Doug reached for the gun in the filing cabinet. Then the phone rang, and he stopped short. Gun or phone? It rang again, and he made his decision.
"I'm sorry, I've been expecting this call all morning. Would you mind waiting in the hallway for just a second?"
"Of course not."
Alex left the room. The phone rang a third time. Doug waited until after Alex closed the door to answer.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Kensington, I must extend to you my sincere congratulations."
"You had doubts?"
"Of course not, we just didn't realize it would work so quickly."
"Can you tell me how it happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"The cause of death."
"You don't know?"
"It uses machine learning. Its methods are a black box to me."
"Black box? I am not familiar with this expression."
"Doesn't matter. How did it happen?"
"There was a train accident a little over an hour ago." Doug's heart skipped a beat. A train. How poetic. How he wished he could have been there. "Somehow, a switch did not occur at the right time. It caused a head-on collision."
"And you're satisfied it will be reported as an accident?"
"Reported?"
Doug had forgotten just how rigidly the Chinese controlled the press.
"So we have a deal then?"
"Yes. We'll send the term sheet to you tomorrow."
"Excellent. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."
The phone clicked. The asshole hung up on him. It was okay, though. Doug would have the last laugh. He rose and went to the door. When he opened it, Alex Sonne was gone. Doug ran back to his desk and picked up his phone.
"Older black man with white hair. Don't let him leave. Detain him. Use any force necessary."
YOU ARE READING
Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel
Mystery / ThrillerIf you think artificial intelligence is dangerous, then you don't know the real threat to humanity's future... Luna Valencia is the founder of the hottest artificial intelligence startup in history. She's about to become incredibly rich and powerful...
