Description
Book 1 in The Next Generation series.
Despite Toni’s legendary brilliance, even she could not stop the march of time. After learning her daughter, Joy, and Joy’s two best friends, Pepper and Alina, attempted to deceive the senior agents in The Organization with a bogus Spring Break cover story, she convinces her wife it’s time to let the Next Generation take over.
The last thing Pepper Maggio expects after agreeing to lead a mission is literally running into the woman she’s followed for years. Not only is Grace Turner beautiful, but she’s a passionate crusader for the same innocents that The Organization vows to protect. Along with her two best friends, the three young women embark on an adventure to save the day. But the mission quickly gets out of hand as the human traffickers target not only Grace and her film crew, but also the young Mexican woman who managed to catch Alina’s eye. Maria might be the bravest of the bunch as a survivor of one of the Mexican mines, but she’s a sitting duck if they don’t intervene. They might be the Next Generation, but they’ll need the full support of The Organization, including Pepper’s lethal mother, Val, to get out of Mexico alive.
Chapter 1
Prologue
March, 2043
The lanky middle-aged woman with fine silver strands woven inside her long dark hair leaned back in her chair and declared, “That’s my girl!”
“Seriously, Toni, you’re proud of what Joy did?” Char rubbed her eyes, clearly half-asleep after her nap, but she sounded pissed. That was never a good thing.
Toni glanced at her wife of over twenty-five years. She was still a stunning woman with lustrous red hair that only contained a hint of gray, unlike Toni’s, where the silver stood out more because her natural color was so dark. The fine lines around Char’s keen green eyes did not reduce her beauty. All the original agents in The Organization kept in shape, but Char had added yoga during her pregnancy with Joy, keeping her especially limber. In combination with Sophie’s martial arts classes, Char was as fit as when she and Toni had first met, even though she was now in her fifties.
The advertisement to join AARP that had come in an electronic communication reminded Toni that the original agents needed to consider retirement. Perhaps they all, including herself and her wife, still had more tread on their tires. However, the advertisement from AARP was a giant neon sign telling her they needed to have the conversation. For fuck’s sake, Char already took naps in the middle of the day like an old person in retirement, but Toni would never have the guts to highlight that little factoid in her argument.
“Aw, come on, Char, aren’t you? We sent Val, so what’s the big deal? Our baby girl nearly outmaneuvered me with tech she built all on her own. Not only does the device track intelligence traffic as effectively as mine, but her black box also tried to hack me to block any interference. She wasn’t successful with the second part because I’m still the best, but that’s impressive. We’re going to have to let go at some point. I know you didn’t want this for Joy. And Bernie, Mila, Gina, and Val aren’t too crazy about the idea, either. But these young women are the next generation, whether we like it or not.”
Char seemed to settle and sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But you aren’t correct about her building it all on her own. Every chance Joy got, she was in your lab, working side by side with you. She built that under your mentorship.”
“They’ve all received gifts from us, whether they’re genetic or simply heeding our teachings, including some of our biggest mistakes. I know we’re still too young to fully retire, but having a succession plan isn’t the worst idea,” Toni argued. “Pepper’s been ready for several years, and Val knows it. The only reason we’re hesitant is that they’re all so close, and where one goes, the rest follow. Alina is young, but I trust Pepper and Joy to keep her safe, just like Maggie kept you and Val safe. It’s a family business, with us bringing in other members to add to our family.”
Char leaned in to kiss her wife. “You’re a wonderful mother and the cool aunt.”
“You are, too. Love you, hon.”
“Back atcha.” Char winked.
Toni’s eyes traveled to her monitor as a new alert rolled across the screen. “Well, shit.”
“What now?”
“It looks like the Russians and the Chinese are teaming up again. I think the fuckwad our kid was tracking is a minor cog in the wheel, but it’s a start,” Toni said.
“It never ends, does it?” Char groaned.
“No. It never does. Good thing the next generation caught this, huh?” Toni grinned.
“The Next Generation? Is that what we’re calling our kids now? How utterly retro of you, my lovely nerd,” Char teased.
“Nothing wrong with a little retro. How about we do a little retro bedroom calisthenics while the Next Generation and Val do their thing?”
Char held out her hand. “If you can drag yourself away from your monitor, lead the way.”
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