The Big Break

It was the fifth time that the children were going back to the company for their internship. By now, they didn't need to consult Anna about anything. It was also common to see kids running around everywhere they were allowed access to. Larissa didn't bother keeping an eye on them as long as they did a good job. In fact, she was pleased that they had capable hands on deck. Nobody was able to match up to the efficiency in which the children were processing documents.

The boy was always seen carrying boxes, ladders, files and sometimes crutches that Scarlet had forgotten. It had become such a common sight that nobody really paid any attention to the errand boy whenever he walked by. This was exactly what Jasper wanted.

On the other hand, Alex was able to go around and meet people from almost every relevant department. There wasn't anyone who didn't know who she was. Alex's cheerfulness and adorable helplessness made many people want to get close to her for various reasons. It also helped that the Wilde princess inherited her mother's talent as a social butterfly. She knew exactly what to say to get the answers she needed. This helped the trio get a rough picture of the company's organisational structure as well as the relationship between some key individuals.

Scarlet was confined into the room because of her leg. It wasn't easy for her to move around but that was perfect. It gave her all the time and privacy she required to look through the documents Jasper and Alex scanned for her. The young writer also took this opportunity to read up on anything interesting and expand her knowledge. The girl loved reading email correspondence the most. It was highly entertaining to see how some people communicated. Humans had such a strange notion that people could read their minds to understand what they wanted without specifying it. On the other hand, there were humans who preferred to have everything down in writing. The printer's side of the story was always the most interesting. Scarlet could identify who belonged to which camp from them with the carbon copy and blind carbon copy addresses. It was like one huge family drama at times and the young writer soaked it all up.

However, today, the trio were nowhere to be seen even though they had reported for work. Larissa was currently out and the office was a livelier place without the mean lady boss around. However, when Anna tried to find the children, she didn't know where they were. 

Upstairs in an empty meeting room, the three geniuses were reporting their findings to Claire who'd disguised herself as one of the secretaries working with Carol. 

"We found some really strange things," Alex started the meeting and presented her notes.

"According to the people from the IT department, Ms Lawrence and Mr Collins would often disappear at a certain time every Tuesday after a phone call. They didn't leave by the front entrance either and Mr Collins would drive them out. Many people assumed that they were going on a secret date but I wouldn't think that is the case. They're most likely meeting someone because Larissa would often bring a thumb drive with her."

Scarlet nodded and passed them a file. "This is what was backed up from Larissa's computer. I found it in the shared drive under the admin folder. We used the override password that Jasper stole. It's purely by chance that she backed up the contents of that thumb drive into it that we were able to confirm it wasn't a date."

Claire and Carol took a look at the printed documents in the file and the secretary smiled. They had what they needed. In just three weeks, these children managed to do what they couldn't do before. Placing spies in various departments probably helped but none of these spies could move as freely as the interns. With a good understanding of how the company functioned, these children were able to put on a good show.

In actual fact, whenever Jasper was running errands from place to place, he was actually giving things to the spies and requesting for items to help them with their quest. He was the deliveryman in their team and the thumb drive was successfully copied out and uploaded for Scarlet to review.

Alex was able to distract the manager for long enough so that she wouldn't notice what Jasper was doing. Also, the artist found out a few more things about Collins that nobody might have discovered. Larissa was often annoyed at the director and let it slip that Cody Collins had a gambling addiction. Most people only knew him as a sports enthusiast but the truth was out. Cody watched sports to gamble and recently, he'd made a huge loss that made Larissa grumpy. She wanted the latest Kate Spade bag but he wasn't able to get it for her birthday.

"It's all coming together now," the secretary told them. While they now had the evidence piled up for a solid case against Cody and Larissa, they wanted to try for more.

"Did you manage to see any hints about who they were collaborating with?" the lesbian asked Scarlet who sighed.

"Everything that was a private dealing was dealt with on their private phones. We don't have any outgoing traces from the emails. However, I would suggest you look into this company. I've been seeing a lot of small transactions going to them with high frequency but nobody has really verified that they were a legitimate company in the beginning. There is also close to no proper email communication between the vendor and our company. Larissa also handles this client very carefully, not many people are in the loop."

Carol took a look at the vendor creation profile and audit requirements. How did they miss such a thing out? While the quantity of the orders was small, the frequency was enough to make them question the legitimacy. A thorough background check should have been done by the internal auditors. It should never have been allowed to be awarded a contract if it didn't meet the passing requirements but all the documentation for the company were done nicely.

"We need to investigate which internal auditor signed the papers off. This is definitely a cause for concern. What did the finance department say?"

Alex shrugged. "They were too busy to look into it carefully and processed it like any other order. It was endorsed by Larissa after all."

Carol frowned. "I see... thank you for letting me know. It seems like we have to relook into our processes for purchasing. I will inform Mr Wilde about it. Good work, kids. Be careful. While spy missions seem fun, it can be equally dangerous. If you cannot find any information about who they are contacting within the company, leave the rest to us adults. I don't want any of you sneaking into the car and following them like a stowaway, understood?"

Alex looked slightly guilty as that had been her initial plan.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Satisfied, the secretary tucked the file under her arm and sent Claire away first to avoid anybody's suspicions. It wouldn't be odd for the CEO's personal secretary to spend some alone time with the CEO's daughter. In fact, Carol always came prepared.

Today, the children got to enjoy peppermint chocolate biscuits as they left the meeting room. Carol waited for them to be received by the 'spies' before she went to see Wilmer. Now that they had enough evidence, it was time to prepare for battle.