His phone showed four missed calls. Three from his brother Damon Indicator, who must have heard something. Damon always heard something. The man had a network that defied explanation. One from Maya's school, which made his stomach drop until he checked the time and realized it was just the automated attendance reminder that went out every morning.
She was fine. She was in school. She had no idea that her father's entire life had just collapsed and reconstructed itself in the space of a single morning. He called Damon back. Andre.
Damon picked up on the first ring, which meant he had been holding the phone waiting. "What is happening?" "My boy Marcus called me and said something about SUVs and federal people and you getting walked out and talked to me." "I'm fine," Andre said. "That's not what I asked."
"I know," Andre exhaled. "It's complicated. Uncomplicated. Someone set me up for a data breach at the company. Used my badge, tried to put it on me.
I got fired this morning." silence on the other end. Then very quietly, Damon said something under his breath that wasn't suitable for polite company. I'm not done, Andre said. The company's founder had a private investigation running. They already knew.
They came this morning with evidence. The real guy, a COO named Robert Caldwell, he's upstairs right now with investigators. Another silence, longer this time. You're telling me, Damon said slowly, that you got fired and unfired in the same morning, more or less, and the man who set you up is sitting in his office right now answering questions. Yes, Andre.
Damon's voice had shifted. Not light or something else. The specific quality of an older brother who has watched his younger brother carry too much for too long and is not entirely sure how to respond when the weight for once lifts. You good? I don't know yet, Andre said honestly.
Fair enough. A beat. Maya doesn't know. No. And I want to keep it that way until I know what's happening.
Understood. I'll be at her school at 3:00 if you need me to pick her up. Thank you, Damon. That's what I'm here for. A pause.
You did good. Whatever you did, the paper copy. Whatever it was, you did good. Andre hung up. He looked at his hands again.