The last sip of coffee’s half cold, but I don’t care. I need something to wash down the bitter pill I’m about to swallow. “You’ve been up all night, Wren.”
“True, but I have an endless supply of coffee, tea, and chocolate-covered espresso beans to keep me going. And do you really think you’re going to be able to decipher all the geek-code in those pages? When I need a break, I’ll take one. But for now, you’re wasting time arguing with me.”
I know the determination in her voice. The last time I heard it, I didn’t listen, and she almost died. I’m not making that mistake again. Because this time, it’s Evianna’s life on the line, and if I lose her, I’m afraid I’ll lose myself as well.
Evianna
The office is pure chaos. Pizza boxes litter a long table against the far wall, tiny packets of Parmesan cheese everywhere and red pepper flakes ground into the carpet. Someone ran out for a massive sheet cake an hour ago—because apparently Mountain Dew wasn’t an efficient enough sugar delivery system—and now Barry, Carla, Vivek, and Priya are racing to see who can clear their bug list the fastest.
Ulysses comes in to check on me every hour or two, bringing me more tea, giving me a few moments of peace amid the cacophony. But I can’t keep my door closed for long. We’re so close to launching, I have to sign off on every code change, and every one of my devs has stood across from me at some point this morning.
And every spare moment I can, I bring up the diagnostics program running against my little Alfie unit and scan through the logs. “Come on…” I whisper to my computer. “Give me something.”
Barry raps twice and leans a hip against the door jamb. “Closed out that unhandled exception error bug no one’s been able to track down for weeks.”
Arching a brow, I hold out my hand for his tablet. “You just started working on this an hour ago. It was that simple?”
“Nope. I’m just that good.” He curls his fingers and blows on his nails, then rubs them on his shirt. But in the next breath, breaks into a sheepish smile. “Seriously, though…I worked on this half the night. Didn’t go home.”
A quick scroll through his code, and I sign off. “Great work, Barry. Really.” He brightens, and for a minute, looks like he’s still in high school. Most of the time, he’s an arrogant asshole. One I never would have hired. But today, he’s been a star. “Um…close the door and sit down for a minute?”
He narrows his eyes at me, but snags the door with his foot, then sinks into the chair across from my desk. “What’s up?”
“Tomorrow, Noah and I are going to sign off on Alfie’s code. And once she’s out there in the world…well…every single one of you is going to be able to write your own ticket. There isn’t one person on this team who’s given anything less than a hundred and ten percent the past couple of weeks, and I just wanted to thank you, personally. We haven’t always gotten along. But you’re an asset to this company, and at the party tomorrow, I’d like to announce your promotion to Dev Lead. If you want it.”
His swallow bobs his Adam’s apple, and he stares down at the tablet in his hands. “Yeah. I do.” The smile’s back, full force, and when he meets my gaze, determination and pride shine in his hazel eyes. “Thanks.”
Pulling a terms sheet from my desk drawer, I catch sight of an alert on the diagnostics program.
Remote shutdown initiated: 18:03:45
My heart hammers against my chest, but I force a deep breath and slide the paper towards Barry. “This is the new pay and benefits package that comes with the position. Keep this confidential. If you have any questions about the numbers, come see me tomorrow before close of business, okay?”
He scans the sheet, his smile widening, and then folds it and tucks it into his pocket. “Will do. Anything else?”
“Nope. Get back to work. Or…have another slice of cake. Or both.”
After Barry saunters back into the bullpen, I slap a Post-it note on my door informing everyone I’m on a conference call, head back to my desk, and with shaking hands, text Wren.
Found a remote shutdown command on my Alfie unit. There’s no way that should be possible.
The phone rings not more than a minute later. “What are your remote access protocols?” she asks without even saying hello.
“Any remote commands have to come from this office.” I almost drop the phone as I sink down into the overstuffed chair by my window. “Someone here turned off my Alfie unit. And…tried to have me killed.”
“Evianna, focus,” Wren says sharply. “Are you in any danger right now?”
“I…d-don’t know. I’m…we’re all working. It’s been tense. But…almost fun. Like it used to be. There are only a handful of bugs left, and we launch tomorrow and—”
“Stop.” The single word stills my panicked rambling. “I’ll message Dax right now and tell him to come get you out of there, but you need to focus.”
“I…I need another hour here. I have to…I can’t leave yet.”
A sigh carries over the line. “Okay. So, we need to figure out where that remote shutdown command came from. Do you have any advanced monitoring software on your firewall?”
“Yes. That’s how I found out Kyle made a copy of the code.” I can do this. Wren’s matter-of-fact, calm voice helps me focus, and I go back to my desk. “Except…I can’t send those logs outside the company. So any analysis I do will have to be here.”
Wren chuckles over the line. “Patience, my young Padawan. Let me show you the ways of the hacker.”
