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Does she see something I don’t?
I caress the hardware one last time, considering how beneficial it could be to our bottom line and to the people who truly need it. As my finger runs over the metal band, feeling the cool, smooth surface, I realize it feels nice.
Almost like a blanket.
“This one is really important, after all.”
In a little over a week, we’ll need to present our tech at the big investor’s meeting, where we’ll convince major benefactors of this tech’s viability.
That is, assuming nobody steals the idea or the tech out from under us again. We’ve been able to recover so far, but a loss of this tech would be almost impossible to recover from.
“We’ve got a lot riding on this, so we need to find the thief before the meeting,” I remind her.
“And that’s the part I’m unclear on. You want me to do that how, exactly?”
I shake my head and sigh. I want to be patient with her, but can’t we break the meeting and discuss this again tomorrow?
“I know you’ve proposed a lot of ideas,” she adds. “And they’re all really good. I’m just not really sure which idea we landed on.”
“Isn’t it enough to just try them all?”
She pivots in place, pointing to a spot on the whiteboard that’s been smeared from elbow grease. I squint, trying to make out the words.
“You had one idea you were especially leaning toward,” she says.
I feel myself nodding off, my head in my hands.
This is every level of urgent. The very prosperity of this company hangs in the balance.
And yet, would it really be so bad if I just took a nap?
“Your biggest idea is going directly to the source,” she says, though I can feel her blending into my dreams, sounding a million miles away. “We infiltrate Craig’s office and get the data off the computer that way.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Are you listening, Tarek?”
In the vague space where all sights and sounds blur together, and my mind is starting to dream, I can hear her approaching me, stepping away from her precious whiteboard.
“Of course, I’m listening.” I try to shake myself awake, but my eyes stubbornly remain closed.
“Then what did I say?”
Her voice is louder than ever in my ears.
“You said that we need to wait for me to fall asleep, then assassinate me while I’m not suspecting anything,” I reply.
The room goes quiet. I don’t hear her chiding me, urging me to wake up. It would be perfect if it weren’t so strange. Puzzled, I open my eyes and nearly fall back out of my seat, tumbling to the carpeted floor.
Sloane stares at me, her face mere inches from mine, her elbows placed on my desk.
“Hi,” she says. “Are you still with us?”
I nod. She stands to her feet, resuming her pacing.
I will myself to stay awake, in spite of the fact that the first rays of daylight are now entering through the window.
“Anyway, like I was saying,” she says. “I like your main plan, but I feel like we’ve more or less tried it already. And it didn’t get us anywhere.”
