Tower Office

Erik circled Genesis Central Plaza, skirting around a couple of solar-powered buses unloading passengers for weekend shifts. They were mostly maintenance and housekeeping workers but there were probably a few secretaries that needed to finish last minute paperwork before Monday morning.

A marble fountain dominated the public space in the center of the plaza, ringed by flowering hedges and black iron benches. The stone of the fountain and floor of the plaza were worn by 150 years of flowing water and foot traffic, but the cobble stones were still etched with the names of the 20,000 original citizens of Genesis.

Leon looked away from the fountain. Most people visited the plaza to find inspiration, but those names always felt like eyes. They watched him come and go, judging and expecting perfection. More than the towers that stood all around the plaza. He belonged to those towers, and they were his playground. Leon wasn't intimidated by the power that looked down on him, but he could never know his ancestors' opinions of him.

There were four high rises in Genesis Central Plaza. The most prominent was the city's government building. It was built with pale gray marble like the fountain and just as old. The others were elaborate constructions of glass and metal. Each housed the main offices of one of the Big Three.

Erik stopped the car in front of the skyscraper directly across from the government building. It was blockier than its neighbors, shorter and wider. The Campbell Health building to the right was shaped like a double helix while Dreyfus Technologies was tall and sleek on the left.

"Kane let's see if my father has had his caffeine yet," Leon said, pushing his door open. "Erik, would you park the car please?"

Erik nodded. "Sure, boss."

Kane swung out of the sedan and buttoned his suit jacket. He followed Leon up the cement steps. Leon fished a silver key card out of his back pocket and waved it in front of the double doors. One of them clicked open and swung outward. Kane and Leon stepped through to the whitewashed lobby. The entry door shut with a whisk and locked behind them. The reception desk was empty, and their footsteps rang across the waxed floor. They stopped in front of the executive elevator and Leon tapped his card against the panel on the wall.

"Do you think he's in a good mood today?" Kane said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside.

Leon shrugged and pushed the button for the penthouse office. "He's only happy when he has a problem to solve."

The doors slid shut and the elevator lurched into motion with a hum.

"Isn't there always a problem to solve?"

"Usually." Leon grinned.

"Man, if he's always in a good mood, then I don't want to see him in a bad mood." Kane ruffled a hand through his hair. It stood up straight on top of his head.

"No, you don't." Leon's grin faded. "You really don't."

The digital display above the elevator doors blinked the number 21. It slowed to a stop. Leon grimaced at the sinking feeling in his gut. He stepped out of the elevator, coming nose to nose with ice-blue eyes. One corner of Dahlia's pink lips stretched up into a smirk.

"Perfect timing," she said. "Father is ready for you."

"Dahlia," Leon growled, "what did you tell him?"

She shouldered past into the elevator and propped one slim hand on a hip before jabbing at the buttons on the console with her other. "Only the truth, of course." The doors closed on her gleefully twisted face.

"Damn." Kane shook himself. "That woman gives me the chills."

"Try being her brother."

"No offense, but no thanks."

Leon huffed out a long breath. "None taken. Time to face the music."

He walked past the secretary's desk and knocked on the dark wood doors to his father's office. The gruff voice that answered laid dread over him like a fire blanket.

"Enter."

Leon squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. He was the Ambross heir. He would play the part even in front of his own father. Leon shoved the doors inward and stalked across the wide room.

The opposite wall was all windows overlooking Genesis Central Plaza. There was a sitting area to his left and a library of shelves stuffed with books on the right. His father's grand antique desk seemed small compared to the expanse of windows behind it, and his father even smaller. That was an illusion to intimidate their allies and rivals alike.

Grant Ambross was not a small man, in any sense. Leon stood a good four inches taller, but what his father lacked in height he made up for in brawn and presence. The only physical resemblance they shared were their azure eyes and dark honey-colored hair, except Grant's had gone gray. Leon and Dahlia took after their mother's side of the family, tall and toned, but each reflected their father in minor ticks and mannerisms. Maybe not so minor in Dahlia's case.

"Leon." He could hear his father exhale through his nose from across the room. "You lost Howard."

"Is that what Dahlia told you?"

"Is it untrue? Do you know where Howard is?" Grant leaned back in his cushioned office chair. His sharp eyes analyzed every movement as Leon casually slid into a chair across from him. Kane stood a few feet behind Leon, his hands behind his back.

"I do not know where Howard is, but it is not a loss."

His father's tone was flat. "Oh, is that so."

"Yes—"

Grant held up a hand. "Before you explain why, let me reinforce something." He stood and moved around the desk, his fingers trailing over the edge. He leaned against the front and bent forward. His hands gripped the leather arms of Leon's chair. "Dahlia is the brawn and you are the brains. What happens when the brawn slips up?"

"The brains take the hit." A muscle twitched in Leon's cheek.

"It is an embarrassment to you, so you need to fix it before you look weak." Grant pushed away from Leon and crossed his arms. "If you look weak, then I look weak. Ambross is not a name that should ever be uttered in the same sentence as musings about weakness."

Leon's eyes were hard. "Yes, Father," he bit out between clenched teeth.

The lines of Grant's face softened. His mouth twitched up in half a smile similar to Dahlia's. "Now, wipe that hateful look off your face and talk to me."

"Howard didn't know anything."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The look on his face when Dahlia flicked out her Shock Cane."

Grant nodded. "That usually does it."

"He was just a desk clerk anyway. We thought he might come across useful information during his paper-pushing duties, but I don't think he was high enough up the food chain. We don't let sensitive material pass through just anyone's hands and why would Dreyfus be any different?"

"Fair point, but what are you going to do now?"

Leon took a breath. "Did Dahlia tell you about the women who interrupted us?"

"She mentioned them."

"Do you have your tablet?"

Grant reached across the desk and opened the top left drawer. He fished out a black tablet and handed it to Leon. "What do you need that for?"

"You'll see in a minute." Leon pressed his thumb against the edge of the screen. A yellow light blinked in the upper corner and then the display appeared. He pulled up the database program and typed in a name. Leon handed it back to his father.

The database had been created by Dreyfus Technologies years ago. It had been commissioned by the Genesis City Government to assist with law enforcement. The database compiled all the pictures and information that people voluntarily uploaded onto the internet into portfolios. Those portfolios could be located by entering someone's name or an image of them. It wasn't against the law for people other than government officials to use the database, but it wasn't exactly legal either.

"Calyx Williams, huh?" Grant said, scrolling through the information. "She seems like an interesting young lady, but most of this information comes from third party sources."

"Apparently she's a rather private person. The only details about her life are from public records or her friends' posts online."

Grant plopped the tablet on the desk. "I see she works for Dreyfus but how does will this benefit us?"

"Ms. Williams is a tier 4 employee, which means her clearance within Dreyfus Tech is only two grades below that of their CEO."

"Alright, how are we going to get her cooperate?"

Leon grinned. "My leverage is already in place."

Grant's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so? I guess I should have more faith in you, son."

"Have I ever failed you before?"

His father laughed. "No, you haven't. Tell me more about this girl. What are you thinking?"

"Ms. Williams is the type that will resist until the bitter end, so negative motivation will only work for so long. Right now, she believes that her friend's life is on the line, but I only plan on utilizing that thread for a short period of time. My plan is to draw her in, develop some amount of trust, and plant the seed that her employer is not the white knight that they appear to be."

"Wait until the right moment, then let her go with the hope she will come back to you of her own will."

"Exactly." Leon nodded. He rested his elbows on his knees. "It will take a little time, but I don't think we'll be able to dig into Dreyfus any other way."

Grant stared at him, the gears clinking inside his head. Leon knew that look. His father was precisely analyzing all the options available, calculating the time involved with each, and the probability of success. He stood up from the front of the desk.

"Very well," he said. "Leon, I will let you run with this. Just remember that time is limited, and this may be our last chance."

"Yes, sir."

Grant strolled around to his chair and paused before sitting down. "I will find other projects for your sister in the meantime, but she will be rubbed the wrong way about Howard for a while. Even if I explain this to her."

"It might be best if Dahlia didn't know what I was doing. You know she has a difficult time being gentle, especially with fragile things." Leon rose from his seat and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Grant smirked. "Yes, I certainly do know that. She is very good at what she does, but not much else. It is something I have always been proud of but also had sympathy for." He shifted a packet of documents from one pile to another on his desk. His eyes flicked up at Leon. "You may go. Do something fun this weekend. You look serious even when you're smiling."

"I wonder where I got that from," Leon muttered.

Grant shook his head in amusement as Leon turned away. Kane fell into step behind him. They crossed the office and shouldered through the doors to foyer in front of the elevator. The doors stood open as though it was a waiting getaway car. Leon jabbed the button to descend two levels.

"That was hella uncomfortable but could have been a lot worse," Kane said as the elevator started to go down.

Leon grunted. He knew exactly how bad it could have been. They could still be in his father's office having their asses mounted to the wall. He was in shock that he got away with only a stern reminder.

"Kane."

"Yeah?"

The elevator slowed and the doors opened. Leon stepped out and turned back to look at Kane. "Find Erik and go back to the club. I want their video feeds from the time period that Calyx Williams was there last night. I want to have an idea of who she really is before we meet again."