"Ana!" opens Christian, kneeling on one knee. "I've acquired quite a few companies in my life but I've never wanted to acquire any company as much as I want to acquire you. Be mine!"
"Yes!" squeals Ana and claps in a silly manner.
Christian shifts her ring forth and back again symbolically. He stands up and they kiss.
"OK, this one was best so far," says Ana. "Let's call it a day when it comes to proposals."
"So, can I whip you by a riding crop now?"
"Am I a horse? A rolled up newspaper is more appropriate in my case."
They are reminded that they are in the common part of the apartment when Taylor enters and clears his throat.
"Excuse me, the car is ready."
He is coming with them this time. Christian is driving, which is rather irregular for Taylor. They don't know whether Taylor would be able to get to the place even with Ana's navigation and she wants to test Christian's ability to find the place on his own anyway (though she has no doubt that he will).
They reach the place without any trouble and park at the same place as previous day. Ana takes a picnic basket she has prepared and Christian points Taylor to the property. Taylor is somewhat disconcerted already.
"OK, the property is there but you can't see it," starts Ana. "The best way to get you there is for you to close your eyes and let us..."
Next moment, Taylor goes through the same thing as Christian did on the yacht.
"Are you kidding me?" exclaims Ana. "What were the odds?"
"Maybe the wards are failing?" suggests Christian.
"Maybe I was affected by serving with your brother," theorizes Taylor.
"Nonsense. It's in the blood. I have to meet your daughter one day - chances are that she has inherited this from you. Let's test this further. Let's see if you can see Mrs. Morrison."
She walks to the house. Christian and Taylor follow.
Taylor passes another milestone when he is introduced to Mrs. Morrison. As for the ghost lady herself, she remembers Anna and Christian but her memory is otherwise foggy. Taylor needs to sit down.
"The rule of twos," he mutters when he notices Ana, who was worried about him, watching him.
"Quite," agrees Ana.
It is simple. Her bumping into Christian could be ruled out as coincidence but finding two similarly gifted people at the same place means something else.
"We are only starting to find out how many people like you two are out there," she continues. "It's at least ten times as many as there are spell-casters, that much is sure. But is it really hundred times as many? Thousand times?"
She leaves him to his musings and joins Mrs. Morrison and Christian. They make a more detailed tour around the house. Taylor takes a look around the property in the meantime.
"Well, some major reconstruction is needed here," states Christian afterwards, when the ghost is out of earshot. "My brother runs a construction company." He falls silent when he realizes that he can't bring him there. Yet.
"I think Mrs. Morrison would mind any kind of remodeling," replies Ana, deciding not to make a comment about Elliot. "Moreover, this house was obviously built with the help of magic. Utilizing modern means of construction would be like replacing someone's injured limb with a plastic prosthetic."
Here she goes again, thinks Christian - defying him at every point.
"Unless you haven't noticed," he hisses. "This house not only needs a lot of repairs but it also has terrible heat insulation."
"Well, my kind doesn't need much warmth and you won't mind cold for long. But I guess repairs are needed. There are options we can take - without involving any construction companies."
In the meantime, Taylor talks with Mrs. Morrison. He is trying to determine if the ghost could be useful in any way in securing the property.
"Have you served in the military?" she asks, interrupting his careful questioning.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"Your mannerism."
Of course, what a dull question. He remembers what have they learned about Mrs. Morrison so far and considers his next question well.
"Did someone in your family serve as well?"
"Yes." Her tone is both short and reluctant.
Taylor doesn't prod any further. Instead, he asks her to show him the extent of the wards.
"So, if I stand here, I'm invisible to an outside observer," he asks some time later. "And if I make a step forward, I'll suddenly appear."
He can't see the neighboring property from his position but he still looks around whether there aren't any wandering muggles. Then again, the terrain and bushes make it quite improbable for any neighbors to accidentally wander in there.
"That's not how it works," corrects him Mrs. Morrison. "The ward protects the house and the central area. The effect lessens towards the edges."
Taylor has to admit that it makes sense. This enables the protected area to fit seamlessly into the surrounding land.
It is time for lunch. Mrs. Morrison tells stories about the world of her childhood while the living eat. She has very good knowledge of the non-magical world of that time. They learn that her husband was a muggle-born but that is hardly a surprise.
In the afternoon, Taylor makes a detailed survey of the perimeter and takes a peek at the surrounding areas. Christian warns him not to be seen by the neighbors - it would be difficult to explain why he snoops around.
Ana and Christian go around the house with Mrs. Morrison again and make a list of repairs and improvements they want to make. They start with necessary fixes and continue with improvements they would like to make. Mrs. Morrison standpoint to that is quite simple: Whatever you do, don't hurt the magic of the place. At first, Christian thinks that she means it figuratively, aesthetically. Later, Ana explains that insensitive changes could actually destabilize the wards. In short, the house has become alive like the truck.
Suddenly, Taylor comes running back.
"I've stepped on something!" he reveals in a frantic tone. "It looked like a potato with legs and it talked! Rather foully."
"That must have been a garden gnome," reveals Ana.
"Oh yes, they infested this property after my passing," confirms the ghost. "However, it's nothing bad, this close to a city."
Christian prefers not to comment. Taylor closes his eyes for a moment and presses the bridge of his nose.
"Very well. What are we supposed to do with them?"
"Well, we can't shoot them," declares Ana. "They aren't smart but they are sentient. At least enough to count as such, that is. They need to be tossed over to neighboring properties. With a bit of luck, they get disoriented and won't find their way back. It's an usual household chore for magical children."
"Huh, one learns something new every day," remarks Taylor.
When they leave, Taylor asks Christian for the car keys, signaling his wish to drive on the return trip. Ana guesses that he is ensuring that he won't have to engage in a conversation with her, leaving him free to ponder what he has seen that day in silence.
It is time to deal with Hyde. Ana arrives to work early, just in case. As expected, Hyde doesn't show up until the usual time.
"I've been waiting for you," she greets him cheekily before he can speak. "You didn't show up."
"You've got some nerve," he growls. "Never mind, I'll deal with you later. Now we've got work to do."
They keep busy throughout the day. Hyde is brusque and almost hostile to Ana for the whole time. She sends a quick note to Christian.
In the evening, Roach leaves but he secretly meets with Christian and Taylor in a nearby cafe. The show isn't starting yet so Christian inquires about Hyde's ability to steal their authors.
The office is almost empty. Ana doesn't want to keep Roach and Christian waiting so she asks Hyde what does he want to talk about.
"Are you done with all your work?" retorts Hyde dryly, lifting his eyes from his computer screen without turning his head or moving his hands from the keyboard.
"As a matter of fact, I am. Now, if you want to tell me any more of you theories about who's buying SIP, I'm willing to lend you an ear. If not, I'm out of here."
"Damn, she's mean," comments Roach, who listens with Christian to the conversation. "Are you the one who has put the ring on her finger?"
So he has noticed.
"Yes, but that's neither here nor there."
In the meantime, Hyde is neither impressed nor amused.
"Lend me an ear? I'm not the one who needs something. I've been busy this weekend. Finding the remaining pieces of the puzzle. And now my picture of what's going on here is pretty much complete."
He turns his attention back to his computer.
"This is a waste of time," hisses Roach.
"Just wait a moment," hushes him Christian.
They barely heard Ana when she said expectantly, "Well?"
So far, nothing seems to go Hyde's way. He knows that Ana is smart and he has learned who she is. And yet, she is behaving as if she believed that Hyde has nothing in his sleeve - which Hyde believes not to be the case.
"Don't be coy with me," he cautions her patiently. "We'll talk in a minute."
Roach wants to reiterate his belief that this wasn't going anywhere when Christian realizes what's going on.
"He's waiting for the office to be empty," he observes.
That much is clear to Ana but she doesn't want to keep Roach waiting nor does she want to appear weak. She considers inviting Hyde somewhere else but that kind of baiting seems unethical to her.
"A minute exactly, then I'm gone," she asserts.
Hyde pushes his keyboard away and leans back in his chair.
"I thought you were smarter," he utters. "Very well, come in and close the door."
Ana measures him with a cold look and does as he says.
"Well, what is it that you wanted to tell me for last four days? Let me guess - you've found out that Governor Black is my brother."
Hyde smiles. So she is finally catching up.
"So what?" continues Ana, disappointing him. "I've never hidden this fact nor do I advertise it. It was one of the first things Roach asked me and he didn't feel the need to relay it to everybody else. So, what exactly is your point?"
"Roach," echoes Hyde. "And that's where we start getting to the point. If this was just a case of a governor's little sister wanting to work an ordinary job among ordinary people, there would be no problem. Alas, that was never the case. You've got an agenda here."
"I'm all ears. I've been all ears for last several minutes. Do you think you can start speaking your mind? Because if not, I'm going home."
Hyde is starting to see that she is not going to be intimidated. However, he has to follow his plan.
"Christian Grey." Hyde utters the name as if was some kind of a trump card. Ana's telepathic senses tell her that its owner is of special interest to Hyde.
"Yes? What about him?" encourages him Ana, not showing anything. However, she wonders how has Hyde learned about him and what's his deal with him.
Playing coy to the last moment, thinks Hyde.
"He's buying SIP. Officially - non-officially. Officially, because he's the one talking to Jerry, because his lawyers are drawing the contract, and because he's bankrolling it. At least for the most part, that is. Unofficially, because it won't be his name registered with the authorities. After all, a native American can be sued only in federal court - you can't sneeze on that and if it works for casinos, it will work here. Grey gets legal immunity for SIP, your brother gets an ally and a tiny bit of influence in publishing to spread his ideas. And you get a nice cozy spot here for your spying services. An asset on the ground, if you want. Have I left anything out?"
Ana folds her arms and snorts through her nose lightly.
"Your imagination is running wild. If Christian Grey decides to buy SIP, and I'm not saying that I posses any information indicating that he will, it's his business. If Mr. Roach decides to sell, it's his business as well. And if the two of them, years from now, decide to pick Mr. Roach's successor, it will be their business yet again. Now, how exactly does this concern my brother?"
"Well, let me spell it out to you," declaims Hyde. "This is the kind of thing that makes a small percentage of voters to change their mind. Doesn't sound like much but politicians do care about those percents and I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate if you were the reason why he lost a few."
"He's trying to blackmail her!" exclaims Taylor.
Christian thinks about proposing to drop Jacob Black out of the deal. It will be simple to leave those parts out of the contract.
"I appreciate your concern," replies Ana with a smirk. "There are just two things wrong with your theory. For one, the only thing my family has to do with SIP is my presence here. Secondly, my brother doesn't give a damn about his reelection."
Hyde is getting tired. He stands up and proclaims firmly, "Your denial changes nothing. Luckily for you, I've got no quarrel with your brother and I've got no reason to damage his reputation. Whom I do mind are corrupted creeps like Grey and I've got a quarrel with anybody who tries to mess up SIP. So here's what's going to happen. From now on, you work for the person you are supposed to work in the first place - me. If you hear anything from Roach or Grey, anything at all, you'll tell me right away. If I tell you to mention something specific to them, you will. And not a word to them about this conversation we've just had. Am I clear?"
Ana does have a response but Roach doesn't listen anymore.
"OK, this is a clear case of subversion," he admits. "I see I need to have a talk with him."
It is apparent that he is leaving and going back to the office.
"Mr. Roach..." addresses him Christian.
"No," proclaims Roach. "I'm still in charge of SIP. This is my mess."
Christian makes a gesture saying "as you wish". He calls Ross and asks her to have a redraft of the contract prepared with him as the sole buyer.
The tension is thick as fudge when Mr. Roach enters Hyde's office.
"Ana, would you give us some privacy?" he grits out. He has been reluctant to call her by her first name before but the situation seems to call for it.
She leaves without a word. She gets out of sight but she remains near and within (her) earshot.
It starts with Mr. Roach reminding Hyde that Ana works for SIP (and thus Roach himself), not for Hyde personally. That's omitting the fact that she is his assistant but it is true enough in the context. Hyde tries to implicitly deny by pretending ignorance but he is just seeking confirmation that Mr. Roach was listening. Mr. Roach doesn't give Hyde any.
Mr. Roach tries to switch to a friendlier tone and suggests taking a vacation. It doesn't work well and he ends up suggesting a vacation rather strongly. Hyde collects a few things and storms out of the building. Ana makes sure he doesn't see her.
"I'm sorry," she tells Mr. Roach sheepishly afterwards.
"Why? You've been most helpful. And this was coming anyway."
"What are you going to tell the others?"
"I'm going to stick as close to the truth as possible. He heard rumors and panicked. He wanted to steal away with his authors. I advised him to take a vacation to cool off."
That's good thinking, as far as Ana can tell. The guy Hyde has approached will confirm the story in kitchenette gossip. However, she doesn't say that out loud and merely nods her head respectfully.
"Your family should back out of the deal," adds Mr. Roach. "I voted for your brother and I wouldn't like seeing his career hurt over this. I'm sure Mr. Grey doesn't need you to pitch in financially."
He would prefer it that way anyway, since Ana is going to work for him for a few more years.
"Of course," agrees Ana. "He has probably called Ross already. And he was supposed to receive our half as a wedding gift anyway."
So that was what it meant when Ana said "if all goes well" during their first meeting.
"Congratulations," he utters. "Now, you know Jack's agenda, I'm sure, so you can stand in for him during meetings while he's away."
"I'll be delighted."
With anybody else, Mr. Roach's decision would sound like, "You've made this mess, let's see if you can chew what you have bitten off." However, it is no problem for Ana.
While Mr. Roach stays to make a few arrangements, Ana leaves and meets up with Christian.
"Well, that fizzled out," she complains.
"Why? He was exposed and now we know how far is he willing to go."
"Do we? I feel like there's more. At least concerning you."
Christian folds his arms and waits.
"When he talked about my brother, all I felt was indifference," explains Ana. "But he's got some special beef with you."
"Obviously," comments Christian. He was able to tell that just from listening in.
"Do you have any clue what's it about?" asks Ana.
"No, I've never met him before. My people can keep digging."
Back at Escala, they contact Ana's family. Both Edward and John are unavailable so they talk only to Ana's parents. There isn't much to be said. Jacob is glad that he doesn't have to take part in the whole thing. At the same time, he has nothing (nice) to say to Christian so he stays silent for the whole time. Elizabeth and Ana can't say that they aren't glad for that.
Due to the last minute changes to the contract, the signing is delayed for a few days. Still, Mr. Roach calls an extra meeting of editors to break the news. There is no need for Ana to be there so she doesn't participate yet.
All in all, nothing special is said. Mr. Roach confirms that yes, he is selling SIP. He explains that they are broke and that such a move is necessary. He emphasizes that the information isn't public yet and they aren't to talk about it. He assures everyone that nothing will change and that he isn't selling to a corporation.
Afterwards, he gives them a highly abridged explanation of Hyde's absence. At that point, the editor whose face Ana saw in Hyde's mind, speaks up. Up until that point, he was rather sullen.
"That S.O.B." he comments, shaking his head and drawing the attention of everybody.
"Has he approached you?" asks Mr. Roach.
"Yes. He insinuated that some of our colleagues and their authors are concerned about the rumors."
Mr. Roach gives the others a questioning look. For a while, they all look at each other and shake their heads to say that no, they have not talked to Hyde about this.
"Well, it looks like it was just the two of you," observes Mr. Roach.
"Now wait a minute."
"My apologies, it was just him. Let's hope he'll cool down by the time he returns."
If some of the editors think that Mr. Roach has gotten soft, they aren't voicing it.
In the end, Mr. Roach mentions that Hyde's agenda shouldn't be interrupted by his absence. They ask him whether he has got a temporary replacement in mind. Mr. Roach responds with a prepared charade.
"I've got an amusing idea. Do you know how our governor is sometimes presented as larger than life? Quite annoying, isn't it? Sometimes I wonder whether he would be able to live up to his own reputation. Well, we can't sate our curiosity in that regard but we've got his sister."
"What?" someone exclaims.
"Hyde's new assistant. She doesn't hide it, you just need to ask. Let's throw her in the water, see if she floats."
Of course, Mr. Roach has a pretty good idea which is it going to be.
"Are you sure?" asks an older lady.
"She has agreed already. She doesn't lack confidence, that much is clear."
Later that week, Christian finalizes the purchase and becomes the sole owner of S.I.P.
Right after that, some tabloid prints Hyde's theory. Thanks to their precautions, it is a lie which is easily disproved. Christian issues a press release in that regard.
Hyde's employment in S.I.P. is terminated. After all, his move can be interpreted as a resignation. He doesn't even return to collect his remaining things.
"What's this guy's deal?" asks John. He is talking about Hyde.
"We haven't learned anything new about him so far," answers Taylor. "Both Ana and I have questioned Mr. Grey about this but he has no recollection of ever meeting him."
"Well, it's possible that there's no physical connection. In this time and day, people can come to hate other people just based on what they read on the Internet about them."
"Maybe. Our only lead is an encrypted partition on his work computer."
"An ordinary encrypted partition? Not a hidden one? Either it's a red herring or he's rather careless. And isn't it against S.I.P.'s policies?"
"Only if they catch you. In which case the offender would be simply asked to remove the partition."
"I see. Any luck with decryption?"
"If Mr. Grey dedicates a server just for this task, it will be done in a few centuries."
"I'm sure a quantum computer will do it in a few weeks. Send me the image of the partition, I'll give it to my brothers."
After Britain reached quantum supremacy using magic, United States and other countries decided to replicate the success with mundane technologies.
The two men shake hands and Taylor turns to leave.
"Oh, and Taylor?" John calls after him.
"Yes?"
"In all these years, you haven't visited La Push yet. Why don't you stop by sometime? You can make a trip for you and your daughter out of it."
Taylor stares back at him for a moment.
"Have you been talking to your sister?" he asks.
"I'm talking to both my sisters whenever I can," responds John mirthfully, raising his hands in surrender.