Part VII: Dilemma
It had been about two weeks since the young Gouka had received a call from Lloyd Asplund, one of Gouka Health Industries' foremost researchers. At first, he was curious as to what in the world the man was calling him for--he had no hand in the company as of yet. It seemed the man was calling to ask if he could pull any strings as the one person closest to Altier, the acting CEO. Zekarion had been avoiding mostly everyone if he could help it, doubtless because of the stress of the whole situation--or so Shinju thought. Even though they seemed to be in the clear as far as the investigation went, the press was all over the issue. All signs seemed to point to Stark Industries and the local mob...
Except their typical M.O., according to Asplund. Shinju was willing to just put it aside as a matter of the mafia changing its methods, but the man had tried to insist to Gouka that there was something fishy about the whole matter.
As much as he hated them, and wanted to see them fall... he'd agreed to get someone to look a little closer.
Of course, he was planning on doing it himself, just to prove once and for all that his family's company had nothing to do with the matter.
-
"... this must be a mistake," he muttered to himself. He stood in a file room with his bodyguard, several files out that he'd looked over a while back, and a few he hadn't. The man standing beside him had read him the numbers quietly, hoping no one would discover them in the room. Not that it would matter if they did--the young man would probably just say he was helping out the CEO, in preparation of taking over some day; who wouldn't believe him?
Shinju put the files down, bewildered. The numbers didn't add up. Sure, if you just looked at a few, it all seemed fine... but with his attention to detail, he could tell something was wrong.
This paperwork had been tampered with. Who knew how many other files had been changed?
... He had to let the FBI know. If he showed them the altered files... they would be able to trace it back to the culprit. Wouldn't they?
And then what? His company might go down in flames if it happened to be a high-ranking official pulling the strings.
He grit his teeth, unsure. His hand shook lightly; he didn't know if he should just ignore the paperwork he held or not.
No, he knew. He knew he shouldn't ignore it... but did he want to?
His guard helped him put away the potential evidence, and he headed home, his thoughts heavy.
-
"Hello? ... Yes, I think I may have something of interest in relation to the investigation in Aleatorio..."
Except their typical M.O., according to Asplund. Shinju was willing to just put it aside as a matter of the mafia changing its methods, but the man had tried to insist to Gouka that there was something fishy about the whole matter.
As much as he hated them, and wanted to see them fall... he'd agreed to get someone to look a little closer.
Of course, he was planning on doing it himself, just to prove once and for all that his family's company had nothing to do with the matter.
-
"... this must be a mistake," he muttered to himself. He stood in a file room with his bodyguard, several files out that he'd looked over a while back, and a few he hadn't. The man standing beside him had read him the numbers quietly, hoping no one would discover them in the room. Not that it would matter if they did--the young man would probably just say he was helping out the CEO, in preparation of taking over some day; who wouldn't believe him?
Shinju put the files down, bewildered. The numbers didn't add up. Sure, if you just looked at a few, it all seemed fine... but with his attention to detail, he could tell something was wrong.
This paperwork had been tampered with. Who knew how many other files had been changed?
... He had to let the FBI know. If he showed them the altered files... they would be able to trace it back to the culprit. Wouldn't they?
And then what? His company might go down in flames if it happened to be a high-ranking official pulling the strings.
He grit his teeth, unsure. His hand shook lightly; he didn't know if he should just ignore the paperwork he held or not.
No, he knew. He knew he shouldn't ignore it... but did he want to?
His guard helped him put away the potential evidence, and he headed home, his thoughts heavy.
-
"Hello? ... Yes, I think I may have something of interest in relation to the investigation in Aleatorio..."