Amos shifted bad forth on his feet, his hands in his pockets. He hadn’t been around here in a long time and while every thought about this pce had filled him with dread for the past few years, now he felt something else. fidence. He rest his head against the wall and smiled to himself, swaying a little as he listeo a little music pying in his earbuds. Good old gamer rock. He grinned as his e to the local security cameras around him alerted him to someone approag.

  He tilted his head and gnced in the dire of the approag man, a big smile on his face.

  Where was he? Well, if he had been fully ho with Sonya when he first met her, he hadly washed out of college. No. He had been chased out. He was at MIT. Beautiful Cambridge. He’d taken a flight here the previous night and had spent the evening doing what he did best. He didn’t take many days off, but Sonya had insisted that he get a little bit of down time before she and the others went off to Vegas. It was going to be a big deal apparently and he really ought to be fresh in case he was needed.

  So he figured he’d settle up while he was out. Sonya didn’t know what he was doing, or at least probably not, his puters were the only ones she couldn’t poke around in with her own teopathy. It wasn’t like he tried to keep it a secret from her, he just didn’t bother bringing it up. It was his problem to deal with and to be frank she’d already helped him enough towards his goal. Now he just o act. Which was why he was so eted to see the Uy president marg his way in his dire.

  “President Williams!” Amos said brightly, throwing his hands out wide, “Good to see you, how long’s it been?” He asked.

  The president frowned, a bit of sweat dripping down his brow beh a carefully bed head of brown hair, he wore a bck suit aie that did not agree with the heat, “Mister Carter, you seem to have fotten that you were banned from this institution.”

  Amos blinked, raising his eyebrows dramatically. Just like Sonya would, he thought with amusement. “Really?” He gasped, “Oh man, that sucks! And here I wao have a chat with you! I’m holy shocked you came out all this way. If that's the case, sir, shouldn’t you have sent security instead?” He asked.

  The president’s frown deepened, “I have been trying to, but apparently their unications are on the fritz. We ’t even call the police. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, Mister Carter?” President Williams asked pointedly.

  Amos poi himself, wide eyed, “Me? Why would I do something like that?”

  “To force a meeting with me,” The man said with a scowl. “What oh do you want?

  Amos beamed at him, “Mister President! Johnny!” He soothed, walking over and throwing an arm over the president’s shoulder, “ I call you Jonny?” He asked, grinnio ear as he threw basically his entire social battery into the iion. “Listen, I just want to have a versation. You and me, somewhere private, have a few drinks, talk about the good old days!”

  “You are not allowed in-”

  “Avery Stolls,” Amos said, suddenly stony in his tone.

  “Huh?” The man blurted.

  “Bianca Harold, Lucas Myers, Sammy Redmond, myself,” Amos tinued, ting on his fingers.

  The man looked at him wide eyed, “What are you-”

  “Mister President,” Amos said and turned his head slowly towards the man, “Do you know where I work now?” He asked, “You watch the news, right?”

  “I fail to uand your point,” The president said, his face turning redder.

  “I’m that Amos Carter. There are only like what, sixty of us iates? e on, man, piece it together, you’re a smart guy!” Amos said, giving him a pyful squeeze with his arm around shoulder, “Do I really have to say it here?”

  The President paled a little but held his ground, “You ’t just bckmail me in public!”

  “Cameras aren’t w,” Amos said, “Your phones off. Mine is too. All eleics within a mile are disabled. Your students are having a pretty bad time right now, it’s kind of funny si’s all your fault,” He s the end, “And since you don’t have enough grey matter to figure out what I’m getting at, let me put it to you pinly.”

  “I know what really happened when you kicked me out, I know who you were c for, I have all of the emails, I have all of the records, I have all of the photographs, camera feeds, evidence, Mister President, evidence,” Amos growled and squeezed a little tighter, “I know I’m not the first and I also know that if this sdal gets out, that the board finds out that you did this to the head researcher of ASTA, that his name could be tied to this Uy’s pedigree… well…” He trailed off and lowered his voice, “Screw your job, I’d be surprised if you didn’t end up in a ditewhere with a bullet in your head.”

  The president was shaking at this point, his skin a ghastly white.

  “You fucked up, Johnny, and you fucked over the wrong guy. I’m here to set the record straight and give you a ce to nut up or I send everything to the board, neers, broadcast agencies, web forums, hell I’ll even put one up on vidTube,” He ughed, “I will fug bury you,” Amos said.

  The president trembled again, “What do I have to do?”

  “Public apology you don’t have to eborate, just say it was a mistake, reinstatement, my fug Doctorate, and a partnership with ASTA,” Amos bit out, “That’s all I want.”

  The man stared at him, bewildered.

  Amos let out a sigh, “See, I wish the versation could have been more pleasant, but hey, what you do?” He shook his head and held up a hand to wave at anure who was sitting at a benearby. approached with a suitcase in hand, his hair done up just right, and his skin practically glittering in the sunlight. “ you take it from here?”

  pursed his lips and smiled at Amos, “Of course,” He said sweetly.

  Amos grinned a go of the man. “All yours babe,” Amos said and stepped away, leaning

  stepped forward and held out the suitcase, opening it. Inside was a thick tan piece of paper with a tract written on it. “As per the terms of this tract, Doctor Williams, you will be responsible for the terms that Mister Carter just expio you. You will have twenty four hours to approve the reinstatement, fourty eight to plete the public apology and issue the aforementioned degree. You will then have oo tact ASTA headquarters and discuss a long term educational partnership with the pany,” said matter-of-factly.

  Mister Williams swallowed, “And if I’m uo meet these terms in time?” He asked.

  “It says right there in the dot, you will die of a heart attack the instant the tract is void. plete the terms and you will live as long as you were inteo. This tract was made with a powerful ability that makes deals quite binding and includes an indefinite gag order. So don’t bother trying to get help, you dug this hole, you dig yourself out,” said, his eyes twinkling with malice. “Amos will also be held to a simir standard, having to eliminate all evidence eg you to your crimes that he is aware of withiy four hours of you holding up your end of the bargain.”

  The president of MIT stared at the dot for a long time, his eyes wide as he read every line. He swallowed hard.

  “Hurry up Johnny, you’ve gotta agree to the terms whole heartedly or it won’t work and the longer I’m here, the longer I’m gonhe whole school’s systems down,” Amos said from afar, “I do this all day.”

  The preside out a sigh and snatched up the pen sittio the dot. His shoulders sagged and with a weary look in his eyes he sighe dot. It flickered for a moment before it started to glow and the ink from the pen immediately dried. Amos felt a tingle run up his arm that felt very simir to the time he made his first deal with Sonya. He looked down at it with a small smile as the presidehe pen down.

  “May I leave now?” The man asked.

  “Sure, fuck off,” Amos said and go . “Dinner and a movie?” He asked, walking past the man as if he did.

  just smiled at him, “Sure.”