I do not own Virals.

Tory's POV

We all were silent as we walked back to Sewee. The air seemed so thick and tense it was going to take more than words to break it. Maybe a really big hammer.

I glanced over at Ben, who was walking calmly at the front of the group. His eyes seemed distant, and I wondered what he was thinking about.

Why would somebody want LIRI?

It would take a whole lot of money to purchase it, so maybe the person wasn't so rich if he was threatening Kit to give up the deed to LIRI. Or maybe he was smart and trying to widen the options. But with so many rich snobs, it could be anybody.

Looking at the boys, I couldn't easily imagine them blackmailing my father. If Shelton wanted to blackmail my father, he would've done it by email. And Hi…probably would think it was too much work. And after the whole fiasco with Ben, I think he wouldn't want to get me mad again.

Together we loaded up on the boat and zoomed off into the water. We all were silent as we rode along, and then in the middle of the water, Ben shut off the boat.

He joined us at the front of the boat and sat down. We all looked up at him, and he stared at the floor for a moment before looking up.

"Guys, we need to share ideas on this." He said, and we nodded with agreement.

"Who would want LIRI?" Shelton asked, crossing his legs.

"Iglehart maybe? He never really liked anybody in LIRI." Hi asked.

"No. I don't think so. He wanted the job, so he probably wouldn't want to lose it." I said, placing my chin in my hand.

"Good point. Anybody else have anything against LIRI?" Shelton.

"Not that we know of. And nobody really is in competition with LIRI, so we can rule that out." I began pulling at the lint on my skirt. "What about something inside LIRI?"

"Only three people are suspicious." Hi added.

"Okay, but we can't forget people who might not know about…the thing."

"But why would anybody want anything to do with the machines and stuff that they use? It doesn't make any sense at all." Ben speaks up.

I glance at the time on my phone. "Oh man guys, I got to go. Whitney probably has food on the table now." I say, and Ben notched the engine back on and we were zooming across the water once more.

At the docks, I helped Ben clean up for a few moments before turning to walk down the dock. It was just the two of us now, but I had a feeling Hi and Shelton were hiding behind a tree somewhere, watching us intently.

I was almost off the dock when Ben turned to me. "Hey, do you mind if I come over for dinner?"

"….umm… sure."