“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.”
Henry went completely still.
Alexandra continued carefully:
“I think somebody stole your work.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Who?”
“I suspect my CTO.”
Henry stared.
Alexandra lowered her voice.
“I think somebody is sabotaging Reed Mobility.”
“Then call police.”
“I need proof.”
“I’m not a detective.”
“You're the man whose work they're using.”
The words hit.
Henry looked toward the house.
Bonnie behind the curtain now.
Watching.
Alexandra followed his gaze.
“I can pay upfront.”
Henry said nothing.
“Enough to cover your immediate problem.”
He looked sharply at her.
“What do you know about my problem?”
“Enough.”
Anger flared.
“You checked my finances?”
“No.”
“Your landlord posted an eviction notice on your door while I was standing here ten minutes ago.”
Henry turned.
Yellow paper.
He had not seen it.
Shame burned through him.
Alexandra’s voice softened.
“I’m not here because I pity you.”
“Good.”
“I’m here because I’m desperate.”
That surprised him.
She continued:
“My board meets tonight.”
“They may remove me.”
“My company may collapse.”
“People may get hurt if we don't fix the system.”
“I need somebody who isn't invested in our internal politics.”
Henry looked at her.
“And you think that's me?”
“I think you understand failure.”