The screen showed a data transfer progress bar that had reached forty-two percent before being interrupted.

“They were copying our core algorithm,” I said, my fingers flying across the keyboard to lock down the system.

“Did they get it?” Derek asked.

“No,” I said, typing in the administrator override code. “But they were close.”

I shut down the external port access and initiated a full system scan.

The green lights on the racks began to blink rapidly.

I leaned against the metal console, my heart finally slowing down.

Derek stood near the doorway, looking at the blinking lights.

“She won’t stop,” he said quietly.

“I know,” I said.

“She thinks I’m weak because I’ve always done what she wanted,” he said. He looked at me, his eyes serious. “I need you to give me a job, Sarah.”

“Derek, we just had an industrial espionage attempt,” I said, gesturing to the empty space where the technician had been.

“I know,” he said. “And I want to help you stop them. But I don’t want a title. I don’t want an office.”