Explanation as to where I have been at the bottom, I won't blame you if you don't bother to read it. But first, what you have been patiently waiting for...
London's most infamous heiress of the moment dashed up the steps to her Kensington home and bounced on the soles of her feet as she fished around the bottom of her bag for a house key. The door swung open before her to reveal a surprised housemaid. Mia smiled at a disheveled Natalie, "Good, you're home. I was just about to head out to do the shopping. You've been working so hard lately, I was wondering if you wanted me to pick you up something special or- What's going on? Why are you out of breath?" Mia demanded as Natalie lunged past her through the doorway, kicked off her flats and bounded down the hall.
"Sorry, Mia, can't talk! I have a Skype meeting."
"Oh?" she puffed, "I didn't see it on your schedule."
"Not for the company," Natalie called back.
"Of course not," Mia grumbled, "Because that would be sensible and responsible."
"I heard that!" Nat shot back as she disappeared into her bedroom.
After plopping her schoolbag down on the bed, she scoured her closet floor for a clean jumper and her favourite plaid pj bottoms, the ones Catherine Bagshaw had given the crew for Christmas.
Natalie sneered at the latest newspaper titles while she waited for her laptop to boot up. Mia had taken to laying out any articles concerning the Wests or the company on Natalie's desk each morning. Mia seemed to think she was helping, so Natalie didn't have the heart to tell her that it was really only a depressing reminder of how miserable she was at running the company. Something the media had not failed to notice.
The laptop chimed as it formed its connection to Cake's network, "Has she started yet?" Natalie panted as she flopped down on the floor in front of the dark screen.
"No, we're just waiting for the board members to file in. How did it go this morning?" James was inquiring about the outcome of Natalie's West. Inc. meeting that morning.
"Just great!" Natalie replied sarcastically, "I love being chewed out by a bunch of stiffs in suits for not 'meeting expectations'."
Nat had returned to London to attend board meetings of her own. Crisis or no crisis, Natalie was still the CEO. She had more then fifty thousand employees under her family's company. 50,374 to be exact. It was a number that circled her mind day and night. The company was her responsibility, her burden to bear and at the moment Natalie was failing miserably.
"If you've got things to do, you don't have to watch. Siena will understand," Mac commented.
"Nonsense. I can multitask," Natalie retrieved the piles of unsigned forms from her desk and settled in to watch Siena's presentation to the top executives at Hale Industries.
"Anything we can do to help?" Mac offered.
"Not unless you can forge my signature." Natalie joked but when she was met with silence her face settled into a frown, "Wait, can either of you-You know what, never mind, this is one of those things I just don't want to know."
"I'll add it to the list," Natalie could hear the smirk in James voice. "Are you sure we can't help?"
"Well, Cake, if its not too much trouble I would love your opinion on the stocks-"
"You're talking to dead air, Nat. Cake's not listening." Mac cut her off.
That was unusual. "Where is she?"
James answered, "Busy, apparently. Said she needed to take care of some things. Mac's running the tech."
Natalie's chewed on her pen, "It's not like her to be unreachable. Did she sound alright?"
"Not sure. It was Siena who spent all of last night going over her presentation with her," Jay replied.
Natalie could hear Mac fiddling with the electronics in the back round, cursing under his breath. "Is Mac going to be alright with the tech?"
"He'll be fine," James lowered his voice, "But I'm not certain the tech will make it through."
Natalie's chuckle rolled over the radio waves.
James felt his lips turn into an involuntary smile. "That's a sound I haven't heard in a while."
"Well, there isn't exactly a whole lot to laugh about right now," she sighed, "I should be there."
"You're exactly where you need to be," Jay assured her.
She ran a hand through her messy locks, "Then why does it feel like I'm not where I should be?"
"It's starting," Mac announced in the background.
"Can she hear us?" Natalie asked of the boys in a hushed tone.
"No," James was the one that answered, "She'll need to concentrate. If Siena thinks she may need outside support she'll activate her comms unit. For now the best we can do is sit an watch. Mac says the visual should be coming up on your screen now."
Natalie turned away from her abundant pile of documents to watch a dozen men file into the Hale Industries boardroom. Siena stood at the center of it all. In her perfectly tailored pencil skirt and blazer, with delicate hands folded in front of her poised frame, she appeared a natural businesswoman. It took the eyes of a best friend to see through the tweed-stitched façade.
"She looks nervous," Natalie worried.
"I've seen her rehearse this a dozen times. She's got it down," James nodded to himself, "She's got this."
Siena's voice was thick and sweet as it flowed over their speakers, "Now that everyone is here, shall we start? I know you are not accustomed to having your weekly meetings hijacked by your interns but I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, you're going to want to hear this."
* 2 Hours Later *
The boardroom broke into applause.
"And she sticks the landing, ladies and gentlemen," the pride was evident in Cake's voice.
"Hey, Kai, how long have you been listening for?" Natalie asked over the airwaves.
"Long enough to know that my young padawan just slayed that presentation."
James spoke over a crackle, "She's turning her com. unit on. Nicely done, S."
James' praise was echoed by that of Hale, "Very impressive presentation, Siena. That's all that is on the agenda for this meeting but I am sure Miss Antokov has given us all lots to think over. We will discuss the proposal in our next board meeting but I know you all have other matters to attend to at the moment so we will let you go." There was stiff cough from the other end of the boardroom, "Right, sorry Roger. One last note, Mr. Rowland has asked me to remind you all that expense reports for your respective departments should be in by the end of the week. Lets not draw this out like last quarter. And if no one had anything else to say, then I think we are done here."
The executives shuffled slowly from the room like a large herd of cats, pausing to congratulate the young intern on her clear business prowess and to express their eagerness to work with her in the future.
"Don't let it go to your head," Hale whispered in her ear, "Only half of them mean it, the other half are only hedging their bets incase you make it to CEO one day. Follow me," Hale led the way from the crowded room.
"Which half is which?" Siena asked.
"It changes with the day," Hale threw a mischievous smile over his shoulder at her. With a nod at his secretary, Hale held the door to his office open for Siena and then ensured it was closed behind them.
"So, how did it feel being up their with the big boys?"
Siena released a pent up nervous laugh, "It felt like they could see right through me. Sort of like I was made. How do you keep it hidden? Your past. It must weigh on you," It frightened her that she was becoming comfortable with her role in Hale Industries.
Hale tucked his hands into the pockets of his ten thousand dollar suit and shrugged, "The same why everyone does, I suppose. By keeping my mouth shut. Rule number one of keeping any secret, keep your head about you. That means no drinking, no drugs, nothing that could loosen your lips."
Siena snorted, "Those poor secretaries."
Hale raised a quizzical brow at her jest.
She elaborated, "The secretaries have a running bet with the IT department to see if they can get you drunk enough to kiss one of your staff at the office Christmas party."
Hale rolled his eyes, "Note to self: Increase the work load of all assistants. They are clearly bored."
"Don't let him get off topic," James advised through the earpiece, "Press him, you might get somewhere with this."
"But seriously, Uncle Hale, we both know every thief leaves behind some physical evidence, no matter how good they are," Seeing his hesitation Siena backpedaled, "I don't mean to pry. I only ask because I'll be in the same situation."
Hale moved to stand behind his desk, "Its alright, Siena. You're right to think ahead. It's the sign of a good CEO."
The crew held their breath as they waited for him to push aside Siena's inquiry, but he didn't. "Hale Industries has far too many secrets to hold them all securely within its own walls," Hale said.
"That explains the lack of in-house paper trail," Cake commented.
After a pause Hale continued, "Some of the company's more sensitive files, including all those on my darker past, are locked away in a secure location."
"How secure?" Siena challenged.
"Buried ten stories underground on an isolated island in the middle of the pacific ocean. Trust me, Siena, there is no place more secure then this. Not even Kat could get in there."
"And this is a Hale Industries location? I hadn't heard of any island site except on Maui."
"No. It's privately owned," Hale explained, "A complicated history means that the island technically belongs to no single country. Interpol doesn't have jurisdiction there. No one does."
"Cake, are you getting all this?" James asked.
"Already searching, darling," Cake's fingers raged over the keyboard.
"But if you don't own the site and its employees how can you be sure it's really safe?" Siena pretended to fret.
"Because I've tried to break into it myself. I couldn't even get close to it. I know the idea of placing your life in someone else's hands is terrifying, especially to someone with your particular upbringing, but these people are the best at what they do."
Siena crossed her arms, "Still, I don't like the idea of trusting the fate of the company to strangers."
"I don't either, but it's a necessary risk."
Natalie weighed in on the situation, "S, if you can convince him to take you to the island this could all be over and done with in a matter of days."
Siena acknowledged this with the slightest of nods before launching in for another pass, "Uncle Hale, if the company has skeletons I need to know about them. I couldn't hope to run a company if I don't know everything about it," Siena pressed him further.
"And one day you will," Hale assured her, "When you become CEO after my passing the vault and all its contents will be your responsibility, but for the moment, trust me Siena, this is not a responsibility you want."
"I am not a regular intern," she insisted, "You can trust me. I've lived with these sorts of secrets all my life, Uncle Hale-"
"Not these kind, Siena. And I had hoped you never would."
His tone gave her pause, and James waved her off, "Leave it alone, S. We got what we needed. We can't risk pushing him too far."
But curiosity compelled Siena, "Uncle Hale, the vault- its not just evidence of your heists and past girlfriends in there, is it?"
Hale's eyes filled with remorse, "I wish it was. God, I wish it was."
"Wilson Security."
"You sure that's the company, Cake?" Siena asked.
"It's the only security company with a location in the pacific and all the other specs. Mr. Hale mentioned. I had to break through three firewalls just to confirm that it's in the northern hemisphere. It's the place, alright."
"It just doesn't sound very intimidating, does it? Wilson Inc." Siena shrugged.
"Yeah, well neither does Teller Incorporated," Natalie jibed.
"Forget the name," Mac interrupted, "You heard Uncle Hale. These people, whoever they are, they're the best at what they do."
"Fortunately, so are we," James turned from the window. "What do you have for us, Cake?"
"Well, despite the fact that I haven't slept in forty eight hours, or more like because of the fact that I haven't slept in forty eight hours I have plenty. The island is roughly half way between Japan and Hawaii and prior to the 1960s man had never touched it. Wilson Incorporated purchased, or more like seized the place from its former owner in 1986 and drilled a rather large hole into the volcanic rock. And when I say rather large I mean approximately twenty stories deep."
"Approximately?" Mac raised a brow.
"Darlings, this company makes the pentagon's system look like child's play. I am lucky I found what I did."
James almost smirked, "We don't doubt it, Kai. What else did you manage to pull?"
"The place is a fortress. As in cement walls, barbed wire and a fire breathing dragon type of fortress."
"Dragon?" Natalie snorted.
"Don't stamp on my imaginative exaggerations, West. But seriously, my lovelies, this place is the definition of impenetrable. It's an electronic dead zone. No transmissions in or out. Every ventilation shaft is barred, every door way has its own key code and while I can't promise you a dragon I would recommend some flame retardant clothing because in case I forgot the mention, the place it built on top of a freaking under water volcano… yes boys and girls, I said a volcano."
"Active?" James asked.
"Darling, it's practically an Olympic athlete."
"Why would you build on top of a volcano?" Natalie wondered, "It would be near impossible to find anyone crazy enough to work there."
"Guess again, my little thieves. The island itself isn't in immediate danger. But the volcano kicks up enough dirt and steam to create a perma-smog so thick you need a breathing mask just to get within a mile of the place."
Mac considered this, "A cloud like that would-"
"Disrupt satellite visibility? Believe me, gingerbread man, I know. I've been hacking every satellite NASA has recorded in their systems and not a single one can produce a useful image."
Siena spoke up, "No satellites, no blueprints and no electronic footprint. That leaves surveillance."
Natalie agreed, "Yes but how do we get close? Its literally in the middle of nowhere."
"Way ahead of you, my loves. Your flights are booked to Japan for tomorrow. I've got you split up on three separate flights to avoid anyone drawing links between you. From there you are taking a private flight to wake island."
"Wake island? I've never heard of it," Mac confessed.
"That's not surprising considering it's basically a landing strip on a coral outcrop. I've arranged for a fisherman from a nearby island to meet you there. You'll take his boat into the open ocean from there. Wilson. Inc. is about 100 km away from Wake Island but fear not, my munchkins when you've Kai Collins as your travel agents nothing can go wrong."
"You never cease to amaze, Cake," James praised.
"I know, darling, I know."
"This is going to be a delicate surveillance mission. It may be a big ocean but if we don't plan this right they'll see us coming before we can even make out the volcanic cloud. These tails Teller has on us could blow our cover if they follow us there."
"Not a problem, Little Miss CEO, curiously enough every seat on tomorrow's flights from New York to Japan on every airline have just sold out."
That achieved a rare half smile from Mac, "What a coincidence?"
"Coincidences are my specialty. Its something of a gift."
"Thanks, Cake. Now get some sleep. We won't bother you for the next eight hours." James promised her.
"Make that twelve," Cake answered before switching off the air.
"You should get some rest too, Siena," James directed.
They were met with a yawn, "Rest sounds good. I'm almost at my apartment."
"Text me when you get there so I know you're home safe," Natalie requested.
"Will do, Nat. I'll talk to you in the morning, James, before work."
"Sleep tight, S."
Once Siena was gone James dove immediately into plans for the servallience mission, "We need to get there as soon as possible. The sooner we have the information to longer we have to plan our approach. If Uncle Hale couldn't get near this site then it won't be a walk in the park. Mac, I want you to bring your infrared equipment, we don't know what we are dealing with here. Its better to come prepared."
There must have been a looked that passed between the two boys that Natalie was unable to see because when James spoke next he asked,
"What is it?"
"I want to stay here, with Siena. She needs a partner."
"We need you with us running surveillance on the island."
"You and Natalie can handle it. But Siena isn't a con artist, Jay. You're asking a lot of her."
"I know I am. I'm asking too much of all of you but I don't have a choice."
"I don't think we should leave her to face this on her own," Mac insisted. "Besides I can go over surveillance tapes from here."
"Siena's tough. She'll be fine on her own for now. The crew needs you in the Pacific."
Mac was uncharasitically stubborn, "Jay, think of how she's feeling. She is lying directly to her Uncle's face and is about destroy everything he's ever worked for. And when this all plays out we may well be the only family she has left to talk to. On top of that her brother has just abandoned her and to be honest, she's devastated. Siena's tough, but she's not superhuman."
James snorted, "And since when have you been so in-tuned to Siena's feelings?"
"Since I stopped looking at her like a side kick and started giving a damn," Mac snapped.
There was moment of silence before James replied. "I'll think about it."
"Don't bother. I'm staying. End of discussion." Mac stormed out of the room.
Natalie could hear Jay's agitated breathing over the airwaves, "Silence isn't your style so you may as well just say it," he snapped.
"We can handle Europe without Mac," she tried to reason with him.
"There's no reason for him to stay here," James shot back.
"Yes, there is."
"You don't think Siena can do it on her own?" He met her challenge with his own.
"Of course not. I just don't think she should have to."
He threw up his hands, "Alright, fine! Majority rules. Mac stays in New York."
At any other time, Natalie would have glowed in triumph at her victory, but this was not like any other time. She had begun to worry that things would never be what they once were. Not even close.
Natalie tried to reach out to him in whatever place his mind was, "What about you? Are you alright?"
"Alright, isn't how I would describe this," There was a bite to his voice.
"I'm sorry your family is in danger."
"Our family, Nat," he reminded her.
"Our family," she agreed.
"Its not just them," he shook his head, "Its you too. If this goes wrong-"
She cut him off, "I'm aware of what happens if we screw this up, James." A moment later she swallowed her bitter tone. She couldn't see him from an ocean away but she knew exactly where he stood, arms crossed, starring out the kitchen window. "Will he forgive us?" Her words were barely audible, but they carried in the dead silence.
"I can't think about that right now. We will do what needs to be done. It's my call, my responsibility. I'm the one he'll have to blame."
"He loves you, James. And you are doing this out of love. That means something."
"Love? People don't betray the ones they love, Natalie."
"They do if it's necessary. This needs to be done, Jay. Its not your fault."
His voice quavered, "I made the choice. I sent the crew in there."
"There's no way you could have known this would happen-"
"And there's no way I could have known it wouldn't. I never know for sure what's going to happen and still I send us in there. Still I put everyone I care about in danger!"
"James, stop! Just, stop. No one blames you for this. Its just part of the job."
He froze as a thought struck him, "The company-your company- If this goes wrong you'll lose it all."
"Then that's on me," her voice was strong, determined, "On the choices I made."
"I'm sorry, Natalie. I'm so sorry. I can't ask you to forgive me."
"Jay, there's nothing to forgive."
"You say that now but what happens when you loose everything." The floorboards creaked as he paced the length of the kitchen.
"I don't need everything. I just need the people I care about," Natalie insisted, "Siena, Dmitri, Mac, the family, you. You're all I need, Jay."
"You have me, Nat," his voice had softened.
Natalie heard Mac's voice ringing out over the quiet, "I'm going to Siena's. Don't wait up."
"Why? She's probably asleep already." James called back, the irritation boiling over again.
"She's not," Mac answered from the door.
"Well, how would you know-"
"Because she asked me to come," Mac spat back as the door slammed behind him.
"I don't understand what has gotten into him!" James ranted. The moment had clearly passed. "What is he trying to do? Its not as if he'll ever be able to replace Dmitri for her!"
Natalie cringed at that, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not what he's trying to do. I think Mac just sees that she's hurting. Emotion isn't a crime, Jay."
James dismissed the idea without acknowledging it in the infuriating way he always did, "I need sleep and you need to get to school."
Natalie was too exhausted to fight him on it, "Fine then. Goodnight, Mr. Bishop."
"Good morning, Ms. West."
I know I've kept you waiting, and for that I apologize. I am not going to lie about this or sugar coat it, I'm not doing so well right now. I've been through periods of depression in the past, and though this was far from the worst I've seen, things have really sucked for the past two months. I am sure you all understand that the last thing a stressed, overworked, anxious person wants to do at the end of a long work day is dive in the emotions of stressed, overworked, anxious characters. I am not asking for your forgiveness, I shouldn't have to, but I am asking that you stick with me for just a little longer. Maybe I don't deserve your support, but here I am, asking for it anyway. There is a reason my stories are not lighthearted and fun. They have probably never made you laugh, but you read them anyways and for that I am eternally grateful. I hope to post again soon, but for now I will promise only that this will not be my last post. This is not how I go out.
Occasionally absent, but always yours, -George&Eckels.