Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
If Alex had stuck to robbing banks or something other than random people, I would have let it slide. Besides, I have never been a fan of his. He’s always just creating chaos. I mean, it can be entertaining at times but not so much at others.
All in all, I think my exploitation of a loophole took about 50 million, but I’m not counting the debt wiped because, whatevs. I think that should offset my helping with Alex’s Zens virus.
I suppose it might have, because Bruce has never put me in prison. I also helped fix that loophole. Everyone is welcome for that. Not that they gave me any thanks. Some people are just plain rude.
It’s not long before I’m dinged back, letting me know he’s available to speak. The line rings a few moments later.
“Yellow,” I say when I answer.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“Bruce?”
The line goes quiet for a few seconds. “Who else would it be, smartass?”
“I don’t know. There are a lot of cool Bruces out there. I keep hoping it might be one of them. Bruce Lee or Bruce Wayne.”
“Bruce Wayne?”
“You don’t know who Batman is?”
“From the movie?” Wow, he really needs to get out more, and that’s saying a lot coming from me.
“You know another Batman, Commissioner Gordon?”
“Fucking hell,” he mutters.
“Bruce Willis! You know that one?” The line goes quiet again, but I hear a deep sigh. He’s already exhausted by me, and we haven’t even gotten to any real conversation. “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.” My dad loved the Die Hard movies. We used to watch them at Christmas.
“Marks—”
“That’s me, even if you wish it wasn’t.” I drop down onto the ground, crossing my legs. The sun is now up high in the sky.
“When I try to get into contact with you, you need to respond, or we’re going to have problems.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I’ve got problems of my own.”
“Not legal?” I hear him shifting around.
“Not this time,” I admit. As much as Bruce can annoy me, which I pay back in equal measure, he still gives off wise uncle vibes.
“Are you going to tell me, kid?”
“Cyberius.”
“Cyberius is looking for you?”
“I think so.”
“You do something to him?”
“I didn’t know it was him when I was peeking around.”
“And what were you peeking around for?”
“Ah—” I can’t think of a lie.
“Marks.”
“Why haven’t you caught him yet? Sounds like your job, not mine.”
“Do I need to know what you were poking that got Cyberius’s attention on you?” In fairness, his attention has been on me for a while.
“Logic Byte Labs,” I admit, the real reason I wanted to get into contact with Bruce. He needed to know this information too, but I was also trying to keep Cyberius off my trail.
Bruce lets out a string of curses. “He’s working with them.”
“I think so. I went poking, and he popped out.” I’m not the only one curious about Logic Byte Labs. They’re a new up-and-coming tech company that is using heavy AI and other things. We all want to know what they are up to. “What if it’s his?”
“He’d need a partner.” Well, yeah. I knew that.
"This is above my pay grade." There are rumors that Logic Byte is a branch of Juno Gate, which works in defense. Only this was laundered not in the States, making it harder for anyone to regulate.
"Are you with your father?"
"We don't talk about my dad, Bruce," I snap back.
"I just want you to lie low, and I know when you're with him, you're low."
"I'm low," I confirm.
"All right, twenty-four hours. I want a check-in. I'm going to dig around."
"Make sure that fucker isn't framing me for something." Cyberius is tricky and unpredictable. He’s also fucking brilliant, which makes him a million times more dangerous. I have no clue what he might do if he is trying to find me.
“No one is framing you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“You do your job and I’ll do mine, kid.”
“Fine.” Is this a job?
“Twenty-four hours, Marks.”
“Got it,” I agree.
“Yippee-ki-yay,” Bruce says before the line cuts off. If I wasn’t freaking out, I might actually laugh.
Chapter Five
RONAN
War isn’t going to be pleased with why I’m here, but I didn’t come empty-handed. When I enter the house, I spot my sister coming out of the library. That’s where she and Tova spend most of their time together when both are here. Marks used to join them on calls but not anymore. She’s ghosted everyone, but she didn't go far.
“Hey!” Cosima dashes over to me, wrapping me in a hug. I pat her back. “I’m not contagious,” she teases.
I’m not sure how she came from the same parents as War and me. My brother and I can be more standoffish. Cosima is the opposite. If you share a space with her, she’s going to find out everything about you. I do the same, just not with words. We all have our ways.