"You're late." Aiden said from his desk. He didn't even bother to look up at Jacob. He was signing a few a documents as he spoke. Evidently not liking whatever he read next, he simply took the folder in his hand and tossed it aside and onto the floor. Adding to the pile of papers steadily growing next to his desk. "Have the secretary's rewrite the report on the Wayne's asset portfolio. They were supposed to include the budget cut meeting's memo in it."
Jacob tapped on his tablet as he stepped closer to him. Sending out the order as he had just received it. Looking around the office, he could tell that his friend was struggling. The exact reason why, he could only guess at. But judging by the untouched coffee on his desk, he could pin point at least one of the reasons why.
"How many hours of sleep did you manage to get in?" Jacob knew Aiden nearly all his life. He knew the only purpose behind not touching his coffee during work hours, would be because he couldn't sleep. Which would only get worse if he drank any.
"Whatever time it takes to get from the estate to the office." Aiden replied as he continued to read. He flipped the pages with little regard as to how they would crumple up or unintentionally rip.
"That's not even a half a hour drive Aiden." Jacob was clearly shocked. It had been more than a decade since the last time he heard his friend say such a thing. "You need to take a break. I know you're healthy, but even you will feel the toll of-"
"I'll take a break when I feel like taking one." Aiden interrupted him without caring how harsh he sounded.
"Don't get snappy with me." Jacob responded in his usual mother hen tone. But before he began shooting his usual sassy come backs, he halted himself. He knew his life brother was just struggling to keep a firm grip on his anger. And even if he was doing so by latching out at work, he was succeeding in keeping himself in check. Something Jacob knew wasn't easy for him when he desperately wanted something. So instead of using his usual way of talking to him, he decided to avoid escalating the situation. Especially when he knew that as soon as he gave him his report, the Blood Raven would make his way up to the surface of his friend's self control. And that, would mean the end for quite a few people.
"Okay, how about this?" Jacob said as he took a seat in one of the lounge chair in front of Aiden's desk. He had seen the confirmation notification pop pup on his screen. So if he played his cards right, he would be able to help his friend, and save everybody else from his upcoming wrath. "Stop working for twenty minutes. Lean back into your chair and close your eyes. You can spend the time by asking me about the progress we've made in the last 24 hours, but resting while you do so."
"Don't be ridiculous Jacob. Just give me the status report alrea-"Aiden wasn't able to finish his sentence.
"I won't say shit until you lean back and close your eyes, SIR." Yes, Jacob was trying to be helpful. But he knew that unless he was crass, he would get nowhere with Aiden in his current state of mind.
Aiden finally stopped what he was doing and lifted his gaze. His eyes had tightened into slits as soon as he heard him. He was ready to chew his head off, but once he saw the genuine concern in his expression, he simply took in a deep breath.
"Twenty minutes." Letting out a tired sigh, he agreed with Jacob and laid back into his char. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. "What's the final number of the men being included in the joint task force?"
"Forty." Jacob answered with satisfied grin on his face.
"Just forty?" Aiden asked back in response. He had at least two hundred able bodied men that could be dispatched immediately. So why only forty?
"Yes. Only forty." Jacob continued to talk to him as he replied to the few received messages on his tablet. "Mr. Collins explained that the lack of man power in their teams is due to the fact that they are divided into two major groups. The Technical Engineers and the Operation Squadron."
"In other words, the brains and the brawns." Aiden smirked. Given the fact that he had already visited Claire's base, it wasn't difficult to connect the dots in regards to Colton's selection.
"Exactly." Jacob continued. "They are beyond covered when it comes to technical support, but they're lacking in the foot soldiers department. However, they only solicited forty."
'It makes sense.' Aiden thought to himself. He easily noticed the difference between those who were trained in coding and those who were trained in combat when it came to his little lady's people. Especially when those who seemed to be the most seasoned fighters amongst them were always covered in head to toe black. He had seen more people being taught to fight during the passing weeks, but they were new recruits. Not veteran fighters. So relying on his vast amount of elite combatants was indeed the smart thing to do. The most logical one as well.
"Have twenty more added into the roaster. Pick them out of the south base, but take five of the black floor guards. They're bound to be useful." Aiden ordered as Jacob wrote it down.
The black floor was the name given to the floor dedicated to torturing people at the base. Meaning five of the men with the responsibility of guarding it would be temporarily reassigned. Also meaning, that whoever had the horrible fate of encountering them during battle, would be labeled as 'the truly unlucky ones' once they're parted souls reached hell. After all, those men were more animals than they were men.
"What's the status on the estates remodeling?" Aiden asked as the headache that had been pounding his brain finally began to subside. 'Guess I should have tried this earlier.' He thought to himself. Not that he would give Jacob the satisfaction of letting him know he was right by saying it out loud.
"Everything is getting done as we speak." The noise of Jacob tapping on his tablet had increased as their conversation continued. "The only blind spots that should be left after the completion of the new security's system installation should be in private areas like bathrooms and bedrooms. Everything else will be monitored under stricter surveillance. And since the system bought was from the new security company we invested in, I have arranged a meeting with it's CEO for you to discuss any desired modifications."
"The estate employees?" Aiden asked as he decided to deal with his estate's security system later.
"All scheduled with self defense, weapon handling, CPR and first aid classes starting next week." After the raid, all three men agreed that the people working inside and around their houses needed more training. Especially those who were going to continue being in contact with Lily.
"Good. What about Darci's report? I hardly doubt she went through much trouble with that weak looking rat. Besides, she has never taken so long to deliver." Aiden's asked in a calm and almost relaxed voice. He had already grown tired of having to keep his eyes closed, which he kept doing to indulge Jacob, but hearing everything going smoothly had certainly helped improve his mood. Even if it was in the slightest way.
A long moment of silence passed between the two before Jacob's voice was finally heard. Along side his fingertips furiously tapping on his tablet. "Well... about that."
Aiden was quick to catch the unease in his tone. Even so, he kept his eyes shut. "Darci's report, Jacob." He said once again with a drier tone.
"Well, like you just said, the rat was weak. So she didn't have to do much to get him talking." Jacob knew he would have to come out with it, but that didn't mean he couldn't stall for a bit. "The only way he managed to pass the background check to be hired as one of the outer gardener's was because he was picked right out of high school. The Phoenix Clan anonymously paid for his entire living expenses just so he could maintain a clean slate when it came to anything that would raise a red flag during our evaluation process."
"So he was a lab rat then." Aiden replied. Unlike regular rats, lab rats were the ones groomed for specific missions or targets. In which this case, meant infiltrating Aiden's estate employees by posing as one of the outer gardeners in charge of the main entry to the property.
"Yes." Jacob's eyes began to faintly light up as he read the message he had just received.''We might all make it out alive today after all.' He thought to himself before continuing to give his report. "And just like other lab rats, he was assured his cover was bullet proof and that he ran no risk."
"Some bullet proof cover that was." Aiden chuckled. Once the search for a leak in his estate employees started, it didn't even take a whole hour to decipher it was him. The poor bastard never stood a chance. But at that thought, Aiden's eyes flew wide open. Immediately meeting with Jacob, who was evidently already expecting the reaction.
"Exactly how did you find out it was him?" Aiden's voice was stern. So much so that Jacob began to pray to hear a knock on the door as soon as possible.
"After we finished the initial deep search within the employment records, another file was found in the system. It had been directly added into our network." His words were clear, but his voice was that of somebody who knew that the dropping in temperature inside the office, wasn't because of the air conditioning.
"You're meaning to tell me that the main network frame, the very one that contains everything pertaining to my public life, was hacked into?"
"It's a possibility." Jacob hadn't shifted from his eye contact with Aiden, but the way his pupils were dilating were a dead give away. He was nervous of whatever was about to happen.
"Why didn't you tell me this earlier Jacob?" Aiden's voice was low. Dangerously low. And the menacing energy coming out of him, was nothing to joke about. Even as sure as Jacob was about how important he was to his life brother, he was still the messenger tasked with delivering some of the worst news possible. A breach in their network was the same as a breach inside the lives of every single person he had under him.
"I'm only telling you now because it's a possibility. But I've already called for an expert to look into it and help us pin point exactly what happened." Jacob was talking so fast he was proud of himself for not fumbling over his words.
"An expert? An outside expert!?" Aiden had leaned over his desk to better look at Jacob. He knew it wasn't his fault, but seeing as he was the only other person there, he was the only thing he could focus his eyes on. But before he could say another word, a loud knock was heard on the door.
Aiden had every intention of ignoring it, but Jacob didn't waste a single second in getting up from his chair and speed walking over to receive whoever it was.
"Do not open that door Jacob! That's an orde-" Aiden was cut off by the sight of the red headed beauty that stepped into the office.