Epilogue: _Javert_

The CEO of the world was busy as usual. With quick blinks and eye movements he scrolled through pages of information on his ClearGlass implants. All the while, he worked through a coding problem with his left hand doing his best to remain at least somewhat aware of his guest’s complaints.

The first was a cybersecurity expert with Cyberdign, a company his was in a feud with. Of course, they weren’t aware of this feud, he’d made sure of that. Nevertheless, he claimed that Clear Skies hadn’t provided the proper information to meet the needs of their security systems a problem that had led to a massive rift between the two companies in terms of transparency.

The second was the lawyer of a small no-name company. He had come to “serve him” for damages dealt to their organization due to supposed plagiarism. Not only had his company cleverly transformed the existing technology to suit their ends they had already used that knowledge to move on to another product entirely. The court order wouldn’t go anywhere so him being in this office was an indulgence at best.

He could cap the two of them with spike boltss and sleep better than listening to them bicker for another minute. He had done as much before to more or less success when he had started the business. But with the amount of eyes on the company now it was proving more and more difficult to remove obstacles. He needed something to clear the field, something to put his company above the rest in a way that couldn’t be disputed. Some way that he could finally feel the relief of not simply being a pawn in another man’s game, the highest paid racer among rats.

As if on cue, at the edge of his vision, elegantly perched beneath his aquarium archway he saw a beautiful woman. Tall, green eyes, light brown hair in a perfectly cut suit and a pencil skirt. She met his gaze with a curt nod and a coy smirk. She released her briefcase with one hand, glancing at a diminutive watch at her wrist. He found himself checking the time too.

Had he ordered her? No. Too professional. It was twenty minutes too early for lunch and he didn’t have another meeting scheduled for the next hour. So why was she here? Who was she? His secretary rounded the bend carrying a beverage and handed it to the woman, the two exchanged pleasantries, familiarity? And the woman began to sip from her steaming cup, giving him another nod as she caught him staring once more.

In a split second, he decided that he didn’t care anymore. He’d have her for company, or he’d have her arrested. Whichever proved to be a better distraction. He disengaged his glasses and they slid neatly into folds of false skin to the sides of his eyes. He powered down his second computer and held up his right hand to stop the two men arguing. With his free hand he pressed a button below his desk to call for security.

“I appreciate your time, gentlemen, but I’m afraid my next guest requires my full attention.” As he said this, a massive man stormed past the girl, who was still sipping her coffee as though nothing had changed.

He spoke briefly with the security guard making sure to ask that he be gentle with the two arguers all the while assuring them that he would fit them in sometime tomorrow. Though, he made a note to come up with an excuse not to. He decided he’d rather buy out Cyberdign instead of trying to make sense of their worthless protocols and systems. For the other, he didn’t care, in about a week their staple creation would be obsolete, and his R&D would be releasing a competitive product that would make their “advances” look like child’s play.

With the room emptied, he stood up from his desk, sizing up the intruder. Shortly, he gestured to the seat closest to his desk. “Please.” He indicated.

She didn’t rush, but she got to the desk quickly. She held out her hand, “So glad we could meet again, on such short notice.”

He took her hand and gave it a light peck. “Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m hurt. You don’t remember me?” the stranger asked, recoiling her hand in mock disgust. “Why, I might as well take my business elsewhere.”

“No, no. Please. I have been busy with a lot lately but you’ll prove no doubt to be a better use of my time than anything else, so why don’t we get to the point?”

“Quite.” She perched herself at the edge of the chair, folding her legs in just the right way to draw his attention. If he was intrigued before, she now had his undivided attention. “My name is Kaiya Arakawa. I’m a hacker and an expert in all things cybersecurity. I understand you’ve been looking for a leg-up lately and I’ve come offering just such a thing. As a matter of fact, I’m technically an employee of yours. But, we’ll keep that under wraps for now.” She said, placing a finger to her lips. “The fact is, I’ve come offering a treasure trove of intellectual property that I think you’ll be interested in. Sadly, as I came to have it in my possession before my employment here the property in question is proprietarily my own and not one that I’m willing to hand over without compensation. That said, circumstances over the last few years have prevented me from making use of this property. But now, I come willing to provide, of course, only if you’ll meet my terms.” She paused, expecting a response after providing next to no information to him.

“If you’re my employee, why don’t I just take it from you?” He asked, surprising himself with his own honesty. She chuckled.

“Well, you certainly could, but I’m willing to believe once you hear out my proposal you’ll understand how much more beneficial it will be if you have me on board.”

And there it was, her hand was played out. She didn’t have anything to offer him and he didn’t care anymore. “Sorry, uh, Miss Arakawa? I’m afraid your time is up.” His hand flitted to the security call button under his desk. Her eye followed him as if she could see through the desk. He met her gaze and was stunned silent.

She knew what he was doing, she was completely aware, and she didn’t care. Perplexed, he sat back in his chair ever so slightly. She didn’t move, she didn’t react. This girl had entered the office of the man she perceived as the most powerful man in the world with a goal so singular that she wouldn’t budge no matter what came her way. He could have a gun to her head, no, he could have a gun to the head of every single person she knew in her life, and she would still be giving him the exact same look. Unphased, unrepentant, ready for anything that came her way. He saw in her face the fire that burned in his gut when he finished his Master’s Degree at 18, the rumble of industry he felt when he revved up his first Maserati.

She couldn’t be beaten. At least, if she could, he didn’t want to be the one to do it. Whether out of interest or excitement he could not say, but he removed his hand from the security call button. “All right,” he said, a slight grin forming on his face. “What are your terms Miss Arakawa?”

She smiled and the brilliant sight nearly knocked him out of his chair. But that paled in comparison to what she said next. “I just knew we would come to terms, sir. How would you like to be the first company since the war to develop a wet-state drive?”