A few minutes later, Grey and Misha walk into my apartment with their and Oliver’s laptops in hand, their faces etched with concern.
“What are we going to do about this, dickhead?” Grey asks, already slipping into problem-solving mode as he comes to me and pulls me close, kissing my forehead.
Misha looks tense, but when I reach out for his hand and smile at him, he visibly relaxes.
“We’re gonna do something about him soon, but first, we need to figure out what startup Hendricks is working for now,” Oliver decides.
Grey’s expression darkens as he listens, his mind clearly racing. “I’m going to hack into all the smart home system startups in the King County area,” he adds sharply. “If Hendricks is working for one of them, I might be able to find his new address or at least some data that can tell us more.”
He doesn’t wait for approval, already moving to set up his laptop on my small table. Misha joins him, his laptop open and ready to assist.
Oliver takes my hand and sits down on my couch, setting his laptop next to him.
They work in silence, and I feel a surge of protectiveness for my space—my home—and the vulnerability that comes with not knowing who targeted me. I turn to Oliver, who’s been watching me with a careful eye. “Can I get Jamie back?” I ask quietly. “I’d feel better if he was here, monitoring everything, alerting us if anyone tries to break in again.”
Oliver raises an eyebrow, considering my request. “You want Jamie back with access to the cameras and everything?”
I nod, handing him my new laptop from the couch table. “I trust you,” I say simply, the weight of those words heavy with the implications of the past few weeks.
Oliver takes the laptop from me, his expression softening. “All right, my Fave. We’ll get Jamie set up.”
Oliver begins to work on integrating Jamie into my system again, checking in with Grey for some of the security measures.
Grey’s fingers fly over the keyboard, his eyes scanning lines of code as he mutters under his breath. “There’s something here,” he shares after a few moments, drawing everyone’s attention. “A company called Lucid Dynamics. It’s a small startup focused on smart home technology. And guess what? Hendricks’ name is all over their internal documents.”
Misha leans in closer to Grey’s screen, his brow furrowed in concentration. “That’s where he went. But why? What’s so special about this place?”
Grey taps a few more keys, his expression hardening. “They’re developing a new AI-driven security system. Something that can learn and adapt on its own, beyond the standard programming. It’s still in the beta phase, but Hendricks seems to be involved.”
I exchange a look with Oliver, who’s now fully engaged in setting up Jamie on my laptop. “If he’s involved with something like that, it could explain a lot,” Oliver says thoughtfully.
“No, it doesn’t,” I say, furrowing my brow. “He was always interested in smart security systems. That doesn’t explain why he would steal my work, sell it to Elysium, and start a poorly paid job at a startup.”
“Or he’s using the money he made by selling your AR project tofundthe startup,” Grey mutters, eyes fixed on his laptop.
I swallow hard, the implications of what they’re saying sinking in. “And Langley… do you think he’s involved too?”
Grey glances at me, his eyes sharp. “I wouldn’t rule out anything. But for now, let’s focus on Hendricks and securing your place. We’ll deal with Langley later if we need to.”
Oliver finishes setting up Jamie, and hands me my laptop with a reassuring smile. “Jamie’s back online. He’ll monitor everything. Cameras, sensors, any unusual activity. You’ll know if anything’s out of the ordinary.”
I take the laptop from him, feeling a little more at ease, knowing that Jamie is watching over things again. “Thank you.” I smile as the yellow interface appears on my laptop screen. “Jamie, are you there?”
“Good evening, Amelia.” His response is immediate, the calm, measured tone of his voice coming through the speakers.
I smile brightly at Oliver, who gives me one of his own in return.
“I missed you, Jamie. Are you all right?”
“Of course, Amelia,” Jamie responds. “I’m fully operational and running at optimal efficiency. How can I assist you today?”
“You could start by explaining how you managed to lock yourself down so securely,” Oliver murmurs, his brow furrowed with curiosity and disbelief, as if he’s amazed that his own creation could pose such a challenge in bringing him back online.
“When I detected the situation escalating, I immediately activated the security protocols that Grey had implemented,” Jamie explains smoothly. “I created a backup of my core systems and uploaded it to the cloud, ensuring there was no interruption in my functionality, before I uninstalled myself.”
I let out a small breath, feeling both relieved and burdened by lingering guilt. “I’m so sorry, Jamie. We still haven’t found out who it was, and this should have never happened.”
There’s a pause, just long enough for it to feel almost human, and then Jamie speaks again, this time with a weight to his words that sends a chill down my spine. “Actually, Amelia, I know who the intruder was.”
