.
Not too long after Justin and Lincoln made their escape, Alex found Debbie tied to an office chair in a large office. The nameplate on the desk read "Lincoln Ambrose," and Alex's blood boiled. Debbie was sitting with her shoulders hunched, and her eyes to the ground. There was another person, a man, in the office with her. He was short and skinny, and had his head tilted back so he was looking toward the ceiling.
"Debbie!" Alex said, relieved. "You're alive!"
Debbie's head snapped up and she looked over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
"Alex!" she breathed.
The man opened his eyes and turned to see Alex. He seemed surprised, but relieved, to see Alex. Alex rushed over to Debbie and untied her. She leapt into his arms, and he held her tightly, breathing in her scent.
"I never thought I'd see you again!" she said in a shaky voice.
"I'll always find you," Alex said. "And if I ever get kidnapped, I want to know you're coming for me, too!"
Debbie chuckled, and the tension in her shoulders eased.
It was good to see her again, and it was incredibly good to know that she was alive. Out of instinct, he leaned in to kiss her, then pulled back. A faint blush creepy up his neck and bled into his cheeks when he realized his error. Debbie, her eyes wide, looked up at him with a sense of alarm. She was also blushing slightly, as if she had been about to do the same thing.
"Sorry," he said. "Force of habit." He shrugged his shoulders, as if to say "It's not big deal", when in fact he didn't quite knew where they stood.
"It's okay," she said in a tight voice. Her blush deepened.
"I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate," he said in an awkward voice.
"Can we have this conversation later?" Debbie said, holding up a hand. "I would rather feel awkward and get out alive, than discuss my awkwardness and risk being killed by Riley and Dangles."
"Sounds like a plan!" Alex said.
He ducked out the door of Lincoln's office and looked both ways down the hallway. Then, he rushed back in to grab Debbie, declaring that the coast was clear.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get you home."
He started to leave, but Debbie grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.
"Wait!" she said. She looked toward the man. "We have to take him."
Alex looked at the man. "Why? Who is he?"
"His name is Mark," Debbie explained. "He used to be a spy but, Alex, he's good. He's on our side! We have to bring him with us!"
Alex looked at the man, Mark, and thought for a moment.
"She's got a point," Mark said. "I'm done working for your grandpa, kid. I know things that guy doesn't know about himself. I'm going to be very useful to you."
After a moment of thought, Alex untied Mark, and together the three of them booked it out of Enrichment HQ.
*****
Several hours later, they were holed up in Yvonne's house. It was the early hours of the morning, so Yvonne was shocked when she saw them. Alex explained the situation, and she became less shocked and more sympathetic. Despite everything that had passed between them, Yvonne welcomed Debbie with open arms, and sympathy for once again being kidnapped.
Alex kept looking at Mark with a suspicious eye. The former spy had been quiet the entire journey back.
Debbie noticed the way Alex was looking at Mark and pulled him to the side. She looked up at Alex.
"I get that you suspect him," Debbie said. "There's not much of a reason to trust him since he spied for your grandfather and all. But trust me, he's done with that."
Alex nodded. "If you trust him, then I trust him."
Before Debbie could reply, Yvonne came up behind her.
"Hey," she said. "Listen, you're welcome to stay for as long as you need."
"Thank you," said Debbie. She hugged Yvonne, and the two women were friends once again.
Alex was relieved to see the two women getting along. They went upstairs to get Debbie into something clean and comfortable. Then, he turned to Mark. The two men were alone in the hallway. Alex pulled Mark into the living room and threw him onto the sofa. Mark landed without complaint. He looked up at Alex expectantly.
"I know that you're not my biggest fan right now," Mark said in a quiet, strained voice. "I'm not my biggest fan right now. Riley made sure of that. Dangles tried to make sure of that. Here's what you need to know about me: I've been spying on you for your grandpa for the past couple of years. I'm incredibly good at gathering information. I'm also a rather talented chef," he crossed his arms and leaned back on the sofa. "But that's not what I'm here for, is it? You want the gold dust. The information you need to possibly bring you grandpa into line. I have it." He tiled his head to one side and offered a sly smile. "All you have to do is ask."
Alex froze. That had been a lot of information to just give out to someone you had never met. Well, Mark knew all about Alex without the two men ever having met. Alex knew nothing about Mark and, apparently, he now knew "all that he needed to know" about the man who had been spying on him.
"I'll keep that in mind," Alex said carefully. "I guess my first question is, what exactly do you know about me?"
Mark crossed his arms and gave Alex a knowing look.
"I know a lot of things about you," Mark said. "I also know quite a bit about your family, although not on the same level as I know you." He pursed his lips, as though he was thinking. "I know that you and Debbie broke up. However, the reason remains unclear. You spent some intimate time with Kylie Naysmith, Riley's sister. For some reason, Debbie forgave you," Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't have, but that's just me. Anyway, there was also the incident on that renovation show where Yvonne confessed her love to you. That seems to be the final nail in the coffin."
Alex took a deep breath. "That's all recent," he said in a hard voice. "Anyone could have told you that. Tell me something personal. Something that you can't find in an online search."
Mark grinned, then he looked up at the ceiling, thinking hard. Then, he looked back at Alex.
"Your mother cheated on your father," he said i a quiet, conspiratorial voice.
Alex's blood froze. "How could you possibly know that?" he asked, shocked.
Mark simply gave him another knowing smile. "It's quite literally my job to know," he said. Then he shook his head and said, "You know what? I might as well tell you: there were nannyams all over your house growing up. Primitive ones, sure, but they recorded a lot fo things. And if you know the right people, and you bribe those people with the money you're given for bribes, well, they might just be willing to release that footage just in case it's need for blackmail. As for who, specifically, she cheated with, I can't say." He winced, giving Alex an apologetic look. "Would it be gross to say that the list is too long?"
Alex gaped at him. "Are you calling my mother a-"
Mark held up his hands, cutting Alex off. "Whoa, in no way am I calling her that!" he said. "I didn't even mean to imply it." he let down his hands and leaned forward. "Look, there are letters she wrote to multiple men, phone records and recorded conversations. You gain access to a lot of really disturbing things when you're a spy." He gave Alex a pleading look. "And it's that kind of access to disturbing things that I'm offering you, here and now. I think that it could be quite useful for you. You could gain a lot of headway, put Riley and Lincoln of your scent for a while. All I'm saying is that you should think about it."
And Alex thought about it. He was still disturbed by the fact that somebody else knew that Flora Ambrose had cheated on her husband, Gideon. And not just with the men Alex remembered seeing around when he was a kid.
There were more? He thought dejectedly. Then he put it out of his mind.
"I'm sure Debbie trusts you," Alex said sternly. "However, I still need you to prove yourself. Now, I need you to answer a very important question: how on earth do I get my money back from my psycho of a grandpa?"
Mark smiled and crossed one leg over the other. "HALLE has a weakness only another AI can exploit. Get SCOT to invade her and he'll automatically transfer your money back."
Alex pursed his lips. "That seems too obvious," he said. "What happens if SCOT is compromised again?"
"All AIs have that flaw." Mark said, laughing. "Why do you think SCOT shut off? It wasn't just because of the power. He could feasibly run without power - he ran on your watch, or another device, didn't he?"
Alex paused, then he pulled up his watch and summoned SCOT. He instructed his artificial friend to hack into HALLE, and transfer all of Alex's money back into his account. SCOT seemed confused.
"I don't know if that will work, Alex," he said. "What happens if-"
"Just trust me, SCOT," he said, sounding more confident than he felt. "I have faith in you."
SCOT disappeared from his watch. Five minutes ticked by slowly, and Alex watched Mark, who was as cool as a cucumber. Just as Alex was about to summon SCOT back, he got a notification from his bank.
"Deposit received."
Alex jumped for joy and pumped both fists. He scrolled through the banking app. Everything had been returned to him. He no longer had to rely on the poverty training his family had forced him to endure so many years ago.
SCOT's face appeared on Alex's watch. He was smiling ecstatically.
"I did it!" he said joyfully. "I can't believe I hacked another AI!"
"I knew you could do it, buddy!" Alex said to SCOT. Then, he turned to Mark. "Looks like you're not so bad after all. Thank you."
Mark gave a single nod. "If you ever need any dirt on your grandfather, Riley, or Justin, just ask. With what they made me do, I'm happy to provide."
"You can count on it," said Alex. "You can crash in my room with me tonight. Tomorrow, we're going back to my house, and we'll plan how to take down my grandfather, once and for all."
With that, Alex went to bed, with Mark crashing with a pillow and blanket on the floor. Both Alex and Debbie slept like rocks for the first time in weeks.