25 Bad To Worse
Ewan was absorbed in thoughts until the beep from the coffee machine went off.
With renewed focus, he collected the ready cups of hot black coffee and briskly walked to his home office–where he and Sandro had spent the whole night in, working and trying to find a way out of the pit Athena and Zane had dug for him.
Ewan relaxed his hold on the cups when their hot temperature became unbearable on his
knuckles.
Once he handed a cup to Sandro, his assistant bowed his head in appreciation.
He continued to watch, appeased thereafter, when Sandro let out a happy sigh after a sip of the
coffee.
“You still make the best coffee, Ewan. The only unfair thing is that you won’t show me how to do
it.”
Ewan chuckled softly. “Not me. Not any special recipe. It’s just the quality of the machine.”
Sandro scoffed and shook his head. “Your new lie? The last time, you mentioned it was magic transferred from your lineage.”
Ewan laughed, the hurt in his chest abating a little.
Not giving Sandro a response, he sat down near his friend, in between a pile of documents.
Just then he heard movements in the house.
Fiona must be back from wherever she had gone to. He thought, picking a file.
But he didn’t actually care to know where she had been. He wasn’t ready for her tantrums this early morning. He wanted to resolve this matter first.
About last night, he knew he had gone overboard grabbing her by the neck like that.
Whatever her shortcomings, she was a woman, and he shouldn’t have manhandled her. His mother wouldn’t be proud of him now.
He sighed, and picked another file, noting somewhere in his mind to get her something lovely today.
For at one time in this life, she had been his savior, hence the reason he was alive today.
Thirty minutes into resolving the issues Ewan thought Athena had kick–started, he noticed a pattern with a particular press company.
“What press company
is that? KN press company? I have never heard of it.
Sandro peered at the system, and shook his head in disbelief.
“What’s the matter, Sandro? Do you know them?”
“I’m not sure, since I didn’t find much on them last year.
1/4
25 But To Warse.
Ewan furrowed his eyebrows. “Last year?”
then.
“Yes, they are the company that had released the article of the hacking in our company Remember that we had suspected a spy in our midst, and had fired a lot, even without evidence. Yet we never did find out how the press com had gotten the intel; we never found out who their source was.”
A pause, where Ewan rested on the wall, and fixed his sight on the ceilings.
“I did a personal investigation. What I found out was that the press company had no physical location–only an online presence–and they have a huge following. I also found out that they didn’t report every news, except the hot ones; hot truths that threaten the collapse of companies and governments.”
A pause.
“I found no report on their workers, backgrounds, or whatever. Once, I even hired hackers to break into their system, but they couldn’t get past the surface. They had met a blockage of sorts,
and a warning” Sandro sighed, looking at the article Ewan had brought up on his laptop.
“Obviously they are behind this instant spread of news, and it’s the reason why we can’t totally buy the silence of other press companies. All those I met and spoke with, mentioned convincing the KN press first. It’s known as unshakable now. Last year’s attack had suddenly been taken down, we can only hope for the same now.”
Ewan drummed his fists on the hard floor, causing Sandro’s chest to ache; he wasn’t ready for his friend to relapse into the coping mechanism again.
*Sandro, I hate leaving my life to chance. You know I have never been that kind of person.”
Sandro nodded. But there was no choice this time around.
The same moment, Ewan received a call.
“Hello Suarez, what’s the update? And please don’t waste my time, get straight to the point.”
Sandro sat up straight, and gestured that the phone be put on loudspeaker.
Ewan obliged.
“Im sorry sir, I won’t waste your time. The latest update is that the hackers contacted us. They are demanding money to stop the matter, to clear the rubbish, and also to stop the press…”
Ewan and Sandro exchanged furtive glances. This could only mean that the KN media was working together with the hackers.
That would explain a lot!
“How much are they asking for?”
A pause.
Sandro sighed perceptibly. The money must be huge.
“They are asking for twn hillinn
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