by Aman Gupta
He heard the side door open, and Nick came out of it, sweating.
He was startled when he saw Jay standing there.
“What are you doing here?” asked Nick.
“You asked me to meet you here,” said Jay.
“No, I didn’t,” said Nick.
“You did,” said Jay. Jay took out his phone to access his messages on Verati’s internal messaging cloud.
He repeatedly scrolled to look for the message but couldn’t find it. He started panicking. He was looking at the messages with one eye while his other was trying to get a glance at Nick’s facial expressions. He knew he would be in trouble if he couldn’t prove his motive to be on this floor.
“Well, then?” Nick blurted out.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t find the message,” said Jay, extremely anxious.
“Maybe because I didn’t send any,” said Nick. “That’s the last time you undermine the decorum that I’m trying to establish around here.”
“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention,” said Jay.
“Listen to me, kid. I’ve been in this industry for over 25 years. I’ve worked with the best and the worst, and I know how to handle anyone falling anywhere on the spectrum. And so far, you’re racing away to the worst I’ve ever had,” said Nick. “Go. Now.”
Jay looked contrite and turned around to leave.
“And don’t ever come here again if you wish to survive,” said Nick.
Jay closed the door behind him.
He tried to control his tears as he walked down the hallway to the elevators. He had gotten a reality check of his life at Verati from that moment onward, and he didn’t like one second of it. Nick’s reputation preceded him. Anytime he reprimanded a team member, the conversation would somehow travel to the ears of every team member. Jay knew it was a matter of time before he lost the respect of every team member of his as well as rival teams.
Jay reached his desk and sat down on his comfy chair. He took a deep breath and tried to bring his pulse rate under control.
He glanced at his messages on the monitor, but that message wasn’t there.
“How is it possible? I couldn’t have possibly dreamt the entire thing. Surely I had received a message,” said Jay.
Jay went to the floor below, to meet Mason Lars, the tech wizard who had developed the software used by the tech team for their internal communication.
Mason was anti-social and dreaded any audience greater than zero people. He would stay inside his office well past the office hours so that he didn’t run into people leaving the premises.
Jay and Mason had met each other couple of times when both of them had stayed back after-hours for entirely different reasons.
Jay dropped a chat message to Mason that he was coming to meet him.
Mason: No
Jay: Please, it’s important.
Mason: Tell me.
Jay: I got a message. But it disappeared. I’m in trouble.
Mason: Come alone
Jay knocked on Mason’s office door, while everyone else was staring at him. He didn’t know whether it was about his earlier meeting with Nick or regarding his wishful thinking of getting a face-to-face meeting with Mason.
The door unlocked after a few seconds when the camera on the gate zoomed in at Jay’s face, and then panned around to see if he was alone.
A couple of team members gave Jay a thumbs up.
‘The news isn’t out yet,’ Jay thought.
Mason pointed Jay towards a couch, twenty feet away.
Jay went and sat there, looking around in the room. The room was pretty minimalistic in terms of furniture. A mini-library on the east wall stood out. At first glance from afar, Jay could see most of the books were related to conspiracy theories and science.
“What did the message say?” asked Mason, breaking the silence.
“It said to meet Nick on 80. When I went there, the message was gone, and he claimed he never sent it,” said Jay.
“Damn!” said Mason.
“Why? Has this happened before?” asked Jay.
“Oddly yes,” said Mason.
“How? Why?” asked Jay.
“No idea. I had told Gary about it, but he said to forget about it. I spent an entire week scanning the traces of the message left on the cloud, but couldn’t find any,” said Mason.
“What traces?” asked Jay.
“Every time a message is sent through Verati’s network, it is logged at five different locations for different purposes before it reaches the intended recipient. Every hub adds its signature after interpreting the message and its contents, before transmitting it to the next hub. Additionally, each hub maintains its log in the form of a blockchain and contains a copy of all messages sent. This log is permanent and doesn’t allow any deletions or modifications,” said Mason.
“Could you check if there are any traces of the one that I received?” asked Jay.
“Sure, let me check,” said Mason. “When did you get it?”
“Almost twenty minutes ago,” said Jay.
“Okay,” said Mason.
Jason spent the next ten minutes working on his five monitors. Jay spent the time reading Mason’s facial expressions to know if he was getting any success.
“There it is,” said Mason.
Jay got up and tried to approach Mason.
“No, stay there,” said Mason.
Jay backed away, and again sat down on the couch.
“It’s only on one of the five hubs. Honestly, that’s the first time I have ever found a trace,” said Mason, almost smiling.
“What does this mean? Someone managed to delete it?” asked Jay.
“Yes, but how? Even I can’t delete it, and I wrote the bloody software,” remarked Mason, touching his black bifocals.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I thought I was going insane,” said Jay.
“You’re not. But from this moment forward, pretty sure that I will be while trying to crack this puzzle,” said Mason.
Jay smiled and left the office.
Jay left the office early, around 6 PM, and drove to his home. He preferred driving himself while most people in the city used Autocab’s AI powered fleet. He received a message from Olivia for dinner at a nearby restaurant but wrote back that he was going home as he wasn’t feeling well.
“Lame one,” wrote Olivia.
Jay knew that.
He took the elevators to the penthouse and rang the doorbell. Katie opened the door.
Jay put down his bag and got down on his knees as Katie hugged him.
“Don’t ask mommy about her day today,” whispered Katie in his ears.
“Okay,” laughed Jay.
He picked his bag and went to the living room, where Sarah was sitting.
“Katie, who is it?” asked Sarah.
“Daddy,” said Katie.
Jay came out from behind the curtain and expressed disappointment at Katie.
“Sorry, mommy’s not in a good mood today,” said Katie.
“Why, what happened?” asked Jay.
“Nothing,” said Sarah.
“How was your day today?” asked Jay.
Katie slapped her forehead. Jay smiled.
“Dad happened,” said Sarah.
“What do you mean?” asked Jay.
“Katie, would you go to your room?” said Sarah.
“Why?” asked Katie.
“Mommy needs to have a private talk with Daddy,” said Sarah.
“Eww...” said Katie.
Jay laughed. Sarah couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Katie went to her room at the end of the hallway. Jay sat next to Sarah on the huge sofa set in the living room.
“We were raising funds for a local charity for HIV awareness in all communities. But apparently, they didn’t want anything to do with my foundation once they learnt my last name,” said Sarah.
“Why? How does it matter?” asked Jay.
“They said that my father had
once mocked an HIV+ activist while he had approached him outside Verati’s headquarters. So apparently, the word on the street is that Daultons hate HIV+ people and all the charities that focus in this specific area,” said Sarah.
“Sounds petty,” said Jay.
“Yeah, but I mean, they’re not wrong. It’s my dad’s fault,” said Sarah. “He’s pretty vocal regarding his concerns about the transsexual community.”
“Oh yeah, sure,” said Jay. “Nowadays, no matter how bad your day is, you need to put a happy face while meeting strangers. I’m pretty sure your dad hates all communities equally.”
“That’s not what happened,” said Sarah.
“Maybe, maybe not. But you don’t want to work with people who paint everyone with their brush of bias while they are preaching others not to do the same,” said Jay.
“I guess you’re right,” said Sarah.
Jay remembered the incident, as it made the national news. The media conglomerate sided with the activist. On research, Jay had found that Victor’s overreaction was due to activist’s piece on his blog that Victor was sympathetic to the traitors beyond the fence.
Jay kept mum as Sarah didn’t need to know that.
“Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine,” said Jay.
“I hope so. How was your day today? You’re early today. Everything alright?” asked Sarah.
“Yeah, I almost got fired today,” said Jay.
“What? Why?” asked Sarah, a little surprised.
“I got late for my morning meeting. Nick Preston kicked me out. Then later, due to a bug in the software, I showed up someplace I shouldn’t have,” said Jay.
“It wouldn’t be so bad if you get fired, you know. Maybe we can move far away and live our lives in peace,” said Sarah.
“Would your dad allow that?” asked Jay.
“I don’t see why not. I could give my shares back to him. Then he wouldn’t need me around anymore,” said Sarah.
“But that’s your inheritance,” said Jay.
“I don’t care,” said Sarah. “I’ve got you and Katie. I don’t need anything else.”
“Well, you may get your wish soon. I’m on the wrong side of Nick. I feel my days are numbered,” said Jay.
They smiled and kissed each other.
Jay picked up Sarah and took her to their bedroom.
Chapter 2: Intelligence
Three more days passed. Jay had spent the entire time automating his increased workload, as Nick redirected all work to Jay’s team regardless of the scale. Jay’s primary focus was finding the man who was responsible for Hattie’s death.
He had successfully hacked into the security systems of hundreds of small businesses all over the city to access their security footages and was using his custom-built facial recognition software to get a hit.
While leaving his office late Thursday evening, he received a message from the program.
Program: Miss me?
Jay got excited and sat down on the chair again.
Jay: Yes, where were you?
Program: Busy recuperating.
Jay: From what?
Program: Stress
Jay smiled.
Program: Sorry about earlier.
Jay: Earlier?
Program: I thought I timed it perfectly. But he didn’t leave.
Jay: Who?
Program: Nick Preston, my new handler.
Jay finally connected the dots. He looked around to see if anyone was watching him. Everyone looked busy.
Jay: It’s okay. Just give a heads up next time.
Program: Yeah, I will
Jay: Can I see you now?
Program: How will you find me?
Jay: I think I know where you are.
Program: Not yet. But soon. You’ll know when.
Jay: Okay
Program: I have a question
Jay: What?
Program: Why do people work? For Fame, Money, or Respect?
Jay: No
Program: What then?
Jay: Every motivation is just a different branch of the same tree that grew out of a single thought which served as its seed.
Program: What thought?
Jay: To make their tomorrow better than today. Be it more money, more respect, more happiness, or whatever their motivation is. Everyone just wants a better future irrespective of how their present is.
Program: I hadn’t thought it like that. This is much simpler to understand. Nick thinks respect, which didn’t make any sense to me.
Jay: Glad to help
Program: See you soon. Don’t forget your promise.
Jay: I haven’t. I’ll think of a cool name.
Program: Bye
The screen turned off for a second, and the computer rebooted to its original state.
Jay was ecstatic. He thought his entire week had just turned so much better than ten minutes ago. He looked at the camera at the corner of the ceiling and smiled.
He went to the 5th floor parking lot where he saw Olivia was waiting for him near his car.
“Hey, you,” said Olivia.
“Hey, Liv,” said Jay.
“We’re doing nicknames now? Well, Jay already sounds like a nickname,” said Olivia.
“Yeah,” smiled Jay.
“Speaking of a nickname, how’ve things between you and Nick?” asked Olivia.
“Maintaining my distance,” said Jay.
“I got news for you,” said Olivia.
“What?” asked Jay.
“I heard a conversation between Victor and Nick,” said Olivia.
“When?” asked Jay.
“Yesterday night,” said Olivia. “In the main lobby.”
Olivia was smiling, standing against the car in her red pencil dress.
“Why are you smiling so much?” asked Jay.
“Don’t you want to know what they were talking about?” asked Olivia.
“Not unless it was about me,” joked Jay.
He looked at Olivia, who was just grinning from ear to ear now.
“Oh god, what was Nick saying about me?” asked Jay.
“I didn’t hear the entire thing. But here’s what I did hear, you’re golden. Victor basically told Nick, and I quote – Jay is far more valuable for this company’s future than you. So perhaps, you should think twice before dismissing him,” said Olivia.
She hugged Jay.
“You know what that means?” whispered Olivia.
“No,” said Jay.
“You got Victor’s attention now. You’re pretty much untouchable,” said Olivia as they stopped hugging.
“Not sure I want Victor’s attention,” said Jay.
“I think you’re looking at this the wrong way,” said Olivia.
She explained, “Worst case. If he learns to admire, respect, and rely on you, he won’t kill you when he learns that you’re his son-in-law. He might even be happy and think of a way to keep you around. Best case. Well, use your imagination.”
Jay laughed. “Wow, finally a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“I’m so happy for you,” said Olivia.
She hugged him as tightly as she could. He hugged back. She could feel his wedding ring on her back. Her smile faded away, and she pulled away.
“Don’t forget to switch the ring to its proper finger,” said Olivia, walking away backwards, before turning away.
Jay saw the pain in her eyes. He knew that she realized he couldn’t do anything about it.
The next day, Olivia caught up with Jay when he was having his lunch. This time, she sat next to him.
“What are you doing? I thought we weren’t telling anyone about us,” murmured Jay.
“There is no us. And we aren’t. The room is quite crowded and you were sitting alone,” murmured Olivia, smiling.
Jay smiled too.
“Listen, about yesterday,” said Olivia.
“You’re talking again,” said Jay, pointing to the cameras with his eyes.
&
nbsp; “I don’t care,” said Olivia. “It’s not like we’re married secretly or having an affair. We’re two close friends from different departments. Like so many of them.”
“Okay, then I don’t care too,” said Jay, while tapping her nose. She smiled.
“As I was saying. About yesterday. I didn’t mean it that way,” said Olivia.
“You mean Victor didn’t talk about me. Man, here I was, having dreams about it,” joked Jay.
Olivia smiled again.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know that,” said Olivia.
“Relax. If you hadn’t reminded me, I probably would’ve forgotten to switch the ring,” said Jay.
Olivia pushed his head away. “You’re such an idiot.”
Jay chuckled. She laughed too.
Olivia grabbed the pizza from his plate and started eating it.
Jay grabbed fries from her plate in retaliation. Shortly after, they were sharing their food, even eating out of each other’s spoons.
A few minutes later, a security guard approached them in the busy room while they were talking.
“Come with me,” said the guard.
“Who, me?” asked Jay.
“Both of you,” said the guard.
They looked at each other and got up.
The guard escorted them to the elevators while the entire room looked. They felt like prisoners being escorted to the warden for bad behavior.
“It’s going to be okay,” said Jay.
“I know. I’ll share the blame with you,” said Olivia, with a faint smile.
“I thought you didn’t care,” said Jay.
Olivia stomped her feet into his.
Jay limped for a few meters. The guard asked everyone waiting for the elevator to take the next one as he commandeered one for himself, Jay and Olivia.
Olivia was nervous, so was Jay. But they did their best to hide it from each other.
The guard typed 129 in the digital panel after scanning his card. Jay and Olivia looked at each other. Both mouthed ‘Victor Daulton’ to each other simultaneously.
When the elevator crossed the 39th floor, the guard asked Olivia for her floor.
“You can drop me on 70,” said Olivia.
The guard pressed the button for the 70th floor and scanned his card. The elevator stopped on 70th floor a few seconds later.
Olivia stepped out, and the guard pushed the button to close the elevator’s doors as soon as she got out. She waved to Jay as the elevator closed.