Page 73 of All The Way Under
I lose the battle and cackle. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you crank. I’ll work out with you if you want.”
He nods, like a child embarrassed to admit he was wrong.
“Grumpiness at full tilt today,” Nolan declares. “Everyone beware!”
Brody grunts and grabs a gallon of water from the bottom of the pantry floor and begins chugging it.
I go to talk to my security guards in the guest house to confirm that everything was fine last night, only to find out that someone tried to scale the twenty-foot-tall stone walls to break into my parents’ home. He was taken down by the elite security guards my dad hired the second we got home from Lisbon. The ones with me are part of that team, but it’s disheartening to know that even though Jennings is locked up, the attempts on my father’s life continue.
One of the guards flips a laptop around to show me the footage of the suspect. He isn’t wearing a mask, and I get a good look at his face.
“I don’t recognize him,” I say, frowning. “That is the weakest side of the property for break-ins. Whoever is orchestrating this knows things. Things that are personal.”
It’s probably Jennings running things from jail. Or his wife. If it’s the wife, Mom will strangle her with a Chanel scarf. More proof we have to be careful with whom we become close with.
I tell them my plans for the day, and they seem to be in good spirits, probably because they are comfortable in a house as beautiful as the main lake house.
The head guard walks me back to the main house and doesn’t leave me until I’m in the door with it locked behind me. Brody meets me at the top of the stairs, face ashen.
“Did you throw up?” I say, trying to hold in the smugness so he doesn’t get moody again.
He’s changed into a pair of black workout shorts.
“I have to talk to you.”
“Talk,” I reply.
“How soon will your new AI GPS be ready? Let me rephrase. How quickly can your AI GPS be ready to sell? The Navy needs it. Rephrase again because I’m fucking flustered. The Navy SEALs need it. We need it.”
I swallow hard and sweat beads on my head. I’ve never worked well under a deadline.
“Why would the US military need my system?” I reply.
“Because it’s the best. You’re the best. I’m confident of that. Your mind works like an evil genius. We can get this put together and delivered soon. I know you can. I’ll help you.” He looks flustered, nervous. “Just like we’re in Madagascar again, except we won’t be designing and installing watering systems or fixing tech on the motorbikes. It will be something you love. Something you’re good at, and I’m a smart man, but I’m smart enough to know this is your territory, and it’s going to fall on your shoulders.”
“I’m smart as well, Brody. What is going on? Why do you look like that? All sweaty and unlike your normal cool self?”
“Probably because I have Coors Light leaking from my pores, Saylor.”
I shake my head. “Seriously. Be honest with me.”
He looks up, his blue eyes avoiding mine. “I can’t tell you everything.”
“That’s fine. I’m not asking for everything.”
“There’s a threat in the waters off the north east coast. Our home. We need to get into the water and be undetectable.”
I widen my eyes. “Let me grab a laptop from security. They don’t have a firewall, so I can access my files from work.”
My dad told me that if I got this project complete, and it ends up being viable, it would be mine because no one else helped me. There wasn’t input from any of the other Wyndham teams—I didn’t have to attach it to Wyndham Tech. I could sell the product as a sole proprietor.
I open the door to the garage, and a guard is there. I ask him for a laptop, and he brings me one.
I set up in the living room and open my files.
“You’re telling me the Navy is going to buy this from me?”
“If it works,” Brody chirps. “I told them what you had, and the capabilities, and I can be your liaison to sell it. I want this to get the recognition it deserves, and selfishly, I don’t want to die. We need this.”
