Melted: A MaxTul AU story

Chapter Twenty-five: Because of the Children

Despite the fact that Tul had messaged everyone on Team 2 the evening before that they should stay home the following day, their department was full of activity. He and Prin watched silently from his office as Chakrit's men put hard copy files in boxes, cleared people's desks, and then went through the department as if they needed to prep the place for surgery.

Last night, after Tul had finished his tea, he had went back to his bedroom only to find missed message after missed message from Chakrit. The SPI Securities leader wanted to give Tul a heads up that his team was not going to be finished with its work by the end of the day, and that the team was going to have to come back the next day with more people and equipment. Another text advised Tul that he should probably give the rest of the team the next day off.

When Tul had called him back, Chakrit told him that his staff had found bugs in everyone's computers, except for Tul's and Prin's, plus hidden cameras in the desks, in two book shelves, and in a filing cabinet. Their storage room had two cameras as did their conference room and their break room.

During the search, Chakrit had become more and more suspicious,so there were some things he wanted to say in person not over the phone. For one thing, this had to be an inside job. No one from the outside would have the kind of access to place so many devices. This kind of coverage happened in secret only by someone on the inside and someone who had access to the area over a long period because the devices would have had to have been placed only a couple at a time.

His team only had one person on site to really scour through one of the desk top computers, so he chose Ann's. The tracking devices for being able to remotely look at her computer concerned him enough that he wanted to call in specialists to look through all of the computers the next day.

The search also erased his suspicion of Max because it was clear from what they found on the computers, that the spying on the team had started way before Max came to observe the company.

When people walked by Team 2's office the next day, and many people did when word spread that SPI Securities was back and had brought reinforcements, they saw more security people going through the department and the conference room. However, the truth behind the spyware and the bugs did not get out right away. Instead, the gossip spread about what was happening to Team 2 and whether the team was being disbanded or audited or something else.

This actually helped Tul. He wasn't sure if everyone in his family would have miraculously been free for dinner that evening if there weren't rumors swirling about what had been found in the offices. His father had called demanding answers about midpoint through the day, and Tul had truthfully stated that he was about to call and ask if he could come home for dinner that night because he wanted to talk to the family about what was going on. He even took Max's advice and emphasized his concern about them all getting their offices checked.

"But, Dad," Tul asked. "Will everyone even be home for dinner tonight? It's the middle of the week. I know that Plustor and (he had to swallow before saying this) Mae often have business meetings, in the evenings." Tul swallowed again. He knew he was laying it on thick. He couldn't recall the last time he had called Mettinee Pakorn "Mae." Maybe when he was nine; she had slapped him immediately upon hearing that word come out of his mouth.

But his effort was lost on his father who sounded like he was looking up something on his computer. He was probably looking for his stepmother's and stepbrother's electronic calendars.

"Tul, I'll make sure everyone is home tonight. We'll have dinner at 7:30, but feel free to come before that. You aren't home much, so it will be nice to see you."

Tul was not about to go any earlier than he had to. "I'll see if I can get away, Dad, but I have a feeling that the follow up to this is going to extensive, and I will have to take some measures today."