Page 68 of The Wish
CHAPTER 29
All eyes look up as Alex strides into the office. A few colleagues call out greetings, others offer a thumbs-up or quiet nods – small signals of solidarity.
He heads straight for Sarah’s cubicle, where Charlie and Phil are already gathered. Charlie spots him and steps aside, revealing the screen: a scene of Jesse’s family, talking and laughing together.
‘That looks really good,’ Alex says.
Sarah spins in her chair and grins. ‘Yup, no more characters talking to walls, we are a family that is communicating.’
Alex leans in closer. ‘No, that looks really good, better than it should . . . is that our new facial animation system in there?’
Sarah and Phil exchange conspiratorial looks.
‘I said fixes only. If Ian sees this, he’ll have me.’
‘There was no choice,’ Sarah shrugs. ‘The patch depended on the Face-Tech module. Without it, none of the fixes would work.’
She pats Phil’s shoulder. ‘And I told him not to use it.’
‘Hey, I just make it look good,’ Phil says, hands up.
Alex exhales, not hiding his admiration. ‘You did. Thanks. All of you. Send me everything – we’ll keep pushing it from my end.’
He grabs his chair and wheels it over to Steve’s desk.
‘Man, where’ve you been?’ Steve says. ‘Ian’s ready to fire your sorry arse, again.’
‘I need your help. Tonight.’
Steve pauses. ‘What about Ian?’
‘Let him do what he wants. Are you in?’
Steve stands up, looking down at Alex, critically assessing him. This is someone he has not seen before, someone who is standing his ground, not rolling over to the demands, belittlement and humiliation thrown his way in the past. This is a young man on a mission – and that mission is to help a very sick teenage girl. He likes what he sees.
‘Yeah,’ Steve says. ‘What do you need?’
‘My place. Tonight. Tell your family I’m sorry.’
Steve glances at a photo on his desk – his wife and two kids, crammed onto a swing, all beaming at the camera.
‘They’ll understand. You staying here?’
‘No. Heading home. See you later.’
He’s halfway to the car park when his phone rings.
‘Sandy?’
‘I got the results. You were right about the blood type, but there aren’t enough markers. You’re not a match for Jesse. I’m sorry, Alex.’
Alex closes his eyes. ‘Thanks for letting me know, for trying. Really.’
‘You’re already doing more than most. Just – know that.’
‘Let’s keep this between us?’
‘Of course. But the results are on the hospital system now. I can’t erase those.’
