Chapter 18 Erryn
ERRYN
Ben didn’t answer the second call, nor the third on the drive into base, and he wasn’t in his office when I arrived.
I was trying not to spiral, pushing the image of Claire out of my mind as I dispatched three agents to Ben’s home address, instructing them to secure him and report the moment they made contact.
I logged into my terminal as I sat, the system accepting my credentials without hesitation.
My dashboard populated as normal, communications active, live network traffic streaming across the monitoring pane, operational systems responsive.
On the surface, everything appeared intact.
It was only when I attempted to access the central architecture that the block became noticeable.
I attempted to initiate a manual override to force a root-level authentication request through the legacy framework.
It declined.
My clearance still existed. I retained access to operational layers, internal communications, surveillance feeds—everything required to give the impression of control, but the authority tier embedded within each Chair’s credentials—the root-level override that allowed us to supersede any subsystem within the network—had been stripped from our accounts and reassigned to Vanguard Tech.
I couldn’t remove, delete, or hide any of the sensitive information that it shouldn’t have even been able to get near.
Helena grunted, spinning the laptop she had been using around to face me.
“Lox, did you authorize this?”
I glanced over the screen, already knowing the answer before I focused on the detail. The authorization string ran cleanly across the top of the display, stamped with executive clearance codes that exceeded the scope of the integration agreement I had personally signed off on.
“No,” I said, my gaze snagging on the timestamp and login code associated with it.
3376-989-220
Ben.
I stared at the numbers on the screen as I hit call on my phone, the agent on the other end picking up on the second ring.
“Ashcroft.”
“Update,” I said.
“This address has been vacant for just under two weeks,” Ashcroft said.
“Duvall has located the estate owner who confirms a Benjamin Calder terminated his lease and vacated immediately afterward. Hadley is attempting to access his accounts to see if there has been any movement, but is having trouble accessing the mainframe.”
My phone notified me of an incoming call, and I glanced at the unknown number.
“Return to base,” I said, before clicking across to the next call.
“Loxley.” There was silence on the other end of the line.
“Do I have your attention now, Erryn Loxley?”
Across from me, Helena leaned into her screen, her eyes scanning the page as she mouthed a series of numbers and then checked something on her phone before getting up and striding out.
“Speak,” I said.
“I’d heard you were not one for formalities,” the man said. “As you will no doubt be fully aware of, Vanguard tech now has administrative control of your mainframe architecture.”
“Oh, really? I might have missed that if you hadn’t pointed it out,” I seethed. “Who am I speaking to?”
“William Vanguard.” There was a faint, almost amused exhale. “I have a proposition.”
“Oh, so do I,” I said. “But please, ladies first.”
I could hear footsteps down the line, and a soft groan as though he sat, drawing out this little game of cat and mouse.
I was going to make this man suffer.
“I want London,” he said. “The Triarchy has grown exponentially in the last decade, and yet its infrastructure has not evolved at the same pace. You have been building an empire on a foundation that cannot sustain what you intend for it. I am offering you stability.”
The audacity almost made me smile.
“You’re offering me a coup dressed as consultancy,” I said calmly. “How fucking considerate.”
“A merger,” William corrected. “One that prevents a full collapse of your corporation before it occurs. I can assure you that your fellow Chairs are already…reviewing the necessity of this transition.”
My mind raced, running over every email I had seen mentioning Vanguard in the last forty-eight hours. Maxim’s silence slid into place with sudden, cold clarity.
“You engineered the instability,” I said quietly. “You and Maxim created the breach, then positioned Vanguard as the solution.”
“I prefer to think of it as strategic foresight,” William replied.
“Maxim and I have similar aspirations. The Triarchy is currently woefully underutilized by the Head. We feel a more political stance is its future.” He let that sink in for a moment.
“You are a pragmatist, Erryn. You built London into the most efficient faction of the Triarchy. You must see that the current structure cannot hold.”
“And your solution,” I murmured, “is to take my seat, and do what? Overturn governments?”
“Perhaps,” he said, his tone shifting. “But I am offering you a choice.”
I leaned back slightly in my chair, and it took everything in me to keep my tone neutral.
“Go on.”
“The American faction is imminent,” he said.
“The Head is already considering candidates. I was hoping you would accept the role when you were approached, but you declined, and the position remains open.” There was a pause, the sound of clinking glass and something pouring.
His nonchalance made my blood boil, yet I refused to let him manipulate me.
“If you support my appointment,” he continued after a long moment, “endorse the transition, and assist in smoothing internal resistance, I will ensure you take the Washington Chair. I admire your mind, and I think it would be useful in what I have planned.”
“You want my endorsement,” I said softly, laughing under my breath. “You tried to have me terminated, murdered someone in my employ, and then have the balls to ask me to endorse your coup for my seat?”
There was a slight pause.
“I was informed that your pride is not easily negotiated with. A sudden destabilization in London would have justified emergency oversight, however, I am aware this is no longer feasible, and I am nothing if not flexible, so here we are.”
“Sorry to have put a spanner in the plan,” I said. “Where is my assistant, by the way? I have an exit interview I would like to conduct.”
“I have no idea,” William said. “I have no ongoing use for anyone who has such a poor understanding of loyalty. I already have control, Madame Chair. I can dismantle the Triarchy piece by piece in front of you, let you watch it fall until there is nothing left, or you can see this opportunity for what it is. Expansion, with the guiding hand this corporation desperately needs.”
I huffed a bitter laugh, my next words cut off as Helena shoved her way through the door, a bloody and bruised Ben being hauled behind her by two of my agents.
“As with all business proposals, I trust you will give me a chance to consider my options,” I said, standing and making my way over to them. “But I have something that currently requires my attention.”
“Of course,” William said, his tone sickeningly indulgent. “Take the week, Erryn. I know this may have come as quite the shock.”
I hung up, my lip curling with distaste at the fucking audacity of the man who didn’t know who the fuck he was dealing with.
“He was down in the basement,” Helena said. “It seems the new integration stripped total authority from his passcode. Poor baby Benjamin couldn’t leave after he pushed the authority through.”
“Is that so?” I looked down my nose at him.
“Erryn,” he slurred through swollen lips, “I can explain.”
“No,” I said coldly. “No, you really can’t.”
I raised my gun and shot him between the eyes.
“Jesus Christ!” The agent on his right looked at me in horror, Ben’s body a dead weight in his grip.
“If a dog bites the hand that feeds it,” I said, watching the blood track lazily down Ben’s cheek, “it will always be a bite risk, no matter how well you train it.” I slid my gaze over and held the agent’s shocked stare. “Act like a dog and I’ll fucking walk you like one.”