Page 26 of Fembot
“Any of the ones that had been on the programming floor during the attack. Any of the ones that weren’t fried, anyway.”
Henry looked like the wind had been knocked out of him. This company was his everything. He put in more hours than anyone. “Are they dangerous?”
“I can’t say for sure. I think it will depend on a lot of factors. The environment the units were brought into, for one.”
“Like nature vs nurture?” Henry looked incredulous. “Is that even possible?”
“I had no idea that they could even do this, so I have no idea. I’m good, but this is way more advanced than anything I’ve seen.”
Henry nodded once, then took a slow, deep breath.
“Find out how many units for sure are affected and what their serial numbers are. Find out who bought them and where they are. And don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And call me Henry.”
Yarek’s throat tightened. “Yes, Henry.”
Henry let out a sigh. “I’ve got to rally the damage control team.”
Damage control consisted of a small army made of public relations experts and lawyers. There wasn’t a problem that a cease and desist, a good spin in the public eye, or a big fat check couldn’t solve.
Henry put his hand on Yarek’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll let my assistant know that you’re to have a big fat bonus. And you call me, only me, when you have news, okay?” Henry slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “This is my personal number. Anytime. Day or night.”
“Yes, s—Henry.”
“Your job is to find what units were potentially affected and where they went. For now, it will be just the two of us working on this. I want to keep this contained, understand? If you need help, come directly to me. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Henry smoothed his hand down the front of his suit, straightening his tie and making sure he was composed for when he left the room. “And Yarek, this stays between us.”
“Of course.”
Henry gave him a nod, then turned and left the room.
Yarek barely had time to take a breath when Phillippe swept into the room.
“Oh, my God, was that Henry Stepp? What was he doing here?” Phillipe fanned himself. “He’s so fucking hot, I don’t know how you didn’t combust.”
Yarek had been sworn to secrecy, but even if not, he’d never tell Phillipe anything that he didn’t want spread to the whole company by lunchtime. Phillipe was a nice guy, but he was an insufferable gossip.
“I had some questions about advancement in the company.” Yarek winced at how bad of a liar he was.
“You want to move up in the world? Who can blame you, really? Henry Stepp started out as a lowly programmer in his parent’s garage. He’s the best one to ask. If anyone knows how to get what he wants, it’s him.” Phillippe clapped his hands together. “Anyway, I came in here to ask you for drinks after work today. A bunch of us are going out and you’re not allowed to say no, Yarek. You never come.”
After the week he’d had, poring over the code in his spare time and the meeting he’d called with Mister—Henry—just now, Yarek could use a drink or four.
“I’ll come. When and where?”
Phillippe looked shocked. “That easy?”
“I’ve had a long week. It’ll be nice to unwind.”
Phillippe shot Yarek a dazzling smile. “Fantastic. We’re all meeting down the street at Neon Nexus. Dinner and drinks. You’re committed now, Yarek.”
“I’ll be there.”
