Satyr Play 03 Pt. 01

"I'd love to get that shield spell for my pack and Mary," Roy sighed.

Ignoring Roy, Camila got Henry's attention once more. "You came in for this afternoon's meeting with the Directors? Why don't you take a nap in the interim?" She gestured to her couch.

He was sorely tempted, but he had a few things he had to take care of, and he'd promised to set aside time for Siobhan for whatever she needed. "I-I can't. I'll try to take a nap at lunch, and I'll go home directly after our meeting. I-I should get started." When he got a nod, he stood and headed for the door with his head down.

Camila looked to Roy then unlocked the door before Henry got to it. He went through and closed it behind himself. He gave Felix another nod then headed to his office. He sighed in guilty relief when he saw Marisa wasn't at her desk as he really wasn't up for another conversation. He unlocked his office door, stepped inside, and locked it behind himself before dropping his ass in his seat. He leaned forward to rest his face in his hands. He was so tired.

When he caught himself nodding off, he pushed himself upright and booted his computer. He had work to do before Siobhan arrived. He'd spent Sunday putting the finishing touches on the documentation for the new firewall applications. The new code was basically a lite version of what VRL was using, but he'd rewritten some modules to make the differences significant enough to prevent anyone from reverse engineering it to break VRL's firewall. He'd surprised himself to discover how many ways there were to create an 'N' Dimensional Labyrinth. Each agency was receiving different code, so a breach of one wasn't a threat to the others. Of course, their labyrinths only went to three levels before letting the potential hacker know they were getting nowhere.

He was pleased with the work, and while he hated documentation, he was proud of the package he'd produced. He even thought his old professors in college would agree.

Right after his nap at noon, he planned to head down to the boardroom to triple check the test server he'd built for this demonstration. He knew the techs would want proof, so he was going to give them what they demanded. He knew his check was redundant, but he was nothing if not thorough.

The software was ready. The documentation was ready. The test rig was ready.

He felt a little better about himself.

He realized, if his life had gone as young Stanley Garin had initially planned, this might have been the only measure of success and failure he'd have faced.

He stared out his window at nothing as he reflected on how little pain that life would have contained... but how little love as well.

-=-

Camila called for Sigrid once Henry left her office. The blonde arrived shortly, and Camila locked her door once more as Sigrid took a seat next to Roy.

"What's up?" Sigrid said cautiously as she saw the concern on her friends' faces.

"It's Henry. Something's bothering the lad, and he's closing himself off. He's hurting, but he won't talk about it," Roy said. Camila and Sigrid blinked in surprise at the big man who scowled back at them. "What? Can't I be concerned for the boy?"

Camila held her hands up to calm Roy. "Of course, you can! We've just not heard you express it so clearly before!"

Roy squirmed. "Yes, well... I am concerned! He's... he's like a son to me, and no one likes to see their kid in pain!" Even he surprised himself with that confession.

Once she recovered from her surprise, Camila looked to Sigrid. "When you and Meixiu were at his place Sunday morning, did he say anything that might explain this new behavior?"

Sigrid thought about that for a moment, then looked up. "You saw the news about the Glass People in Kuwait City?"

"Yes!" Camila exclaimed.

Roy's expression just showed his worry. "The cat's out of the bag on that one. There's nothing the Hidden Races council can do about that. Way too much publicity on that. Did-did Henry have anything to do with that?"

"No, but he was there while his mind was on walkabout. He witnessed it. He said so much death when I asked him about it. He might have seen some truly horrifying things."

Camila frowned sadly at Sigrid. "He needs to talk about this with someone. If he continues to refuse, we may need to have an intervention for him."

The others nodded.

"So, is VRL going into the network security software business?" Roy asked Camila.

She smiled gently. "It was actually Henry's idea."

Roy frowned. "Did he have second thoughts about giving them the source code to VRL's firewall source code?"

Camila shook her head. "No, he said he thought that a better way to get the agencies off our back would be to truly give them what they wanted. Henry said he figured out how to write a new firewall. I approached the new Director of the NSA, who brought in the other two agencies' directors. We had a meeting, and they all showed interest in having Henry write them an application. They're coming in today at 2 PM with their senior technical people to review the code and take delivery of the applications."

"How much are they being charged for the software?" Roy asked.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand for the application, if they use it and they will, plus a yearly service contract for fifty thousand," Camila said with a smile.

Roy's eyebrow rose. "Is that price high or low?"

"They aren't getting an exclusive, so we can sell it to other companies. How many companies do you think would be interested in a firewall the three top US Security agencies use? The banks alone will be beating down our doors to get this. We're going for volume," Camila said.

"Let me know how Henry is in the meeting," Sigrid asked as she stood. Camila nodded to her, and Roy stood as well.

It was another Monday, and they all had work to do.

Chapter 9

Siobhan entered Henry's waiting room just before 11 AM and smiled at Marisa, who gave her a brilliant smile in return.

"Good morning, Marisa!"

"Good morning, Siobhan! Ready for your appointment?" the executive assistant asked with a cheeky smile.

"Don't make me more nervous than I already am!" Siobhan scolded gently, her Irish lilt coming through clearly.

"You've no reason to feel nervous. This is Henry we're talking about! He's one of the sweetest men I've ever known," Marisa sighed.

Siobhan relaxed a little. "Right. Okay then, I'm ready."

Marisa nodded and picked up the phone. "Henry? Your 11 AM is here." She listened then nodded to Siobhan as she hung up. "Go right in."

The brunette smiled at her blonde friend and opened Henry's door to step inside. She closed the door behind herself and smiled at the handsome man sitting behind his desk. He looked a little weary, and that made her hesitate. "Good morning, Henry. Are you okay? You seem tired."

"I must look like a wreck as everyone is telling me that," he replied with a weak smile.

"Not a wreck, just tired," she assured him.

"An improvement since this morning then." He held his hand up and smiled to forestall her next question. "I didn't sleep well last night, and it was a busy weekend." He gestured to the chair before his desk.

She sat and smiled at him across the desk. "I wanted to thank you again for inviting me to the party."

He looked at her in surprise. "Silly girl! You're one of my treasured friends. Of course, I'd invite you!"

Siobhan smiled happily at being considered treasured. At the same time, it made what she wanted to ask of him more difficult to do.

She glanced up at the ceiling speaker. "Is it safe for us to speak of things not spoken of?"

Henry followed her eyes then smiled at her. "Yes. I graduated finally. No more squealing alarms."

She returned his smile. "Good, good." She shifted on her chair as she prepared herself. "This isn't something I'm comfortable talking about. You're aware of my true nature, but we don't share these particular details about ourselves--"

Henry held up a hand. "If you aren't comfortable talking about something, why are you? I hope you aren't under the impression you have to with me!"

She shook her head as she looked down at her clasped hands on her lap. "No, it isn't like that." She took a deep breath and smiled at Henry's concerned expression. "You recall how I originally became linked to the Wild Magic? I'd been with Nate, and the next morning I woke to find I'd transformed most wonderfully."

Henry nodded, wondering where this was going.

Siobhan pushed onwards. "You recall shortly after that you had a little... get-together at your condo with Camila, Sigrid, and Marisa? Marisa shared your essence with me and declared my transformation was complete?"

Now it was Henry's turn to squirm as he recalled the... he'd just call it an emergency recharging session. He did remember watching Siobhan's lovely hair growing until the beautiful mahogany strands reached her ankles. "Y-yes," he forced out, and she gave him a knowing smile.

"Marisa said my transformation was complete, but she was wrong," she said wistfully, and Henry's eyebrows rose.

"Is something wrong?" he asked cautiously.

She looked at her lap once more and steeled herself to speak an intimate secret known only to the Selkies. She knew Henry would never force her to disclose it, but as she was about to ask a friend to share intimacy with her without any relationship expectations, the one-sidedness of the transaction made this feel necessary. She'd tested him with her passionate kisses at the party. While he'd returned them delightfully, she knew he was likely to remain in the friend category. Intimate friends, at best.

As if reading her mind, he leaned back in his chair and looked at her seriously. "Stop. I can see you're struggling with whatever you're trying to say. That means what you are about to say is something you know in your heart you shouldn't say, and I want you to stop. I told you before. You don't need to tell me anything you don't have to. You are my friend, and I would do anything for you, no questions asked. You need to have your transformation completed, which means you need... another exposure to Wild Magic," he said, delicately.

Siobhan watched him in surprise as he was completely serious. She blushed as she nodded.

"Is your schedule open tonight? You can come by my place, or I could visit you at yours?" he suggested gently.

"My place," she immediately said, then blushed again. She wasn't sure why she was getting so flustered, but Henry was so sweet. "I'd be more comfortable at home."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll need your address."

Siobhan pulled out her cell and sent him the details. "Do you like seafood?"

He blinked in confusion. "Uh, yeah, I think so."

"Good! I'll make us dinner. I make a mean seafood and pasta dish!" she explained and enjoyed how Henry's face flushed hot pink.

"Th-that sounds yummy!" he stuttered as he glanced at the message on his cell. "Seven it is."

Letting him off the hook, Siobhan stood and walked to his door. "See you then, and thank you!"

He just nodded as his cheeks felt like they were glowing.

Siobhan left his office, closing the door behind herself, and looked to Marisa's curious gaze.

"So?" her friend asked, her need to be filled in evident in her tone.

"You're right," Siobhan said.

Marisa's curiosity flared. "About what?"

Siobhan headed for the door and glanced over her shoulder with a happy little smile. "He is the sweetest man."

She grinned as she left Marisa with a frustrated look on her lovely features.

As Siobhan walked to the elevator, she felt the tingles of anticipation run up her spine. She was so looking forward to their first date.

Chapter 10

Carl de Bellisle sat brooding in his study. He was a big man, slightly taller and broader of shoulder than Roy Duncan, the man he was brooding about. It irritated Carl beyond measure that his extra size wasn't enough to force Roy to submit.

As the leader of his pack and president and chief litigator for his law firm, Carl was used to calling the shots. His current plans were being hindered by a ghost from his past.

He looked to the spot before his desk once more as he recalled the corpses of two men he'd left cooling on a carpet he now missed. Normally, he wouldn't have dirtied his hands with such business, but they'd disobeyed him and had taken steps which seriously jeopardized a very delicate plan. He'd had to put that plan on hold to see if it was still salvageable.

The idiots had had the gall to tell him they'd killed the agent he'd infiltrated Roy's team with and had broken into the home of one of VRL's executives for some magic blood?!? All Were blood was magic! And a Satyr? Seriously? Why not Santa Claus? Wasn't he supposed to be magic too?

He'd felt no remorse for putting a slug into their brains. He did miss the rug, though.

Carl considered how he was going to salvage his plan. Back then, he'd been testing the waters when he offered his law firm's services to VRL. He's heard about Walter Zhao's death and saw a perfect opportunity to make an introduction. He knew Roy Duncan was part of the company's executive team, so he thought he might be able to gauge their satisfaction with his work at the same time. Unfortunately, the CEO was a little too canny and gave nothing away during their call. He'd been unable to read her and now regretted not arranging a face to face meeting. He was going to remedy that mistake soon, even at the risk of meeting Roy as well.

Carl had wanted a toe hold on the east coast since he'd solidified his position in New Orleans a century before. This was his third attempt to expand into this market. His previous attempts had met with sabotage. He'd dealt with the culprits of the first one, and the Dean pack no longer existed.

The second failure was more of a catastrophe and involved a very personal loss for Carl. The fire which destroyed his NY office also cost him his son. Roy's security firm worked the building complex and caught the firebug as he fled, but the fire was already out of control by then.

Roy managed to pull Carl's wife and daughter from the burning building, but it collapsed before he could get to his son. Carl couldn't bring himself to forgive Roy for choosing so poorly that night. They'd fought, but they were too evenly matched. Truthfully, had Roy not been injured and tired from the rescue, he might have bested Carl.

Following the disaster, the fire marshal claimed the fire's rapid escalation was due to Carl's company's negligence to bring the building up to code. Damages to the surrounding buildings led to a lawsuit that set his company back decades and pushed him back to New Orleans.

Then, on the cusp of his third attempt, those idiots attacked the home of one of VRL's chief execs. He wished he could bring them back to life so he could see the lights go out in their eyes when he shot them again.

According to Dwayne's account of Billy's confession during his interrogation, Roy had become some kind of evolved Werewolf. An Uber Were. Carl cursed under his breath.

Being cautious, Carl had pulled back to New Orleans, temporarily. He'd bided his time, and during that interval, he'd assigned some investigators to confirm Roy's new state. If they determined he had become an Uber Were, they were to find out how it really happened.

A Satyr. Really.

Carl's patience had run out. He was no longer willing to wait, and the bloody investigators had proven to be useless. He would take steps to get the answer he needed himself. It was time for action.

An email arrived, and Carl's mood swung upwards. The spy he'd sent into VRL emailed him an image of a young man with Roy and a note which contained a delightful bit of information. It seems Roy might have a son of his own.

Perhaps Carl would be able to balance the scales of justice for the loss of his son after all.

Chapter 11

Henry sat in his usual seat in the boardroom by himself. His laptop was connected, and he was watching traffic flow on the network through his private external connection. Everything was optimal for today's meeting.

He'd isolated all of the network ports in this room from VRL's internal network. They had external access to the Internet, but that's it. WiFi was locked down as well. The test server was scrubbed clean and ready for the install.

He glanced at the clock and saw it was time. He stood and faced the door.

Moments later, it opened, and he saw Camila enter with a smile for him. She held his eyes for a moment, and he could almost feel her question. He smiled and nodded gently and saw her smile widen slightly.

Behind her, Henry saw three men wearing expensive suits, and two of the men were watching her ass. Henry understood completely. Her bottom was spectacular.

There were two men and a woman in less expensive suits following their bosses. These were the techs, the people who would be judging Henry's application to see if it was worthy of their acceptance.

Camila led the group over to stand before Henry. "Gentlemen and lady, I'd like to introduce you to Henry Gable, the man who wrote the firewall applications you will be reviewing today. Henry, this is the new Director of the NSA, Wallace Granger," Henry shook the man's hand. "Director of the FBI Charles Starkley," Henry shook his hand as well. "And Director of the CIA, Maurice Hall." Henry noted he was the largest of the three men and felt the man's grip to be a little excessive. He managed not to flinch, and Hall had a slight grin on his face as he released Henry's hand.

Camila caught but ignored Henry's subtle flexing of his hand to return its circulation. She addressed the next three individuals. "The Directors have brought with them today their Network Technology Leads. From the NSA, Robert Miller. From the FBI, Yasmin Brooks, and from the CIA, Laurence Franklin.

Henry shook the hands of the techs, then Wallace Granger raised an immediate point. "Ms. Villamor, may I ask for a little clarity?" Camila nodded with a curious smile. "You just said Mr. Gable wrote applications, not an application. That was just a slip of the tongue?"

Camila just turned to Henry, who saw he was up.

"Actually, it was not. While the bulk of the code shares common modules for look and feel, resource management, biometric signature integration, and such, the actual engine of the application each agency will use is distinct from the others.

"What?" Wallace asked. "Why would you do that?"

Henry blinked at the man. "Well, in the unlikely event one of the agency's firewalls is somehow breached, the others wouldn't fall victim to the same attack. Isn't that... something you'd want?" He looked at the techs, who were nodding thoughtfully.

"We were told you didn't have the source code for the firewall Stanley Garin wrote for VRL. Our tech department has been trying to decrypt the source archive you gave my predecessor unsuccessfully for months. Now you're telling me you've written not one but three distinct firewall applications comparable to Mr. Garin's?" Wallace pushed.

Henry held the man's eyes. "Comparable? Yes. They behave almost identically to the original, but it's new code, and I believe I've optimized some areas to make it more modular. That's how I can give each of you a distinct application. There is a depth to the original that is not included in these, but I believe you'll find them to be as secure."

"Unless someone knows the back door access code," Maurice said with a smirk.

"Mr. Hall, like Stanley, I don't include back doors in my application code. Additionally, if the code detects the hardware attempting to circumvent the security rules of the app, a clear indication of a hardware back door added in the manufacturing process, it notifies you then shuts the network interfaces down."