Starbourne, page 40
“I assume this is where the complications arose?” Danika asked her subordinate.
“It would seem that one of the field agents that carried out the operation removed the hard drive data disc from the—”
“Hades!” Danika bellowed, rising to her feet. “What was the first condition of our contract with the idiot Harrington?”
“That the case was not to be opened, or the contents tampered with under any circumstances,” Alton replied quickly.
The Vice President walked away from the board table, towards a large glass window overlooking a facility down below. She crossed an arm over her torso and planted her face firmly into the palm of her free hand. She had worried about this arrangement with Desmond Harrington from the start but had assumed that if she paid him well enough, he wouldn’t deviate from the plan.
“And now Desmond wants more upfront for the disc?” Danika asked, attempting to anticipate the root issue of their current dilemma.
“The disc is unaccounted for,” Alton replied stoically.
Danika turned slowly to regard her associate with a furrowed brow. “Excuse me?”
“Its whereabouts are unknown at this time; we are still following up with a few leads.”
“Why wasn’t this in your report?” Danika spat at her number two, wringing her hands anxiously.
“I had thought it best to advise you in person,” Alton replied, his tone unwavering.
Danika bit back her first response as she frantically ran through scenarios in her mind. She turned away from Alton and covered her mouth with a free hand.
“We do have the rest of the prototype, yes?” Danika asked, her back to Alton. “You can confirm that?”
“Yes, ma’am. The rest of the prototype is secure.”
“Good, at least you haven’t fumbled this operation entirely,” Danika said, the cutting remark having little effect on Alton. “Possible leads? What steps have you taken to retrieve the disc?”
“Our dealings with Mr. Harrington have concluded as originally outlined. I can also confirm that of his third-party agents, two of the three have been dealt with. Our operatives confirm neither had the disc.”
“And the third?” Danika asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Our most likely lead. We had operatives in pursuit, but he was aided in escaping aboard a vessel belonging to a bounty hunter.”
“A bounty hunter… Interesting.” Danika said, a gentle hand touching her cheek.
“We are following up with the bounty hunter as our primary lead. We should have results soon.” Alton reported.
“And if we find that this lead is fruitless?” Danika asked.
“Known associates of the trio include another local broker that the three worked with prior to their employment with Mr. Harrington. Additionally, one of the three co-owned a business; the surviving business owner could be another avenue to explore.”
“Very good,” Danika said, turning to face the black-clad man. “I cannot stress the scale of importance in retrieving that disc.”
“Of course, ma’am,” Alton replied quickly.
“I want multiple contingency proposals and corresponding action plans on my desk before the end of the day,” Danika instructed. “This situation needs to have a swift resolution. We cannot allow this to escalate further and risk having it become public knowledge.”
“Yes, Madam Vice President,” Alton responded this time adding a slight nod.
Danika exhaled sharply and started away from her associate. The status update was not at all what she had hoped for, yet at this stage there was still opportunity to salvage the operation. There was plenty of time to make good on her commitments, and so long as the disc was recovered discretely, none would be the wiser.
The Vice President stopped in her tracks upon realization that Alton Gale made no move to see to the new tasks given to him. Danika turned to face the man, her mouth formed in a tight line and one eyebrow raised. He stood vigilant as always, his hands folded behind his back and his chin raised high, as if still in a briefing.
“I would have expected you to act on this quickly, but given that you are yet still here, I assume there is more to report?” Danika asked, her words laced with aggravation.
“There is in fact,” Alton said evenly.
“I cannot possibly fathom what else could have gone awry,” Danika said, not at all enthused. “Go on then.”
“It should also be brought to your attention that our secure high-level networks were compromised this morning.” Alton Gale reported in his trademark impassive tone.
“Excuse me?” Danika scoffed; not entirely sure she had heard her associate’s words correctly.
“It would seem that the funds allocated to Mr. Harrington were withdrawn, after his demise,” Alton confirmed.
“Someone working for him, perhaps? Someone who knew the credentials to access the transfer?” Danika inquired curiously.
“Unlikely. There were protocols in place to ensure the transfer never went through to Mr. Harrington’s accounts.” Alton replied.
“Well, clearly, if the funds are missing, they knew how to sidestep those protocols. Who was responsible for implementing them?” Danika asked.
“Several senior members of our Information Technology department. However, the funds were never deposited into Mr. Harrington’s account.” Alton informed his superior.
Danika turned to face her associate head on. “Alton, speak clearly. Are you implying that someone hacked into our corporate networks, our secure ghost drives, and what, altered payment recipients, all without us knowing?”
“I am not implying that, Madam Vice President. I am confirming it.” Alton Gale remarked.
The corporate executive furrowed her brow tightly, not for the first time this evening. “Our systems are top of the line,” She said, her tone conveying something akin to disbelief. “That would take a level of expertise and understanding—”
“It is unprecedented, Ms. Rusakova,” Alton answered definitively, cutting the executive off as if to acknowledge his surprise at the situation.
Weaving her arms together across her torso, Danika asked the simple question, already knowing the answer, “And obviously, we have no way of tracking the origin?”
“Like a ghost in the wind, ma’am,” Alton said, his answer not at all a surprise given the circumstances.
“Interesting,” Danika said. “Nevertheless, our priority is the data disc. You must retrieve the disc, as quietly as possible. We cannot allow information about this to become public knowledge; otherwise, every corporate and government intelligence agency will be searching for it as well.”
“As you’ve said, Ms. Rusakova.” Alton acknowledged, his choice of words indicating that her orders were becoming repetitive.
“And see to it that our firewalls and encryptions are fortified. We’ve been resting on our laurels thinking we were untouchable.” The Vice President added, “Clearly, we are no longer the leading innovators of cyber securities.”
“Right away,” Alton replied, adding a nod and clicking the heels of his boots together to communicate his report was concluded.
The black-clad corporate Technologist departed towards the doorway of the boardroom, the sound of his leather boots softly echoing through the chamber. Danika watched the shrinking figure with an even gaze, until the massive doors opened, and the silhouette of the man exited through.
As the heavy doors closed tightly behind the disappearing figure, Danika let a heavy sigh escape her lips. Her shoulders sank and she leaned over the boardroom table, pressing her palms into the tabletop. She stared at the table, but not at anything specifically. Alone again, and out of sight of her subordinates, she could let her guard down and digest the information properly.
She recounted the key events that Alton had relayed to her. The operation had been performed as outlined. The assets had been removed as instructed. The loose ends were in the process of being tied up as needed. Finally, the coverup conclusion was to be implemented, to avert all public eyes on the event. Now for the unaccounted-for complications. The data disc was missing in the field, and seemingly unrelated, their secure networks had been compromised.
“I wonder…” Danika said to herself as she considered the pieces.
Perhaps the breach in their networks and the complications in the operation weren’t unrelated. Conceivably, it was possible that someone had infiltrated the corporate networks discovered Danika’s operation and sought to capitalize upon it. There were certainly enough parties that would benefit from seeing her fail.
Danika Rusakova had known the risks of performing such a deceitful operation but in the end, had decided that the rewards were far too great to ignore. For years, the executive had meticulously planned and orchestrated countless minuscule details to provide her with just the right opportunity. Now that she found herself amid her grand venture, the normally composed and equable businesswoman felt a great deal of distress.
The corporate vice president stood just mere inches away from the large glass window overlooking the colossal RusaCorp research and development facility below. It had begun to rain, and the feint sound of pitter patter could be heard as droplets struck the other side of the window. Danika watched as the beads of water cascaded down the glass, creating a steady stream of flowing water down the side of the building.
Almost absent-mindedly, Danika raised a hand to touch the pane of glass. As her hand touched the surface, she noticed that the anxiety she felt internally had coalesced physically. Her hand trembled slightly, and she held it in the open air in front of her, observing it. Each finger twitched and shook as if belonging to someone going through a substance withdrawal.
Danika pressed her lips into a tight line, and she furrowed her brow as she clenched her hand into a compressed fist. She focused on the jittering sensation of her nerves and suppressed it as best she could before unraveling her fist. Her delicate fingers stretched outwards, each digit now entirely still, as if instructed to behave as expected.
With a deep breath, she lowered her hand back to her side and steeled herself mentally once more. There was no use in letting anxiety take hold at this stage in the game. All she could do was move forward and adapt to the current situation. The planning had been done, and the die had been cast.
“In any case, there’s no turning back now,” the executive reassured herself in a hushed tone.
“I’m at the last known location of the case,” Alina said, holding her wrist jockey up. “I don’t see anything here.”
Jaeden had given Cyrus a detailed description of the case and rough estimates of where it would be. He had asked Alina to poke around and see what she could find without getting too deep. They knew that Nyx had likely taken the case from Teagen and that it would be on the move. Alina found herself in an alley outside of where she thought the case would be.
The newsvids had already reported on the massacre at the old Depardieu’s restaurant. Four men identified as part of the bondsmen guild were cut to shreds by a blade. The media had pinned the attack on Jaeden, but Alina and Cyrus knew otherwise. Not that it would be of any help to Jaeden at all.
“There’s nothing here,” Alina said rubbing a hand over her face. “I’m wasting my time. I’ll head over to–”
A metal plate hit the floor and rattled on the ground behind Alina. She spun around, withdrawing her pistol and pulling back the hammer. Studying the environment around her, nothing stood out.
“Alina, is everything okay?” Cyrus asked over the comm channel.
Alina opened her mouth to respond, but stopped as a figure came into sight. A shambling wreck of a human dragged itself against the wall, leaving a streak of blood on the surface behind them. Their face was shrouded in darkness, and they pressed a piece of blood-soaked cloth to their chest.
Alina trained her pistol on the shuttering figure, in anticipation. The figure stepped forward, now standing underneath the light of an overhead lamp. Alina gasped as she saw the full extent of the figure's damaged body. It was a miracle that they still lived.
“It’s you,” Alina started, her eyes wide in disbelief. “How are you still–”
“Where… where is he.” A raspy voice cracked from the figure. They wheezed to catch their breath, which only caused them to cough deeply.
The figure stumbled forward, gripping at the blade wound in their chest. Blood-stained clothes hid the extent of the horrible wound underneath, but based on the lost blood, Alina knew it had to be grizzly. The figure fought to move forward; each step more labored than the last. Alina moved to grab the arm of the figure to help them.
“Don’t touch me!” The figure screamed, steadying themselves against the wall. “Try to touch me again and I’ll cut you down.”
Alina took a step back and holstered her pistol. “Cyrus, I found something.”
“I will… kill him for this... This isn’t over.” The figure said. They took a step towards Alina but failed to plant their foot properly. The strain became too much, and the figure collapsed on the ground, hand extended outwards. “It’s not over…”
“What is it, Alina?” Cyrus asked over the comm channel.
Alina shook her head. “You won’t believe who just turned up.”
D. Podporski, Starbourne
