The Hidden Empire of Harvey Kane

Chapter 003: Into The Dark

Chaos had consumed Harvax Inc. entirely.

The lobby echoed with hurried footsteps and overlapping voices. Screens that usually displayed stock tickers and security feeds set black and dead. Technicians clustered around dead terminals, fingers flying across keyboards that produced nothing but more error tones.

It was really bad–the worst storm Harvax had ever encountered so far.

Jane moved through the mess like someone walking a tightrope over a drop she couldn't measure. She walked into Jonathan's office for what felt like the twentieth time that morning.

Jonathan sat behind his desk, sleeves rolled, and phone pressed to his ear. He ended the call the moment she entered, offering the same measured smile he had given her all morning.

"Any update?" Jane asked.

He sighed, rising slowly from his seat. "Jane, calm down. Everything will be restored soon."

"But it had never taken this long before."

"We've had this conversation more than a dozen times already," he replied calmly. "This case is different. Every digital system is shut down. Completely."

Jane began pacing the length of his office. After a brief moment, she turned back to him. "Then why are you so calm? You fixed the cyberattacks before this. Why are you sitting here while the entire company is corrupted instead of searching for a main server or...anything?"

Jonathan studied her face for a long second. Then his smile returned, softer this time. He walked around the desk, approached her, and gently took her hand.

"Come with me."

"Why?"

He chuckled. "You need a drink to calm your nerves."

He led her to the small sideboard, poured two measures of amber liquid, and pressed one glass to her fingers. "All will be fine."

Jane stared at the drink without tasting it. "How? If this goes wrong I will be in debt for over a billion dollars. Investors will–"

"Hush now," Jonathan cut in. Then his voice dropped, almost intimate. "We are working on the problem. Trust me."

Just then, a sudden turbulence rose from the floors below. They heard raised voices, the scuff of heavy boots, and the sharp bark of security commands.

Jane's head snapped toward the door. "What was that?"

They left the office at once and got to the lobby. There, they saw what looked like a ring of dark uniforms.

Four security officers had closed around a man, hands already reaching for his arms.

"Harvey?" Jane muttered as she caught sight of him.

He stood in the center of the group of officers, his calm demeanor evident in his posture. His eyes searched the space until they found hers

"Back off!" Jane's voice cracked across the table. "Back off now!"

The officers hesitated, then stepped away under the force of her tone.

She crossed the distance in three strides and threw her arms around her husband. Harvey held her tightly, one hand spanning her back, the other cradling the nape of her neck.

For a moment the panic that had been clawing at her ribs simply...quieted.

She gently pulled back just enough to look into his eyes and offered a small, almost disbelieving smile. The fear she felt had not vanished, but his presence greatly subdued it.

Oh, how he always had that effect on her.

Jonathan's voice cut through the hush. "Jane, we are in the middle of a great crisis. Harvey is not meant to be here."

"He is my husband," Jane replied without turning to him.

Jonathan laughed then, the sound bright and false. "Of course he is. But he would not be able to pay over a billion bucks if this company folds, would he?"

He stepped closer, eyes locked on Harvey even as he settled a hand on Jane's shoulder.

"Your husband cannot be of help," he said in a soft and almost caressing tone. "He is also not capable of helping if the worst of our fears come to pass."

Jane brushed his hand away. Then she looked at Harvey again, rose into her toes, and kissed him.

When she drew back she spoke only to him. "Make yourself comfortable in the lobby chairs, my love. I will be back."

She had already turned away when Harvey's voice stopped her.

"I am here to fix the cyberattack."

Silence settled over the lobby for a moment, only to be broken by laughter.

It started with a few sharp barks from the technicians and rolled outward until the entire lobby rang with it.

Jonathan laughed the loudest, his head tipped back. "Harvey has never done anything in his life and now he wants to fix this?"

Jane turned fully to see Harvey already walking toward her.

She met him halfway. "Harvey–"

"I know how serious this is," he cut in, eyes fixed on hers. "Look, if something isn’t done in thirty minutes the company goes down."

"Tell him to return home, Jane," Jonathan chipped in. "I've been the one fixing every cyberattack in the past. Harvey is no use here."

Harvey ignored him. He gently took both of Jane's hands and waited until her eyes locked with his.

"Can you trust me?"

"Of course I can," Jane replied almost immediately. Then she looked away from him as she whispered, "You're sure you have an idea?"

Harvey chuckled lightly. To say he had an idea was a gross understatement.

"Yes, my love," he replied. "I won't watch your company fall, for you are all that matters."

Jane inhaled, then shut her eyes. For a long heartbeat the lobby seemed to hold its breath with her. Then she nodded once, opened her eyes, and turned to Jonathan.

"Take my husband to the main server and give him full access to whatever he needs."

Jonathan's face darkened. "This is ridiculous. How can you–"

"I hate to repeat myself."

He scoffed and opened his mouth again, but Jane cut him short.

"I will be forced to fire you before the company goes down if you do not do as instructed."

Harvey was already moving. Phone to his ear, he spoke rapidly to Henry while striding toward the staircase that led to the restricted main server area. He didn't wait for Jonathan.

"Harvey?" Jane called as his foot touched the first step.

He turned to see her smiling.

"I trust you," she said. "And you are all that matters too."

Harvey nodded once and continued upward.

Jonathan stared after him, then fixed Jane with a look of pure fury. "Anything that happens to Harvax Inc., you will have yourself alone to blame."

He sighed. "Damn it. Think of all the workers that'll lose their jobs."

Jane ignored him, her face expressionless as she walked to the receptionist desk and sat.

Only when Jonathan turned away did the mask slip. Her hands were shaking. She pressed them flat against her thighs and tried to still them.

Harvey had graduated top of his class in cybersecurity from MIT. That was the much she knew. She had no proof of what he could do in the real world, and when the digital spine of a billion-dollar company was completely compromised.

If he failed, Harvax would surely fall. The debts and guilt would bury her.

He had never failed her before. Not once in all the years she had known him. He was a true man of his word.

But would today be different?

Across the lobby Jonathan paced, muttering curses under his breath and checking his wristwatch every few seconds.

"I thought I told you to lead Harvey upstairs," Jane's voice cut through his monologue.

Jonathan spun. "And what use is it? He behaves as if he knows the goddamn building better than–"

He was interrupted by all the lights in the lobby dying at once. The air conditioners followed, cutting out with a collective mechanical sigh.

Darkness swallowed the space, broken only by the thin gray wash of daylight through the glass entrance.

A collective gasp rose from the staff.

Jonathan threw both hands into the air. "What? Now we have an electric attack?"

He scoffed, adding more to himself, "I knew Harvey was up to no good. Harvax is gone."

Jane remained perfectly still in the sudden dark, her heart slamming against her ribs.

She whispered only the words that would come. "Harvey...please.”