Chapter Thirteen: Dirty Talk.

"You like it dirty, don't you?" Olalekan spoke to the moaning voice over the phone with hands massaging the bulge in the trousers.

"Yessssssss, I'm wet all over right now. My vajayjay is quivering right now." The crunchy voice moaned over the phone. Those words sent shivers down Olalekan's loins that he had to run his hands through his buzz-cut.

"Damn, baby you're making me lose my mind!" His excitement made him sweat. "Keep moaning, my love. Keep screaming my name!" ASMR. A powerful thing.

"Mmmhmmm, when are you coming over sweetie?"

There was a knock on his office door.

He had locked it. Fuck.

"I'll call you later."

He dropped the call and went to open the door. It was the director.

"Any problem?"

He walked into the office. "Sorry for disturbing you – in whatever thing you were doing." He smelt semen.

"But the systems are down."

Olalekan looked at him funny. What was he supposed to do about that?

"Are you aware of this?"

"Yes, Kehinde informed me. Have you been able to fix it?"

"No, I haven't. We've run a semantic analysis. Someone is trying to short us out for some reason."

"How is that even possible?"

"The same thing that I asked until I ran my admin search and I found a malware infiltrating the system in seconds, coming in and out, this instruction was carried out close to three hundred times in two minutes."

Olalekan remained silent.

"Also," Both men were facing each other. "I traced the source and it was coming from this exact building. Care to explain to me?"

"Me? You ought to be the one explaining it to me. A billion-naira supercomputer is cracked and you are asking me to give you an explanation. What –"

"There are only six people who know about the true capabilities of this system, that includes me, the four scientists, and you. And only two people have the main chip-key to decrypt the Central Processor and that is you and me. My key is always with me, your key is always with you."

Both men stared at each other for a long time.

He could see the rage glinting through Olalekan's eyes.

"Well?"

"You're mad about coming to my office to say such rubbish to me. What are you trying to get at? Be direct."

"That you've given my work's right to somebody and now they have access to all our collective data. Putting our clients and the company at risk. Breaching not only company policy but also our contract."

Confidentiality. Trust. All broken.

He watched Olalekan slap his palm across his face. As the palm came off, there was a smirk creased on his lips.

"You're more than academic smart. I'll give you that. That's the reason why you're my most valuable partner. Take a seat."

He took his seat. Olalekan perched on the edge of his wide desk.

"Now, what exactly is going on, Lekan?"

Olalekan sighed. "We got a deal from someone powerful, the brother of a Senior Advocate had found interest in what we can do."

"Who are we talking about here?"

"Hon. Patrick Mina. He contacted me some weeks back saying that he wanted us to work together on a project he had going on."

"Wait." Something was not right. "You're telling me that The Hon. Patrick Mina, the owner of an oil well and Safe Airlines had reached out to you to be a part of his project?"

He could not believe that Olalekan dared to nod with so much alacrity. "Yes. He did."

Looking up at the deceptive man, he asked. "How is it that he knew about our machine?"

"I don't know, the man has his ways. You know how it is with these people."

He studied Olalekan, finding the entire thing unbelievable.

"You're lying."

Olalekan's countenance changed. "You come to my office to disrespect me like this? What's your problem?!"

"You're lying. That's my problem. There wasn't any way he could have known about a device so secret that even I forget about its existence. My analysis is that you contacted the man and gave him a pitch; showing him the capabilities of the device and after viable persuasion and overview from his men, he had decided to use my machine, with your authority.

"So you, the CEO of one of the biggest Tech Store in the entire country, had signed a deal with the man without the approval of your partner. That's unethical and wrong of you."

It was a stare-down between both men. Olalekan, on the table edge, heaving heavily, visibly boiling. And him, calm, stable, but sweaty from the intensity of his analysis. This was the first time he was standing up to the man he holds so close to his heart. He did not regret it.

Olalekan got off the table, adjusted his suit, walked back to his seat. He bent over one of his drawers and brought out a bulky file, slamming it on the table.

"Here, that's our annual revenue spreadsheet and every other company expense, and the graph of the income since we partnered. Flip to the last page, you'd see the income and revenue this company and my father's branches made before you came into the picture. Compare the figures."

He took the file and examined it.

"Since we started working together," Olalekan continued. "There has been a significant shift in the returns acquired. Even with a very smooth flow of resources. With the revenue generated, wages have been balanced. No doubt. But you see, that machine could make so much more." Olalekan walked over to him, putting both hands on his shoulders, and stared at him with searching eyes. "You and I know both know what that machine is capable of. That is what I want to accomplish, with you. With our new clients, we can make a hundred times more what the Advertising Department is bringing in."

He dropped the file on the desk.

"This was not what we agreed on."

"Yes, it wasn't. I did not think about this myself either. But here we are."

"Damn you, Lekan. You think so highly about yourself. Who did you give access key to?"

"Their tech guy."

"What exactly is this project he is working on?"

"I don't know the full details but I assure you, they –"

"Hold on. You're trying to say you don't know the full details of their project. So what exactly are you using my machine for?"

"To extract individual personal data profiles that we compile and they use the information to do a series of tasks."

"How much are they paying?"

"The contract is N211 million."

He stiffened in shock. "You're kidding."

"Do I look like someone who jokes with money?" Olalekan was not. "He damned as hell paid for a 12-month deal and that is what we are working with."

"He's using our data on people on a spread of over eleven social media sites and websites to gather dirt, using the information to devise their plans. To kill, to blackmail, and to be steps ahead of their enemies and competitors!"

"So?"

He could not believe what he was hearing.

"I wouldn't allow that, Lekan."

Too late.

"This is the reason why I did not want you involved."

"Asides that, do you know what this hack does to the system? It becomes less efficient, slower, and can make it trip mid-processing."

Olalekan moved close to his seat and placed a hand on his shoulders. "That is why we have you, the brain behind this great invention. We have what it takes to improve the system. The money is not a problem because we'd be making more than we would be spending."

He got up from his seat, looking deep into Olalekan's eyes. "I'm afraid, I would not be a part of fraud."

"How is this fraud?"

"You are breaching the company policy and aiding criminals, have you ever considered the moral and legal implications of your actions? Do you know that you automatically become indebted to them the moment you are listed as an aide in murdering someone?"

"You're overthinking things. This is pure business."

"Sometimes I wonder how you survived in business this long. With the way you lie and sign death-sentence deals without the consent of your partner, you should have gone bankrupt since. I guess you're just really good at being deceptive."

Olalekan held himself so he would not punch him.

"I'm trying my best to be calm about this. I would not want to come off as offensive. So, if you would excuse me." He started for the door.

"You said you want to better the world. To save people." Olalekan called out. "Here is your chance. Why do you hesitate to take the cape?"

Olalekan's words made him stop on his tracks.

"The world does not need heroes who save for a fee, she needs heroes who are willing to work without glory."

He walked out, banging the door behind him so hard that the hinges shook.