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From 7AM till 10PM.
Each day, every day. No days off and 3-4 hours of sleep max. Sure, this way Stephen Huberts may have become paragon boss of the Ministry but even he couldn't possibly work like this infinitely. The hellish rhythm caused hellish headaches a little too more often than he'd wanted. Naturally he would never tell anyone.
(As the paragon boss should never show any signs of weakness)
Usually he'd have something on him to fix such an inconvenience but that day he couldn't find anything remotely close to a painkiller in neither his pockets nor his office. Neither was there any help from coffee: after the third cup he started feeling nauseous.
Stephen preferred to stay in his office the whole day warning anyone not to disturb him as he was supposedly insanely busy. And while the majority of the employees got the message, one certain Ernst Müller just couldn't leave him alone.
Who would have thought? On any other day Müller would rather drink cyanide than willingly work with Stephen. On this specific day though Müller had shown unusual interest towards his rival.
Müller would call Stephen again and again as if knowing for sure that with each ring the latter's headache only worsened.
After a while Stephen realized if he didn't pick up now Müller might get an idea to visit him personally and this was the last thing he wanted right now.
"Finally! I knew you were in there", – forget the headache: Müller's barking voice was enough for a new wave of nausea.
"What do you want?" – Stephen asked sullenly. – "Do you need everything repeated twice? I'm busy!"
"Sure you are. Unfortunately for both of us, I need you to..." – and he proceeded talking about some papers, signatures, top secret stuff – "You know what I mean". – Stephen, in fact, knew yet he couldn't care less about it at the moment.
"Can it wait till tomorrow?"
"No! What's stopping you?" – as usual, Müller completely forgot his subordinate position, disrespecting Stephen like this.
Stephen couldn't claim he was busy again – Müller seemed to see through his excuses. The last resort was to tell the truth.
"A splitting headache", – Stephen replied through gritted teeth.
Müller gloated.
"Nice try, Huberts! We aren't in one bed together though, if you know what I mean".
Stephen's eye twitched.
"You're so funny, Müller".
"It's in your best interest to deal with this ASAP. Don't think I enjoy talking to you, Huberts. It's just our common business. You know which".
Stephen sighed.
"Meet me in the server room. And I really hope this is something urgent", – if not – Stephen decided for himself – the bastard would get in trouble later.
***
As he returned to his office, Stephen's mood was much worse than before. Just like he had thought, Müller bothered him on a trivial matter that not only could wait till the next day, it didn't require Stephen's attention at all. Tedious paperwork and dozens of redundant signatures – Müller could easily manage on his own. It was clear as day that Müller just seized a moment when he could easily get away with making a nuisance of himself. He really got a nerve lately and must be thinking that his status as Altmann's lap dog gives him full immunity.
Stephen sat down frowning and running his temples. Just as he was expecting, working with Müller just made his headache worse (and the bastard was likely the direct reason).
His table was buried under piles and piles of paperwork but Stephen couldn't read a word even if he tried. Frowning yet again, he wanted to put the papers aside when he noticed something that shouldn't have been here.
A pack of painkillers.
Stephen picked it up and leaned back. He couldn't possibly be the one to have left it on the table. He rummaged through his office in vain, failing to find the painkillers. He wouldn't miss it. Splitting headache doesn't cause memory issues, does it?
So in this case... Where did it come from? Did someone enter his office? Who would even dare to?
The next question: who would even know that he would even need painkillers? Everyone in the Ministry was informed that he was just busy with only Ernst Müller knowing the truth. He, however, couldn't hide malicious glee behind his stupid sunglasses as he watched his boss' obvious discomfort.
Who else could possibly know?
Steven shuddered and looked around as if expecting to instantly spot a camera. Obviously to no avail.
Fortunately, the fifth floor had a guard that could tell if someone passed him. Without further ado Stephen went to him for the answers.
"Bruno, nobody entered my office, is that right?" - Stephen asked with a cheerful albeit forced smile.
"Right", – replied the living rock of a person.
"Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes".
"I see, thank you, Bruno", – Stephen instantly came up with a follow up question. – "Was anyone on the floor then?"
"Frank Schwarz was".
Something clicked in Stephen's head. The picture cleared up.
"Frank Schwarz, you say?"
"Yes. He had a pile of paperwork for Miss Altmann. I saw him enter the office and then leave".
Stephen nodded and returned to his office.
"So... Frank Schwarz. It explains a lot actually". – Stephen muttered to himself, fidgeting with his employee's apparent gift.
Of course, Frank Schwarz rummages through people's offices and he became damn good at it. Maybe even too good: Bruno didn't even notice him slipping inside. He got rid of his predecessor on the fourth floor – the man who was infamous for his slithery ways before.
But breaking into his boss' office? If Frank absolutely had to, Stephen would prefer it would be Lotte's office.
What's more, Frank didn't seem to search for anything nor did he steal anything. Instead he... Helped his boss out? That was so unexpected that Stephen didn't know what to think of it. He wouldn't let it slide though.
Without waiting any longer he dialed Frank's number (that he somehow knew by heart).
"Frank, did you break into my office?" – Stephen decided there were no civilities needed.
After obvious hesitation Frank replied with a quiet but surprisingly firm:
"Yes".
Stephen smiled to himself.
"I really appreciate your honesty. I'm not in the mood for excuses".
"My apologies. I just wanted to help you and waited till you left because I didn't want to disturb you. My bad, I didn't think how bad it would look".
"How did you even find out..."
"Don't you remember? You told me yourself".
"Did I?"
"Yes. This morning. I noticed you looking pale and you complained about a headache", – Frank explained and then added: – "You also asked me not to disturb you today".
"I recall this", – some of his employees Stephen indeed informed in person. Others – via phone. He couldn't be certain anymore which category Frank belonged to. All the employees he talked to this morning mixed up in his head – yet another sign of his bad shapel. After Frank's words Stephen seemed to recall seeing Frank's ridiculous tie today. So maybe Frank wasn't lying after all.
Except something was still not adding up: Stephen wasn't going to tell anyone the true reason why he was "busy". He remembered telling only Müller, who basically forced an answer out of him, and only on the phone. He was sure of it. So... There still was one important question for Frank left:
"Frank", – Stephen asked solemnly. – Can I be assured that there are no cameras in my office?"
"Of course, you can!" – Frank replied. Judging by his voice, he seemed to be a bit offended by the implication. – "I would never!"
"Oh well", – could Stephen be a little too paranoid?
Frank had proved to be a good employee indeed. He always did everything one told him and rarely asked useless questions. There was a good reason Stephen learned his phone number by heart.
With a little more reflection it did seem ridiculous that Frank would install cameras not to spy on his boss but to help him instead. It was much more plausible that Stephen indeed confided in his employee but forgot about it. It seemed that he couldn’t rely on his memory after all.
Yes, this is exactly what happened.
"Well, Frank, I believe you", – Stephen said in a rather strict tone. – "We'll do as follows, I'll pretend nothing has happened if you never do stuff like this again. If you... ", – his voice softened. - "...really want to help me, then be it. You're allowed to talk to me even if I told you I'm busy. Deal?"
"Deal!" – Frank sounded genuinely relieved and happy. Stephen couldn't help but think that it was somehow cute.
"Brilliant!" – Stephen made sure to show his approval.
"Hear, Stephen", – Frank hesitated but went on anyway: – "I know it's none of my business but you'd better take the rest of the day off and rest".
"This sounds tempting but... I have plenty of work, you know. However", – and Stephen was genuine when he said that. –"Thanks for your concern".
"Sure, you're welcome!" – Frank answered and for the first time since they knew each other hung up first.
Stephen smirked. Funny man, that Frank Schwarz. Naturally, Stephen was used to many employees trying to suck up to him, but rarely did someone express genuine concern for his well-being. That was... Refreshing to say the least. Stephen couldn't find another word to describe his thoughts about the situation.
He knew one thing for sure: if Lotte somehow wins over Schwarz it would be... A loss. Yes.
With these thoughts Stephen popped some painkillers and closed his eyes.
A little later the pain started to fade away and while Stephen knew it would take another couple of hours for it to be gone completely, he already felt much more capable.
He looked at the clock - it was almost 6PM. Everyone in the ministry was either gone or was going to leave soon. Everyone but another damn workaholic Müller. If he was still there, he still could get in trouble for his earlier antics.
***
From the tiny screen Frank watched Stephen take the painkillers and then noticeably relax as they started to work. Frank would lie if he said it didn't make him happy. He was more than eager to help his boss out even unprompted.
Today, however, he knew that he went too far and risked too much.
Nobody told him to spy on Stephen, even Lotte Altmann wouldn't think of it. It was Frank's own idea to install the cameras.
That definitely was a really dangerous independent act. As time went on Frank even forgot why he started to watch his boss in the first place. He never intended to blackmail Stephen or - great leader forbid - search for some violations. (it would be useless anyway and Frank would only get in trouble himself).
Frank just felt that not knowing if his boss is okay made him weirdly restless. He already managed to discreetly assist Stephen on a couple of occasions using the knowledge obtained by watching him. Key word - discreetly.
Surely it was risky. Dangerous. Dumb. If Frank was exposed, everything would be over. Everything.
If Stephen was to find a camera in his office he'd definitely be appalled and might even think over his dismay towards arrests.
Frank couldn't let this happen.
(Was he afraid to lose everything once again or to frighten or disappoint his boss?)
(Or was it much easier and Stephen had already become a part of "everything" Frank was afraid to lose).
Frank was extremely lucky that Stephen took his words and wouldn't check their validity.
That went well.
For now.
It all had happened because Frank intercepted Stephen's conversation with Ernst Müller. Frank himself was used to the lack of Müller's respect towards him that didn't change even when they became neighbors on the 4th floor. However, Frank just couldn't listen to Müller lacking respect towards Stephen, especially using the latter's obvious vulnerability.
The picklock found his way to Frank's hand almost on its own.
He didn't remember where he even got the painkillers from, maybe Sabine handed them to him having decided that Frank himself had a headache.
Stephen was fast to connect the dots as Frank expected. Frank had to come up with a lie on the fly. Too bad that he had to lie at all: he and Stephen didn't meet today personally. The boss indeed just called him and asked not to disturb him. He said not a word about a headache. Frank, however, suspected that something was off: sure Stephen was trying to talk with his usual cheerful tone, yet Frank noticed some tension in it. Frank asked himself whether Stephen was in some kind of trouble.
By chance Frank saw Stephen talking to Emma Grundig in person. Frank remembered this as he was making his lie up.
Thankfully, his landlord's job taught him to lie relatively convincingly. As he had to repeat "No, Walter was a friend of mine, I wouldn't betray him" and "A woman with two kids? I don't know where she moved to" with an unreadable expression again and again he mastered his skill of lying.
Only Sabine stayed the one to always read through his lies.
And if Stephen was in shape he wouldn't probably believe him either. Frank shot blindly and didn't miss.
Yes, too bad, that he had to turn to deception but it was for the better - this way Frank would still be able to stay close to Stephen and see that Müller and Altmann wouldn't hurt him or his plans. Frank just couldn't let that happen.
And for this to stay it was vital that Stephen doesn't know about the camera.
Stephen on the tiny screen stood up and left his office. One frantic movement and the screen changes to static: just in case Stephen would come by Frank's office.
Frank pretended to be consumed by a reform draft (he needed an excuse for why he still was in the ministry after all).
(and Stephen would appreciate the hard work)
Just like he had thought, a minute passed and He stopped right by the door. Frank pretended not to notice.
A knock.
"Come in", – Frank's voice has fake confidence in it. His heart was pounding like a teenager's next to his crush.
"Frank, isn't your family waiting for you at home", – the tension in Stephen's voice was almost gone. Good.
"Yeah, but I just wanted to finish..."
"Go home", – was it Frank's imagination or he heard some kind of concern in his boss's voice.
"Sure, I will".
Stephen nodded and smiled. Before he left for the neighbor office – the 404 – Frank caught a mischievous glee in his eyes. Müller would get in trouble.
And Frank was only happy to assist.