Seth tries to do his job the best he can. Yes, he’s the head of the company; yes, his meetings include playing poker; and yes, it works out fine. This time is no different, even though the news is more worrying than usual. But he’s going to take it one step at the time and be just fine. It’s more of the same in the end -- talk to these people, arrange that meeting, and don’t panic anybody. The stakes are higher, but it’s nothing he hasn’t done before. And he gets to spend time at the fire station with Connor. Seth should be good.<br><br>And there’s nothing out of the ordinary on Connor’s end. It’s a normal day, spent doing normal things, with the normal people. He happens to love his life and, though some things could be better, they could also be way worse. Connor is satisfied, and nothing is going to change that.<br><br>Everything is going according to plan. There’s no reason to believe that anything has to change. Right?

Out of Nowhere

“Because I’m paranoid?” Seth rubs at his forehead. “It’s going to sound crazy.”


Bruno and Fremont exchange glances again.


“Let us be the judge of that,” Bruno says gently.


“The number of people attempting to hack into the clients’ feeds—three models to be more specific—was larger and in a mathematical pattern.” Seth made a face. “That isn’t something that just happens, so I talked to the clients and sent them to Lisa. She’s also supposed to hire the PI.”


“Who reviews the hacking attempts?” Fremont asks.


“Simon,” Seth supplies. And then realizes they need more than that. “Head of IT, Simon Bisset.”


Connor doesn’t meet his eyes and Seth knows they’ve got to talk. He doesn’t know what’s wrong, exactly, but Connor isn’t a hider. So yes, they’ve got to do it.


“Uh, and there’s a situation at the office.” Seth gestures to the hospital bed. “I don’t know about what, I woke up yesterday. It was pretty late and there was nobody I could ask.”


Chapter 19