Page 94 of Lock Up the Darkness

I winced as I looked at where he’d begun to point to. “Oh, crap.”

“These are the numbers the professor gave you?”

“Yeah. It’s what I have to work with. Each student has their own fictional company setup.”

“Well, yours came to you already close to being run into the ground. You were dealt a bad hand.”

“It’s just random, there’s no malice in it.”

“Hmm. That remains to be seen.” He wiggled his fingers. “Hand it over.”

I gripped the laptop. “I told you I do my own work.”

“I’m well aware. I’m just going to give you a few pointers. Barebones.”

I relented and he pushed his laptop toward me, and slid mine in front of him. “Besides, I need you to finish the algorithm.”

“Stuck?” I teased.

“You’re better with the workarounds.”

“Careful, that sounded like a compliment.”

“Well, your coding isn’t exactly elegant and it screams of somebody who was completely self-taught, but you’re able to implement things that aren’t exactly my strength.”

I smiled. “I see.”

We both got down to work in silence for a while.

And then he looked out at me. “You need to learn this, don’t you? It’s not just pride or being noble.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re planning on starting up your own business when you graduate.”

I nodded.

He stared at me in that invasive way.

I blew out a breath. “God, you’re relentless.”

“That I am.”

“A private security firm.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Just like Lance.”

“Pretty much.” I heaved a sigh. “His company was shut down upon his death. When we find him, when we free him from all of this, he can’t exactly go back to it. I can’t even reopen it on his behalf because he was working several jobs when he suddenly stopped, leaving all those clients in the lurch. The trust is broken.”

“Understood.”

“I want to help people who can’t help themselves, those who feel powerless under the boots of their oppressors.”

“Like the Infidels.”

“Honestly, yes.”

“Well, it’s commendable. Plus, you can use these network security, hacking and program writing skills of yours and put them to good use. As well as the rest that Lance taught you. And whoever else was also involved.”

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