Ch. 26: A Stakeout Without Snacks

"Sage. For the last time, I didn't bring any snacks." Asher's voice rings out over her constant badgering. We've been parked outside White Industries headquarters for the last twenty minutes. I've been trying to work up the courage to head inside, but I can't seem to will my legs to move.

"No offense, but this is the worst stakeout I've ever been on. Who doesn't bring snacks?" Sage huffs from the backseat. In the rearview mirror, I catch Nina nodding her head in agreement, while Char tilts her head in confusion.

"You say that like you've been on stakeouts before." Char points out.

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. You don't know my life." Sage shrugs nonchalantly before staring out the window. Char only gapes, not knowing how to react. Sat in the middle of the two, Nina looks back and forth before snickering.

"Always leave them second guessing there, Sage." Nina laughs, fist-bumping the girl. Sage flashes her a pearly grin and goes to respond, but Asher clears his throat, interrupting the backseat chitchat.

"Pretty sure on a stakeout, you're supposed to be silent." Asher turns around in his seat, sending a pointed glare towards the three girls. Char pretends to zip her lips, but Nina and Sage take a different approach.

"Oh, like I asked. Shut up Asher!"

"Bite me, pretty boy."

Sage and Nina talk over each other, insulting Asher as they do. I sigh, the noticeable tension of a migraine beginning to pound against my skull. He looks to me for help to calm down the girls. Groaning, I adjust myself in my seat, turning my body to face the rest of the group.

"Okay, enough. Y'all can roast Asher later." My words please Nina and Sage, while Asher's eyes widen. Clearly not the solution he wanted, but sacrifices needed to be made to regain everybody's focus. "Are you all clear on the plan? Once we head inside, there's no turning back." I say, reminding them why we're here. If White Industries is connected to my mom's death, the second I walk in there and start asking questions, silent alarms are going to be tripped.

"Yup! Back when I was looking into the text messages and discovered the connection to White Industries, I scoured through employee records, trying to find someone who looked gullible enough to fall for a scam. After hours of exhaustive searching, I landed on one of the assistants in the legal department, Emily. After doing a deep dive, I learned that Miss Girl posts way too much on social media. She's always trying to win contests and shit. So, using that information, I just sent an encrypted email informing her that she won a free six-night stay on a Caribbean cruise. All we have to do is wait for her to open it and hold up. Never mind, she already opened it." Sage cuts her explanation off, rolling her eyes. Staring at her laptop, she mumbles 'idiot' under her breath before tapping at a few keys.

"Okay, so how does sending a phishing email help us?" Char asks.

"Well, now that she's downloaded the attached file, I have a backdoor entry into her computer. While Makayla and Asher are inside, I can access the employee files that are encrypted. All you two have to do is keep Mr. White talking long enough for me to look for any shady dealings and then exit the system before they even realize I was there. Once I give you the all clear, get the hell out of there without drawing suspicion." Sage directs her last comment to Asher and me.

"How will we know when it's all clear?" Asher asks, scratching the back of his neck.

"I have a few gadgets we can use to stay in constant contact." Sage replies. Pulling a piece of jewelry and a small earbud out of her hoodie pocket, she places both in the palm of my hand. Glancing down, my eyebrows furrow at the necklace with the tiny black retro camera charm.

"It has a tiny camera and microphone inside. Clever, right?" Sage smirks, typing along her keyboard until the camera charm lightly buzzes in my hand. Nina and Char lean in closer to get a better view.

"Stop. It's so cute though!" Char squeals in delight, while Nina rolls her eyes.

"It's not cute, Char. It's fucking genius! How does it work though?" Nina addresses her question to Sage, as she finally looks up from her laptop.

"Easier if I just show you." She replies and turns her computer around, so we can see the screen. My eyes widen as I see myself on the video feed.

I glance over at Asher, silently asking for help with the clasp. Quickly understanding, he moves my hair out of the way and latches the charm around my neck. I pop the earpiece into my left ear before turning back to Sage.

"So, with the necklace, we can monitor your movements once you're inside. The earpiece is your way of staying in constant communication with us. You'll be able to hear me tell you when it's good to leave. This is just a precaution. We have no idea what you're stepping into." Sage's words ring true.

This could end up being nothing. A wild hunch that leads us back to square one. It could also be the key to unlocking everything that happened the night my mom died.

Talk about no pressure.

I meet Asher's gaze and nod.

Okay, let's do this.

*************************************************

As soon as Asher and I enter the lobby, we are stopped by security. Apparently, you can't walk into a multi-billion-dollar tech facility housing government secrets without an appointment. Who knew?

Luckily, I did.

I let security know that I have an appointment to see Sebastian White. Their eyes widen, clearly not expecting a young girl like myself to have a meeting set with the CEO of the company. My former friendship with Cara finally had a benefit; Mr. White was happy to meet with me, under the guise that Asher and I were interested in seeking internships here after we graduate. The woman at the reception desk hands us both visitor passes and informs us that Mr. White's office is on the top floor. We head into the elevator but stop in our tracks when the doors open.

A security guard is positioned inside the elevator and asks to see our badges. Once he confirms our security clearance, he presses the button for the twelfth floor. The elevator hums to life, but the silence is near deafening. I try to calm my nerves as the floor numbers zip past. The elevator dings letting us know we have reached our destination. I do my best to not let any of my emotions show, as Asher lets Mr. White's assistant know that we're here. I sit down on one of the plush armchairs outside his office and wait. The minutes drag on, as I bounce my leg nervously.

"Okay girl. You're gonna need to calm down. Every time you bounce your leg, the camera loses focus, and it's giving me a headache." My heart nearly gives out when the sound of Sage's voice rings through my ear. I nearly fall out of my seat, and Asher looks at me like I've lost my mind.

"Sorry, my bad." I mumble quietly under my breath. The last thing I need is Mr. White's assistant hearing me talk to myself.

Before I let my nerves start racing again, his assistant lets us know we can head into his office. Asher grabs my hand, pulling me from my spot on the cozy chair, and we walk over and knock twice on the door. I hear a soft "Come in" and push open the door, spotting Mr. White sat at his desk, up to his eyeballs in paperwork.

Sebastian White is the embodiment of a clean-cut businessman. His near short, platinum blonde hair is beginning to show its' age with a soft dusting of subtle flecks of grey. His piercing green eyes reflect the intimidating man sitting in front of me. His face hints at exhaustion, evidence of constant working into the late hours of the evening. When he goes to stand and shake Asher's hand, his tall stature looms over me. Despite his striking appearance, I know behind the suits and the serious demeanor, there's a soft kindness to him. I smile, remembering the few times he was home when Char and I were over hanging with his daughter. He was always busy; Mr. White carried his job with him over the threshold every night. Despite that, his effort to be present would show through small moments: teaching us how to make our own pizza dough or watching scary movies with us... ones our mothers never would allow.

"Makayla. It's nice to see you again! I have to say I was surprised to see your name among the intern applications that have come across my desk. I didn't think technology and engineering were your focus." Mr. White says, stirring me from my trip down memory lane.

"Oh, well, it's not. I'm planning on heading to law school once I graduate and was hoping you had a few internship opportunities in your legal department." I manage to say as smoothly as possible.

Play it cool Makayla. No need to alert him to the fact that your friend is currently hacking into his company's database as we speak.

"Oh, Cara didn't mention you were in the pre-law program here with her boyfriend." Mr. White's words throw me for a second that I nearly choke on my own spit.

"Actually, sir, Cara and I decided to be friends. Makayla is my girlfriend." Asher speaks up, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

I can't believe Cara is still out here claiming Asher as her man.

"My apologies. Leave it to my daughter to not be a trustworthy source." His words make me uncomfortable. I'm not sure when this vague resentment for Cara first started, but it had to have been after we stopped being friends. Cara was the shiny apple of his eye, and she had an unrelenting admiration for her father. I'm not sure what caused the dynamic shift, but it's not my business.

"That's the understatement of the fucking century." Sage's voice chimes in through the earpiece. I bite my tongue to stifle the laugh that is clinging to the back of my throat.

"Right, well no need to apologize. It was probably just a miscommunication." I'm not sure what makes me defend Cara. I have no issues saying what needs to be said to her face, but when she isn't here to defend herself, to her dad of all people, I find the grace to speak kindly.

"Well, regardless, you and Asher are fine candidates and would make an excellent addition to our legal department. As interns, you would mostly be doing grunt work. Filing, answering phone calls, grabbing lunch, jobs of that nature. Our legal team's main focus is applying for and managing our patents. It's a great firsthand experience if patent law is a field of study you're interested in." He leans back in his chair, folding his hands over his lap once he's finished explaining.

"Hey Makayla! I got what I needed. Make up an excuse and leave." Sage says through the earpiece. I glance over at Asher and send a small nod of confirmation.

"Well, that all sounds great! Is there anything else you need from us?" Asher asks.

"No, that should be all. Head of HR usually oversees this process, so you'll be hearing from him soon." Mr. White goes to stand up, walking towards the door.

"Well, if HR usually manages this, why did you meet with us?" I can't stop the question from escaping my lips. He smiles kindly before answering.

"My company is a big donor to Asher's fathers' political campaigns, and he sends a lot of government contracts our way. Call it a favor for an old friend." He replies, pulling open the door to walk us out.

"Then, why meet with me?" I ask.

"Makayla, what are you doing? We got to go! Get the hell out of there!" Sage's voice yells into my ear, but I ignore her. I'm curious as to what Sebastian White gained talking to me.

He pauses, thinking on it a moment before answering.

"I guess you could say I like to get to know the people I'm letting into my company."

*************************************************

My pulse is still racing by the time we reach the car. Asher hops in quickly, turning the key in the ignition, and driving off.

"Holy shit! Little piece of advice. Going forward when I say let's go, I mean let's fucking go. Not stand around and ask more questions!" Sage spits out from the back seat. I turn around in my seat and notice how spooked they all are.

"Why? What did you learn?" I reply, asking the group. Nina and Char visibly gulp, while Sage runs her hand through her hair, visibly frustrated with me.

"At first, not much. All the employees have a squeaky-clean record. I was about to give up when it hit me. What if it's a former White Industries employee? Took some time to comb through the files, but I found it. His name is William Blake, a former software engineer. He was fired for violent behavior and insubordination. It didn't go into a lot of detail. He tried to sue for wrongful termination, which ended in a settlement and a signed nondisclosure agreement." Sage's words trail off. I stare at her, waiting for her to continue, but I'm met with silence. I glance around at all three of my friends, and not one of them will meet my gaze.

"What aren't you saying?" I ask, looking to my best friends for answers when I see that Sage isn't going to be the one to reply. Nina stares down at her feet, fidgeting nervously with her hands. After a few minutes of silence, Char speaks up.

"Your mom was William Blake's lawyer."

Author's Note:

DUN DUN DUN.

Love a good cliffhanger.

Hope you guys liked this chapter! Writing the back half of this book has been challenging but equally rewarding.

So, who's William Blake? 🤔

Is he connected to the death of Makayla's mom?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!