Page 81 of The Dis-Graced

Their faces fall; their eyes downcast.

“I don’t shoot the messengers, so no hard feelings.”

“And you’re sure it’s Luke?” Gabriel asks.

“The only other person it could be is Elliot, and that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Wait, was Grace the one in the Brigger scandal?” Zevran asks. “TheDis-Graced?”

“Yes, though I would hardly blame her. In fact, having gotten to know her, I would have bet my job on saying it wasn’t true. But with how things are unfolding, I just…well, I guess I just didn’t know her all that well.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Zevran says.

“I just can’t for the life of me figure out why? I mean, this is a big fucking risk. Luke lives in a multi-million-dollar high-rise with his beautiful wife. He has a new baby. And I mean, I don’t want to take away anything he’s achieved, but I basically opened the doors for him. You have no idea. My family paid for his preparatory school, his college, I gave him a job. I honestly felt like he deserved all of it too, and I still do, I just can’t understand this.”

“Betrayal cuts deep,” Gabriel replies.

“His sister was the perfect distraction, and now that I think of it, her part was probably much larger than that. She went out to meet with someone a week ago. The fact that shortly afterward that, ALAN goes for sale on the black market can’t be a coincidence.”

We continue to drink, but the tone is much too somber for my liking. I just can’t seem to find any joy.

Jim finally speaks up, giving us the lowdown of what’s going on. “I’m running all the information about Luke and Grace Anders through my system to see if we get any hits. We’re going to want to act quickly on this.”

“I don’t-I don’t want to involve the police,” I say.

“Well, my guess is that you don’t really have an option. Unless you’re okay with letting your IP get swiped right out from under you,” Jim says. “But even then, with the FBI now involved, it’s become a matter of national security.”

I don’t want to tell them how much this upsets me. That by turning Luke in, I’m essentially turning Grace in as well, and that’s not something I am sure I can do. Her betrayal hurts, but in all honesty, I feel as though I deserve it. I’ve unknowingly let her down since the moment I’ve met her, making her life harder for my own benefit.

Gabriel’s phone vibrates.

“It’s probably Remi,” he says, pulling out his phone.

His face distorts in a way that suggests confusion, his eyes shifting upward to meet my gaze. “ALAN has a buyer. The only way I can get him now is by outbidding the original bid. The lowest they’ll accept is two-billion-dollars.”

My stomach twists. Two-billion-dollars. After decades of work, ALAN now has a price tag. It’s an impressive number, don’t get me wrong, and he’s totally worth it. Whoever comes out with AI first is going down in the history books for more than just being a rich asshole.

“And, it looks like I’ve found another person who has received an offer,” Gabriel says.

“Oh?”

“Alistair Whent. It doesn’t make much sense because he’s in the travel business—”

“But he comes from two prestigious lines,” I finish. “He has more means than most, and plenty of connections. He’s also innovative, bringing tech into the travel industry in ways that haven’t been done before.”

“I didn’t know you kept up with the Whents.”

“I really don’t,” I reply. “But I’m impressed with efforts and innovations. Anything new in the tech world will catch my attention.”

“Would you like me to put in the bid?” Gabriel asks, looking to Jim.

My brow furrows. “Put in the bid?”

“This operation is very fragile, and we can’t afford to be out of the loop. Make a bid,” Jim commands.

I wave my hand dismissively. “No. Just let it go to whoever’s making the bid. I’ll make the coding open source after the tech is announced by whichever asshole is buying it up. That will teach them not to buy off the black market.”

“That would risk letting actual AI tech out into the wild,” Jim says.