Is this destiny?

~ Romania, Ceresc Solutions HQ ~

Saturday

September 5

Sarah and Aiden are in the main conference room with Mishi, Lucija, Petar, Emir, Tereza, and Angela.

Angela is the Director of Human Resources and even though Sarah and Aiden want to keep the fact that they are owners as a secret, Angela needs to be aware of their existence.

Mishi introduced Sarah and Aiden as major investors who have a stake in the company, and Angela didn't ask many questions. Mishi is the CEO and if he says that Sarah and Aiden are important for the Ceresc Solutions, and that what they say goes, she will accept it.

It is Saturday, usually a non-working day, but because the company is about to be officially open, everyone from the management is putting extra effort. These next few days will set the tone which will impact the future of the company.

The eight of them discussed the current status of the building and employees as well as the preparations for the grand opening.

Sarah and Aiden are happy to hear that the renovations to the HQ building are complete and that other than few minor issues with the network, the first four days since they had a 'soft opening' went smoothly.

The security is in place with cameras and security personnel (aka members of the Army of Chaos). And all employees get badges which will allow them access to the building; and they work in combination with a personal pin code every employee has. Common areas such as the lobby, the coffee shop, and the cafeteria on the main floor can be accessed without these badges.

Other than the building itself, there is a suitably landscaped garden that opens up to the lake. The coffee shop has seating available on a covered terrace that overlooks the garden.

The garden is a mix of mature trees and flowers with the tree-tier ornate fountain at its center and provides several seating areas and Wi-Fi access. It is available for employees to unwind or to work from there if they wish. Aiden is proud of this garden because he designed it.

Angela shared status that she has five people in her HR and three people in the legal department. She confirmed that she can manage these employees and that she will be in charge of the legal department until they hire the corresponding manager.

Angela announced that two departments she is currently managing collaborated in creating the guidelines for all the employees. She was proud to showcase the mini-workshops which all employees are required to take within the first month of their employment.

"It is a combination of watching videos and taking online tests. It will help everyone learn about the company culture and to set expectations related to their career.", Angela explained. "It covers topics of bias and discrimination as well as annual performance reviews and how to effectively communicate with management."

Mishi praised her great efforts and everyone chimed in with their feedback.

Angela was happy to hear that her efforts are acknowledged.

This is her first time to see that a new company is opening on such a large scale. Usually, it's a handful of people and more join as the business grows, but they already have a goal of one hundred employees by end of the year and the whole area looks like a well-established company.

She looked at Sarah and Aiden and her conclusion is that the two of them are powerful backers who believe that the Ceresc Solutions will work. And she would be blind not to see that all other directors are giving their reports to Sarah and Aiden while looking for their approval. Angela reminded herself not to stare and not to voice her assumptions. This is a job with a promising future, and everything looks legit and she should not bother herself with the background (or the agenda) of those two people.

So far, they hired 67 employees and the hiring efforts are still ongoing. Mishi emphasized that with the current workforce the company can start working and that he prefers to focus on the quality of employees.

"We should not settle for average people just because we have positions open.", Mishi said.

Sarah and Aiden agreed.

"As long as the critical positions are filled, that is fine. And if in the next period you realize that your existing people are not delivering as expected, don't hesitate to let them go. The sooner you do that, the less loss you will experience because they are underperforming.", Aiden advised.

"I agree that we should put the priority on quality and not on quantity.", Sarah added. "Instead of having fifty campaigns which are average, we should have five which are rocking the market and raising the bar."

The conversation was optimistic, and everyone was feeling empowered to share their inputs.

The chat was interrupted when Sarah and Aiden got warnings on Eve-lens that signals from both Michael and Oni are lost.

Sarah and Aiden exchanged glances before excusing themselves. They went to Mishi's office and closed the door before asking Eve to give them more information.

The big TV was powered on and Eve started showing data with locations and timestamps of the last signal.

Sarah narrowed her eyes while looking at the screen.

"This does not look good.", Aiden said cautiously. "The signal is lost on the same location, Michael first and Oni thirteen minutes later."

Sarah nodded slightly. Both Michael and Oni have Eve-lens and ear studs equipped and all devices stopped working without them shutting them off. Even their phones are not giving any signals.

"Eve, show us the visual before the signal was lost.", Sarah demanded.

They saw Michael walk toward the building and as he entered the main door, they saw the dark hallway, and then his signal was lost.

From Oni's Eve-lens they saw Michael walking in, Oni nervously fidgeting for thirteen minutes (they fast-forwarded this part), and then Oni approached the same door and the signal was lost as soon as she stepped inside the hallway.

"Are they still in that building?", Sarah asked Eve.

"I can't confirm their location. However, unless they left underground, they are inside because surrounding cameras don't show them to leave the area.", Eve responded in Sarah's and Aiden's ear stud before adding: "The blueprints of the area registered with the city don't show underground passages that are close to that building and large enough for humans to use."

Sarah looked at Aiden anxiously and he understood. They both rushed out of Mishi's office and Aiden touched his ear stud before instructing: "Aaron, get the fastest helicopter ready for us, now. Meet us in the garage with two senior army members who are ready for a mission..."

…

A few minutes later, in the underground garage…

Aiden was talking to the army members who will go with them to Frankfurt while getting the helicopter ready.

Sarah was giving instructions to Aaron: "Michael and Oni are in Frankfurt on a scouting mission. In the last half hour, both of their signals are lost, and it seems that it's due to signal jamming. We don't have a way to contact them and at this point, and we suspect that they are captured. Have a unit from Milan go to Frankfurt and secure the area, I will send you coordinates. This is a rescue mission and Michael's and Oni's safety is a priority. They should not make a move unless they see that Michael or Oni are in immediate danger. Rushing in might make things worse. Tell them to determine how wide is the signal jamming and to stay out of that perimeter. I need them there half an hour ago. We will analyze the situation in flight and provide additional instructions."

Aaron nodded solemnly in understanding. "Your uniforms are in the helicopter. I will do as you instructed."

Aiden approached them to say that everything is ready. "Aaron, get our jet to follow us into Frankfurt. It should land on the nearest strip to the location where we are going."

Aaron confirmed. The jet is faster than the helicopter, but the helicopter has the flexibility of landing in a smaller space while jet needs a strip.

Sarah is glad that Aiden remembered the jet in case someone needs to cross a great distance quickly. Aiden thinks of everything. But she hopes that it will not be needed.

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