Page 70 of Sunset Cove
“Sounds pretty cool, Marty,” Chip said, studying the paper in front of him.
“It was cool.” Marty sat back. “Except no one wanted to give us the time to perfect it.”
“Perfect what? The program?”
Marty nodded. “Yeah – SureFired. They wanted to sell it to the highest bidder as fast as they could. That’s where the problems started.”
Chip listened with increasing discomfort as Marty described a scenario that Chip was far too familiar with – profit over people.
Except in this story, unlike in his own, Marty chose to do the right thing. He had chosen to speak up.
Though Chip forever regretted not trying to do somethingabout what he’d seen before the economic crash, he’d never considered what it would’ve meant for his career. He would’ve lost everything.
Not that it mattered. He’d lost everything anyway.
But would the bank have gone after him and framed him, the way that Marty claimed he was being framed? It never occurred to Chip before, but he could see it. Whistleblowers ended up in jail cells more often than not.
Marty kept talking, and as Chip listened, he pulled out his phone. He wasn’t so worried about letting his guard down any more. Marty was the least threatening fugitive he’d ever known. It didn’t hurt that he looked like Claire.
Chip searched for “SureFired,” pulling up an article about the company being eyed by a buyer – Steel and Steal. Chip laughed out loud.
Marty leaned forward. “Did you hear from Claire?”
“No, unfortunately not. I just found SureFired’s buyer. Steel and Steal.”
“Oh.” Marty shifted in his seat. “Yeah, they were in talks for a while. They wanted to see the contract with the feds go through. I guess it finally did.”
“I know these guys,” Chip said, standing up. “Well, Steel Montgomery in particular. I worked with him for years. He’s ruthless.”
Marty hung his head. “I don’t doubt it.”
Chip’s phone rang again and he ignored it, instead getting a glass of water for Marty. “What’s your plan, kid? If everything you told me was true, then what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.” He accepted the glass. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve been running for my life.”
Chip studied him. If he really were a Chinese spy, Chip thought they would’ve saved him by now, whisking him away to a lab in the mountains to reproduce this technology for their own use.
His phone dinged – a voicemail. He let out a sigh. “Hang on a second.”
Chip hit play, holding the phone to his ear. It was Gigi again. “This is so crazy,” her voice mused, letting out a giggle. “Ken got arrested because he wouldn’t listen, and you’ll never guess –Lucygot arrested too! All this time I thought that it was Claire, but it must’ve been Lucy. The guests are freaked out, though, so tell me what you want me to do. I told them it was a gas leak, but they’re not buying it.”
Chip shut his eyes.
“What happened?” asked Marty.
“Lucy’s been arrested.”
The color drained from Marty’s face. “This is all my fault.”
“It does seem that way.” Chip said, offering a weak smile.
Marty finished the water and stood. “All right. I’m going to turn myself in and see if I can get Lucy released. I don’t have any other options.”
Chip had just had an idea. “Hang on. I’ve got...a plan.”
