Neon Rush {M/M} ❀

Ch. 7.3 Best to Give her Breadcrumbs

He recites the script by rote. "Thank you. It's a dream come true."

Rylan's smile is icy as the champagne.

"It got approved faster than I expected," Zef says. "Investors liked it?"

"They saw plenty of merit in it," she agrees.

"Their names were redacted from the file."

"To protect their privacy. It's standard protocol. Private investors don't wish to appear as though they are throwing their hat in with a single entity in the cap wars."

"But the cap wars are over." He says it because that's what the news says. He knows different.

"Indeed." Rylan's expression remains neutral. Unreadable. The silver implant shaped like the symbol for infinity lights up as it suppresses whatever feeling Rylan might have had or expressed. Zef recalls wishing, during the worst of the grief over Ollie's death, that he could numb himself to it. Just escape for even a second.

Looking at Rylan, he can't imagine ever feeling that way again. Let life hurt. Just don't turn me into the goddamn borg.

"Project Serenity is ambitious," Rylan says, a note of warning in her voice. "You're altering brain chemistry. In the past, that's had dangerous effects, but it could be world-changing with the right touch. I'm entrusting it to you despite the fact you're an untested employee because I believe you have the life experience necessary to do it justice."

A knot of fear tightens in Zef's stomach. Most of the 'life experience' she got from his interview was faked. Lies to support his application for the job. "You mean from my university days watching all my peers burn out?"

Rylan meets his eyes. Hers are ice chips. So pale blue they're white-grey. Colder than the recycled air pumped in their little aquarium. "I believe we can dispense with that fabrication, don't you?"

A swoop of nausea and the blood drains from Zef's face. This conversation feels like a game of chess in which he's three turns behind. She knows I lied. Did that mean she knew Matthias worked for CyberSuite? "I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd get the job if I mentioned most of my experience came from repairing junk I found at the dump—"

"Frankly, I don't care where you acquired your skills so long as you're applying them to our project. It shows promise. Investors are hungry for it. It could be an enormous asset to the company. That's not what I'm talking about. I looked into your true history." She sips the champagne and adds, "I can see why the project matters to you."

She knows about Ollie. If she knows about Ollie, she knows about his dad, too. That he fought in the cap wars for Bionic Capital's most deadly rival. And now Matthias is walking around on illegally repaired hand-me-down legs made by her company.

These things feel like leverage. Bargaining chips she can cash in if he gets unruly. His very first day, he saw what happened to Bionic Capital employees found to be colluding with rival companies. He vividly remembers the smell of Mira's fried implants as the soldiers took her prone body away. Rylan wouldn't have to reach far to strangle him in the same crimes of collusion.

It's alarming for another reason. How did she find out? He'd done his best to cover any electronic trail of his true origins.

"At first, the notion you might be a plant from CyberSuite did cross my mind. However, your father's treatment after his service was unlikely to inspire your loyalty, so I took a gamble. One I believe will pay off."

It's a threat. She has so many things to hang over Zef. The stolen car, lying on his resume, possible collusion with an enemy. Rylan's winning this verbal chess match.