The Corporate Dead

The baseball cap sat crooked on Marcus's head—his only armor against the fluorescent purgatory of OpenAI headquarters. He adjusted the brim, watching the cursor blink on his laptop like a dying heart monitor.

Three years as a corporate spy had transformed him into something far worse than a zombie. At least zombies had purpose.

"You look like hell, Marcus," Lena whispered across the conference table. Her fingers traced his wrist—a dangerous intimacy. "The merger announcement is in two hours. Do you have the bearing data?"

He almost laughed. Bearing. She had no idea.

The truth clawed at his throat: he wasn't just stealing proprietary algorithms for their competitor. He was the reason OpenAI's parent company was about to implode. The encrypted files on his drive contained evidence of massive fraud, enough to bury the C-suite and everyone with a pension tied to their stock options.

Including Lena.

She'd shown him her daughter's drawing yesterday—stick figures holding hands under a crayon sun. "Emma's first-grade masterpiece," Lena had said, her eyes bright. "We're putting twenty percent down on a house next month."

Marcus had nodded, swallowed the bile, and kissed her forehead like the lover he'd become. Some nights he forgot he was paid to dismantle her life.

The baseball game played muted on the breakroom television—bottom of the ninth, two outs, full count. He'd played in college. Shortstop. The position where every ball mattered, where hesitation meant losing the game.

"Marcus?" Lena's voice cracked. "You're wearing your thinking hat again."

He watched her hand on his arm, the silver bracelet he'd bought her last month catching the harsh office light. For the first time in three years, something in his chest didn't feel like a hollowed-out shell.

"The merger's off," he said, standing up. "I'm leaking everything to the press in ten minutes."

Lena's face collapsed. "What? They'll destroy you."

"No." Marcus pulled the drive from his pocket, placed it on the table. "I already destroyed myself. This is just..." He gestured vaguely at nothing. "...this is just the zombie finally sitting up in its grave.

He walked out without his cap. Some armor you couldn't take with you.