The Blueprint (The Upgrade Book 1) Read Online Free

In the back seat it was cold and damp despite the fact that the driver put the heater on full. Jason hugged Rachel trying to keep her warm and to calm her down. The traffic was light and they got to their destination on Broome Street in less than five minutes.
    When they stopped, Mike got out of the car to help the Hunts, but then he stopped in his tracks looking at his car and shaking his head as in disbelief.
    “Apparently adding insurance that covers assault with a deadly weapon wasn’t a waste of money after all.” He turned to Jason and extended a small card. “If you’re in trouble, call me. I know a few guys who might be able to help.”
    Jason thanked the driver and offered to pay for the damages done to the car. Mike waved off the gesture.
    •     •     •
    The apartment was just like Hunt remembered, a minimalistic duplex on the tenth floor, spacious and ultramodern.
    “I love this place,” Rachel put down the bag and looked around the sunlit apartment. “I forgot how amazing it is.”
    “I love this place, too.” Jason sat on the sofa. “But at the moment the only thing I can think of is the fact that someone was shooting at us. Do you think…?” He paused, looking for words. “It could be because of your work?”
    “Why?” Rachel looked confused. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
    “I don’t know for sure, obviously,” Jason said. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just thinking out loud. You get this phenomenal offer that comes with a million disclosures and a questionnaire that’s normally filled out by people handling classified data. Then the next thing I know we’re being chased by black SUVs and shot at. It’s a little more than a coincidence, don’t you think? They can’t be after an accountant who just quit his job!”
    “Well, but you aren’t a simple accountant, babe.” Rachel waved her hand around the apartment. “Maybe they’re after your money. Do you think that’s possible?”
    “Not really. That wouldn’t make any sense,” Jason leaned back on the sofa trying to think. “What would they gain if I got killed? The logical thing to do would be to kidnap one of us and demand a ransom.”
    “You’re right,” Rachel sat next to her husband. She stayed quiet for a few seconds, then put her head on Jason’s shoulder. Jason hugged her and held her close for a long time. Finally, she broke his embrace.
    “We need to call Max.” She looked pale but determined. “Maybe he’ll be able to find something out.”
    Jason picked up the house smart control and dialed his friend. After a few ringtones Max picked up, and a picture of a thin face with a bright pair of blue eyes and a mischievous smile appeared on the screen above the Hunts’ fireplace.
    “Look at that! What have we got here? The Hunts! In the flesh! Well, sort of, anyway. When? Why? And why did nobody tell me?”
    He looked at them for a few seconds, then sensing something being off behind the friendly smiles, his own smile turned into a frown.
    “Is everything alright? I’m sure as hell happy to see you but you both look terrible, and that’s hard for me to say about you, girl.”
    “Hey Max,” she said, “we’re happy to see you too, but something weird happened to us on the way from the airport. We just.” She paused and held her hand to her chest, fighting a cough, then succumbing to it anyway. Finally she gained control of herself. “What on earth is wrong with me?”
    “Listen Max,” said Jason, “this is probably something we shouldn’t discuss on public airways. This is serious. Is there any way you could swing by?”
    The color drained from Max’s face. At one point it looked like he was going to ask some questions, but decided against it.
    “Sit tight,” he said looking somewhere behind his shoulder, “I’ll be right over.”
    •     •     •
    A Princeton drop-out, Max Schlager was the opposite of a stereotypical lonely hacker. A successful