Chapter 4: Mancini

"Law, I'm sorry we moved too slowly to save your family. We didn't get to them in time to protect them..."

"Wait, wait, wait. Wasn't it old man Mallory who gave you my number?"

"Yes, Lyon, my uncle gave me your number." The light bulb went on, and he seemed to start connecting the dots.

"Did he always know? Is that why he protected me as a kid?"

"That's part of it. Though everyone wasn't part of the inside group, there were friends and family members who played a part. Just like we have today, Lyon, you have your guys, Thorpe, you have yours, and so do the rest of you."

"If you take your time and go through your packets, you'll see that you're all pretty much following in the footsteps of your ancestors. It's a lot to take in for now, but before I let you go, there's one more thing." I opened another secret compartment and turned on another wall screen

"What're all those numbers, Mancini? I' m going back to school in his bitch?"

"No Colton, those numbers represent the worldwide holdings that have been kept in trust for the past three hundred years. When our ancestors were run out of Europe for trying to fight the evil that dwelt there, those men set up a trust for their offspring, hoping for this day to come."

"You've heard me mention my boss Wilson; it's his family that has kept it safe from generation to generation. When you take over Lyon, that will be my thing, making sure our finances remain secure. We can't do what needs to be done without a never-ending supply of funds."

"You're telling me that that's some kind of bank account? What the f*ck number is that?"

"It's roughly eighty trillion dollars in money and properties around the world. Thorpe, what are you thinking?"

"I'm wondering why you wanted Jason in here?" I guess when you're worth a few billion, money doesn't matter to you all that much.

"As you can see, Lyon's sons and his son in law are here, as well as Davey, Law's men, yours, everyone is here because they're the men you trust, and they've all been vetted by me. But that's not the reason I asked you for him specifically. Just before you guys showed up, my wife gave me something to look at."

I told them about the killings and the pattern that unfolded. "I know Jason's specialty is getting in and out of places. I want to team him up with Track remotely to try to find this person and bring them in."

"You're thinking it has something to do with our deal?"

"Not directly, but it's a tentacle. What do you guys think?" That quickly, their minds went from the surprising news that they were each wealthy as sin in their own right and that they were descended from men and women who'd pretty much done the same things they now found themselves doing.

Instead, each man threw in his two cents as to what we should do next to find this person and where we should start. That's why they're here, why they're who they are.

I know it hasn't quite set in yet, it's a lot to take at once, but at least I'd given them the gist of the situation. Later I'm sure I'll be fielding questions, especially from Track and Lyon. I'd had a time of it deciding if to include all the others, but after talking with Wilson and having an in-depth look into everyone's background, it was agreed that everyone would be included in this first phase.

How each man meaning Lyon, the SEALs, Thorpe, Law, and Creed, decided to include their teams going forward would be up to them. My team was already privy to some of what I'd just shared. Always trust the man you use; otherwise, why bother.

Track and Jace I'm hoping will be the leaders of the younger teams that are bound to form, but by no means will be idle going forward. Track's already in deep, and I'm pretty sure once they all read the history behind their ancestors who'd started the group as well as their offspring who had carried on in their footsteps for a few centuries before the group was disbanded, they'd want to rebuild. I know I do.

It had been hard not having my brothers in arms with me all these years. Not knowing all of this in the beginning until I had been properly trained was probably for the best, or I might've gone in search of them. I find it amazing though, how much like their ancestors each man was especially Lyon, whose ancestor was a rogue knight before he was granted wealth and a title by the king he'd saved on a battlefield.

He's going to sh*t a brick when I tell him that he's basically royalty. I guess the fact that he has almost as much money as Thorpe doesn't register in his thick head since he rides a bike, f*cking guy. I can't wait to spring his heritage on him.

"Dafuq are you grinning about Mancini?" F*cker's always watching.

"Oh nothing, where's Catalina? I don't remember seeing her when you all came in."

"She hightailed it for your house when we pulled up, f*ck if I know where she is. As long as you don't have any explosives…"

"Ah, give me a minute." Sh*t, I forgot I gave her access to the lab the last time she was here. It's fine for her to be there, and I trust her to know what she's doing, but she's been gone for way too long. I pulled up the security monitor for the basement lab and saw her looking as innocent as can be as she sat reading something at one of the tables. I sighed a breath of relief, but her dad didn't look convinced worrywart.