Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 13

Taye woke up after a restless sleep. He didn't have any way to tell the time, but he could see the faint morning light coming through the sliver of a window.

He looked up at Caleb. Still asleep.

Ideally, Taye hoped the police would come early to bring him back to the station for another all-day interrogation. He would keep asking for Luna. Eventually they would give in. They had to. They only had two days before they either had to let him go or charge him, and there was no way they were going to let him go. As long as he didn't ask for a lawyer, they would get increasingly more likely to give in to his demands.

Maybe they would even send Officer Sonne back in. Out of all the officers he'd encountered, Taye liked him the best. He seemed to understand. Or, at least, he pretended to. Maybe if Taye could sit at a computer for a few minutes, he could use Gaia to hack into the police department's systems, and then he could see the cops' notes about him. But he doubted they would let him use a computer. This was probably going to be one of the hardest parts of life in prison.

The lights flicked on. It must have just turned six. Caleb made a noise, and the cell door opened automatically. Taye decided he would stay sitting on his bed for as long as possible—the less interaction with others, the better.

"Who's the new blood?" came a throaty voice from outside.

An enormous young man came through the door. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit that didn't fit him.

"Looks like two short-timers," he said.

Caleb turned around and faced the wall. The fat kid stood on his tiptoes, staring at Caleb.

"What's your problem, cracker? Cat got your tongue?"

Caleb curled into the fetal position.

"Leave him alone," said Taye.

The kid turned his attention to Taye.

"Oh, looks like we got ourselves a hero. I'll make this easy on you. Because I'm nice, you see. And I like food. You give me your food every day for the next week, and we'll be good friends. Understand?"

Taye nodded.

"Good. I knew I liked you. Your cracker roommate not so much. But you're okay."

He hit Caleb's bed frame and left the cell.

"Thanks," whispered Caleb.

Taye got up to stretch. He wasn't going to be there for a week. And he'd fasted for two days once, just to see what it was like. Uncomfortable, but not bad. The bullet wound on his leg hurt worse than any hunger would.

"Don't mention it," said Taye. "First time here?"

Caleb turned to look at Taye. His eyes were puffy and red. He nodded.

"Don't worry," said Taye. "Mine too. Let's just stick together, and we'll be fine, okay?"

Caleb nodded again.

"What are you in here for?" Taye asked.

"Drinking," said Caleb.

"I didn't realize that was a criminal offense."

"It is when you drive."

Taye raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"You?"

"Disturbing the peace."

Caleb jumped down from the bunk.

"Wait, you're not the kid from the news, are you? That's sick. That's you, isn't it? I'm in prison with someone famous? Were those real bombs? Why'd you do it?"

Taye didn't want to talk about it. He decided to get some air and look around. As soon as he walked out of the cell, he heard his name.

"Taye. Taye Flanagan."

He turned around. It was a guard. Not one of the ones that had locked him up last night. A new one.

He nodded.

"Come with me. You've got a visitor."

Taye was glad the cops wanted to get started early. Especially now that the other inmates had figured out who he was. The guard took Taye by the arm and started leading him out.

"Hey," he heard Caleb's voice behind him. Taye looked back, but Caleb wasn't talking to him. He was talking to another kid in an orange jumpsuit. "Do you know who I'm bunked with? It's the crazy kid from the stock exchange."

Taye rolled his eyes.

"Come on, keep walking. Just act normal."

The guard pulled Taye past the door labeled visitors. Taye paused.

"Come on, kid. Today's your lucky day. Don't ruin this for either of us."

The guard led him into an office at the end of the hall, then closed the blinds and turned off the lights. Taye wondered if the cops were going to just keep interviewing him in prison. But when the guard unlocked the back door of the office, Taye's heart started beating faster.

"Come on, come on. Don't fuck this up." The guard gestured rapidly, pointing to the open door. Taye walked through it, into a corridor that looked like it was used for maintenance. There were no lines painted on the floor. Prisoners were not supposed to be here.

"I can only open this door for five seconds before it sets off an alarm, so you better be ready to run, kid. Outside there's a cleaning van with the back door open. Just jump in and close the van door."

Taye froze. This was not his plan.

The guard took out another set of keys and unlocked the door.

"Ready?"

Taye didn't respond.

"Are you fucking ready?"

No.

"Jesus Christ, kid." The guard swung open the door, reached over, and pushed Taye out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Taye stood still. It was cold outside. Sunny but freezing. He could see his breath in the air. Just like the guard had said, there was a cleaning van sitting in front of him with the back door wide open, blocking the view so nobody would be able to see him just standing there.

"Hey," he heard a voice. "What are you doing there?"

Taye wanted to explain that he wasn't trying to escape. But nothing came out of his mouth.

"Get in, get in," the voice urged. A young man with long greasy hair wearing denim overalls came up behind Taye and pushed him into the back of the van. Taye landed uncomfortably and winced in pain. "Sorry, dude, but we gotta go."