“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.”
*sniffle*
“It’s not just his birthday. It’s mine too, but they won’t celebrate my life. It isn’t my fault that I look different than the rest of them. I didn’t choose to be albino. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s Mom and Dad’s. Yeah, that’s right…*sniffle* they had bad genes or something.”
“Happy birthday dear Sulisaki. Happy birthday to you…”
“Happ…y birthday to…me…”
*sob*
“I just want to be like everyone else.”
*creak*
*sniffle*
“Wh-who’s there?”
“Just me”
“What do you want, Sulisaki? Shouldn’t you be inside celebrating?”
*sigh*
“No, I shouldn’t be. I should be out here with my brother. I’ve been a jerk on our birthday every year. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, and you think saying sorry will make up for years of ruined birthdays?”
“No.”
*silence*
“Atkin, we can’t choose our circumstances, but we can choose where we go and what we become. You can choose your family…”
*ruffle*
“I’m going to get us out of here someday. We can live in a place where people won’t judge you, and we can work to save our homeland.”
“How will we do that?”
“I’ll save up the money Mom and Dad give me for school. We’ll go to college and make enough money to live somewhere else.”
*ruffle*
“I can’t make our parents love you, but I can make a better future for you and I…”
*silence*
“Here, I brought you some of the birthday fruit.”
*chuckle*
“Thanks, maybe someday we will be rich enough to have cake instead.”
*crunch*
“To a brighter future, Atkin.”
“And to a life less dim, Sulisaki.”
[click]
The next steps of Kevin’s job were simple. He picked up the phone after speaking to the board members and dialed Zana’s cell-phone number. A familiar and angry voice answered the phone. “Hello, who is this? I don’t have time for this.”
“Oh, I think you do Zana.”
Zana groaned and hung up the phone. She most definitely didn’t have time to play games with some stranger on the phone. It was probably some scammer anyways. But how did he know her name?
Kevin sighed as Zana pushed a button on her office phone and called IT. “Tarin, can you find out the name of a caller from their number?”
“Possibly, what’s the number and I can let you know in five to ten minutes.”
Zana listed off the number that had called her cellphone.
“Why are you having me trace a phone number Zana? Has this person been harassing me?”
“No, they just knew my name.”
“A lot of people know your name; you are the CEO of a large company.”
“Yes, I know, but they called my personal cellphone. You know that I conduct all businesses with my work and office phone. My cellphone number isn’t publicly available, and I don’t recognize this number.”
Tarin sat in silence for a moment and Zana could only hear his breathing through the phone. “What are you thinking Tarin?”
“What if it’s the hacker, looking for a very late ransom fee?”
Zana clicked her tongue thoughtfully, “It could be.” Spinning around in her chair Zana asked, “But why wouldn’t they make the ransom sooner?”
“No idea. I’ll trace the number just to be safe.”
“Thanks, Tarin.” She said as her phone buzzed again.
A message had popped up on her phone as she finished. It was from the same number that had called earlier. Zana let out a small gasp as she read the message:
If you’re finally done talking to Tarin, answer the phone this time. I was hired by Tarin to discover who corrupted your files. I found the person responsible and would like to meet to return the files I recovered.
Many weeks ago, Kevin had planted bugs in Zana’s office, and in every other room in the building. When he heard her gasp come through the headset he was wearing, he dialed her cellphone number again.
“Hello Zana. Do you have time to listen to my message now?”
Zana bit her tongue and sighed. She hated the position she was in. “Yes.”
“I was able to locate the person who corrupted your files…”
“Who was it? I’m certain it was Devin. It was Devin, wasn’t it?”
“No, it wasn’t anyone who worked at the branch.”
“Was it someone from one of the other branches then?”
“No Zana, just listen to me. It wasn’t anyone you know, and it wasn’t anyone from the company. Apparently, someone from the other major technological monopoly you are competing against stole a keycard from one of your security guards and broke into the office building. Then they inserted a flash drive into each computer and corrupted all the files. But…they backed up all the files too. They wanted to steal them to improve their own products.”
“How did they know when the building would be empty? There’s a janitor that comes every night at around eight and stays until midnight. Also, how did they get passed the nighttime security?”
“According to the individual, they were working with many other people. The company hired a group of professional thieves to get the job done.”
“Well, who is the person? Have they been arrested?”
Kevon smirked even though he knew Zana couldn’t see him. She was believing this story hook, line, and sinker. He shook his head as he prepared to respond. She hadn’t even brought Tarin in to verify who he was. Kevon could imagine the desperate look on her face and could almost feel the oppressive fear that enveloped her. He’d seen it all so many times before. “I didn’t catch a name, and he got away…”
“Got away! What kind of security detail are you!?”
“Ma’am.”
“How could you let him get away!”
“Ma’am!”
Zana huffed in the background but fell silent.
Kevin rolled his eyes “First of all, I’m not a security detail. I’m a trained independent investigator. I’m a detective, not a police officer or security guard…”
“…I…”
“Second, as I said, this man was not working alone. They rescued him while I was looking for the flash drive that he backed up the project files on. After that, I simply prioritized getting away with the project files.”
“Well, I suppose that’s reasonable. Thank you. Can you come here and bring me the information I need?”
Kevin sighed deeply, “As I said ma’am, all the people who stole this information from you are still out there somewhere. They are most definitely looking for me. I am currently in a safe place trying to find a new vehicle to drive to you. I will not come to the office. I assume that that’s one of the places they would keep watch on. We must meet somewhere in private, but somewhere you usually go. That way they won’t be suspicious of you.”
“Alright, we will meet at the park on second avenue. I try to go there for a run every day after work.”
“Perfect, I’ll meet you there at…”
“Six.”
Kevin hung up without saying goodbye and turned to the man tied up next to him. “Thanks for letting me borrow your phone.”
Waving to a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes, Kevin smirked “Jaron, have Ms. Ravalin take care of this man for me. We no longer need him.”
Zana scowled at the man’s rudeness and then sat in her chair thoughtfully for a moment. What if this man was still the hacker? What if it was a set up? How would she even know?
Zana stood up quickly as she remembered she’d asked Tarin to trace the phone call if he could. Also, if this man was hired by Tarin than he’d likely have the contacts in his phone. Zana quickly walked through the large office and opened the glass door into the hallway. Straight across from her was her personal elevator. She never needed to take the stairs because she was the only one using this elevator.
After quickly making it to the IT departments section of the office, she scanned the room for Tarin, but he wasn’t there. She went to the nearest desk and asked a random employee where Tarin had gone.
“He went upstairs to your office.”
Turning swiftly on her heel, Zana scowled and marched back to her personal elevator. When she arrived at the top, Tarin was patiently waiting outside her office door.
“My apologies Zana, I should have let you know I was coming up. I just felt that this information was very important.”
“Is it about the phone call I received?”
“Yes.”
Zana smiled at his comment. She was going to catch the hacker in his ruse, arrest him, get the project files back, and save her job all in one day. That man would pay for what he’d done to her.
“And who was the caller?”
“Actually, someone I know.”
Zana frowned, “Oh?”
“It was one of the men that I hired to find the hacker! You should definitely call them back and see what I want. Maybe they have found him?”
Clenching her fists, Zana’s frown deepened.
Tarin’s brow furrowed. “Ma’am?”
Sighing, Zana turned slightly to face Tarin, “My apologies. I thought that the man who called was the hacker, and that we could locate him.”
“But we still might…”
Zana held up her hand to stop Tarin. “No, the man you hired found the hacker and the files.”
Tarin’s eyes narrowed. “Then…”
“But” Zana continued glaring at Tarin, who lowered his eyes and closed his mouth in response. “The hacker wasn’t working alone. His friends came to save him while your detective was locating the files. He had to chose between getting out with the files and likely getting killed. I’m going to meet him later this evening to receive the files.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No, the only person who will be coming with me is one of the company’s security guards.”
“Why?”
“Apparently he thinks that drawing little attention will be the best. The group of people who destroyed the files are still out and about. They’ll likely follow me if anything seems suspicious.”
Tarin paused for a moment and closed his eyes. Shortly after he opened them and saw that Zana was staring at him strangely. “Sorry, that’s how I think.”
“Quite alright.” Zana briefly commented before waving for Tarin to share his thoughts. And w
“Wouldn’t a security guard seem more suspicious than one of your closest friends who works at the company?”
Zana tapped her chin for a moment. “True, but I also don’t want to put you in danger Tarin. You are a good friend, and that means I want to keep you safe.”
Zana moved to her chair as her head spun with thousands of thoughts. This had been a nightmare and all the stress was finally catching up to her. Her head throbbed as she thought of a way to get around the concern that Tarin had expressed.
Rubbing her temples Zana stood up, “I need some coffee. Then we will make a plan.”
Tarin followed her out of the office and into the next room. Lined with many shelves and a fridge, it was clear that this was Zana’s private lunchroom. Zana usually sat in the couch in the back while eating her lunch, but sometimes she would come downstairs and eat lunch with Tarin. Tarin stood silently by the door while Zana made herself some coffee. Once she finished drinking it she looked over at Tarin. Her headache was subsiding so she could think clearly again.
“Where were we?”
“Finding a way to keep you safe while you go to meet the detective who found the company’s files.”
“Right.”
Seeing his boss deep in thought, Tarin waited for a few minutes before making his own suggestion. “What if we dress the guard up as an employee? When you leave the building, you could be telling him that he’s been doing a very good job at work so you wanted to take a walk with him at the park. You’d discuss his prospects in the business, as well as the possibility as a promotion.”
Zana’s eyes lit up as she smiled. “That’s a wonderful idea Tarin. It wouldn’t seem unusual. It would just seem like I wanted to reward a diligent young employee!”
Tarin smiled. “Exactly.”
“What time are you heading to the park to meet the detective?”
“Six, in the park where I usually go for a run or walk after work.”
Zana stood up from the couch. “Will you go and tell one of the security guards the plan?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Zana grinned softly, “Soon everything will be back to normal Tarin. Let’s get back to work. We’re going to be rich once this project is completed.”
As Kevin heard their brief and confident exchange he grinned. By this time tomorrow Zana would be in prison, along with the other branch managers, and he would be the owner of Chandler Inc. Well, Atkin would be anyways…
***
At five thirty that evening, Zana finished up her work in the office, and headed to her private elevator. Riding down the elevator in silence, she couldn’t contain her happiness any longer and burst into a big bright smile. She wasn’t going to lose her job. Everything was going to work out perfectly.
Everyone saw Zana come out of the elevator smiling, and everyone in the office became slightly more hopeful. They had heard from Tarin that Zana had found a way to save everyone’s jobs because she had found a backup copy of the files. However, people weren’t inclined to believe him. Their jobs were on the line, and Tarin always seemed indifferent. They could tell from the change in Zana’s demeanor from distressed to happy meant that Tarin’s words of hope were true. The workers no longer had to search for second jobs just in case. No one had to worry about how they were going to feed their families or pay their rent.
Little did any of them know, their hope was false. No one was coming to save them. Not Zana, not Tarin, not the detective…no one.
Zana and the guard walked throught the companies large glass doors, got in her car, and drove to their doom.
The guard, Jim turned to Zana and asked, “Are you sure that this is safe? Can we trust this man? How do we know that he is a friend of Tarin’s?”
“First off, he’s not a friend of Tarin’s.” Zana explained as she turned right.
“Well then, who is he?”
Zana rolled her eyes in frustration, “Just listen to me and I’ll explain.”
Jim looked down silently and nodded. Taking this as an apology, Zana continued. “He’s the detective that Tarin hired to find the hacker. We know that it’s him because the number he called from was his. It matches the detective’s contact information in Tarin’s phone, and he tracked the phone call. It was made from the detective’s company.”
“What if the man was kidnapped, and the hackers got into his phone? Then they could have called you from his office and pretended to be him.”
Zana sighed as she drove passed the restaurant and bank that were right by the parked. As she turned into the parking lot she quickly replied “Tarin recognized his voice. He also asked him about how he contacted the detective. They met over lunch, which isn’t very usual. Most people go to his office. The man knew that they met over lunch, and where they ate. We verified that it was him Jim. I promise.”
“Good job being thorough. We should know in a few minutes if we were tricked or not.”
“Stop worrying Jim, everything is going to be fine.” Zana rolled down the window and laid back her seat. She planned on taking a short nap before the detective arrived.”
It had been such a hard last few weeks that Zana fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes. She’d been running on less than four hours of sleep a night if she was lucky.
After what seemed like a mere minute or two, Zana was awakened by the sound of shouting, and a loud gunshot. She rubbed her eyes and groggily grabbed the handle of her car door. The first time she reached for it she missed. Her vision was slightly blurry since she had just awoken from her nap. By the time she pulled on the door handle, she heard two more gunshots and a loud scream. Her ears rang with the noise of the gunshot as she instinctively ducked her head. Moments later she heard a voice command her to get out of the car with her hands in the air.
She quickly did what she was told. When she looked around her she saw that Jim was dead. He had been shot two times in the chest. The two gunshots. There were three police officers on scene and one civilian who was talking with an officer. Her mouth dried up as she looked around in confusion.
“What is going on?” She asked as an officer put their gun away and told her to turn towards the car. He didn’t answer her question, but asker her to put her hands behind her back. When she complied, she felt cold metal placed against her wrists. She was so confused that the didn’t realize they were handcuffs until she heard the officer click them into place. The cold metal dug into her skin as the officer turned her around by the elbow.
Forcing herself to think through the shock she asked again, “What is going on?”
Nobody answered her as she was taken closer to a cop car. Suddenly realizing through her mental fog and confusion that she was being escorted to jail she dug her heels into the ground. She pushed back against the police officer and shouted, “What is going on? Why am I being taken to…”
Just then, the officer behind her pushed her to the ground and she got a face-full of concrete. Zana groaned on impact. It felt like all her teeth had shattered.
The police officer on her back, got off and helped her up. “You are under arrest for deleting and stealing Chandler Inc’s project files. You are also under arrest for the insider trading of Portland Corps stock.” He then read her rights.
“But officer,” She protested as he gently pushed her towards the car and opened the door. As she got in the back seat, she continued. “I did none of those things.” She frantically patted herself and said, “My phone must still be in my car. There’s an app on my phone that has all my stocks. You can see for yourself. I haven’t ever bought any of Portland Corps stock.”
Kevin began to slightly perspire. Had Jaron had his team hacked Zana’s phone and the company’s security cameras? This was the only problem with working on a team. You never knew if they were going to pull off the job correctly. However, Jaron was a skilled man. He would have gotten those tasks done. He hadn’t let Kevin down yet.
One of the officers put on gloves and walked over to Zana’s car. He picked up her phone. When he reached the car again, he asked Zana for the password. Kevin heard her say “There, that app” As the officer scrolled through her phone.
As the officer clicked on it, Kevin held his breath. Zana gasped and began to cry as the officer closed the door. The car drove off, taking Zana with her to prison.
Kevin watched the officer place Zana’s phone in an evidence bag, and asked “I’m assuming that her most recently bought stock was from Portland Corps.”
“Yep, it was purchased two days ago.” He stood back up, “Let’s hope the rest of those managers get caught quickly. This kind of white collar crime is disgusting, but they are rarely caught. This is a big win in the fight against these types of crimes.”
“Indeed.” Kevin responded. He paused for a moment as the cop gathered more evidence. “Is there anything else that you need from me.”
“Nope, we already have your statement. We do ask that you remain in the state in case we need you to testify or something.”
“Certainly. You have my number, call me if you need anything.” Kevin turned on his heel smugly and walked to his car. Another job successfully completed.
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