9:18.
He drove home.
Every mile felt shorter than he wanted.
He parked in the driveway and sat.
Maybe sell tools.
Maybe pawn the truck.
Maybe call Bonnie’s grandparents.
Maybe—
A black luxury sedan stopped behind him.
Henry looked in the mirror.
Alexandra stepped out.
Daylight changed her completely.
Last night she had looked stranded.
Today she looked dangerous in another way.
Tailored coat.
Controlled posture.
Leather portfolio.
Henry climbed out.
“How did you find me?”
“You left a business card.”
“I thought I stopped doing that.”
“Apparently not.”
Bonnie opened the front door.
“Dad?”
Henry turned.
“Inside.”
She looked at Alexandra.
“Who’s she?”
“Inside, Bonnie.”
Alexandra softened instantly.
“Hi.”
Bonnie waved.
Then disappeared halfway behind the door instead of obeying.
Henry faced Alexandra.
“What do you want?”
“To hire you.”
He stared.
“No.”
“You haven't heard the job.”
“Doesn't matter.”
“Forty-eight hours.”
“No.”
“Five thousand dollars upfront.”
Henry stopped.
Alexandra saw it.
He hated that she saw it.
“I don't need charity.”
“This isn't charity.”
“It sounds like charity.”
“I am about twelve hours away from losing control of a company worth more money than either of us wants to think about.”
Henry said nothing.
Alexandra continued:
“I need someone who sees systems differently.”
“You fixed my car last night faster than technicians with manufacturer equipment.”
“Lucky.”
“No.”
“Simple problem.”
“Simple because you understood it.”
She opened the portfolio.
Pulled out a printed schematic.
Henry’s eyes moved over it automatically.
Alexandra watched.
There.
The shift.
His exhaustion disappeared.
Engineer replacing laborer.
“What is this?”
“Power-management architecture.”
“Problem?”
“Intermittent cascading shutdown.”
“What conditions?”
“Cold.”
“Humidity.”
“Rapid acceleration.”
“Battery forty to sixty percent.”
Henry frowned.
“Software?”
“We think.”
“Could be sensor arbitration.”
Alexandra said nothing.
Henry looked up.
“What?”
“Our engineers took six weeks to suggest that.”
“Then you have bad engineers.”
She smiled.
“I have one hundred engineers.”
“That doesn't contradict me.”
Bonnie giggled from the doorway.
Henry looked back.
“Inside.”
She disappeared.
Alexandra said:
“Come downtown.”
“Two days.”
“Consult.”
“If you fail, you get five thousand anyway.”
“If you succeed?”
“More.”
Henry folded the schematic.
Then handed it back.
“Why me?”
Alexandra looked at him.
“Because I ran your background.”
His face changed.
“You what?”
“I know about Dynatech.”
Henry stepped backward.
“You need to leave.”
“Henry.”
“Leave.”
“I know you were an engineer.”
“That was eleven years ago.”
“I know your project was blamed for a systems failure.”
“Leave.”
“I also know the architecture in that project looks suspiciously similar to technology inside my company.”