Marginal Edge of Betrayal

Jenny's POV

In the stillness of the room, the wall clock ran noisily. Every second seemed to be a countdown toward something I couldn't really understand. Unspoken worries permeated the air, and I could sense Leonard's anxiety next to me, his thoughts running nonstop.

Last night left us with a heaviness. I knew the uncertainty and anxiety I had expressed would be weighing on him. His demeanor this morning caught me as more guarded and more on edge. Still, I had no regrets about expressing it. Not only in this struggle against Victor, but he also needed to know how close we were to disintegrating.

Our relationship was on a thread, and if we were careless it might break.

I tried to ignore the sensation and concentrate on the reports strewn all over the desk before me. The breach of Victor had fundamentally rocked our security. Files vanished, knowledge we would have to pay for lost. All morning Leonard had been on the phone attempting to evaluate the damage.

Still, I realized the true harm had already been done.

My eyes skimming over the details, I turned the pages but nothing made sense. Everything Victor had done throughout the last several months seemed deliberate, almost too flawless. This was personal, not only about demolishing us. He was playing a game we did not completely comprehend while coming for Leonard and me.

"Jenny."

Leonard's words sliced through my thoughts, and I looked up to find him grimly standing at the window. We have to talk.

I felt the weight of those words and sucked hard. " Regarding what??"

He waved to the reports, his eyes narrowing with annoyance. "This. Us." All things. We cannot continue this, running after Victor's every action. Exactly what he wants—we are reactive rather than proactive.

Rising to meet him, I crossed my arms. And going forward, what do you advise? He already runs five steps ahead of us.

Running a hand through his hair, Leonard remarked, "That's the problem." We are playing his game here. We have to seize authority and rewrite the guidelines.

And how do you suggest we accomplish that? I asked, my voice more exact than I had meant.

Leonard's jaw stiffened. We stop reacting here. We get him to come to us.

I looked at him, trying to figure out his direction with this. "And what, just sit here and wait for him to move forward? We cannot afford the risk that exists there.

His voice steely, he said, "It's a calculated risk." Victor finds great delight in disorder. He loses his edge if we cease supplying it.

Though the doubt still bit me, I wanted to believe him. "What would happen if it fails? Suppose he already has everything he needs to destroy us?

Leonard came forward, his eyes fixed on me. "then we resist." In concert.

His fervor and pure will inspired me to believe we could do this. Still, there was a part of me that worried we were in overreach and that Victor would ultimately prevail regardless of our efforts.

Leonard, we have been here before. I remarked gently. "We have experienced this kind of risk; every time it feels like we could lose everything."

He stretched out and lightly grabbed my hand. "This won't be lost this time. I pledge.

We gathered with our staff later that afternoon to review the incident. Tension permeated the room, and as Leonard described our revised approach, I could sense the discomfort among us mounting.

Leonard replied, pacing to the front of the room, "Victor's playing us. But we are going to quit participating as well. We no longer react as we once did. From here on out, we will be the ones making the calls of direction.

Though there were whispers of agreement to his statements, I could see everyone's countenance was full of doubt. Victor was different, not that they didn't trust Leonard—he was a superb tactician. He had a knack of entering people's minds and challenging all they knew.

I started spacing out throughout the conference; my mind wandered to the last few days. Something about the hack didn't sit right with me; the more I considered it, the more I saw we were lacking a vital component of the jigsaw. Victor was after something particular, not just files for the fun factor. Something that might damage us in unexpected ways.

I took Leonard aside following the conference. "I have to look at something."

He arched his eyebrows, his interest aroused. "What Is it?"

"I do not know yet," I said. Still, I feel we are not seeing the complete picture. Victor is not displaying something else that is happening.

Leonard squinted. You believe he is hiding something?

I know he is, I said. And I'll be investigating what it is.

The building was fairly empty when I arrived at the office where the hack had occurred. It was spooky; the silence was broken just sometimes by the background hum of machines.

Walking toward the server room, my footfall echoed in the darkly lit corridor. My hand hung on the doorknob as I stopped at the door. Something seemed... strange. Though I couldn't find it, the hairs on the back of my neck were on end.

Setting the notion aside, I entered the room and felt as though the cool air washed over me. I went across the rows of servers, focusing on the terminal from whence the hack had started.

I started to get uncomfortable as I started sorting through the system. The breach was rather exact and too tidy. Although Victor's people were decent, this was quite different. They seemed to have inside assistance almost as if.

As the awareness struck me, my fingers floated across the keyboard.

One member of our squad had turned on us.

Heart pounding with the weight of what I had found, I ran back to the flat. Though betrayal was not new on our planet, the knowledge that someone we relied on had sold us out dealt a blow, not one for which I was ready.

Leonard was already waiting for me when I arrived; he seemed agitated.

His eyes darting across mine, he questioned, "What did you find?"

I inhaled deeply to help me to stabilize myself. "We own a mole."

His expression stiffened, and for a time we simply stared at each other as the weight of the matter sank in.

He insisted, "Who?".

"I am not sure yet," I said. But I'm going to find out.

Leonard's jaw tightened, and beyond the surface I could feel the resentment boiling. "We must move quickly. Should a mole exist, they already may be providing Victor with more information.

I nodded, the weight of what was ahead weighing me. Now we were entering perilous ground, and the stakes had just gotten more real.

But there was no going back.

No more.

I lay in bed that evening and couldn't fall asleep. My head whirled with questions of who among our closest friends may have turned against us.

The worst aspect was not knowing whom I could rely on going forward.

And that terrified me as well