Chapter 12 #3
“No, it’s not,” I confirm as I peer back at the screen. “That’s why it’s taken me so long. I had to build the program, and now I’m working on increasing the time we have.”
He swirls the liquid around in his glass as he leans back in his chair. “What’s the point of it? Surely you don’t need to shut down the dark web to do what I need you to?”
“Technically, no, you’re correct.”
His problem doesn’t need a weapon this big, but mine does.
I set my computer on the coffee table and explain things further, about darknets and onion routers, about what it’s going to take to get his job done.
There are a lot of moving pieces that make it a complex task, but he follows along like he always does.
He’s terrifyingly smart, which is inconvenient because it means he keeps asking questions, even when I try to give him a good enough excuse for all of this besides my own priorities.
His eyes narrow. “And that’s why you need to shut down the dark web?”
I hate how fucking smart he is.
“Well…no. Not exactly.” I gulp, rub the back of my neck, and scoot forward on the couch until I’m sitting on the edge. “You promise you won’t kill me?”
“Right now, you’re the only hope I have of protecting Lane. Unfortunately, that makes you safe from me. Then again, that also depends on what you’re about to tell me.”
I tilt my head side to side in contemplation again. “Good enough, I guess.”
My palms are sweaty as fuck, and I rub them on my ripped jeans.
Maybe I shouldn’t be telling Harrison this, but he’s not going to keep being patient with me unless he knows there’s a good reason.
“I could have erased the digital will and drained his accounts two weeks ago.”
Harrison slams his glass on the table beside the chess set, a few drops of the amber liquid splashing out onto the board.
I flinch.
Yeah, he’s definitely going to kill me.
Holding my hands up, I’m quick to say, “I’m aiming higher! Bigger.”
“Talk fast before I cut off your fingers,” he snarls, learning forward, ready to attack me the second I say something else he doesn’t like.
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 for him too. 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 repeat what he’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 matter of 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, “Do not disappoint me.”
I give him a lopsided smirk and a two-finger salute. The doors shut, and the moment they do, my smile falls.
Twelve minutes.
That’s all it’ll take to finally make everything okay.