January 8th 2006

3rd POV Frost International

Sitting in his private office on the 35th floor of his building Winston Frost took a sip from his tea as he went through various business proposals sent to his company. Many were garbage sent by small companies hoping to strike it big by partnering with the Frost name but some were hidden gems and Winston would be damned if he didn’t find every single gem the business world had to offer.

This wasn’t a task he normally did himself, not since he started training his children in the art of business. Well his daughters in the art of business. His bastard of a son was off somewhere parting like the faggot trash he is. Honestly, if he wasn’t so useful when it came to restraining Emma he would have killed him the second his tendencies were exposed.

As it is he just monitors and mandates every aspect of his life, making sure his disgusting activities never reach the press. Speaking of his middle daughter Emma had run away once again which is why Winston had to go through all these offers himself. His oldest, Adrienne, was in Germany attending a banquet in his place making connections among the elite.

Adrienne would have made the perfect heir if it wasn’t for her sadistic nature. Winston didn’t see anything wrong with enjoying your enemies suffering, in fact he believed it was a good thing. The business world is cut throat and if you're not prepared to knock out the competition then you shouldn’t bother trying. No, the problem with his eldest is that she goes out of her way to cause suffering to others. She’s restricted now because she knows anything she does will eventually reach him and he won’t hesitate when it comes to punishing disobedience.

But if she were made CEO. She’d drive the company into the ground if she doesn’t learn to control her nature sooner rather than later. Emma on the other hand is the perfect heir if only she’d learn to accept what it means to be a Frost. She’d run off again on another of her desperate attempts for freedom. He’d already sent people to monitor her and he’d had extensive conversation (over the phone) with Xavier to keep her away from his school of freaks.

{Ping}

Busying himself with his thoughts while going over mostly boring proposals he almost missed the familiar notification signifying he’d received a new email. Opening his encrypted laptop via the eye-scanner installed in the camera he opened his mailbox and saw that his personal secretary had sent him an e-mail 2 minutes ago. 

He must have been deeper in his thoughts then he’d thought that or his ageing body was slowing far quicker then he’d like. Seeing that the topic of the email was in regards to Emma’s current location (he was to be updated once a day) he moved to open it going through the familiar decoding process he had set up with all his private contacts to ensure no one else can access these documents. 

Finished he proceeded to open the email when everything went wrong. Instead of the short update he was expecting a symbol appeared on the front of his screen while all his applications closed automatically. The skull was a purplish colour with almost a glitch texture running across it. The eye sockets were surrounded by 6 pointed triangles and where the mouth should have been there were instead shapes that looked cut out by a toddler of some sort.

Shutting his computer Winston rapidly flung his hand under his desk and pressed three different buttons. One called guards into the room, another initiated a full system reboot of Frost industries, and the final one activated the numerous anti-detection/encryptions he had on the room. Relaxing slightly Winston’s brows creased as he thought over how any hacker could have gotten this far into their systems. There were two options: one someone in the company had betrayed him.

Unlikely but much preferred to the second option: a wild mutant with tremendous computer capabilities is attacking his company. But why? Emma? No she might hate him and her family but she understands the value of the company as well as any. If Frost International falls the global economy will fall into chaos. 

Looking towards his door Winston frowned when it stayed shut. The nearest guards should have arrived within 15 seconds of the button being pressed. It’s been at least half a minute now. Did something happen in the building? Standing up WInston made his way over to an antique bookcase before removing an encyclopaedia and entering a code into the security panel that appeared behind it. The bookcase split down the middle and Winston entered into a small room filled with security cameras with a centre console that contained one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

 Entering he quickly started up his computer before taking a look at the security feeds of the building. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary happening on any of his screens Winston finally understood the seriousness of the situation but by then it was too late. Before he could react the same symbol that had been on his laptop sprung up on every screen in the room.

Desperately, Winston rushed out of the room and tried to leave his office only for the automatic lock on his door to slam shut and his scanners short circuit as he approached. Running behind his desk Winston flipped his desk over and shoved aside the carpet underneath so he could access his secret trapdoor when he felt something metallic press into the back of his head making him freeze.

“Señor where are you going? It’s rude to leave a guest unattended, you know.” Slowly with his arms kept unmoving at his side Winston rose from his crouched position. Taking a couple steps forward so that he was away from his captor he turned around slowly and came face to face with his assailant.

In front of him stood a woman of middle-age (if he had to guess late 20s) with long flowing black hair ended with purple highlights on one side of her head. The other was shaved near bald and had a purple metal contraption locked in place. She was dressed in a skintight suit of purple with black on the joints covered in a low hanging coat of grey’s and black with a purple outline. She wore high-tech gloves on her hand that seemed to sparkle with code and had high heeled boots on her feet.

If not for the fact she’d managed to get into his office Winston would have dismissed her as one of his eldest sons kind. But getting in here and stopping anyone from realising anything was wrong takes skill and talent or a convenient mutant power. The longer he looked at her though the less likely the mutant option seemed. Firstly, she was clearly armed if the fully automatic SMG in his face was anything to go buy.

From what he’s heard about mutants they fall into two categories, those who hate their power and try to blend in (if they didn’t change physically) and those who embrace their change as the next step in humanities evolution and see themselves as better than humans. The first group wouldn’t be caught dead near him and the second wouldn’t bring modern weaponry.

Also she doesn’t have the arrogance mutants have. Not that she wasn’t arrogant, he could see it in her posture but it was different then the ‘I rule the world’ arrogance of most powerful mutants. It was similar to his own brand of arrogance and ‘I could crush you without lifting a finger.’ That thought instantly put him even further on edge then he was and to top it off Emma isn’t around so he can’t rely on her physic ability to find the problem. Although he very much doubted she’d help anyway if he was here. He’d raised her better than that.

“Like what you see, señor?” Sombra’s tone was teasing as she bent her body slightly providing him with a better look at her cleavage but the look in her eyes assured that she found nothing amusing with his stare. Well to bad Winston Frost wasn’t a man who could be intimidated by some measly hacker. 

“State what you want scum. And then get out of my office.” 

“Eh, Eh señor, are you sure that’s how you want this to go? Oh well if you say so I guess I’ll just upload all this and go if you're not interested in business.” Sombra purred the last word as her hands came up and projected a screen containing dozens of files. It took Winston a second of squinting to finally realise what she was holding and he started to pale considerably. 

‘What? How could she have?’ In between her hands was a screen displaying all of Frost International’s and more importantly his own private files. Under the table arms deals, blackmail, threats, which politicians are on their payroll. If their company files were released his company and half the US government would go down in the biggest scandal of the country.

And that was only the company file if his private file got leaked the world would learn about the Hellfire club and all their illegal dealings. The fortune 500 would be exposed for the frauds and pieces of filth they are. It would be the start of a civil uprising globally. Seeing this mystery woman start to upload the files Winston almost fell to his knees begging her to stop.

“WAIT!! In hindsight as a businessman it would be the height of stupidity to not hear out your proposal at least.” hearing the desperation in his voice made Winston want to erupt like a volcano but he smothered all of that under the very real possibility of this woman ending Frost International with the information in between her hands. ‘Damn it where did she even get this stuff from. My private server is completely isolated from the network.’

“I thought you’d come to see it my way señor” Sombra’s voice carried a trace of mockery along with its playfulness that hadn’t left from the start showing just how unworried she was by this situation. ‘She must be a veteran. How many others does she have on their knees with information like this.’

Never a man to brag, Winston Frost will freely admit to being the most paranoid person he knows. A take over of his systems this easily means that the woman in front of him is likely capable of getting past any system in the world. ‘Except for Stark and his stupid A.I’ 

Winston was lucky he got windfall from Emma that Stark was almost finished making an A.I and had the time to erase his presence in Stark’s systems. Others who had been caught unprepared by the A.I had spent the next couple of years grovelling at Stark’s feet begging the man to not destroy their companies. As well as giving him endless amounts of women and booze. A number of men got divorced to make sure Stark was satisfied. 

“You see señor, I’m an elegant girl with elegant tastes. I’ve had a Pequeño problema securing funds for my shopping and I was hoping in exchange for keeping these files to myself señor wouldn’t mind lending me some money.” So it was blackmail then.

Grinding his teeth at the humiliation he was being subjected to Winston had to actively hold himself back from snarling as a new phone was deposited onto the floor between him and his captor. Understanding what she wanted, Winston took a few steps forward and reached down to pick up the phone. As his hands wrapped around the phone Winston lunged forward entering her range before she could react and thrust the phone into her nose waiting for the satisfying crack of broken bones.

Instead right when he should have made contact Winston found himself stumbling forward as the body in front of him disappeared before reappearing leaning on his knocked over desk blowing on her nails as if to keep them polished. Not having enough time to stop his momentum Winston’s head slammed into the wall Sombra had been leaning on.

{bang}

The harsh sound of impact made Sombra look up towards Winston. Kicking off the desk she raised her hand and activated her special ability and suddenly Winston had no control of his body. He couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, he could hardly breathe. Whatever, she’d just done to him and completely incapacitated him.

“Sigh. Señor I thought you were smarter than this. We could have been good friends if you’d have played nicely.” Sombra spoke with a reproachful tone one used with children while she crouched down next to Winston and proceeded to begin transferring money from his offshore accounts into ones of her own. 

“I was open to negociando the price but what should I do now that you can’t respond hmmm. I guess I’ll just take till I’m satisfied.” humming to herself Sombra leaned against the underside of Winston’s desk with her feet propped up on his legs as she waited patiently for the transfer to go through. Finally, not 10 minutes later Sombra cheerfully stood up and crouched down next to Winstons still indisposed form.

“It’s been a pleasure señor. I can’t wait for our next meeting. Try to play nicer next time okay? It won’t be any fun for you if you keep being mean.” With her final words given, Sombra's body disappeared and Winston finally regained control of his body. Rushing towards the phone left on the ground Winston took a brief glance at the phone before releasing a scream of anger and threw the phone  in his hand across the room. Flashing on the screen was an approved transfer of 50 million dollars from one of his private offshore accounts to an unknown account.

Storming out of his office Winston fired his secretary on the spot and continued onto his security team firing another 15 staff before calming down enough to return to his office. 

While Winston raged in his office building across the nation 3 other prominent CEO’s found themselves becoming acquainted with a new friend and lacking a significant portion of their personal funds.

Reapearing inside his home Makenzie looked at his new bank accounts with a smile and looked up towards his own supercomputer before sitting down, dropping his Sombra transformation and getting started on his next steps.