FAI (22 page)

Kari’s auto-auto rolled up in front of the Academy of Gifted Young People, and she left the self-driving vehicle as soon as the doors opened. She took a deep breath of fresh air and for the first time in years didn’t worry in the back of her mind about being seen.

She walked into her school and found it silent inside.
That’s never good.
She took a few steps up the stairs before Lars came racing down to her excitedly.

“Lars!” Kari picked up her dog that was dressed like a ballerina and let him lick her face. “I’ve missed you too!”

She set Lars down a minute later and followed him up the stairs to the main room they called the playground.

“Surprise!”

The room erupted in cheers, and confetti filled the air. Some student set off some sort of indoor fireworks that scared everyone half to death, but the cheering resumed shortly after people realized they weren’t under attack.
Wouldn’t be a day at the Academy if someone weren’t experimenting with explosives.

“Welcome home, Professor,” Motorcad said as he gave her a hug.

Ruth and Jared were next in line; she embraced them both before addressing the room.

“Thank you, everyone! It feels good to be back home,” Kari said.

It had been exactly a month since she had been taken into federal custody at David’s hospital in Colorado. She had gone through an extensive round of interviews and testimonies. Eventually she had received her pardon, and the pardon for her family and friends. The whole process had been slowed a little as she needed to testify in several government corruption hearings.

The room quieted as the students parted to reveal David standing at the back of the crowd. The first version of his new foot was unnoticeable under his pants and dress shoes. His hair was short, just like she remembered it being growing up. His eyes glowed as he stepped forward and gave her a kiss, to the students’ delight.

“Double homework!” Kari shouted when her mouth was free. The students booed enthusiastically until she quieted them down with her arms.

“Really, thank you for this warm reception,” Kari said. “It means the world to me to be able to stand here in front of you as Kari Tahe, your professor. I’m sorry we had to push graduation back a few weeks, but I thank you for waiting for me. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”

The students cheered again, led by Motorcad.

Ruth’s family arrived a short while later and they held a small ceremony honoring the Academy’s first graduates. Jared didn’t have any relatives attend, but he seemed happy enough to enjoy the moment on his own.

Kari hadn’t technically graduated from high school herself, so she wasn’t sure exactly what it felt like, but seeing the pride on her students face made the last year of struggles worth it.

She congratulated both halves of Broccoli Rob again at the after party in the playground. Neither of them had any immediate plans, so Kari offered to let them continue to live at the Academy as long as they needed. They both graciously accepted her offer to be interns with their usual amount of ribbing.

“Despite Professor Tahe’s interference in my curriculum, I think this year has been a wild success,” Motorcad said. “Here’s to many more years at the Academy!”

The students cheered Motorcad’s toast and then turned to hear from Kari once again.

“Thank you,” Kari said. “Thanks to all of you for all the hard work you put in this year. It’s been an honor and a pleasure. Now, you’ll have to excuse me, I have a date with my boyfriend.”

The students oohed, and she smiled at their reaction.
I’ve missed you guys.

“At a public restaurant. With reservations in my own name!”

The students cheered again while she allowed David to escort her out of the building. She ordered an auto-auto with her own credentials, and a minute later they were on their way to dinner.

“Congratulations,” David said. “You did it.”

“More like you did it,” Kari said. “I didn’t realize how much I missed being free to be myself.”

“We did it.”

“You’re right. We’re a good team.”

“Have you heard from Fai?” David asked.

“I haven’t. I’m not worried about her, though. She’ll be in touch.”

“I’m thinking about doing a video on her next,” David said. “Maybe help the public accept that she’s our friend. I have a pretty big following now.”

“Look at you with all your fans,” Kari said.

“Oh no.”

“Mister big shot, how the tables have turned.”

“You’re pretty,” he said.

“Nice try,” Kari said. “We’re not finished talking about how famous you are yet.”

“Fine, do continue. I deserve it. Especially since your biggest fan is in prison now.”

“Isn’t that nice? Henderson will find a way out of it, I’m sure. He should be an expert at breaking out of prison by now.”

“I saw they let Udarh go the other day,” David said. “He was one of my favorites. I didn’t know him before, but he seemed like a really nice guy when I interviewed him.”

“I’m a fan of anyone who stops military-class drones from blowing us up,” Kari said.

“Me too.”

Thinking about how close they had been to dying a few years ago while they escaped from Henderson’s prison reminded Kari of something important she needed to take care of.

“During the attack on the research lab, the first one, I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Kari said.

“I know . . . I could read it on your face.”

“Yeah . . . well, I didn’t want to go without sending you a message. I wrote it down, but luckily I never had to send it.”

“What did it say?”

Kari sent him the message and waited nervously for his response.

“I love you too, Kari,” David said.

The corner of his eyes filled, showing emotion as he leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him back until the auto-auto slowed down at their restaurant.

“Well, we should probably go. Can’t miss my first dinner reservations ever,” Kari said.

“They’ll ban you for life,” David said.

“Don’t say that. There’s enough pressure already. This is our first adult date in the real world. Lots of pressure.”

“Anything could happen.”

She let him help her out of the auto-auto onto the streets in front of the nicest restaurant where she could order a hamburger in Phoenix. David whistled as he saw where they were.

“Can we afford this place?” David asked.

“I hope so,” Kari said.

“Did Vision send you the money or something?”

“Vision offered to send it. And with a healthy bonus, but I declined it,” Kari said.

“What? Motorcad is going to kill you!”

“Oh, he’ll be fine. Now that we can put our faces on the Academy, applications and donations are rolling in. I asked Vision to donate it to the families of the people who died at the lab,” Kari said. “Besides, I never liked that deal anyway. I’ll make money the old-fashioned way.”

“Salary from the Academy?”

“No, I don’t teach for money. Coding is what I love to do, so I’ve decided to work on select projects . . . I’m going to start taking clients again. Here and there.”

“Well, you are Freelancer,” David said with a smile. “World’s greatest hacker.”

“Not anymore.”

“What?”

“I’ve decided to retire Freelancer . . . that name just has too much history and attention. It just doesn’t fit me anymore. I don’t want to be famous, or have fans, or put people close to me in danger. I’m going to work on select projects under a different handle. It’ll let me focus on doing what I love, without the overhead.”

“What is the world going to do without Freelancer?”

“It’ll be fine. There are plenty of other people out there that can solve problems. Besides, I’ll keep the handle tucked away, just in case I ever have a reason for it again.”

“You’re serious about this.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Wow! This feels big . . .”

“It’s no big deal. Freelancer had been slipping anyway. By my count, she was down to being the second-greatest hacker,” Kari said.

David looked at her, puzzled for a second, before a smirk spread across his face.

“Broccoli Rob?” he asked.

“Broccoli Rob,” Kari repeated. “Now, should we do this?”

The End

FROM THE AUTHOR

Thanks for reading! Bringing Kari’s story to life has been one of the best experiences of my life, and it’s truly been a pleasure to be able to share these novels with you. I’m grateful for my alpha-alpha reader, and first-pass editor (Jill and Julia!) and for everyone who supported the series on Kindle Scout, as I surely wouldn’t have been as successful without them.

If I could ask you for one more favor, it would be to leave a review of this book (and every book in the series if you’ve made it this far) on Amazon. Reviews are tremendously important and help novels succeed. I would greatly appreciate the assistance!

This is the end of the
Freelancer
series (for now . . .), but I have other books coming soon including
Epoch Shift
, the first novel in a fantasy series, which takes place on a distant planet a thousand years after a failed colonization attempt. Sign up for my newsletter at JakeNotJacob.com to stay up to date with my books.