The waiter arrives, takes our orders, and departs. Hunter stares at me with narrowed eyes. I stare at him right back, trying to find a way to ask him for a favor after I’ve just shot him down.
“You’re thinking too loudly.”
I frown. “Excuse me?”
“Your face.” He gestures at me. “It’s being too loud. What is it?”
I have to wonder how Hunter actually survives in this world, considering his irritation with the human race as a whole. “I was wondering if I could get your help with something.”
“Always, even when you’re being unreasonable as fuck.” Hunter stares me down. “What do you need?”
“I need a cryptanalyst to help me with something.”
Hunter’s eyes narrow. “Want to explain why you require the services of a hacker, little sister?”
“Not a hacker!” I say quickly. “No, Ijustneed a cryptanalyst. There’s a bunch of data I got from an analyst on the team, but it’s sitting behind encryption that I can’t even fully figure out, let alone break through. I need the data to train my algorithm.”
My brother does not look convinced. “Why not ask the analyst? If they gave it to you, they should be able to decrypt it, right?”
My guess is yes, but… “Pride.”
“Pride,” Hunter scoffs, “is a dangerous game. And a difficult position to defend.” If possible, his eyes narrow even more, until he’s practically staring at me through slits. “Since when did you start choosing pride over sense?”
“Since few people on the team take me seriously, Hunt. I was a fuckingerrand-girlat the last race, and nobody’s even giving me the decency of a realjobat headquarters.” That might be advantageous to my work, but it also means I'm not seen as valuable in any way, shape, or form.
I’m not evensecond-beston the team, which is what I’m used to. I’m a goddamnafterthought.
Hunter’s eyes darken. “Is that so?”
I hold up a hand, already anticipating where his twisted mind is going. “Don’t do anything about it. Donotintervene. I’ll handle it.”
His expression turns furious. “You think I’ll let a bunch of morons treat my sister like—”
“Yoursisteris also anadult.” I cross my arms. “I’m asking you for a specific favor, not to do anything crazy or start pulling strings to get me special treatment. Ihaveto do this on my own, Hunter. If you won’t help me, I’ll find someone else who will.” I still have a few friends from MIT who I can talk to, though I’d rather not pull those levers just yet.
“Fine.” Hunter yawns. “Send me whatever it is you need decrypted, and I’ll—”
“No dice. It’s proprietary as fuck. You sendmeinformation for a cryptanalyst who owes you a favor, and I’ll take it from there.”
Hunter sighs irritably. “Fine. I’ll get you in touch with my guy tonight. Just don’t ask him what he does for work.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Something tells me that Hunter’sguyis a black-hat.
Conversation flows to lighter, safer topics. He relays some gossip about our half-siblings, several of whom are currently in rehab for drugs or alcohol, and we talk about movies and books that we’ve recently enjoyed. It’s only after our appetizers have come and gone that Hunter decides to drop a bomb on me.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Is it Mom?” I ask, pulse quickening. I sit forward. “Is she alright? Fuck, I shouldn’t be so far from her—”
“Mom’s fine, and you’re just fine where you are—sans the squalor.” He clears his throat. “It’s Dad.”
I give Hunter a warning look. “That man is not my father.”
“Sperm-donor, then.” Hunter looks mildly amused. “Dickface. Fuckwad. Whatever you want to call him. He’s engaged again.”
I go still for several moments, processing this. Then, I release a snort. “Of course he is.” The ink isn’t even dry on Reynard’s fourth divorce, and he’s already onto wife number five. “How old is this one?”
“Twenty-six.”
