Chapter 193: In-Demand Talents

Chapter 193: In-Demand Talents

Ralph - ???

It only took an hour for the two agents to update each other on their investigation. Upon finishing their report, they both sat in the call in silence, as they took in the situation before them.

“How can this be possible?” Ralph muttered. “In all my years, I’ve never heard of a company with no bad apples among their employees. There have to be a few who would talk given the right incentives. We need to work harder to find them.”

Both agents tried tempting various members of the Halls Corporation in an effort to gain intel. They were well aware of the various means corporations employed to monitor and prevent such leakages, which meant they knew how to counteract them as well. They typically just needed to make use of their superior tech or communicate in roundabout manners.

They didn’t even need to establish sophisticated codes because they knew few companies had the capabilities to parse through every single interaction of every single worker.

“Trust me, I tried,” Kriss sighed. “The folks over here are just the same. Though, I couldn’t get ahold of that many of them. They mostly stay inside their compound. They seem to have gotten some impressive amenities for just an E-Class company.”

“Did you check the cyber-docs around the area and red-light districts?”

“Yep. Turned up as dry as your search.”

“Then that’s just what we’ll have to work with. Don’t push too hard. We’re only supposed to be passively surveilling. If you start anything, headquarters will throw you to the wolves without a second thought.”

“Well, we still have to do the bare minimum somehow. I’d rather not have my pay docked.”

Losing out on pay wasn’t as simple as it appeared. Kriss had heard of the stories ever since she joined the intel department. Underperforming agents weren’t summoned back to be disciplined, but they received fewer resources. Once they cross a certain threshold, the company may even deem them a security risk and neutralize them. That was why she knew how important it was for her to at least satisfy the bare minimum requirements of a mission.

This caused the two agents’ motivation to be reignited. For the next week, they would work tirelessly; staking out around the Halls Corporation compounds.

Their hard work soon paid off as they each made some important discoveries.

“I’ve found that they’ve been trying to obscure various large shipments from Elevate City to NLA,” Ralph declared with a smile. “From there, rumor has it that it’s bound for the wasteland. That’s exactly where their owner is supposed to be. Can you follow up on that?”

“Understood. I’ll see what I can find,” Kriss muttered back with a listless voice.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“I...found something too. I should be able to make contact with more of their employees soon. You should check this out.”

Upon going over the report his partner had sent, Ralph’s eyes opened wide. Throughout his investigation, there was always something that had puzzled him, nagging him in the back of his mind. Now it was clear.

It explained the reason for the abnormal loyalty the workers had to the Halls Corporation and why all their attempts had failed. The company they were dealing with was something that had only come across Ralph’s mind back when he was a child. The idea of an ideal workplace. One where you only needed to strive for excellence instead of having to deal with all the backroom politicking and backstabbing that reality had forced upon him.

Even to this day, he remembered his elementary school teacher giving that lesson that had changed his worldview. His dreams of working the way up the corporate ladder of an ‘unicorn’ corporation. It was a term given to those companies that prioritized their workers instead of pure profits. It was also a derogatory term for the naive, and their teacher had made sure to instill in their mind that it was pure fantasy.

They were taught that companies that appeared to treat their workers well always had ulterior motives. Otherwise, it would birth weakness within a company, where it will then be swiftly crushed by the competitors. The corporate world was cruel. Every action they took could either make them a fortune or spell their doom.

“We’re dealing with a unicorn company...One that has survived for over a year and is still prospering.”

While he tried to convince himself of the new findings, he couldn’t help but reread the report. It was plainly stated in the text and supported by images that the Halls Corporation even allotted their employees paid vacations. Not just once every few years, either.

It was a week each year.

“I’m asking you to explain to them, then. Make them understand. Having been among them, I’m sure you two have a way, right?”

I alternated glances between Leo and Lana. They crossed their arms and fell into thought for a few moments before Leo shrugged.

“We can try. No promises, though.”

With that settled, I returned to the top floor where my office was and visited my two trusty assistants. I merely had to wave at them as I walked across the open office space and they both stopped what they were doing and followed me into my room.

“I know you’re both working hard, but we’ll only be getting busier once we fill out the art department for our game. I want to get as much work out of the way before then.”

“Yeah, we know. We do get looped into everything, whether we like it or not,” Claire quipped. “There isn’t much I need from you. Just a few scheduled meetings with Joey and Luford you’ll need to attend.”

“I see, thanks...”

“What is it?” Claire immediately noticed my hesitation.

“Hmm, I’ve been thinking. Since you’re already managing most of our day-to-day operations, maybe you should become our CEO. I can take one from Titus’ books and just become the majority shareholder in the background.”

“You...want to foist even more responsibilities on me? I don’t know if you know this or not, but our company isn’t stable like Titus’. We’re experiencing rapid growth, and you’ll have to take the reins if you want it to be steered in the right direction. I can’t do that. I can only maintain it as it is.”

“Maybe you’re right. It was just food for thought. We don’t have to do anything for now.”

“Ahem,” Thorne cleared his throat. “As for me, you may want to dedicate a little more time to the training of our troops.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t you say it was going along fine?”

“It is, but it’ll be better to have you around more often if you don’t want to be forgotten. On a practical note, you’ll want to obverse them so you may design equipment that fits our needs. I know you plan to dedicate more time to the power armor and cybernetic project later, but those aren’t the only things we need.”

“Well, the Nyes and Nixie drones are pretty dated by now. I can see the need for new equipment to deal with adversaries on the same level as what we last faced. However, we’ll need the game project to succeed first. Otherwise, we just don’t have the funding to keep up.”

“I understand. We just want you to familiarize yourself with our combat doctrine so you can gain insight into inventions that could enhance it.”

And another item added to my to-do list. Thankfully, I got a bunch of new helpers now.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll clear up my schedule.”

“On that note, you should prioritize clearing up next week, then,” Thorne immediately advised.

“Hmm, why?”

“Half our new recruits are based in NLA with Vin. They’re the ones who were pushing for you to spend more time with the security department. They don’t want to finish their training without having even seen their boss before. They’re planning field exercises next week, so you may want to start there.”

Well, I am floating around the idea of spending upgrade points on something that will enhance our overall strength. Let’s see if my ideas are worth pursuing and find the best way to implement them.

With that thought, I couldn’t help but play around with the grip of the weapons holstered to my hip.