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“I’m surprised you didn’t implant a tracker in all of us yet.”

“Hypothetically speaking, how opposed would you be to that?”

“Connor.”

“Okay, sorry. Let’s talk to our little man.”

Together, we head upstairs, Mary’s hand clutched tightly in mine. As we approach Nico’s room, I can hear the faint clacking of computer keys.

I don’t bother knocking, just push the door open and stride inside. Nico regards us with a carefully blank expression. But I can see the glint of mischief in his eyes, so like my own.

“Hey, Dad. Mom. What’s up?”

Mary steps forward, her arms crossed. “Don’t ‘what’s up’ me, young man. You know exactly why we’re here.”

Nico’s gaze flicks to me, a silent plea for backup. I just raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to crack.

He readjusts his glasses on his nose. “Is this about Ava?”

“You’re damn right it is.” Mary’s voice is tight with barely suppressed anger. “What did you do to the tracking system?”

Nico shrugs. “I may have made a few tweaks.”

“Tweaks?” I laugh. “Kid, you completely scrambled the signal. Bounced it off half a dozen towers. That’s more than a tweak.”

“Connor!” Mary glares at me. “Don’t encourage him!”

I clear my throat, trying to be appropriately stern. “Right. Nico, what you did was completely unacceptable and irresponsible. You can’t just go messing with the security systems like that.”

Nico’s jaw sets in a stubborn line, reminiscent of Mary when she’s digging her heels in. “Why not? It’s not like they’re foolproof. Obviously, they need improvement.”

I open my mouth to argue, but he’s got a point. Damn, I’ve taught him too well.

“That’s not the issue here!” Mary says. “The issue is that you deliberately interfered with our ability to keep your sister safe. Do you have any idea how worried I am that I don’t know where she is?”

Nico at least has the grace to appear slightly ashamed of that. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted to prove that I could do it.”

“Do what? Outsmart your father?” Mary shakes her head. “Congratulations, you’ve officially become a teenager.”

I snort at that. She’s not wrong. But still, I can’t let this slide completely. Time to play bad cop.

“Alright, enough beating around the bush. Where’s your sister?” I ask.

He hesitates, glancing between me and Mary. I can see the wheels turning in his head, calculating his next move.

“I might be willing to tell you for a price.”

“Excuse me?” Mary asks.

Nico sits up straighter, squaring his shoulders. “I want to build my own server farm. In the basement.”

I blink, taken aback. “You want to what now?”

“A server farm. For my projects. I’ve outgrown the setup I have now, and I need more processing power.”

Mary turns to me, her expression incredulous. “Is he serious right now?”

I rub a hand over my face, torn between frustration and grudging respect. Kid’s got balls, I’ll give him that.

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