Company A: The hidden story

Jaisai strode into the room and took a seat. Her robes, a tradition of her ancestors, flowed with her stride. An older, small woman she wore her dignity like a cloak. Draped in the customary robes, only her weathered face could be seen. Intelligence, fierce and sharp, glittered brightly in her night dark eyes.

She cast a look around the table, eyes laser sharp as she peered at the members of the board of the Company. Her eyes were unconsciously harsh. It belied the worrying fear that clutched her heart.

She was gone. All their messages to Maxine had gone unanswered.

Only four others regarded her with steady eyes. The rest regarded her with a mixture of mildness, or in Peggy’s case, sullen impotence. The four already knew of the trouble that had befallen the Company. Calm assurance radiated from their eyes. Like Jaisai, their calmness neatly hid their fear.

And the angry bitterness in their eyes.

Like the one before her, the one of the shining star…they had once again been abandoned. Left to fend for themselves, she had stranded them in this chaotic place. They could not, in good conscience leave…so many looked to them, depended on them for guidance and help. They were responsible for so many…they could not, would NOT shirk this duty the leader had thrust upon them.

Even as she had abandoned them. They would not do to others what was done to them.

Charlotte, the resident tech witch, did not bother looking up from her lightpad as she tapped out indecipherable commands with her stylus. Soft beeps ventured from her place as her fingers flew over the controls of her lightpad with almost inhuman speed. Her quiet, near inaudible murmurs was constant source of background noise in every meeting. What she could do with systems and tables was near genius. A sometimes blunt woman, both she and Jaisai struck sparks, often clashing over ideology in their efforts to improve the Company. Yet it was her tenacity, her single-minded devotion to improve the Company’s that made her a force to be reckoned with. Under her guidance the Company had gradually recovered from the piecemeal the previous Webmistress had reduced the Company.

Isabel, quiet and level-headed one. Give her a problem and it was as good as solved. The others looked to her for solutions and resolutions. The living metal interface that covered her left eye glowed with a reassuring steady blue.

Finally Jaisai’s eyes rested on…Gabby. The peacemaker and mediator. Fat, with an impossible good will, the rotund woman cheerful disposition gave no hint to her calling. She was a Hunter. With her team of Hunters, assiduously searched and hunted disruptive members of the Company with a terrifying implacability. Only in the rarest case could their hunt be called off or were unsuccessful.

Jaisai’s eyes rested momentarily on Peggy. Only with an effort of superhuman control did she avoid rolling her eyes. Lips thrust out in a truculent pout, the sly look of what passed for cunning in the piggy eyes gave her momentary pause. She glanced at the other three and received imperceptible nods. They had seen it too.

Great…she thought tiredly. For such a sullen woman, Peggy’s most glaring fault was her willingness to believe what her ‘friends’ told her. Once she got an idea in her head, nothing, not even the truth would shake it. She would rather believe a lie than the truth, Jaisai thought disgustedly.

Sometimes I wonder if she’s with us just for the glory, was her sad thought. It was a thought that rested with an increasing burden in her mind. It was a thought she knew the other three shared.

Still…Peggy was theirs. She was one of them, and despite her naturally abrasive nature generated some good. Despite all her faults, she had never deserted us.

She heaved a silent sigh as the meeting started.


“I want to know what happened to Maxine,” Peggy trumpeted. Her face was set in determined lines, her color deepening as the others looked at her in confusion. “SHE was the leader of the Company, now she’s not. I want to know what happened and how did YOU,” she leveled a look of scorn at the four left in charge, “become the leaders of the Company?” She flushed, an ugly dark color deepening her florid face. She puffed up, visibly preening as attention was focused on her.

“Uhm, because that’s the way Maxine had set it up?” Gabby replied slowly. She exchanged confused looks with the others three. What the hell? they wondered.

With a shake of her head, Peggy dismissed what Gabby said as nonsense. She knew the truth…she had her sources. She pointed a thick finger at Gabby. “Well, why didn’t you contact her, find out what was going on? Where she was at?” Snorting in satisfaction, she sat back, radiating smug satisfaction.

Jaisai sat forward. She leveled cool eyes at the woman. “What would you call months of sending messages to her last known location, months and weeks in which we waited for her to contact us? Because I assure you, that is what happened.”

“Well, you should have tried harder!” Peggy replied weakly, visibly fumbling for a response. But gaining strength, her piggy eyes flamed with righteous indignation. She shook a fat fist. “You should have tried harder…but you didn’t. You saw an opportunity and took it,” she hissed venomously.

Oh. My. God! This was going exactly the way Maxine had said it would, she thought incredulously. She nearly squealed with joy, well pleased with herself.

At last Charlotte looked up from her lightpad. And something happened few had ever seen before. Her stylus stilled. “So, we should have keep sending her messages, asking about missing funds from the Company account, asking her how she was doing, and when she was coming back? We should have kept doing this for…how long? Two months? Three months? Six months? Oh, how about a year? That sounds like a nice round number?” The utter savageness in Charlotte’s voice was enough to make Peggy quail slightly.

Gabby, Jaisai, Isabel and Charlotte’s eyes narrowed when Peggy nervously touched her ear and visibly gained strength. Charlotte’s stylus began dancing over the lightpad. A tiny smirk curved her lips. Her stylus moved one last time, tapping a button.

The panic that suddenly bloomed on Peggy’s face amused her. It was the little things that gave her joy.

“You had her communicator number,” Peggy repeated hollowly, feeling lost and alone. She swallowed hard, pressing on. She had to finish this…complete her part. Then collect on the promise made. She looked around at the others in the room, making sure they all understood. “They had her communicator number, why couldn’t or wouldn’t they use it? They wanted the power, that’s why?”

Isabel smiled. Her eyes were wearily amused. “What power? And by the way, you still haven’t answered Charlotte’s question.”

“You wanted power over the Company.” Peggy sidestepped to continue her attack. She raised her voice, “And the only way you could get that power was by getting rid of Maxine! She wants to come back…she never gave you the authority to do this! It was illegal, that’s what it was.”

“Actually she did. She’s the one that create this procedure,” Gabby murmured. She smiled apologetically, but there was nothing apologetic in her suddenly cold eyes. She was pissed.

“After the previous leader did a vanishing act, Maxine decided to institute a new procedure in case something ever happened to her that would prevent her from returning. She entrusted the four of us,” she gestured to Charlotte, Isabel and Jaisai, “creating a tier system to ensure that the Company would still function. Even without her.”

“Well, she wants to come back,” Peggy stubbornly repeated. Her mouth tightened at the flat looks of denial she saw on their faces. Her fists tightened, she scrambled mentally for something to say.

“So what you’re saying is, the very same thing Maxine did with Paula, the previous leader,” Jaisai said in aside to the others, “was completely legal, while we, who actually have Maxine’s email that actively encouraged us to make ourselves the leaders of the Company in lieu of her absence, was however, illegal.”

Peggy’s mouth worked impotently, frustrated rage was in every line of her reddening face. Jaisai raised a brow. “And for her, you want us to overturn Company policy?” she asked softly. “You want us to return everything back the way it was, a year ago. When Maxine handled everything…even the finances?” Unspoken was the question of what would Peggy get out of the deal. Speculation was rampant on the many faces turned to Peggy.

“She didn’t steal anything…”

Gabby looked surprised then smiled tolerantly. “Well, perhaps in your world, taking Company funds, using it for personal items and not replacing the money doesn’t constitute stealing, but maybe I’m from a different world.” Her face hardened. “And we call it stealing.” When Peggy opened her mouth, she added quietly, “And we have documented proof.”

Trapped, Peggy looked around desperately for help. There was little help in the confused faces that looked back at her. Growling under her breath, she abruptly turned a stomped off.

A chill coursed down Isabel’s spine. She looked at the other three. There was a sinking feeling in their stomachs. The rambling, barely coherent message they had received from Maxine had given them a bad feeling.

This wasn’t over.

Jaisai, Charlotte, Isabel and Gabby sat in their individual rooms. Their lightpads glowed softly in the darkened rooms. The usual hustle and bustle of Company life was silent around them.

They had lost.

Maxine was back.

Carried triumphantly on the shoulders of Peggy, she had wasted little time in consolidating her power. Locked out of the very systems they had worked tirelessly to create, to improve, it had been an awful blow to swallow.

Messages flew back and forth between them.

“Were we right?”

“Yes. She did the only thing she could do…get rid of us. Now that she’s in control, she can rewrite events, spin her words to make Black White or the Sun shine at night. We’re gone, so who will know the truth?”

“She had to get rid of us. We knew too much…Were I in her shoes, I would have done the same.”

”You so would not!”

*Indignant sniff* I damn well would have… pause Course, that would only be if I was a selfish fool that didn’t give a damn about the Company, needed money extremely bad and needed to boost my poor self-esteem.”

*sad laughter rang in their individual rooms*

Teeth bared in a feral grimace, Maxine growled as she stared at the mess in the office.

Those fucking bitches!

It was gone…all the money was gone! A shriek of stifled fury vibrated in her throat before she threw the lightpad at the wall. She glared hotly at the broken instrument, wishing it was them!

The thank you note from the Company’s sole supplier rested mockingly on the broken panel. In one last act of ‘defiance’ the Rebellious Four had paid the supplier all the money in the Company’s coffers. So while the Company did not owe any outstanding bills, neither were there funds in the account.

Maxine’s shoulders twitched. She forced herself to think of the big picture. They were gone…she was back. Back where she belonged.

Slowly she exhaled and relaxed. The smiling mask of affability down, naked, her face revealed lines of vicious dissatisfaction and discontent. Bitterness, a hapless rage at what had been done to her—taken from her—twisted her face unrecognizably. Her hands trembled, disjointed thoughts ricocheted in her head. She gazed unseeingly, staring into a bleak future.

Alone…so alone.

The door to her quarters opened, a dull mousy head poked through. Like magic, the smiling affable mask was effortlessly donned. Good will, a smiling cheerfulness radiated from her.

Peggy thrust herself into Maxine's office. She was grinning in triumph. Oddly enough, it was a look that did not sit easily on her face. "We showed them,” she said in fierce satisfaction.

Striding forward, she plopped herself into chair and swirled giddily around. “They thought they were so smart.” She gloated, her lips curving happily. “We kicked their asses out of our Company.”

Something flickered in Maxine’s eyes. “Our…Company?” she said softly, delicately. Carefully leaning back in her chair, she smiled.

The mask was still in place, still Peggy had not quite lost the sense that God granted to lesser beasts. Blinking nervously, she ran a hand through disheveled hair. “I thought…I mean…we’re partners. Co-leaders.”

Maxine cocked her head. Her brows arched quizzically. “We are…?” she murmured. “Funny, I don’t recall telling you that.” She stared calmly back at the floundering woman.

“But…but…you…promised!” Peggy wailed. Tears spilled down her doughy cheeks. There was a look of tragic betrayal in her eyes. “You…you said…you said…if I helped you…we would be co-Leaders.”

“Hmmm,” Maxine tapped her chin. “I don’t remember writing anything like that.”

Opening her mouth to protest, Peggy saw the trap too late. Her face blanching, defeat dulled her eyes as her dreams vanished like the illusion of power she thought she had in her grasp. “But you told me…you…promised,” she mumbled to herself.

Allowing a smile to play on her lips, Maxine stared at Peggy. “Get. Out.”

They both knew it wasn’t just the office Maxine was talking about.

A new age had dawned…