Page 13 of Duty Compromised
George straightened his tie, a nervous gesture that didn’t inspire confidence. “This is why we need your help now. We need you to create a stabilizer code—a countermeasure that could neutralize the Cascade Protocol if it’s deployed. Which, right now, we don’t believe is a factor. There are a number of cases linked to our lost agent, and this is only one of them.”
“Pretty fucking big one of them,” Ty muttered.
“Yes, that’s true,” George admitted.
“You want me to build a kill switch for the kill switch.” My brain was already mapping possibilities, spinning out branches of code and failure modes. Difficult, yes. Impossible, no. “It won’t be fast—but I can do it.”
“Good. The internal situation at the Bureau is…volatile.” George chose his words carefully. “As you can tell, we’re still trying to work out all the details of what is happening. Although there’s no indication of any danger aimed at Vertex, we’ve brought in external assets to ensure your safety while you work on the countermeasure. You’ve obviously met Ty Hughes. He has been fully vetted and cleared.”
I glanced at Ty, whose focus was on George.
“No offense to Mr. Hughes, but one man isn’t exactly?—”
“I’m more than decoration, Doc.” The drawl was back, but underneath lay something sharper. “I know you think I’m just another gun-toting contractor who’s going to contaminate your clean room, but I’ve kept assets breathing in situations a lot less controlled than your lab.”
“This isn’t a war zone.”
“No.” Those whiskey eyes found mine. “But just in case your china shop turns into one, this bull will be ready.”
I was never going to live that down.
Alex finally spoke. “George, we’ll need full immunity provisions and hazard pay for any team member who agrees to work on this.”
“Already approved. I’m sending the paperwork now.” George turned to me. “Dr. Gifford, Mr. Richards, I can’t express how grateful we are for your continued cooperation. The Bureau knows we’ve failed you, but?—”
I closed my tablet, more weary than angry. “We’ll build the countermeasure because it has to be done—because it’s the right thing to do. But trust?” My voice came out quieter, steadier. “That’s not something we can give you right now.”
The call ended with more general talk between George and Alex that I tuned out completely. My mind was already racing through the technical requirements for a stabilizer code. We’d need to identify the specific frequency signatures, create an interference pattern that could disrupt the cascade reaction without triggering it, deploy through existing cellular infrastructure?—
“Charlotte.” Alex’s voice pulled me back. “Take whatever resources you need. Pull anyone from other projects. This is priority one.”
“Understood.” I stood, already mentally cataloging which team members had the necessary clearance and expertise.
Ty rose when I did, and suddenly, all six feet of him seemed to expand to fill the room. Too much proximity. Too much presence.
“I’m getting to work.” My voice came out clipped. “Try not to touch anything.”
His mouth curved like I’d given him an opening. “Back to thinking I’m going to break your toys?”
“Statistical probability based on observed behavior patterns,” I said, hugging my tablet like it might shield me.
“I haven’t broken anything yet.”
“The day is young.”
He fell into step beside me as we reached the elevator, easy stride keeping pace with my very not-easy stride. “You always this optimistic, or is that just for me?”
“This is me being professional.” I badged us through the door, hoping my flushed cheeks could pass for focus.
“If this is professional,” he said, leaning just enough that I could feel the heat of him, “I’d hate to see hostile.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” The elevator doors slid open, and I darted inside. “Hostile involves significantly more chemistry jokes and destructive testing protocols.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Chemistry jokes?”
“They’re only funny if you understand molecular bonds.”
His grin widened, unbothered by the warning I meant it to be. “We seem to be bonding just fine.”
