Twisted Web of Truths

Chapter Three

"I don't care!" a man shouts, his voice heavy accents slams his hands onto the table. "I want him found before anyone else laid a hand on him."

"We are trying but we have not been able to access the private database of him and the rest of the suspected alliance." A pale-skinned man stood at the end of the hologram table, raising a hand.

"Work harder!" the man grits out, the veins on his neck protruding green. "We don't want to tell the boss that even after eight years, we still can't find him now, do we?"

"Sir?" a woman walking towards him with a tab in her hands waits patiently. "The firewall is too strong. We need a hacker. A real hacker."

"Thomas!"

A boy ushered with two guards flanking both sides immediately took a seat before the hologram table. His glasses fall down his nose a couple of times as he furiously took control of the entire IT room. The hologram popping up screens of numbers and words that make little sense to them but more so to Thomas.

"How long is it, Thomas?" the man's eyes lit up with an eagerness one could mistake him as a kid at Christmas.

"Sir, he doesn't like to be bothered when he works." The guard whispers, giving him a look similar to maternal instincts.

The man huffs in annoyance, waving his hands about. "Yes, yes. Of course."

A default ringtone pierces the air. Thomas's hands falter but it kept typing a second later. Thomas' guard flashes the direction of the phone in disdain. The man, clearly their supervisor, had his phone in his hands, cursing at whoever's calling.

"Kent speaking."

"I have a favor to ask." A familiar voice calls through the safe line. Kent has a smile on his face when he realizes who.

Jovan Powers.

"Go on."

*****

Waking up in the morning was always an unpleasant realization but today, it's worse. The aching sunlight made him groan out loud from the opened curtains—no doubt his mother's doing. He glances to his side, finding Cole in an upturned position, mouth open.

Chuckling to himself, he gets up, swinging his legs on the hardwood floor. The house is too quiet for a Wednesday morning. His ears picked up noises from downstairs, shuffling of papers and a familiar voice muttering the latest and nastiest curse words.

Both his parents are awake. Good. He doesn't know how to survive this day and it's only just the beginning.

"Good morning." Mara was pouring hot water into a mug filled with a teabag. He stands just behind the kitchen counter.

"Is dad alright?" Ethan gestures to the increasing curse words from his father's office.

Mara shrugs. Dark circles surround her eyes. "He's doing the best he could. Your brother is still sleeping, isn't he?"

Ethan took a seat in front of her, watching as the delicious aroma of tea fills the air. "What do you think?"

Silence falls between the mother and son. Ethan wanted to ask all the questions he has in his mind but seeing his parents work too hard to finish the problem he caused. He felt deeply guilty. He fidgets with his fingers for a moment, deciding to open his mouth just as his mother spoke.

"Will you take this to your father? He's been up since last night." The worry in his mother's eyes concerns Ethan as he took the mug, warm between both his hands.