Reed raised an eyebrow, the kind of eyebrow that screamed, “I’m about to crush your soul.” “And why would I do that, Carter?” he sneered, clearly enjoying his role as the bad guy in this little drama.
“Because you’re in our way, and let’s be honest, your scowl isn’t as effective as you think,” Carter retorted, taking a daring step closer to the terminal.
Reed’s scowl deepened, now resembling that of a disgruntled bulldog. “You’re not in a position to be giving orders,” he snapped. The guards tightened their grips on their weapons, looking more like overenthusiastic bouncers than actual security.
Harold, still glued to the screen, spotted another file just below the download button. The label was innocuous – just “Personnel” – but in the world of corporate espionage, that was as good as “Here’s All the Dirt You Need.” He nudged Carter, who was busy trying not to trip over his own feet.
“Check this out,” Harold whispered, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. “What if we… pin this on Reed?”
Carter’s eyes lit up with a mixture of mischief and relief. “Do it,” he mouthed, giving Harold a thumbs-up that was way too enthusiastic for the situation.
Without hesitation, Harold clicked on the file, and up popped a list of names. It was like the VIP list for a party no one wanted to be invited to. Jonathan Reed’s name was right at the top, next to some very suspicious transactions and a few references to something called “Project Eclipse.”
“Well, well, well,” Harold said, loud enough for Reed to hear. “Looks like Mr. Reed here has been a busy little bee.”
Reed’s expression shifted from confident to confused in a millisecond. “What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded, taking a step towards Harold.
“Oh, nothing much,” Harold said, smirking. “Just a little something about you being deeply involved in Project Eclipse. Care to explain these… unusual activities?”
Reed’s face turned a shade of red that was usually reserved for overripe tomatoes. “That’s a lie! You have no proof!” he barked, his voice cracking slightly.
“Really? Because it looks like your name is all over this file,” Harold shot back, pointing to the screen where the incriminating evidence was now on full display.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances. They might have been muscle, but even they knew when a situation was going south. Reed, on the other hand, looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel.
“You’ve got nothing!” Reed insisted, but his voice had lost its edge. “This is a setup!”
“That’s funny,” Acid Burn chimed in, finally pulling out a tiny USB stick. “Because we’ve got all the proof we need right here. Courtesy of your very own company’s records. Guess someone forgot to cover their tracks.”
Reed’s face drained of color as Acid Burn plugged in the USB and started transferring the downloaded file. “You can’t do this!” Reed shouted, sounding more desperate than menacing now.
“Oh, but we can,” Carter said, his voice dripping with satisfaction. “And it looks like we’re not the only ones interested in your little side project. I’m sure the authorities will be thrilled to see what you’ve been up to.”
The guards, realizing they were backing the wrong horse, slowly lowered their weapons. Reed, seeing his backup literally back down, made one last-ditch effort to regain control.
“This isn’t over, Carter,” he growled, but his threat was as hollow as a chocolate bunny.
“Actually, I think it is,” Carter replied, flashing a grin that could only be described as smug. “You’re done, Reed. And as far as I’m concerned, you can take your gym buddies and go home.”
Reed, utterly defeated, was escorted out of the room by his now-very-reluctant guards. As soon as the door closed behind them, the tension in the room broke like a dam.
“Well, that went better than expected,” Arjun said, finally exhaling the breath he’d been holding for what felt like hours.
“Yeah, and all it took was a little creative data entry,” Harold added, still buzzing from the adrenaline.
Acid Burn, ever the pragmatist, pocketed the USB with a smirk. “Good work, team. Now, let’s get out of here before Reed decides to come back with a vengeance – or worse, another terrible scowl.”
As they stumbled out of the building, dust-covered and looking like they’d just crawled out of an action movie blooper reel, a smug grin spread across Harold’s face. Not only had they cracked Project Eclipse wide open, but they’d given the big bad villain a beatdown that would make a WWE wrestler spit out their protein shake in envy. And the best part? They’d done it all while looking incredibly cool – if “cool” meant covered in debris and panting like a dog after chasing a tennis ball uphill.
Harold glanced around at the chaos, his chest heaving like he’d just completed an Olympic triathlon – except his only event was ‘Desperately Avoid Death While Pretending To Know What You’re Doing.’ This was the most fun he’d had since that time he dodged a meeting on quarterly sales figures by pretending to have the flu. Good times.
As the adrenaline slowly fizzled out, a familiar grumble emerged from the pit of his stomach. Lasagna. Yes, that glorious, cheesy, saucy masterpiece. Suddenly, the thought of it filled him with an overwhelming sense of calm, like the kind only achieved by comfort food or knowing your worst enemy just tripped on their own shoelaces. If he survived this absolute dumpster fire of a day, Harold decided he was going to become a world-class chef. At least then, the only disaster he’d have to worry about was burnt lasagna instead of, you know, getting shot or exploding buildings. Baby steps.
But that was a problem for Future Harold. Right now, Present Harold had to figure out how to escape this high-octane circus before someone decided to throw them all into a giant metaphorical washing machine. Because if there was one thing Harold knew for sure – it was that his life had gone sideways, upside down, and now? Now it was about to go into the spin cycle.
