Page 52 of Duty Compromised
“What?” I tensed, ready for trouble.
“Oh my God, that’s it. That’s—” She spun back to her keyboard, fingers flying across keys faster than before. “If I inverse the quantum state at the third junction and reroute through the auxiliary stabilizer?—”
Code flew across her screens, lines appearing and disappearing faster than I could track. She was talking to herself again, a rapid-fire stream of technical terms that might as well have been another language.
“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” She pushed back from the desk, spinning her chair in a complete circle. “That’s it! I figured it out!”
The joy on her face was radiant, transforming exhaustion into pure triumph. Before I could respond, she launched herself at me, arms wrapping around my neck in a fierce hug.
“You finished the stabilizer code?”
“No, there’s still more to do. But this was a big part of the problem, and now I know how to fix it,” she said against my shoulder. “The error rate issue—if I inverse the quantum state at the third junction and reroute through the auxiliary stabilizer, it should work. The math checks out!”
I chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it.” I held her for a moment, feeling the tremors running through her body—exhaustion, adrenaline, victory, all mixed together.
She pulled back slightly, and I saw tears in her eyes. Happy tears, but still. After thirty hours of grinding work, she’d done it.
I steadied her with hands on her shoulders. “We should get you home. You need real sleep in a real bed.”
“But there’s still more…”
“And it will still be here tomorrow.” I kept my voice firm. “You’ve been at this for thirty hours straight. You’re done for today. Real food. Real sleep. Then come back.”
She nodded. “Okay. Just…let me save everything properly.”
I watched her go through what was clearly a careful routine—multiple saves, backup protocols, encryption sequences.
An idea formed as I watched from the doorway. Time to give the mole an opportunity they couldn’t resist. Draw them out.
“You should take the countermeasure drive home with you,” I said, loud enough to carry if anyone was listening. “In case you get inspiration in the middle of the night. Plus, we should make sure there aren’t any malfunctions with the new approach you figured out.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “But Raymond already— I mean, Alex might— Taking company property without authorization again?—”
I could see the panic building in her whispered words, the fear of getting in trouble overwhelming her exhausted brain. I pressed her against the wall and kissed her, cutting off her questions.
Against her mouth, I kept my voice below a whisper that no surveillance could pick up. “Remember, we could be surveilled right now. Just go with me on what I’m saying. Trust me.”
She tensed for a second, then nodded against my lips. “Yeah, taking it home is a good idea.”
I didn’t know if she fully understood my plan or just trusted me. Either way worked.
“Okay, I’ll take you home then I’ll head back to my hotel. We both need some sleep.” Again, I spoke just loud enough that any human or mechanical listening device could hear. Let them think she’d be home alone.
It was time to see who would take the bait.
Chapter 15
Charlotte
I slumped in the passenger seat of Ty’s truck, the victory high from the advancement on the stabilizer code already fading into bone-deep exhaustion. Thirty hours. Thirty hours of staring at screens, talking to code, surviving on whatever food Ty brought me. But I’d done it. The breakthrough that had eluded me for days finally clicked into place, and the relief was almost as overwhelming as the fatigue.
“You still with me?” Ty asked, glancing over as he navigated out of the Vertex parking lot.
“Barely.” I let my head fall back against the headrest. “I can’t believe I actually figured out the error rate issue. The inverse quantum state solution was right there the whole time. Still more work to do, but that was the biggest roadblock.”
His smile was warm, proud even, like my breakthrough meant something to him personally. “You were brilliant in there.”
Heat crept up my neck. I wasn’t used to compliments delivered like that—warm and personal, like he was proud of me specifically, not just impressed by the work. Usually, recognition came in the form of approved grant applications or published papers. Not from men who looked like they could bench press a small car and still had time to bring me sandwiches at two in the morning.
