THE CODE

𝙇𝙞𝙖𝙢'𝙨 𝙋𝙊𝙑:

It is month-end now. And it's time for a performance review meeting with all my circle members. Even before the meeting, I would usually predict the outcome.

This month I doubled the shipments from manufacturers and I'm expecting a huge profit. But as the meeting started, I was perplexed by the outcomes. 

The sales margin was 20℅ declined this month. How is this even possible? 

There was sudden chaos in the meeting room after the outcomes were announced. Everyone was discussing among themselves all the possible reasons for the decline.

I got up from my seat and stood in front of everyone. " Silence," I shouted. 

Everyone looked at me perplexed. " We are a circle! It means we function as a single unit. So there are no individual discussions. Now I want you all to give out the reasons. "

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Danny was the first one to speak. " Mr. Eaton, I think the demand for the product has decreased. "

I smirked at his response. " This is Hollywood, for god's sake! Demand never decreases in the land of dreams."

Ricky raised his hand all of sudden. "Yes, go on," I said to him.

" Mr. Eaton, I'm not sure about this. But I think we have competitors. "

I was dumbfounded for a second. I'm the only dealer in this whole Hollywood. No one has dared to enter my empire for this long. Small-time dealers and local gangs were thrashed by Eatons a long time ago. 

"What you say is highly impossible," I said.

" Think about it, Mr.Eaton. It could be the next strategy of our rivals. And we all very well know that our rival is from LA and he gets support from Russians."

This is why I made Ricky my assistant. He is more logical and intelligent than everyone else. " Can you elaborate your statement?" 

" It's possible that your rival in LA is rooting for you from both the business and underworld. There is a high possibility that he is linked with Hollywood. According to the confessions of the Con artist, the Russians may be just assisting him."

It all makes sense now. My rival could be a movie producer. But no one has the balls to go this far. Even if they want to do the business, they won't try to kill me.

Maybe it's another imposter set by my rival. And I have a nagging feeling that my rival has a personal vengeance against my family. But I can't say this out in front of my circle members. I should investigate that angle in private. For now, I should get rid of this exotic network in my territory.

" Okay, Ricky. Now tell me. How do we find out about this guy?"

" There is a masquerade ball next week at Millennium Biltmore Hotel which is located at 506 S Grand Ave. We should consider going there in disguise. If we find drugs there that are not supplied by us, then it's a matter of time before we capture our rival."

I nodded as I was pretty convinced by his plan. Well, Ricky is the mastermind in the circle. " You guys carry on with the meeting," I said and left the meeting room.

I went straight to my Uncle's old cabin. The desk was dusty. But I didn't care. I don't want anyone to enter here except me. There are so many sensitive files here and I can't risk anyone entering here.

I searched his cabin myself, and I didn't find any unusual. But there was a locker which I wasn't able to open. The locker code was five letters and I couldn't figure out that till now. I tried everything that I knew.

I tried typing Eaton, but it didn't work. Fuck this! But I deep down think that he made this just so that my enemies don't get a hang of it. That was when I stopped trusting my circle members. 

I thought of hiring someone to break this shit. But the note under his desk said that the locker was coated with something called vinegar. If someone tries to break this forcefully, then the vinegar will destroy the files in it and they will be lost forever.

This is annoying! My uncle was always interested in cryptography and I didn't know that he would go this far. Whatever is inside this locker, I think it contains all the necessary information to find out about my rival.

I believe that he was purposely killed because he knew something. I took out the note under his desk and read it for the millionth time to find out for clues.

" Whoa, this is Da Vinci Code," said a voice from behind me. 

" Hannah! You scared me this time," I exclaimed. 

" Oh, my poor baby. Don't be scared of me. And why are you carrying a Da Vinci Code?"

" What is a Da Vinci Code?" Sometimes she talks about something unknown to normal humans like me. Well, she is a writer and she knows a lot of stuff.

" It's a novel. And in that, there is something called the Keystone. And to open it one should know the correct password. If it is broken forcefully, the Keystone gets destroyed."

I think that I wasted a lot of time in physical activities. I should have tried to read resourceful things like this. " So, can you open this locker?" 

" Well, it looks like a five-letter code. And lit could be anything. I know nothing about your Uncle and only you can figure that out."

I groaned at her suggestion. " Do you think that I haven't tried everything? I'm stuck. And if you have read the book, you already have an idea of how to crack the code."

She scanned the locker keypad for a while. " Do you think the password is something related to the book?"

" Exactly, sweetheart. That is the only explanation."

" Okay. Let me try it," she said and typing something. But it didn't work. 

"So, ' Vinci' is not the password," she mumbled. " Let me try out the next one."

As soon as she clicked enter, the locker door opened up immediately. I was stunned.

" What was the password?" I asked out of curiosity. 

" It was Apple. And it's the same password of the last Keystone in the Da Vinci Code."

I didn't understand her explanation but I could care less about it. What I cared about the most was the files inside the locker. I opened it eagerly. 

As soon as I opened it, I was bewildered. For months I have been trying to open the locker only for this?