Levi's Secret

CHAPTER 23

"I marked b for question fifteen." said Vicky tentatively.

"I marked c." said Traci biting her lip.

"C is correct." confirmed David. "So that brings Vicky's tally to seven correct questions and Traci's to nine. It looks like both of you are going to pass."

"Thank goodness." sighed Vicky landing her  head on the cafeteria table with a thump. Traci patted her shoulder sympathetically. "I feel like I just fought a war."

"There, there. Want to head over to Icy Iceman for a banana split sundae?" suggested Traci.

Vicky plopped up her head on her hands and nodded. "I would love some ice cream."

***

"Son of a bitch." cursed Axky as another server threatened to shut down. Was it some kind of virus, was it an elaborate code, how the hell did someone get past all the security wards. And how the hell did they get out after doing the damage without leaving so much as a trace?

"Not this time you don't," muttered Axky. He took a deep breath as he decided he had no choice but to deploy an extreme course of action. Slowly, he wrote down a fatal code, that he'd devised weeks ago but had resisted to use. The attackers had gone too far, and it seemed a suicide of their own server was the only way to trap the enemy.

He stared at the tiny ten lined program and smirked. The attackers wouldn't know what hit them. Not until it was too late anyway.

With a final swig of sugary coffee, Axky pressed ENTER.

No one outsmarted Axky.

He took a bite out of his sandwich and realized to his horror that the delicious, fatty mayonnaise had been replaced by low calorie cottage cheese. Paula had taken his dieting restrictions into her own hands.

Fine, he conceded, no one outsmarted Axky when it came to the cyber world.

***

Gavin Walters decided to stay at the Dixon Hotel. It was the best in the city he was visiting, but nowhere close to the expensive palatial hotels he was used to.

Oh well, he was here for a short visit anyway. The sooner he dealt with the nuisance against his company the better. He had thought that his head of cyber security was probably incompetent, but his efforts to replace him had proved futile. It seemed there was truth in the man's plea for an audience with him.

And so Gavin had agreed to honor the mere mortal being called Axky with his presence. His busty secretary had accompanied him as usual, but Gavin was quickly getting bored of her.

He remembered the last time he was here in this city. He had shamelessly divorced his useless wife and hadn't paid her a penny. Good riddance!

It was all her fault for trusting him, for actually believing he would be there for her. She was naive and impossibly stupid to have thought there was anything called love in the business world. And for this mistake, she paid dearly.

Last he heard of the woman, fifteen years ago, she was working two jobs trying to make ends meet. It was always good to know that his exes were poor. That way they didn't have the money or security to fight against him.

Lawyers were expensive and thus, all things considered, Gavin Walters was invincible.

He had no children, and he had no desire to father any. Kids were traitors, a weak spot for competition, a point vulnerable to blackmail. Fatherhood was not a mistake he would make.

"Sir?" asked his secretary snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he barked out enjoying the look of fear in her eyes.

"Lunch, lunch is served." she stuttered out.

Gavin Walters stood up and regally walked past her. He descended down the immaculate marble staircase to arrive at a dining table arranged especially for him.

He sat down at the front chair and looked at his food with distaste.

Oyster soup. And rye bread. No salt. No sugar. A big bottle of champagne.

At least the cooks were competent in this less than satisfactory hotel.

He unfolded the napkin beside his steaming bowl of soup and was surprised to see a piece of paper fall out.

"Gavin you're going down."  It read.

How very interesting.

Gavin's face curled into a feral smile. Someone was challenging him. Someone in this godforsaken town was trying to stand up to him. It was almost laughable.

He pocketed the paper. A quick paid investigation would accurately reveal who dared to threaten him. And then Gavin could play with his prey before rendering them impotent to ever attack him again.

The soup had never tasted better.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

We are getting closer to the sweet spot of this story. :)

lots of love,

Andy