Chapter 51
Ender briefly tipped his hat at the others he passed before reaching his office in the middle of their Intelligence Command Center.
Unlocking the door, he let it close and automatically lock behind him as he entered.
The room was round, like the rest of the area, and it was all black, from the floors to the walls.
Not that much of the walls were uncovered.
His brown wooden desk blocked the lower half of the wall, running almost all the way around the room, and the multiple seemingly seamless built-in screens took up the upper half. Leaving only a ten-inch black strip between the two that he used as a corkboard.
In the room, there was a single brown wingback executive office chair that no one was allowed to sit in but him.
On his desk sat organizers with office supplies, and a bunch of random ass shit, from chicken figurines to a stack of tablets.
There were a total of four holographic tactile keyboards scattered around, and a single old-fashioned mechanical keyboard at the center, which is what he mostly used.
Beside it sat his wireless mouse. Also in the center, built into his desk, was a screen scroll touchpad.
Sighing as he sat his ass down in his hovering cushy office chair, Ender unlocked the top drawer and pulled out one of his many phones.
“Nope!” he snorted as he noted the missed calls from Severo’s parents.
Quickly tapping in the number for Severo’s secure line, he tossed it onto the desk after putting it on speaker, before rolling towards his keyboard and starting to type, trying to dig into Cyrus’ parents.
He’d already dug up quite a bit on Killian, after the whole kidnapping shit, and he'd pretty much found what he assumed he would. But for some reason, he’d never really pushed too deep into Orion and Vivian Grimm. Which bothered him now.
Sure, they weren’t involved in the Bureau, but the position their son had, or used to have—if the two hadn’t been lying about quitting—should have made them a ‘need to know’ in terms of danger risk.
And while he didn’t want to sound like a completely stereotypical paranoid delusional fuck, it made him once again think that it was possible that, at some point, someone had fucked with his brain.
He’d just pulled up a list of Orion’s business ties when Severo finally picked up.
“Hey, Ender, soo…” The Shadow Dweller trailed off sheepishly.
Ender snorted. “I figured you would know.”
“Soren had me give them your location.”
“Of course, he did.” Ender leaned back as his eyes scanned the list on his screen, looking for anything shady, as he asked, “Did they really quit?”
“Yes, they really up and quit,” Severo said with a tired-sounding laugh.
“The office is a mess. Killian’s next in line is doing the opposite of great as his replacement.
Oh, and the new boss is coming on Monday.
Can’t say I’m looking forward to it. But then, why would I, when he’s been harassing my phone with endless blocked calls.
The man managed to royally piss me the fuck off after calling and threatening Seri.
I figure I’m in for a confrontation when the bastard gets here. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Who is taking over?”
“What? Did your network fail you?”
Ender rolled his eyes. “You outed someone of mine recently, and I haven’t had time to check in with the new person, or rather check the latest reports. I’ve been busy, so sue me!” Busy, as in, possibly rampaging.
“Brom Grimm. Cyrus’ cousin, apparently. An older one, for that matter. Don’t ask me specifics on who he is related to and in what way, I gave up on trying to figure out how Cyrus is related to all of the other Grimms ages ago. There are too many of them.”
Brom Grimm…? Ender frowned. The name wasn’t ringing any bells.
He knew it though, yet there was just a whole bunch of nothing, aside from being certain he was on the CEB Governing Council.
Which just meant it was odd he didn’t know more about someone so high up, and that he now had one more person he needed to look into.
Ender pursed his lips. “So, about the two pests now in my compound… Are Killian and Cyrus really here to—”
“Stop being paranoid.”
Ender chuckled. “Can’t help it.”
“I know, but there is no master plan against you. They aren’t there to trick you. And as I said, they really did quit their jobs. The freakouts in his family are very real. Brom wasn’t faking being pissed off, that’s for sure.”
“I thought you were ignoring his calls.”
“The bastard called and threatened Seri! Threatening him back was the least I could do at the time.”
“I’m surprised Seri answered an unknown number.”
“He likely wouldn’t have, but he was busy with Skya and—” Severo let out a heavy sigh. “—he is a bit unsteady after what happened with Skya and Killian. His paranoia is flaring up again…and…” The man hesitated.
Ender wrinkled his nose. “You don’t have to explain further. That man of yours has had a mighty rough time of it, and it hasn’t really been that long since he’s been free of his initial nightmare.”
Though…calling Seri free of what happened was pushing it. Something like that stuck with you. Ender knew that plenty.
“Yeah, anyway, I called after that. So, really, it’s more that he keeps trying to call back.
But enough about that mess…congratulations, I think?
Would have been nice if you were the one who told me the news, not gonna lie,” the man grumbled, before asking, “How are you feeling? How are you feeling about, um…‘it’?”
“Good,” he said, before correcting himself. “Or more…happy. I want these babies. So, I’m happy.”
And he was. Ender felt beyond happy. He also felt stupidly calmer and more stable now that his two sperm donors were there. Blasted hormones… Gorgon instinctual fucking needs—ugh…
“That’s…good…?”
Ender stayed quiet for a moment, before once again asking, “So, they are really here to—”
“Yes, Ender!” Severo snapped testily. “They are really there to take care of you and the babies, so give them a chance. Give Cyrus a chance.”
“Why are you mentioning him specifically?”
“Because I know you have a particular dislike for Fates, even though you have one living there already.”
He scoffed. “Hatred would be the right word, and that other particular Fate is complicated.”
Quill was very complicated, and as for his feelings regarding him…well, they had also been complicated at first. But now he liked the kid in the way any good uncle would.
“Cyrus is complicated.”
Complicated?! What was complicated about a man who seemed to have a rule book permanently shoved up his ass? “Bullshit, the man—”
“Look, Ender, Cyrus is not a rule breaker, never has been. But love definitely makes people hypocrites. He’s had a rough time since all that shit went down with Killian getting taken, and well, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
He probably knew better than Severo did.
“I’m just asking you to give him—both of them—a chance.”
“I’ll think about it.” In his mind, it was less about giving them a chance, and more about what exactly Severo was wanting him to give them a chance for. As he told Killian, he wasn’t looking for a relationship.
“I suppose, you thinking about it is the best I’m going to get.”
“Yep!” He chuckled, before once again not being able to stop himself from asking, “So they really are here to—”
“YES! For fuck’s sake, Ender, stop being paranoid, you quack!”
“Afraid it’s not in my nature. Oh, by the way, tell those parents of yours to leave me alone.”
“Aha, no. No, you are on your own. They are already up my ass about all of this, mainly as the other Grimms are pestering Cyrus’ parents about him quitting. Not sure how they figured out you’re involved, but they did.”
Ender knew exactly how. Emiliano and Annabella Voli had more ears to the ground than he did, and a much further reach.
As cautious as he was, and as selective as he was with letting in new members, he knew the fuckers had eyes in his organization.
Eyes that he was fully aware of, and kept a watch on.
Better to keep them and know who they were, than kick them out and risk not knowing.
Either way, they had known months ago about his pregnancy…
Them knowing had come with a mysterious box full of baby stuff.
They just hadn’t known who else had been involved in the making of said babies, and only because he’d kept the knowledge to his inner circle.
And they only found out after some serious prodding.
Ender supposed he should expect more boxes.
“Well, they should calm down slightly, as Cyrus should be on a call with his parents now, if he hasn’t already finished. I can only hope they stop trying to call me.”
Severo chuckled, and cheekily said, “Good luck with that.”
Ender smirked. “Good luck being the only one within distance of them and Cyrus’ family! Bye!” He hung up.
Sighing, Ender slowly set the phone back in the drawer. “So they really…mm…”