Out of Nowhere

Seth looks at his cards. Two of hearts and seven of spades. Hmm, not much, but it would be interesting to see where he can take them since this is such a low stakes game. With Karen raising and then Simon raising even further though, Seth decides to quit while he’s ahead. His father taught him well. “Fold,” Seth says. He tosses back the cards to Lisa, who is dealing, and sits back to enjoy the show. By accident, though, Seth bumps into Karen’s notes and they fall off the table. It’s a mildly annoying part of turning company meetings into poker games, but the rest are just advantages. There used to be some mutterings against it, but that all ended when he made it clear he didn’t have high stakes in mind. Seth isn’t the gambling sort. He just realized long ago that poker was engaging enough to make people pay less attention to anything else and perfect for staff meetings where Seth could listen to his employees’ real opinions. A meal every two weeks was by no means noticeable in any of his department heads’ finances. Of course, that led to this—people betting way too much with too little in hand. Bluffing led over the extreme to the illogical. However, that didn’t seem to deter anybody. They got into it with the same relish every time. Bending over, Seth murmurs his excuses as he gets Karen’s notes back. He gets back unintelligible noises. Karen’s focused on beating the s**t out of Simon with absolutely nothing in hand. Seth leaves her to it. Karen’s HR and knows them best, so who is Seth to stop her? “Where are we with the parking spots?” Seth asks. Lisa blinks at the increasingly ridiculous sums of fictional money thrown in and shakes her head. “Yeah, I don’t think we can just add cameras. The parking lot is getting too big, there’s no way we can reach that part in time to be of any use. If we can’t secure it, there’s no point in having the extra parking.” That’s a very Lisa answer. Security is her business, Simon’s too, but apparently doing something in person and doing it online makes all the difference. And though Seth’s company started in Simon’s realm, they all listen to Lisa on the subject. “We need more parking spaces,” Peter says. His voice is a little muffled by having his head in one hand. He sounds bored but implacable. “We brought the restaurants in and that stretched the parking lot. It’s great, I’m not saying it isn’t, but it’s going so great that they hired more people and we just don’t have the capacity. There won’t be security at all if they park down the street, or you’ll have an increase in activity, Lisa, what with everybody fighting for parking space.” Peter has a way of being practical that generally pisses off everybody. Dorothy too, the practical bit and the annoying bit. Considering that Building Management worked most with the Creative Department, Seth doesn’t know how the company’s HQ hasn’t burned down yet, but he’s thankful for it. He guesses that those two could probably find common ground, but he hasn’t seen it happen yet. “Do we have to work out a package for people who can’t park safely?” Scarlett asks absently while she keeps up with the bets. It’s clearly a fight between Karen and Simon, Scarlett is just there. And the funny thing is, the former have such a vicious competition, they don’t notice that there’s somebody else still in the game. “We can’t,” Seth says. “Very off-brand,” Dorothy agrees. “Cook Services is primarily a security company. We can’t let that go because we have a parking issue.” “So, we’re back to the problem,” Joshua says with a sigh. “Hey, I’ve got an idea.” Everybody pauses. “Not about the parking lot, unfortunately.” Seth rolls his eyes and he’s not the only one. Joshua continues, “How about you two can go all in and spare us the process?” Joshua is the voice of reason. That’s what’s happening here too. He’s right, of course. But does anybody care? Not particularly. He’s got a very organized mind, he has to if he’s a doctor leading the Activities Department, but no one listens to him. This is a bit surprising, seeing as they all have a good head on their shoulders, but what can Seth do? Scarlett, in particular, is very detail-oriented. She heads the Finance Department, though, and that means she’s a bit of a shark. Is that enough to discount Joshua’s words? Perhaps. If Seth thinks about it, most everybody lets the department they head touch their personality a bit. Or maybe their personalities lend some traits to the departments. If nothing else, it means that they are the right people for their jobs. That minimizes their complete and utter disregard towards the only medical professional at the table. A bit. Scarlett huffs. “Three,” she says, reminding Joshua she’s still in the game. “Three, sorry, Scarlett,” Joshua says. “But really.” Simon seems to consider it for one whole second. “Raise.” Joshua throws his head back exasperatedly. “Are we hiring more people?” Karen asks, eyes narrowing playfully at Simon, but talking to Seth. “To cover the parking lot, I mean.” Seth would say something to them about the tension, but he’s pretty sure there’s nothing more than sibling rivalry going on. It’s that feeling they have: an enmity close to getting out of control that comes hand in hand with a fierce sort of love Seth has no frame of reference for. Maybe Connor, but that’s something very different. “How does the budget look?” Seth asks. Scarlett takes some time to answer. “I think we can afford some even with the branching out into personal security that we’re trying.” She pouts her red, red lips. Nobody faints and she smiles, delighted as always. “It depends on how many you’re thinking of hiring.” “Why did I know you were going to ask that?” Lisa smirks as she reaches for her notes. “Ah, hang on.” Simon and Karen have finally reached a compromise—for now—and are ready for the next card. Lisa places the turn on the table and they’re off again with Scarlett along for the ride. “Yes, umm…” Lisa studies her notes, writes some numbers. “Five would be perfect, four are workable.” “Each shift?” Scarlett asks and, on receiving a nod, she grimaces. “Four, we have to see what we’re doing with the bodyguards.” “How’s that going, by the way?” Dorothy asks. Seth grimaces. “Not great,” Karen answers. “That reminds me. Seth? Did you get vibes from the last one we interviewed?” “Vibes?” Seth frowns. “No, I got inconsistencies.” “That too,” Karen says. “I don’t think he’s asexual.” She stops playing and drums her fingers on the table. “Scratch that, I’m positive. He made me uncomfortable with how much he leered. That’s dangerous. Beyond that, why would he even say he’s asexual? I have eyes, I could see him.” Seth nods and frowns some more. Yes, he saw a few things that didn’t make sense, but they could easily be explained away as nerves. Brown wasn’t attracted to guys; he didn’t ping on Seth’s radar. But Karen is right. It would be bad for business to hire Brown if he makes anyone uncomfortable. “Maybe he thinks we’re like those modeling places, with the skeevy photographers?” Lisa offers. Peter shakes his head. “I don’t understand them in the first place, why would—” He sighs. “I guess that just means more business for us.” “Some of them are excellent at what they do,” Dorothy says sadly. “Was this one?” Joshua asks. He rearranges his chips absently. “What was his name again?” “Brown,” Karen supplies immediately. Joshua inclines his head in thanks. “Well, was he any good?” “Yes,” Seth says. “On paper, which I’m starting to doubt.” “How many have we got so far?” Simon asks. He sounds politely curios, which probably means he’s concerned. Simon’s well-known overprotective streak is making an appearance, but he still tries to hide it. He’s not fooling anybody. “Thirty-seven,” Karen answers. Scarlett writes something down. “Are we still aiming for fifty?” “Yes,” Seth says. “I’d like to find out why Brown lied. We’re not hiring him, but it’s still suspicious.” The players all relax at his announcement, and they get back to the game. “What are we thinking then?” Simon asks as he—finally—checks. “PI or just be alert?” “The budget is too tight for a PI,” Scarlett says, lips pressed tightly. “We can take it on any other month, but with trying to get this off the ground…We can’t ask our clients to pay for a service that hasn’t been tested.” Peter opens his mouth, probably to give examples of companies that do the exact thing. “No, we’re better than that.” Dorothy sniffs haughtily. “Plus, the consequences are a bit more serious.” “Not always,” Peter protests. “I’m not saying that our work isn’t important, I’m just saying that those beta versions are for serious stuff too.” “Noted, but fifty bodyguards are already our beta version in terms of manpower,” Dorothy insists. She takes her tablet and she’s looking for something. Familiar sounds tell Seth she’s switching between files. “You do realize that we have forty-seven big clients? If they don’t get along with their bodyguards, we’ll have the nightmare of all reshufflings. And that’s just one problem that could appear. We have sixty-five clients that are likely to be interested and thirty-two who might get there in about six months.” She toggles back and raises her head. “It’s a big risk, yes, but it’s definitely not as much as it would be if we were to cover everybody.” “Yes, and I think everybody agreed and still agrees on that,” Lisa says as she places the river on the table. “I think it’s important that we don’t let this become a security risk by just being on the lookout. I vote for assigning a PI on the case. Not only did the guy…ah, what was—” “Brown,” Joshua prompts. “Yes, Brown, not only did he lie about things in his application, but, apparently, didn’t even try to muddy the waters in person,” Lisa continues. “He just had to play the asexual role for an hour and didn’t manage it. That tells me that he either couldn’t help himself or he didn’t care one way or another. I understand why Seth’s worried.” Simon raises. “Me too.” “We’re going to have a few tight months if we want to keep our profit margin where it is. And that’s without the PI,” Scarlett says as she calls on Simon’s bet. “These are the numbers, guys.” “Let’s come back to it later,” Seth says. “Anything else?” “I’ve got the test results back,” Joshua offers. “Everybody’s healthy.” Seth nods, pleased. “I think we might need to rethink the feathers,” Dorothy says next. “The what?” Karen asks absently as she raises. “The feathers for certain sets?” Dorothy tries to clarify. “Why?” Peter asks. “One of them got into the socket and it smelled…ugh,” Dorothy says with a disgusted expression. “John’s set. We called somebody from your department and Simon’s. Everything is okay, but we don’t want to set the building on fire or something.” “Is that even possible?” Scarlett’s eyebrows rise in bafflement. “Under certain circumstances,” Peter says. “I’ll take a look, maybe we can get some child-proof covers. Would that be enough?” “I’d have to see them first, but I think so.” Dorothy shrugs. She must’ve realized that the betting stopped because her eyes widen. “Oh, oh, oh.” Aaaand drumroll… Karen doesn’t have anything. Simon has a pair. Of twos. And Scarlett has a three of a kind, queens. So, about as expected. Seth chuckles while Dorothy loudly heckles Simon. Karen gets her own from Lisa. Joshua has put his head on the table, in absolute exasperation. Peter rolls his eyes and sends a smirk to Scarlett who strongly resembles a shark. Still as expected. Things flow easily into the next hand. Ooh, a pair of aces. “I’ll take a look after this,” Peter mumbles. “We needed to check the sockets anyway.” “I had something to tell you,” Simon says as he folds. “There have been more attempts to get through to our clients. The usual actors—John, Angel, Anne—but the frequency has grown a lot.” “Any problems?” Seth asks. “Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Simon answers. “We have better coders and computing capacity. But Angel had forty-nine would-be hackers last week. That’s…” “Huge!” Peter says looking at Simon. “Isn’t it?! It is.” “It is,” Lisa murmurs as she calls. Seth frowns. “What about the others? The same growth rates?” “The same growth rate, but not the same numbers,” Simon reports. He looks down, speaking from memory. “It’s one, then five, then four, then ten, then nine, then twenty. And I’m expecting nineteen today. Anne has the same repeating pattern until four, John until nine. Now, they could be the same people. We’re far too busy with the site and keeping an eye on our firewalls to trace anybody. I thought I should bring it up anyway.” “I’d bet,” Karen says, no derision in her voice as she calls as well. Then, she cracks a smile, “Busy, busy bees, huh?” “We can handle it as long as everybody remembers their instructions.” Simon rolls his eyes, but a bit of tension leaves his shoulders. “I’m worried about what happens beyond the digital.” “Any threats?” Seth asks. “No, and that’s why I’m worried.” Simon looks at Lisa. “Any snail mail threats?” Lisa shakes her head. “Just marriage proposals.” “I’ll let the clients know,” Seth says as he checks. “Do you think there’s a connection?” “Between what?” Karen asks as she checks as well. She soon draws a line as well. “Between Brown and the hackers? Do you think Brown is ‘the hackers’ or just working with them?” Seth shrugs. “Could be. I don’t know. It seems too much of a coincidence.” “We could try backtracking one,” Simon volunteered. “Do it,” Seth says. “We’re hiring that PI.” * * * * The next day Seth puts the money he won at the meeting towards a good cause. He doesn’t win that often, but whenever he does, he has a place to spend it: the station. And true, he usually ends up adding to it, but it’s a good way for him not to do it all the time. When he wins, he gets takeout. It’s easy to remember and enforce. Although he does donate food staples twice a month, that’s a completely different thing and not one that should be mentioned in this context. It works out. Seth’s not a billionaire or anything, but the company does well and money’s not a problem. The least he could do is make sure Connor is eating okay, right? Right. So what if he donates flour or oil and gets them takeout from time to time? The effort is close to nothing at the end of the day. Seth rolls his eyes at himself. This is—as always, if he’s being honest—ridiculous. He calls Connor. “Hey! Your delivery is here,” Connor’s cheerful voice answers and Seth feels himself starting to relax. “Good,” Seth says and smiles involuntarily. “What do you say about takeout?” “You won!” “I did.” Seth laughs. “The meeting ran long and you know how I am with mornings, so I’m a little behind today.” “I already have a list, you have some fans here,” Connor says, his smile almost audible. “That’s great!” And here was Seth thinking they might have to postpone for tomorrow or just order dinner. “Wait, is there a bet?” “What do mean, is there a bet?” Connor snorts. “Are we Engine Forty-six? Of course, there’s a bet.” Every time Seth tries to call the station ‘engine’ he sounds corny. He doesn’t know why, he’s as much Connor’s family as any parent, sibling, or partner of any member there. It just doesn’t sound right, no matter how much he theoretically belongs. He used to think it was a sign that he doesn’t fit in, but Connor’s other friends never made Seth feel unwelcome. And he bribes the rest with food so they won’t say anything. “Then should I ask what you bet?” Seth asks wryly. “What makes you think I’m allowed to take part?” Connor sounds insulted. “I can just have you lose on purpose.” “I wouldn’t.” “Of course, you would!” Seth stifles a laugh. “You were way off, weren’t you?” There’s silence for a long moment, then Connor admits grudgingly. “I was way off.” “You didn’t trust me.” “I didn’t trust you.” Hmm, that doesn’t sound right. “You were working with Scarlett!” Seth accuses. “I talked to Scarlett and found out she was planning to—” “Cheat!” Seth shouts. “…She was planning to cheat, yes.” Connor chuckles. “She’s your employee, I didn’t do anything.” “You could’ve told me!” “So you could stop her and then she could threaten me with those sharp sticks she has in her hair?” Connor protests and Seth has to give it to him. “No, thank you.” “Brave, brave man,” Seth says dryly. “I am not afraid to admit my fear or to act on it,” Connor defends himself. “And anyway, isn’t the fact that she’s horrible at cheating make everything easier?” “It could be her plan all along.” “To feed me?” Seth shrugs his shoulder even though Connor doesn’t see him. “She loves you.” “I am lovable.” “Also, that’s the best way to ensure that I’d be sold since I was going to find out anyway.” “We are confident today,” Connor huffs. “The only reason you were able to keep the secret was that we haven’t talked since Saturday.” “I am honest! Sue me!” “Yeah, you are.” Seth laughs warmly. “Who did I make happy?” “The Captain.” Seth blinks. “So, Donna does like me.” She is a very by-the-book woman, so she and Seth naturally don’t get along. “Captain Floyd,” Connor says, exasperation coloring his voice as he corrects Seth. “She likes you. What’s more, she appreciates your contributions and doesn’t doubt your ability to make money.” “That sounds like a mouthful.” “It’s a lot to unpack.” Seth rolls his eyes. “While I do that, how about you send a list my way?” “Gladly!” Connor says excitedly. “See you in about two hours?” They work close enough together, but it takes a while to prepare enough food for twelve people. “See you in two,” Seth says and hangs up. Seth’s phone chimes with the list and he gets to ordering the food. As he understood it from the Fire Department’s PR, it’s better that the taxpayers don’t see take out arriving at the station. It blows Seth’s mind, but it’s more convenient to pick it up and go there. He has no idea if that’s a rule that every station follows. He doesn’t think it is, but it’s easier to not argue. Seth’s intercom chimes. “John here to see you.” “Show him in, Brian,” Seth says as he finishes up the list. Just as Seth adds the last side dish, parsley salad, Brian pushes the door open and John comes in. Seth glances at him. They aren’t that different, but the differences stand out starkly. Athletic build, green eyes like Seth, but where his are darker, John’s are light as fresh grass. Add red hair where Seth’s is dark brown, a dash of freckles, and John is drop-dead gorgeous where Seth is just handsome. “Just a second,” Seth says and waits for John’s nod before checking out the food. Seth knows that his looks are valuable. He has depended on them many times, more than he’d like to admit. However, when they pass into strikingly beautiful, like John’s or any of the others Seth called today, they bring trouble and little else. And Seth’s done. The site loads a page with the approximate time and he smiles at John. “Sorry about that. How are you?” “Great,” John says with a dimpled smile. “How about you? How’s Connor?” “About to be fed,” Seth says and looks at his monitor. “In…one hour and forty-six minutes.” John’s dimples deepen and Seth realizes that John only asked about Connor so Seth wouldn’t be inappropriate. Seth is a little annoyed. Not only does John think too highly of himself, but he also thinks that Seth is in love with Connor. …Okay. This may be true, but John should know it’s not in his best interests to bring that up. Also, Seth has proven himself many times over. But the subject of today’s meeting tells Seth that John is right to be careful. People are going out of their way to get information on him, more than usual, so Seth understands. That doesn’t necessarily make it better, but it’s an explanation. “There has been an increase in the number of hackers you have,” Seth starts directly with the problem. Both of them are busy men. “Nobody got through and it doesn’t look like they will any time soon, but it’s something you should know.” With a stiff smile, John asks, “Should I be worried?” Seth hesitates and says, “I think it’s too early to tell. Just listen to our rules to avoid getting followed and be careful. Don’t panic, but don’t ignore the warning either.” “Yeah.” John nods, but his smile becomes a touch more forced. “Any other suggestions?” “Um…” Seth looks in askance at John, knowing there’s something he’s not getting and John doesn’t seem to want to share. “No. Ask Lisa. From Security. Maybe Simon, in IT. They should know better than me.” John blinks. Seth blinks back. The awkwardness of this moment can’t be overstated. Thankfully, the intercom chimes again. “Anne is here,” Brian says. “Send her in,” Seth says and swallows his sigh of relief. Similarly gorgeous, Anne comes in. She has a great figure, big boobs, very dark hair, and clear blue eyes. Seth waits a moment for her to greet John then directs her towards a chair. “As I was telling John—” And the intercom chimes for a third time. “Angel is here,” Brian says, this time a little more apologetic. Seth looks at the intercom unimpressed. “Send her in.” Angel is not an original pseudonym, but an accurate one. Blond hair, blue eyes, pert t**s and ass, she’s about as angelic as it gets. Everything about her is generous, without being out of proportion. Seth supposes that he understands the adoration. He’s less sure about the obsession. They are stunning people, in his case John more than any of the girls, but that’s it. Seth chooses to redirect everyone to the couch and takes a seat on the armchair. “As I’ve already told John, more hackers than expected have been rebuffed. We recommend vigilance. Make sure you remember the instructions that Lisa provided you with, about knowing when you are being stalked and how to shake them. I’ll arrange a meeting with her and Simon in IT as soon as the schedule permits, and take whatever precautions you think you need.” He watches them as they very carefully don’t look at each other. “Don’t panic, but don’t ignore this warning either,” Seth repeats. “Any questions?” “What are your suggestions?” Anne asks. Seth frowns. He is positive he’s missing something. “I don’t have any, unfortunately. As I told John, you’d be better off asking Lisa. Maybe Simon, but he says he has a handle on it. There’s no danger from his side of things.” “Of course,” Anne murmurs. Seth’s frown deepens. “Is something wrong?” “What about bodyguards?” Angel asks. “Sure. That’s a good idea,” Seth says. “If you feel the need to get personal security, go for it. There haven’t been any threats and we’re working on identifying what we can about the hackers, so everything’s digital so far. But if you’ve noticed something off or you just feel the need for more security, bodyguards are an option.” “How about yours?” John asks. His smile is as stiff as Seth has ever seen them. “What if we want to keep it in-house?” “You shouldn’t have known anything about that.” Seth closes his eyes for a second. “There’s even a reason for it. We aren’t ready. Actually, not only are we not ready, some discrepancies have begun showing in the interview process. We’re investigating, but, until those problems are solved, we don’t have anything. I’m sorry.” The tension in the room shifts and suddenly Seth understands the awkwardness. They thought that he was overstating the threat or maybe inventing one to peddle his bodyguards. Seth sighs. He understands how it seems coincidental, but he did nothing to deserve this. He uses his phone to print Simon’s report. “These are the numbers,” Seth says as Brian comes in with the reports. “No threats, but Simon noticed a pattern to the hacks. That worried us more than anything else.” The three aim apologetic smiles in his direction, but Seth isn’t moved. He earns his money by taking advantage of a vital aspect of their work being hard to secure, but he’d never invent or overstate a threat. It doesn’t matter in the end, but Seth feels like his professionalism is questioned. “This is a pattern,” Angel says, openly concerned. “I’ll take that meeting with Lisa as soon as possible.” “I’ll see to it,” Seth says. “Thank you for telling us,” John tells Seth with a sheepish smile. “You always take care of us.” “Always,” Seth repeats and warns at the same time. Anne blushes lightly.