Cleaning up the Company

For the next hour, the only sound in the conference room was the sound of typing. After that, Aiden had stopped the immediate threat and could take a small break to discuss more with Derek. He stretched and cracked the joints in his fingers.

"Okay, I stopped the spyware that was actively accessing company data but some of the damage was done before I got to it. There was a data breach and they got away with a third of your employee's corporate account information, and all confidential data relating to a project called 'Renew 7'." Derek sighed in relief.

"'Renew 7' was rejected and going to be thrown out anyway so at least they didn't get a current one that was actually important. As for the accounts, can you tell which ones are compromised?"

"Yup!" He nodded happily.

"Please send the information to my email…unless that's compromised as well." Aiden chuckled and shook his head.

"It's not. I'll send it now. Also, I'll need a bit more time to remove the rest of the malware but luckily they're not doing anything yet. I'll also change the security software because if we leave it as is, you'll just end up getting hacked again."

"Alright. I'll need you to coordinate with the IT department about the new software but we have to get rid of whoever was embezzling the funds first. Can you find out who it was?" Derek's expression turned cold just thinking about someone daring to steal from his company. How dare they! Where did they get the nerve?

"I can. All you have to do is follow the money." Aiden began typing again and a few minutes later he had the answer. "Hm, it looks like two people were ultimately responsible but more money went to one of them versus the other. I'll send that information to your email too." A second later and it was done.

"Thank you. I'll go fix that now then. Will you be fine here for a while?"

"Mhm. I'll take the time to remove the malware. Let me know when to talk with the IT guy's." Derek nodded and left the room while Aiden got back to work. Before he realized it, it was well past midnight. Soon, Derek came back with two other people following behind him. He was also carrying a paper cup and set it down near Aiden.

"I brought you some tea. Take a break if it's nothing urgent." Aiden stopped typing, took a sip of tea, and smiled at Derek.

"Thanks!" Derek simply nodded before speaking.

"The people responsible for the embezzlement have been fired and handed over to the authorities. These people," Derek motioned to the employee's and they stepped forward, "are from the IT department. They'll be in charge of overall security so tell them everything they'll need to know." One of them held out a hand and Aiden politely shook it.

"I'm Luis Frazer, the new head of the IT department. It's nice to meet you and thank you for your help."

"I'm Aiden and it's no problem." The other employee also introduced himself but he stood at a distance and didn't offer to shake hands.

"I'm Paul Smith." Aiden nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hello." He got the feeling that Mr. Smith didn't like him very much but it didn't really matter. Aiden got to work setting up the new software and discussing different things with Mr. Frazer. The other guy didn't do much and didn't really have anything to say the entire time. By the time Aiden fixed the immediate problem, cleared out the remaining malware, upgraded the security, and helped Derek with the embezzlement issue, it was around four in the morning. Aiden yawned and stretched.

"All done?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. Everything should be fine now."

"Thank you," Derek placed a hand on top of Aiden's head. "I don't know how bad things would've gotten without your help." Aiden glanced around, making sure no one else was nearby. Then, he pulled Derek's hand to his cheek and nuzzled into his palm with a content smile.

"I'm just glad everything worked out." Derek caressed Aiden's cheek with his thumb and smiled adoringly. The two of them stayed like that for a few short moments and then reluctantly moved apart.

"You should go home and rest. You haven't slept at all and it's not good for your health. I'll call the school and report you absent for the day." Aiden laughed.

"You're starting to sound just like Mrs. Hudson. I'm sure she'll say almost the exact same thing when I get back. But are you really qualified to lecture me on not sleeping? You didn't sleep either as I recall."

"That's…not the point." They both argued playfully for a bit before the conversation moved on to more serious matters.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Aiden asked.

"The only option is to efficiently deal with the aftermath of this incident and make sure it doesn't happen again. I'll also have to have the finances checked to make sure there isn't anymore embezzlement going on in other departments. Thanks to you helping the IT department though, you've made my job a lot easier."

"Happy to help." Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Derek's secretary came in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt sir, but there are several calls waiting on hold for you and some of the executives are demanding an emergency meeting be called. It appears word has spread that there was a breach."

"Alright, I'll be right there." The secretary nodded and closed the door. "Looks like I have an annoying day ahead," he mumbled to himself before looking back at Aiden. "I should get to it and you should go back and sleep."

"Only if you promise to be home for dinner and sleep early tonight." Derek smirked.

"Oh? Now who sounds like Mrs. Hudson?" Aiden got up from his seat and gathered his laptop and cell phone.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I do but I'm serious. You left really early, probably didn't eat much of anything the entire day, and then didn't sleep. I'm also well aware that you'll probably only have coffee for breakfast today and attempt to slip lunch. Honestly, it's only thanks to your secretary that you're still alive."

"Alright, I get it. I can't promise I'll be right on time for dinner but I promise I'll come back and sleep earlier than normal. Does that work?"

"If you don't make it for dinner, you at least have to promise to eat something before then. Don't skip your meals!"

"Yes, I promise. Okay?" Aiden looked as if he were debating whether or not to trust him but he accepted in the end.

"Alright, I suppose that'll have to do." Derek and Aiden said their goodbyes and Aiden left the company. Just as he got outside, he heard a car horn and turned to see Milo waiting for him. He walked over and got in the back seat. "Milo, how long have you been waiting here?"

"Hm? Since around seven last night. Mrs. Hudson said you took a taxi to the company and she didn't want you to have to get another on the way back."

"What? That's crazy! Did you sleep at all? What about dinner?" Milo laughed.

"Don't worry, I ate and I had Derek's secretary call me just before you came out so I slept just fine."

"You didn't have to do all this. I would've been just fine riding a taxi. I feel bad you had to sleep in the car." Aiden frowned.

"You really don't have to. It's part of the job to be anywhere, at any time, we're needed. We also get paid a lot for that reason so relax."

"Fine, if you're sure but I'll still try not to make it a habit of having you drive around at all hours and sleep in the car."

"Ha ha! Much appreciated then!" Milo dropped Aiden off at the house around 5 am. Mrs. Hudson hadn't arrived yet for which Aiden was secretly grateful. He was in for some serious nagging from her and he really wanted to just sleep.

Aiden went up to his room, changed his clothes, and snuggled into bed. It felt great to relax after everything but he felt bad that Derek had to keep working. The company executives were sure to give him a hard time about what happened. Turning to his other side, Aiden pushed his thoughts away, pulled the blankets tighter around his body and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Later in the morning, after Mrs. Hudson arrived for work, she went up to Aiden's room to check if he was back. When she saw him peacefully sleeping, she smiled warmly and quietly closed the bedroom door. She had a lot to say to both Aiden and Derek but she'd let him sleep first. Really, just what was she supposed to do with those two?