Aaron's Gambit

Chapter Eight

Aaron got home that night, his mind swirling with emotions. The party had been overwhelming. The client’s comment about him resembling the boss lingered in his head, making him uncomfortable. And then there was the boss’s cold, intense warning. “Don’t disappoint me,” he had said. It was chilling, yet somehow, Aaron also felt proud. He had pulled off a big job. For the first time in a long while, he felt capable. But that feeling was fleeting—the unease settled in like an unwelcome guest.

The next day at the office, Celeste was unusually warm. “Morning, Aaron!” she greeted with a wide smile as he walked in.

“Morning,” he replied cautiously. Something about her tone felt... off. Too friendly, maybe?

Celeste leaned against his desk, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. “Listen, I’ve got something big lined up. But this one is tricky. It’s high-level stuff, and I need someone I can trust. That’s you, Aaron.”

Aaron’s chest tightened. “What kind of job?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Nothing you can’t handle,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “We’re targeting a private server for some financial records. It’s not a big deal, really.”

Aaron glanced at Technophile, who was immersed in his own setup. Celeste must have noticed because she quickly added, “Techno’s got the easier tasks covered. This one’s for the pros.” She winked.

Aaron hesitated. “Uh, sure. What do I need to do?”

Celeste handed him a flash drive. “This has all the scripts you’ll need. Plug it into the terminal, and let the magic happen.”

The “terminal” turned out to be a corporate server belonging to a high-profile law firm. Aaron’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. “Are we sure about this?” he asked, his voice betraying his nerves.

Celeste’s expression softened. “Aaron, you’re overthinking it. This is what we do. Just trust me, okay?”

Reluctantly, he plugged in the drive and executed the script. Lines of code scrolled across the screen like a digital waterfall. Celeste’s eyes sparkled as she watched.

“See? Easy,” she said, patting his shoulder. “You’re a natural.”

Over the next few weeks, Celeste grew even closer to Aaron. She started joining him for lunch, always steering their conversations in peculiar directions.

“So, Aaron,” she began one day, sipping her coffee. “How’d you get so good at all this? I mean, you’re like a prodigy.”

Aaron shrugged, trying to play it down. “I just practiced a lot, I guess. Spent hours messing around with code.”

“Interesting,” she said, leaning in. “Do you keep a portfolio of your work? Like, you know, projects you’ve done? Or maybe credentials? It’s always good to have those on hand, you know, for future opportunities.”

Aaron frowned slightly. “Uh, not really. I mean, I have some stuff saved, but it’s not organized.”

Celeste’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you should totally do that! If you want, I can help you put something together. It’ll be good for... you know, career advancement.”

He nodded slowly. “Thanks, but I think I’ll manage.”

Undeterred, Celeste pressed on. “What about finances? Like, are you planning to invest or save? You’re making good money here. It’d be smart to set up some accounts.”

Aaron’s wariness grew. “Yeah, I’m... figuring it out.”

Celeste’s smile didn’t waver. “Well, let me know if you need advice. I’m pretty good with that stuff.”

Her questions felt harmless on the surface, but Aaron couldn’t shake the feeling that she was digging for something. He decided to keep his responses vague from then on.

The next job was even riskier. Technophile introduced it during a morning briefing.

“Alright, team. We’ve got to breach a secure government database,” he said, his tone serious.

Aaron’s stomach flipped. “Government?”

Celeste jumped in, her tone reassuring. “Relax, Aaron. It’s not like we’re stealing secrets or anything. Just retrieving some encrypted files for a client.”

“And what if we get caught?” Aaron asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Celeste chuckled. “We won’t. That’s why you’re here. You’re good at this.”

Later that night, Aaron was back at his desk, running the scripts Celeste had given him. His hands trembled as he typed. Something about this felt wrong. Celeste’s charm and reassurances were starting to feel like a smokescreen.

Halfway through the job, a pop-up appeared on his screen: Remote Access Enabled.

Aaron frowned. “What the hell?”

Before he could investigate, Celeste appeared behind him. “Everything okay?”

He jumped, quickly minimizing the window. “Uh, yeah. Just a glitch.”

Celeste leaned in, her perfume overwhelming his senses. “Let me know if you need help,” she said, her tone sweet but with an edge that made him uneasy.

By the end of the week, Aaron was feeling the pressure. The tasks were getting riskier, and Celeste’s presence was becoming stifling. One evening, he decided to go through his computer logs. What he found made his blood run cold.

There were unauthorized logins, scripts he hadn’t run, and files he didn’t recognize. It was as if someone had been using his machine without his knowledge.

Aaron confronted Celeste the next day. “Hey, have you been accessing my computer?”

She looked genuinely surprised. “Me? Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just... something’s not right.”

Celeste’s expression softened. “Aaron, you’re stressed. Take a break, okay? You’re imagining things.”

Her words were soothing, but Aaron’s gut told him otherwise. And now, he couldn’t ignore the creeping suspicion that Celeste was up to something—something that could cost him everything.