“Adam.” The name was a warning on Deke’s tongue.
Adam held a hand out, helping Serena to her feet. “We’ll meet you on the main stage. Jake is getting everything ready. We’ll go over the equipment and see what she knows. We’ll talk about a contract between the two of you. I want you to have a physical one in case Byrne would like to see it. Tonight she can watch the scenes and you can talk about your cover.”
He led Serena out of the small room and toward the stairs.
“That seemed tense. Did something happen?” Was she already causing trouble for Deke?
“You need to spread your knees wider,” he murmured, watching as Adam and Serena disappeared. The door closed, and Deke’s shoulders seemed to relax. “He’s upset that I’m unwilling to do some dirty work for him. He thinks your boss is behind some attacks on critical targets and that Byrne’s using your AI.”
She gasped and started to get up.
“No,” he commanded, his hand coming to her shoulder. “If you want me to explain, you’ll do as I asked.”
She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “I have to do things your way.”
“When we’re in a dungeon or on the mission, yes, Madeline.” He had a confidence about him that had been absent when they were kids. It wasn’t that he’d been insecure. He’d been a boy, and now he was a man who’d gone through the crucible and come out on the other side.
Sometimes her heart ached that she hadn’t gone through it with him, but he’d been the one to make that choice. He’d chosen to leave her, chosen to not seek her out later on. She had to remember that. He was the subject matter expert, and he was nothing more than a tool to help her accomplish her goal. Therefore she should choose to do as he’d asked.
Ordered. In a super-sexy voice.
She moved her knees further apart, trying to find that peace Serena seemed to have around her. She straightened her spine and took a long breath, trying to let go of the tension that seemed to plague her every day.
“Adequate, but we have to get you comfortable with yourself. I wouldn’t buy that you’ve spent any time at all in the lifestyle right now,” he admonished. “And you should know that I was just told you could cost me my job. The man you met sometimes works for the government. His partner is Charlotte Taggart’s sister, and she used to be one of the CIA’s top analysts.”
“What does that have to do with Clarke?” Her heart raced at the thought of someone misusing her work. She wanted to get up but if he was right, then it was more important than ever that she learn how to fool Byrne into believing the stories she’d been feeding him.
“The AI used in the attacks is very similar to your work, though I’m going to admit that I don’t understand how Adam can tell,” he replied quietly. “What I did get him to admit is that they don’t have enough data to truly know.”
She took a deep breath and let the panic seep away. Often if one didn’t work in the industry, they didn’t understand the way things were. This Adam person could be the rock star of the facial recognition world and not have the knowledge he needed to understand what she did. What she did wasn’t magic. She stood on the shoulders of others. “The base work has been available for a long time. Byrne has no reason to risk putting Clarke out there and potentially allowing someone else to steal it. We don’t have a patent yet. He would do anything to protect what will likely make his company not billions of dollars, but trillions of dollars over the next thirty years. I don’t trust him, but I know the one thing he’ll protect is his profits. And I protect my research. It doesn’t leave the lab.”
“Like I said, I think Adam’s fishing, and I told him I’m unwilling to put you at risk,” Deke explained. “I’m trusting you not to let anyone know what I’ve told you.”
He was risking his job for her. She was back in his life for a couple of hours and he was already putting her first. If only he could have put her first when they’d graduated. “I won’t. I promise. I understand why your friend wants to look into it, and I’ll share anything we find with him, but I can’t open the project to anyone. I’m under a strict contract, and I could lose everything. I’m willing to risk it but not purely out of curiosity.”
“I understand. I’m letting you know I won’t steal it from you. Not for anyone. When you and MaeBe get into Byrne’s system, if you find something relevant, you’ll turn it over.”