Audio Assault
Codename: Winger #3
Theo Reese is just like any other seventeen-year-old—with one small exception.
This summer all he wants is to spend time with his boyfriend, Eddie, and work on his MIT research project. His parents have other plans.
An old friend needs the help of Theo’s family. Oliver Glenwood is an ’80s music star who runs his own label. His wife and his daughter, Sofia, now a chart topper herself, are the targets of kidnappers. Oliver hopes they can eliminate whoever is behind the threat.
When Theo uncovers an even more insidious plot, the covert agency the Reeses work for, Tactical Operational Support, swoops into action.
Song files have been modified to steal personal data from devices and emit a tone that drives listeners into a homicidal rage. Theo and his parents race against the clock to stop this mysterious enemy from releasing the music on an unsuspecting populace and causing worldwide chaos.
Just when Theo thinks the mission couldn’t be more complicated, Eddie shows up in New York looking to hang out with his boyfriend.
No one ever said being a teenage secret agent would be easy.
Fast Facts
- Series
- Codename: Winger , Must be read in order
- Tropes
- Hacked music files, Boyfriend distraction
- Formats
- Ebook, Paperback, Audiobook , 59 thousand 200 words
- Narrator
- Kirt Graves
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Read Chapter 1 Excerpt
CLASSIFIED: Tactical Operational Support has redacted portions of this Chapter 1 excerpt.
“Winger, Amp here. My position’s about to be compromised. I’m not sure how much longer I can stay here.”
Through the comm channel, tension dripped from the agent’s quiet voice. Twenty-three years old and new to Tactical Operational Support, Amp sounded green and unsure. Reminded me of my first field mission less than a year ago.
“Hang tight, Amp. Focus on the neutralization of the firewall.” I projected calm because it’s what my team needed. Meanwhile, from an electrical equipment closet on the first floor, I worked to take over the research facility’s security system so it would appear as though multiple breaches were in progress. “Petty, do you have eyes on Amp’s position?”
“There are three working to open the door where Amp is.” Petty didn’t have a tremble in her voice even though this was her first time too. No doubt part of that was her safer position in the van outside. “They’ve brought in a blowtorch to get through the door.”
“Winger, what am I going to do?”
“You keep working. You’re there because you know what needs to be done. We’ll keep you safe.”
The building’s security was ridiculous in its complexity. Usually it was easy to find the logic in a system, this one seemed to have none. Maybe that was the point. I hoped to use the intricacies to force its downfall.
“Petty, how many inside?”
“Stand by.”
As the seconds ticked by, I got fidgety. “Petty?”
“Winger, one moment.”
“Don’t have a moment, Petty.” Annoyance slipped into my voice, which I didn’t like. Petty and Amp were assigned to me for this mission, and it fell to me to be senior agent in charge.
“Winger, they’re cutting through. There’s already a small hole in the door. I need at least another two minutes.”
“Understood, Amp.” He was right on schedule. In the mission briefing, he said he’d need fifteen minutes, and he was at thirteen. “Petty, now.”
“Seventeen across the three floors. Biggest clusters are on three and one.”
Time to make a distraction. I sent commands to deceive the security system into thinking an intruder breached a second-floor lab.
“Petty, disable the monitors on my mark but maintain your visibility.”
“Understood. Standing by.”
After a double-check of the commands, I poised my finger over the enter key. “Now, Petty.”
“Monitors disabled.”
“Distraction enabled.” The security statuses flipped from green to red on the south side of the second floor.
“No one’s moving to that area, Winger.”
“What?”
“Confirmed.” Petty continued. “They’re ignoring it.”
What the hell? My monitor returned to green status. Everything seemed in order to make this work, especially since I saw—There was a loop of logic checks. This design was clever. I read quickly through the code and found the subroutine causing the problem.
“Stand by.”
We got bad intel on this place. No mention of buried security measures appeared in any of the reports. If we’d known that, we wouldn’t have sent Amp in before we knew we had control. I shouldn’t have sent him to start before I confirmed we could keep him safe. Now we needed an improvised distraction or he’d be exposed and the mission would fail.
I typed rapidly, looking for a way to make the security sensors trip.
“Petty, keep me posted on Amp’s status.”
“Copy that, Winger.”
Nothing worked. Apparently only the door sensor could send the right command back to central control to confirm an intruder. There was no time to figure this out.
“Damnit. Winger, I need more time. I’ve run into interference. Someone’s trying to kick me out. My timeline is shot.”
“Understood, Amp. Petty, do you have eyes on me?”
“Confirmed, Winger.”
This sucked hard, but there was little choice. If I couldn’t make a distraction remotely, I’d have to do it manually.
“Amp, I’m en route to your location. Keep at it and stop for nothing.”
“But—”
“Understood?”
Silence filled the channel for a moment. “Copy that.” He clearly didn’t like it.
“Petty, help me stay out of sight.”
“Got it. You’re clear for the corridor you’re in and then on to the elevators and stairs.”
“Understood.”
Despite the info, I opened the door slowly and peeked around the corner. Since it was after hours, the lighting was at half, but that wouldn’t obscure me if anyone came into the hall.
