"Tell me everything," Kaiba growled.

"Stefan called me up to say he wasn't happy that there was a hack. It's not something Schroeder Corp. ever okayed. He explained that they noticed something strange and queried it with the dev team of both offices when they were told that it was white hat and HQ would receive the report of the findings. So I asked him who they actually spoke to and he said-"

"Yamamoto." Kaiba finished for her.

"Yeah." Lara sat on the barstool next Mokuba who was leaning on the marble counter.

"It's fishy but it's also possible that he did ask for it. I mean that is part of his job," Mokuba said.

"Yes, but you have to admit the timing is weird."

"Yeah. Why doesn't Schroeder approve of white hat?" Mokuba asked.

"Initially it was because of the type of business Schroeder Corp. was. My father didn't trust anyone and he would have been less than happy knowing someone knew ways of gaining inside information. Then about a decade ago, the country had a law passed that essentially criminalized hacking, but it made no distinction between black, white and grey hat. When that distinction eventually came, because numerous companies complained that security would be compromised, the board at Schroeder decided we would stick to the way things were always done. We didn't need anyone getting their hands on our work."

"But things are different now, they're part of Kaiba Corp.," Mokuba said.

"That may be Mokuba, but we're still walking a tight rope between them and us," Kaiba said. "I would not have okayed that. It would have been an unnecessary risk."

"So you knew about the policy," Lara said.

"Of course I did. The first thing we need to do is find out exactly what Yamamoto did. Like you said the timing is no accident. Did you check your emails today?" Kaiba asked her.

"No." She pulled out her phone from her pocket and opened the email app. A slew of messages streamed in but Kaiba was obviously referring to the only one marked urgent.

"Du willst mich wohl verarschen!"

"They called for an emergency board meeting first thing Monday," Mokuba said.

"Yeah and first thing Monday, I'm on a plane to the States." Lara saw red. "It's Yamamoto and Fukuhara. This makes so much more sense now. He set the whole damn thing up and when I'm unable to respond, he'd get the board to do his dirty work for him!"

"Calm down, Lara," Mokuba said gently.

She snapped her head in his direction, glowering at him. "Calm down?!"

"Nothing will happen at that meeting Lara." Kaiba moved to sit next to her, grasping her hand firmly in his. "Get Natsumi to rearrange your schedule, you'll take a later flight or the jet."

"Yeah, you need to be there. I know you're angry, but you can't let him get to you," Mokuba said.

"Easier said than done right now, Mokuba!" Lara snapped. She left the brothers in the kitchen and they were wise enough not to follow her. She tossed her handbag onto the bed and marched into the bathroom. Mokuba was right, she could not let Yamamoto get under her skin. Bending over the sink, she splashed some cold water on her face.

There were a couple of things that she needed to do. The first thing she did was call Natsumi. She explained the situation and just as usual, Natsumi did not disappoint Lara. She went straight down to the office and rearranged Lara's schedule.

The second thing was to find out all she could about Fukuhara. There had to be a reason why he was so keen to be in on this plan and given that he had shown no hostility towards her, she could not think of any reason he would be happy with what was going on.

Lara trudged back downstairs and found the kitchen empty. Looking around, she found Mokuba in the lounge with his laptop on his lap. He looked up as she sat next to him.

"Hey Mokes, I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I called Natsumi. She's at the office right now handling everything."

"Good. It's going to be okay Lara." Mokuba put his laptop aside, turning to face her.

"I know it is Mokes, but it doesn't stop this from getting to me sometimes," she admitted.

"Of course. You're human," he stated simply.

"Unfortunately," she deadpanned.

"So what's your plan of action?" Mokuba asked. He knew Lara would be out for blood.

"Oh I'm going into that meeting armed to the hilt. If they want a fight, they'll get one," Lara said with cold determination.

"And what about the plan to wait out Pegasus?"

"Oh I'm not going to get into all of that. Since we already know what they are going to use as ammunition, we can go in prepared. Yamamoto has no idea that Stefan called me."

"That's true."

"Yup. You and Seto can show no bias going in so I'm just going to use the time I have left to dig."

"It's not bias if they are wrong."

"Yes, but we don't want anyone to think that you guys have already made up your minds because of our involvement. That would just make life harder for me."

"We'll be fair. We always are, but you know Seto is going to chew him out."

"Absolutely, and we get ringside seats." she smirked.

"Sucks that all this happened today," Mokuba said.

"It doesn't matter." Lara shrugged.

"It does. Did you at least try to have a good time?" Mokuba teased.

"I did. Trying on dress after dress was tedious but it was nice doing it with the girls."

"Have you settled on anything?" Mokuba asked curiously.

"I did. I'll get the final design soon and have my first fitting in a few weeks."

"That's great! You know, I'm a little surprised that you agreed to have Mai come along."

"We've reached an understanding. I think she sees that I don't want what she has, my friendship with the guys has not affected her life. She said she gets protective over the guys and while I'm sure that's true, I think it was an excuse at the time."

"She used to be very lonely. I think these guys were her first real friends," Mokuba informed Lara.

"And your only friend was Seto before them. It doesn't mean you treat others with automatic hostility, but we agreed to start over."

"I'm glad. It makes things a lot less tense when we go out."

"I guess." She chuckled.

"Since you guys kissed and made up, have you decided who will be your bridesmaid?"

"Bridesmaid?! I was thinking more along the lines of a best person. I'm assuming Seto is only going to ask you to stand beside him."

"Yeah, he already told me."

"Told you?" She laughed.

"Yes, because he doesn't ask." Mokuba grinned, laughter bright in his eyes. "How did he ask you to marry him? What were his actual words?"

"Marry me." Lara replied. "I see your point."

"So who is this best person going to be?"

"I was thinking Yugi. He's family and I enjoy his company."

"That would be awesome except…"

"Except what?"

"Who is going to help you into your dress?"

"I didn't think about that."

"Maybe Tea is a better idea," Mokuba suggested.

"Maybe. I'll think about it. Anyway, I have to talk to Seto," Lara said as she stood up.

"And I have to get back to digging."

"For?"

"I'm accessing the calendars in Yamamoto's department to see if anyone scheduled that call in. If they did, I could expose a weak link in the chain."

"You could also check who swiped their security passes to use any of the meeting rooms on that level," Lara suggested.

"That's a good idea."

"I'll leave you to it."

Lara walked up to the study where she was sure Kaiba would be busy. Knocking lightly on the door, she pushed it open before he could invite her in. Sure enough, he was seated behind his desk concentrating on the screen in front of him.

"What are you busy with?" she asked walking around to his side of the table.

"Going through everything I got off Fukuhara's computer," Kaiba said without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Anything interesting come up?" Lara asked looking over his shoulder.

"Yes, but nothing relating to the hack so far."

"Ah well, I think we need to deal with the most urgent issue first before we unravel everything else."

She walked back around to the other side of the desk and placed her laptop on the table, sitting opposite him as she began collating the information that would be her ammunition.

Lara made several calls back and forth to Germany, calling in favours with people who remained friendly towards her. Though they did not interact with each other as they were both focussed on different tasks, Kaiba frequently watched her over the top of his screen.

She was making good progress but the thought about Fukuhara still nagged at her. She knew he would have Yamamoto's back in the meeting and already knew about the legalities of the hack, but so did she and so did Kaiba. It was likely that he would state that nothing illegal had happened but would quote the company policies. She also figured that the angle Yamamoto was going to take would be that Lara caused a security risk that led to the hack.

There would be no other way it could be blamed on her otherwise. She had nothing to do with security.

Lara worked late into the night, not even breaking for dinner. It took Kaiba pulling her away from her laptop to eventually get some rest but even then, her mind never stopped working.

Kaiba pulled her close in bed and while that allowed her to fall asleep quickly in his warm embrace, her rest was troubled. She tossed and turned and when she did sleep deeply, she had disturbing dreams that would wake her.

When morning finally broke Lara was both ready to start the day and mentally drained.

"Hey." She smiled sleepily. Kaiba brushed her hair away from her face but his expression was impassive. She stretched and kissed him lightly before attempting to get out of bed but Kaiba pulled her back to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Why does anything have to be wrong?" he retorted.

"Okay, let me rephrase. We have lots to do, shouldn't we get up?" she said lightly.

"In a moment." He held her against him. "You need to stop stressing."

"I'm not stressed," she said unconvincingly.

"The fact that you barely slept says otherwise," he countered.

"You can't say anything about that Seto," she mumbled as she cuddled closer.

"Yes I can. Talk to me Lara. What's got you so rattled?"

"I don't know. I guess maybe it's that I've worked really hard for a very long time to get to where I am now, and he's trying to destroy that."

"That hasn't changed in the past few weeks."

"No but now it's as if he has extra backing behind him. Also, I'm trying to figure Fukuhara out. He hasn't had an issue with me before so what's his motive. It bugs me that someone can have no issue with me or my work but still go along with some stupid plot to get me fired."

"We'll figure this out, I told you that. You need to trust me," Kaiba said lowly.

"Of course I do!"

Kaiba pressed a kiss to her head. "You need a distraction."

Lara huffed out a laugh. "Really?"

"Yes. You need to be prepared for tomorrow and I know you are. How about this, you get changed and meet me in the gym."

"The gym?"

"Yes, for a sparring session. You've had a couple of training sessions already and Kenji says you're picking it up quickly."

"Sparring?! Seto, I've had two sessions. Why is this so important to you?"

"Because who knows what we're going into. I get the feeling your right hook is just not going to cut it, and if the time comes, I need to know you can protect yourself should we get separated."

"Seto you're talking like you know it's going to be life or death."

"Lara, do you remember the first thing you said after you escaped the van?"

"No."

" 'Please don't hurt me' that's what you said. I'm doing all I can to make sure that never happens again."

"Seto," she breathed, a lump forming in her throat. She kissed him ardently, overwhelmed by the depth of his love for her.

"How about this? When I get back from the states, you can put me through my paces," she offered when they broke apart. "I'd feel a lot better if I spent today looking for the best way to draw blood."

"I can agree to those terms," he replied.

"Which reminds me; when I'm gone for the next two weeks, I have a feeling that Misaki is going to be pushed on you again. I don't want you to reject her as forcefully as usual."

"What?!" he growled.

Lara propped her head up on her hand so she could look into his eyes as she spoke. "You heard me. If she gives you a box of chocolates, don't toss them into the garbage, just leave them untouched on your desk, or if she's trying to come on to you, just brush her aside instead of being a brute."

"Lara…"

"It's your turn to trust me."

"Are you going to tell me your plan?"

"Yes, but I need to move a piece on the board first."

Kaiba searched her eyes, looking for some reason that he could use to quash this idea, but all he saw was flame.

"Fine."

Cradling his cheek in her warm hand, Lara kissed him deeply. "I love you."

He buried his fingers in her hair and pulled her to him, brushing his lips against hers in a fervent kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and as if she weighed nothing at all, flipped her over eliciting a squeal and a giggle from her.

"I wish you were coming with me," she said.

"I do too."

"I'll make up for it when I'm back," she said smiling; her words holding so much carnal promise.

"I'll make sure you do," he grinned.

After laying together for a little while longer, trying to make the most of their last morning waking beside the other for a few days, the two of them agreed it was time to start the day.

Lara joined Kaiba under the hot shower. It felt good to have the water run along her body, heating her to her core.

"Seto, I had an idea I wanted to run by you. It's about the AI and holographic tech we have."

"Let me get this straight, you're with me, naked in a shower and you want to talk shop? I must be losing it," he pouted.

Lara slapped him across the chest with her puff, leaving a splatter of fragrant suds on his skin.

"Don't be so dramatic, I remembered now." She laughed.

"What's your idea?" he asked, smiling. He was genuinely curious.

"I was thinking of offering holographic screens and an AI for vehicles."

"I'm listening."

"Okay, so you know how most high-end vehicles have touch interfaces but it still warns you about using it while driving? Well, a voice activated AI could do the tasks that would normally take your eyes off the road or your hands off the steering. And the screen would display whatever it needed to as usual but with it being a hologram, we could have adjustable projectors so the interface could be projected where it's most convenient for the driver. That way if the AI fails to recognize what the driver is trying to say, they can easily do it themselves without looking away from the road too much."

"That's not a bad idea. If you show me real interest from the market for such a concept, I'll get R&D working on a prototype."

"Great!" She was excited. It was something new for her to sink her teeth into and while she already had more going on than she needed, Lara always enjoyed a new challenge.

When Monday morning finally dawned, Lara was ready to march into battle. She had no idea how things would pan out, but she felt ready for whatever could possibly be thrown at her. A small part of her hoped that Yamamoto wanted to play dirty. It would be the excuse she needed to no longer hold back.

The first thing she did when she arrived at her office was to send a text. It was short, to the point and she knew they would listen to her instruction.

"Will be calling. Listen carefully, it won't be a pocket dial."

The minutes counted down loudly. Every tick from the small clock on her desk seemed to echo off the walls. When it was finally time to head to the boardroom, Lara heaved a deep sigh, collected her things and strode purposefully out of her office.

Natsumi gave a her a tight smile which Lara returned.

As expected, she was the first to enter the room and took her usual seat, two chairs away from Kaiba.

Soon enough the other members began arriving in waves. When Yamamoto entered with Fukuhara, the two deliberately sat opposite Lara. The taunting smirk on his face made Lara's blood boil but she kept her composure. A perfect vision of poise.

As soon as Kaiba pulled open the glass door, Lara put her phone on silent. She made a call and switched the screen off before placing the device on the table next to her folder.

Kaiba and Mokuba took their seats and the meeting was immediately called to order. Yamamoto was given the first opportunity to speak given that he was the one who called for the meeting.

As expected, he launched into the hacking saga, twisting it around for the benefit of everyone in the room.

"Late Friday it came to our attention that there was a massive security issue with the new gaming platform created for the MOBA. It would have had dire consequences not only for our customers and their private information, but also for the company. As a result we contacted a specialist to establish the weaknesses so we could have a fix in place as soon as possible.

"It is important to note that the vulnerability had come from one of the digital distribution platforms that Miss Schroeder had brokered a deal with." Lara caught Mokuba's eye when Yamamoto said this. It was obvious he had no idea how much the three of them actually knew.

"One must ask themselves if she knew about the security risk they posed before she agreed to align our company with them." He continued.

"Yamamoto, under whose authority did you okay the hack?" Kaiba asked.

"My own. There was no time, we had to act immediately." Yamamoto's confidence was grinding and the rapt attention of everyone at the table was annoying Lara.

"Mr Kaiba, let me assure you that no laws were broken. There was precedent to refer to and a distinctinction between the intents on penetrating a computer security system had been made. We are aware that the now obsolete policies of Schroeder Corp. was that white hat hacking would not be allowed within the company, but Kaiba Corp. did not address it during the acquisition." Fukuhara addressed Kaiba without faltering and all Kaiba could see was Johnson. Even his mannerisms were the same. He chided himself for not having picked up on it sooner.

"Schroeder Corp. was a problem Miss Schroeder brought to our doorstep and now, it is her actions that could affect the entirety of this company. I suggest we make a vote to have her removed from the board." Yamamoto looked at Lara out the corner of his eye, he was far too smug.

"Well, that's not for you to decide." Kaiba stared daggers at the man who sat back in his chair, not quite chastened, but it was enough to keep him quiet. "Miss Schroeder, what do you have to say?"

"First let me address the issue of the deal with the DDP. That was not an agreement made in a vacuum, we had authority to close on that. Additionally, several departments, including yours, Mr Yamamoto, sat in on that and have been liaising since. I have the correspondence to prove it. Secondly, while I was instrumental in the acquisition of what was Schroeder Corp., I can assure you it was not with any ulterior motive. We can already see the benefit of the new division." Lara's voice was strong as she addressed the entire table. "Lastly, I am the CMO of this company meaning my department and I deal with marketing. I won't bore you with the details of how go about our various strategies but the one thing we don't do, is work the back end. That falls on you Mr Yamamoto, am I correct? So how would it have been my fault when it is your department that has to work with the DDP to host a game in order to sell it?" She could see the others pondering her words.

"I would like to pose a question to Mr Yamamoto as I feel he has been deliberately misleading. As it happens I know that the supposed white hat hack was the only strange activity on the platform and that was what triggered the alarm with security. There was in fact no issue with the security of the platforms with any of our DDP partners. Mr Yamamoto, it would appear that you have been caught out in a lie. So what was the purpose of calling for this meeting?" Lara doused him in an unflinching glare. She could see a vein throbbing in his temple. She turned her face away, discreetly ending the call, and kept her eyes on Kaiba for his reaction.

"I believe you were asked a question," he said smoothly. The room was silent. Yamamoto opened and closed his mouth a few times but no noise escaped.

"Fukuhara, you seem to have had a lot of time to research the legalities given the suddenness of this alleged emergency situation," Mokuba accused.

"Mokuba, sir, it is my job to know these things." A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

"The only thing that seems to have happened is a hack. If it is in fact white hat, I expect to see the results of it on my table immediately after this meeting but I suspect that won't happen. Yamamoto, you have lied to the board, and you authorized an act that you had no authority to, you're lucky that I am not having you thrown off the board right now. What you will be, is suspended without pay while we investigate this matter further." Kaiba's word was final.

"What?!" he raged.

"I suggest you control yourself Mr Yamamoto, it's not too late to go to a vote," Mokuba said assertively.

It was obvious that whatever decision Kaiba took, the rest of the members would be in full support.

"Lara, get in contact with Munich. I want you to make sure everything is smoothed over," Kaiba instructed.

"I'll get right on it."

"Fukuhara, you're on thin ice," Kaiba threatened.

Once everyone was dismissed, Lara picked up her belongings and exited the boardroom last. A vice grip closed around her arm yanking her to the side. Yamamoto was seething.

"This wasn't about you but now, you're on borrowed time."

"Get. Your. Hands. Off me. Don't you dare threaten me. This suspension is nothing, just the beginning," she said softly, calmly.

"You're right, it is the beginning. Don't thi-" Yamamoto was interrupted by a large hand prying his grip off her.

"Step away Yamamoto, or I'll have security throw you out," Mokuba said through gritted teeth. The frothing man was about to protest but he was stared down. "Get your things and leave. Now." Mokuba easily won the glaring contest and Yamamoto walked away.

"You okay?" Mokuba asked.

"Fine, Mokes. Come on, let's go."

He walked with Lara to Kaiba's office, standing at the window to give his brother some privacy to say their hurried goodbyes. Again, he went with her to her office and feeling rather protective, escorted her all the way to the car where Roland waited to drive her to the airport.

"Call me as soon as you land," Mokuba ordered.

"You know I will." She hugged him goodbye before climbing into the car that sped off into the distance.

A/N Du willst mich wohl verarschen - (you've got to be kidding me)

For those who PM me, I'm not receiving email notifications of them for some reason but I will be checking the site more frequently.