The Board – Part 12
Every time Aidan closed his eyes, he saw things. Things from his past. Things from his present and things he needed to do for his future. First Victoria and then Leonard, both of whom were not so far off the deep end that they couldn’t be saved. Redeemed.
Next, he saw his foe, but his true face, not the face that he — or she — was hiding behind. Someone on the board was the true source of evil behind the company. At first, Aidan wasn’t sure if the demon would hide in plain sight like that, but the more in tune with his mission he became, the clearer it was that one of the board members was pretending to be a sinner just like the rest of them.
But who?
He was having trouble seeing everything completely. While he expected to be unsure about Horatio and Lucien, it was how cloudy Cassidy and Richard were that threw him off. Aidan expected Cassidy to be easy to redeem, but every time he tried to maneuver and make it happen, she out-stepped him. It didn’t mean she was the demon, but it left him unsettled.
Horatio was his first choice, but was that too obvious? His superiors weren’t giving him much help, so it was up to him to sort through it all. But he couldn’t show his hand.
Not yet.
The next morning after Leonard’s disappearance, Aidan knew there’d be another meeting. The board would panic, and he had to pretend he was scared, too. He wasn’t expecting a note on his desk when he walked in. It simply read, “Levi Court. 8 PM.”
***
Horatio rarely looked scared, but the man was clearly frazzled. Aidan had to hide his smile that he finally shook the cool board leader. Lucien still kept his stoic demeanor, but there was a shift in his voice.
“First Victoria, now Leonard?” Lucien asked.
Horatio paced the room, rubbing his chin and shaking his head.
“Both completely off the grid.”
Lucien sat taller and asked, “And what does…he…say?”
Horatio stopped and stared before answering.
“What you’d expect. Find the traitor. Who is picking off our team? And how are we not detecting anything?”
Aidan chimed in, “Who do you think it is?”
Horatio answered, “Even if I had a clue, I wouldn’t tell you, my boy. Too dangerous.”
“Horatio, I think we may need to adjust our behavior on this one. Self-preservation, if you will,” Lucien said.
Horatio averted his eyes from the boardroom table and looked out the window. The view over the city below was unparalleled, and Aidan could see the older man using the sight as a calming exercise to keep himself in check.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” Horatio finally began. “I don’t even remember my life before this. As loyal as you’ve been to our company, Lucien, you have to understand my position.”
“I do.”
“Having said that,” Horatio continued, “We can’t show weakness. We will just replace our missing members and continue business as usual.”
Cassidy spoke up, “So we’re going to ignore the fact that someone is picking us off one by one. Just replace the missing members?”
Horatio and Cassidy locked eyes, causing a thickness in the air that made the rest of the board members physically uncomfortable. Aidan watched the silent exchange between them. It seemed they were communicating without saying one word out loud, and it made Aidan’s skin crawl.
And at that moment, Aidan knew who left him that note and why.
Featured Image: People Sitting in Chairs by Free Photo on Pixabay
