CHAPTER FOUR
1356 Words
*RICHARD*
I stood still looking through the window of my office even after Evelyn left my office.
I looked at the city, looked like nothing was wrong like every normal day.
But inside my company, everything was wrong.
I turned from the window and picked up the folder Evelyn had left on my desk.
The legal department had already highlighted every project whose confidentiality was tampered with.
Project Orion
Project Atlas
Project Phoenix
Each of year project folders represented years of hard work, planning, research and investments.
They were only restricted to a few senior executives.
Realizing this my expression hardened.
Thus wasn’t a careless mistake, someone had deliberately opened the company’s door from the inside.
My eyes moved across the list of employees who had authorized access.
People I trusted.
My fingers tightened around the report
I realized betrayal was harder to accept when it came from people sitting at your own table.
Knock.
“Come in”
Evelyn stepped inside carrying another file.
“The legal department heads are waiting in the board room sir”
I nodded
“I’ll be there shortly”
She hesitated
The kind that made me fear
“There is ..one more thing sir”
I lifted my head slowly gazing at her worried expression
“The bank has requested another meeting this afternoon”
“We already have one scheduled for later don’t we?”
“Yes sir but they moved it forward”
That wasn’t good.
Banks don’t rearrange meetings out of courtsey and when they did it never favored the client.
After Evelyn left I picked up the anonymous package I got this morning
I’ve already had two bad news this morning, a third one won’t hurt
I said to myself, bracing up for whatever the package held.
I stared at it I for several seconds .
No sender.
Slowly I broke the seal.
Inside he box was a single sheet of black paper.
No greeting.
No signature.
Only one sentence printed neatly in white ink
Neat enough for me to read without mistakes
The empire you built would become the one that destroys you.
I read the sentence again
And for the third time.
Fear no crept in.
For he first time in years,I felt uncertainty.
*EVELYN*
I walked into the board room
It has never felt this quiet before
I stood near the entrance with my tablet held tightly to my chest.
My chest tightened with every breath
Watching each executive after another take their seats around the long mahogany table.
Normally, there would be light conversation.
Someone would joke about the traffic
The silence was haunting me.
Mr Grays, the company’s chief financial officer adjusted his glasses for what felt like the tenth time.
Across him sat Elena, about my age or thereabouts from the legal department, sitting with both hand folded tightly together, her expression calm.
The head of internal audit, sat with fear in his eyes.
Everyone knew something was wrong.
But no one knew how bad it actually was
The doors opened.
Mr Richard Hayes walked in , the owner of Hayes construction
I saw him as a sweet soul, I wonder why anyone would want to do this to him.
Everyone rose to their feet almost immediately
“Good morning sir”
“Please have a seat”
His voice still sounded so calm
“Let’s begin” he announced taking his seat at the end of the table
I quickly rushed to the projector and turned it on.
It flickered to life
Graphs.
Financial reports.
Loan schedules.
Projected cash flow.
The first ten minutes passed without interruption as Mr. Grays explained the banks decision.
So the rumors were true,.
“The leaks have reached the banks”he said finally.
Silence.
Elena clears her throat
“Our internal investigation has confirmed that confidential information relating to project Orion, Phoenix and Atlas was accessed multiple times outside approved working hours”
Murmurs.
She continued
“We also discovered that those copies appeared on an encrypted external server approximately forty eight hours later”
“That’s impossible”Mr brown whispered
“No” Elena replied quietly
“It isn’t”she continued but louder this time
“Whoever is responsible possesses executive-level clearance.
Silence.
This meant whoever was responsible isn’t a junior employee
It wasn’t an assistant
Or an intern
It was someone much closer to the top
Perhaps…
Someone in this very room
I looked around the tables
No one spoke
Nor moved
For the first time since I joined this company eight years earlier
Trust had quietly left the room
And everyone felt it’s absence.
******************************************************
The final click of the camera shutter echoed softly
I lowered the telephoto lens and studied he image carefully on the camera’s display
Richard Hayes stepped away from the floor-to-ceiling window.
The board meeting has begun .
My wok here was done
Or so I thought
Without wasting time I packed by away the expensive lens with intensive care
This was a habit I had practiced multiple times
Nothing left behind
No traces must be found
I looked at the employees walking in and out through the revolving knowing nothing about their incoming downfall.
I opened my suitcase, the one I had used for operations in the past.
Inside sat a compact laptop not larger than a notebook
I inserted the camera’s memory card v
A single folder appeared
Hayes surveillance-morning session
I selected every photo I took that morning
Upload.
The progress bar crawled across the screen
Twenty six percent.
Forty five percent
Eighty seven percent
One hundred..
Transfer complete.
Without hesitation I highlighted the folder
Delete.
I removed the memory card, snapped it in half and dropped each piece In a different compartment of my bag
My phone vibrated
I answered immediately
“Should I continue watching them”
“No”
Silence
“Why?”
“Because they’ll be too busy watching each other”
“If that’s the case ..my assignment here is complete”
“Stand by”
“I’ll be contacted?”
I knew how much I needed the money
“When necessary”
Nothing more
No goodbyes.
How rude.
The line disconnected
I slipped the phone back into my pockets before pulling out a box of cigarettes from my backpack
A small flame danced in the breeze before disappearing
Inhaling slowly, I looked at Hayes construction which stood across the street
I almost pitied them
Almost
With one final glance, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and disappeared into the crowd.
*****************************************************
The door closed with a soft click
Silence.
A gloved hand reaches into the inside the pocket of a tailored jacket and withdrew a slim,black mobile phone .The screen remains blank for a moment.
Then..
One notification appears
Secure connection established.
No names nor numbers.
Only a blinking cursor
The fingers moves across the keyboard with precision
Observer has withdrawn
The reply appears almost immediately
Excellent
Then another message beneath it
Any complications?
None . Richard suspects an internal leak
Nothing.
Then a reply
Just as intended
The gloved hand rested on the edge of the desk
Then another message
What’s the status of the banking operation?
The response was immediate
Successful.The presume had begun
Good, proceed to phase two.
The fingers stopped moving
Not from hesitation but calculation.
Very operation had a purpose.
Every purpose carried a cost.
One final question was typed.
Objective?
The answer appeared almost
Instantly
The cursor blinked
Twice.
Then-
Break their trust
The room fell silent again.
The message remained on the screen for only five seconds before deleting itself automatically.
No archive.
No recovery.
No evidence.
The phone switched off
Gloved taken off then neatly folded and placed in a leather case
Everything had its place
A near by drawer slid open
Inside rested a file
It’s cover bore a single word
HAYES
The file opened.
Several photographs had already been arranged inside
Richard
Victoria
Alyssa
Ethan
An anonymous package
Bank documents
Newspapers dating years back
The operation didn’t just begin yesterday
It begun long before the Hayes ever realized they were being watched.
- Writer
