17. Chapter 17 Freddy
Chapter 17: Freddy
F reddy watched Sabrina disappear into her bedroom, her phone pressed to her ear. He flopped down onto the couch, running a hand through his hair. The moment they’d shared, so electric, fizzled out like a doused flame.
“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. Of all the times for her mother to call, it had to be now? When they were finally crossing that line?
He scrubbed his face and looked around the house he’d lived in for almost a decade but was just starting to see as a potential home where he could be happy. On the TV, the pause screen of Assassin’s Creed mocked him, frozen in time just like the first moment Sabrina rubbed against him. But maybe it was for the best. She deserved better than frotting on the living room floor. Freddy wanted to show her how valuable she was.
Glancing at the clock, he was surprised to see it had ticked past midnight. He wasn’t ready to call it a night, especially with his mind still buzzing from the feeling of Sabrina’s skin against his. He picked up the controllers they’d dropped, a small smile tugging at his lips as he imagined spending every night with her, playing games, laughing, and making each other feel good.
As he straightened the cushions on the couch, Freddy wondered if Patrick and Wils were gaming. They usually did on Saturdays now that Holly was managing Patrick’s schedule, and they never quit before two. He exited Sabrina’s character from Assassin’s Creed, expanding his view to full screen.
Freddy hesitated for a moment, his finger hovering over the power button. Part of him wanted to wait for Sabrina, to see if she’d come back out and they could pick up where they left off. But he heard her muffled voice through the bedroom door, still deep in conversation with her mother.
With a sigh, he powered on his headset and connected to the gaming network. Sure enough, Patrick and Wils were logged in to Red Dead Redemption.
“Room for one more?” Freddy asked, joining their party.
“Sure,” Patrick’s voice crackled through the headset. “You okay? You don’t usually join us?”
“I’m fine. Just bored,” Freddy said. “Hey, Wils.”
“Hi. Patrick said he was a jerk to you at family dinner, so it’s good you’re here. Collaborating on a shared passion is effective for rebuilding bonds after someone damages a relationship.”
It was such a Wils thing to say, but Freddy had no idea how to respond.
“Yeah, most people don’t talk about it, though.” Patrick chimed in. “I am sorry, Freddy. Holly, uh, well, she made it clear how bad I fucked up. I won’t be telling that story ever again.”
Freddy chuckled as they all settled into friendly banter and debated which missions to tackle. As they played, he found himself glancing occasionally toward Sabrina’s bedroom door, hoping she might emerge. But as the night wore on and her door remained closed, he lost himself in the game, grateful for the distraction. The familiar twang of country music filled his ears through the headset, punctuated by Patrick’s colorful cursing and Wilson’s dry commentary.
“Damn it, Wils! You were supposed to watch my back!” Patrick’s voice crackled through the headset.
“I was,” Wilson replied calmly. “I watched that guy shoot you right in the back.”
Laughing, Freddy redirected his character to join them and help his brother out.
“Hey guys,” Freddy said, clearing his throat. “Any progress on figuring out who leaked those beta testing results?”
There was a pause, filled only by the sound of gunfire and horse hooves.
“Not much,” Patrick finally answered, his voice tight. “We’re still looking into it, but we haven’t made any real headway.”
Freddy frowned, his fingers moving automatically over the joysticks and buttons. “Really? But isn’t DS demanding answers?”
“Yeah, believe me, I know,” Patrick sighed. “But whoever did this covered their tracks well. We’re working on it, but it’s slow going. It had to be someone in-house, so we can’t just go around questioning and accusing people. We’re talking about our closest friends and family.”
Freddy heard the frustration and hurt in his brother’s voice. None of what he said was new information, but Freddy really hadn’t considered what it must be like for Patrick to know that someone he trusted betrayed them all. “That makes sense, and uh, I’m glad you’re in charge. You’re a good CEO.” He felt so stupid saying it, but he got the feeling Patrick needed to hear it.
“Thanks,” Patrick replied. “I appreciate, I mean, it’s nice to hear that. Especially from you.”
Freddy thought about Renner’s behavior on their trip. Now seemed as good a time as any to bring it up. “Hey, there was something odd,” he started, his voice low, “with Renner. On our trip, I mean.”
Patrick’s character came to a sudden stop on the screen. “What about him?”
Freddy took a deep breath. “When we were up in Alaska and with the navy. He was acting weird.”
“Weird is an ambiguous term that can be different things to different people,” Wils’ calm voice came through the headset.
Freddy rolled his eyes but understood Wils’ point. “He was constantly hovering over my shoulder, asking all these questions about our code and firewalls. It felt... off. I mean, it annoyed the shit out of me, but more than that. Like something hinky was behind it.”
There was a moment of silence before Patrick spoke, his voice tight. “What kind of questions did he ask?”
Freddy ran a hand through his hair, remembering Renner’s intense gaze. “He wanted to know how our firewalls were structured, and he kept asking about how we sectioned off the bots to prevent them from interfering with each other. It was the same questions you two used to go round and round with Dad about.”
“Fuck,” Patrick huffed.
“What’s the risk?” Wils asked.
“Everything,” Patrick answered.
Wils grunted, “Not possible. What’s the risk?”
“Fine.” Patrick’s sigh crackled through the headset. “DS could reverse engineer our code, program their own bots, terminate our contract over the leaked reports, and we’d go bankrupt.”
“Timeline?” Wils asked.
“Six to twelve months,” Patrick responded, having obviously already thought through the ramifications of TI losing their biggest contract. “We might be able to extend it by picking up additional civilian contracts, but if our reputation takes another hit, we could lose more contracts and go under sooner.”
It was much, much worse than Freddy had imagined. Suddenly, he understood why Sabrina was so worried Patrick would throw her under the bus to save the company. If things were really this bad, and Patrick didn’t exaggerate, Sabrina’s job might be fucked no matter what.
Freddy rode his horse in circles on the game as he thought, piecing together all the little moments that had seemed odd but not quite alarming at the time. “Renner’s been to enough of our Monday meetings to have access to those leaked reports, too. Could he be behind everything?”
A heavy silence fell over the group as the implications sank in. Freddy’s eyes darted to Sabrina’s closed bedroom door, worry for her mixing with his growing unease about the situation.
“Wils?” Patrick prompted.
“I need more details about his exact attendance, technical knowledge, role at DS, and relationships with both his coworkers there and everyone he works with here, but based on my current information, yes. We should consider him.”
“Fucking dammit!”
Freddy heard the crack and clatter of a gaming controller hitting a wall and blasting to pieces.
“I expect a replacement by next weekend,” Wils said over his headset.
“Yeah, not my biggest concern right now, but you know I’m good for it,” Patrick answered him.
“I need to ask a favor,” Freddy started. “It’s big. And you aren’t going to like it, but I need you to do it for me. As my brother.”
“What?” Patrick’s snarl didn’t scare Freddy. He’d become immune back when they were kids.
“Exempt Sabrina from the joint meeting. Let her stay here.”
“No–”
“Actually,” Wils interrupted Patrick before he could fully form his refusal.
“Wils,” Patrick threatened in a deep growl.
“Body language reveals information humans may not consciously choose to share. I’ve got a few articles about it–”
“Wils.” This time Patrick’s reprimand was a sharp demand that he get to the point.
“If you discuss Sabrina as a lead suspect being investigated, Renner’s body language may provide insight that supports our consideration of his as the leak, or it could suggest that he is uninvolved. That would be easier to do without Sabrina present.” There was a moment of silence as they considered the possibilities. “Of course, I would recommend you read the articles to ensure any interpretation of his behavior is well-informed,” Wils added.
He would never understand how his brother ended up best friends with Wils, but once you got past the guy’s quirks, he was a decent man. It just took a lot to see past those oddities.
“Fine, but I’m not reading a bunch of damned articles. Summarize them for me, Wils. Or better yet, send summaries to Holly. She can make understanding them more worthwhile .”
Freddy could practically hear his brother’s eyebrows wag at his innuendo and had to swallow an urge to vomit. “That’s so gross.”
Patrick just laughed. “Don’t complain. You get your favor. Tell Sabrina to stay home and deal with insurance and other bullshit paperwork, but we need to focus on the game, now. No more work talk. Where’s your spare controllers, Wils? I know you have at least one.”
Freddy let out a sigh of relief, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was a start. As Patrick and Wils moved around to pull out a new controller, Freddy glanced again at Sabrina’s door, hoping he’d done enough to protect her, at least for now. “Sure,” he agreed, forcing a lighter tone. “Let’s go rob a train or something.”