from her twin as he danced out of her reach, darting around the table before standing close to Sage and me. When she slid over the table, much to my surprise, Davy darted away and out of the living room, with Laura hot on his heels.

But not before he had shoved Sage forwards, making him crash against my chest while we both fell over the armrest of the couch. The air was shoved out of my lungs with a small oomph as Sage fell on top of me, our limbs tangled up and both of us slightly in shock before we managed to register what happened.

Looking down slightly, I realized that Sage's lips where inches away from mine, his body splayed out all over mine and our legs intertwined. The fact that his thigh was resting on my groin didn't help me to calm down when my body registered his body heat and closeness.

It was when Sage tilted his head up to look me in the eye, his lips slightly parted, taunting me with a vision of his mouth and the fact that I could feel his growing arousal press against my thigh, I lost my hold on the control I was clinging onto.

I reached forwards and clasped my hand over the back of his neck, pulling him down so I could get a taste of his succulent lips. A groan escaped me when they made contact and judging by the way Sage closed his eyes and sighed blissfully, he enjoyed the contact too.

Our lips soon moved together passionately, devouring each others mouth with each stroke. It surprised me when it was Sage who deepened the kiss by a swift lick over my bottom lip before nibbling at it.

The growl that escaped me sent a shiver of excitement over Sage's body but before he could react in any way, we heard a low chuckle coming from the door. Sage sat up quickly, effectively straddling my waist and hiding my straining erection from sight, though Davy probably had a good guess of what was going on.

His bluish eyes twinkled with amusement and he couldn't hide the smirk on his face before he simply laughed again. "A job well done it seems." He smirked and then quickly darted out of the room when Sage flushed a bright red before jumping off me to chase his brother.

--------

"So we're going through with this?" Josh asked again, glancing at me with an amused smirk before he quickly blanked his face when I scowled up at him. Ever since Davy oh so subtly dropped the fact that Sage and me were kissing, my team had been teasing me non-stop.

"Yes Josh, now I'd appreciate if you get your head out of the gutter and focus on our mission, because I don't want anything to go wrong!" I commanded, making him snap out of his amusement as he realized what was at stake here.

"Yes sir." He confirmed before looking back at the papers in front of us. Richard was busy wiring several screens together so he could have a good view on what was going on, since he was going to execute the cyber attack.

It was really frustrating to know that the success of our mission all bore down on this simple fact; we needed that cipher to decode the information and if it was possible, we would insert spyware into their database, hopefully without them knowing it. If everything worked out as planned, we would retreat safely with out data, their accounts would be ghosted and we'll be able to identify the rats in our army.

Josh ruffled through a few papers before turning one page back and forth as he checked it and then looked up. "We might have another information source, though we can't rely on it constantly."

I instantly vaulted out of my chair to stand beside him, looking at the printed pages of newspapers along with some Intel we got from our boy in the Base. The headlines of the newspaper were all about the death of several soldiers of a special unit of the army without further information.

The data from Base however was more interesting, since it reported of several men going MIA during a mission, though two of them were found back, gruesomely deformed. They thought the third guy was KIA, though they had no way to identify the body because it was burned severely. Only the tags they found in the ashes were a clue to who it was.

"Several men going missing so soon after two teams were ambushed? This smells fishy." Josh said, pointing at the chapters in the data where our informant pointed out the same thing as he just said. I nodded and frowned before looking back at Richard.

"The sooner we can start on this the better. I don't want any more lives being wasted because of several rats in the army. Judging from this, there must be a high placed rat as well, probably way up in the board."

Richard nodded and went back to his screens. "Give me one hour and then we're at go. We really need to keep a low profile on this one or else we're screwed." I sighed and nodded, though that feeling in my stomach had returned with a vengeance.

I just hoped this was the right course of action.