I frown, stretch out my fingers, and mime typing on a keyboard. “I need those, you know. I think I’d rather you just kill me.”
“That can be arranged.”
“Okay, okay.”
I do exactly what he said, speaking fast as I explain how this would be a good thing forhimtoo. Honestly, a good thing for a lot of people. One blackout, and whole networks built on exploitation and suffering would collapse. Inhumane businesses reduced to nothing but dead circuits and dust.
Still, he sees right through me.
“What’s in it for you?”
“Fuck!” I run a hand down my face in frustration. “Why do you have to be smarter than you look?”
“You’re really testing me right now.”
“Because I have a personal investment in this, okay?”
“I’m paying you to—”
“Yes, I know.” At the look on his face, I make a mental note to never interrupt him again and repeatwhathe’s paying me for so he knows I’m not forgetting. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. It’s just…I’m adding a little more to it. You don’t need to know what it is.”
You don’t need to know that your enemy is practice.
You don’t need to know that I’ve been building this for a ghost.
You don’t need to know that if I do this right, maybe I’ll finally stop hearing the gunshot.
“I’ve been working on this program for a long time, and I’m going to use it for both of us.”
Harrison takes a long, deep breath, and I imagine he’s thinking how difficult it would be to replace me if he decided to slit my throat or bury me alive or drown me in his pool.
“How much longer?” he asks.
Relief flutters in my chest. “I have some tweaks left to make so the program runs longer. I’m not sure yet, but I swear I’m working as quickly as I can.”
“How long do you need it to run for?”
I shut my laptop and shove it back into my bag as I tell him a rough idea how long everything will take, including what I need to do.
He adds it up quickly and sounds like he’s losing faith by the second when he says, “Twelve minutes?”
“Don’t doubt me now, Doc,” I tell him as I stand. “I have everything ready to execute when it comes time. It’s just a matterof allowing things to run. I don’t need that much time, I swear.”
He follows me toward the elevator and asks, “How long will it take you to triple the time you have? I need some idea here.”
He’s on edge, and I know it’s because he’s worried about Lane.
Lane doesn’t know how lucky he is.
I mean, Harrison’s a total red flag. Anger issues, psychopathic tendencies, the works. But I’m fairly certain this man would burn the world down to protect Lane Hart.
I press the button for the lift and turn back to him. “A couple more days if everything goes well. I’ll let you know the second it’s done.”
“You better.”
The elevator arrives, and I step inside before turning back to him.
Before the doors close, he says, “Donotdisappoint me.”
