Christian
Ten fucking letters and three more e-mails and each one is worse than the one before. I've told Taylor that his team has one more day to get any kind of clue or we will get the FBI involved. After all the shit Ana and I have been through, I am not going to take any chances. I want this fucker found and behind bars before my son is born.
"Sir?" I look up when Taylor and Welch enter my office followed by Barney.
"Any news?"
"Barney has found something and it is quite alarming, Sir." He says and I get up looking at Barney.
"Whoever is sending the emails uses one of the best security systems available, Sir." He says and I scowl at him, I already know that much.
"I was slightly confused why my program wasn't able to determine what kind of software the person used, until I finally realized that the one program mine wouldn't even search for is my program itself, the software I have created for GEH. Sir, I can't tell you exactly who sent those emails, but what I can tell you is that they were sent from the GEH server, this person is right here in this building somewhere."
"Fuck! How the hell could you fucking miss that, Barney? What the hell am I paying you for?" I yell at him. This is just what I need right now.
"Sir, my software works in a way that no one is able to track it, it is made this way so no one can enter the GEH server and steal information. If you give me until tomorrow, I can do a re-write and track down from which computer the emails were sent, but what I can tell you already is that the emails must have been sent from someone on the executive level or their assistants. The lower level employees don't have the top notch security system the executive use."
"Just find the person who has sent those messages, my wife..." Shit, Ana! She is on her way over here.
"Taylor, call Sawyer. Ana is not to set foot in the building; I don't even want them in the garage. If he lets her out of sight for one fucking second I will fire his ass. I'll meet them out front; Ana is not to leave the car!"
Quickly, I gather the paperwork I need to work on later and put everything in my briefcase while Taylor makes the call. This just keeps getting better.
"Welch, I want this person found, I don't care how, just fucking get it done!" I hiss at him and leave with Taylor following right behind me.
"Sir?"
"What?" I snap, when Olivia stops me on my way to the elevator.
"I... umm... lunch for Mrs. Grey and you was just delivered and your next meeting is in 45 minutes." She stutters and blushes. God damn it, get a mother fucking grip!
"Something came up, I am leaving. Cancel all my meetings for today." I mutter and she gapes at me.
"Is Mrs. Grey alright... I mean ... with the baby."
"Yes, my wife is fine, now cancel my appointments." Christ, Olivia is irritating. I get in the elevator with Taylor and glare at him.
"Why on earth did Barney need nearly two fucking weeks to find this out? We already knew that it must be someone with inside knowledge!" I snap at Taylor. Fuck, I'm so pissed I ready to ring someone's neck!
"I am not sure, Sir. Barney told us that he only found this today... permission to speak freely, Sir?"
"Just say it!"
"I know Barney is a trusted employee, but he just has become number one on my suspect list, Sir. I've asked him specifically to check if the person we are looking for could have used a GEH computer and he told me it wasn't possible, because his system would have alerted him. I think he is covering for someone. I have already made contact with a friend of mine from the marines. He is ace when it comes to computers, worked for homeland security for a couple of years. He is monitoring everything Barney does on the GEH server as we speak."
"Good, if he can do that without Barney noticing it then I want his resume, if Barney is covering for someone he is out." I hiss. This fucking day just keeps getting better...
Outside I see the waiting SUV and get into the backseat where Ana is sitting.
"Why couldn't we come in?" She asks without even saying so much as hi... shit, I don't want to lie to her.
"Escala, Luke." I mutter when Taylor gets into the front passenger seat.
"Christian what is going on?"
"I'll tell you once we reach Escala, baby." I mutter and stare out of the window. I did not want her to worry about this, but now I have no choice. Suppose it's someone like Ros or Andrea, someone we both trust. Ana would never suspect any danger in meeting with them and that makes her just too vulnerable at the moment.
Arriving at Escala Sawyer orders lunch for us while Ana is using the bathroom and when she returns to the great room, I sit down with her.
"Christian, please, what is going on, you seem so worried." She asks concern written all over her beautiful face.
"Baby, look, I didn't want you to worry about this, which is why I haven't told you until now, but you need to know what is going on in order to protect yourself and our son."
"Now you are scaring me, what is it, Christian?" She asks and I pull her on to my lap.
"There have been threats since before we went to Russia. Threats regarding you and our son."
"What kind of threats?"
"The person threatened to kidnap you and ... and to cut the baby out of you." I get out in a rush and Ana gasps while her hands clutch her belly protectively.
"What has changed?" She asks and I frown.
"You didn't tell me until now, so what has changed your mind?"
"This person has inside knowledge and Barney found out that the emails came from a computer within GEH. However, he only told us today and Taylor suspects that he knew all along and is covering for someone. Baby, right now, you can't trust anyone at GEH. Okay? Promise me even if Ros or Andrea is calling you, you won't meet with them or even mention where you are. It's not safe and right now I can't rule anyone out that is why I didn't want you to come into the building earlier."
I watch Ana carefully, but she says nothing and keeps rubbing her belly.
"Baby, I promise you we'll find out who is behind all of this."
"Can we trust anyone? I mean if this person works for you and one of your top employees is helping this person, then whom can we trust?" She asks and I see the tears building in her eyes. "And who does that anyway? Threaten a child that is not even born yet? How are we going to protect our son?"
"Please baby, don't cry." Shit, I knew telling her wasn't the best idea, but how can she make the right decisions if she has no idea what is going on?
"I'm just so angry." She sniffs and I frown.
"Angry?"
"Of course, I can live with the fact that some sick people threaten me, I can even deal with the fact that they threaten you or our family, but I draw the line when it comes to our unborn son. And what the hell is wrong with Barney? Why would he protect someone who does something like that... I mean he must know that this is going to cost him his job and any opportunity to work with a big company like GEH ever again. I bet whoever has sent those threats is a woman." She says and brushes her tears away clearly furious.
"Why would you say that?"
"Well, think about it, Barney is one of your best paid employees, so it can't be money that is making him help this person. However, you have all these hot blondes working for you and I'm sorry to say this, but Barney is a nerd and most women wouldn't even give him a second glance. So, maybe he knows who it is and he is covering for her because he has a crush on her or she is buying his silence with sexual favors. He wouldn't be the first men in history who ruined his life because some manipulative bitch turned him into her lapdog." She huffs and I look up at Taylor.
"What do you think, Taylor?"
"Actually, what Mrs. Grey just said is exactly what Welch and I were discussing earlier. Barney never had a girlfriend; he still lives with his parents, so if one of the younger women working for GEH is behind this, it is most likely that she gives him some pussy in return for his silence... umm... I'm sorry Mrs. Grey." He mutters when he realizes that he just said that in front of Ana.
"I had no idea you could blush Taylor, but don't worry, I have heard that word before." Ana giggles and reaches into my pants pocket to retrieve a handkerchief.
"I want to be updated every hour, Taylor. This has to stop now. Are we sure that Barney isn't the one behind all of this, that he is working alone and is feeding us tidbits of information to keep us off his tracks."
"Unlikely, Sir, but at this point I won't rule the possibility out."
I nod and dismiss him, turning my attention back to Ana I decide to distract her.
"How about we visit Mia? I know she is home and we could spend some time with our niece?" I ask knowing that Ana is going to jump at opportunity. I on the other hand just want to go to check how she is doing with Tia. Cooper said Mia is great as a Mom, but her domestic skills are still poorly lacking. At this point, he is thinking about just hiring a permanent help, as long as Mia continues to take proper care of their daughter. I still think that is not the best idea, but then again I don't have to live with Mia and sticking my nose into their relationship is only going to make me the bad guy in the end.
An hour later we are sitting in Mia's kitchen and both my sister and wife are laughing at me because I'm reading some shitty chicks magazine just to avoid seeing my sister breastfeed her daughter.
"Wow, she can really put it away." Ana says impressed, but I do not dare to look up from the magazine. Shit, I was ready to run back to the car when Mia opened the door with her daughter on her tit. Nothing I ever wanted to see of my sister...
"Tell me about it, these days my nipples are so sore, sometimes I'm convinced they will fall off any second. I have to use those nipple shields it's so bad."
"Really, Grace gave me some of them, not sure how they will fit anyway." Ana mutters in dismay.
"Don't worry, once you start to lactate your nipples will get bigger, mine are huge now, Cooper loves it."
"Christ Mia, I'm still sitting here." I groan and the girls laugh at me.
"Suck it up, bro. That's mommy talk, get used to it. Oh, are your labia getting darker Ana?" She asks and I peek up at Ana who is blushing furiously.
"How would I know, I'm not in the habit of looking at it everyday, I have this line on my belly though. Wait... Christian is it darker?" She asks me curious and I smirk.
"A bit, sexy as hell if you ask me." I grin and Mia rolls her eyes.
"Isn't it annoying, that our men know more about our body then we do sometimes?" She asks and Ana laughs.
"I don't mind, after all ..." I'm interrupted in my listening by my phone and excuse myself when I see that it is Welch who is calling.
"Welch!"
"Sir, there is definitely something fishy going on, Barney has deleted some files of the security tapes, Taylor's man was able to secure them, but so far we weren't able to look through them all. I'll get back in touch once we have looked through them."
"I want someone to follow Barney 24/7 and check his phone records." I hang up and rub my hands through my hair. Fuck, Barney has worked for me almost from the beginning, but if this is true he is out, there are no second chances where my wife and son are concerned.
Back in the kitchen Ana is holding our niece, while Mia goes on and on about how much she loves to be a mother. Well, maybe there is hope for her yet.
"Taylor?" Ana asks.
"No, Welch. Barney is definitely guilty of something or he knows more than he is letting us know. We'll know more soon." And if not I'll fire Welch along with Barney!
For the rest of our stay at Mia's I keep checking my phone every five seconds and continue to do so on our way home.
I'm even more pissed when Taylor's phone rings and I can't figure out what is going on.
"Welch and my friend are coming over, Sir; they were able to recover some of the video footage. We know the person who is behind all of this."
"Whom?" I ask annoyed, Christ, all I want are straight forward answers.
"Welch didn't tell me, he said you need to see this yourself, Sir."
"Fine." I snap and Ana squeezes my knee.
"Please calm down, Christian. We'll find out soon. It's over."
"No baby, this is far from over. Whoever did this is going to pay, I won't allow someone close to us to threaten your life or the life of our unborn son!" And with that thought in my mind we return home and wait for Welch and Taylor's friend to arrive...