Kado sat in the chair by his computer. He was fuming inside. Not only was his daughter an utter disappointment, but an employee he began to trust had broken protocol. He'd called Dami and Aika minutes ago and ordered them to come in as soon as possible. Much had to be discussed.

As expected, they were knocking in minutes, and Kado let them in. "Sit."

Aika could tell he wasn't happy about something but kept a neutral attitude, even though she was a paranoid wreck inside. She sat beside Dami and pulled her jacket over her pants.

Kado held his hands and rested his head on them. Stress and anger plagued him, and he would rid a significant portion of it tonight. "Have you two set up tonight's meeting of fifty?"

Dami nodded. "All ready, sir."

Kado looked up. "Remove Katie from the list."

"Will do. She didn't answer the door when I knocked to hand it to her, so she could be unaware of the meeting." He and Aika had been instructed to personally hand every employee the notice. Dami wouldn't let her in tonight if he saw her though. "Can I ask what happened?"

"Broke protocol and released information outside of meetings. She can no longer be trusted. It's unfortunate as she had potential." Kado felt he'd only ever have Aika and Dami to trust as employees, but they wouldn't last forever.

"Well, sir…" Dami knew there was a chance this could worsen how Kado felt but had to tell him. "I overheard them talking after you left Ayame's door… I stayed behind for a minute." Kado had brought Dami with him for protection and had him stand out in the hall.

Kado tilted his head. "They?"

"I could swear I heard Katie's voice. It was muffled, but I believe they were discussing doing something tomorrow with Ayame's brother- if I heard correctly. I don't have context and didn't stick around that long."

"Stepbrother." Kado turned to his PC and logged on, checking Katie's profile. She had no new captures logged, which could simply mean she hadn't found a pokémon, but he also saw that Katie also hadn't logged her night.

She never left the grounds.

She was never in her room.

Not last night or this morning. That's why she hadn't answered the door. Katie and his daughter were always close, but they'd seemed to have gotten significantly closer, especially with recent events. It now made sense why Ayame had chosen Katie as a partner.

Katie helped her pretend to hunt behind his back, and because of her, Ayame now had the courage to run off with her and Kodi. He knew so.

Katie was a traitor and would be dealt with as such.

Aika and Dami had been watching in silence, feeling the tense environment.

Kado turned around and fixed his eyes on Dami at first, then shifted to Aika. "You both will host the meeting tonight with no changes." He stood. "But after it's over, I want Katie dead. Tonight."

Aika kept her blank expression, but Dami seemed slightly surprised. That would be unfortunate. Aika couldn't blame the two for wanting to run. That's been Aika's goal, but they screwed up massively. "How will this be done, sir?"

"Don't worry about it, Aika," said Kado. "I am assigning Dami to this mission. You are dismissed. You may help by ensuring the meeting progresses smoothly."

She was relieved. She wouldn't have been able to do it. Dami was a heartless prick, however. He'd do anything asked of him with no question. "Yes, sir." Aika stood and bowed, then exited the room.

Kado turned and opened his drawer, grabbing a bag of keys labeled with numbers. He opened and sifted through it until finding 417, which he grabbed and tossed to Dami, who caught it. Kado kept his back turned to him. "Quick and silent."

"So slit her throat in her sleep? Got it." Dami never thought he'd gain such easy access to Katie's room. He also never thought he'd have to murder her, but Dami would do whatever it took to be better than the next guy.

"Just get it done." Kado heard Dami leave. Nothing was going well. Kado knew he'd lost his daughter, and after Katie was taken care of, there wasn't a chance he'd regain her, but Katie had to know her place.

He'd never lethally harm Ayame, but he could teach her a lesson. Maybe this would finally make her understand why she shouldn't disobey and waste his time.

This wasn't a game.