The former army soldier turned Certified Public Accountant nods his dark tanned, bald head in greeting, clearly waiting for the younger man to open the door to his office. As usual, Martin is a taciturn man who prefers physical gestures to speaking.
Charles nods back politely and unlocks the door to his corner office, turning on the lights. He quickly looks around the room, comparing the current layout of items around the room to his memory of how it was left the night before. Good, the intensively secretive man thinks to himself as Charles confirms that the office was left untouched. He sees that no one has picked up the baseball on the floor just a few steps in front of the door. Casually, he taps the baseball with his left foot towards the left wall. The ball rolls silently on the lush, dark blue carpet until it hits the coat rack. The CEO casually removes his charcoal gray suit jacket, and hangs it on the rack. When he finally takes his pricey, thousand dollar ergonomic chair, Charles is not surprised to see that the CFO is already seated across the desk and ready to talk seriously. Seeing the man in a serious mood Charles asks directly, “What is it, Martin?”
“Sir, I went over the monthly expense report in your account, and there seems to be some unusual expenditure. I just want to talk to you for clarification before I submit the report to the Board of Directors,” the CFO replies while staring intently at the pale skinned, youthful looking man. He secretly hates these young kids who haven't paid the dues and worked their way from the bottom up to the top the organization. The chairman of the board, who was instrumental in getting Martin this job, convinced Martin that this company needed an experienced corporate man to help steer the company as it grows. And Martin was certainly ready for a new challenge in his career after he was passed over for a promotion at the last company he worked at. However, he's just about fed up with what this kid is doing on his own. Even though Virtuous Gaming is a privately held company it has venture capitalists to answer to, and it is Martin’s role to ensure that the private investors have a say in the direction of the company.
Charles leans back into his cushy chair with fine black Italian leather, showing not a hint of panic. “Is it related to the Eternia project?” he asks. The CEO might as well cut to the chase with this man.
Martin nods.
“Let’s be frank. You’re my CFO and you know what the company finances are like,” the CEO begins. “Our company specializes in casual gaming, but the growth of our company’s market share has curtailed sharply in this competitive market. We are still profitable at the moment, but who knows if that will be the case five years from now? That is why I believe in the importance of virtual gaming, which will have potential for exponential growth in the near future.”
“Are you engaging in corporate espionage?” Martin asks bluntly, ignoring the monologue. He would rather address the elephant in the room directly. And if the answer is “yes,” he is prepared to resign on the spot.
Charles responds with a question of his own. “Did you know that I went to college with the CEO of Eternia Development & Entertainment, Inc.?”
Martin shakes his head with mild annoyance. He is very disappointed by the CEO's refusal to answer the CFO's question. When he leaves the office, the CFO will draft his letter of resignation and submit it by the end of the day.
“You are probably thinking ‘why is it relevant?’” the CEO continues, acknowledging the shake of Martin’s head. “We submitted a college project together that eventually became the game engine for World of Eternia. Yes, Richard T. Gibson built his company’s product based on our joint effort for a class project in computer programming. However, if you go to the company’s website, there is absolutely no mention of this, and I received no credit at all.”
“So the Eternia project is your personal revenge?” the middle aged man interjects with alarm.
Charles chuckles at the notion. You silly fool, he sneers silently. “Not at all, Martin,” he denies calmly while raising a hand in the air as if to swear an oath of truth. “After all, I am a business man who runs a vibrant, growing company. Instead of online, hardcore role playing gaming, we went for the casual market, with a focus on puzzles, matching color beads, and other games on social media. If Virtuous Gaming Co. can join forces with EDE and go full steam ahead into virtual reality gaming, then the future of our company will be secure for a long time to come.” He looks at the skeptical man directly in the eyes. “I built this company from the ground up, putting my heart and soul into the company. This is my child, and I will do everything in my power to ensure its survival. I need you to believe in me. Can you do that?” he implores the skeptical man.
Martin frowns and looks away. He is a firm believer in loyalty and honesty. He thinks that Charles is a visionary whose ability to spot emerging trends in casual gaming has helped guide the company. The fantastic holiday sales figures proved that Charles is right, in this regard. If this kid believes that virtual gaming is the next emerging gaming market, Charles will do everything possible to position the company to adapt to the new market, even if it means engaging in illegal activities like corporate espionage.
Martin sighs and decides on a compromise. The CFO turns to face Charles again. “I was going to resign from the company because I do not want to engage in illegal activities. Now I’m not a lawyer, but corporate espionage is a civil tort rather than a criminal activity. Worst comes to worst, EDE will sue you in court, and you lose your company. You won’t go to jail for it. Thus, that is where I will draw the red line. So long as you don’t engage in criminal activities, I will stay on and support you. But once you cross that line, I will leave the company ASAP.”
Charles nods in acceptance of the condition. “Fair enough,” he replies. It’s a good thing the fool doesn’t know that I created a secret company account right before Martin joined my company, he smiles smugly.
Chapter 10 – Discovered
The spy waits for the project manager to leave his desk. The CEO sets aside an hour every Wednesday, from 10 to 11 in the morning, for a management meeting. This means that Mark will be away from his desk at that time.
At five minutes to 10 o’clock, Mark Whitney gets up from his desk and starts walking towards the conference room. A short, portly, middle-aged man with thick brown glasses, he is wearing a red and white checkered t-shirt that accentuates his rotund “dad bod.” A black leather belt is strapped tightly beneath the folds of his flesh, preventing the man’s blue jeans from spilling down. A ring full of keys dangle on a chain attached to the front of his belt, jingling slightly as the manager takes big strides. He sees Deana Naples, the attractive looking college intern from Washington State University, and winks at her.
The teenager with short curly black hair and bronze colored skin, denoting her Italian heritage, winks back.
Mark happily whistles a tune as he walks pass her. He would love to ask her out if she is like fifteen years older. She’s bright, cheerful, and extremely pleasant to be around. Since Deana has some experience using a Wacom pen and tablet as a former web comic artist, the manger assigned the intern to help the graphic artists with the conceptual designs for the outfits of the new character classes for a top secret Greco-Roman themed expansion to World of Eternia after the oriental expansion’s release. The young woman is also a tee and jeans gal, albeit she cuts a much better figure than him obviously.
Deana waits patiently, listening to the sound of the keys jingling grow fainter, until Mark finally disappears around the corner. She walks casually to the front of his office, and seeing no one in the hallway, quickly opens the door and enters Mark’s office. Thankfully, the guy doesn’t like to lock the door, because he keeps a bunch of reference material in the office for his staff to utilize and browse through when necessary. She locks the door, turns off the light, and makes a beeline for his desktop computer. Deana quickly enters his password, “geewhiz,” and is logged into his account. She once saw Mark enter his password while she was searching for something on his oversized desk. When the man is zoned into hi
s work staring at his computer screen, he loses awareness of his surroundings. And it became a cinch to hang around the office until she stole his password.
Working quickly, Deanna pulls a thumb drive from her front jeans pocket, and starts downloading his latest work files. Thankfully, the man doesn’t bother to encrypt his files, and he organizes his work by date. If no one tries to enter the office for the next few minutes, she can leave without being discovered.
* * *
Richard T. Gibson and Mark Whitney are sitting next to each other in the conference room. No one else is present. The two are staring at the laptop computer, remotely watching the project manager’s files being accessed back in his office.
“Sir,” the manager, begins.
“What is it?” Richard replies.
“Are you sure we should not intervene and kick her out, or have her arrested for stealing the company’s files?” Mark asks.
Richard’s eyes remain glued to the laptop screen as he contemplates his response. “I want to know who she’s working for,” he replies a moment later. “We planted a hidden camera right above your desk after you discovered that your computer had been tampered with. With the video recordings of Deana sitting at your desk and accessing your files, we have enough evidence to have law enforcement arrest her. However, I doubt that we will be able to make her talk about her employer.” Realistically, the CEO expects the spy to lawyer up, with her legal defense funded by whoever had hired her in the first place.
“I’m sorry,” Mark says suddenly.
“For what?” Richard glances at his manager briefly and turns his eyes back to the screen, even though he could review the recording later.
“I was the one who hired her,” the rotund man replies sheepishly. I’ll be lucky if I still have a job by the end of the day, he thinks.
Richard gives the depressed man a reassuring pat on the back. The project manager is far too useful to fire over a bad hire. But given this situation, I may have to take a more proactive role in hiring decisions, he thinks. Nonetheless, it’s good to string Mark along and make him walk on egg shells, he gloats silently at the mind games that he loves to play with his underlings. “She’s pretty,” the CEO notes as he watches the young intern on the screen.
Mark is startled by the remark and its implication, and quickly tries to defend himself. “It wasn’t like that, sir! Deana has excellent grades, artistic talent, and the graphic artists like her work.”
The CEO laughs heartily. “I was just kidding, Mark. You really need to learn to lighten up.” He smiles at the distressed man.
The project manager breathes a sigh of relief. I guess I won’t be fired after all. “What exactly did you have me put on my computer?” he asks, trying to change the topic.
Richard grins like a shark. “I’m feeding some bit of false information with some outlandish speculations on future projects. The information has to be cutting edge, given your position in the company. The file also has to be credible to our rivals, one of which I’m assuming hired this lovely spy in the first place. Specifically, I gave a trumped up estimate for updates of our main product, World of Eternia, plus a bunch of side projects related to our proprietary virtual reality hardware. Hopefully the information will make its way to Deana’s employer so that we could unveil its identity indirectly,” he answers honestly. No need to lie about this, he sneers inwardly.
“Brilliant idea, sir,” Mark says.
“But of course!” the CEO grins again. Corporate espionage is one of the scenarios that he has already planned for. The meeting at the bar with his erstwhile rival, Charles Winter, confirmed the presence of a mole inside his company. And it lit a fire in Richard’s belly to find them all. He wouldn’t be surprised if Charlie was the one who planted Deana in EDE. I wonder if there are any more spies, Richard ponders as the screen continues to record Deanna’s ongoing activities at Martin’s desk.
Chapter 11 – Into
the Unknown
The four members of The Strangers slowly walk along the brick road, painted yellow and relatively clear of dirt and dust. A portal had been discovered, and the four have been ordered by King Richard to investigate what’s on the other side. Or at least that’s the storyline behind the oriental expansion according to the game developers for the World of Eternia. With any luck, The Strangers may even be able to start relations with the rulers of this plane of existence on behalf of the king. Thus, the four were summoned to appear before the King and, in a pompous ceremony video captured for later dissemination online, appointed as ambassadors for the kingdom. Specifically, the players were asked by the King to act with utmost courtesy to the natives here and refrain from “unnecessary violence.” Depending on their achievements, the four players could earn substantial experience awards and unique prizes at the completion of this unique mission.
“You know, this place is kind of desolate,” Diana remarks. The road is surprisingly narrow, perhaps some ten feet across if that wide. On either side of the road are solid, granite walls that rise approximately fifty feet into the air. If the four players hold hands and walk side by side, the two outer players’ shoulders could rub against the wall.
There are no animals or humans within their vicinity, not that the ambassadors could see. The portal is a shimmering blue line hovering six inches above the ground. Behind the portal is a large cliff that juts straight up and curve into a perch hanging over the portal; the cliff looks impossible for a player to climb.
The yellow brick road and the surrounding walls were obviously built to facilitate movement into the portal, and also to prevent visitors from the other side from wandering about. However, there is no one stationed along the path to watch over the portal. Seeing no alternate but to continue walking along the road that is reminiscent of the one in the Hollywood classic film, “The Wizard of Oz,” Diana tries to pick up her pace.
“Please stay behind me,” Wesley calls out as the impatient priestess mindlessly wanders pass him. “We don’t know if there are any hostiles at the end of the road,” he adds.
“Sorry,” Diana mumbles meekly and stops walking, to wait for the cavalier to get ahead of her.
Lucious wiggles his left forefinger at her as he passes her.
“Don’t you pull a Mutombo on me, Lucious,” she growls and sticks out her right leg to try to trip him.
The elementalist senses the movement, and nonchalantly hops over her attempted leg sweep.
“Come on, Diana. Please save it for the enemies,” Conrad pleas. As the rear guard, he has seen just about every antic between the two squabbling love birds. If they’re arguing like this in-game, how do they act in person, face to face? I would love to sign up for a pay per view to watch the two. Aren’t they going out in real life?
“Guys, pay attention please! We’re clearing the path shortly. Be ready for anything!” Wesley barks aloud to get their attention.
The two spell casters immediately stop their squabbling, and direct their attention to the heavily armored cavalier. Diana pulls out her mace from the loop on her belt while Lucious tightens his grip on his griffon clawed, magical staff. The sunlight gleams off the opaque orb, held tightly by the griffon’s claws, on the top end of his six feet long staff.
Wesley smiles to himself and resists the temptation to look back at his troops. The ex-Marine pulls his long sword out of its scabbard, and continues his march at a steady pace. The key to marching as a group is rhythm, and getting his party members accustomed to the pace set by the retired soldier. After a year of partying together in the World of Eternia, the three have learned to do just that. We really should introduce mounts for players in the game, Wesley notes. I will mention it to the project manager the next time I see him.
After some fifty yards, the Strangers reach the end of the open air road. The land in front of them is comprised of farmland, acres upon acres of crops to his left, and some domesticated farm animals to his right. Pigs and horses are fenced inside wooden gates while chicken roam f
reely. The animals look at the strangers briefly, and then ignore their presence. The three party members behind Wesley exchange silent glances, wondering if they went to the right place.
“I thought this is the oriental expansion,” Lucious blurts out.
“That’s what Mark told me when he asked me to take our group through the portal,” Wesley replies.
Conrad puts his ivory club back in the loop on his belt. “At least we didn’t get ambushed,” he notes while relaxing a little bit.
The four party members leave the road and move further inland. As they exit the path, the rear guard checks back and he suddenly makes a realization: the road had been carved into solid rock! "Take a look at this, guys!" Conrad says excitedly.
The players standing in front of him turn their heads in unison, and immediately see what the barbarian is concerned with. The mountain is in reality a solid block of granite, and more importantly the surface is smooth. The work involved is more akin to the old Egyptian pyramids, intricate man made wonders of a past civilization.
Lucious quickly realizes that the portal was placed at that location by some powerful magic user, a person with authority to order thousands of laborers to carve a wide, open air tunnel into this huge slab of stone.
Suddenly, a horn sounds in the distance! "Huuueeeeeeh!" Immediately thereafter, drums could be heard banging to the party's left and right. BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
World of Eternia: The Complete Collection Page 20