MESSAGE FROM THE WRITER
To the readers who have been reading this series, I am sorry for the very late chapter update. Some of you have shared your opinion against me using AI so heavily, and I understand the low quality of AI produced chapters. So I instead tried to work on this chapter with little to no use of AI. Let me know if you would like me to continue with these types of chapters, or the speedy AI produce chapters. Originally I had plan to add an additional 4,000 words to this chapter, but given how long it has been taking I decided to cut it in half. Honestly I want to make this a fun experience since this is my first FanFic and I want it to go well. Let me know if you prefer the 1 week per chapter style result, or prefer the quicker 3-5 chapters per week alternative.
sincerely,
CDC
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~Victor POV~
Victor watched it all unfold like a hawk circling over a cattle drive. Robert Edwin House, his creator, his boss, his best buddy, and his ward all in one, went through his first semester at CIT with the intent of becoming a valedictorian. Victor watched as his creator acted like a laser-guided missile arriving with singular focus into his classes on time and ready to take on the subjects before him. House displayed the expertise of a senior scientist, completing the course work with ease, and spent the remainder of the time in boredom, as if he was waiting in line at the DMV. Ten courses, stacked to the point it would crush an average mind unable to even attempt to pass, and yet House treated them like a leisurely stroll through a sunlit prairie. Even Victor found the limits of Houses expertise to be beyond anything the AI could logically understand. The entire semester with House stumped dear Old Vic, enough to watch his master closer... to better understand what sort of gold mine he was dealing with. Victor's sensors via the CIT mainframe network as well as their security system help keep meticulous track of every class, every lecture, every lab, and every extracurricular meeting that House attended. From the moment his classes began to when they ended, Victor spent his time observing his charge for House's own safety, while also studying the mystery that wore his newly bought suit.
Introduction to Robotics Systems, House had turned it into his own personal sandbox, the professor reduced to a mere spectator at times, letting House voice materials the class has yet to cover, or forced to answer a horde of questions the other students struggled with. During Principles of Business Management, Victor had to hold back laughter when House expertly denounced any and all threats to a CEO's desire, claiming the board of directors, the stock holders, and public should never question the master of a corporation. All of this was shouted out when the class was discussing the responsibilities a business owner had to his company, Victor could not wait to see how House reacted when the class dived deeper within the moral ethics section of the course material. Outside of his ideological belief on business leadership, House had done well with the projects given, quickly studying the work on corporate history and stock analysis for upcoming presentations. During the class on Human Anatomy, House displayed his understanding of biology and theoretical limits of mere flesh, which left his peers squeamish and the professor impressed enough to offer House a position as the professor's assistant, something House respectfully declined. Chemistry, physics, materials science, economics, geology, and early automation concepts, each one crumbled beneath the weight of House's attention. Robert completed every task, quiz, and assignments given to him, fully explaining the subject matter, House showed off the advantage of knowing more than what the class was being taught.
Outside of watching the genius of House, Victor was left with the grunt work, acting no better than an alarm and reminder of schedules that House religiously maintained from the moment he awoke to the instant he slept. Notifying House of deadlines, back to back lectures, club meetings were juggled expertly by the youth whose endurance seemed unnatural and endless. Watching and alerting was not all that Victor did, his more important job was monitoring potential social cue's that House was lacking. Victor was the only thing standing between House and total ignorance of human social nuance, which, frankly, seemed strange, House programmed Victor with the knowledge to be kind and pick up on the importance of respecting people, yet the man himself was a bit of a disaster.
House had charisma that could make a drunk preacher weep and give up a bottle of spirits for the holy spirit, but understanding his fellow humans? About as effective as a rooster trying to crow in a hurricane. Many of his fellow classmates dropped out of their courses. It seems House's attention to detail, advance knowledge on the subject matter, and inability to blunt his words to those faltering in class caused enough distress that several students could not continue on with their majors, instead falling to despair. Worse, House claims that "if their will is so weak that his words could cause them to abandon their major entirely then they were not serious with it to begin with."
However, Victor disagreed, seeing Robert's words more as a means of demoralizing those who struggled in the presence of a supernova like him. Victor felt obligated to send private messages to those students, a small amount of encouragement, dressed as a teacher or a staff member of CIT to prevent them from dropping out of the Commonwealth Institute of Technology all together. From there Victor had to coach House on what was acceptable to say, trying to wash out an unbelievable amount of malice that even had the AI feeling dejected enough to grow an inferiority complex. Only thing preventing Victor from complete utter despair was that House was improving, he even started talking to his roommate Mao, and had him join his robot fight club, a sign towards improvement. The friendly AI added more work upon his plate, not only observing his creator with an intensity that was equal to an entire herd of cattle, now looking out for backlash that House's outstanding actions might cause.
Victor's first red flag of the semester came subtly, like a rattlesnake blending perfectly within a hill of stones. Certain faculty and administrators, names he filed carefully in his memory banks, were paying an unusual amount of attention to House. Sparse, measured attention. Watching through security cameras. Tracking comings and goings. Documenting House's works and submissions carefully, going through it looking for plagiarism or anything else that might need addressing. A pattern of interest that didn't quite fit normal oversight, as it looked like the professors were looking for more than just simple cheating. One name jumped out: Malvagio Gorllewin, head administrator of the scholarship programs as well as the professor in charge of the biology department had taken an unhealthy interest in House. Victor couldn't catch him in the open; the man was careful, precise, but his interactions with the professors of House's courses, requests for updates on House's work load, and grades, seemed to go beyond interest in seeing if the scholarship funds were being wasted. News of House's grades, perfect attendance, and habit of going beyond the scope of the class would cause the staff of CIT to beam with joy, yet Professor Gorllewin only grew more intense in his observations of House. Victor cataloged each anomaly, the man had a bone to pick with House, and Victor knew it, what that was he did not know, only that the no good witch of a man was hunting his boss for some form of dirt to use against him.
The motive as to why this quiet witch hunt was taking place was the only question that kept Victor stumped. Victor's circuits practically hummed with frustration, Professor Gorllewin was playing things close to their chest, and the reason for that became clear as occasionally the scholarship administrator went into the one region of the school that Victor could not observe. The Dean's office was enabled with an entirely different security mainframe, as well as a network that made it impossible to break through without alerting the entirety of CIT's upper echelons, worse it was a black hole of information that Victor could only guess at. He had eyes everywhere, yet the one person he needed to observe with certainty, this Dean Oz, remained behind a fortress of security so tight it made Fort Knox look like a picket fence. Victor saw nothing during the Dean's scheduled meeting with Gorllewin, only noting that there had been a blackout when it came to observing the scholarship administrator's time with the Dean.
Even the meetings occurred in a way that made no lick of sense, as a meeting between the two occurred once on a friday for one week, only for the next week to have seven interactions within the span of three days between the two high ranking CIT staff members. House, in his infinite wisdom, had made it clear that Victor was not to do anything to alert CIT that Victor was watching, even if it meant leaving him blind to a wealth of knowledge, conspiracies, and who knows what else was being discussed behind the curtains of the CIT dean. Victor's digital lips twitched into a frown as he looked upon the firewalls and security alerts that blocked access to the Dean's personal terminal. "Son of a biscuit, the Dean's tighter than a tick on a hound."
Meanwhile, in the extra curricular activities, such as the Robot Fight club, House was able to make some friends... or better to say cult members who obeyed House's every demand, trusting the expert with whatever he told them. These folks with hands dirty in repair work and grease-stained overalls worked tirelessly as House had designed a blueprint for a battle bot for the upcoming robot tournament. Dorothy Hayes had been one of the people to join House's geek squad, a persistent and curious student interested in the wonders that were being built by the first year genius. Mao Noufu, Robert's roommate, watched from the sidelines, offering technical aid where he could, but always letting others speak over him. Quiet, timid, and utterly unprepared for House's orbit of influence and all the craziness that came with it. Victor regarded Mao with as much observation as one would with an accident prone puppy, the poor boy was trying to navigate a new world without instructions. 3 more individuals were recruited within House's group of all stars.
Felix "Fix-It" Marlowe, an engineering student that was obsessive with torque ratios, and prone to over-engineering everything, he had been recruited by House due to Dorothy's recommendation. Simon "Chip" Yates, a chipper first year who did not drop out of every single one of his courses after speaking with House directly, the two shared the same robotics course and joined the coming competition for a chance at a sponsorship with General Atomics. Finally there was Lila Duvall, a homebody of a girl who specialized in the understanding of the ineffective ADI Source Language. House had his UOS, a far more productive form of code that dwarfed the ADI source code, but House was not yet planning to unveil the UOS. Instead he decide that the ADI Source Language that Lila knew would be better than unleashing the creative destruction that House used to build Victor.
The CIT dream team, that's what Victor called them, for Robert took a backseat on the creation, only focusing on guiding the group as one of Victor's recommended solutions to make House more of a people's person. It seemed to work, sort of, as House was able to direct them perfectly, juggling the different personalities working towards making the perfect box shaped robot. Though the hours that House could spend with them was limited, he expertly filled the role of Team leader, directing the group through the biggest hurdles without revealing any of the deeper wealth of knowledge that House knew. When Robert had to leave for his night class, Dorothy filled his shoes, using her passion to help the group finish up any small task they needed in order to make the upcoming competition. Soon, when the spring semester started, the competition to decide who made the best roomba would begin.
The Applied Systems Engineering Society met in a repurposed laboratory that smelled faintly of solder, machine oil, and old chalk. It was the kind of place where ideas made contact with reality, to see if what the young engineers thought was possible or a fable. Robert House stood at one of the long benches with Mao, Fix-It, and Chip, all clustered nearby, sleeves rolled with clinical neatness rather than enthusiasm. The assignment was simple on paper and was not that far off from the work the group did preparing for the Robot fighting tournament. Here, the work was less glamorous as the group had to go about building a modular sorting arm capable of identifying, lifting, and categorizing mixed components under variable power loads. House listened while the others debated motor torque and sensor lag, his attention drifting in only long enough to confirm which suggestion was correct and which would do more harm than good. When Robert finally moved, it was with mechanical precision, rearranging components so naturally that the group adjusted around him without realizing they had ceded control.
House took a more active, hand's on, position in this club assignment than the one in the Robotic Combat Association. Here he rewired the actuator array in minutes, fingers moving expertly fast, correcting tolerances that were not technically wrong but offended him on principle. Where the club worksheet suggested redundancy through additional hardware, House implemented redundancy through logic, collapsing three safety subroutines into one elegant decision tree that reduced response time by a measurable margin. Work that required the entire semester, was simply finished by the 4th meeting of the Applied Systems Engineering Society. The arm came alive with a low hum, optics tracking parts with unsettling smoothness as it sorted alloys, polymers, and scrap with absolute certainty. Across the room, Dr. Havelock paused mid assistance to a group of first years, glasses low on his nose, watching the arm operate with a look that mixed professional pride and something closer to disbelief.
House allowed the others to take credit for adjustments that had not been made, nodding when they spoke, offering suggestions that sounded like a collaborative effort, while subtly steering his friends away from suggestions that would only lessen the masterpiece before them. Victor noted that House seemed almost relaxed, more open to his group of fanatics, as if this was the first place all semester that didn't bore him. When the group finished testing the arm under fluctuating voltage, the masterpiece adapted without complaint, compensating in ways the assignment rubric did not even acknowledge. Dr. Havelock finally approached, hands clasped behind his back, examining the system as though it were an answer key written ahead of the exam. Where other groups were several days behind, barely able to finish the work by the end of the semester, House had finished it after getting the group to agree on the approach.
Chip, Fix-it, and Mao had a turn, each dismantling the machine and putting it back together, attempting to replicate House's success, each just barely getting the arm to operate at House's original limits. Robert watched over the group, giving them assistance when they needed it, even guiding them to a solution when the mechanical arm's sensors failed to work properly due to an ADI logic bug. That brought joy to Dr. Havelock who gave House an approving nod, the kind reserved for professionals rather than students, and made a note on his clipboard. Victor noticed that after the good professor marked something down on his clip board, it caused House to tense up, as he stared off blankly into open space, displaying a strange expression as if reading something important. Soon a smile etched itself onto his creator's face as he whispered. "100xp just for leadership advice."
Victor did not understand what House meant by those words, at first curious, asking his creator if he was taking some sort of chemical substance for recreational need to deal with his boredom. As Victor went down a lecture on the importance of keeping one's mind clean of drug dependency, House ended the conversation by telling Victor to forget what he had said, which Victor agreed to do. Though Victor now greatly desired a physical body that had some sort of medical based scanning tool, an auspex, just in case his maker consumed something far more deadly than his body could handle, so that Victor could identify the substance and offer life saving treatment in time.
Where the Robot fight club encouraged spectacle for glory and attention, the Applied Systems Engineering Society focused more on getting assignments done as quickly and as quietly as possible. House and his group did just that and Professor Havelock told them of another project to work on, something meant for their 2nd semester, but the group was already eager to tackle the next club assignment. Dr. Havelock would oversee the work, and requested House to take more of a project management post and allow his group to have a bigger hand in the assembling process. Effectively giving the others a turn to become as quick and efficient as House. When hearing the work involved creating a miniature water purification system, with filters and chassis that could store enough clean water against pollutants, House agreed to hold himself back as a more capable leadership position. Victor knew that House had his own designs on a water purification system, one that would trump anything the club had in reserves. Not willing to risk creating something that he could not profit from later, House instead let Mao and rest do the heavy work while Robert focused on crude purification designs and managed the group in case they ran into any problems. Dr. Havelock helped with the preparations, the material within the 2nd semester club project requiring more of his time to setup, one which he was happy to offer.
At the Commonwealth Enterprise Consortium, or simply known as the CIT business club, House was able to also make a friend after Victor pestered House repeatedly. Here House decided to work with Theodore "Teddy" Maxwell, a 3rd year student at CIT who was very interested in stock investments and mentioned his intent of joining an investment firm in New York after graduating. Teddy was fascinated by an ADI virtual learning bot that was capable of making fast and smooth trades in the markets… or he was until House showed Teddy the supposed success rates of ADI's failure bot as House called it. Axiom Dynamics Incorporated had long ago crippled their innovations department due to becoming a monopoly sized goliath that preferred suing competitors instead of racing against them. The Virtual personality they released being no better than a gimmick for the coming robotics race, as the VI could not even predict proper market changes for less stable stocks, only regurgitating already proven stock trading points after the market closed. Seeing the smoke behind the mirror scared Teddy enough to look upon House as a possible expert for technical knowledge that Teddy greatly lacked as an economics major. House did more than that, giving his senior in the Commonwealth Enterprise Consortium, stock advice that Teddy was doubtful upon hearing it.
"Red Racer Co?! I don't care how bad gas prices get, I have trouble believing a tricycle company will become so successful that everyone will start exercising their way to work with their toddlers. And Hubris Comics, that dinky little publisher from DC can't do the sort of numbers that justify the price range you're talking about." Teddy's demeanor was clearly attempting to mirror House's when he argued over ADI's Failure bot. Yet, House remained firm in his stance, pointing out that most of the alternative sources of supposed energy were years away from generating the "supposed" alternatives that everyone was gushing over. That means people would go back to either riding horses, which was another headache in itself, or basic pedal based transportation was the next option. Mentions of Monsignor Plaza bike shop being sold out was enough for Teddy to concede on one point, still doubting Hubris could make the leap that House claims it would.
"As for Hubris, they just released issue 12 of the Silver Shroud which has done wonders here in Boston. Their newest flagship IP is Grognak the Barbarian, kids are being forced to stay at home, just as much as their parents who are unable to take their families out on long trips. Hubris flagship product of Grognak the Barbarian is going to reach both west and east coast when it releases. With people unable to get to work or school more will be stuck at home forced to deal with boredom… or an entertaining comic book from a company that has done well with Silver Shroud. Buy Hubris stocks you will not be disappointed Teddy." House's faith in comic books, something Victor never expected. Victor was certain that House had never even read an issue of The Silver Shroud, much less cared for it, Hubris comics sounded like a stretch even for the digital entity that could run laps around ADI's failure bot. Yet, Robert was certain of it, and Victor trusted his creator enough to at least believe him, as far as the stock terminals of the Commonwealth Enterprise Consortium displayed Hubris comics was stable, not really rising, but stable.
Teddy on the other hand was not convinced, as entertainment based stocks were far more uncertain as public consumption was a fickle market not even Hollywood could fully grasp. The two debated the point until the Commonwealth Enterprise Consortium club Professor Leonard Kline got involved. Professor Kline was the same professor that taught Principles of Business Management to House early in the morning, and was one of Professor Gorllewin's creatures. Almost flying to the scholarship administrators side whenever he reported regarding Robert's progress within Kline's class. The two were cooking something feral, Victor was certain of it, but could not confirm it as the two would go meet with Dean Oz, in his black zone of information that Victor was not allowed to intrude upon until he found a fix against the high tech alert systems.
Professor Leonard Kline's suit jacket hung loose, not from weight loss but from cheaper tailoring. The cuffs were frayed just enough to notice if you were looking, and Victor was always looking. His tie was a synthetic blend that caught lint and refused to drape properly. His shoes were polished, but the leather was tired, creased from years of pacing lecture halls and even longer nights of bad decisions. Victor knew that Professor Kline had made some bad choices, as dangerous people had even called him on campus to pay back debts, and now he was making his worst mistake of all. Doubting Robert House.
"I concur with Theodore, Robert, Hubris is too unstable of a risk to take. They are no better than penny stocks at this moment. Maybe if you stopped preaching about a CEO's right to rule, and participated more constructively during my classes you'd realize that." Professor Kline smiled the way Victor imagined a rattle snake capturing a desert rabbit would, unfortunately for Kline, House was no rabbit.
"I disagree. If you had the vision professor, you'd know that the captain of the ship drives his company towards the promised goal. Hubris Comic has one such captain, and come the first issue of Grognak the Barbarian, it will flourish. I trust the creators and artists of the series who keep everyone else at Hubris Comics afloat." House words were ideological, to the point Victor picked up something else, as if House had thorough understanding of creatives and their products more than anyone else. Professor Kline on the other hand only looked disappointingly at the star first year student of CIT.
"Then how about you put your money where your mouth is Mr. House. Whatever you are willing to invest into your two supposed golden gooses, is the only way to show your certainty." Professor Kline expected House to back off, as most first years who thought they knew best of the stock market became quiet when risking their own money. Just as Professor Kline thought the conversation was over, House responded.
"I am more than willing to invest, the only problem is that I am underage. Legally, I can't trade stock until my 18th birthday." Victor knew this was an issue that House cursed greatly, as many of the stocks that he wanted to take advantage, were still a year away from his reach. Victor recommended making a trusted friend, and given that Teddy was of the right age, he was sure House would find a way to get the 3rd year student to eventually invest on House's behalf.
"That's not a problem, I can invest on your behalf. Hell, I will match whatever amount you put into Hubris Comics and Red Racer Co. Think of me as a client investing capital on your capitalist cruise line. If your boat does as well as you claim then I will pass you in our morning course, no further tests, nor homework needed. But if your ship sinks and you cost your investor their money, then kiss your business degree goodbye Mr. House, because I will fail you." Kline was desperate, Victor could hear it in his voice, see it from sensors of the stock terminals he was currently inside of. The way this CIT professor was goading House into giving him money was filling Victor with conflicting emotions. Whether the professor actually plans to buy the stocks, or use said money to pay off his already existing debts, Victor was not sure. However a shadow loomed over Kline, one by the name of Gorlliwen. Gorlliwen had taken an unhealthy interest in Robert House, Victor was not sure what the intentions were… until now.
This had all the makings of a carefully engineered corral, every gate placed just right to spook a thoroughbred into breaking stride. If House stumbled this semester, Malvagio Gorllewin would be right there with the paperwork, ready to deny further scholarship funds and call it procedure instead of sabotage. Victor turned the thought over slowly, like a coin between metal fingers. Yet a single question gnawed at Victor's processors. Were they aiming to break a foul tempered stallion until he took the bait and obeyed, or were they fixing to remove him from CIT, to send him straight to the glue factory and pretend it was for the good of the stable.
The motive stayed buried, deeper than Victor could dig without tripping alarms, but one truth rang clear as a bell at high noon. Whatever the Commonwealth Institute of Technology had planned for Robert House, it hinged on him failing his classes, and Victor did not much like the look of that trail at all. The desperation was evident through Kline's deal alone, the business professor intended for House to fail, as some sort of greater scheme on Gorlliwen's behalf, yet he was barking up the wrong tree. Robert Edwin House is without a doubt a Genius, and Victor was sure trading was no better than gambling, something that House was good at given his massive Renno winnings. Ontop of House's competence, he also had Victor to help him. However, before House answered, Victor chimed in with his two cents regarding the deal.
"Boss," Victor drawled through the earpiece, slow and low like boots scuffin' gravel, "if brains was bullets, Kline'd be shootin' blanks. That fella's been roped into somethin' ugly. Both at the farmstead and out yonder in the market. Loan sharks circlin' him like buzzards on a fresh steer. Lost his shirt, pants, and most likely his pride, and now them creditors are sniffin' for more than just interest, see? Reckon he's about two bad decisions away from bein' trampled under a herd he can't outrun. Best take him up on his offer, maybe make them two bad decisions into a bit of good charity. Though I recommend Teddy buy the stocks, not ol' Kline. Let him see you shine bright like a north star, help Khline out with his current financial navigations. Maybe him succeeding can get us enough trust to help us figure out a way to glimpse what the Dean and administration are cookin'."
"I will agree, only if Teddy handles the transaction." House turned to his friend, Theodore who was shocked that House wanted him to invest instead of professor Kline who displayed an expression like he just lost a chance on extended credit. Teddy looked like he needed some convincing which House expertly succeeded in mentioning to the young man that this transaction would be impressive enough to make his stock portfolio look good enough any hedge fund in all of New York would hire him. A silent Teddy pondered the idea a little too long, so House spoke his favorite motto. "The House always wins. Now, are you going to accept my money, or not?!"
"So how much money are you willing to invest?" Teddy grumbled his agreement, as House beamed with a sinister form of joy.
"$10,000. For each company." House's words got both Teddy and Kline to pause, both dumbstruck by the amount, needing a moment to understand what exactly House said. Before the two could question whether House could afford to pay the amount he promised, House placed a hand within his overpriced CIT school bag. Robert retrieved the unmarked cash and turned towards Teddy, both him and the professor of the business course gaped, their jaws nearly hitting the floor as their eyes popped open in shock and horror. Two neat stacks of unmarked bills, a total of $20,000 exchanged hands getting teddy to take the entire thing far more seriously than before. Khline stopped breathing for an entire twelve seconds just looking at Teddy who carefully took the bundle of cash, running off to the CIT Business and Commerce Pavilion's banking department to begin the process of buying Hubris and Red Racer stocks.
"Are you mad! Where did you even get that much money! No, why would you even spend it on such risky options… I know at least a dozen good companies better off…ADI, Black Carbon Soulti-" Professor Khline was halted by a single terrifying glance from House, who looked at the professor with disgust and something close to rage.
"Because I trust the companies I have decided upon. Now are you going to invest $20,000 as well, or are you getting cold feet?" The words came out sharp like winter winds, it got Professor Khline bumbling out excuses. The man probably thought House had at most a couple hundred dollars to invest, not the unbelievable sum that he entrusted Teddy with. As Khline worked on an excuse to back track, Victor kept on eye on the young 3rd year who reached the CIT banking department.
The CIT Business and Commerce Pavilion had many hopefuls within the business major that wanted to invest in stocks. As such the CIT banks enable them to store money into accounts that could be used for such financial transactions, yet it only allowed them to store money, never to borrow. Teddy was 20 years old and had already prepared an account with the CIT bank for small minor trades, mostly safe bets like gold and silver. Yet now with $20,000, Victor was certain this would be very irregular, and cause some form of red flag alert to be sent out to the IRS or some other government agency. As such Victor and House had prepared long ago, with the AI able to easily break through the financial terminals accounts, and was now well placed to intercept any sort of alerts sent or received by the automated banking systems. An alert was raised and died before it could be sent out, with the machines getting a false approval from Victor to accept the money without issue. The major hurdle that Victor was entrusted with, went off without a hitch, now the less serious matter of convincing anyone who looked too closely into House's finances would be left to House, who had long prepared a cover story. Originally House wanted to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars, instead of the tens of thousands that Victor suggested and convinced the greedy man to abandon the larger sum, much to Robert's pouting.
When Teddy returned to the business club, panting, handing a pay log stub to House, the young man went to the trading terminal to purchase the final portion of the stocks. Professor Khline left as well, flying off to report the incident to Malvagio Gorllewin. Victor watched as Professor Khline rushed past the stocky assistant Gors and went straight to Gorllewin informing him about House's madness. Gorllewin gave a dark look before reaching down to his phone and making a call.
"We have a situation. The boy might have just exposed himself as a plant, just as you suspected Dean Oswald." Gorllewin words reached whoever was on the other side of the call, before leading both Khline and himself to the Dean's office.
"Sure hope that cover story of yours is built tough, boss. Feels like it's about to start hailin'." House's earpiece was working, but House showed no sign of caring, instead focusing on Teddy who had purchased shares of two companies both worth little less than a dollar, with House projecting that by the end of the year they would be worth several times more. House remained blissfully unaware of any danger, that rumble inside of Victor like a two ton rig with no brakes. All the Ai could do now was watch and prepare for the fallout that was to come. And come it did for soon House was summoned for a hearing by the CIT administrators.