Chapter Text
Stiles isn’t technically working the day of the board meeting, because it’s a Saturday. But he’s there, because he’s too excited to stay home. He’s working down in the lab, which is empty and deserted. Derek has promised to put him on speaker phone so he won’t miss the fun. He’s barely able to contain himself as he paces around the lab. Only thirty minutes to go. Twenty . . . fifteen . . .
He looks up as Theo strolls into the lab, dressed casually and looking as smug as ever. “Hey, nice piece,” he says, picking up the smart gun off the table where Satomi was last fiddling with the voice chip. He holds it up in one hand, eyes narrowed as he sights along the wall and then lets it rest on Stiles. “Bang!” Theo laughs. “Two for flinching.”
Stiles doesn’t bother pointing out that he didn’t flinch, because the gun can’t fire, or that Theo’s an idiot. He just says, “Was there something you wanted?”
“Not me. The boss lady.” Theo tucks the gun in the back of his pants like he’s some sort of practiced criminal, and looks over as Jennifer walks in.
“Hey, Jennifer,” Stiles says, although he’s feeling wary. He doesn’t like Jennifer approaching him right now. She has no reason to. They had talked both the previous night and that morning, as he assured her that everything should go her way. “Problem?”
“Not exactly.” Jennifer gives him that warm, insincere smile. “Just trying to head off any problems before they start. Harris tells me that both Peter and Derek have arrived for the board meeting.”
“One would expect that right around now,” Stiles says.
“Well, you’re going to be my insurance. Because I don’t trust you, Stiles. I don’t trust any of you, and I’ve never planned to.” Jennifer pulls a pistol out of her purse. Unlike the one Theo has been playing with, Stiles is willing to bet that this one is extremely functional. “I just need a place to stash you while the meeting goes on. If Derek doesn’t vote as he’s been instructed, the consequences could be . . . messy.”
Stiles opens his mouth. Looks at the gun, and closes it. He forces himself to swallow. “Jennifer, you don’t need to do this. He’s going to vote for you, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that, Stiles. It’s not exactly that I don’t trust you, but whenever Peter’s involved, a little backup is advisable. He could have gotten Derek to change his mind in the past ten minutes. And if so, I’m going to change it back.”
Stiles looks at the gun again and then glances around the room, his mind racing. “Okay, but, but you don’t have to stash me somewhere. Just leave me here, I won’t do anything weird, I promise.” He glances around again, lets his eyes linger here and there, licks his lips nervously. “Please don’t put me in a closet or something, I fucking hate small spaces, just – ”
“Oh, you do, do you?” Jennifer looks where he’s been looking, over at Satomi’s cryogenics chamber. “What an excellent idea, Stiles. Is that thing airtight?”
“W-What? Well, yeah, it would have to be, but – ”
“Good. Get in.”
“Jennifer, no, come on, this isn’t – you don’t have to do this – ”
“I’m not going to repeat myself, Stiles.” Jennifer gestures with the gun. Reluctantly, Stiles climbs into the chamber and lies down. “Give me your phone.”
“Aw, come on,” Stiles whines, but hands it over. She tosses it to Theo, who catches it with a shit-eating grin. Then Jennifer uses her own phone to take a picture of him in the chamber.
“This should be motivation enough for Derek,” she says. “Theo, I want you to stay in here. Make sure nobody comes in and finds him and lets him out. Here, take my gun.”
“Got my own,” Theo says, smirking as he shows her his prize.
“Good.” Jennifer closes the lid over Stiles. He hears it latch, hears the hissing which means it’s being sealed off. He probably has a couple hours of oxygen. He doesn’t know exactly what the rate of consumption is. But he has no intention of staying sealed away that long.
“Yeah, you go show that picture to Derek,” Stiles mutters as he looks up at the ceiling of the chamber and then checks his watch to see how long it is before the meeting starts. “That ought to be a laugh riot. When you’re done with that, show it to Peter. This is gonna be fun.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Peter barely looks up as Derek comes through the board room door. Until they drop the other shoe, he’s supposed to be pretending that he and Derek aren’t speaking to each other. It’s silly, but playing the game amuses him. So he’s not really paying attention, running through the numbers in his head one more time, as Jennifer walks over and greets Derek. She’s got that smug smile on her face again, and looks altogether too pleased with herself. Peter rolls his eyes despite himself, as she takes out her phone to show Derek something.
Instantly, Peter realizes that something is wrong. Derek’s back and shoulders go straight, rigid, and he automatically looks over at his uncle like he needs help. Peter frowns and decides that they’re close enough to go time that he doesn’t care if they blow their cover. It’s very doubtful that Jennifer can get an extra vote in the three minutes before the board meeting is scheduled to begin. So he walks over to Derek and says, “Something wrong, nephew?”
“She has – ” Derek starts, his voice tight and anxious.
“Stiles,” Jennifer says, holding out her phone so Peter can see the picture on the screen. He looks down to see Stiles lying flat on his back in some sort of enclosed area. He looks more annoyed than anything else. A second picture shows the lid of the container closed over him. “Hm. I wonder how much oxygen is in there? It’s designed to be airtight.”
Peter looks at the phone as she tucks it away, his mind untangling all the possibilities. “I’m just curious, but did you actually think we were working against you, or was this just a bit of extra insurance?”
“It was insurance because I don’t trust you, Peter. I knew there was a possibility that you were working with Stiles, and gee, look at this! I was right.” Jennifer tucks her phone into the pocket of her blazer and turns to Derek. “I hope I have your vote, Derek. I really do. Because you’ll never find Stiles before he runs out of oxygen without my help. And I’d hate it if anything happened to him.”
With that, she turns and walks away, heading for where Kali is standing by the head of the room. Peter sees the look of panic on Derek’s face, and reaches out to squeeze his wrist. “So short-sighted,” he murmurs, mostly to himself. “Your position as CEO won’t help you very much if you get charged with murder.”
“Peter!” Derek hisses. “Never mind whether or not she’ll be arrested tomorrow. What are we going to do today?”
Peter sighs, but then he remembers that Derek, for all his intelligence, is nowhere near as devious as he and Stiles are. “Derek. I would never let anything happen to Stiles. Do you believe that?”
Some of the tension eases out of Derek’s shoulders. “Yeah.”
“Then let me handle this. Stiles is going to be fine, but we need to buy a little bit of time. I need to ask Satomi a quick question, so excuse me for one moment.” Peter steps away from Derek, glancing over at Jennifer and Kali. Jennifer smirks at him. “Satomi, lovely to see you as always,” he greets her, and she rolls her eyes at him. “Can I ask you what might seem like a rather odd question?”
“From you, I would expect no less,” Satomi says.
“Your cryogenics chamber. Stiles mentioned to me that you had put an emergency release on the inside, is that true?”
Satomi’s eyebrows go up. “That is an odd question, Peter. But yes, that’s correct.”
“Mm. Thank you.” Peter exits the room to make a quick phone call, then walks back over to Derek and takes his seat.
Jennifer calls the meeting to order as soon as the last board member is in, and says, “Well, we all know why we’re here, so let’s cut to the chase. I’ve called for a vote of no-confidence in Deucalion Hale. Mismanagement over the past two years has led to a drastic reduction in profits, and our shareholders are unhappy. It’s time that we put the company in better hands.”
“Those would be your hands, I assume,” Deucalion says. He sounds more amused than concerned.
“The most capable we have,” Jennifer says.
Peter gives a quiet snort, and then says, “I’d like to open the floor for discussion.”
Jennifer gives him a startled look. It’s clear that she wasn’t expecting that. With a theoretical clock on Stiles’ life, stalling is the last thing she would have predicted Peter would do. But she recovers well. “I don’t see how that’s necessary. We all saw the profit reports. We all know who’s been in charge. It’s time for a change in leadership.”
“Oh, I have no objection to the fact that at least two of the people in this room have absolutely got to go,” Peter says, glancing at his phone, “but I think we should talk about which two.”
“Everyone here has been thoroughly briefed on the situation,” Harris says impatiently. “There’s no need for further discussion.”
“It’s a decision of some gravity, is it not?” Peter says. “There are many people here who don’t have all the facts. I’d like to shed some light on subject.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Stiles studies his watch until it’s two minutes into the meeting and he can be absolutely sure that Jennifer, with her actual firearm, is out of the room. Then he hits the emergency release. There’s a sharp hissing noise and the lid pops free. It’s heavy, and it takes him a lot of effort to shove it open, but he manages.
The lab is empty. He looks around for his phone and doesn’t see it, so he heads out to the reception area. Theo is sitting on Stiles’ desk, legs swinging back and forth as he plays on his own phone. Stiles clears his throat and Theo fumbles it, grabbing at the gun. “The hell? How did you get out?”
“God, spend more time in R&D, you guys are pathetic,” Stiles says. “Where’s my phone?”
“Like I’m going to give it to you!” Theo points the gun directly at Stiles’ face. “Get the fuck back in the lab!”
“Or what, you’ll shoot me?” Stiles can’t hide the tone of disdain, and doesn’t make any effort to. “News flash, jackass. Remember that smart gun project your company has been working on? You’re holding the prototype. You can’t shoot me with that thing.”
“Nice try!” Theo sneers at him. “I already checked to make sure it’s loaded.”
“For fuck’s sake, you really are as stupid as you act.” Stiles holds his hands out to his sides. “Okay, shoot me then. Go ahead. Go.”
Theo’s sneer fades into a scowl, and his hand tightens on the trigger. “Get back in the lab and I won’t have to.”
“I’m not going anywhere, and you can’t make me. Not with that thing, not unless you club me over the head with it.”
Theo pulls the trigger. There’s the expected click. He looks down at the gun, an expression of dismay creeping across his face.
“Give me that,” Stiles says, marching across the room and grabbing it from him. “Where’s my phone?”
“I’m not giving you your God damned phone!”
“Another bulletin for you, Theo: one of us knows how to use this thing. It clearly isn’t you. Who does that leave?”
Theo looks around, uncertainly, like someone might step out of the shadows and save him. Nobody does. Stiles waves the gun at him, wanting to get the point across without Theo asking pesky questions like how Stiles is going to unlock it. He can’t know that only Satomi can, but if he stops to think, he might realize that Stiles probably can’t.
So Stiles grabs Theo by the front of the shirt, yanks him close, and presses the barrel of the gun into his neck. “Did I tell you that my father is a cop? So I happen to know that if you threaten me with a gun, and I get it away from you and then shoot and kill you, it’s considered self-defense and no charges would be pressed? Give me my phone, jackass. Are you willing to die for Jennifer’s stupid ambitions?”
“Jesus, fine, here!” Theo opens the desk drawer and practically throws it at him.
Stiles manages to grab it before it hits the ground. “Thanks.” He tosses the gun onto the desk and then unlocks the phone. “Now smile for the camera,” he says, tugging Theo into the frame. “I’ve got a very important message to send.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Jennifer’s smile tightens as Peter continues to speak. She looks at Derek and says deliberately, “I don’t really think we want to waste time on that, do we?”
Derek gives Peter an uneasy glance, but then says, “I think my uncle is right. It’s a complicated situation, and I really haven’t decided what my vote should be.”
“Well, that’s fascinating to hear, Derek,” Jennifer says, “but certainly, why don’t we have a brief overview of the evidence that – ”
Peter’s phone quietly chimes. He looks down at the screen and sees the message there. It’s a photo of Stiles, flashing the V-sign for victory, next to an extremely disgruntled looking Theo. Below it are the words: I’m good. Take her to church. A smile curves on Peter’s face despite his best efforts. He quietly forwards the text to Derek, though he’s sure that Stiles will text him as well, and then looks up as Jennifer finishes talking. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t listening. What were you saying?”
Jennifer flushes dark red, and several of the board members titter quietly. “I was talking about the profit loss we’ve sustained under Deucalion.”
“Yes, let’s talk about that,” Peter says. “You can tell the board all about the money that you and Kali have embezzled, thus causing our profit margin to drop.”
Shocked silence sits in the room. Jennifer sputters, “How dare you – ”
“Oh, all right, ‘embezzled’ is a bit too strong a word,” Peter says, “since the money hasn’t actually left the company coffers. You’ve just been hiding it and forging sales reports. Let’s rewind to about a few weeks ago, when I first noticed that sales reports weren’t matching preliminary reports. Since all the sales reports go through Finance before they’re distributed to the rest of us, I decided that they couldn’t be trusted. So I’ve spent the last two weeks gathering sales reports directly from the vendors, rather than distributors or manufacturers, and let me tell you that if my assistants never have to spend six hours trying to find intelligent life at Best Buy again, it will be too soon.”
There’s another spate of snickering. Jennifer is just looking stunned.
“Once I had those reports and confirmed that there was, indeed, a discrepancy between what was being sold and what we were told was being sold, I went looking for the money. Which, as I’m sure you remember, has been dumped into a number of Reserve Accounts.”
Laura clears her throat. “Meaning?”
“Let me explain for those of you who don’t work in Legal or Finance,” Peter says. “When a company gets sued for ten million dollars, they transfer ten million dollars into what’s called a reserve account. The money still belongs to us, but it is now classified as a liability, not an asset.”
“Clever,” Deucalion murmurs. “Very clever, Kali.”
“Over the past three years, Kali has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to these Reserve Accounts. I can only assume Jennifer didn’t actually steal the money point blank because she wanted it as a cushion in case her tenure as CEO led to less than desirable results, as is basically inevitable.”
“But the money is still there,” one of the board members presses.
“Yes. The money is still in Hale Corp hands,” Peter says, and several of them let out sighs of relief. “We’ve actually done quite well for ourselves over the past two years – especially the year before last, as it happens.”
“You – you can’t – ” Jennifer sputters.
“If you’re going to say I can’t prove this, you’d better not even think about it,” Peter says. “Of course I can prove it. I can prove every word of it. I have spreadsheets. I have a small army of assistants who have helped me compile the data and half a dozen banks who were holding the money. Which, by the way, has all been transferred back to where it’s supposed to be. Would you like me to demonstrate? One of my interns is very good with Power Point; I’m sure she could put together a lovely presentation.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Deucalion says, his voice quietly amused.
Jennifer looks at Derek and shouts, “How can you let him do this?”
Derek snorts. “I don’t let my uncle do anything.”
“The reason, in case any of you are curious, that Jennifer is so shocked that I dared bring all this up, is because she threatened the life of Derek’s boyfriend if either of us were to vote against her or persuade anyone else to vote against her,” Peter says, and a murmured gasp goes throughout the room. “Locking Stiles away in an airtight space, putting a clock on his life, and telling us we only had until his oxygen ran out to rescue him. By the way, Jennifer, you really ought to spend more time in R&D. Satomi added an emergency release to her cryo chamber, and it seems you didn’t know that.”
Jennifer goes white and stammers weakly.
“Oh, and by the way, I’ve already called the police, so, now that we’ve finished up here, they’re waiting to arrest you for fraud, assault, et cetera. Kali will only get arrested for the fraud. Oh, and Harris, you should know that Theo is being arrested, since he helped Jennifer abduct Stiles. I’m afraid that the Hale legal department will not be representing him.” Peter smirks around the room. “Anything else?”
Harris sputters. “You can’t – ”
“Should we talk about replacing Jennifer and Kali?” one of the board members asked.
Deucalion clears his throat. “I would suggest that we table that decision until such time as we’ve had ample time to review Peter’s findings. Jennifer and Kali will be on leave until then.”
“Seconded,” Satomi says, and a quick vote approves the measure.
“But you . . .” Jennifer looks a little helpless as Derek opens the door and the police come in. “How did you . . .”
“Well, Jennifer, let me tell you,” Peter says. “You really shouldn’t have tried to involve Stiles. You’re going to have to get up a lot earlier in the morning to outsmart my soulmate.”
There’s more shocked silence, and then Satomi leans back in her chair and bursts into laughter. “Oh, Lord, suddenly so many things make sense.”
“I agree,” Deucalion says, shaking his head. As the police take Jennifer and Kali out of the room, the board members start to talk amongst themselves. “It isn’t what I expected from you, Peter. I figured you would let Jennifer take over, so you could swoop in and save the company later. She never could have gotten the board’s approval to fire you, not with you threatening to take your talent to Argent Industries. Give her a year to run things into the ground, then take the CEO position away from her. It seemed like your style.”
Peter sighs. “Nobody believes me when I say I don’t want to be CEO.”
“You don’t?” Satomi asks dryly.
“No, of course not. I want to be CFO. A position which just opened up, I believe.” Peter smiles at them. “It’s the CFO that has all the real power, you know.”
“God help us all,” Derek says, rolling his eyes. He looks up as Stiles comes into the room, and his face brightens. He goes over to Stiles and pulls him into a tight hug. “Hey, you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Stiles assures him, pressing his face into Derek’s shoulder. “Not gonna lie, it got a bit scary, but fortunately for me, Jennifer is an idiot and Theo’s twice as stupid.”
“It was some luck that they picked my cryo chamber to lock you into, though,” Satomi says.
Stiles laughs. “Luck had nothing to do with it. I was in the lab and they obviously had to stash me somewhere, so I just telegraphed that I was afraid of small spaces and she ate it right out of my hand.”
Satomi shakes her head. “You’re too clever by half, young man. Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have work to do. Peter, always a pleasure.”
Deucalion gets up and extends his arm to Marin, and she takes it. “Have that Power Point presentation on my desk by nine AM Monday, if you could.”
“Naturally,” Peter says. A minute later, the room is empty except for the three of them.
Stiles pokes Peter in the chest, though he still hasn’t left the comfort of Derek’s embrace. “You seem very proud of yourself.”
“He was pretty awesome,” Derek admits. “He took Jennifer down all the pegs.”
“I recorded it for you,” Peter says. “I know that sort of thing gets you all hot and bothered.”
Stiles’ eyes light up. “Hell yes! Let’s go listen to it and have sex on your desk.”
“How could I refuse an offer like that?”
Derek’s arms tighten involuntarily around Stiles. “Not yet, okay? I just . . . stay with me for a little while. Peter can wait.”
Stiles looks at him, then nods. “Okay.” He leans into Derek’s embrace, pressing his cheek against Derek’s shoulder. “I’ll stay with you as long as you want. How about we go back to the apartment and watch a movie, okay?”
“Yeah. That sounds good.” Derek looks at Peter. “You want to come with?”
“Do you promise you won’t watch an obnoxious romantic comedy?”
“Deal,” Derek and Stiles say in unison.
“Then yes. Let me just grab a few things from my office and we can head home.”
~ ~ ~ ~