Chasing Eden Ch. 10-13

Sitting up now, he kept the gun to his head, moving his fingers around as if he were almost playing with the trigger. "I have everything I need right here..." he whispered to himself as he gripped the gun harder and touched the flash drive on the necklace he was wearing.

Peter got up to his feet and tossed the gun into a briefcase on the floor. After kicking it closed, he stepped in front of a mirror and stared at all the wounds on his body. There's no point in containing myself with alcohol anymore, he said to himself, pulling out a knife from his pocket. Then, furrowing his eyebrows with a crazy look in his eyes, he continued, But I still need to remember what I'm fighting for.

He then brought the knife to his shoulder, before unleashing another wound.

***

Later that night, Peter was downstairs, wearing his usual shirt again. When he got to the bar, the girl that normally served him drinks greeted him by saying, "Hello again, Sir... What will it be tonight? Whiskey neat?"

"No thank you," Peter answered with a serious look on his face. "I won't be drinking tonight. I'd like to just play the piano if that's okay with you."

"That's fine... Are you sure there isn't anything I can get you? How about a drink on the house?"

After handing over some money for a tip, Peter explained, "That won't be necessary... but if you see anyone from my party coming down here, please let me know."

Peter then took a seat at the piano with his sleeves rolled up, exposing his cuts, and began playing a song. It was different from the wedding song he played in the past. It was a more dramatic and intense piece that he had played a few times over the past couple of days.

Normally, his work on the piano was technical and precise. This time, however, it was almost as if he was purposely playing this song chaotically, hitting several keys he normally didn't touch during it. But even with how hectic it sounded compared to the way he normally played, the music still flowed together somehow, leaving the bartender wide-eyed, wondering if he had played it like that on purpose.

After several minutes of playing, Peter got up from his seat and started to walk away. However, he was stopped in his tracks by the server who pointed out, "That seemed a bit more hectic than normal... I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be like that or if you mis-hit several keys..."

Without looking back, the man just stood there and answered, "It was supposed to be played like that... I don't make mistakes."

"Well, it was still very good... I've been meaning to tell you, you're a very good piano player."

"Thank you."

"There is an events vendor that comes in here from time to time. They should be back next month. I think they are looking for a piano player. I know you're heading back to New York soon, but would you be interested in playing for them? I could leave them your contact number."

"That's okay. I only play for leisure."

"Okay... Well have a good night, Sir..."

"Goodnight... And oh, by the way... If you see anyone from my party... don't tell them what you saw tonight."

"Yes, Sir..."

As Peter walked off, an evil smile came over his face as he approached the elevator. So you'd like me to audition for a company next month? he said quietly to himself. Well sorry, lady, but I don't plan on being alive that long...

***

Back in the mental instate, Peter opened his eyes and looked around the room before grabbing the clock next to his bed. I actually fell asleep, he thought to himself. Three hours is pretty good for me... but I still didn't see you...

After getting up to his feet slowly, he walked over to the sink and splashed water in his face. Staring at himself in the mirror, he noticed that some of his cuts had faded away. I guess there's no need to feel that pain again... Eddie's doing his part...

He then looked down at his wounds and started pulling one of his scabs off. I guess Eddie was right; it was best to go with his plan... Still, I would have preferred to handle it my way...

Why... Why did things end up this way? I had it all planned out... Why did I stop to explain myself to her?

As Peter looked into the mirror, he began to think back to the images he saw that day. The first image he remembered as he looked into his own eyes, were the eyes of Hawthorne when he said, "Some say this information might even be worth dying for..."

After Peter ripped the necklace from his neck and presented the flash drive to the audience, his eyes scanned the room. Where is he? Show me something Then, when he saw the look in Hawthorne's eyes, a light switch went off in his head. That's it! he screamed to himself as he took off.

Running down the hallway, his eyes were wide and he looked more awake than he had in years. We finally did it, he said to himself. It's all going according to plan...

I'm fully aware and I can see everything clearly... My heart rate is low and I don't have any tunnel vision... You must be leading me... Yes, I can feel your hand guiding me.

As he took a turn down the hallway, his eyebrow suddenly raised in confusion. I wasn't supposed to go this way but... I just feel like it's right, somehow... It should get me there quicker, but why didn't I think of this earlier?

Now sprinting down the hallway, full of adrenaline, sentimental thoughts started to flood his mind. Sorry Eddie... You're my best friend and your idea it's definitely better, but I need to take this one into my own hands.

Kenny... I'm sorry I couldn't be the brother you always wanted... I trust you to do your part when I'm gone...

And Camilla... I'm sorry you've been pushed into all this mess... I tried to keep you out of it, but it was impossible once I set the plan in motion. Hopefully, you'll be safe once I'm gone.

I'm sorry everyone. This was no one's fault but my own. Don't blame yourself. None of you had any say in the matter. I chose to take this trajectory myself because it's a cruel world and some of us deserve cruel endings. I'm sorry but there's nothing that can stop this from happening.

Then, as he looked straight ahead, he noticed Camilla suddenly standing in his way, staring at him with it scared look on her face.

***

Once Peter was done reliving the events of that fateful day, he tried to refocus as he continued to stare at himself in the mirror. There's no point thinking about it anymore but... why did she have to get in the way? And why didn't I just run past her?

Suddenly, one of the workers knocked on his door and announced, "There's a visitor here for you."

Slowly putting a shirt back on, the man looked at the door and answered, "I'll be out in a second." Then, as he finished dressing himself, he looked back in the mirror and shook his head.

"She just can't seem to stay away, can she?"

***

During the trial, Eddie stood before the courtroom writing on a whiteboard. After several minutes of calculations, he finished with a quick summary, explaining to everyone what had been uncovered.

"So if you look at all these numbers, Your Honor, you'll see that not only was this specific algorithm used to alter gross domestic sales, total revenue, and overall net profits, but by them switching from gap to non-gap on these specific terms, and then presenting these numbers where EBITDA is all of a sudden included, it was done in a way that would trick any common financial analyst into thinking everything looked right, if he were to ever get this far.

"The algorithm was provided in the flash drive. The deconstruction of the algorithm I just showed you proves the ill-intent of the matter. And if you go back ten years ago, there's an inconsistent number that pops up every three quarters. Most analysts think this is because of a repeating decimal that eventually rounds up, but it's really because a decimal was purposely not carried over.

"It's a genius move, to be honest, if it weren't illegal. But little hidden numbers like this are designed to trick analysts, which in turn allows you to present incorrect numbers without question, which causes analysts and everyone else to think the company is doing better than it really is, which allows the stock price to go up, which helps the company qualify for more loans, which you can plug into this algorithm over here to make it look like profits instead of borrowed money."

The judge stared at the board for a second, scratching his head. Then, with a deep breath, he asked, "Do you mind explaining that to me one more time? And can you try explaining it to me like I'm ten-years-old?"

Eddie agreed but before he could start speaking, Marco cut him off, yelling "Objection, Your Honor! This all stems from information that was gathered illegally. He can't present this if it was taken without the company's consent!"

"We've already agreed that you can't show the intent on which the information on the flash drive was taken," Eddie pointed out. "But as for everything on the board, I literally wrote this out in front of you all. This is no longer information that was taken from the company. I just decoded it in real time. It's math, and you can't argue with math."

Then, with a smirk on his face, Eddie asked Marco, "Oh, and speaking of math... why don't you get Jack to come in here and explain these inconsistencies? He's the Chief Financial Officer after all, isn't he? Or is he just a puppet?"

"Your Honor, I don't even know what to make of the numbers Eddie is presenting. What we do know, however, is that this was all derived from Peter. And as we concluded, even though he's not here to be cross-examined, he's become deranged over the years so we can't use his findings as anything other than manipulation against our company."

"Deranged, huh?" Eddie asked with an angry stare. "And when did this all begin?"

***

"When did this all begin?"

Three years prior, Peter jumped out of his car on a rainy night after pulling over on the side of the road. There was a giant gap in the railing where it appeared a vehicle had struck it before going down the cliff.

No, no, no, no... he said to himself as he ran towards the edge of the cliff. After getting further up the hill, he couldn't see any tire marks on the narrow winding road, but when he looked down, his biggest fear had been confirmed.

Far down, inside of a deep trench, his wife's car was upside down, crushed. Adrenaline took over as he ran down the hill, not caring whether he slipped or fell. Please, please, please...

The rain poured harder as he pulled the woman's body from the car. Nine-one-one had been called, and an ambulance was on its way. All Peter could do was wait helplessly as he performed CPR on her broken and cut up body.

His tears and her blood were washed away by the rain that was pouring down on them. Then, as he felt her ribs cracking from the chest compressions, he could feel a piece of himself dying on the inside. I'm sorry...

The next few days were a blur for Peter. Before he could even grasp what happened, he was sitting at her funeral with an empty look on his depressed face. Though Peter saw plenty of people, it was almost a week before he spoke a single word to anyone, outside of lawyers and medical personnel.

When he finally went back to their house to sort through her belongings, he eventually stumbled on a little box that was wrapped up. After slowly unraveling it, he read the message on top which said, "Happy Birthday, Peter!"

Gently, he opened it, and his eyes grew big. Inside, there was a flash drive, which he pulled out and observed carefully. Then he found a message inside the box, which he opened up to read.

"Happy birthday to the love of my life. It looks like you were right. Have fun reverse engineering this! Love, Irene."

***

Back at the mental institution, Peter walked in to find Camilla sitting at the other side of a table. "Hello, Peter. Long time no see," she greeted with a smile on her face.

"Hello, Miss Camilla," he responded as he took a seat across from her. "What brings you here?"

"I have some questions, and you're the only one who might have the answers," she explained before taking a deep breath. "But I'll admit, it took me a long time to build up the courage to see you."

"Okay, I'll answer what I can."

Before engaging further in the conversation, the blonde took a minute to give herself a pep talk. I need to be very careful with my words, she said to herself as she stared into his cold eyes. I've done a lot of research, and it's gotten me this far. I just need to know what's going through his mind.

"What exactly did you come here to find out?" Peter asked.

"I guess I just wanted to get to know the man I worked with for a month. It certainly wasn't the same person I saw at the Shareholders' Meeting. Who are you and why did you pull that stunt?"

"You can make your own conclusions about who I am. As for my actions, I can't tell you that."

"How long have you been working on this? When did it all begin?"

Peter looked away for a moment, almost spacing out. "I don't quite know exactly where it all began... I just know when I started... but I can't tell you that either."

Changing her tone, Camilla used a sweeter voice as she took a different approach. "Hey Peter... I mean no disrespect with this question, but do you think there's a world where you would ever be interested in me?"

After taking a second to ponder something in his mind, the man just shook his head and answered, "No."

"How about a one-night stand? Like when I invited you into my room at the hotel... is there a world where you would ever accept an invitation like that from me?"

"And you weren't just a drunk mess? Uh... still no."

"Oof... rejected again," Camilla said, chuckling. After gathering herself, she looked up into Peter's eyes and continued, "But you know what? I knew that would be the answer, and yet, I still find myself so drawn to you for some reason. Why is that, Peter? Why can't I just write you off as a lunatic and go back to hating you?"

Folding his arms, Peter just stared at her for a moment before answering, "In short, it's because you get attached to all your supervisors too easily."

"Oh, I do? And do you have an example of that?"

Pausing for a moment, Peter simply answered, "Well, you started dressing like me..."

After looking down at her own outfit, Camilla realized she was, in fact, wearing something very similar to what Peter was wearing. Growing a bit red, she quickly explained, "This is just a coincidence... A button up and slacks are common, so it's not like you can say you influenced me to wear this."

"You didn't dress like this at the beginning of our trip. As a matter of fact, you went shopping in Los Angeles and slowly started dressing like me the more we worked together. You used to wear those suit dresses and skinny skirts.

"Skinny skirts? You mean pencil skirts?"

"I guess..." Peter answer shrugging his shoulders.

"You've worked for Sunshine for how long, and you don't know what pencil skirts are?"

"I already told you I worked in the finance department. I don't know anything about clothing products."

"Still... Well, that's beside the point," Camilla said, shaking it off. "If you don't mind indulging me, can you further explain how I get attached to my supervisors?"

"There's nothing to explain, really. You were attached to Miranda for a long time, and then you were attached to Jane. Now, you're bothered because you found out I'm not the big ray of sunshine you thought I was."

"Okay, I never thought you were a ray of sunshine but... I really enjoyed working for you... maybe even more than them... Why do you think that is, Peter?"

"Because they provided you nothing," he answered with the stern look on his face. "You and I have different strengths, and we respect that about each other. Miranda and Jane... what do they do that you can't? I was the only real supervisor you've ever had. They were just your friends."

Staring on with big eyes, Camilla responded, "Maybe you're right... I really never thought of it that way... And you don't think of me as a friend at all?"

"Absolutely not."

Camilla began chuckling to herself again before looking back into Peter's eyes and smiling. "That's what I've always liked about you. You've never been afraid to hurt my feelings... And that's what makes you such a reliable source for advice. Like when you suggested I apply for the Area Director position."

"I just said they'd probably offer you the job if you applied for it. I didn't suggest you actually do it."

"And you were right. How did you know that?"

"I can't tell you that, but I'm sure you'll figure it out pretty soon."

"So, do you think I should accept the offer?"

"Hell no." Peter scoffed.

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"I'm not sure..." he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Your two supervisors before me offered you nothing. I'm in a mental institution, so I offer you nothing. Sasha offers you nothing... Eddie's gone... You might as well leave... Find a company that actually appreciates your work and helps you grow."

"Hmm... but what about Mister Hawthorne?"

"What about him?" Peter asked, never changing the expression on his face.

"Is he not someone I could find value in learning from?"

"No."

"What about Jack?"

"The CFO? He can't teach you anything."

"That's pretty interesting," Camilla expressed with a big sigh. "If I moved away to pursue another company, could we keep in touch so I can ask you for more professional advice?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary. We're no longer colleagues, and we're definitely not friends. I don't see any reason for us to continue communicating."

With a smile, Camilla stood up to her feet and looked down at the man she had been questioning over the past several minutes. "Thank you for answering all my questions, Peter. It was so nice seeing you again."

Raising an eyebrow, the man looked up at her and asked, "Did you get what you were looking for?"

"Yes, I did," Camilla answered, now chuckling to herself all of a sudden. "But do you know what, Peter? Now that I think about it... I guess I really wasn't looking for answers... I was just confirming what I already knew..."

***

That same night, when Camilla got home, she decided to pour herself a glass of wine to relax. However, as she took a seat on her couch, satisfied with the work she did for the day, she heard an urgent knock.

Once she got up and opened the door, she found Eddie and Agent Parks on the other side. They were both breathing heavily and they had looks of rage on their faces.

"What have you done?!"

To be continued...

***

Chapter 12

A few days into the trip, Eddie showed up to the airport to meet with Agent Parks. Once the FBI agent finished with the rental company, they got into the vehicle together so they could speak privately.

"So, how's Peter doing so far?"

"He's doing a good job of holding it together," Eddie explained as he stared out the window.

"Have you seen anything troubling?"

"Not yet, but I'm keeping a close eye on him."

"How's he progressing with the decoding?"

"He's still working on it," Eddie answered with a smirk. "We hired this woman named Camilla to handle all the client meetings so he can focus on his work."

"Camilla, is it?" the agent asked, scratching his chin. "And what do we think about her?"

"I don't quite know yet... I'm pretty sure Hawthorne is using her to spy on us, but I can't tell if she's a threat or not. She's easily manipulated, but I think she's more influenced by her own personal issues for now..."