FAI

by Jake Lingwall

  “So the kids are alone back at school? Great, I can’t wait to see what Ruth and Jared have been up to unsupervised.”

  “Oh, I didn’t leave them alone. I left them in very capable hands. The best sub money could buy.”

  “And how are we supposed to pay this all-star substitute?”

  Most of the friction between them came up because of financial reasons. Getting the school up and running had been more expensive than they had hoped, but the difficult part came from trying to find legitimate revenue streams for their business. Kari and Motorcad both had plenty of private money still available in their respective bank accounts, but they were unable to use those funds for the school directly, thanks to strict government regulations.

  It was a maddening situation. Kari was able to launder money, but the school had no way of representing anonymous donations in its tax statements. So they desperately tried to make ends meet by soliciting donations and charging the students who could pay tuition. Unfortunately, as they were both still wanted by the government for their involvement with the Unseen, fundraising could only be done online, and most of their students came from humble origins.

  “Don’t worry, the sub agreed to work for free.”

  Motorcad smiled smugly and Kari wanted to press him further on the subject, but she knew him well enough to know when he had shared all the details he cared to. Instead, she checked the digital copies of the files she had secured and started to read through them thoroughly.

  “So did we get her?” Motorcad asked.

  Kari didn’t respond immediately as she scanned down the document she was reading. A smile spread across her face.

  “Oh yeah, we got her.”

  Even though she had lived there for the good part of two years, the dry, hot air of Phoenix, Arizona, was still hard for her to deal with. Especially after being out on the East Coast.

  Kari didn’t waste any time leaving the auto-auto behind and heading straight into her school built out of an old factory on the outskirts of Phoenix. The building had undergone extreme renovations, but the majority of the work had been done on the inside and the roof. The old bricks and metal on the exterior largely remained in their original state.

  The inside of the building, which served as a school, administration building, and residence for staff and students was quiet. It was one of the two polar opposite states in which the school existed. It was either silent as everyone worked with their mind chips, or obnoxiously loud as the teenagers seemingly competed to see who could make the most noise.

  I call them teenagers, as if that makes them so much younger than me. I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t think I was a student here.

  The large, open space on the second floor, commonly referred to as the “playground,” was empty. That means class is still in session. Kari headed through the playground for the classroom on the far side, but she didn’t make it before the school mascot came running across the floor at her.

  “Lars! What have they done to you now?” Kari said, stooping down to pick up her dog that was outfitted in a custom printed alien costume that made him look like he had eight legs and a spiky back. She shook her head as Lars licked her hands. The students had a habit of printing Lars new uniforms every few days. No matter how many times she scolded them about it, the costumes never stopped.

  “I’ll play with you soon, Lars, but I need to make sure the students haven’t gotten themselves all killed while I was away.” She pushed through the old swinging door and into the classroom.

  A man with short blond hair and wearing a light-gray suit jacket stood with his back to the door in the middle of the room. Zack had been talking to him, but he went quiet as Kari entered the room.

  “David?”

  He turned around slowly and smiled at her. She bit her lip to keep herself from saying something silly in front of her students, but it didn’t have the desired effect.

  “Professssoor!” Ruth shouted. The other twenty students scattered around the room on their form chairs all took up similar cheers.

  Form chairs were one of Kari’s favorite developments of the last few years. The chairs were powered by a thousand tiny supports that would adjust to perfectly fit the person sitting in the chair. They were advanced enough to detect knots and pain points in an individual and changed their settings to alleviate pain. It was as good as getting a massage and wasn’t nearly as bumpy. The best part about the form chairs was that it kept the students much quieter than traditional chairs did.

  David’s face immediately turned red, which caused Kari to laugh.

  “Tempy Pratt!” Jared was by his side patting him on the back, and somehow David’s face went even redder.

  “Detention!” Kari shouted. “Everyone here is getting detention.”

  The class oohed sarcastically, but the shouting died down.

  “And everyone is grounded. And no dessert. And thirty lashings each or something like that. Now everyone get out of here.”

  “You heard the lady,” Ruth said. “Class has been dismissed as the room is needed for important executive functions.”

  Ruth was the first student who had enrolled at the Academy of Gifted Young People, a few months before the first school year had been scheduled to start. She had been doing some very public hacking without properly securing her identity and Kari had been lucky to get to her before the government did. She was almost seventeen years old now and was enough trouble to keep Kari and Motorcad busy full-time.

  What made matters worse was her inseparable friend Jared had been the second student at the school and they had formed a devilish form of synergy. They hacked together under the same handle of Broccoli Rob, a name that Ruth claimed to hate even though she had come up with it. Jared agreed with her, but neither of them changed it. Kari had long since given up trying to understand them.

  The students filed out of the room with energetic teasing. David was just nodding his head and frowning now, accepting that he had no valid response to the hazing from his temporary students.

  “Nice students,” David said as soon as they were alone.

  “Oh yeah?” Kari said as she slowly closed the gap between them. Even though they talked almost every day, they didn’t see each other too often. Kari had her school to run, and David had been focusing heavily on his studies and research.

  And finding ways to hide his travel here is getting trickier every time.

  “Yeah, I mean, no one threw anything at me, punched me, or promised to meet me after school for a fight.”

  Kari reached out and grabbed his hands.

  “That’s excellent feedback. You’re the first sub they’ve ever had.”

  She looked up at him, asking him to kiss her.

  “Here? In school?”

  “Well, it is my school.”

  David looked down and she went on her toes to kiss him. There wasn’t any glass in the door, but cheers erupted outside from the students anyway. David was startled, but Kari wasn’t fazed. With a school full of hackers, you get used to spying inventions being pretty much everywhere.

  “Guess I should have expected that,” David said.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be in school yourself?”

  “Well, Motorcad called and said you needed a favor and I had a few sick days I could use. That, and I haven’t seen you in a while . . .”

  Kari kissed him again, and this time there were no cheers.

  “Well, thank you for coming.”

  “I wish I had gone with you to get Rosewood . . .”

  “Oh, you saw that?”

  “Everyone did! It was all over the news last night. Everything made sense once I saw it.”

  “Well, if I had needed help, you would have been the first person I asked, I promise.”

  “What about Motorcad?”

  “He was not invited,” she said.

  “Oh, well I’m glad she got exposed.”

  “Me too.”

  “So what’s next?”


  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you freed my family, you saved Aubrey, stopped Joseth, and now you’ve taken care of Rosewood.”

  “Where are you going with this?”

  “Isn’t it time you clear your own name?” David said. “It would be nice if we could go out to eat or something one of these days.”

  “Oh . . . well . . .” Kari let his hands go and took a step back. It wasn’t the first time he had mentioned something like this. There had always seemed to be more important things to work on than clearing Freelancer’s name. I guess I’ve been an outlaw so long I don’t really think about it anymore.

  “Everyone was good last night?” Kari asked.

  “That’s changing the subject.”

  “I—” A number of notifications went off in Kari’s mind at once. She instinctively checked them. There was an unrecognized and unexpected aircraft landing just outside of the Academy. She jumped to the camera feed of some drones at the top of the building, and saw the luxury-copter setting down outside of the Academy, sending a wall of dust in all directions.

  “Kari?”

  “Someone’s here.”

  She ran out of the room to see Motorcad come running into the playground on the other side of the room, his face looked just as concerned.

  She was already activating all her defenses. She kept them as discreet as possible, but she refused to let anything happen to her students. Hundreds of drones, cheetahs, and other devices were popping online ready for her to use.

  “Who is it?” Motorcad said, not worried about the fact that most of the students were still in the room with them.

  “I don’t know,” Kari said.

  Some students went running for the windows, while others leaned back in their chairs to scope the scene out through technological means. She didn’t slow down as she hit the stairs and headed down. Motorcad was by her side and David was not far behind.

  “You get the students out if anything happens,” Kari said.

  “Of course,” Motorcad responded.

  “I’m staying with you!” David said.

  She didn’t have time to respond to him. Reports were flying in from all around the building; so far, nothing besides the high-tech helicopter had been reported near the premises.

  “What is it, Professor?” Jared asked. He was the bottom of the stairs waiting for them.

  “I don’t know,” Kari said.

  “Go upstairs,” David said.

  “I’ve got the cheetahs, perimeter EMP drones, you take everything else?” Motorcad said.

  “Of course.”

  She put her hands on the door, ready to go outside, before David grabbed her.

  “You can’t just walk out there!” David said. “We don’t know who that is, it’s too dangerous. What if it’s Henderson?”

  “Fine,” Kari said. “We’ll let them act first.”

  If Henderson brings his little hurt ego after my school, I swear I will kill him. If anything, he should thank me. All those promotions he received were because of me.

  The blades stopped spinning on the printed helicopter and the dust settled. Kari stood inside of her school, heart beating, ready to go to war once again. The door folded down and turned into a pair of stairs.

  “Oh my God,” Kari said.

  “What? Who is it?” David asked.

  Down the stairs stepped Christina Wolfkin and John Luken, the cofounders and owners of Vision, the most powerful tech company on the planet.

  Chapter Three

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Kari offered as she held the door to her office open for Christina and John, two of the richest and most well-known people in the world.

  “Is the water safe to drink?” John said.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, of course the water would meet the minimum safety regulations,” Christina said. “At least the local regulations.”

  John and Christina looked around for a seat and apparently didn’t find anything to their standards, so they stood while Kari circled around her desk to sit in her office chair. Motorcad leaned up against the door he had closed behind himself. Kari’s office was on the ground floor, which had allowed them to avoid the students directly, but from the sounds upstairs they knew exactly who was visiting their school.

  “To what do—”

  “Don’t you have any windows in here?” Christina cut in.

  “I—”

  “It’s rustic,” John said.

  “It’s something,” Christina said.

  “Can I he—”

  “We’re busy people,” Christina said. “So let us get straight to it so we can get . . . be on our way.”

  “Good,” Motorcad said.

  Kari shot him an angry look, but he just shrugged. Just because we were both thinking it doesn’t mean you needed to say it. Vision was an incredibly well-respected company by the hacker community, but Kari had long lost her ability to be starstruck. Didn’t work out so well last time.

  “You’re going to come work for us for a few months,” John said.

  “I’m afraid that—”

  “In exchange, we’re willing to provide an endowment for this . . . institution that will allow it to run for centuries,” John said.

  “And upgrade the facilities,” Christina added. “Not that it would take much.”

  Kari looked at them to make sure they were finished talking before saying another word. She was already losing her cool after being cut off over and over.

  “No, thank you,” Kari said. “I don’t do well with bosses.”

  “Oh no, no, no,” Motorcad said. He moved from his post near the door in a flash and was next to Kari. “She’s kidding. She’s great with bosses. When does she start?”

  “Motorcad!”

  “Right now,” Christina said. “We’ve had some trouble tracking you down, so we’re behind schedule.”

  “Not that behind,” John said.

  “Behind,” Christina repeated.

  It was well known that the two founders of Vision had a combative relationship that they used to drive the company forward, but Kari hadn’t expected it to be so immediately obvious. But I guess they don’t think they have any reason to put on their nice faces here.

  “What would I be doing for you?”

  “Can’t tell you until you sign your NDA,” John said.

  “Does it matter?” Christina asked with a laugh. “We’re willing to make this dump the premiere private school in the western United States.”

  “It does matter,” Kari said. “I have some questions.”

  “Like how much is the deposit?” Motorcad asked.

  “Twenty million,” John said.

  “Thirty if we can get out of this godforsaken place in the next couple of minutes,” Christina said.

  “I—”

  “Done. Transfer or cash?” Motorcad asked.

  “No,” Kari said. “Not yet. Why me?”

  “You have to be kidding me,” Christina said.

  “Because we want to make a splash when we reveal our latest invention. And being able to say we’ve worked directly with the most infamous hacker in the world, directly, defying the US government on what could be the most profitable invention in the history of the planet, would be quite the splash,” John said.

  “Most profitable?” Kari said.

  “I don’t have time for this,” Christina said. “We’re leaving in five minutes, either with you or with our thirty million dollars. Your choice.”

  She left the room with no hint of anger or frustration, just a cold sense of apathy. Motorcad whistled a falling tone, apparently not concerned that one of the most powerful people in the world could hear him.

  “There’s a reason she’s the most efficient person on the planet,” John said. “Maybe in history. I had to convince her to come out here in the first place.”

  “What would I be doing?” Kari asked.

  “Some design work on a physical product. Not anything we co
uldn’t do ourselves, but as she said, we’d like to attach your brand to it for marketing purposes. Also, to be frank, as a way to satisfy certain investors who think you are out to get us after the website hack a few years ago.”

  “Oh, that—”

  “Good idea,” Motorcad said. He looked at her sternly.

  I guess there’s no point in telling them that it was Oedipus that hacked them and not me. Doesn’t make a difference at this point.

  “All right,” Kari said. “I’ll do it. Two months, that’s it.”

  “That’s fine,” John said. “Take a few minutes to gather whatever you need, we’ll wait for you. But I would take it as a huge personal favor if you would hurry.” He smiled and left the room.

  They both seemed like horrible human beings, but it was obvious which one Kari liked better. That’s not saying much, though. I’d rather go back to high school and spend a few days being mocked by Sarah than have them spit on our work here.

  “Yes!” Motorcad said. “Problems solved!”

  “At least the bills will be paid for a while,” Kari said. “If you don’t burn the place down while I’m gone.”

  “Wouldn’t matter, we’ll just build a new one. From the sound of it, we’ll have enough money to build whatever we want, even after my sizeable bonus.”

  “Why would you get a bonus?”

  Why do I let him lead me into asking questions like that? It’s exactly what he wants. Kari checked the time and breathed in deeply.

  “Because I’m the one who closed the contract. And I’m a fifty percent owner of this fine institution. And the whole saving you from becoming a sewer rat situation . . .”

  Motorcad was still talking, but Kari was already down the hall. David was standing next to the door, looking out the glass opening.

  “That was quick,” David said.

  “Unfortunately,” Kari said. She turned up the stairs and David followed next to her. “I’m going with them.”

  “What?” David said. “Going with them? Why?”

  “Because they are going to fund the Academy for the rest of our lives.”

  “Really? Wow! That’s incredible news.”

  Kari made it upstairs where all her students were gathered near the windows. Lars was the only one who noticed her. He came running over as happily as ever despite his formal costume change that dressed him up in a sharp-looking tuxedo. When did they even have time to change his outfit?