Page 47 of Obsession of the Egoist
“I’m just giving him motivation.”
“Motivation to do what, kill you? He hates you.”
“It’s Mio. He hates everyone, except you.” Tobias grinned. “He is fine, and there is no better motivation than hatred, don’t you think? Look where it got you.”
“How is he doing?”
“Fine. He behaves. He tried to hack into my computer again.” Tobias’ grin widened. Yugo arched a brow, feeling somewhat disappointed. “But I changed the encryption. He was so close, and the last moment the system threw him out. You should have seen his face. It was priceless. Oh, wait. I have the footage from the security cameras.”
“Not interested. How did he do in Kabul?” Approaching the desk, Yugo sat on the edge of it, facing Tobias.
“Fine, I guess. He doesn’t show much interest, but he isn’t completely useless.” Tobias yawned without covering his mouth, and Yugo diverted his eyes, not willing to contemplate his pharynx. “His observation skills are great. He accompanied me to the military base to check the written-off helicopters, and he managed to get a better price than I did.”
“So he is good with bargaining,” Yugo summarized.
“I’d say so. His hacking skills are getting better too. My security system failed to detect him. If I hadn’t hacked into his PC first, I wouldn’t have known about him trying.”
“Where do you think it’s best to use him?” Yugo picked up a silver pen, aimlessly flipped it around his fingers.
“He’d do great in politics, but he has zero interest in it. He likes guns, though. He isn’t bad with them either. I’m about to try him in extortion and torture. He is a twisted little shit, I’m sure…”
“No torture and stop calling him little shit. He is still my nephew,” Yugo interrupted. “What would you do if he develops a taste for it? I don’t want him to explore his sadistic tendencies and pour his complexes into his prey. Nothing good would come of it. Keep him ‘clean’. No ‘dirty’ work.”
The door opened without a knock, and Mio entered. His still wet hair was slicked back; a white suit hugged his lean body. Approaching the desk, Mio slumped into the chair next to Tobias and threw an ankle over his knee. The overpowering smell of cologne flooded the room, and Yugo wondered if he should send him to wash up again.
“You’re free to go, Tobias.”
“I’d rather stay. I’m curious what this little… my protégé has to say.” Tobias stretched the vowels, giving Mio a curious glance.
Tossing the pen onto the desk, Yugo got up. “Thank you for coming, Tobias. Please, leave us. Unless you’re so obsessed with Mio that you can’t part for a moment? Is there anything I should know?”
“Good one,” Tobias laughed, got up, and turning to Mio, added, “I’ll see you at home. Grab dinner on your way. Your cooking sucks.”
When the door closed behind Tobias, Yugo directed his attention to his nephew. “You failed. Again.”
“I hate him!”
“I don’t care,” Yugo said, circling Mio’s chair. Standing behind him, he placed his hands on Mio’s shoulders. Fingers crawling up, they clasped around the thin neck. “I need a result, Mio.”
“Whenever I get close the encryption changes, and I have to start all over again. What am I supposed to do?” Mio said. “I think his encryption automatically changes every few hours, or I don’t know how he detects me. He doesn’t trust me enough to leave me home alone for longer than an hour.”
Yugo leaned forward. His breath stirred soft curls of Mio’s hair when he whispered, “Because he knows!”
“H-how?” Mio frowned.
“Figure it out,” Yugo said. Letting go of his neck, he returned to the desk. “Break into his computer. I want a copy of his hard drive before he upgrades his defense again.”
“Why do you think I can even do this?” Mio pressed his lips together, throwing a glare at Yugo. “Every month, he offers a reward to hackers if they can break in. Why don’t you hire someone better?”
“You can’t do it?” Yugo hummed, adding a fair amount of disappointment into his voice. “If you can’t gain Tobias’ loyalty, or hack his computer, what’s your value, Mio? What can you do?” When Mio didn’t answer, Yugo sighed. “Go back to Rudolph. I bet he would be able to find something suitable for your abilities. Maybe you can manage one of his whore-houses; how does that sound?”
Jumping to his feet, Mio gnashed his teeth. Drilling Yugo with a cold glare, he said, “You’re so fucking cruel. All my life, I’ve just wanted you to look at me.”
Yugo smiled with his lips only. “You lost your privileges and my trust when you went against me. Now you have to earn them again. Bring me a copy of the hard drive. Don’t call until you have it.”
Mio’s eyes stayed linked with Yugo’s for another second before he stormed out of the office.
“That’s the spirit,” Yugo said to himself, a smile spreading over his face.
