“I could get fired over this,” Blackburn said softly. “Obsidian Corp. is already leaping on the chance to lobby the Defense Committee for my removal. You’d be glad to see the last of me.”

“Yeah,” Tom said honestly. He really would be. “But that doesn’t mean I’m lying about this. I think you’re looking at the wrong suspect.” Then, giving into a spiteful impulse, he added, “Again.”

Blackburn released him, but flattened a palm against the wall right in Tom’s path when he tried to ease by him. “You tell your friend something for me. Ghost in the machine or no, I can and I will retaliate against the person behind this.” With that ominous statement, he lifted his arm and finally allowed Tom to slip past him down the stairwell.

Tom walked down and kept walking until he heard a door swish open and closed. When he was sure Blackburn was gone, he halted in place, and waited for the telltale thump of boot steps as Yuri made his way down to him.

He’d heard every word. Every single word.

Tom dragged his gaze up to his friend. He didn’t know how to explain this to Yuri. There were so many things he’d kept from his friends. Might as well find out how much damage control he had to do first. “Uh . . . you heard that, man?”

Yuri stopped a flight above him. “Heard what, Thomas?”

“What we were saying. Me. Blackburn. Just now.”

His brow furrowed. “I looked down to see if you were okay, but I was not hearing your words.”

“But you were . . .” Tom faltered.

He’d thought Yuri was listening. Yuri had been keeping pace with them, following them down the stairwell. He seemed like he was listening. He had to have heard—he’d been close enough, hadn’t he?

Tom shoved his hands into his pockets. “Um, good. Because there was nothing worth hearing. Nothing important.” Then he launched into an elaborate story about Blackburn being mad at him for messing around in Calisthenics. Since Vik could corroborate, it seemed the safest bet.

Still.

It was odd Yuri hadn’t heard, but at least it saved Tom the trouble of thinking up an explanation, and at the end of the day, that’s what mattered most.

Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

AS WINTER BREAK approached, Tom and Vik grew very sad, because it was unlikely they’d end up in the same Applied Scrimmages group in January. They’d had a great time ever since Tom and Snowden achieved a certain peace by keeping their distance from each other. Snowden mostly stayed out of the sims; and when he did make his appearances, it was well away from Tom. In that way, they grew to tolerate each other, and Vik and Tom were free to wreak havoc.

And wreak havoc they had.