So that’s what this was. David’s weird version of a trust game. The gun was a prop—probably a flare gun. Maybe even one of those lighters you find at Spencer’s. The talk about elevators and windows was meant to simulate something … like a hostile environment, just like they’d encountered in Outward Bound. There’s no way out. You have nothing but trust. Trust in your coworkers. Trust in your boss.
This was a front company for the government, but it was still a company, and the more Stuart thought about it, the more he knew it was a test of trust. To see who was executive material and who wasn’t.
Stuart took the bottle of champagne and poured three fingers’ full into a clear plastic wineglass.
“Stu,” Jamie said. “Wait.”
Stuart waved his hand, as if he were batting away a fly. Jamie was just jealous he hadn’t taken the initiative.
“Very wise move, Stuart,” David said.
Stuart splashed in some of the Tropicana, and he couldn’t help himself. He was beaming. Passing the trust test. There was nothing to stir the champagne and orange juice—were you even supposed to stir mimosas? Whatever. Didn’t matter. Not for the purposes of the trust test.
“Cheers,” Stuart said, raising the cup in a mock toast.
“Thank you for your service,” David said, which gave Stuart the slightest bit of pause. What did that mean?
Jamie stood up now. “Stu,
Bite it, DeBroux.
Stuart sipped his mimosa, then looked at David.
But David didn’t say anything. Just stared at him. So did everyone else. Even Jamie, who sat back down.
And the weirdest thing was, Stuart felt like he was having an Outward Bound flashback. He had the overwhelming urge to drift backwards, in the hands of his coworkers. But this time, they’d all be looking at him admiringly. Because he’d won the Trust Game. None of them could say that. Could they?
Was he still holding the plastic wineglass? Stuart didn’t know.
He couldn’t feel his fingers.
Or his legs, as they gave out from under him.
Everyone watched Stuart collapse. The hand holding his plastic cup of mimosa hit the side of the conference table. The drink splashed everywhere. Roxanne, who had been sitting next to Stuart, hopped her chair to the side reflexively.
“Oh God.”
“One recommendation,” David said, holding up a bony finger. “Try to remain seated when you drink this stuff. You might even want to position yourself on the floor, leaning against a wall, so that you can fall asleep without hurting yourself.”
“Stuart?”
“Not that I think Stuart felt anything. The first thing the poison shuts down is your brain.”
Amy ran around the side of the table and knelt next to Stuart, whose eyes were still open. She pressed a finger to his carotid artery. Looked up at Roxanne.
“Double-check me. Feel his neck.”
“No. No way.”
Searching around Stuart’s neck, madly, looking for something that resembled a pulse. You can’t fake that. You can’t just stop your heartbeat voluntarily.
David shook his head. “He’s gone, Amy.”
Amy looked up over the table at her boss.
“Stuart chose the smart way out. I hope that the rest of you follow suit. We can drink together, if you like.”
Jamie said, “Oh, you’re going to kill yourself, too?”
“Yes, Jamie. They want us all gone.” David turned to his assistant. “Molly, will you do the honors?”
Molly, who had been silent for the duration of the meeting—including Stuart’s suicide toast—raised her head.
Then she reached into a white cardboard box and pulled out another gun. It looked smaller.
“Hey,” said David. “I meant mixing the drinks. Like we discussed?”
She aimed the gun at David.
He squinted. “Is that a Neo?” he asked.
Molly screamed—a howling geyser of rage that seemed like it had been building up under a mountain of composure.
“Hey, wait a second …
Then she squeezed the trigger.
Part of David’s scalp flipped up from his head, like a piece of toupee caught in a breeze.
David saw an explosion in front of his eyes, then a cold,
As he was thrown backwards, someone pressed PAUSE.
He could see the faces of his employees, frozen in perfect detail. Many of them were slack-jawed in surprise. The others seemed not to be processing it yet.
Then again, neither was he.
They’d gone over this. A
Except for this one little time.
My God.
Molly had just shot him in the head.
Molly!
David knew she wasn’t supposed to live through this. But
Granted, he didn’t have the nicest things in the world planned for her. First a shot to the leg that would drop her to the ground. Then, press the gun to her head, tell her to take off her shirt and bra if she wants to live. Check out her tits, kill her anyway.
How had she found out the truth?
David’s body hit the conference room floor.
AFTER THE MEETING
