31. Power

Chalam’s fingers are rhythmically tapping.
The nerves in his face are ticking.
Nail holds his superior’s gaze steadily, knowing this is a time to make eye contact, not stare at the carpet. The two books from Chalam’s personal archive are on the desk, the red and black covers bathed in the sunlight flooding in from the glass walls of the office. Those covers seem to glare at Nail just as hard as Chalam.
“There are blank pages in these books.” Chalam speaks softly, but his tone turns Nail’s spine to ice. Chalam has begun to use that tone around him quite often, and Nail knows exactly what that means.
He says nothing, only nods.
“Blank. Pages.” Chalam emphasizes each word by tapping his finger first on the black cover, and then the red. “You underestimated our little intern.”
“I did.” Nail acknowledges, willing every ounce of emotion out of both his voice and his eyes. For reasons he doesn’t quite understand, Kai is no longer the cowering yet brazen little intern he once was. This time, when he’d stolen information, he’d be resourceful and clever, returning what was asked for, but only after taking what he needed. Nail had miscalculated this time. Badly.
“Not just once.” Chalam emphasizes. “But twice.”
“I did.” Nail repeats. When Chalam speaks like this, he wants a reply to every question he asks and every statement he makes.
“Are you aware of what will happen once our little intern and my nephew and his little assistant access those files?” Chalam pauses, but both of them know it isn’t to allow Nail to reply. “Jet Saetangmasawat knows that I am responsible for his parents' deaths, but he had no evidence to back up his accusations. He did not have this.”
Chalam’s hands move toward the books and Nail flinches in spite of himself. Rather than hurling them across the room or at Nail’s head, Chalam picks up the books in one hand and opens his desk drawer with the other. He places the books in the drawer and locks it, but not before Nail catches the glint of metal. He had forgotten Chalam kept a gun in there.
“Once the information on those SD cards is made public,” Chalam’s voice would kill a corpse. “OmniVentures will dissolve, and the livelihood that you and I enjoy will disappear as well.”
Nail’s jaw sets. He is one of the few people who read the surveillance reports, and saw Jet Satangmasawat’s birth certificate—documentation that, in the right hands, can protect or topple an entire business empire.
In Chalam’s hands, that information is important leverage.
In Kai’s, it spells ruin for everyone and everything at OmniVentures, including Nail.
“I understand.” Nail keeps his voice low with an effort. His throat isn’t tight with fear, but anger. “And I apologize.”
“Something you seem to be doing a great deal of lately.” Chalam mutters, leaning back in his chair. His stare is cold, calculating. “I am well aware of how capable and talented an employee you are, which is why you have enjoyed the position you have for this long.”
In spite of the sunshine filling the office, a series of chills courses through Nail’s bloodstream. Images of potential consequences flash through his head: not just the loss of his employment and the roof over his head that comes with it, but also whatever clout and recognition he had fought to gain within the company. The way Chalam orders that failure be dealt with is something he is very familiar with, mostly because Nail is the one who has carried those orders out.
“This cannot happen again. I hope you understand that.”
“I do.” Nail is aware his answers are not enough, and swallows hard. “You have my word it won’t happen again.”
Chalam steeples his fingers in front of him. “Because?”
“Because,” Nail hesitates, knowing what Chalam wants to hear, but unsure at first how to phrase it. “The books will remain in your office, in a place only you will have access to. The security team will reassess access to your personal archives and seal any security gaps. I will personally do a sweep of your nephew’s office to secure any sensitive information.”
“And?” Chalam presses.
“And Kai won’t be a problem anymore.” Nail meets Chalam's gaze steadily. “I’ll see to that myself.”
“Good.” Chalam’s smile is thin. “See that when you clean up your mess, you do it thoroughly. Don’t disappoint me again.”
“I understand.” Nail takes a deep breath, and leaves the office without looking back. The door clicks shut behind him before he allows himself to exhale. He glances over his shoulder, half hoping the shark will hear his next words.
”I’ll clean up your mess, as I always have. This time, you might even thank me.”
There’s no one else in the OmniVentures break room, but the coffee machine is steaming. Kai fills a fresh cup, and flips open the folder lying on the table in front of him. Even at work, he adds cinnamon to the coffee so he has Cafe Con Miel, but today he wants his coffee black. Getting into the records room hadn’t been a problem, and Kai was still grateful for small mercies.
It was about time something was easy for a change.
He had left Mali’s condo last night before his sister could have a chance to talk him out of going through OmniVentures’ financial records a second time. This morning, Mali had been waiting for him in the lobby, then practically frogmarched him into Rome’s office.
Rome had given Kai an apologetic look. “I tried to stop her.”
“It’s not me you should try to stop.” Mali had planted herself in front of the office’s outer door, effectively blocking Kai’s exit, and glared at both her boyfriend and her brother. “This is a very stupid idea.”
“But you heard Pepper.” Kai had protested. “We need corroborating evidence and I know where to get it.”
“So does Rome.” Mali had pointed out.
“But Kai would be less suspicious.” Rome had countered. “And he could be in and out of the records room faster than we could because no one would stop an intern getting documentation for his mentor, which is technically what he’s doing.”
Mali had still looked doubtful. “What if he gets into trouble?”
“CCTV.” Rome had pointed to the small screens on the back wall of his inner office. “One of the benefits of being heir to this shithole is I have my own personal video feed. The board insisted for security reasons, considering my future role, and Chalam couldn’t turn them down. We’ll be able to see everything your brother is doing.”
“Which means so can anyone else.” But Mali had uncrossed her arms and stopped blocking the door. “Just—”
“Be careful.” Kai had thrown his sister a mock salute. “Don’t worry about me so much.”
Maybe Kai should have gone through the documents more carefully the first time, instead of shoving them all into a folder and running out before the CCTV saw what he was up to. He could have taken pictures rather than trying to sneak the whole thing out of the records room, but then he’d have to adjust the phone screen to see a full page and that didn’t sound very productive. He could always take pictures later, after Pepper had interpreted them.
If only he knew what to show her.
Thinking should not be this hard.
Kai takes a sip of the coffee, savoring the rich, bitter taste, and runs his finger down the next column of financial reports. Reading so many numbers is making his head ache.
His phone buzzes on the table, and he glances at the screen to see Pepper’s message:
PEP♥️: Any updates?
KAI: No. Still digging.
PEP♥️: Please be careful.
KAI: Stop worrying about me. It’ll be fine.
He sets the phone down and reaches for his coffee again.
His hand is shaking.
Because he’s tired, that’s all. Numbers always turn his brain to mush. He just needs to push through and everything will go back to normal.
Kai takes another sip. The liquid is warm, a comforting contrast to the growing chill in the room. He resumes his work, but something feels off. He blinks hard, watching the numbers dance on the paper in front of him.
Numbers don’t dance.
Kai’s tongue is starting to tingle, and now both hands are shaking.
He puts the coffee cup down and presses the heels of his hands against his eyes. It doesn’t do much to alleviate the buzz growing in his head. There’s also an uncomfortable heat creeping through his body, but the AC is definitely on—he can hear the faint hiss of air through the vents.
When Kai peels his eyes back open, his vision swims.
There isn’t just one coffee cup anymore.
There are three.
But there’s no one else at the table.
Kai’s pulse pounds in his ears as the room warps around him.
Something is wrong.
Something is very very wrong.
And then he sees her.
“Kai?” Pepper is standing in front of him, her face a mask of concern.
“Pep—Pepper?” Kai’s brow furrows. His tongue has gone numb, making it hard to form words. “Why are you here? I said I’d let you know when I had the in—the information we needed.”
“I know, but I was worried about you.” Pepper cocks her head, eyes narrowing slightly. “Who told you to get all this information?”
“What?” Kai stares at her. That buzzing is back, and he shakes his head to clear it. “You know who told me.”
Pepper leans closer to him. “Can you remind me?”
“Jet,” Kai mutters, surprised at how hard it is to hold his head up, much less keep Pepper’s face in focus. “Jet told me. Because—because Chalam killed our parents.”
“You have absolute proof of that, do you?” Pepper’s voice is almost a whisper.
“Not yet,” Kai shakes his head again and the room around him shakes too. “But we’ll get it. After—after we can prove fraud. I told you—“
“Can I ask you something?” Pepper leans back, her eyes dancing with mischief. “If one of your siblings had to live and one had to die, who would it be?”
“Why?” Kai’s foggy brain struggles to grasp the importance of the question, but it’s like trying to catch smoke.
“Come on,” Pepper’s voice is low and teasing. “Which one would die? Mali? Or Jet?”
Again, Kai shakes his head. “Neither.”
“But if you had to make a choice,” Pepper pushes. “Would Mali die? Or Jet? Tell me which one, Kai, it’s not that hard of a question!”
Pepper’s tone grates against Kai’s nerves.
Pepper would never ask him a question like that.
Kai tries to get to his feet, but his limbs have become dead weights.
“Kai,” Pepper puts a hand on his shoulder, though whether it’s to support or restrain him isn’t clear. “Answer me.”
“No.” That single syllable is hard to push out of Kai’s mouth, but he repeats it. “No. I won’t.”
“Stubborn little boy,” Pepper wheedles. “You have to make a choice. Mali or Jet?”
A surge of panic grips Kai. Thinking feels like wading through molasses, and he latches onto what seems to be the only relevant part of the question.
“Jet.” Just saying that one word drains Kai of energy. Streaks of color and black dots are dancing across his vision, dizzying him.
“You want me to kill Jet.” Pepper coos, gently patting his hand. “That’s all I needed to know. Thank you, sweetheart.”
Kai’s mind rebels.
Pepper doesn’t coo.
She would never kill Jet.
And she would never refer to Kai as “sweetheart”.
Not under any circumstances.
That’s his last clear thought before the world swims completely out of focus…
Rome nearly knocks the door off its hinges and Nail off his feet as he bursts into the room. Nail yells in surprise, throwing out an arm to keep himself balanced and knocking the coffee cup off the table. As the porcelain smashes, Rome’s gaze follows the spilled coffee. The dark liquid is sliding across the tabletop at the same speed that Kai is sliding off his chair.
“Kai!” Rome catches the younger man before he can hit the floor.
“Rome?” The word is slurred. Kai’s head lolls and his eyes are half shut. “What—”
“It’s ok. Everything’s ok now.” Rome maneuvers Kai’s boneless body into a sitting position on the floor, so that his back is against the wall. He turns his attention back to Nail, yanking the jackass up by his collar.
Rome’s voice is a low growl. “What did you do to him?”
Nail gags, clawing at the hand around his throat. There is a satisfied smirk on his face. Rome slams him back first into the wall, hard enough to leave a dent.
“Let me rephrase, jackass,” Rome loosens his grip just enough to allow Nail to talk. “Tell me what the hell you spiked him with.”
“No need to worry,” Nail croaks, running his tongue over his split lip. The smirk is still plastered on his face. “Kai will come down in a little bit. But he’ll feel like shit when he does.”
“Bastard!” Rome backhands Nail, allowing the other man to slide down the wall, before grabbing the folder off the table and returning to Kai, hauling him upright. “Get up, Kai. Come on, get on your feet.Let’s get you out of here.”
Rome half carries Kai out of the break room and slams the door behind him. Nail is still crumpled in a heap and Rome leaves him there.
Kai blinks at the sight of Nail on the floor, then tries to press a hand to his temple and ends up slapping his own face. “Dizzy…”
“I know,” Rome wraps one of Kai’s arms around his neck, allowing the younger man to lean heavily against him. “I think Nail drugged your coffee. Can you make it to my car?”
“Maybe,” Kai pants, waving one hand vaguely in the direction of the break room. “Need my folder first.”
“I’ve got it,” Rome holds it up, knowing Kai can probably only see a blurry outline but wanting to reassure him just the same.
Kai’s breath increases and he struggles to hold himself upright with each step they take. He’s practically hyperventilating by the time they get to the parking garage. Rome adjusts his grip long enough to unlock the car, before lowering the sagging Kai into the back seat.
“Just lie down, Kai. It’s ok.” Rome keeps his voice soothing. When he tries to go to the driver’s side door, Kai’s clammy fingers latch around his wrist. “I’m just going to start the car, Kai. I can’t drive if you don’t let go of me.”
“Jet,” Kai’s voice is little more than a moan, and his dilated eyes are darting in all directions. “And Pepper. I want…I want…”
“I know.” Rome gently pries Kai’s fingers loose. “I’ll call them. I’ll let Mali know, too. Everything’s going to be ok.”
Kai whimpers, his head rolling back and forth, fingers digging into the seat cushions. There’s a light sheen of sweat on his face and his gasping breaths are so short the color is draining from his skin. Rome closes the passenger door and pulls out his phone.
ROME: Where’s your girlfriend?
TALAY: Em's at the hospital where she’s supposed to be. Why?
ROME: Send me the location. I’m bringing Kai to see her. He’s been drugged.
TALAY: [staring eyes, red exclamation points] Who—
ROME: Nail.
He shoves the phone back into his pocket and gets in the car. “Kai? You still with me?”
“Too hot…” A low moan sounds from the back seat. “It’s too hot…”
Rome turns the AC on full blast, and drives.

"32. Guardians" 
Read from beginning: "1. Ignored"