TOM OWENS HAD already picked out a Starbucks on a side street as the best viewing spot. He knew if he sat at a
high-top table by the front window, he’d be able to see the Virtual Spaces office.
Ellis Warrenton was saying, “We need to get out of the area. There’s no reason to watch the explosion. It makes
things more complicated and raises the risk of being caught.”
Owens ignored Ellis’s complaints and continued to lead the way to the Starbucks. “We’ll be sitting in a public
coffeehouse. After we see what we need to see, we’ll casually stroll in the opposite direction. Besides, we might
want to scope out a Starbucks as a potential future target.”
“Why would we do that?”
“You ke ep saying we’re trying to change society. Starbucks has a detrimental effect on society. They bully South
American farmers to sell their coffee as cheap as possible. They overcharge people here for coffee that costs them
very little. Everyone knows Starbucks. The right device could get us decent national attention. Or even
international. I mean, after you write a statement about Virtual Spaces.”
“Why don’t you write the damage statement? You seem to be doing everything else,” Ellis grumbled.
“I’m good with engineering things. It’s your job to release statements to educate people. I wish you’d do it more
efficiently.”
Ellis didn’t say anything coherent as they walked into the coffee shop.
Kimmy knew her way around a Starbucks and immediately ordered a salted caramel cream cold brew. Ellis just
ordered a coffee, and when the barista asked him a question, he said in a louder voice, “I said, ‘Coffee.’” Owens
made an effort to be polite to the young woman behind the
counter. He hated coffee, though back when he was at MIT, his classmates all seemed to live on it, especially during
finals week. Instead, Owens ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. The drink reminded him of
Christmas Eves at his grandmother’s house. She’d make him and his brother hot cocoa with Cool Whip on top.
It made him sad to think that may have been the happiest time of his life.
Once everyone realized his intellectual gifts, people started treating him entirely differently. They wanted to use
him. Find a way to make money with him. One of his aunt’s boyfriends had tried to figure out how to get underage
Owens into a casino so he could count cards, like in Rain Man.
Maybe that’s what shaped his view of people as scheming, deceitful, and hypocritical. Like how everyone whined
about climate change, but very few people were like him and willing to do something to address it.
After a few minutes, Pry joined them. The four of them settled in on the exact high top that Owens had scoped out
earlier. From his seat, he didn’t even have to crane his neck. He sat comfortably with his delicious hot chocolate and
watched the crowds of people rushing by the giant plate glass windows that would soon become razor-sharp
shrapnel.
He noticed two young women, both with dark hair. One of them had a relatively short, blunt cut and the other had
long, wavy hair. He watched as they took a moment to stop and look in the window at the Virtual Spaces office.
Then they hurried along and entered the building’s lobby. A moment later, Owens saw them st ep into the
glass-enclosed rec eption area of Virtual Spaces.
Something about seeing two more people walk into his trap made his heart speed up. When Owens had first agreed
to work with these guys, it had only been for a chance to use his skills. It had never occurred to him that he’d
experience excitement.
He liked it.